Powerless

After school was one of Eliza’s favorite times of the day. It was her time of true freedom. It was her time to do what she loved. Being on the dance squad was a part of her life, but dancing was her life. Every step, every movement, all of it was something that helped her escape. It helped her escape her past, her memories, and the bad things. All that was there was her fluid motion.

Of course, even if it was an escape from reality, it only lasted for about an hour and a half. “Ladies, ladies, ladies,” the coach called to the squad, “Very important announcement. In this end of the month, we got regionals with Brownstown. We all know that if we win this, that’s a ticket to finals. Brownstown has been our rivals for a long time – and last year they beat us. This year, that will not be the case,” she nodded at Eliza, “Eliza here will lead through regionals as our captain. We’ll be expecting the best from you, Eliza.”

Eliza nodded at her coach as she continued, “Also, girls, don’t let this be an excuse for you to start slacking on your homework. If I hear a word from your teachers about your grades falling because of practice, I’ll kick you out of the squad in a heartbeat. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!” the girls shouted.

“Practice is over. Get home safely.”

Eliza walked over to where her tote was on the bleachers, grabbing it. Eliza made her way to the nearest restroom to quickly change. Once she was done, she made her way to her locker to get her books. She threw her tote down, bending down to zip it open. She felt a small breeze coming from her right and she looked over, wondering if someone passed. No one was there. Shrugging, she stood, grabbing some books out of her locker. Once she grabbed what she needed, she bent down to shove them in her bag. She sighed as she stood and suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She gasped and her heart clutched from the surprise.

“Boo,” Tyler whispered, blowing into her ear.

“Jeez, Tyler!” Eliza scolded, “You scared me!”

“Sorry, babe,” Tyler said, kissing Eliza on the cheek before letting her go.

He grabbed her tote, laying the strap on his shoulder. He held out his hand, “You ready?”

She gave him a small smile before taking his hand, “Let’s go somewhere.”

He swung their hands back and forth some before asking, “Where to?”

Eliza wasn’t really sure. They stepped outside, the bitter cold touching their cheeks. The second semester has barely started and school was sure to have plenty of homework to make up for over the holidays. Eliza got into the passenger seat as Tyler packed their bags into the back seat. He got into the driver’s side, looking expecting at Eliza. She was still thinking, “I’m not really sure. Know a place with some smoking hot cocoa?”

He grin, “K&K. They have the best ice cream and hot cocoa in town.”

He started his car, letting it warm it up for a minute before they took off. They held hands as he pulled out of the school parking lot. “Where is it?” Eliza asked, curious.

“About ten minutes from here. It’s not that far,” he said, holding their hands up a little, smiling at her.

She smiled back before looking ahead, “Tyler! Watch out-“

Standing right in the middle of the road, was a tall-built man dressed in black. Everything seemed to happen in a flash. Tyler reacted by taking his hands away from Eliza’s. He slammed on his brakes, skidding to a halt. The force of the brakes caused Eliza’s seatbelt to lock as she felt her knees hit the dash. The two of them took in deep breaths, glad to not to feel the impacted of the man.

Only, he wasn’t there.

“The fuck…” Tyler breathed, brushing his hair back, “Eliza… what was that about?”

“There was a man…” she started, staring at the empty street.

Tyler put the car into park and threw off his seat belt. Eliza was right behind him on that motion. They both got out, checking out the front of the car. There was no man to be seen anywhere on the streets. She sat down on the hood of the car, taking in deep breaths. Tyler rested his hands on the hood, doing the same. He looked over at Eliza after a few minutes of silence, “You okay?”

She swallowed a lump in her throat, nodding. It was one hell of a scare, but she’d be fine. “I… I think I want to go home,” she said, regretting her idea from earlier.

He nodded, rising. He placed a hand on her cheek, “You’re really pale. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She looked up at him, not wanting to admit what was really going through her mind. She looked around, seeing the familiarity of the street. She finally nodded at him, taking a deep breath. “Are you sure you’re okay? Did you hit your head?”

She shook her head, but he felt around just to be sure. What could she do? There was no way she could say that this very moment reminded her of what happened years ago. After Tyler was sure she was fine, he took her hand and kissed her knuckles, “I’m really sorry. I’m sure this reminded you of what happened before.”

She nodded, very glad that he understood. He pulled her into a tight embrace, letting her rest her head on his shoulder for a moment before he pulled back, “I’ll take you home, okay?”

Eliza nodded, getting off the hood of the car and getting back in. The car ride was silent, and the disappearance of that man soon left their minds. Tyler’s thoughts were worried over Eliza and her well-being while hers was just the memories of a bad dream.

You need to get a hold of yourself, she thought, it was just a mere accident.

The next day got better. Tyler never seemed to leave her side then. It was strange though. She had the dream of the accident every night, but after yesterday’s event, Tyler felt the need to stay by her side. She never told him of her dreams either, so that was one cause, but it felt good needless to say. She liked how she knew she wasn’t alone. Tyler was right there by her side. He has been since their sophomore year, and always will be for the days to come.

But even he couldn’t protect her for what was to come.