The woods around her were dark and cold. She was running. From what, she didn't know. She just knew she had to run. She veered to her left, catching herself against a tree as her feet slipped on the snow covered leaves. She screamed for help but no sound left her mouth. A twig snapped behind her and she was off again. Her breathe came in hard bursts and her sides ached, but still she ran, deeper into the forest. The world around her grew darker. She could feel a presence around her. She stopped and pressed her back against a tree, willing her breathe to quiet. Soft footsteps could be heard, crunching the snow and leaves. Suddenly hard hands grabbed her upper arms. She tried to scream but still no sound came out. She looked into the face of her attacker, his face was in shadows, but she could make out blue eyes, staring at her maliciously. She gasped as she was pulled flush against his body, his hand moving to press against her neck, his breathe hot against her ears.
"You're mine."
His fingers started to squeeze.
Harper sat up with a gasp, looking around the room quickly. She immediately recognized her room in her Grandmother's house and took a deep, steadying breath. She leaned back against her headboard and closed her eyes, breathing slowly as her heart rate slowed down. She had been having the same dream every day for the two weeks that she had been here. She wanted to put the memories behind her but this dream just continued to haunt her.
She sighed softly and reached for her phone on her nightstand. She groaned when she was it was after 11 in the morning already. It seemed like all she had been doing recently was sleeping the days away. She loved being here with her grandma and she knew she needed the time to heal but she missed her friends and her dorm. And if she was being completely honest with herself, she was missing Sam the most.
They had both talked and agreed that being friends was what was best for their situation. She needed time to heal from the pain Adam had put her through and to find herself again. And even with acceptance from her grandmother and Headmaster Singer, he was still her teacher and they felt that was a line they shouldn't cross right now. But she couldn't stop the way she smiled and her heart skipped a beat every time he texted her. In all reality, a line had already been crossed but neither was ready to admit it.
Her phone chimed in her hand and a text from Jack came across the screen.
Miss you, H. How are you doing?
I'm getting along. Can't wait to get back to school.
Good! We're going crazy without you! Mr. W seems to be missing you too.
Ha. Ha. We're friends. That's it.
Whatever. He walks around like someone kicked his dog and gets all flustered whenever someone mentions you.
You're crazy.
If you say so. Anyways, Charlie wants to plan a trip to come see you this weekend.
Harper grinned broadly. A visit from her friends was exactly what she needed.
Um. Yes! Please do!
See you Friday evening! I gotta go, lunch is over! Love you, H.
Love you too!
She sat the phone down and closed her eyes. Just a couple days and she'd see her friends. She really did need to distraction from the boredom that came with healing. She felt herself starting to doze off again when the doorbell ringing jerked her awake. She sat up and yawned, stretching her good arm above her head. She could hear what sounded like two voices talking alongside her grandma's voice.
Curiosity and the need to get out of bed for a while had her sitting up and changing out of the oversized shirt and pajama shorts she had been wearing for the last two days. She wiggled a pair of yoga pants over the cast on her leg and slipped a tank top over her head. She grabbed her crutches and slowly made her way out of her room. Navigating the steps with crutches was an experience she was slowly getting the hang of. Once she was down, she turned towards the living room and froze as she took in the people before her.
Corbin and Kira Anderson sat on the couch across from her grandma. They were a married couple the same age as her parents had been. They had been with them the night they had time. The last time Harper had seen them was the day they brought her to live with her Grandmother. That had been nearly six months ago.
"What are you doing here?"
Her words came out more hostile than she had intended. She didn't blame them for her parents deaths but seeing them brought the wounds to the surface. Her grandma stood up and hurried towards her.
"Come on, Harper. Sit down. You should hear this."
Tabitha helped her to sit down comfortably, fussing over her in the ways that only grandma's can do.
"Tabitha was just filling us in on what happened. How are you doing?" Kira looked at her, her brown eyes filled with compassion.
"I'm fine. What's going on?" Harper stared intently at the couple across from her. She didn't miss the way the three adults exchanged glances.
Finally Corbin took a deep breath and looked her dead in the eyes.
"We found the nest that killed your parents."
Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! The next chapter should be up within the week! It will also be from Harper's POV. Please let me know what you are thinking! Your reviews keep me motivated to write, good and bad!
ALSO, check out the newest story I am working on, Rewrite the Stars is up now!
