Liam dropped me off and the rest of my weekend went by before I could wink. Monday came, which meant I had to do it again, show up at school and survive. Vincent had come early so we could get breakfast before school. My parents hired help from a company. They come and go and I barely see them or get to know their names. Which was fine by me.
Vincent and I talked during breakfast, and it didn't suck. He told me how he ran every morning and how running is good for you. I argued that the stress from school was enough workout. But he still encouraged it, not that he pressed.
I got to school and as I was about to get out of the car I thought a hundred thoughts at once. Maybe not a hundred, but a lot. Shirley. What was her deal? Was she okay? Was Mira right? Only one way to find out.
In the hallway I looked in direction of her locker, she wasn't there. I looked to Liam's, he was just closing it. He looked up and smiled, mouthing a "hey". I smiled back. But not for courtesy, I felt good. I guess I had a new friend. Just then I saw a girl walk and disappear into the halls, who looked like Shirley from behind. I felt my heart beat in my chest, then I let it go. I wasn't going to start feeling anxious or sad when I wasn't sure.
I went through my classes with a new ease. There wasn't the usually sneering and snickering. Liam went with me, and made it easier. I must've forgotten about Mira and how she didn't like me especially with Liam. What happened next shouldn't have come as a surprise but it did. There was a fire at school.
I don't know how Mira managed, but she set a part of school on fire!! She was trying to burn my jacket and some books from my locker at a hidden spot, but it went out of control. The alarms went off, everyone ran. The principal declared the next two days free because of what happened. Repairs had to be done and parents were blowing up his phone, asking questions and just being parents.
Since the fire was on the other side of school, my locker wasn't affected. I opened it and that's how I knew my jacket and a few books I never really used were gone. I liked the jacket, but when I saw the principal walking to his office with Mira following, I couldn't care. It was a small price to pay. She didn't get away with it, almost got caught in the fire.
We had to leave school early and Vincent wasn't coming around till the usual time. As I thought about whether to call Vincent, or just find my way home, I noticed Liam grabbing stuff from his locker. So I put my phone back and walked over.
"Hey", I said to his back. He turned around and smiled. " So, what's the plan? You going to babysit or..?", I asked. He scoffed.
"Well, unless you have something in mind. None of us have any plans, seeing as you don't see fire in school every other day"
"Sure. I have an idea" , I said smugly. He looked surprised.. Good surprised. When he was done we got in his car and left.
***************
"This is your plan. To come back here. Mon, I apologized a billion times but you still wanna kill me and have revenge?", Liam joked
We had gone back to the place from the bonfire party. It looked a bit different being there in the day. I started to walk a little.
" You knew you had it coming. Besides, who's gonna drive me back? Relax, not yet", said me as I wandered off. Soon he followed.
We talked about stuff, about the fire, Mira... It was nice. We talked about Rilay. Soon we just stopped and looked up. The trees stood tall, it was quiet. There was this peaceful feeling with the breeze around us.
"You know... We probably should be going soon so..... Mon, are you okay?", Liam asked as he looked down and noticed something was wrong.
I could hear him but I couldn't breathe. There was this burning pain around my neck. I gasped for breath.. And slowly reached for my throat and felt my necklace. It was cold, but the stone on it felt hot to touch.
" Sssssss.....Ahhhhhh!", I screamed and grabbed it, pulling it away from me. Liam held on to me as I bent forward. I kept screaming. He must've been talking but I couldn't understand. The pain was nothing like i'd ever known. It radiated through my head and body so quickly. I finally cut the chain and gasped as the air flowed into my lungs.
At that time I was on my knees, holding the stone and chain in my hands. My hair stuck to the corners of my face from sweat. I closed my eyes, lifted my face towards the sky and grabbed so many breaths in relief... I really felt like I was dying. After some minutes I realised the weird silence.. Like, hello? Almost died here! Me!
I opened my eyes to see Liam resting on a tree trunk, facing me. From looking at him, I could tell he was shook up...shocked, terrified, like he saw a ghost or he almost DIED. Hehe, sure.
He stared at me from head to toe many times, panting. He ran his hand through his hair and finally spoke. "You... You you.. You were.. I was.. I thought.. What?.. W... I couldn't.. I didn't know what to do.. I'm sorry I..", he stuttered a little and stopped as if a thought came to him.
" Oh my God, are you okay?. Listen we need to.. Nah I need to get you home right now. I mean.. What was that anyway?", and just then, we both looked down at the stone in my hand. I quickly covered it in my hand and put it in my pocket.
I coughed a little and staggered to my feet, then Liam held me up for support. "Let's go, this place is creepy", I said with a weak hoarse voice and a little chuckle, to lighten up the mood. He didn't laugh but I noticed a little relief.
Soon we were at his car. He helped me get in. I noticed it was dark already.
" Earth to Mon", I heard Liam say. I had been lost, staring into the dark woods. "Are you sure you're okay? Am I gonna get in trouble?", Liam asked.
I suddenly felt weak to talk. I just shook my head with a smile. He bought it, and started the car to take me home. It was a very weird day and I was really tired and I was grateful for two days of no school. I planned to sleep through one and decide later what to do on the other.
I gave Liam a hug at the door because I didn't have the energy to invite him in. " Thanks, I had fun today. And give Rilay a kiss for me?"
"I usually get the kisses but.. Okay. I'll give her a kiss. You need rest.. So I'll leave you now. And I'll check on you tomorrow?", he said as he walked away to his car
I waved goodbye and went into the house and straight up to my room. I put the stone down on the table and went to take a shower. It was in the shower that I realised, Vincent was supposed to come pick me. I laughed at how I forgot about my troubles when I hung out with Liam. The house was quiet. They were probably searching for me.. But I didn't really care much. I was going to put a call through as soon as I got out.
I looked in the mirror when I got out of the shower, for no reason. I felt so fresh and ready for bed. With the towel around my chest I went into the room to pick my phone to call. Just as I opened my phone app, I caught a glance of my reflection in the mirror and looked away. Then I looked right back to confirm that I had NOT just seen someone in my room behind me. Too bad though, I dropped my phone and shrieked.
" Oh my God!..", I turned around immediately to see a man standing there. He was tall, and probably around Vincent's age or a little younger. He looked like hell. His shirt had tears in them, and he had no shoes on. His eyes kept moving up and down my length, in something that looked like disbelief? Worry? Hopelessness? Or was it just perverse? Probably a pervert, I thought.
I clutched my towel around my chest, as I panted. I wanted to scream 'who the hell are you?! how did you get on here?! What do you want?! Please don't kill me my parents have money'....I couldn't find the words. I felt my heart racing. My eyes were wide open.
He took a step toward me and I shrieked again, in a very high pitch. I panicked and tried to move back, away from him, when I tripped over my phone and fell. On the floor, I heard my parents come in, then I looked back in his direction, he was gone. It was crazy.
I got up and rushed to my window, but I didn't see a sign of anyone. I checked my bathroom, closet, under the table and bed. No sign of him. The noise coming from downstairs reminded me of my parents and that I had to get dressed.
..........
"You had us worried. What were you thinking?", mom asked. I knew she wasn't really expecting an answer. I started to feel a little bad for her. I mean, what if the man in my room was a psycho killer?.. I thought I didn't care because I was angry. But the truth was I was angry because I cared.
My dad couldn't even say a word. He just ran his hands through his hair a lot. He probably thought that his fear of his enemies hitting him through his child, had come true. And I think I he had a lot of enemies, more than friends anyway.
And then, Vincent. He just sat there, quietly. I can't imagine the kind of pressure my parents must've put on him. I really was sorry.
Looking at Vincent, I remembered the strange man from before. And soon, all I wanted to do was just focus on that. Plus I was tired.
" Mom, Dad. I'm really sorry. I should've called, or looked at the time. It won't happen again", I apologized, sincerely.
My apology was accepted and all was well in the land again. Vincent apologized again to my parents, and announced that he was leaving. He seemed a little mad, naturally.
I excused myself to go to bed. I didn't mention the stranger to avoid increasing their anxiety. But be sure that I double checked when I went up, before finally going to sleep, which was surprisingly not hard. Soon, I was dreaming.