Chapter 124
“So let me get this straight,” says Charlotte as we grab a smoothie from one of the carts at the mall. “You’ve been having a dream about some psychotic burnt bitch and you’ve been dreaming about Harry?
I nod.
Popping a cheese ball in her mouth she says, “Now what’s wrong with that?”
“Have you not been listening?”
“I heard everything you said I just still don’t understand why you are so interested in Harry, I mean has something happened between you two. Something I that I don’t know about?”
I shook my head laughing as I say, “You haven’t been listening.”
“I am, I swear I have!” she laughs as he link her arm with mine.
“Whatever.” I say.
Walking down through the mall we mostly window shopped, but stopped as I saw the perfume stand was having a sale.
“Didn’t we just come here two weeks ago?” says Charlotte.
“Yeah, but there is nothing wrong with having too much smell goods.”
“With you, yes there is.”
“Oh hush, I’ll buy you something.”
Charlotte smiles as she says, “Well why didn’t you say that?” moving over to look at the collection I went right to what my mother called my signature scent, SHALIMAR by Guerlain. For as long as I could remember I always adored the Vanilla scent that it gave off. When I was little my mother use to say that it was a perfume that you wear in the evening when you’re going out, but I didn’t care, I always made sure to spray a couple of sprits before I walked out the house.
“How much for this?” I asked the Cashier.
“Hmmm, 65.99.” she says.
Nodding I dug into my wallet pulled out a $100 dollar bill and hand it to her.
“You got what you want yet Char?” I call out to her.
“Yeah, here I come.” She says as she grabs a fruit scented bottle from the stand and hands it to the lady.
“Champaign?” I ask.
She nods, “You know I like that sweet fruity scents.”
I laugh, “Yeah I know.”
Ringing up both our orders the lady says, “Your total will be 86.93.”
I nod as I pick up the bag, “Sounds good.” Handing Char her bag I say, “Keep the change.”
“Are you sure?” she ask.
“Yeah Ann you sure?” ask Charlotte.
I nod, “Positive,” turning to the cashier I say, “Have a nice day.”
The Cashier smiles as Charlotte says, “See Ann that is why were different. You’re too nice.”
“You need to try being a little nicer.”
“Why?”
“Because being nice is good.”
“Being nice gets you nowhere.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes it is, let’s use Taylor as an example.”
I roll my eyes.
“You’ve been nice since day one when you first met her, and look were that has gotten you. She still tries to make your life a living hell, and for what? Because she thinks you’re the reason why Danny wouldn’t go out with her?”
I shrug, “That’s what I heard. I tried telling her I had no say so what Daniel does, yet she doesn’t believe me.”
“Taylor is just a stuck up wannabe Barbie bitch.”
There was loud laughter in front of us as I looked up I whisper, “Speaking of the devil.”
“Well if it isn’t the schools psycho case.” Says Taylor as she looks over at us.
“Just keep walking.” Says Charlotte.
“So how does it feel to know that you’re jealous of me?” says Taylor.
“Nobody is jealous of you.” Says Charlotte.
“Well it’s obvious that you must be. I mean if not why go after my sloppy seconds, sweet, sweet Annabelle.”
“I did go after your ‘sloppy seconds’.” I say.
“Yes you did, or did you not know that me and Harrys spent time together?”
“Awe, that so cute.” Says Charlotte, “Harry took time to take you to the dog park?”
I snickered as a few of Taylors friends did.
“Nobody was talking to you, wannabe.”
“To bad because I was talking to you.” Says Charlotte.
“Isn’t your family from the UK?”
“Yeah, why?” ask Charlotte.
Taylor nods as she nods and looks back at her friends, “That’s why she’s not understanding me.” Looking back at Charlotte, Taylor says slowly, “Maybe you should go back across the pond, because it’s obvious that you don’t understand what I’m saying.”
“I speak English,” Charlotte looks at me mocking how Taylor talked to her friends as she says, “She must not know that I’m bilingual?” looking back at Taylor she says, “Yeah I speak bitch too.”
Taylor squinted her eyes at Charlotte as she goes to take a step towards her. Charlotte went to walk forward as I grab her arm, “Come on she’s not worth it.”
Charlotte nods, “Your right. I don’t want to waste my manicure of her face.”
Turning we went to walk off when Taylor says, “Have fun with my sloppy seconds Anna. It’s said that you had to come to a party just to try to take my boyfriend.”
“I didn’t come to the party to try to take anything. To be honest I don’t give two shits of what you do.” Turning I went to walk away when I stopped and say, “Maybe you should stop and go pick up some glasses because its as clear to day, to everyone that Harry didn’t like you. He was using you.”
“You better shut your mouth!” she yells.
I ignored her, “I mean if he actually did like you, then why did he leave you just to come hang out with the weird psycho of the school?”
Taylor looked pissed as she clenched her jaw.
“See you later sweets.” I say in a mocking voice as we turned and walked off.
“You and Harry hung out at the party?” ask Charlotte as we got away from Taylor.
I nod, “Yeah.”
“And what happened?”
I shake my head, “Carter came up and started to be an ass, than we left. That’s pretty much it.” Linking my arms with hers I say, “Come on, I need a new jacket.”
“No you don’t.” she says.
“Yes I do.” I smile as we head to the nearest clothing boutique.
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After shopping for a while Charlotte mom started to call saying she needed her car, which meant Charlotte had to leave.
“Call you later so we can start discussing what we need for the student camping trip?” she ask.
“There still doing that?” I ask as I unlocked my car.
She nods, “Of course, why wouldn’t they?”
“Well with what has been going on with that loose coyote,”
She shakes her head, “Your dad told the principal that it looks like they left, so it’s safe.”
“Oh.” I say.
“Yeah, so I’ll skype you tonight and we’ll make a list.”
“Or you can just come over you know.” I smile.
“Your mom making her famous Chicken casserole?”
“She is now.” I smile.
“Be there by 8.”
I laugh, “Alright.”
Getting into her car she heads home, as I head in the hospital.
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“Annabelle!” says Poppy, a nurse friend of my moms.
“Hi Poppy.” I smile, as she walks to me and hugs me.
“What brings you here?”
Holding up a bag I say, “I figured mom forgot lunch so I picked her up something.”
Pushing my hair behind my ear she says, “Aren’t you the sweetest. Um she is on her rounds right now. Give me a minute and I’ll page her.”
Nodding I say, “Okay, I’ll wait in the waiting room.”
“Okay honey, she’s on the 4th floor today.”
“Okay, thanks Poppy!” I call off to her as I grab a wrist band from behind her table and I head upstairs.
Mom works as an RN nurse. She’s been a nurse for about 20 years. I never knew why she loved it so much, and when I would ask she would say, “Helping people is just something that I love to do. It’s a passion to me. Like how you love to draw, taking care of people is my hobby.”
That’s what attracted her to my dad. Well at least that’s what he said.
Walking down the hall I took in that it was the ICU ward for babies in the hospital. Babies, and kids in general were always one of my weaknesses when she works. Standing at the window I stared at the different incubators looking in at the hand full of kids.
“Bringing back memories?”
Jumping I turned to see my mom standing next to me.
“Sorry honey, I forgot that you’re jumpy.”
Smiling I say, “I see that.”
Looking back at the babies I say, “How are they doing?”
“Right now? There good. Vitals are good, there brainwaves are we’re they need to be.”
I nod.
“Bringing back memories?” she ask again.
I shake my head, “Not really.” Turning to her I ask, “How long was I in one of those for?”
“6 months.”
“Why?”
“You came out prematurely, everything wasn’t completely developed.”
I nod, I remember the story. Mom once told me when I was younger that one night she, and, dad where driving home from a date and that an animal ran into the road, causing their car to swerve and plow into a car. Mom’s stomach had gotten impacted and she started to bleed. The ambulance had got there just in time, as they tried to stop the contractions. Mom had me at Wednesday October 19, 1994 at 12:18am, the exact moment the full moon was highest in the sky. I always thought that, that was weird but Dad always said, “That explains why she likes the full moon so much.”
Rubbing her hand up and down my arm she says, “Speaking of, guess who has a birthday in less than a month. You decide on what you want to do?”
“Stay home and sleep?”
She laughs, “That’s not happening, you only turn 17 once honey.”
“I know.”
Looking down at my bag she says, “You bought lunch?”
Looking at the bag I forgot that I had it when I say, “Yeah, Chinese food from Uncle Chow’s.”
“My favorite.” She smiles as she takes it.
“Yeah, there is also extra mu shu, since you like it so much.”
“Extra Mu shu?” looking at the bag and at me she says, “What do you want?”
“Who said I wanted anything?” I say innocently.
“You brought me lunch, when you know I packed one. Therefore you want something. So what happened? What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Annabelle.”
“Nothing I swear.”
Giving me her infamous mother scorn I say, “Okay, fine, Charlotte is coming over and wants you to make your casserole.”
“Annabelle,” She sighs, “The meat is in the freezer and you know it takes forever to defrost.”
“Then I’ll sit it in hot water, please you know she loves it.”
Nodding she says, “Fine, but your helping me.”
“Deal.”
Looking over her shoulder she says, “I need to get back to work, I’ll see you at home by 7.”
I nod as I hug her, “Thanks mom you’re the best.”
“Uh huh.” She smiles as she hugs me back, “Drive safe and tell either your father or brother to take out the trash, it’s been sitting in there for 2 days.”
I nod, “Will do mom.”
Turning I went and headed out the hospital.
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I arrived home at around 3, I had taken out the meat to defrost and figured that since I had time before mom got here I would draw. Pulling out my pastels and drawing board I went up to my room closed the door, plugged in my music and disappeared from the world. Drawing has always been my to go thing, when things got hard and once my hand hit the paper, things went down from there. It was like I was oblivious to what I was drawing, I was just drawing. First I held on to the black pastel, next I remember picking up green. About 2 hours had gone past and by the time I was done, my white shirt was covered in chalk and I had at least 3 different half done pictures. Brushing the hair off my cheek I picked up my drawings and laid them on the floor.
“No,” I say shaking my head, “This doesn’t make since.”
Looking down at the papers I noticed one of them where of a forest under the moonlight. The next one was of a cabin, a cabin that was in flames. And the third one was of a dark shadow, a dark shadow hovering over a bed. A bed that looked like my bed. I backed up my heart racing. It all look familiar, too familiar. Cold chills ran over my whole body and it scared me. Going to my bed I grabbed a folder that kept underneath it, containing pictures I had been drawing for years. Opening up the folder I pulled out my painting as I scattered them all out on the floor. Backing up I shook my head, “This is impossible.”
Looking at all my pictures they all mirrored each other in everywhere which way possible, to the shadow, to the cabin and the fire. They were drawings that vividly matched my dreams. Standing I slid back on my shoes and headed downstairs. I just needed some fresh air. Going to the back yard I sat on a tree swing my dad had put up after a month of moving here.
Nothing was making sense, not that anything had been making sense prior. I just didn’t understand why this was happening to me. Was this an episode? Was there something really wrong with my head? When I first started having the nightmares doctors thought that I had a tumor or that it was something relating to the fact I was a premature baby. A cold chill ran through my body and I glanced around. It felt like someone was watching me.
“Hello?” I called out.
No answer.
“Hello?!” I called out again.
No answer.
Sighing I swung my feet back in forth as I closed my eyes and leaned against the rope that held the swing up. I took a few deep breath when a warm sensation crept down my spine. Looking up and towards the woods I saw a shadow figure walking forward. Now a normal person would have jumped up and ran into the house, but I didn’t. Something about the way the shadow walked seemed familiar and I wasn’t scared.
“Fancy seeing you out here.” Says Harry as he steps out the shadows of the woods.
“Well it is my backyard.” I say glancing up at him, “You really need to learn when and when you cannot trespass. You’re going to get in trouble.”
“No I’m not.”
He stood wearing an oversized sweater and a pair of skinny jeans he had a faint glow to him, even though the moon wouldn’t be up for another hour or so. I had to admit even when the kid didn’t try to dress up, he still look surprisingly good.
Rubbing my hand over my eyes I say, “Please don’t tell me I actually fell asleep outside and I'm dreaming about you again.”
“Dreaming about me, again?” ask Harry as he walks to me, “You didn’t tell me Pebbles that you’ve been dreaming about me.”
Looking up at him I say, “Wait. This is real?”
Nodding he says, “Yeah I’m pretty real.”
Laughing I bury my face into my hands, “Oh my gosh, this is embarrassing.”
He smiles, “So tell me what happened in this dream.”
I shook my head, “Nope, not going to happen.”
Looking around I say, “What are you doing here?”
“I was out for a walk, when I passed by and saw you.”
“You were out for a walk?”
He nods.
“You were out for a walk in the woods behind my backyard?” I raised a brow.
He smiles, “Trust me it’s not what you think.”
“Oh really?”
He nods, “Yeah, um this part of the woods actually connects with the woods behind my flat about a mile or so down.”
“And you just happened to walk all the way here?”
“I walk when I need to think.”
I nod, “So do I.”
We stood there for a second when he looked down at my clock, “I should probably get going.”
I nod, “Me too.” I went to get out the tire swing but somehow my foot got caught and I landed on my ass, laughing, “Well that was unexpected.”
“And you say you aren’t clumsy.” He says as he walks over to me.
Sticking his hand out, he says, “Come on Pebs.”
Reaching my hand up, he grabs my wrist as a jolt of energy shot between us. The jolt was so strong it knocked Harry on his ass, as he still held onto my wrist.
What in the hell is going on? I thought to myself.
I have no clue. I hear Harry say, but his lips didn't move.
“How did you,” I stop as I stared at him, “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” he says.
“How did you answer me? I didn’t say anything out loud.”
Harry stared at me, “You what?”
“I didn’t say anything out loud and yet you responded.” Shaking my head I say, “You responded but your lips didn’t move.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He says as he pulls his hand from mine as he stands.
“Yes you do.” I say as I stand, “Harry what’s going on?”
“Nothing, nothing is going on.” He says as he looks around, “Your mum is home.”
Turning towards the house I saw the headlights from a car shinning. I went to look back at Harry, but he was already halfway to the woods.
“Harry!” I yelled, “Harry wait.”
“We need to stay away from each other.” Says Harry as he walks.
“But why? What’s going on?” I ask.
“Nothing, it’s just,” he shakes his head as he stops and looks at me, “I’m sorry.”
Turning he went and ran into the woods. I went to chase after him but he had already disappeared into the shadows of the trees.
“Harry!” I called out.
No answer.
“Harry!” I yelled again.
Shaking my head I went to run my hand through my hair when something burned me. Looking down at the hand Harry had grabbed me by on the side of my wrist, I notice a faint silver outlining out what looked like a paw print.
What in the hell? I thought.
Running my thumb over it, it glistened but just as quickly as it appeared it disappeared.
“Annabelle!”
Turning around toward the back door, my mom stood there.
“There you are. Come on and help me with dinner before your father gets home.”
“Here I come mom.” I call to her as I looked back to the woods. There was a faint silver lining that trailed on the ground that zigzagged along the ground that started from where I stood. I shook my head and blinked a couple times and when I looked again, it was gone. Just like the paw print was gone on my wrist.
What the hell is going on? I thought to myself as I looked up one more time towards the woods, before I turned and headed inside the house.