I was in a hallway. This hallway, however, was completely made of wood. It stretched on, never ending in both ways. I turned around again and saw a yellow light down the hall.
"Hello?" I called out. I started to take a few steps toward the light. The only response I got was my echo and the light turned brighter.
All of a sudden, I knew what the light was. The fire rushed forward at an incredible speed. I turned around and ran with all I had. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I ran from the fire. My breath started to come out in pants and I found myself involuntarily running slower.
The fire nipped at my heels. It's heat consumed me and suddenly I found myself surrounded by fire. I came to an abrupt stop and turned in a circle. The fire surrounded me and it caught onto my clothes. It burned straight through my clothes and started to burn my skin.
My eyes shot open. The fire was a dream, but the burning is not. My arms went straight to my stomach and started cradling it. I drew my knees up to my stomach and found myself once again in the fatal position.
It started again. "Please, please stop." I whimpered to the dark room. The fire increased, more so then even last night. Tears started forming in my eyes and soon enough were streaming down my face.
The fire ripped through me, burning everything in its path. My breath started coming out in short pants and gasps as it raged inside me. It seemed to be worse tonight than it was last night though I have no idea how. The thought barely crossed my mind when the most tortuous round started. The temperature increased, the pain increased, the intensity increased.
I finally couldn't hold it in. A soft scream fell from my lips. Then another, then another. I was gasping, small screams emitting from me as I tried to keep the volume of the screams from increasing.
My soft screams eventually turned into soft sobs as the fire decreased. It finally stopped, but I couldn't control the sobs leaving my mouth. I stayed curled up in the fatal position and cried.
Why the hell was this happening to me? Where the hell is it coming from?
Questions swirled in my brain as I started to calm down. My eyes stopped producing tears and I was no longer sobbing. I cautiously moved my hand to wipe my wet cheeks.
I laid there, like last night, for what seemed like hours. I couldn't fall back asleep, I was terrified that it would happen again.
The music from my alarm started playing awhile later. I stayed up half the night expecting the fire to return. I quickly pushed the snooze button, but stayed where I was.
Ten minutes later, my music started playing again. This time, I pressed the off button and got up. I tip-toed to the hallway and heard my parents up and moving. I ran across the hall to the bathroom and quickly shut the door. I looked into the mirror.
I slowly took off my tank top and pajama booty shorts. I looked at my naked body in the mirror. My eyes watered as I took in my appearance.
I looked like a vanilla Oreo with chocolate creme in the middle. Up until the middle of my stomach was my normal pale skin. Half of my thighs until my feet were also my normal pale skin. The skin from my stomach to my thighs was a deep purplish black color. The bruises became worse.
"Sweetie, you okay?" Dad knocked on the bathroom door.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I yelled back.
"Okay, but you've been in there for ten minutes. We need to leave in about twenty minutes." I watched his foot shadow from the crack between the floor and the door, leave. I waited until I heard him walk down the stairs, then I ran back to my room, holding my pajamas.
Opening my closet, I pulled out a pair off leggings and a pair of knock off Uggs. I walked over to my dresser, opened it, and pulled out a loose Lord of the Rings t-shirt that I could tie up in the back.
I jumped and tugged my leggings on and slipped on my shirt. Realizing too late, that maybe leggings were a bad idea when my mid drift screamed in protest. Taking a hair tie, I tied the back of the shirt in a ponytail and tucked it in the bottom of the shirt. I walked over to the mirror, made sure that you couldn't see the bruises in the back, and noticed dark circles under my eyes. Another reminder of last night. I found my liquid foundation and rubbed it in. Slowly, the dark circles faded until they were almost not noticeable. I grabbed another hair tie and decided last minute that I wanted my hair up.
With everything acceptable, and just a few minutes late, I grabbed my Uggs from the floor and ran downstairs. Once I entered the kitchen, dad gave me a stern look and handed me a Nutrigrain bar. I kissed him on the cheek, grabbed my backpack, and ran out to the garage.
"Took you long enough." Mom reprimanded as she backed the car out. I nodded in response while slipping my Uggs on. I swiftly ate my breakfast as we drove to the school.
She pulled up and immediately after the car stopped, I opened the door and hopped out, backpack in hand. I closed the door and walked quickly into the school. My stomach and thighs were still hurting, but weren't screaming as much as before.
I walked into the school and headed toward history.
"Hey, Evie!" I heard from behind me. I turned around and saw Josh headed toward me. I smiled and stopped walking to wait for him.
"Hey Josh. What's up?" I said as he caught up to me. We both started to walk towards my class.
"Nothing. I just saw you walking and wanted to join you." He responded. I looked at him curiously, having an idea on why he really found me.
"Okay, thanks I guess." I said looking at him. We settled into a silence as we walked.
We got to my history class and stopped at the door. I watched him look down at his shoes with his hands in his pockets. Josh looked back up at me. I could see the question in his eyes.
"Spit it out Josh." I said exasperated. I knew what he wanted to ask but I wanted him to admit it.
He sighed, "Who is it? Evie, please. I couldn't stop thinking about it." Josh stared into my eyes.
I opened my mouth to respond when I froze. A body of heat was right behind me. I could see Josh's expression change from a friendly expression to a very guarded one. Josh straightened up and seemed to take a step towards me.
"What's going on here?" He asked. My eyes widened as an involuntary shudder ran down my spine. I didn't know how to respond, but I couldn't close my mouth. I looked in Josh's eyes, begging him to answer.
Josh grabbed my arm and pulled me to his side while turning me around to face Ashton. He raised an eyebrow at Josh's reaction.
"We're just talking, not that it matters to you." Josh responded, very hostile. Ashton's eyes hardened and a scowl formed.
"Remember who you're talking to, Josh." Ashton growled. Josh seemed to realize something as his eyes widened and he bowed his head a fraction. Despite the hostile answer to his question, Ashton went into the classroom.
I stayed frozen next to Josh. How do I respond to that? I saw Josh look at me from the corner of my eye.
"Evie, you okay?" He asked me. Josh stepped in front of me and moved his hands to my hips.
"Ah!" I gasped out. Josh had unintentionally put pressure on the bruises. I quickly moved his hands from my sides.
"What happened?" He asked me, holding his hands up in surrender. The bell rang signaling that it was time for class.
"Math, okay?" I asked, but didn't let him respond as I rushed into class. I walked to my seat and sat down, making sure I didn't look at him or touch him. I wanted my distance.
Class started and for awhile I stayed very conscious of his every move. I finally started to relax a bit, when I felt hot breath hitting my ear.
"So what were you and Josh talking about?" He breathed in my ear. My breath hitched and my heart started pounding. Ashton sat back in his seat waiting for my answer. I realized too late that whispering in my ear was his advantage.
I took a deep breath and settled my nerves, " Like Josh said, it's none of your business." I smirked at him. I was proud of myself for answering without stuttering or something stupid like that.
His face morphed into a scowl. He clearly did not like my answer. My smirk slowly fell off my face as his eyes hardened and a growl like noise came out of his clenched teeth. Ashton leaned toward me again and, like yesterday, he grabbed my side. However, today he put both his hands on either side of me and turned my body toward him, forcing me to look at him. His hands put pressure on my sides.
I gasped out, again, as my sides started screaming. My hands flew to his, trying to get them off me. His response was to put more pressure on my hips. I clenched my teeth, holding in my yell of pain.
"I told you yesterday," Ashton started, "I demand respect. And there will be problems if you keep disrespecting me." His threat was blatant.
"Please let go. You're hurting me." I gasped out, still trying to move his hands. The pain was almost unbearable.
"Do you understand me?" Ashton asked out of clenched teeth. I quickly nodded, hoping it would be enough and that he would let me go.
Ashton looked at me, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. He arched his eyebrow and slowly moved his hands. Looking back at the front of the classroom, Ashton sat back in his chair and started playing with the pencil on the desk.
I openly gaped at him. He acted like nothing happened, like he didn't just blatantly threatened me. I turned to the front of the class and started to rub my sides where his hands were. My eyes scanned over the clock and I noticed that we still had over half a hour of class left. Our little confrontation must of only been a minute, two minutes tops.
For the rest of the class period, I stared at the clock and rubbed my sides. Eventually, the bruises were just throbbing instead of screaming.
The bell finally rang and I quickly hopped up and left the class. I wanted to get to math as fast as I can. I needed to tell Josh.
When I got to math, Josh was already in his seat. I rushed over to my seat and sat down.
"Will you tell me, Evie?" Josh begged. I took a deep breath.
"Ashton." I watched his reaction, and was genially surprised by it. Josh's whole face hardened, his hands clenched and an inhuman growl came out of his clenched teeth.
"Evie, I need you to tell me what he said to you. Exactly what he said." Josh said through clenched teeth.
I gaped at him. Josh looked so dangerous and hostile. He looked like he wanted to destroy everything in this room.
"Evie." He warned.
I still gaped at him, but responded, "He said that he rejected me as a friend or something."
"Did he say friend? Or was it something else?" Josh asked. His hands were clenched so tight that they were starting to turn white.
"He said mate." I said quickly. Josh stood abruptly. I jumped at his sudden movement. I looked into his eyes and was surprised to see them darken from their forest green, to an almost black color.
Josh abruptly left the room. I sat there, staring at the door that Josh just left out of. My mouth wouldn't close. What the hell was that?
Class started and Josh didn't return. All through class, Josh didn't return. Not even when the bell rang signaling class was over. I put my math stuff in my backpack and stood up. Josh's backpack was still next to his seat. I didn't know what to do, so I decided to leave it there. Josh would know where it is when he came back.
I left math and walked to communications. The questions swirled in my mind. Why did Josh act like that? How does he know Ashton, besides the thing in the hall this morning?
I walked into communications and saw Katherine wave at me to come sit by her. I gave her a small smile and walked to her.
"Hey," Katherine said, "what's up girly."
I gave her a questioning look. "Girly?"
She shrugged as I sat down. I smiled and looked toward the front. Mr. Johnston was in the middle of explaining, again, one of the themes of Romeo and Juliet to another student. I think his name was Fletcher.
"So, I asked you what was up." Katherine turned toward me again after talking to another friend.
I pondered her question for a couple seconds. "Well, the sky. Some clouds. Maybe an airplane."
"Wait, what do you- oh." Katherine seemed to get my joke. "Shut up."
I laughed at her momentary stupidity. "Wow, I thought with you being in honors, you would get a simple joke."
"Whatever Evie. Now answer my question seriously. When you walked in here, you looked like something was bothering you." Katherine looked at me expectantly.
I sighed. "Nothing really. I mean, my one friend was acting kind of weird in math."
"Weird like what?" She asked.
"Well, I was talking to him and he must of gotten angry at what I said, or something. Either way, he stood up and just left. Class started and then it ended. He never came back." I quickly wondered why I was telling her this, but realized that I wanted to tell someone.
"That is weird." Katherine responded.
"Alright class," Mr. Johnston started class, "lets get back to Verona, Italy." I turned toward the front again.
Class went way faster today, then yesterday. We didn't have any small groups or any partners. All we did, was take notes on the Act we just finished. It was a nice break. Class quickly ended and I started packing up.
"See you in gym." Katherine said as she passed me, heading out of class. I waved bye as I finished putting my communications stuff away and took out my lunch.
I walked up to the library. Surprisingly, I liked eating there. It's quiet, no one bothers me, and I don't have to worry about that stupid lunchroom drama. Once I entered the library, I went to my spot, sat down, and started eating.
Josh's strange behavior came back to me. Why was he acting like that? All I told him was what Ashton said. Josh and Ashton didn't seem to know each other, so why would that bother Josh? Another thing, where did he go? Josh missed all of math class, maybe more.
I came out of my thoughts when the bell rang. I sighed, none of my questions were answered. I packed up my lunch and headed to French class.
When I got to class, I was happy to see a substitute. Substitute meant movie. The movie had to be in French, but it was still a 'nothing' day.
I happily went to my seat, ready to do absolutely nothing today. The happiness could be seen in everyone's face as they walked into the room. Class started and the sub introduced himself as Mr. Davids. He quickly started the movie.
I found my eyelids becoming heavy. I rested my head on my desk and fell asleep.
I jumped when the bell went off. Everyone was getting ready to leave. I quickly checked to make sure that there was no drool or anything, and grabbed my backpack and headed to science.
Once I entered science, I was surprised to see Josh sitting at the lab. I quickly walked over to my seat and sat down.
"Listen, before you ask questions," Josh started, stopping me from asking my questions, "I'm sorry that I left like that. I just, I'm just sorry okay."
"Where did you go?" I asked as soon as he stopped talking.
Josh dragged his hand down his face. "Nowhere. I just had to leave. Please don't ask again."
I looked at him, clearly confused at his answer. Josh gave me an apologetic smile and looked at the front of the classroom. He clearly didn't want to talk about it, so I dropped it.
Mr. Koll started class a few awkward minutes later. We were to take a pre-test for the test tomorrow to see what we needed to study tonight. I sighed in relief.
Fifty minutes later, I was done with my test. So was Josh, and most of the class. Mr. Koll seemed to notice and he said that talking was okay again. I looked at Josh, hoping that our awkward moments were gone. He smiled at me.
I smiled back and was about to say something when my elbow accidentally knocked our pre-tests over.
"Oops." I reached down to grab them.
"Evie, what happened to your side?" I snapped up, sitting bone straight in my seat. Our tests were forgotten on the floor.
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to be inconspicuous. Josh saw right through it. He reached over to my side and started lifting my shirt. I slapped his hand away.
"Evie, let me see. I won't do anything, promise." He said staring into my eyes. Josh started reaching towards my shirt again. I tried to hold his hand back, but Josh used his other hand to hold both of my wrists.
I tried to shift away from him, but he his hold on my wrists made it difficult to move away. Josh lifted up my shirt and I knew he saw my darkened side. He lowered my shirt and let go of my wrists.
When he looked at me, his eyes were darkened again. "What happened?"
"Nothing." I said, too fast. I knew it was too fast because Josh saw right through it.
"Evie." He growled. My heartbeat increased. I didn't know Josh could sound so dangerous.
"It's nothing, Josh. Please, leave it be. Please don't ask again." I repeated what he told me earlier. Josh took a deep breath and didn't ask, but he wouldn't look at me again.
The bell rang and I said bye to Josh, but he didn't say anything back. I walked to gym, even more confused about Josh's behavior.
Once I got to gym, I changed into my gym clothes and found Katherine. We chatted until Mr. Guy said that we all needed to get ready for the mile. During the mile, Katherine talked pretty much the whole time and I nodded accordingly. My mind would not away from Josh's reactions today.
I finished with Katherine, us both getting a mile time of 9:07. We left the gym as the final bell rang. I left the school and found my mom. I quickly hopped in the car and we drove home. She was on the phone once again so I didn't bother talking.
My mind whirled around Josh's behavior. I couldn't get it out of my brain. It was some of the strangest reactions to some of the smallest stuff. I didn't get why Josh was so concerned with me.
We got home and I went to my room and put on some music. I sat on my bed with my homework out. I finally started to concentrate on something other than Josh. I did all my homework before studying for my science test. The evening passed quickly, like today.
I found myself in bed, not remembering what I did beforehand. I realized how exhausted I actually was. That explained my temporary memory loss and how I could only concentrate on one thing at a time.
I closed my eyes, not caring about what could happen tonight. I just hoped and wished for sleep.
A/N: I was wondering if you guys wanted the next chapter in Josh's point of view. I have an idea for his point of view, but was wondering if you guys even wanted his point of view. Please let me know. Thanks!