Chapter 2
Country music was blasting through my speakers as I maneuvered my car through traffic to catch up to my dad.
He had a bad habit of driving a little faster than the speed limit, and when I say a little, I mean the maximum that he could get away with without being pulled over and handed a speeding ticket. And my dad was a lawyer.
When the back my dad’s black car was once again in sight, I let my foot off the gas pedal slightly as I settled back into driving. My butt had long ago fallen asleep, and if it wasn’t for the pit stop up ahead that my dad and I had planned, I would probably be on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Driving too long without a break was not good for me, as I was used to running, a sport where you took your turn, had a break to eat, rest and stretch, and then race again. Continuous activity was never my strong suit.
When I saw the sign that directed driver’s to the next pit stop, I flicked my blinker on and followed my dad into the next lane, following the sign’s direction.
Within minutes, I was pulling my car into the parking spot beside my dad, cutting my engine in front of a small road-side diner.
“So, how was driving on the highway?” my dad asked as I climbed out of my car and shut the door behind me.
I made a grumbling sound in response. “My butt’s asleep and I wish I didn’t have to drive that long.”
“You’ll get used to it eventually honey.” he laughed, opening the door to the diner, waving me in before him.
“I doubt it.” I mumbled to myself as my dad and I joined the short line for food.
After looking over the menu quickly, I decided to go for the simple option and get the chicken fingers combo, which came with fries and a drink, telling the lady at the counter exactly that as we reached the front of the line. My dad took a more adventurous turn for his meal, choosing the shrimp burger and onion rings, which while I found it disgusting, my dad actually enjoyed it.
Taking a seat at one of the empty tables, my dad and I sat down and started eating.
As I finished my chicken fingers, I pushed the empty container to the side and started to slowly munch on my fries. “So,” I said, deciding to start a conversation, “How much longer until we reach Byrendale?”
A couple of days ago, my dad had told me that the city we were moving to was Byrendale, and although it wasn’t one of the biggest cities on the east coast, it wasn’t exactly small either. When I looked it up online it seemed that it was just like my hometown; a lot of places to hang out and have fun, a few schools scattered across the city and a lot of middle class families making a life for themselves. The only thing that seemed to be different, from the knowledge I had already gained, was the scenery and the people.
My dad shrugged his shoulders as he swallowed the food in his mouth before replying. “It should be another two hours or so from here. We’ll probably cross the state line in about half an hour and then we have another eighty minutes or so to get to the city.”
I nodded along as he spoke, realizing that I had another two hours of driving still in front of me.
“Well, in that case I’m going to the bathroom.” I announced off-handily. “I’ll be right back, and don’t touch my fries.”
It didn’t take me long in the bathroom, there was no line at all, and after re-doing my ponytail quickly and making sure I didn’t have any food in my teeth, I arrived back at the table to see my dad was now gone.
Shrugging it off, I thought that he might’ve taken a quick nip to the men’s room while I was gone, and as he returned less than a minute later, my suspicions were confirmed correct.
We spent another couple of minutes at the diner, finishing our meals and talking about random things before finally vacating our table and tossing out our trash on the way out. A bell jingled above our heads as we left the diner, leaving a smile on my face as I crossed the parking lot.
“There’s a gas station just down the street, so just follow me there to fill up before getting on the highway.” my dad advised, waiting for my agreement before slipping into his car.
Getting back into my own car, my butt had woken up during our break, but I had no doubt that it would fall asleep once again as I pulled out of my parking space and followed my father towards the gas station.
After filling my tank up, I once again made my way onto the highway behind the black car. Even though I knew the directions, I had a map laid out across the passenger’s seat after all, I rarely found myself looking to them for guidance unless my dad got a little crazy with his speed.
The next two hours flew by quickly, and just like I suspected, my butt had fallen asleep, along with my left foot, as I passed the state line an hour and a half back.
Following my dad off the highway at the turn off we were supposed to take, it didn’t take long, maybe twenty minutes or so, for me to recognize a big sign that read Welcome to Byrendale, as we drove through the now suburban streets.
Letting my foot of the gas pedal slightly, I let my eyes wander to the stores and houses I passed as I drove. I saw numerous suburban houses that looked quite similar to the ones back home, if not a little bit nicer, and in just the few streets I had already driven down, I had counted a few small restaurants and shops that I had to remember to take the time to check out.
The sides of the roads were completed with a variety of small shrubs and towering trees that gave all the neighbourhoods a sense of security and safety. Also, with sidewalks situated on all of the roads I’d passed so far, I realized that this town might just be the perfect town for me to jog and practice for track.
Focusing back on my dad’s car, which was still a little ways in front of me, I saw when he flicked his blinker on after a few minutes and turned onto a side street. Following his actions, I turned right onto a street named Maley, and saw that my dad had pulled his car over to the side of the road in front of a seemingly vacant house.
Pulling into the empty driveway, I turned the engine off and slipped out of my car.
The first thing that my eyes focused on was the house that stood in front of me. It looked like the owner’s before us had a knack for gardening as the front of the house had a few freshly cut shrubs surrounding the front steps, along with reminisce of a variety of different flowers.
The house itself was actually quite nice. From where I was standing it looked to be slightly smaller than our old house, but since it was just the two of us living here, it didn’t bother me much. I could already tell that there was two floors, and hopefully a finished basement that we could somehow make use of.
“What do you think?” my dad asked, suddenly appearing behind me, snapping me from my thoughts as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Do you think you’ll be able to make yourself at home here?”
“I think,” I said, “That we should start unpacking.”
Smiling up at him, my dad seemed to know exactly what I meant as he returned my smile and shook his head in amusement. “Yea Jill, let’s start unpacking.”
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The rest of the day was spent unpacking boxes and finding places to store all of our things, and even though we weren’t near finishing, we had somehow found something to eat and a place to sleep.
I realized quickly that my dad had bought the house fully furnished, which meant that besides the small appliances, décor and linens, we basically had everything given to us with the house. I knew we were going shopping soon to replace some of the furniture, but it was still nice not having to pack up everything from home to bring across state.
Waking up the next morning, I was greeted with a slightly stiff back and view of a very messy living room. I had been granted the privilege of sleeping on the oh-so-comfortable couch for the night, and apparently the decision didn’t exactly agree with me.
Sitting up, I stretched my arms over my head to try and relax some of my muscles. Maneuvering over the unpacked boxes and things that happened to take a spot on the floor, I made it upstairs to the room where my clothes and belongings were being stored, and started looking for something to jog in.
Nothing woke me up in the mornings quite like a little jog.
After locating a pair of athletic track pants and a random t-shirt, I slid them on and headed downstairs to leave my dad a note because, since it was only quarter after eight, my dad wouldn’t be up for a while.
Dad, I’m just out taking a jog around the neighbourhood. If you wake up and read this, the latest I’ll be back is nine. Love you <3
Taping the note to the bottom of the staircase, I grabbed my running shoes from the door and my headphones before walking out the door.
It actually wasn’t that cold outside for mid-October. The morning air nipped at the skin on my arms, but besides the small chill it gave me, the sun was shining and the temperature was relatively high, making it a perfect morning for a jog.
Since I didn’t exactly know where I was going, I decided to stay to a quite simple jog around the neighbourhood.
Plugging my headphones into my small I-pod, I selected my running playlist and pressed play before starting to stretch.
Because I wasn’t running in a competition, or even for practice, I only stretched for about a minute before taking off down my driveway slowly and turning to the right.
As I ran I could slowly feel all my problems wash away and my muscles come to life. Running had always been, on top of being one of my passions, a release for me. Whether it was taking a break from studying or cooling down after an argument with somebody, I just found it relaxing, and it just did the trick for me. It cleared my mind and let me start again with a positive view on whatever I happened to be doing at the time.
Running through the side streets of Byrendale, I saw, was actually quite beautiful in the autumn season. As I kept my breathing steady and my pace slow, I could admire the nature that surrounded me. The trees that rested in the yards of my neighbours were slowly starting to lose their leaves, as they turned a variety of colours and got ready for the winter months ahead. I could barely see any green leaves as I jogged, and the whole neighbourhood just made for a pretty picture.
Although I didn’t exactly know where I was going, in hopes of not getting lost, I kept to the sidewalks on the side streets and didn’t venture out onto the major roads. In my mind, it’d be easier for me to find my way home through smaller streets than one long street.
All of a sudden, I saw a pathway that opened up between two houses. I stopped my steps and looked down it to see that it looked to lead to a small forest of some sorts.
Trusting my intuition, I turned slowly and headed down the path.
It didn’t take long for my view of the suburban houses to disappear completely, leaving me with only a long winding path that seemed to turn around the trees and dip into nature.
Two minutes later, I halted in my steps immediately as I came to the opening of the path. Although the path still continued on the side, I was greeted with the most beautiful and serene view I had ever seen in my life. There was nothing like this back in my hometown, at least that I had discovered.
The trees created a huge circle around the centre of the clearing; their leaves stained the usual autumn hue of red, yellow, and orange. But it was what the trees surrounded that took my breath away.
What really caught my eye though, was the fact that the trees surrounded a beautiful pond. The water was still, and it looked so clear that even the smallest leaf would disrupt it.
This was a place of serenity, and as I walked down the path, taking my time to enjoy the nature that surrounded me, I noticed that I wasn’t alone.
Across the pond sat a guy, maybe my age or a little older, and he looked to be drawing. He was lent up against the side of one the trees, a sketch pad on his lap, as he brought a pencil across the paper gently but quickly.
It didn’t occur to me that I was staring until his eyes moved from his sketch, landing right on me. Holding my breath, I was frozen as I took him in quickly. Yes, he was handsome, with his black shaggy hair and obvious muscles, but he also looked closed off. His eyes bore into mine, and it was as though his look was burnt into my mind permanently, the sadness and hollowness that his eyes portrayed, along with the unusual purple greyish tint that his eyes seemed to have, he just looked so empty.
Before long I came out of my dazed state, looking away from him for just a second. When I looked back however, he had already gone back to focusing on his sketch book.
Shaking off his gaze, I decided to jog the rest of the path in hopes of moving on from what had just happened.
Although I was pushing it to the back of my mind, one question just kept replaying in my mind as I thought of the boy with sketch book.
What could’ve been causing those feelings of sadness and emptiness?
Soon enough the path brought me back to the sidewalk and onto the streets. Focusing back on the upbeat music that played through my headphones, I circled a few more blocks in search of my street.
Running up my driveway minutes later, I was in desperate need of some water and food.
Opening the door quickly, I shut it behind me as I pulled my headphones out of my ears and shut off my I-pod.
“I’m back.” I yelled, announcing my presence in hopes that my dad was already awake as I headed towards the kitchen.
“In the kitchen honey!”
Keeping on my way to the kitchen, I felt my breathing slow down, along with my heart rate.
“How was the jog?” my dad asked as I entered the kitchen. He was currently shuffling through boxes trying to find the coffee maker, as his coffee and mug was already laid out on the counter. “Did you get lost at all?”
“The jog was good,” I replied, taking a seat at our new dining table. “I took it a little slower since I didn’t exactly know where I was going, but I found my way back eventually.”
Nodding in acknowledgement, my dad, who had just succeeded in finding what he was looking for, carried the coffee make to the counter and plugged it in before getting to work on his morning brew.
“You didn’t go on any of the highways or anything, did you?” he asked, leaning against the counter as his coffee dripped.
Shaking my head, I stood up and walked up to the fridge, opening it in hopes of finding something to eat. I was slightly disappointed as I saw only the necessities, but for moving in only yesterday, it was better than nothing.
I grabbed two mini oranges and a bottle of water before closing the fridge and sitting back down at the table.
“Nope,” I replied as I started to peel an orange. “I didn’t want to get completely lost and end up on the other side of town without a cell phone.”
“Good girl.”
The next couple minutes were filled with silence as I finished my small breakfast and my dad poured his morning coffee.
After standing up and tossing my garbage away, I was about to head upstairs for a shower when my dad called me back.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” my dad said, leaving me wondering what he was talking about as I stay still in the kitchen entryway. “I called the high school you’ll be attending tomorrow on Friday and they said that you could come in for a quick tour this afternoon. The principal will meet you there at two and it shouldn’t take longer than a half hour to get you familiar with the school.”
As soon as he said school my spirits deflated. I had completely forgotten about the fact that I was starting the rest of my senior year at a new high school tomorrow.
I had lived in the same city my whole life, which meant that I only attended two schools in my entire life, my elementary and secondary school. I went through every grade with the same friends I made as a young girl, and the only experiences I had with new people was when I joined the track team in the ninth grade, but I fit in with them, it wasn’t awkward.
Now, I had no time to prepare for a new environment, and I wasn’t sure how tomorrow would go.
Sighing I nodded in agreement. “Okay,” I replied, “I’m just going to hop in the shower now and then I’ll help you unpack some more before heading to the high school.”
My dad nodded, sipping at his steaming coffee as I headed up the stairs of our new home and towards the bathroom.
I was in desperate need of a shower.
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Just as I had promised, after I stepped out of the shower and got dressed for the day, I helped my dad unpack more of what was still stored in various cardboard boxes.
We had successfully gotten a majority of the living room decoration unpacked, along with the rest of the kitchen appliances. I had unpacked some of my necessary clothing last night, but I had gotten a bit more unpacked and stored in my new closet this afternoon.
Before I knew it the clock’s hand were starting to near two ‘o’clock and it was time for me to go on my school tour.
“So, where exactly is this high school?” I asked my dad as I came down the stairs and saw in lounging in the living room with what looked to be a file on his lap.
“First of all,” my dad replied, putting down the file as he looked at me, “It’s Freedyn High, and second of all, it shouldn’t be that far. You should just have to turn right off of our street, and get back on the road we were on when we got here yesterday. The secretary told me that you’ll have to drive about five minutes down the road and then turn left at the lights on Douglas Street. The high school should be near the end of that street.”
Nodding along to his instructions, I committed them to memory quickly to make sure I wouldn’t get lost.
Main road, five minutes, turn left on Douglas, and at the end of the street.
“Now get going before you make a bad impression on the principal.” he said jokingly.
I rolled my eyes at my dad as he went back to reading his file. “I’m going, I’m going.”
“Remember to take your phone with you!” he called out as I was walking towards the front door.
Already having my phone in my front pocket, I called back a simple acknowledgement before grabbing my keys from their hanger and stepping out into the day.
Unlike the chilly weather of the morning, it had warmed up a little bit and the wind had disappeared, giving the appearance of a late summer’s day, not one of mid-October.
Getting in my car quickly, I was off to the school in no time. The only problem with getting there was my speed. I didn’t want to miss the turn and then have to turn back, so I drove slower than most of the other drivers on the road.
Despite my careful driving and my keen eye, I still ended up going right by Douglas Street as the street sign had been knocked down, and it had taken me a couple of minutes to realize that I had missed the turn.
After pulling of the road and turning back around, I found Douglas and turned onto it, finding the school easily.
Parking my car at the beginning of the empty parking lot, I noticed as I stepped out of the car that my car, along with two others, were the only ones taking up spaces in the otherwise vacant lot.
Looking at the school, I saw it was about the size of my old one. While my old school looked like it had been around for a long time, Freedyn High looked like it had been built less than 50 years ago. The bricks weren’t cracked and the whole exterior of the school just looked welcoming and safe.
I realized that I was being watched after a couple of seconds as I saw, who I assumed to be the principal, waiting on the front steps of the school.
Jogging slowly over to her, I smiled sheepishly as I noticed on my watch that is was almost five after two.
“Sorry about being late,” I apologized, “I got a little bit lost on the way here.”
The woman, who wore a pair of black dress pants, with a nice lilac blouse, smiled at me and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it,” she commented, waving off my tardiness. “I assume your Jillian Thomas?”
Nodding my head, I replied. “Yeah, my dad told me to come here for a tour or something.”
“That sounds about right,” she said. “I spoke to him on the phone about giving you a quick tour of the school, and by the way, my name’s Mrs. Praden.”
“Well thanks Mrs. Praden, for the tour today because, honestly, I’ve been going to the same high school since the first day of grade nine, and I’m not so sure about finding my way around tomorrow.”
“It’s not a problem Jillian,” she said, professionally yet friendly. “Now, how about we get started?”
Nodding in agreement, I followed her as she opened up the front doors of the school and headed inside.
Our first stop on the tour was the main office, which was simply located at the front of the school. Picking up a map of the school and my school schedule that lay on the front desk, Mrs. Praden handed them over to me before leading me into the halls to where my locker was located.
Paint blue with a built in lock, after she made me try the combination I was given, just to make sure that it worked, I was led on a tour of the schools.
Mrs. Praden showed me the rooms that I would have classes in the following day, where the cafeteria was located and what the usual price was for lunch, as well as where the library and computer room was.
Once the tour was completed, I was feeling a lot more comfortable with starting at this school tomorrow.
“So,” Mrs. Praden started, “Do you think you’ll be able to find your way around tomorrow?”
Nodding, I smiled at her in thanks. “Yea,” I replied. “I’m sure I’ll be able to find my classes tomorrow. Thank you again for doing this.”
“It’s not a problem.”
Just a hallway away from the front entrance, I saw a glass case that held a picture of a girl. The girl didn’t look much older than me in the picture, but I also didn’t know how long ago the picture had been taken.
“I see you’ve noticed our memorial.” Mrs. Praden said sadly as she stood behind me. “Freya Collins was tragically killed three years ago, during her senior year here at Freedyn High.”
Looking at the case once again, I saw that numerous little notes were scattered around the picture and plastic flowers had been placed inside the case as memory. Her name was written on a small plaque, and it saddened me just to look at it, and I didn’t even know her.
It all seemed a little depressing to me, it being displayed in the main hall of the school, but I understood the reasons the school probably had to make a memorial for her.
Looking closer at the picture, something struck me as familiar. It wasn’t that I had met her or she reminded me of someone, it was the fact that she had a purple greyish tint to her eyes that seemed familiar to me.
As soon as it struck me, I was shocked into a flashback of this morning.
Freya Collins had the same colour of eyes that the guy did who was sketching at the pond.
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Duh duh duh! So, kind of a cliffhanger at the end, but it also sets up the rest of the story!
I hope you all are enjoying this novel so far, and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below :)
Also, I’ve received a new cover and I find it perfect for this novel… dark but still delicate x
I always admire the support you guys give, so fan, vote, comment, and share to put a smile on my face!
P.S. I saw Frozen yesterday and it was so cute :D