*Selena POV*
Dead silence filled the air. My vision was blurry, out of focus, and foggy. Though my arms laid by my side, my body felt strangely light as though I were floating. As the seconds passed, my eyes slowly focused on my surroundings.
Water was flooding and seeping into the room rapidly. Though there appeared to be no exit, I knew I had to escape. Willing my arms to move, I propelled myself through the water. It felt like I was swimming forever, yet never moving forward. Continuously wading in the never-ending current, I felt hopeless.
"Help me!" a voice said.
It was faint, but the voice was there; tugging and urging me onward.
"Selena!"
***
"Selena, wake up!"
Heart racing, my eyes shot open. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to make sense of the dream I'd just had. However, as my eyes began to clear up, I realized where I was. I was sitting in the passenger seat of Josh's car on the way to school. I looked at Josh, still groggy and tired.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
From the driver's seat, Josh looked back with concern in his eyes.
"You okay?" He questioned.
"No yeah, just late night studying," I said, trying to be as vague as possible. If he had caught on though, he made no effort to push any further as he continued from our previous conversation.
"So uh, what are your plans for fall break?" he said, facing the road again.
"Nothing yet," I said, "I'm just excited for cooler weather more than anything."
"Well, I agree with that."
These moments between us were always awkward for me, but for some reason, Josh never seemed too bothered. He attempted to talk to me several times, but even if I wanted to reply, I was too tired to give proper responses. Resting my hand on the console, I focused all my energy into keeping my eyes open. Once I began to feel awake enough to keep my heavy eyelids lifted, I decided to broach what's been on my mind for the past few minutes.
"Why'd you come pick me up today, Josh?" I asked.
"Well," he hesitated, "I haven't seen you much the past few weeks."
"Well, next time, a heads up would be nice."
He laughed it off, but when he noticed I wasn't laughing he fell silent.
"I just wanted to see you, that's all."
Silence filled the car again as I opted not to respond to him. Looking out the window, I couldn't help but feel confined... like I wanted to escape. My reflection staring back at me looked stressed and exhausted.
I look terrible...
'You could say that again,' Aaron's voice chuckled mockingly.
Glaring at the window, I looked past my own reflection and focused on the trees passing by.
'You can ignore me all you want, but I won't go away,' He said, echoing in my mind.
Suddenly, I felt Josh's hand touch mine, sending a fluttery feeling through me. I quickly pulled my hand away, ridding myself of the sensation. I tried to play it off by changing the subject.
"Well, it's nice being able to enjoy the scenery on the way to school, so that's a plus," I said.
Although I hoped he wouldn't notice, I saw a slight flash of hurt in his eyes before he covered it with a smile.
"Well, I'm at your service," he said with a hint of humor.
I'll admit, it was weird hearing him be so playful with me, but I preferred that to any physical contact from him. The rest of the car ride was quiet until we reached the school. I'd hoped it would eventually become normal between me and Josh, but after a month, things haven't really gotten much better. Getting out of the car, I was praying that someone, anyone would come over and break the awkward tension between us.
***
Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed this preview for the sequel to "The Exception"! If you liked this and would like to read the rest, the full chapter is now available at https://my.w.tt/0mQJcDIJvcb
Thank you for your support!
- Anna Marie Nieves