Status: Read, Stay with me... Please!
Look at Me
12.
Hayden’s arm dropped limply to his side. Then the phone fell from his nerveless fingers and made an oddly harsh sound in the peaceful evening air. He looked up at Paige and her eyes were curious…questioning…
She started to move forward and without thinking he did the only thing that seemed to make sense. He ran.
***
Into the open field that surrounded Paige’s house, Hayden heard the dry crunch of the dead grass underneath his feet. He forced himself to focus on that, on the sharp pain that was ripping through his leg, on anything but the person he was running away from.
Or the person he was running to face. And as he headed toward the twilit forest, Paige’s words seemed to echo in his mind.
“You could tell me you know, if…if you did something bad or if something bad happened to you…”
***
Paige saw when Hayden dropped his phone. She saw the look in his eyes when their gazes met. But what happened next was like being burned. For half a second she was frozen by the shock and then she screamed. She shouted Hayden name at the top of her lungs. Paige knew that people three town away would hear her and think she was a psycho. But right at that second she didn’t care, because her date was hauling ass across the goddamn field behind her house!
“Hayden,” she screamed again uselessly. “Hayden!”
He didn’t as much as look over his shoulder as he made his way straight towards the woods. Where the hell did he even think he was going? There was nothing back there. Just trees for a mile or so until you hit the main road.
Paige glanced nervously back at the car parked in her driveway. Terry had hopped out and was jogging over to her.
“I’ll be right back,” she shouted to her friend as she kicked off her flip-flops.
Running on her bare feet was surprisingly painful. Small stoned bruised her as the grass made tiny cuts in her delicate skin. Paige tried to keep Hayden in sight, but then he disappeared into the woods there was nothing she could do. She just kept running until she reached the tree line. Then Paige stopped and screamed his name again and again. But nothing came out of the darkening forest.
“It’s a dream,” she whispered to the emptiness that was quickly consuming her. “It’s not real….This is not happening to me.”
But then she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder and a kind voice telling her to come back to the house. Turning she saw Kevin Harper, Terry’s boyfriend,* Master of the POS rides*. Shock was plainly written on his face and for some reason it was like Paige’s knees couldn’t hold her anymore.
She started to move forward and without thinking he did the only thing that seemed to make sense. He ran.
***
Into the open field that surrounded Paige’s house, Hayden heard the dry crunch of the dead grass underneath his feet. He forced himself to focus on that, on the sharp pain that was ripping through his leg, on anything but the person he was running away from.
Or the person he was running to face. And as he headed toward the twilit forest, Paige’s words seemed to echo in his mind.
“You could tell me you know, if…if you did something bad or if something bad happened to you…”
***
Paige saw when Hayden dropped his phone. She saw the look in his eyes when their gazes met. But what happened next was like being burned. For half a second she was frozen by the shock and then she screamed. She shouted Hayden name at the top of her lungs. Paige knew that people three town away would hear her and think she was a psycho. But right at that second she didn’t care, because her date was hauling ass across the goddamn field behind her house!
“Hayden,” she screamed again uselessly. “Hayden!”
He didn’t as much as look over his shoulder as he made his way straight towards the woods. Where the hell did he even think he was going? There was nothing back there. Just trees for a mile or so until you hit the main road.
Paige glanced nervously back at the car parked in her driveway. Terry had hopped out and was jogging over to her.
“I’ll be right back,” she shouted to her friend as she kicked off her flip-flops.
Running on her bare feet was surprisingly painful. Small stoned bruised her as the grass made tiny cuts in her delicate skin. Paige tried to keep Hayden in sight, but then he disappeared into the woods there was nothing she could do. She just kept running until she reached the tree line. Then Paige stopped and screamed his name again and again. But nothing came out of the darkening forest.
“It’s a dream,” she whispered to the emptiness that was quickly consuming her. “It’s not real….This is not happening to me.”
But then she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder and a kind voice telling her to come back to the house. Turning she saw Kevin Harper, Terry’s boyfriend,* Master of the POS rides*. Shock was plainly written on his face and for some reason it was like Paige’s knees couldn’t hold her anymore.