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Levi steps forward, and I notice my books and folder in his hand. He tosses them down the steps, and they clap loudly against the cement at my feet.
And then he goes right back inside, and Felix grabs onto the door, slamming it in my face.
A silent sob breaks from my chest, and I curl over at the waist, crying out as pain barrels through me. What’s worse than him kicking me out, is me realizing why I’m so upset.
I have fucking feelings for Felix, and he despises me.
Looking down at myself, I don’t have my boots or my clothes. I squat down, more quiet sobs breaking from my chest, my eyes never-ending rivers of tears as I pick up the books and folder and shove them inside my backpack.
Then I turn around, staring at the woods in front of me. I know I could grab my phone from my backpack, call my mom or grandmother, but that would involve telling them everything that’s been going on, and I don’t think either of them could handle it.
I could call my friends, but that would involve telling them why I’m so upset, and I have barely been able to come to the realizations about my feelings for Felix. I can’t share that with anyone.
I have no one else. And the only man I want is locked in the fortress behind me.
Zipping up my backpack, I shrug the straps over my shoulders. I take a large, shaky breath, my shirt wet and covered in tears, as I start making my way down his long driveway. I don’t know where I’m going, but I know I can’t stay here.
I’m not weak, and though I showed him a sliver of the softest part of me, I won’t beg for him.
If he doesn’t want me, doesn’t even want to listen to me, I won’t plead for him.
It’s his loss.
As I trudge down his driveway, I know if I were to walk home, it would take me about twenty minutes. Daylight is still a few hours away, and the night chill rolls over my skin as the woods grow thicker.
I don’t particularly like being out after dark in typical Castle Pointe. With the way things have been, I like it even less.
I keep my eyes straight ahead, feeling the weight of the many sets of eyes falling over me. My muscles begin to tense as I cut left, going into the woods. The wound on my stomach aches, each step pulling on the sensitive skin. I know I’m heading down a dark path, that these are the beginning signs of something unnatural, painful, something I may never recover from.
But if I fight for the light, will I still be dragged into the darkness?
The farther I step into the woods, the cooler the air grows. Goosebumps break along my flesh, and I run my hands up and down my arms as I glance around, expecting to see so much, but I see nothing. Nothing but woods, and darkness.
So much darkness.
Until the air begins to hum, and it feels low, like the earth is vibrating against my bare feet. It almost feels like laughter, or a deep voice speaks to me through the trees.
My fingers grip the straps of my backpack, and when I feel a gust of wind behind me, my eyes widen, my feet picking up as I run.
I race through the woods, feeling the night air somehow grow darker, more ominous with every second that goes by. My toes scrape against rocks and sticks as I sprint between the trees, ducking under low-lying branches. I don’t know where I’m going, the night sky making me feel lost in these endless woods.
The sound of laughter rings just over my shoulder, and on instinct, I glance behind me, seeing a creepy-looking woman in a white dress standing in the distance, her head pointed toward the ground. A stick cracks under my heel, and her head snaps up at the exact same moment, tilting to the side.
And she runs toward me.
Her feet are quick, and she easily closes the distance between us. I can’t help the scream that rips through my throat, and I pick up my pace as much as I can, my knees aching as I sprint endlessly away from her.
“Please, please, please,” I pant, fear clutching my lungs and making it nearly impossible to breathe.
“Oomph,” I grunt, my foot stepping into a hole in the ground, my ankle getting caught as I trip forward, into a pile of vines and sticks that seem to curl around me instantly, caging me in.
I scream as I try to break free, but it feels like they suction around my limbs, making it impossible to find a way out.
My eyes travel behind me, and I see the woman in the distance, once again, her head pointed to the ground, her arms hanging loosely at her sides as she just stands there.
I shove the branches and sticks aside, each one sharp and thorny as they scrape my skin. It’s painful, cutting against my flesh, and I feel blooms of blood drip across my arms and legs.
“Help me!” A guttural scream rips from my throat as I push against the cage I’m trapped between. The woman’s head snaps up again, as if each time she’s woken from a dream, and my eyes widen as her body tenses, the dark pools of her eyes watching me.
