"You're late."
I rolled my eyes, approaching her with big steps. "I had to talk with my mom."
"She didn't let you out again? Will the police come after us?" She scoffed, throwing her long hair on her back with a fluid gesture.
I drew a deep breath. She didn't know my mom's reasons for not letting me out so, of course, she would joke about it. I let out a nervous chuckle and pointed out the huge, double doors of the mall. "Are we going in?"
She shook her head and opened her purse. She took out a blue pack of cigarettes, making me lift an eyebrow. "You said you quit two years ago."
She shrugged, putting a cig between her parted lips. "It's because of that scary guy. He made me so stressed these days. I don't even know why! I'm telling you, Ivy, I feel like Bella from Twilight. Maybe... he's a vampire? And my blood is tempting him?" She gasped, lighting her cig and taking a deep drag on it.
I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my flat chest. "Yea, he's Edward, the love of your life."
"I didn't know how bad Bella felt when he first met him. I pity her now." She scoffed, exhaling the smoke in front of my face.
"Give me one of those." I said, extending a hand. She took another a cig and gave it to me, along with the lighter.
"You said you quit it as well." She reminded me, smirking devilish.
I shrugged, lighting my cig and puffing on it fast. "I said a lot of things. And the thing I'm telling you now makes me want to smoke."
She lifted an eyebrow and puckered her lips. "Got yourself into trouble?"
I smiled. "Nah. It's about the scary guy. I bumped into him after you got into your last class yesterday. He's my Psychology partner."
She stopped smoking midway, her eyes getting bigger and staring deep into mine. "You joking. He's in your Psychology class?!"
"Yeah." I said, shrugging and taking a drag on my cig.
She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Is he following us?! On my way here, I thought I saw him. But the second I turned my head, he disappeared. This is weird, Ivy. Believe me, there's something going on."
I zoned out, staring at the bin next to her. Following her. She thinks someone followed her. She thought she saw him, but it wasn't there. It was familiar... like...
The girl with the red hair. The revelation sent a shiver down my spine, making me tremble. Emily was right. Something was definitely going on.
She chuckled, making me blink slowly and getting back into reality. "And you would say Norfolk is a boring city. Look, there's a weirdo who's following me! Should I call the cops?"
I sighed, throwing my cig on the ground and stepping on it. "I think you're over-reacting. It's just a coincidence. And the fact he's my Psychology partner is totally irrelevant. Actually... I wanted to sit next to him. It felt weird when I talked to him on our way to the class. I told you already about that."
Her eyes widened, making connections and realizing she already talked to me about him. "Right! That guy who wasn't interested in you!" She blinked slowly, taking another puff on her cig. "What if... he wasn't interested in you... and he's actually interested in me? I mean, no offense, Ivy, but maybe I'm just his type."
She shrugged, throwing her cig on the ground. I sighed. "That would be the least of our problems. If he really wants to do something... then we should be really careful. We can't know for sure what's in his head. Give me a shout if something weirder happens, okay? I don't want police or, especially, parents involved, but if he threatens our safety, your safety.... then we have to do something."
She nodded, fear crossing her face. I felt bad to confirm her worst thoughts, but I couldn't risk. If what happened two years ago might happen again, then I would totally blame myself my whole life. I couldn't risk getting Emily into danger. I had to think my actions this time, even though it was different. It was always different, but the ending was the same: something horrible happens to the other person and I get out of the trouble without even a scratch. I shook my head. It wasn't a good time to feel blue. Plus, there was a saying that the universe will work according to your thinking. So let's keep up with the positive thoughts!
"What you wanna do now?" I asked her, rubbing my hands and smiling at her.
Emily shrugged, walking towards the mall's entry. "Getting a Starbucks maybe?"
I nodded. "Good idea. I'd like some coffee now."
"Really?" She said with a sly voice, lifting an eyebrow. "You, the person who hates coffee?"
I pursued my lips. "I have a change of heart, don't ruin my mood."
"Okay, boss." She scoffed, laughing at my face.
***
"That Gabe guy looks nice, really. You should try dating him."
My nose wrinkled and I gave her a 'please don't' glare. "Don't try again, Emily. You know very well that if I don't want to date him I just won't."
She sighed, playing with her straw in her milkshake. "I know. But, you see, it's hard to see your best friend going around, always single. What will you do when I'll get myself a boyfriend? Won't you be lonely? I won't be all the time by your side. I'll need some space."
I rolled my eyes, resting my hands on the brown table. "It's fine, Emily. Really. Don't you even hesitate to get yourself a boyfriend because of me. I'll have more time to watch my tv shows. It's fine by me anyways."
She chuckled, taking a sip of her milkshake. "I'm talking like I'll get a boyfriend in the next few days. I'm crazy."
I shrugged. "It's not impossible. You have the looks and the personality. Plus, let's be honest. A lot of guys from our school fancy you."
She chuckled, throwing her hair on her back. "What can I say? You're right."
We both chuckled. A sudden movement in my left made me turn my head so fast that I heard how my neck almost broke. With a grimace on my face, I looked around, through the transparent glass of the Starbuck's walls. A glimpse of red hair.
I squeezed my eyes shut. It was all in my mind. It was all in my mind. Nothing was happening. The red-haired girl wasn't there; it was just my imagination...
"Ivy? You okay?"
I opened my eyes. Emily got a grip on my hand, squeezing it. A line appeared between her blonde eyebrows and her gaze seemed worried. Her expression looked exactly like my mom's. A shiver went down my spine and I exhaled sharply. What my mom told before I left home haunted me for a couple of seconds and forced me to make a decision: we had to leave.
"Yea. I just have a huge migraine. I think we should go now. I can accompany you though. Your house is like 10 minutes closer to the mall than mine."
The color drained out of her face. She felt it too. "That's fine. You can go straight home."
I shook my head, getting on my feet. "No way. I'm coming with you. It's dark outside. Let's go now."
She nodded, getting even paler. She rose from the chair and got a grip on her purse, her knuckles becoming white.
We walked fast, almost running, until her huge, grey mansion appeared in our visual area. We both exhaled relieved and Emily even managed to smile at me, climbing her stairs until she reached the huge, wooden door. "Go straight home. Don't look left, right. Call me in the second you get in your room, okay?"
"Yeah." I said, waving at her, trying to look as nonchalant as I could.
"Ugh, I hate this. My parents are out of town this week. I'm staying only with my housekeeper. I'm so sorry I can't give you a ride."
I gave her a dismissive wave of my hand. "Go in. I'm gonna be fine."
She frowned, biting her lips. She looked so worried that I was afraid if I stayed there even one more minute she would've been tempted to come with me to my house. So, throwing her another relaxed gaze, trying to make her sure that I'll be fine, I pivoted, rubbing my arms and hoping that, truly, I'll be fine.
There were other 15 minutes until my house and I only had to go down the street. The street lamps were turned on, thing which made me a little bit more comfortable. Several people passed by me, talking in low voices or laughing aloud, making me feel not alone at all. It was fine. It was a normal evening.
The rain started pouring, making me cover my head with my jacket and putting a grimace on my face. Great. Just great.
I raised my head, hearing someone in front of me, walking with hard steps on the wet ground. My brows furrowed. His back seemed familiar. He wasn't wearing anything which could've covered him from the annoying rain. I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out more, but all I could see was his black silhouette. The distance between us became even bigger and I sighed.
What was I expecting? The nerd following me? I chuckled. If he wanted to follow me, he would've been behind me and not in front of me, going God knows where...
It happened so fast. The rain became even more aggressive. The wind started screaming, making me put a hand in front of my face, covering it. And then it came.
The loud sound in the agitated night made me wince. It could've been anything. But my suspicion made a shiver go down my spine. I felt how the color drained out of my face and the cold got into my bones. I got goosebumps and my hands started shaking uncontrollably.
Please God, let it not be what I think it is. Please.
I lowered my hand with unsteady movements. He was down, on the wet, cold as ice ground. He was lying there, probably breathless.
I drew a deep breath. Some shouts in the night. Laughter.
The guy in front of me has been shot with a gun.
I blinked, trying to get rid of the raindrops or my tears. I didn't know if I was crying, but it didn't matter anyway. The rain was enough to make me think that.
Everything went in slow motion. The car's engine turning on, the car disappearing. A 'fuck you!' shouted. I drew another deep breath. I felt like I couldn't breathe at all.
What the hell are you doing?! Pull yourself together!
As someone spoke clearly in my own mind, I started running. No, I wasn't running towards my home, the safe place everyone would go and call the ambulance in this kind of situation. With huge, desperate steps, I reached him and almost fell over his moveless body. The wet ground made me lose my balance and I found myself down, on my knees.
"Oh my God. Please, oh God, don't be dead. Please." I whispered, crying for real. My lower lip started trembling, my eyes filled with tears.
I expended my arms, trying to touch him. To feel his pulse. To be sure he was okay. I couldn't touch him. I was so terrified that I couldn't even help him. I lowered my eyes, next to my knees and his head. Blood. A huge amount of blood. There was blood everywhere, cleaned slowly by the rain. I screamed, digging my nails into my cheeks.
Calm down, Ivy, calm down. Use your phone, you idiot!
My phone. The revelation made me shove my hand into my pocket, searching for the goddamn phone. When I found it, I exhaled sharply and dialed 911 as fast as I could, even though the rain made it extremely complicated...
A hand got a grip on my arm.
I screamed, terrified, and I threw the phone on the ground, trying to escape from the firm grip...
"Shut up, for the love of God! My ears are bleeding!"
I was having a panic attack. I fell on my back, my elbows supporting me. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
The guy shook his head and raised it.
It was him. It was the nerd. Caiden.
I stopped breathing. My vision became dark. I could see some stars dancing in the corners of my eyes...
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't pass out. I need help here. Give me your arm. Move!"
Blinking slowly, I shook my head.
He was right. There was no time for my annoying behavior. He was not dead. He was injured. I had to help him. It was the time to calm down.
I got to my feet, realizing that I was totally exposed to the furious rain; my jacket was on the ground, wet and muddy. It was useless to wear it.
"Good. Lend me your arm. I will need some help."
Some help? Was he blind?! He was shot! He lost blood! I wanted to scream at him, to make him realize how bad it was, but my throat was so dry that I couldn't articulate one word. I drew a deep breath. I could yell at him at the hospital when his injuries will be taken care of...
He grabbed my arm, using me as a support for his body and, after long, heavy seconds, he got to his feet, panting. He chuckled, raising his head and looking straight into my eyes.
"Oh, well. It will be harder than I expected."
But I couldn't reply.
I was staring at his face. He wasn't wearing the glasses.
But I couldn't care less at that moment.
I rose a shaking finger and, with a lot of concentration, I pointed out his forehead.
He narrowed his eyes, confused by my action. "Y-y-your f-f-forehead... i-i-is... y-y-your..."
Oh God. Oh God. I couldn't believe my eyes. That was impossible.
He, frowning, almost making his eyebrows combine, touched his forehead slowly and grimaced like he just discovered that a bee stung him. Like it wasn't big deal and it was just inconvenient. Just a problematic matter, which will be taken care of.
"Shit." He said, his low voice getting a bit furious.
Realising I was still there, he widened his eyes and rose his hands in front of him and expanding them towards me. I took a step back.
"Ivy. Let me explain it, okay? Not here. We have to go now."
"How can you tell me something like this?! YOU HAVE BEEN SHOT IN THE HEAD, FOR GOD'S SAKE!"
It was his luck that it was raining. It was his luck that my scream couldn't be heard by anyone because of the loud sound of raindrops hitting the ground. It was his luck that it was me there, alone, without anyone knowing where I was.
It was his luck and my bad luck.
And that was the moment when I felt the darkness grasping my conscience and making me fall on the wet and cold ground.