The Scream of a Siren

Tearing at my heart.

Running downstairs I felt like I was in a movie, tears ran down my face, sobs choked their way out in between gasping breaths and my heart turned back flips in my chest.

Chad had lied to me, broken his promise.... He had promised and I had trusted him. He had betrayed me. He had concealed his hurt and I had a creeping fear that he knew something I didn't. But despite all that I still felt the need to find him.... even if the reason I needed to find him was so I could bitch slap the heroin clean out of his system!!

I ran through the halls, my feet pounding on the stone floors. The paintings and wall hangings rushed past me and I couldn't think straight. I became acutely aware of my heart thumping at my chest and decided to focus solely on that steady rhythm.

In fact i focused so hard that next thing I knew I had crashed straight into a very solid woman carrying a dinner tray. The tray hit the floor with a sound of breaking glass.

" Sorry sorry" I said quickly before ducking a low hanging ledge and starting to run again. I ran outside and into the midday sunlight. The courtyard and back garden was full of little children but Chad was not among them. I made straight for the trees at the bottom of the garden. If Chad wasn't in his room or in the garden I knew the next place to look. I ran directly at the line of trees, pushing the branches out of my way aggressively, tearing at my skin, clawing at my face. I ignored it and pushed forward to the same tree that held most of my childhood memories.

I scrambled up into the branches with a skill of many many times, laughing as the nurses searched the grounds for us. The thought of my past brought tears to my eyes, those memories would't be the same without Chad.

The tears clouded up my eyes and for the first time in my life i got stuck on the way up, I scrambled for the edge of the huts floor. Finally i managed to grab it with my right hand and barely hold on but my feet wouldn't swing up that high.

A warm hand grasped my left hand which was flailing at my side and pulled me up with amazing strength, my feet connected with the floor and I was stood up inside the hut facing Chad.

His face was streaked with tear stains, his cheeks flushed, his hands which seconds ago had been strong and steady were shaking. But his eyes were the warm brown they had always been, not a bloodshot vein in sight.

I raised my right hand above my head and with all the force I could muster I connected it with the side of his face.

He didn't react for a minute, just stood there staring at me. Then he grabbed my face, his hands were forceful yet gentle. He bent his head and pressed his lips to mine, they were soft and warm and a sudden wave of comfort swept over me. It was unlike anything I had felt before. The kiss was indescribable, his lips tasted like honey and it felt like everything that made me happy. It was like a fire on a cold night, like a newborn baby, like a warm embrace, like a candle flame.  I never wanted it to end but soon enough he pulled away.

" You don't know how long I've wanted to do that" He sighed.

" Chad" I said hesitantly. My mind was still replaying the feeling over and over and annoyingly my heart wouldn't slow down and function like a normal organ. But I had to tell him about Caspian, and what about telling him the fact that I was pregnant with hunters child. But Hunter had never kissed me like that.

" I'm sorry," He said, his eyes were fixed on a stray leaf on the floor.

" Ch-" I started.

" No, I just had to do that while I still could." He said quietly.

" What do you mean?" I asked, holding my breath.

" Tylah, I'm trying to save you, you don't know what you're doing to yourself, what your getting into. I've never felt like this about anyone, I've never wanted to be around someone as much, I grew up hearing you tell me you loved me and I'd say it back to you but I think it meant something different to me then it did to you. "

Why did he have to say that, I had enough problems without my best friend being in love with me. But there was a tiny voice inside my head that whispered something that both scared and comforted me at the same time. Something that made me question everything I had felt towards Hunter and Caspian.

It said,

" Why hasn't your heart slowed down?"