"Could life get any better than this?" Emily grinned and shook her head at Maya's question.
It was the first warm day after a long, bone-chilling winter. The sun was shinning on their skin, warming every inch of them. She and Maya were lying on their backs in the middle of a meadow. They kept their gazes on the sky while they played with each other's fingers. Just enjoying each other's company. Emily relished in moments like this. Maya was so hot and cold sometimes that Emily had learned to hold onto these moments with her for as long as possible. Emily blocked out the rest of the world and told herself that she and Maya were the only two people that existed.
"No, life doesn't get any better than this moment right now. We might as well stay here forever and never move from this spot!" Emily squealed as she leapt to her feet. "We can build a small house right here. During the day we will collect berries and at night, we will cuddle together until the sun rises again. Oh, it would be so romantic!"
"Em, be real and lie down," Maya said with a laugh.
"Hey, a girl can dream can't she? We'll just need to figure out how to have a pool installed." Emily said as she continued to daydream. Maya didn't respond; she simply rolled her eyes and continued gazing at the sky.
Emily began to relax too much as the warm air swirled around her body. The tall blades of grass around her swayed back and forth in a hypnotic dance. She fought to stay awake, but it was no use. She slowly drifted to sleep next to Maya, feeling safe and warm.
When a gust of cold air hit her she groaned and tried to reach for Maya. Her hand came up empty, though. She stood up in a panic and strained her eyes trying to see through the now dark night. Maya, where is Maya? she thought. Her mind was racing and she began to assume the worst: A bear! Oh no a bear took her. Get a grip. There are no bears in Rosewood. I think. Maybe. Hopefully. Oh GOD! "Maya," she yelled fanatically into the dark. She waiting, but heard no response. "MAAYYYYAA..." she yelled as loud as could until her voice cracked. Still nothing. Fear was grabbing at her stomach now and twisting it into knots. Her legs began to feel heavy, but her mind willed her to run. She just didn't know which direction she should be running in. The moon was not out that night and without its light she could not see her hand in front of her face. Think Emily, think, think, "My phone!" She grabbed her phone and pushed the button to wake it up from its nap. She glanced at the home screen noticing there was a text from Maya:
Hey Sweets, I got bored and left. U looked so peaceful I didn't to wake u. XO Maya.
"What! You left me alone in a field because you were 'bored' and I 'looked peaceful'" Emily said. It was more of a statement of disbelief than a question. Ok, it's fine. I'll just call her and she'll come get me, Emily thought.
After four rings she got Maya's voicemail, "Hi, Babe, it's me. I was wondering if you can get me from the field. I slept well into the night and now I can't see my way out of here. My phone is almost dead, so can you please hurry?" Emily waited...and waited...and waited. An hour had passed with no word from Maya and her phone had long since died. It was almost 11:00 pm now and the air was getting colder.
The feeling of being safe and warm became a distant memory for Emily. She began to realize that she was going to have to get herself home. She mustered up all of her courage and began to walk. Wishing that she hadn't wasted the last of her cell phone battery on a call to Maya because she really could have used a light. Was it left at the tree or right? Am I walking in circles? Oh God, what was that? Are those eyes?! Her fearful thoughts were not helping her situation. She tried to keep her head down and keep going, but her fear terrified her into freezing sometimes. She regretting watching every scary movie that she had ever watched and vowed to stick to rom-coms from now on. "Ryan Gosling would have never left Rachel McAdams in the woods by herself," she said out loud. Her voice was the only thing keeping her company. Suddenly, she heard a branch snap. She whipped her head around to try to see what caused it before remembering it was too dark to even see her own eyelashes. Like the girls in the horror movies, she took off running in no particular direction. Just running for her life. She opening her eyes as wide as she could hoping that perhaps she would develop the ability to see in the dark. She kept running, her lungs burned, until she tripped on a rock. Not being able to get her arms out in time she broke her fall with her face. Too stunned to move, she lay there, hoping that she put enough distance between her and the vile creature the broke the stick. She felt the blood roll down the side of her face and suddenly became aware of the gash above her right eye. Tears started to stream down her face, mixing with the blood and sweat. "HELP! Help me please," she yelled and started to sob uncontrollably.
"Stop yelling, I'm here," a stern voice said from behind her.
Ok that's not Maya! Creeper in the woods! NO! Emily panicked and jumped to her feet ready for fight. The pain radiating from her head wound was too much for her, though, and it knocked her back on her ass.
"S-stay away from me. I know...karate," it sounded more like a question, but Emily hoped it would do the trick.
"Well make up your mind. Do you want me to stay away from you or do you want help," the stranger asked with a laugh.
Emily sighed. She knew this was her only hope, "help, please."
She felt the stranger move closer to her and realized they were wearing a headlamp. It was shining a small light on the ground until the light reached Emily's face. She could hear the person breathing; feel their warmth now, but could not see their face. Suddenly a warm, leather jacket was covering Emily's shoulders. It smelled like daisies and chlorine. Her stomach jumped as she breathed the scent in deeply. She started to relax and feel safe again. The pain returned as a rag was now being pressed onto the cut on her head. She took a sharp breath and winced.
"Ow! Stop," Emily protested as she moved her face away.
"Oh come on, I thought you were a tough girl. After all, you were ready to kick my ass with your karate skills just a minute ago," the stranger teased.
Emily knew she had been caught in a lie, "I might have exaggerated my toughness."
"You had me fooled," the stranger said.
Emily perked up, "Really?"
"No, not really," the stranger laughed. Emily could tell from the movement of the light that the girl dipped her head when she laughed that time. "Okay, I think the bleeding is under control for now. Just hold the rag for me so I can get you out of here."
Emily took over holding the rag. She felt strong arms wrap around her, pulling her to her feet. Emily noticed how warm the girl's arms were despite the cold temperature. She could feel hot breath against her ear as she stumbled towards her support system a little bit, catching herself on broad shoulders. All at once she felt like it was too hot for a jacket.
"Just lean on me okay. I've got you," the stranger whispered in her ear.
Emily nodded her head, very aware of the increasing wobble in her legs. With one foot in front of the other they began to walk forward. Emily was surprised about how much she was relying on this person she did not know. She realized that she didn't know her name or had even seen her face. All she knew is she felt safe and the stranger smelled like daisies and chlorine. Chlorine.
"Are you a swimmer," Emily asked her hero.
"Uh...no."
"Oh sorry, your jacket and skin smell-" Emily blushed when she realized she admitted to leaning into her rescuer more than she needed to. Still, she continued, "like chlorine. I'm on the swim team at Rosewood High and everything I own smells like chlorine. No matter how much I shower I cannot get the smell out of my hair."
"I don't swim," was all the stranger said. Emily could tell that she was a little more short with her and more stiff than she had been earlier. Emily worried that she had said something to make her feel uncomfortable.
They continued to walk for another ten minutes. Neither one of them saying anything. Ask what her name is. Name. Ask her name! Emily repeated to herself internally. When they reached the trailhead Emily's mother had just got there. She rushed up to her daughter, sobbing, clutching her daughter in a desperate hug.
"Oh my God, Emily! I was so worried about you. Are you ok? Are you hurt? What happened," Emily's mother, Pam, said through the tears.
"Mom, I'm fine. Just a cut on my head. You should thank...Hey, where did she go," Emily said as she looked around for her hero. Emily realized that her rescuer had slipped away during the commotion with her mom. She clutched the jacket around her shoulders and leaned up against her mom. "We have to find her."
"I think she left, Emmy, but we'll find her later. Come on Sweetie, let's get you to the hospital," Pam said. Emily nodded and walked to the car. She wondered when she was going to get to thank the person that saved her.
Four stitches later, Emily left the hospital and was back in her own bed. After plugging her phone in she turn it on, certain she would find a text or missed call from Maya. She braced herself for what Maya's excuse was going to be. Emily's heart sank when she realized that the only texts had come from: her mom, Spencer, Hanna, and Aria.
Emily, where are you? Call me. -Mom
Hello Em, where are you? Text me. -Spencer
Emily, OMG we are worried sick. :( Call us. -Hanna
Where are u? Please call us. -Aria
Emily sent a mass text to her friends letting them know that she was okay, but tired. She would tell them all about it in the morning at school. She debated calling Maya, but decided against it. She was sure she would hear from Maya tomorrow. Pam bombarded Emily with questions about why she was in the meadow. Emily did not want to tell her mom that Maya had left her out there. Her mom was already not Maya's biggest fan. She felt relief when her mother agreed to drop the subject until tomorrow. That would give her more time to come up with valid reason.
Emily dropped her phone on her bed and lay back against the pillows. She realized that she was still wearing the leather jacket. She pulled the material of the jacket to her nose and inhaled deeply; she felt butterflies in her stomach this time. Definitely chlorine, she thought. She let her mind drift to the stranger that had found her in the woods. What was her name? What was she doing out there? Why did she start to shut me out when I asked her about swimming? Emily drifted to sleep, still wrapped up in the jacket that she was pulling tightly around her.