Silently Falling

Chapter Thirty Nine (Edited 12/12/2021)

12/12/2021- Hi again everyone. Thank you to those of you who were patient with me, it means a lot. I'm currently a senior in college & life has been crazy busy in ways I never imagined. I barely had time for myself the last few months. I couldn't even think the word "hobby" before there was something else I had to do for school and/or work. BUT, finals and the semester are over and I wanted to give you all an update. Enjoy!!

Silently Falling: Chapter Thirty Nine

The next day, I don't get as lucky avoiding Warren at school. As Toby drives into the school parking lot, a sense of dread washes over me and I spot Warren's black Audi in its usual parking place. 

"You okay?" Alyse asks, reaching for my hand as Toby puts his truck in park.

Toby glances over his shoulder at us, eyes swamped with worry as he watches me and analyzes my reaction.

Panic begins bubbling deep in my chest, constricting it and making me breathe deeper to feel like anything is reaching my lungs. The fact is that I don't know if I'm okay. I had such an amazing night with West and his family, and came home to my dad and Toby downstairs watching football together and pulling me in to watch with them. 

For the first time in a long time, I felt normal. I could react just like them to the game, could laugh and add my input into their awful dad jokes, and was able to text my boyfriend the whole time without any worry washing over me.

That feeling of normalcy was gone the second I spotted Warren's Audi in the parking lot.

I begin fiddling with my black wristband, thoughts soaring through my mind of what act Warren may pull today. Is he going to smear my name? Is he going to taunt me? Is he going to back me into a corner and make me relive the events again?

"Raine," Toby says, taking me away from my thoughts. "This isn't a game, remember?"

I open my mouth to respond, but icy fear shoots down my spin when nothing comes out. Alyse is the first to notice, and she quickly takes my hand in hers, giving it a squeeze of love.

"Hey, it's okay," she tries to soothe.

I swallow hard and begin to nod, but a feeling of uneasiness washes over me again when nothing comes out as I try to say thank you. My hand starts shaking in hers, not reacting to her attempt to calm me down. My eyes instantly shut when the world around me feels like it's closing in and the scent of Toby's cologne suddenly shifts to start smelling like his. 

I try to picture West's brown eyes instead of the icy cold one's that are threatening to appear. I force myself to regulate my breathing.

In. One, two three.

Hold. One, two, three.

Out. One, two, three. 

Alyse's hand slips from my grip for only a second, coming back stronger and warmer. This time it engulfs my hand rather than matching my size, and it's rough around the fingertips. I ignore that, though, and continue to focus on my breathing, finally changing the icy eyes to the beautiful brown of West. It works so well that the repugnant odor of Warren's cologne disappears and is replaced with the savory campfire aroma that surrounds West. 

And, when I open my eyes, I recoil slightly when the image of West's eyes doesn't go away. Instead, they're right in front of me, filled with concern. I blink a few times, trying to convince myself that my eyes are, in fact, open and not still closed. Then I shift my gaze to the hand in mind, follow it up to the muscular arm filling out a black long-sleeve shirt, and meet his eyes again.