Dark Scene of the Crime

Rowan’s POV

I was on a hill. Climbing up it. When I got to the top, the sun shone brightly through the clouds. I put my hand over my eyes, shielding them from the sun. I looked around and saw Alex all the way across what seemed to be a huge meadow.

“Alex?” I called. He smiled and nodded.

“Come here,” he called back. I nodded and ran down the other side of the hill, running straight through the meadow. As I came nearer, I noticed a lake in front of him. I stood in front of it for a second before stepping inside. The water was waist deep and freezing, but I didn’t care. I ran through the water and jumped out of the other side, into the arms of Alex. He picked me up and spun me around. “Rowan,” he declared with a smile on his face.

“Alex,” I said, a smile on my face too. He smiled again and attached his lips to mine.

My eyes fluttered open slowly. Yawning, I looked around. I caught sight of Alex sitting next to me, staring down at me with a smile on his face. I jumped at first, shocked to see Alex. But then I remembered; I had stayed at his house last night.

“Why are you staring at me?” I asked him in confusion. His smile got wider.

“Oh, you’re just so cute when you sleep. And you happen to talk in your sleep, too,” he told me, a mischievous grin spreading across his face, replacing the smile. I gulped.

“Oh boy, what did I say?” I asked, half wondering if I really wanted to know.

“You said my name, twice,” he said, his grin growing wider if it was possible. I groaned and slapped my forehead. “Were you dreaming about me?” he asked, another smile finding its way across his lips.

“I don’t know,” I told him, refusing to tell him about my dream. He might get a little creeped out if I told him I was dreaming about him.

“Its okay if you were, you know,” he said.

“Shut up,” I mumbled as I sat up.

“Are you in the mood for school today?” he asked. I shook my head.

“Not really. But you should go. Don’t miss your classes because of me,” I said as I yawned and stretched.

“But what if I want to stay with you?”

“What if your mom wants you to go to school?”

“She won’t care, besides I don’t want to go to school,” he told me.

“Go to school, I’m sure your friends miss you,” I said. He sighed.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But what are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know, I’ll find something,” I assured him.

“Alright. Your clothes are right there, my mom washed and dried them for you,” he said, pointing to my clothes in a pile on his desk. I nodded and picked up my clothes, walking off to the bathroom. Taking off Alex’s clothes, I put mine back on and looked in the mirror. My makeup was practically all gone from my tears, but my hair was fine and up in a ponytail still. Grabbing Alex’s clothes, I walked out of the bathroom. “Give me those,” he said as he took his clothes from my hands. He was already dressed.

“Thanks for letting me stay last night.” He shook his head.

“No problem. Now lets go downstairs, I’m sure my mom made breakfast,” he said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of his room and into the kitchen.

“Good morning Alex,” his mom said.

“Good morning mom,” he said, waving to her with his hand that was clasped in mine. His mom arched an eyebrow, making Alex blush and immediately drop our hands.

“Is this that girl?” she asked. Alex’s cheeks flushed red furiously.

“Shut up mom,” he mumbled under his breath, bringing me over to the table. He dropped my hand and pulled a chair out for me. Silently, I sat down as he took a seat next to me.

“Alex, honey, don’t be rude, introduce me to your friend,” his mother said as she set a plate of waffles in front of Alex and one in front of me.

“Mom, this Rowan. Rowan, this is my mom,” he said quietly.

“Lovely to meet you Rowan, Alex talks about you a lot,” she said kindly, sending a smile in my direction. Alex cleared his throat. “Right, sorry, dear. Are you two hungry? I made you some waffles.”

“Thanks,” Alex and I said in unison. He smiled at me before handing me a fork and getting one himself, taking a bite of the waffles. I picked up the fork and took a bite out of my waffles, too.

“So, are you two…together?” Alex’s mom asked. Alex nearly choked on his waffles before shaking his head.

“No mom, we’re not,” he said, taking my hand and lacing our fingers under the table. A blush rose up to my cheeks as Alex sent me a small smile.

“Well why not?” she asked curiously.

“MOM,” Alex said sternly, giving his mother a look. She smiled and shook her head.

“Right right, I’m being too curious for my own good, I’m sorry,” she said as she got up from the table and walked back to the kitchen, going to the sink to do the dishes.

“Sorry, my mom is a bit nosey,” Alex whispered to me. I shook my head.

“No, she’s really nice. You’re lucky to have her,” I told him. He nodded.

“I know, she’s a lot more generous than most moms, but she is really nosey,” he whispered. A small laugh escaped my lips as I finished my waffles. Alex had already finished his.

“Done?” he asked. When I nodded, he picked up my plate and took it, along with his, to the kitchen, putting it in the sink for his mother to clean. “Bye Mom.”

“Have a good day at school sweetheart,” she said as he kissed her cheek and grabbed his backpack from a chair by the table. Taking my hand in his, he led me out the front door.

“Okay, where do you want me to drop you off?” he asked as we got inside his car.

“Uhm, take me to my grandma’s house,” I told him. He nodded as I gave him the address. About 5 minutes later, he pulled into my grandma’s driveway.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” he said. I nodded and turned towards the door. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to escape without Alex grabbing my wrist and kissing me, I turned around and put my hand on Alex’s cheek, bringing his face closer to mine and attaching our lips.

“Right, see you later,” I said as I got out of the car, leaving Alex shocked in the car. I walked up the driveway, but was stopped before I got to the door. Alex had jumped out of the car and ran over to me, his hands now on my waist as he spun around towards him. He looked down at me before leaning down and hungrily connecting our lips. He kept his hands on my waist, so I rested my hands on his arms. His kissing got hungrier as he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, asking for entrance. That was when I pulled away. Reducing my voice to a whisper, I spoke to him, “Alex, stop, my grandmother is inside!”

“Right,” he said with a smirk on his face. “And I will definitely see you later.” He dipped his head and kissed me one last time before he got back in his car and backed out of the driveway. He winked at me through the window before he sped off down the street. I shook my head as I walked up to the door and knocked.

“Who’s there?” came my grandmother’s voice from the other side of the door as she pulled it open. “Oh, Rowan dear, lovely to see you. Come in.” She smiled kindly at me as she opened the door, allowing space for me to enter. “What are you doing here, dear? Your father never lets you come here. The bloody idiot won’t let me adopt you. But that’s for a different conversation. Why have you come here, dear?”

I had missed my grandmother’s British accent, it was comforting, as was her house.

“I have a bit of an issue,” I told her as I took a seat on her old couch, her cat Tigger jumping up in my lap.

“What kind of issue?” she asked, sitting in an old arm chair diagonal from me.

“A teenage issue, a boy issue,” I said as I pet Tigger.

“Do go on, dear,” she said.

“Well, last week at school, this boy, Alex, asked me to go to a party with him. I thought it was a little weird, because he’s the most popular guy in the school, he’s very good looking, he’s in a band, and he can get any girl he wants. And I’m not very popular in my school, I’m a little antisocial, so it was a surprise. I said no to him multiple times before I gave in and went with him. While I was there, his friend told me they dared him to ask me to go to the party with him, which of course made me mad. But he tried to make up for it by taking me on a date, which was incredibly amazing. He took me to this secluded little meadow that was absolutely beautiful, there was a small waterfall and little stream; it was amazing, especially with the sunset. And he played guitar and sang for me, which was beautiful. So I of course forgave him. But when I got home, dad beat me, and he did the whole weekend. When I got back to school yesterday, he saw this gash on my cheek and the bruises on my arms. He took me back to the meadow instead of staying at school, and he was really sweet, and then he let me stay at his house last night too, and his mother was a sweetheart about it all. But I had a dream about him last night. I climbed up some big hill, and then I saw Alex on the other side of a large meadow, and he called my name and said to come to him, so I had to run all the way across, but then I ran through freezing, waist deep water, jumped out, and he picked me up and we kissed. What does that mean?”

“Well sweetheart, from what you’ve told me, he’s obviously shown you a different side to himself instead of his popular self. And you seem to trust him since he knows about your father and his beatings. And then this dream, well it means you would do anything for him. You climbed up a hill, ran through a meadow, and ran through freezing cold waist deep water. There isn’t a thing that would separate you from this young man,” she told me as she stirred the tea cup in her hand. I nodded.

“I see,” I murmured. “What should I do about it?”

“Well, you should tell this boy how you feel about him,” she said.

“But how do I do that?’ I asked.

“Well you can just bloody tell him. Or if that’s too difficult for you, hint at it, tell him about your dream, and tell him what I said about it if you feel it is right,” she said. I nodded.

“Thanks Grandma.” She nodded.

“Anytime dear. Now how has school been?” She smiled at me, giving me a warm feeling of safeness, I loved being in this house.