[Chapter 4]

[After Dusk]

UnreachableRomance

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That night I had some ghastly dreams. Faces of April and Charlene spun; their expressions grim and staring at me accusingly. The aged photo of the girl that looked so much like me flashed in my face. And the last thing I remembered was the horrified look on a familiar green-eyed boy; a cry escaping from his pale lips--before I screamed and jolted up; drenched in sweat and my heart racing.

My scream echoed in my ears, and the rain pattered above me. I sat up on my bed for a moment to calm my nerves but I found myself shaking all over. I waited for my eyes to be adjusted to the dark before I softly walked out of the uncomfortable bed. Pulling on a grey jersey, I silently crept out of my room, the tips of my bare feet feeling ice-cold from the old wooden floor.

I made my way to the kitchen, tip-toeing--although I didn't really need to. Nobody would have heard me over the thunder either. When I reached the big room known as the kitchen, I reached for a glass and filled it with cool water which I greedily drank down. It cooled my burning insides, making me feel better. I glanced at the clock. It was twelve twenty. Late.

Just as I had finished washing the cup and was placing it back on the rack; I heard a tap at my window. Startled, I almost dropped the glass--but I breathed hard and told myself that it was just the sound of the tree branches shaking outside.

Calmly laying the cup on the shelf, I was about to turn around and run back to the safety of my bed, when I heard somebody whispering my name. My eyes went wide with terror. It was the same raspy voice that I had heard over the wind. I'd recognize that dry voice of dead leaves anywhere. I bit down hard on my lower lip so the tangy taste of blood filled my mouth. Choking down a scream, I ran over to the partly open window and peered outside. It was dark, just as what you would have expected. The rain fell in a slanted position; the wind was piercing cold and howling like in pain.

I took short breaths, and looked wildly for that presence that called my name. "Where are you?" I whispered, my own voice sounding chilling to me. I gathered up all the courage that was left in my guts and cried, "Where are you?!"

And in the corner of my eyes, I saw a figure. He or she was half concealed in the dark of the night, perched on the steps of the porch. Our porch. He lifted his face up and I was able to see the lifeless green orbs. I almost toppled over the window in my attempt to see more of him. Yes, yes--that was the boy who had visited the other night! My breath hitched in my throat as I gasped and ran over to the big front door. I knew that I would get in big trouble if my parents found out that I was going outside, so late at night--but I wasn't thinking clearly. I swiftly unlocked the mahogany door and pulled it open. The wind blew into the house with a roar and I scrunched my face up as it smacked my face. Pulling the heavy material of my jersey closer to my body, I made my way towards the boy.

His back was facing me and I saw that he was wearing the same clothes from the last time I saw him. I took small steps near the boy, my whole body trembling. As I reached closer, I swallowed deeply and closed my eyes shut before croaking out, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh. Hi," I heard his answer. It took all my might to open my eyes and see his face. I had imagined his face to be . . . well, scary, I guess. But what I saw was far different. He looked the same. He was still handsome, his face was still chalky white and his eyes were still blunt.

I let out a sigh of relief and was about to take a couple more steps to reach his side when I slipped on the rain water, falling down the stairs. I let out a cry as I splashed into a puddle, and opened my eyes to see the boy, Drew snickering. I suddenly grew very angry. Here I was, in the middle of night, all covered in mud and he was laughing at me?

"I don't think it's very funny," I snapped as I stood up, the mud dripping off of my body. His face grew solemn, but his amused smirk was still plastered onto his face.

"Yeah, fine," Drew answered. "Are you okay?"

"Just soaking wet and wrapped in mud," I replied dryly. "I don't know if that's considered as 'okay'."

He rolled his eyes and helped me dust the clumps of mud off of my sweater. Then we both sat down on the porch steps. My mind was whirling, literally. There were so many questions that I didn't know the answer to. Like who was the one calling out my name? Or simpler ones; like: what the hell was I doing, sitting outside with a person I hardly knew, in the middle of the night?!

"What are you . . ." I breathed out and looked up into his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I think I have the right to be wherever I want to be," the chartreuse-haired boy replied, haughtily.

I smiled tightly, taken back. Guess I should have thought of that. "Maybe I should elaborate myself," I tried again. "What are you doing here--in front of my house--in the middle of night?"

Drew looked up, a bit of amusement crossing over his face. "What are you doing here, in the middle of the night--and not in bed like everybody else?"

I set my shoulders back in an exasperated manner. "Well I can't help but see you while I was getting some water. And now answer my question."

More amusement filled his expression as he inched his face closer to mine so that I could smell the peppermint scent coming from him. A smirk overtook his upshot as I stared at him, appalled and not knowing what to do. "Maybe I want to be here. Maybe I wanted to see you again."

"W-what?" I choked out. I wasn't expecting his face to be so close. And I definitely wasn't expecting his face to appear even more mysteriously alluring and attracting in a mystifying way. But then the amused look on his face vanished as he pulled back and hung low. I stared at him, wide-eyed. There sure was a lot I didn't know about him.

"Actually," Drew started in a small voice. "Actually, I came here to ask for help."

"Help for what?" I asked, astounded. "I-I don't think that there's anything I can help you with."

He shook his head, looking the other way before staring into my eyes. His face appeared to be serious now and his eyes flickered with somber. "Don't get so humble," he said in a very low voice, his orbs not moving an inch away from mine. "There is something that you can do to help me."

"And what's that?" I asked in a big voice. "I-I mean--I have no idea what you're talking about! I'm not good at anything . . ."

"You don't have to be good at something for this case," Drew interrupted, as his soft-looking hair flew in the wind. "All you have to do . . ." his eyes turned away. "All you have to do is help me look for her."

His last words were so whispery. My ears had to be strained so that I could hear him. I wasn't sure what he was talking about either. Look for who? I didn't know anywhere here! I just got to this place a week ago. "What are you saying?" I finally asked. "I don't understand."

"I . . ." Drew trailed off and closed his eyes. "My best friend was killed because of me. And I need you to help me look for her."

And now I was starting to grow more puzzled. Help him look for someone that's already dead? Was he crazy? I wasn't a shrink or something. How in the world did he expect me to . . .?

"Are you, like, out of your mind?" I demanded, shaking my head. "If your best friend was killed then that means she's dead. Do you think that I . . . that I associate with the dead or something? Drew, what is your problem, exactly?!"

His eyes flashed open, almost glowing in the dark. The wind howled in the distance and the rain thundered harder. "I wouldn't be here if you were just a normal girl," he whispered. "But I know you're not. I know that . . . you can help me find me her."

"You're crazy, aren't you?" I asked in a shrill voice. "What makes you so sure that I'm not a normal girl? I just moved here, Drew. And if this is some stupid prank or something--then you can just enjoy your laugh and go home. I'm going inside."

I then stood up, but before I could stride past him, he grabbed my wrist in one swift motion. "This isn't a joke, May. You look so much like her! I know that you can help me--I just know it!"

I froze. His touch was icy cold but I was trembling for something else. My eyes went wide as I tried to breath. But I couldn't. I felt like suffocating. "I look so much like who?" I whispered, my heart booming in my ears. I heard him sigh as he brushed some of his hair away.

"Mary."

My jaw dropped open. His fingers were still grasped around my wrist but I was really starting to shake. Swallowing hard, I told myself to run back into my house and forget all about this. But I couldn't. I still needed to hear one last answer to a question I desperately needed to know.

"A-Are you . . . Are you Andrew Hayden?" I whispered out, the name sounding foreign to my lips. "Tell me! Are you?"

He let my hand drop and looked away from my face, as if in guilt. "They call me Drew now."

Something inside of me snapped. This was too much; it was just way too much! I raised both of my hands to my face and covered my mouth. "Oh my God," I whispered. "Oh my God!"

That was when I ran. I ran back into the kitchen, and closed the front door with a bang. Still shaking, I looked at the clock to see how much time had past. It felt like a lifetime. His words repeated in my ears and my eyes were all jumbled up. The numbers on the clock swam in front of me and I shut my tired blue eyes before opening them again.

Then I screamed. The clock was stuck on twelve-twenty. It had stopped since I last checked. I ran to the sitting room, flicking the lights on and looked at the grandfather clock. Twelve-twenty. I ran to the dining room, praying that somehow this was all a weird coincidence. My Dad had a clock obsession and he always had several antique clocks in the glass shelves. When Dad died, Mom kept them in the dining room. I had seen her unloading the possessions into the cabinet the other day.

I saw the wooden cabinet in the corner, almost like it was peering out at me. Running over, I looked at every one of the clocks. I let a low cry escape my mouth and the last thing I saw before everything blacked out . . . was twelve-twenty.

--

"Oh dear, she must have been sleepwalking . . ."

"And having a very bad nightmare."

"Sweetie, did you know May sleepwalked? Maybe we should go take her to the doctors or something . . ."

"I think we should just wait, Justin. Maybe it's those one-time things that happen."

I opened my weary eyes to face a worried-looking Mom and Justin. Groaning softly, I found myself to be in my room now; safely perched under my wool blankets. "What happened?" I moaned. My head spun.

"Well, honey, you were screaming so loud you could've wakened the whole neighborhood," Mom remarked as she petted my head. "We found you in the dining room. Did you know what you were doing in there?"

I tried to remember how I had gotten there. But all that came to mind was a fuzzy blur. I knew there was something that I had to remember, something that was too frightening not to remember. "Boy, I have a massive headache," I groaned and Justin raised both of his dark brows and sighed.

"You must be tired. Have some rest. And then maybe we can take you to see that doctor nearby . . ."

"I'm fine," I croaked. "I just feel horrible right now."

"We'll see," was his answer and Mom smiled at me understandingly. They both left my room, closing the door with a click. I sighed as the darkness engulfed me once more. It wasn't even morning yet. My eyes wandered around my almost-bare room, and came to rest on the open window. Why was that window open again? I swear I had closed it.

I shrugged and pulled myself out of bed, walking over to the window. I was just about to pull the glass down when I saw a back turned to me. He glanced up into my eyes and with a knowing look on his face, turned around and walked into the dark.

Green eyes.

A jolt of memory flashed into me. Something that had happened . . . Something that I couldn't remember about last night had to do with him. I just knew it.

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A/N: Oh wow. How did you find this chapter? Took me the whole day to do. Anyway, I was GOING to dedicate this chapter to whoever made the 40th review. But as that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon . . .

This chapter is dedicated to Judy (Judy-Licious) because she's doing a little comic based off of this story! :D So thank you, Judy and I hoped you liked this chapter!

Please review! And thank you to ALL of the support that you gave to this story! :)

-Suzie x