Hourglass (Book 1- Tractatori Series) | Wattys2016

::Chapter Nineteen::

Excitement zipped through Colette's core as she stepped outside. Everything she had been feeling-- confusion, anger, and fear-- left her.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back to soak in the sun. Warmth brushed over her cheeks and dried her tears. After a moment, the bell rang and snapped her out of her trance.

She had five minutes to get off school property, and consequences be damned when her parents got a phone call.

It was like her body knew what to do even though her mind didn't. Usually she would fight the control her body had over her, but she left all her worry in the locker room. With him.

Her legs propelled her across the grass, and her heart pounded. She counted the steps. 83, 84, 85... Her feet hit pavement and she was gone.

She was running, with the wind whipping her now dark hair across her face. Bitterness rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down. A good burn rose in her legs, and she found herself pushing harder. Her lungs ached, but it felt good.

She didn't know why she was running; she despised it. She hated doing anything physically straining. So why did she enjoy this so much?

Before she knew it, the familiar buildings of Main Street rose into view. She slowed to a brisk walk, the euphoria of after-exercise thrumming through her veins.

She passed a shop store window and caught her reflection. She paused. Glancing down the street to make sure no one was watching her, she stepped closer to the window.

The girl in the mirror was her, but different. Cole's once blonde hair was an inky black. Her cheek bones were higher and more defined, and her eyes were brown instead of blue. The new Colette's body was lithe like a dancers instead of the rounder hips she was used to.

She looked nothing like she used to.

A sob strangled her, and tears sprung to her eyes. Her clothes didn't even fit her anymore. The shirt was too baggy around her waist and chest. Her pants threatened to slip off her hips. If her parents saw her, they wouldn't even recognize her.

Sniffling, she brushed her eyes and slipped into an alleyway. Weariness slid onto her shoulders, and the weight of it made her slide to the ground. It was all too much.

What was happening to her?

:||:

Hunter grew worried by fifth period when she didn't show up for English. She never missed English. At least, that's what the English teacher had said when she saw Cole wasn't in her seat.

By seventh period when he noticed she didn't pass him in the hall like she usually did, he started to panic. Where was she? Thinking back on it, he hadn't seen her since her locker room meltdown.

A constant nagging caused an ache to grow in his gut. He would try to find her. But where would she go? He shut his eyes and sighed. There must've been something he could've said to make her listen. 

The teacher, a woman with glasses that constantly slipped off her nose, was in the middle of arguing with someone on whether or not there should be homework. Distracted enough. He willed himself  to be forgotten, and walked out of the room.

He backtracked to the girl's locker room; thank god there wasn't a class in session. 

The locker room was eerily silent. His breath echoed off the bare walls, and paranoia crept up his spine. He pushed on the stall doors and the opened with a shrill shriek. He hoped that she would be in there, preferably not crying, but still. 

He spun around in frustration, hands reaching to grip his hair, when the glowing exit sign caught his eye. Realization dawned on him, and he groaned. Of course. She just had to leave the school. 

Annoyance tickled him while guilt tightened his throat. It was his fault this was all happening.... he should've never agreed to do this. He didn't know how Lilian did it. Thinking about her burnt away all traces of guilt. He refused to be like her. 

The exit door opened quietly like it had been used many times before, and maybe it had. He could just picture students escaping school through this door. He jogged across the lawn and to the road that stretched in front of the school. 

The high school sat on the very last fringes of town. There was only one possible way she would've gone-- to town. The other direction lead to the neighboring town a couple of miles away. 

Hunter headed to town, his mind lost in thought. He hated that he had done this to Colette. She had friends, family, and he threw her life off course in the short time he had known her. Or better yet, when she had known him. 

It was too late to take it back. Maybe if he decided to take it all back a couple days after he had met her, he'd be able to. But now he was too intertwined in her life. If he took everything out, she'd be permanently damaged. 

Before he knew it, he was in the empty streets of town. No one was around, either at jobs or school. The few people who didn't work were either stay-at-home-moms or drunks. 

He kicked an empty soda can, and it skipped across the pavement with empty clangs. It rolled in a circle and disappeared into an alleyway. He scuffed his toe and continued walking when a familiar sniffling met his ears. 

Bingo. 

He stuck his head around the corner and peered into the alleyway. 

A dark-haired girl sat against the brick building, knees curled up to her chest and face buried in her legs. 

"Colette?"

The girl's head popped up. 

She looked completely different. Everything about her was dark. It was like shadows lived inside her, only being seen through her eyes and hair. She was paler and looked taller. Her curves were gone, and her face was striking and sharp. 

Her lower lip trembled as he stepped closer. "I wanna know," she said. "I want to know everything."

A/N: And I know this is a bit late, but I hope you guys forgive me! Please leave a comment below and don't forget to vote!

-Sophia