Hah! I actually updated 2 days in a row! :DD Well, just so you know, I decided to change the setting for this story to be a year back. ^^ Anyways, I really, really need you guys' help to make my ranking go up. So... Will you all help me? Pls! :3 I knw you can!
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Chapter 6 – Willow's POV
I woke up this morning and found the whole town blanketed with a layer of white snow. It must've snowed throughout the night. I turned up the heater and put on a white woollen knitted sweater. My hands were still freezing, but I'm pretty sure I'll be alright.
I stood by my bedroom window and just stared outside. The white snow makes the whole town look prettier than I could remember. It looks so mesmerising. Almost... Magical.
A white Christmas. I haven't experienced one since... Well... Since before the accident... A tear escaped my eye and trailed down my cheek. Stop it Willow! I scolded myself. You've got to get over the it! What's gone is gone, there's no changing that! So there's only one logical and humane thing to do. And that is accept the fact!
"But I can't," I muttered to no one in particular.
I closed my eyes shut and shook my head. I mentally slapped myself. I took a deep breath. That was pretty useless, but I did feel a little better. At least that's better than nothing. But, the emptiness is still there in my heart. I can still feel it, and it's growing by the second.
"Willow Rayne. Stop. Thinking. About. It. And. Just. Freaking. Move. On," a small voice in my head scolded me.
That little voice in my head is right. I've got to learn to move on. At this rate, I'll never be able to live life to the fullest.
"Great. Now I'm listening to my own advice."
I sighed. "Live life to the fullest," my mum's voice echoed in my head.
That was the last thing I remember her saying before she left the house that one particular day. The one day she left, and never came back.
Live life to the fullest. That is exactly what every sane teenager living on the face of this planet should be doing. What I should be doing. But, I'm doing quite the opposite. I'm not living life to the fullest at all. I'm doing the literal opposite.
Yes, that's what I should do. Move on, and live my life to the fullest. After all, we only have one life, and that's it. But... How should I move on? The letter! Dad's letter! I could open Dad's letter. The last time I opened it, I just glanced at it, for barely a second. Right now, I can't even remember how it looks like.
I am going to read Dad's letter.
I dashed to my room and rummaged through my messy drawer until I found it. It was crushed below my books, but at least it's only crumpled. All the writings were still easily readable.
I tore open the envelope – that I sealed shut with tape – carefully and pulled out the letter inside. I smoothen out the paper, and laid it flat on my bedroom office table. Dad's writing. Oh, how I miss it! I sighed and closed my eyes. I didn't dare to read it. Yet.
"Ready?" the same small voice asked me.
I nodded. "Yes," I mumbled, softly but firmly.
I sighed once more and opened my eyes. I read the letter out loud as confidently as I can. This is what it said:
"My dearest Willow..."
It's addressed to me. Well, obviously. Since my name is written on the envelope after all.
"If you're reading this, it'll probably mean that I'm dead..."
It was as if my heart stopped breathing. What? I stared at the letter in my hand, dumbfounded and very bewildered. He knew that he was going to die? But... How? And... Why?
"Probably anyway. Willow, I want you to get out of our house, no matter what."
Get out of the house? If he's talking about our old house, it won't be any problem. After all, I don't need such a huge house, considering that only one person is going to live in there, so I moved into an apartment near school almost immediately.
"You mustn't think twice about it. Just pack your bags and move."
The emphasis seems to be on the word 'move'. And... He also sounds desperate. Well, from what I could tell anyway. The style of his writing sounded so desperate. But... Why? What could possibly make Dad so desperate? I know him as 'the guy who could handle anything', not the 'very desperate and afraid' type of person.
"Don't be upset with anyone's death. Don't mourn anyone. I want you to be alert, you need to be alert."
Alert? What is there to be 'alert' about? Nothing at all happens around here. And when I say 'at all', I mean 'at all'.
"I have written another letter addressed to you. It's with Aunt Manda. I told her to pass it to you on your eighteenth birthday."
Aunt Manda has Dad's letter? That's addressed to me? Why in the world does she have a letter that's supposedly addressed to me? Shouldn't I have it?"
"I can't tell you everything now. You're not ready to know. Yet. I need you to be ready before reading what I have to say to you."
I'm not ready to know? Not ready to know what? I'm pretty sure I'm ready to know whatever he has to tell me. So, why wait for so long? He should know that a person grows up very fast after losing someone important to them, seeing that he thinks that he'll die. And sadly, he's right.
"All I can say right now..."
Say what? I guess the only way to find out is to read on. I turned to the back side of the page.
"Be careful!"
Be careful? Be careful of what? What is there to be careful about?
"Love always,
Dad
(Vincent Rayne)"
What? Why? What's happening? What in the world is there to be careful about in this neighbourhood? Since when is there anything to be careful about? Unfortunately for me, these questions will never be answered.
I thought that by reading the letter, I would be able to move on. But now, all I have is a mind filled with unanswered questions. That will probably never be answered. But who knows? They might be answered upon reading the letter that he passed to Aunt Manda.
The sun was already setting. Christmas day is going to be over very, very soon. With loads of questions swimming in my mind.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The sudden ringing of the phone snapped me out of my thoughts. I could feel-slash-hear it vibrating in my back pocket. I pulled it out and checked the Caller ID. Gray Lopez, it flashed. Honestly, I would've smiled, feeling very happy and all, but now, after reading the letter, I'm just way too bewildered and confused to do so.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Willow..." his voice was barely louder than a whisper.
My whole body froze. Something is wrong, really wrong. I can sense it. The tension between us is so... Strong... And not only that, he called me 'Willow', and not 'Willow tree' like he normally does.
"What's wrong?" I somehow managed to croak out.
There was silence over the line. Only static, static and more static.
"It's dangerous."
"What's dangerous?" I blurted out before I could even stop myself.
"I've got to go. I'll fill you in when I get back from Paris."
Silence.
"Willow, be careful."
"Wait! Gray!" But unfortunately for me, I was too late. He had already hung up. The line was dead.
The strong tension still hung in the air. The uncomfortable silence. "Be careful..." his voice echoed through my head. Why? What's going on? Am I the only one who doesn't know? If so, why am I the only one who doesn't know? Why am I always left out on everything?
Too bad, though, all my 'why' and 'what' questions will remain unanswered for a very long time.
Maybe they will be, but frankly speaking, who knows?
Two people have already warned me to be careful. Two people who do not even know each other. Maybe there is something going on that's endangering us. Something that's endangering me. Something I don't know. But... What?
I heard a soft creaking sound in the living room. I wanted to go and check it out, see if there's anyone there, but my limbs are not working. At all. They're not in sync with my brain either. I guess my brain is still waiting for the previous messages to sink in.
I closed my eyes and leaned on the wall beside my bed. To think. If both Dad and Gray told – warned – me to be careful, something is definitely going on. I might not know what is happening, but I should listen to their advices. After all, isn't that what they all say? Better safe than sorry.
I should. Try to be careful, that is, until Gray fills me in on all that is going on right now. And I should do everything in my power now. I should... Be careful...
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So, did you like it? And BTW, I won't write in Gray's POV anymore. There will be another person's POV in this book and that's it. The rest of the book will be in Willow's POV. :DDDD
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