Within Temptation

I stared into space as I sit on my second period class as I keep wondering how Reed managed to disappear so fast. It was so weird. One minute he was there the next he was gone in the thin air. I feel goose pumps rising in my arms just thinking about it in my head. I breathe out and looked out the window. The sun was shining bright outside and clear blue sky looked beautiful.

I lay my head on my open palm of my right hand then breathe out as I turned my head to looked at the teacher who was explaining some examples of the problems will we be doing for homework tonight. I wrote them down on the notebook in front of me as I tried my best to concentrate.

The rest of the classes pass like a blur and the next thing I knew I was in lunch getting my lunch and sit down on a table next to Melanie who was eating a chicken salad. I turned my head looking around the crowded cafeteria. My eyes landed on the table on where he sat on yesterday but nothing he was not there. The only people that were there was Daren and Tori who looking at anything around them but not at each other. I breathe out somehow feeling disappointed that he was not here. I turned back to my sit and push my lunch tray away from me.

“What’s the matter?” Melanie asked me looking concern.

“I am not hungry.” I whisper honestly.

“Hey Hayley is there going to be another strip show today?” a guy’s voice asked sitting on the table in front of mine. His friends at the table burst out laughing like it was funny.

I pick up my book bag and walked out of the cafeteria without a word ignoring the glares, laughing and pointing at me. Honestly people like this need to get a life.

I breathe out when I hear the door of the cafeteria been close behind me but flinch when it open again.

“Next time don’t walk away. Shut them up.” Melanie said standing next to me looking at me giving me an advice.

“Like that will help.” I said putting my arms around me hugging myself.

“You are right. This is after all high school.” She said.

“Why don’t you go back in? I don’t want you to miss your lunch.” I said honestly looking at her.

“I already throw it away. I am not really that hungry anyway.” She said shrugging her shoulders then reach out and put an arm around my shoulder bringing me comfort.

I smile at that.

I was also glad that the hallway was so quiet and no one was around. It looked and feel peaceful.

When the last bell ring I walked toward my car ignoring more guys glances at me.

“Hey baby…” a jock said laying his body against his car said to me with wolfish expression as I walked by.

“Hey Hayley party at my house tonight just the two of us.” Another yelled out from across the parking lot.

“Jerk.” I whisper as I continue to walked toward my car and open the door and then I drove away without looking back.

Worse day ever I suddenly thought honestly. I couldn’t help but keep wondering where did Reed go after he found me in the supply closet? He just disappears out of nowhere then didn’t appear at all for the rest of the day. How he did even knew where to find me in the first place? That was really weird. It was like he knew exactly where I was in the first place. But how did he?

I arrive half hour later and park my car in the driveway. I step out of the car and when I was about to close the door a crow appear on top of the car making a sound I jump back as fear ran through my body like electricity. He stood there looking at me. Not moving just moving his head around as if he continue to looked at me.

“Creepy.” I whisper to myself then ignore it close the door and walked toward my house.

When I was at the front door of the house I looked back at my car and the crow was gone. Really creepy. What was that all about?

I close the door behind me and silence fills the house. I breathe out knowing very well that my dad was still at work. A sudden dizziness came over me as my vision saw the room in front of me spin around in circles. I walked slowly toward the living room and sit down. I lay myself down on the sofa praying that it will pass away soon. I close my eyes as I notice that it was getting worse. What was happening this to me all of the sudden?

Flashback as a dream

She move trying to not make noise and saw two pair of feet with four legs. She peeked over the broken window still on the back seat over the overturned vehicle. Another set of two legs appear at a great distance.

“Evening Gentlemen, Sorry to ruin your fun but meal time is over. This is a private territory.” A cold heartless voice said to the other two.

“Who says?”

“Yeah what gives you the right on telling us what to do?”

A chuckle was heard in amusement. “You will make this a lot easier in yourselves if you leave now rather than stay and die.”

The other two started to laugh like it was highly amusing of what the man just said.

Suddenly there was a cracking sound and one of the men fall to the floor headless. She took a deep breath and cover her mouth feeling tears realizing that were bad guys out there and it was not good.

“Will you like to be next?”

“No, man.”

She tried to take a peak trying to be careful but move back as one of them bent over and a pair of unique shade of grey eyes appears in front of her. Looking right at her hypnotizing her then she felt herself tremble. She felt her skin cold shaking with fear, a fear that was chilling her to the bone.

“Help….me…” she said in a shaky voice not been able to move. “Please help…me…” she said once more feeling dizzy from the loss of blood.

His eyes search over her as if he was deciding to help her or not then he reach out with his hand and took a hold of her. Slowly and gently he pulled her out of the sit and pulled her out of the car.

She looked up at him as he carry her in his arms looking down at her. She found herself smiling at him as she recognize him or at least she feel like she know him, like she know him deep inside her heart. She put her small fragile arms around his neck feeling safe.

“Thank you….” She said as she looked at him closely. Then suddenly she whisper something but I couldn’t hear it. She move her mouth and words didn’t come out. They
couldn’t even be heard.

End of flashback as dream

My eyes swung open immediately. I stare at the room in front of me. My head was not spinning anymore. Not double vision or anything. I breathe out in relief as I move myself to sit down on the sofa.

I hear the door slam shut and I jump been caught off guard. I looked and listen then my father strolled into living room.

“Hey honey, how was school?” he said with a fatherly smile as he looked at me.

“It was okay.” I said shaking my head and unknowingly took a hold of the necklaces around my neck.

“Just okay.” He said as he headed toward the kitchen which was behind me.

“Yeah, just okay. I guess.” I said standing up from the sofa.

“How about some dinner?” he said as he open the fridge.

“Okay.”

He turned to looked at me.

“What?” I asked wanting to know.

“You looked kind of pale, are you feeling okay?” he asked concern.

I shook my head as thoughts for an excuse flow through my head.

“Yeah, I am okay. Just a bad dream, that’s all.” I said honestly looking at him.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked as he got out some food.

“Not really. It mostly confusing.” I said walking toward him ready to help him with dinner.

“Why is so confusing?”

“Because somehow I think they are memories.” I blurt without even thinking about it first and notice that somehow they could be memories. Memories of what happened to me years ago.

“Memories?” My dad asked curiously looking at me.

“Never mind, Dad. It’s probably nothing.” I said wanting to drop subject.

That night after dinner I sit down on my bed with books spread around me doing my homework. But I was kind of distracted thinking about what I said to my dad earlier. They are memories. I was finally remembering what happened to me when I was a little girl. I smile at that. Then looked at the bedside drawer next to me. It was the picture of Reed that I drew looking back at me. I took it in my hands and looked down at it. I keep wonder where did he disappear to? He was a guy out of the ordinary and very mysterious that much was true.

As I step out of the bed I let the picture fall back to the bed and walked toward the window. I looked out the window. The night was quiet and peaceful. The moonlight was shining through the window. I breathe out as I shook my head. Will I ever remember what happened to me that night? The night that took away my parents and my memory. Will I ever remember them at all? Will I ever know who I was? I pulled the curtains close and walked back to the bed.

The next day when I park my car in the same spot as before, I couldn’t help to looked for his car as I walked toward the school building. I stop myself when I spotted a black park on the far corner but it wasn’t his car. I breathe out in disappointment. I walked toward the school building and continue with the day as if nothing what’s wrong. I walked into my first period class and sit down on my usual chair.

“Hi girl, what’s with the look?”

“Nothing.” I said with my head down as I looked down at my hands.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, nothing is wrong.” I said shifting my head to side looking at her and smile.

She smile back at me and nodded.

When the bell ring I turned to looked at the chair behind me and Daren wasn’t there. He wasn’t in school too. That was odd. I turned back in my chair as the teacher walked in.
Something told me it was going to a long day.

The minutes pass by fast almost as if it was the speed light, when the bell ring I walked out the classroom and walked toward my second period class. I stop on my tracks as a familiar head with dark black hair as night walked passing the students without touching them.

“Reed.” I whisper. “Reed…Reed…” I said walking faster through the massive crowd of students walking in all directions. I could have sworn he heard me because he stop and looked slightly back and I stood there waiting for him to looked at me but he didn’t he just continue to walked and disappear out of my eye vision. “Reed…” I whisper in disappointed. I ignore the feeling coming over me and walked toward my second class.

When lunch came it was the same nightmare as yesterday only this time I was getting looks instead of sayings. I sit down next to Melanie and started to eat my apple sauce first.

“Hey Hayley…” A cheerful voice said coming toward me.

I turned around to find Daren smiling down at me. “Where have you been?” I asked curiously as I looked behind him hoping for some sign of Reed but nothing.

“Oh so you have been thinking about me, huh?” he asked with a teasing tone taking the chair next to me.

“No.”

“I don’t believe you, I believe you miss me.” He said cheerfully.

I couldn’t help but grin then I turned back to my lunch. I could feel someone looking at me then when I put my head up, I found a jock looking at me with a wolfish grin on his face. I feel uncomfortable under his gaze. I shook my head. As he started to walked toward me, then out of nowhere Reed appear with an angry cold hearted looked on his eyes wearing black jeans with a black shirt and his black boots and hit the jock on the back of the head and press his face down on the table hard.

“Didn’t your mom ever teach you that if you are not going to say anything nice best not to say anything at all?” Reed asked with an angry glare reflecting on his face.

“Let me go, man. What the hell is your problem?” the jock yelled out angrily at him.

“Apologize to the lady.” Reed said trying to be patience.

“What? I didn’t even say nothing man.”

“I said apologize to the lady.” Reed said bringing his head up and hitting him down again harder.

“I am sorry, Hayley. I promise it won’t happened again.” He said honestly and Reed let go of him.

The jock looked angrily at him and Reed just stood there grinning at him.

“You will regret this.” the jock said with an angry hatred glare on his face.

“Tell your friends to stay away too or I am going to have to deal with them the hard away.”

The jock ignore him and walked back toward his friends who were looking at this table.

Reed turned to looked at me and I couldn’t even believe that he was still smiling.

“Well that was interesting and boring.” He said sitting down on the chair across from me. He reach out and took a French fried out of my tray then eat it.

“How do you even know what he was going to do?” I asked wanting to know and curiously.

His eyes met mine and I feel a surge of an electricity pass between us. Almost like when two chemicals react.

“It’s easy to read people, Hayley.” He said simply with a side small grin smile on his right side of his face.

“But he didn’t even said anything.”

“If you looked into his eyes, you will have known what he was passing through his mind. Perverted thoughts, pure disgusting.” He said lowering his eyes away from me.

“You seem different all of the sudden.”

“Really?” he asked with a frown on his face.

Suddenly Daren burst out laughing.

“He is not different, Hayley. That’s just the way Reed is.”

“Thank you, Daren.” Reed said smiling at him.

I couldn’t help but stare at the two of them. They were so mysterious and Reed’s eyes were so hard to describe that a shiver pass through my body.

“You are not afraid of me, are you Hayley?” he said leaning toward me looking closely at me.

His search mine and somehow I notice they looked familiar. More familiar than I ever thought possible.

“No, I am not afraid of you.”

He smile at that then move back stealing another French fried out of my plate.

“Good.” He said with his sexy smirk. “Because I don’t want you to be.”

I continue to looked at him as he said that. He smile a heart melting smile at me once more and looked away.