I woke up screaming for what seemed like the thousandth time since my mom died. My pajamas clinging to me as sweat seeped out of my pores. I didn't know what to do about my nightmares and neither did my therapist Mr. Sweeney. He basically told me that eventually, whenever that might be, my mind would finally allow me to see what happened to my mother and I'd be able to move on completely from the entire ordeal. I somehow doubted that, which he knew, and I just hoped that I might get a decent night of sleep for once.
I crawled out of bed and into the steaming shower. The hot water pushing some of the knots in my shoulders away was probably the only thing that made me get out of bed today. Thankfully today was Friday and I'd at least get to sleep in a little tomorrow, if my mind allowed it. As I stepped into the shower and let the hot water sweep away the sweat and tension from my nightmare, my mind wandered to the night before. Jack Sallow taking the time out of his day to speak to me, his quiet confidence, and his mild flirting...although I could be reading too into that hopeless situation. And then there was Harry Styles who was a total anomaly and very...different. I had never met anyone like him. I couldn't put a finger on it but for the longest time I thought Jack was the most attractive man the Earth could ever present to me but Harry...he was just as handsome, if not more so. At the same time though, he was off putting. It was like he wasn't supposed to be here. Put him in California and maybe that might make more sense but Savannah, Georgia? His rugged looks demanded more attention than what Savannah could provide for him.
I finished rinsing off and wrapped the fluffiest towel around my body before stepping out and wiping the foggy mirror clean. I brushed my teeth quickly and dried my hair before stepping into my underwear, jeans, grey shirt, and maroon long sleeved cardigan. My black hair, half curling into its natural waviness, was actually being tame today so I let it hang loose framing my face.
As I rushed out the door, waving goodbye to my grandmother, and grabbing an apple for breakfast, I noticed that Evangeline's pumpkin she had carved yesterday before we left for the party was missing. I looked around to see if someone had picked it up and thrown it somewhere in the yard as a prank but it was nowhere to be found. Pushing the stupid pumpkin into the back of my mind I headed down the path towards the high school for the last time this week. The sky today was a deeper grey than yesterday. It almost looked like it might snow which would be way too soon for Savannah. We hardly ever saw snow here but the clouds looked like they might produce something cold and slushy. The wind howled through the woods as I entered the path and I realized I hadn't brought a jacket.
Йой! Нажаль, це зображення не відповідає нашим правилам. Щоб продовжити публікацію, будь ласка, видаліть його або завантажте інше.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I thought about texting Evangeline to see if she wanted to sleep over at my place again tonight when I noticed a red dot on one of the fallen yellow leaves in front of me. As I looked harder I noticed several red dots that upon closer evaluation looked more like splatters of blood.
I felt a familiar chill run down my spine as the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood straight up at attention. My breathing became more and more labored as my eyes traced the trail of blood splatters as they grew more and more in number. I slowly walked beside the trail and saw that it collected over by one of the pine trees lining the path. I inched my way along the outskirts of the trees and saw that now the blood splatters were in more of pools. My stomach clenched and seized as if I were about to vomit. I held my breath as I heard a crunching of leaves.
