Lives Change

Chapter Twenty - Hall of Hiding

Terra's P.O.V.

Various smells waft through the school hallway, hitting my nose before being replaced by an equally repulsive mixture of smells in the next five seconds. This cycle continued as I walked to my 2nd hour chemistry class. Since Christmas is over, the third trimester's approaching and I am not doing well in anything remotely related to science. Needless to say, I should be freaking out about trimester tests, and normally I would be. But right now, I can't seem to focus on anything but Jake and worrying that he'll come back.

I've been trying to move on, to get a grip and be happy again. But, as I've come to realize recently, I haven't been happy in a long time. The fact is, I don't know how to be happy. Not anymore.

'Not yet, you mean,' I think to myself. I am determined to figure it out. I will be happy. I will move on.

A small smile comes to my face, 'I will.'

"Hey," an arm wraps around my waist just as I'm about to walk through the door of my next class.

Flying into a sudden panic, I rip the arm off of my waist and turn around to punch whoever's attached to the admittedly muscled arm in the face.

"Whoa!" Asher exclaims, catching my fist before it makes contact.

I let out my breath in relief and relax my stance once I realize it's Asher.

Asher, however, doesn't seem so relaxed. "What the heck was that?" he says, his eyes wide and staring into mine.

I look away and finally lower my gaze to the floor, where my books had landed. "Nothing," I mumble.

I bend down to pick up my things and Asher stoops down to help.

"Terra," he touches my arm with his hand softly and I involuntarily flinch.

His hand immediately retracts and I look up at him but his now stony gaze is fixated on a locker across the hall from us.

We both stand up now that I've gathered everything and I look down at my books, holding them close to my chest with both arms as I try to think of what to say. Asher won't look at me and he's widened the distance between us by a few feet.

"I-"

"Don't, Terra," Asher says abrubtly, cutting me off, "just don't."

At this, he starts walking away, down the hall which I realize is now empty. I look back at the door to my classroom, then back at Asher and grimace before giving the classroom door one last glance and jogging to catch up with him. He hears me coming and quickens his pace, ignoring me as I come up beside him and attempt to make eye contact with him. I try telling him to stop or at least slow down a few times but my out-of-shape-ness is apparent and my pleas come out as gasps.

Asher rolls his eyes to the side before stopping suddenly and catching me off guard. I double back a couple steps and bend down to try to catch my breath. We were practically running down the hall and he's not even a little winded!

Asher stands there, impatiently, as I grant my aching lungs the air they so desperately want.

I'm about to speak when Asher suddenly says, "I thought you said you weren't scared of me!"

"I'm not!" I say, matching his exasperated tone.

"Terra," Asher starts, his voice raising and his arms going up in annoyance, "you literally just tryed to punch me in the face because I gently wrapped my arm around you."

I have no response for that and thus I proceed to stand there like a fool, grasping at straws as I rack my mind for a good way to form my explanation. I can't just blurt out the fact that I used to have an abusive boyfriend who only recently left because my friend, Blaine, pulled him off of me and told him to leave before he called the cops - or worse, killed him.

Asher sneers and turns on his heels, walking away from me, again.

"Asher!" I'm surprised by my voice, it sounds weak, like a little puppy, so soft and sad.

Asher must've been surprised too because he actually stops, and turns to face me.

"I don't...I'm not...I-" I try to tell him, but something stops the words from escaping my mouth. What will he think of me when I tell him? Will he think I'm weak for not being able to stand up to Jake? Will he think I'm dumb because I never left him? Will he think I'm desperate for attention and that I'm just making it all up and lying to him?

Asher breaks my train of thought, "Look, Terra," he says, having calmed down since he heard my sad, pathetic voice, "it's okay. I get that you're scared of me. Everybody is. I guess it was stupid of me to think that you might not be. I'm sorry, okay? I promise I won't come near you again."

I watch him turn and stride down the hall, finally reaching the doors and heading outside. Clearly, he's decided to skip school. I debate whether or not I should run after him before deciding I'm already late enough for class as it is, I definitely don't want to be caught outside.

'Besides,' I realize as I finally walk through the door to the chemistry lab, 'maybe it's better if he thinks I'm scared of him. At least I won't have to watch him leave when he finds out how messed up I am.'

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Derek's P.O.V.

A concrete parking lot greets me as I step out of the airport and raise my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. Breathing in the fresh air, I smile to myself and start to walk down the rows of cars, searching for the one the F.B.I. gave me now that I've decided to return to the United States. A smooth, silver Lamborghini beeps and flashes it taillights when I press the button on the remote control/key they gave me.

My mouth opens and I press the button two or three more times, just to make sure that's actually my car.

"Wow," I mutter, gliding my hand softly across the hood and walking around to the driver's side.

The interior is all black leather and when I press a button, the convertible top rolls down and I grin. Oh yeah. It's good to be back.

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Author's Note: Another short one, sorry. :/