Did you just call me baby.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9- I pulled into his driveway and noticed that he was lying on the hood of his car sleeping. I laughed to myself. I walked silently up to the car and whispered. “Alex. Alex!” He stirred quickly and rolled himself off the car. He woke up and rubbed his head. “Ow.” He mumbled, and I laughed. “Morning sleepy head.” I said and he smiled up at me. “Morning. What time is it?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “5, what time did you go to sleep?” I asked slyly he shook his head. “I slept longer than I should have!” He said, ignoring my question. I giggled. “You didn’t get much sleep earlier though. You tossed and turned all night.” I said, making up the lie as I went, trying to make him feel better about falling asleep. He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” I sighed. I shrugged. I kissed his lips. I ended it quickly. He put his arms around me. There was four days left of school. The days passed one by one. Finally, it was summer. I had a week at the beach house spread out in front of me. That night, after packing for the next day, me and my mother got in a fight. Kelly was at one of her friend’s houses. My mother threw questions at me one by one. “Where did you meet Alex? How old is he? Why are you staying at his house? Where are you going to be this summer? Why don’t you ever spend time with me? Why do you hate me? Why don’t you babysit your sister anymore?” I shook my head and ignored her. She came and put her arm around me. “Please tell me.” I turned around and looked at her. She looked worried about me and I yanked out of her reach. “I’m a teenager.” I responded and slammed the front door. I hustled out to my car and pulled away as my mother peered out at me from the living room window. I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks as the headlights lit up her face. I didn’t have time to go back inside though. I wasn’t going to be a part of my mothers guilt trip. I got to work. It was the first day of my summer job. I explained that I wouldn’t be able to come back in for another week. They agreed because they had plenty of other workers. After work, I went to Alex’s. I wouldn’t see him for another week, and he was still sorta mad at me. I didn’t want to leave him mad, but I hadn’t really noticed how important the girl trip was to me. I needed to hang out with girls, and lying on the beach, playing volleyball, and watching movies all night with my girlfriends sounded pretty good. I pulled into Alex’s driveway. The house was pretty dark. The curtains were drawn, except the ones to Alex’s room. I stumbled up the driveway to the house, falling a couple times, luckily on grass, but getting grass-stains on my knees. I sighed getting up and stumbling back into step. I finally arrived at the door. I didn’t bother knocking, knowing he was watching out the window for me. I opened the door. He rushed to my side. “Do you have to go?” he asked me, his blue eyes pleading me to stay, and almost convincing me. “Yes.” I nodded, breaking my gaze from his eyes. He sighed. “I can see that you are going to be difficult.” I held back the smile that had almost forced its way out. He shook his head. “Darn.” I shrugged. “I have friends.” I stated he shook his head again. “Do you need them like you need me?” I could see then, that what he wanted was me to be away from my friends, not have any resources to run to if something happened. He had already cut me off from my mother and now my friends. His eyes were hypnotizing. I was getting dizzy. The last thing I remembered was his eyes, swirling, bringing on the nausea. I fell. I woke up and my head was throbbing. I reached up to rub it. “Ow.” I sighed. It was daylight still. Or again. Whatever had happened was over now. I was lying on Alex’s bed. “Morning.” Alex announced, his eyes back to normal. ‘Be careful.’ Casey’s words echoed in my head. I nodded. “What happened last night?” I asked, wondering if he would tell me the same story. “Don’t you remember?” He asked pinning my arm down, so I couldn’t rub my head anymore. “That’s only going to make it worse.” He pointed at my arm and I shook my head, answering his question. “No, I don’t remember.” I said shivering as he held the ice-pack to my head. “You’ve been sleeping about 11 hours now. I don’t doubt that you’ve had some kind of dream about what happened. Am I right?” I tried nodding but he held my head in place so I couldn’t ‘hurt’ myself anymore. “You were on your way into the house, and you fell, I came outside and you were unconscious. I questioned his answer. He had thought this out well. His eyes were stone colored again, the color I had always despised. “What about your eyes?” I asked and his eyes quickly flared, but he took control of them again. “What about them, hun?” I tried shaking my head again. “Hypnosis.” I replied. The look on his face was questioning what to do. “Maybe you should go back to sleep, you aren’t thinking straight, your dreams are mixing you up.” He said. I kicked him out of my way. “No they’re not.” I said throwing the ice-pack into the corner, ripping the fabric and shattering the ice. “Let me go.” I said, I stomped out the room and down the stairs. His arm grabbed me. “Stop.” He said. “Let go!” I whined, but he pinned me to the railing of the steps. “I can’t let you go. Not now.” I looked at him confused. “I can see this is going to be hard.” I shrugged and slipped under his arm, I tripped down the stairs, but only had a few bruises. I struggled getting up, and he was by my side, helping me up. I shook my head “Let go.” I said calmly, he obeyed. I walked out into the kitchen. “Be careful.” I warned him. He shook his head. “I don’t have to be.” I shrugged and opened the door. “I have my phone. Call me.” I said and shut the door. I clutched the handle to the door for a short moment. I sighed and walked slowly toward my car. I opened the door and slid into the driver’s side. Maybe I really did fall in the driveway. It could have happened. I fall over a flat surface about once a day anyway. That would be a reasonable explanation. Maybe I was dreaming about the swirling colors in his eyes. It didn’t matter now. I was going away for a week and I wouldn’t see him. I arrived at Vicky’s just as they were about to leave. “Claire!” She shouted, voice full of excitement as she ran up to hug me. “Hi Vicky.” I managed to get out even though she was smothering me. “I can’t believe you came! I’m so happy!” She jumped around in circles. I decided that this might be the only time I would spend with them so a I jumped up and down with her. It was a long car ride, but the view was worth it when we got there. There was a balcony attached to the house and the beach view was amazing. We went inside and picked out rooms, sharing with one other person. I shared with Vicky. “This is going to be so much fun.” I said unpacking the swimsuit that I had bought about two days before summer vacation. I folded my clothes and packed them in the dresser we would be sharing. I turned my phone off and put it on the dresser. I wouldn’t be taking any of Alex’s calls. I wouldn’t be taking anyone’s calls. I didn’t need to. The only person who would call would be Alex. I went out on the balcony. I almost slipped on my way out. It went out over the water. I leaned on the railing. The sun was beginning to set. Everyone went into the dining room for supper. Mackenzie had started a fire in the fire place. We would probably talk about everything there was to talk about in this next week. I would get the chance to be an actual teenage girl. Vicky had made supper and Hannah had made desert, though we were all full after supper. Alyssa had watched, and made sure nothing was set on fire with a couple other girls that I hadn’t memorized the names yet. “Jamie, would you hand me that plate?” I heard Vicky ask one of the girls. Jamie, so that’s her name. The other girl’s name turned out to be Nellie. A simple name. We sat by the fire and talked about the guys we were dating. They asked a hundred questions about Alex. They all thought he was different. Vicky and Derek had been together for a while now. Mackenzie was dating a guy named Blake. Hannah was with a guy that was about a year younger than her. His name was Michael, but by the way she talked about him, he was a real sweetheart. His hair was blonde and his eyes were brown. I nodded as everyone talked about their “future husbands.” I felt like laughing when they thought about how they were going to be together forever. That night I dreamed of Alex, as I did every night I spent without him. I woke up earlier then anyone else and went out onto the balcony. I leaned over the edge and almost slipped off. I caught myself almost dangling off of the side. I sat down. And looked out the small space between the rails. It was about 6 in the morning. I couldn’t believe everyone else, sleeping in like this. It made me want to laugh, but I had to be careful not to wake anyone up. I went into the kitchen and started to make pancakes and eggs. I blinked my eyes that were barely opening. Soon I was done cooking and left the food out on the counter. I decided to go for a walk along the beach. I went into me and Vicky’s room. She was happily snoring away. I pulled open a dresser drawer and yanked out a pair of shorts and a tank top. I hastily changed into them, without making a sound. I pulled a brush through my hair. I twisted it into a ponytail and closed the door silently, careful not to wake anyone up. I paused for a minute to make sure I didn’t hear anyone else. I didn’t of course, and it was only 7. I opened the door to go down to the beach. I walked along the sand bar slowly gathering some shells that I saw every once in a while. I let the water brush over my feet as I walked along the shoreline. I found few shells to keep and threw the rest into the water. I reached the end of the property. I turned around, facing the way I had just come. The sun was still working on getting up. I let my bare feet sink into the sand as I stood and watched the sun. It arose quicker and soon it was in it’s place in the sky. What time was it? I slowly began to walk toward the house again. I dawdled for a few minutes, staring out into the blue. I finally made my way to the house. I opened the door and saw that everyone was up, enjoying my breakfast. “Claire!” Vicky said excitedly. I was confused. Why should she be excited? It was 11. “What?” I asked, confused on why she should be so happy. “Where have you been?” “The beach. I didn’t think I would be missed too much.” She smiled. “Of course we missed you!” I shrugged. “Oh well. Sorry for scaring you. If I even did.” She nodded. “It wasn’t too bad after I realized you were walking along the beach gathering shells.” She winked and laughed. I held out a shell toward her. It was coated with a bluish color. She took it in her hand and examined it. She smiled. “You want it?” Everyone else seemed to be ignoring us, in a conversation of their own. She nodded and gazed at it. I shrugged. “I have plenty.” I pointed to the plastic bag that I had gathered the shells in. It was completely full. “I don’t have any idea what to do with them all.” I shrugged again. I picked it up and took the shells out of the bag one by one. She picked them up and observed them, sorting them out by colors. “You can have them.” I stated. She looked at me. “I didn’t even know that there were shells like this.” I nodded my head. “I did. I read about them my freshman year. I had to do a report on the different shells. They’re not that big of a deal.” I shrugged for the third time. She gathered them up and put them in another plastic bag from under the counter. She sat them down gently. Hannah looked up from the second conversation. “What are you guys talking about?” she asked looking at the bag that Vicky had just set down. I looked out the window at the sun. It had risen and I had been inside for an hour now. The time was passing much more rapidly then I wished it would. I didn’t hear Vicky’s response, because I was a million miles away. Out on the ocean that I was familiar with. Daydreaming about Alex. Thinking about what else I was going to do this summer. “Who wants to go outside?” Mackenzie asked. We all decided that we would go swim and get some sun. I went to change into my suit. Since they had already put them on under their clothes. I went out and cleaned up the mess everyone had left in the kitchen. I felt like I was their mother. I went outside to join them on the beach. Alyssa and Hannah were playing volleyball with a beach ball. Nellie and Mackenzie were wading and splashing in the water. And Vicky and Nellie were waiting for me laying out on beach towels. I went down and sat down next to Vicky. “Here.” Vicky handed me a bottle of sun screen. I rubbed it on my arms and legs. I laid out on my stomach for a while, trying to avoid eye contact with the sun. I fell asleep out in the sun for a couple hours and woke up on my back. Thank god I had used sun screen. My skin was tanner but it was about 3 in the afternoon. We still had a few hours of sun. I got up and joined everyone else in a game of beach volleyball and they had set up the net while I had been sleeping. The teams were uneven but I was horrible at sports. I tried spiking the ball a couple times and the first I lost the point and the second I hit Hannah in the head. It was only a beach ball and it didn’t hurt her. The sun was getting lower in the sky as everyone started getting hungry again. I told them they could keep playing while I went inside and made supper. It didn’t matter anyway because I couldn’t play the sport without making the team lose, hurting someone, or hurting myself. I reluctantly went inside and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was bright red. I touched it and flinched. Sunburn. I held a cold washcloth to my face for a few minutes before giving up and returning to my temporary bedroom to change. I slid on some sweatpants and decided that they were too hot. I grabbed some pajama shorts and slipped them on. I pulled a tank top over my head and headed to the kitchen. I wasn’t that good of a cook, normally, around the stove at all would resolve in a house fire. I found some cold meat and bread. I stuck the meat in the bread and added cheese. That would have to do, if they wanted to eat. I hastily put the sandwiches on a plate and slowly made my way outside. I held out the plate toward them and they each took a sandwich. I ate mine inside while they finished their game. I went to the balcony and sat down to watch them. I had to look sideways and somewhat backwards because in front of me was the water. I didn’t know how deep it was. I wondered for a minute. I shrugged and went back to watching the game. The team I was on won, probably because I wasn’t there to mess anything up. I always felt worthless during physical activity. Oh well. I went to me and Vicky’s room and sat down on my bed. I thought about things for a while. I didn’t realize how tired I actually was. At about 6, before the sun was even down, I fell asleep. The next day I was up again, and Vicky was in her bed across the room from mine. I got up like I had the day before and found the clothes I was planning to wear today. It looked like the sun had just gotten up. I didn’t bother looking at the time, but went straight toward the balcony. I didn’t know what it was about it, but I loved the view from the balcony, especially when the sun was just rising. It faced toward the East, so the sun rose up above the water. I watched it until it had completely risen. I went to the kitchen, ignoring the clocks and making breakfast like I had the day before. I thought about making pancakes again and got out the materials that I needed, but I decided I didn’t really want to cook. I got out bowls and the cereal that was stashed above the fridge. I got out about 3 different kinds and spoons. I didn’t want to get out the milk because I didn’t know how much longer they would be sleeping. I walked toward the door and opened it quietly. It was the door on the lowest floor. It slid to the right side and I turned around to close it. I walked along the sand and waded in the cool water. The day went pretty much the same as it had before. We went outside but I was in the water pretty much the whole day. When everyone was starting to get hungry, I went in and took a shower. I dried my hair and went to the kitchen. I washed the dishes and started to make something for supper. I didn’t know what I was making really but I was following a recipe I had found in the cupboard. It turned out deliciously and everyone loved it. It didn’t matter too much to me because It wasn’t really my food. I ate quickly after taking it out to the other girls. Again, I fell asleep early before the sun set. The next day I woke up again before anyone else had. I got dressed and opened the bedroom door quietly, careful not to wake Vicky up. I made breakfast, like I had the last two days. I wandered around the house for a while, trying to decide what to do. I was somewhat bored of walking along the sand now. I didn’t want to wade in the water. I went out to the balcony. It was only 8. I leaned over the railing. That’s when I fell. And the last thing I remember was hitting the water and the throbbing pain located in my right leg.