Till Sunset Do Us Part

Chapter 2 ~ The Awakening

I woke up in a sudden rush: Bright light, white walls and ceilings, thoughts racing. Where am I? What am I doing here? Where's Rochelle? What's the last thing you remember? Lunch... table... new kid. Who was he? What's his name? He is kind of cute. Focus! I pushed myself up gently. My head felt heavy, my mind was cloudy, and my legs dangled - limp-ish. My head became numb. The feeling seemed almost as if I had it a million times, but I couldn't remember the others. Could it be-?

"Look who's awake. I thought I was going to have to call the hospital and tell them I had a student in a coma." I flinched at the sound of a strong, female voice. In the doorway was an older woman with blonde hair and pale, wrinkly skin. She was wearing scrubs. The school nurse. That's a start.

"What am I doing here?" I pushed to make my voice sound stable. It worked.

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me. You were carried in here by that new kid. What's his name, Dakota Konner? Anyway, all he and your red-headed friend could tell me was that you were walking and suddenly collapsed. I couldn't find any obvious signs of trauma, or anything on your medical files. According to them, you're as healthy as a horse."

As she spoke, I worked harder and harder to remember. It took me awhile, but it finally hit me. It was a guy. He had black hair, battery blue eyes, and pale skin. That was it. The rest was black. It was. God, anywhere but school, I begged.

I hopped down, suddenly not worrying about how sturdy or stable I was. "Whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

"To Lunch; I need to let Rochelle know I'm okay."

"Well, that's gonna have to wait, unless she's your ride home."

I stopped at her stretched arm, keeping me from exiting the room. "Why, I don't need to stay here."

She shook her head. "No. but you do need a pass." She walked over to her desk and scribbled something down on a pad of paper. "Just go straight to your locker and then your bus."

I took the note when she handed it to me. "Why my bus?"

She looked at me worried. "Because it's near the end of 7th period and you can't drive."

I folded my arms across my chest. "I told you, I'm okay."

She shook her head. "First of all, if I believed that every time a student said it, I'd lose my job. And second, it's illegal for someone your age to drive." Damn medical records. I started for the door. "Check in with me tomorrow morning."

"But, I said-"

"Just do it. Save yourself the failure of changing my mind." I sighed and grabbed the door handle. "Have a nice day," she said with a playful smile. I smile back and walked out the door - rolling my eyes once I was out. Ugh. I walked down the hall, hearing only my footsteps but feeling an intense stare from somewhere. I looked everywhere with my eyes, not moving my head. Inside I was panicking over it.

I tried picking up my pace, and only felt the stare getting stronger. I turned around in a panic, and ran right into him: the new kid. He grabbed my arms in a protective hold, and let out a long breath. His touch calmed me, but it didn't keep me from my questions.

"What the hell are you doing? Were you following me?!" I was almost shrilling.

He tossed his head back and forth, from shoulder to shoulder. "Maybe a little." My eyes grew big. "But it was only to see if you really were okay. I had a feeling you would be but ... I just wanted to be sure." His eyes were a jade green, and against every fiber in my being, I grew to trust them in that one second. But, there was still some hidden skepticism. Skepticism I couldn't find in the moment.