Cammie Morgan
I watched as Zachary walked down the wooden steps, too agonizingly slow for my already worried nerves.
Perhaps Macey was right. Maybe all he wanted was to take my life, then leave me for some innocent child to find- pale and lifeless. Just thinking about that terrified me to no end. I wasn't ready to die, and when I am, I don't want it to be by homicide.
"Calm down, Cam," the way he said my name, so soft yet mysterious, had me on edge. A high one. A cliff where I was bound to fall off of soon.
His footsteps were slowly making their way towards me, the wet dewy grass made soft squeaking sounds with every step and I wondered why I would listen to him. Who would when the very person you're scared of is telling you to calm down the same way they would talk about the weather? You're scared of them for a reason, and it most likely won't change.
My mind was too preoccupied thinking this so when I felt the knuckles of his left hand on my right cheek, I jumped.
I looked up at him, biting my bottom lip to keep from crying as he touched my skin.
Zachary's eyes were hooded over, his breaths slow and even as the back of his hand continued to stroke my face. The feeling almost tickled. It reminded me of those many times my father decided to brush me with a feather he'd find on the ground when we went fishing. But instead of the humor in the air and feel of a most likely diseased attachment of a bird, there was only tight, suffocating, dry oxygen that closed in on my lungs like a boa constrictor. It didn't take long for me to understand that the suffocating feeling was fear. Fear of him.
"No need to be so jumpy, Cam. We're just here to talk." He murmured.
It was so dark out. The moon that I often scolded for shinning too brightly in my room decided that this was the perfect time to hide behind the dark eerie clouds.
The thought made me mentally scowl.
"What do you need?" I asked, my tone short. It was bad enough that he stared at me constantly, and the fact that he was always around me someway, somehow. I didn't need to stand in his presence willingly longer than I needed to, and one second was long enough.
Zachary didn't answer me. Instead, he ran his long tan fingers down my right arm, locking our fingers together once his warm hand reached my own. In return, my breathing quickened.
This is the end, I thought as Zachary dragged me towards the gazebo, I've only lived seventeen years. I had a plan for my future, but it looks like all my hopes and dreams are being washed down the drain now. I couldn't help but let my last ever tears run down my cheeks.
We stopped in the center of the beautiful piece of architecture, and as I stood in front of Zachary, I realized for the first time just how tall he was. He had to be at least a foot taller than me, and having to look up at him the way I was made me feel even more smaller than I had originally thought.
It was extremely intimidating.
"Cam, you don't have to be afraid." He whispered to me. I realized our hands were still intertwined, and judging from his grip, he wasn't quite ready to let go.
I looked around the old wooden gazebo. There was no doubt in my mind that there was time taken in to building this place. The built in benches wrapped around the pentagon base, stained a deep brown so the stood from the cherry wood. They were such comfortable seats, and I loved relaxing on them. The building was my favorite place to sit and relax, but I think Zachary is going to ruin the comfort and safety the place brought me.
"I-I'm not afraid." I whispered while looking over his shoulder at the delicate carvings slightly lit on the post behind him from a nearby dim streetlight. I silently thanked the darkness as it hid my blush when I stuttered.
Zachary chuckled, quiet and humorless, and he placed his free hand on my cheek as he rubbed my stray tears with his thumb.
"Then what are these for?" Of course I had no answer, because they are exactly what he was thinking they were for.
"Why do you always stare at me?" Now was as better a time than never to ask him my questions- and change the subject. He clearly wasn't in a hurry to tell me what he had to say, and I needed answers, "Why are you always so exact with every thing and who changed your school schedule? What was the paper you gave me at the cafe? It freaking dissolved! Zachary, you-"
"I told you already, call me Zach," he snapped. My mouth shut the moment he interrupted me while my eyes stared into his. Always so captivating. Even in the dark, "It's not Zachary to you anymore, alright? I want you to call me Zach." He wasn't whispering anymore. We were both talking in normal voices, any threat of being heard didn't matter to us.
"Why do you care what I call you?" I spat, finally ripping my hand away from his and stepping back. The hand that was resting on my cheek lazily fell to his side as I glared at him.
"Stay away from me!" My words were quick and short. Now I was hoping someone heard. He was crazy and needed to be restrained. It was only a matter of time for his stalker habits to become physical. I didn't know what he was capable of, but judging from his size, he could squish me like a bug, or worse.
Zachary's eyes darkened as he clenched his jaw. I've never seen him so angry, and it was possibly the most freighting thing anyone could witness.
"No." Was all he said. His voice was low and dangerous sending sparks of fear up my arms and spine.
"I'm going to call the cops if you ever bother me again," I replied, ignoring my the horror I felt while in his presence, "Stop following me, stop staring at me, stop giving me looks that make you look like a psychopath! Just stop!" I backed away from him, ready to make a run for it, but a pair of arms were suddenly wrapped around me, keeping me from moving further away.
A scream instantly escaped from my throat, but before it could reach anywhere, a hand covered my mouth and I struggled for freedom.
I looked around to see Zachary had left, but the voice in my ear told me he wasn't far, which only made me struggle harder.
"No, Cam. I'm trying to protect you okay?" His breath tickled my ear as he spoke quietly yet urgently, a feeling I wished I would never have to experience again. "There are people looking for you. You need to come with me before anything bad happens. They're so close. Please, I'm only saying this to protect you." He waited for me to calm down before taking his hand away from my mouth.
"From what?" We were both silent for a while. I listened to the crickets chirping in the garden and field. The moon still mocked me, hiding behind the clouds when I most needed it. All I could think about, besides Zachary's arms caging me to him, was that there may have really been a Man on the Moon, and he liked to make my nights miserable.
"From darkness." He said after a while. Those all too familiar chills once again ran up my spine as his lips brushed my ear while he spoke, "From dangerous people. Like Mrs. Souls, Josh, Macey." I gaped at him. I was flabbergasted. The sound of their names practically being spat from his lips like sour milk disgusted me.
How could he say that? Those three people were less crazy and 'dark' than he was.
He's insane.
"What could a sweet old lady ever do to me? Josh and Macey are good friends that care about me and would never hurt me." I whispered as warm tears once again flowed down my cheeks. I felt insulted that he would say that about my friends. People who were just so kind. He didn't deserve to even think about them.
Zachary tightened his arms around my waist. I felt him press his lips more firmly against my ear and I could have sworn he took a deep intake of breath to smell me.
"Why do you think they're always around you? Mrs. Souls always talks about her late husband as if he was still here. Don't you think that's a little strange?" Of course I did, but he didn't need to know that.
"Mrs. Souls is an old lady who can barely even remember her own name. She's a little loopy, yes, but she can't help it. Besides, it's her way of grieving and coping." I struggled a little in his arms, surprising myself as I wished Josh were there to take me away. "Wouldn't you go a little crazy, at least for a little while, if someone you loved dearly died?"
"You're wrong," He avoided the question. I didn't know whether that was good or bad. No one could be so heartless that they didn't care if someone they knew died, "She wants you to feel sympathy for her. That way, you're unguarded, ready for her to strike." I felt my hair being moved off my left shoulder along with my hoodie, his soft warm lips soon covering the bare skin with a tender kiss.
Wearing a tank top was probably not my best choice.
"Josh and Macey, they just use your nativity to their advantage. I can see it in their eyes." He paused for a moment, unwrapping his arms from me and turning me to face him. Through the darkness I could see his beautiful green eyes. Almost like a cat's shining in the darkness. If I concentrated really hard, I could see the sadness within his orbs. Of what, I didn't know, but at the time, I didn't really care.
"Don't go," the pain and hidden anger in his voice as he said that was surprising and unexpected. Before I could ask him what he meant, Zachary continued, "Josh is just using the date to real you in. I swear it, Cam! He wants to kill you! You can't trust anybody!"
So we're yelling now.
Now it was my turn to get angry. I knew Joshua Abrams well. We were good friends, and I knew he would never even think about killing someone. One time I got cut while working, he nearly fainted at the sight of the small drop of blood.
I was angry he would speak about my friends the way he was. So angry I could have slapped his face so hard he'd never be able to smirk again.
So I did.
My hand started throbbing the moment it came in context with his cheek. The sound it made was loud and I'm sure it stung him as well.
"And why are you so sure people are out for me?!" I yelled back as Zachary rubbed his cheek and chin, his head still displayed so I was seeing the side of his face. "Why do you suppose they, who ever it is, wants me?!"
"Because!" He yelled back once he got over the shock of me slapping him.
"Because why?! The only person I 'shouldn't trust' is you. So why should I believe you?!"
There was a long pause. He seemed to be contemplating whether he should tell me or not, which made me nervous and curious. Two things that never go well together. Yet it was when he spoke that I wished I hadn't asked anything. I should have pretended to believe him, get this thing over with and go back home and smash my head into a wall in hopes to forget everything.
I could never forget his next words, no matter how much I tried.
"Because I want you."
A simple answer. Whispered so quietly I was shocked the small breeze didn't drag it away. Who knew something so easily put could send such harsh waves of fear, confusion, and delight down one's whole being?
I did the only thing I knew to do when I heard that.
I ran.
My feet slapped against the pavement on the road, echoing through the night. I could hear his voice calling for me to come back, but I wasn't listening, too busy running for my life. Life I could only think was going to be cut short.
"You're crazy!" I yelled out to him, "you need to be sent to a mental facility, see a psychologist, get medication! I don't need protection from anything or anyone but you!" Zachary's voice continued to fade as he begged me to listen, drowning in the night the further my feet dragged me home.
I wish Patrick Jane was real. I'd call for him, beg him to figure things out for me with his mind games. I'd buy him all the tea in the world if he did.
...
My footsteps echoed in the quiet night, almost loud and disturbing. Small hoots of owls sounded as I passed while lonely deer and rabbits rustled in the woods nearby. My breath was heavy and ragged as tears continued to flow down my face. I felt like the deer and rabbits. So venerable and easily frightened. Hunted for so long without even knowing it, then finding out too late with no time to fight.
The only way I could see in the dark night was with the dim streetlights overhead, but as I got closer to the rural part of Roseville, the lights got less and less until I was completely consumed in darkness.
I was to much in debate and fear and adrenaline at home that I forgot to bring my phone, completely leaving me with no resource for seeing in the dark.
"Crap," I mumbled to myself.
This is gonna take forever, was the only thing my mind could think of as I looked around my barely visible surroundings.
I was stupid. I could already picture Macey laughing at me while saying 'I told you so!' like a child. I'd have to man up and admit defeat, acknowledging the fact that she told me I was going to get bit in the butt if I were to actually meet Zach. All the more reason I knew not to tell her about the note, paper, or the fact that I was actually debating on going to the little get-together.
...
I made it back home after ten minutes of wandering random roads and squinting at street signs so I could semi-see them in the dark. The whole time I would be sure to stay alert of my surroundings. I know now that Zachary is some insane boy that is either obsessed with me, or some assassin gone nuts. Who knows what he'll do if things aren't done his way. I prayed he didn't plan on following me though, because if he doesn't know where I live now (which I highly doubt at this point) then I don't want to give him help to find the place I call home.
The front door opened quietly and smoothly, making it much more easier to get in and go to bed before anyone suspects anything.
Even though I knew they were sleeping, as I took my shoes and coat off, I looked around me, expecting my Mom and Dad to come out with a big 'gotcha!' then my Dad proceeding to give me a two hour lecture on being out past curfew, accusing me of meeting with a boy (which he would be right, but wouldn't need to know that) and the obvious sneaking out.
When I made it safely to my room, all obstacles of creaking wood floors and staircases and light that would produce shadows were professionally avoided by me, I quickly checked my phone for the time.
1:00 AM
I squeezed my eyes shut, internally groaning as I knew I was going to be cranky and out of gear for the entire day when I wake up in the next five hours. I hated being mean. I tried to avoid it as much as possible, but when I'm tired, I tend to snap easily. Sure I'd feel guilty about it, but it didn't make up for making people feel upset.
My black comforter was cozy against my skin, but the warmth it gave me didn't make feel anymore tired. So I just laid in my bed with my hands behind my head, thinking about anything and everything.
Macey is definitely going to kill me, was the first thing that occupied my mind. When I tell her about Zachary and the note then actually risking my life by meeting him, I'm as good as dead. I could hear her gasps of horror, making sure I knew that if I had died, she would have killed me then me responding with an eye roll. And it's not only that, but she'd basically accuse me of 'cheating' on Josh by sneaking out to see a boy- even though she knows I'd much rather date a slug than the green-eyed dude. Besides, I didn't even feel that way for Josh, at least not yet, and we weren't even officially dating. Either way, when it comes to other people's romantic lives, Macey just can't seem to mind her business and butt out.
Josh was another person that was kind enough to grace my thoughts that eventful night. It didn't surprise me though. If I was going to be completely honest with myself, then I'll admit I was kind of nervous yet excited for the date. It was my first one ever, and with an extremely cute and kind boy. I hoped that I would get feelings for him soon, because he was such an amazing person that deserved love.
Josh wasn't as popular as I thought he would be when he first arrived in Roseville. Many people judged him for being a New Yorker and immediately accused him of being kicked out of his old school due to drug dealing. The few friends he made were with the outcasts, the only people in the world lucky enough to discover everyone's true colors. And I was one of them. We got on real well, though I never thought we'd go this far.
And he was not some crazy weirdo Zachary thinks he is.
"One date," I told myself as I yawned. "If I feel even the tiniest spark, then I'll go out with him." Though that was easier said than done. I still had questions about Zachary. I wanted to know why he was the way he was, I needed to understand stand why I was so special. And as I thought about our verbal encounter, I realized two things.
The first thing, was how does he know I call him by his full name when I make sure he is never around when I do talk about him? There were only two explanations, though I stuck with him sticking a bug on me as the most reasonable one. Reading my mind seemed a little too far out to be real, though both reasons were not anymore comforting.
The other question- how on earth did he get behind me so quickly without me even noticing he moved?
...
"Well someone had a good night last night," my Dad joked as I trodden down the stairs, still half asleep. I could smell the eggs and waffles he was making causing my mouth to water, "Party too hard?" I glared at him with all the aggravation my sleepy state could muster.
"Not funny." He just laughed while stirring the scrambled eggs in the pan.
We sat in a comfortable silence as we ate. I could hear the shower in my Mom and a Dad's room running. She was humming some familiar tune which only made me more tired.
"So, are you excited for your date?" My dad asked. He didn't let me answer though, "You know, I've known Henry for a long time. We went to college together. He brought his son down the the office once, nice kid. He's good for you." I looked down at my plate as he spoke, moving my fork around to draw random pictures and patterns that would soon morf together for me to start another sticky drawing.
"I don't suppose I need to give you the 'use protection' speech," he said after a while. I blushed and my eyes widened.
Oh no. It's happening.
"But please think before you do... anything like that. I'm not ready to be a grandpa."
That just happened. Isn't my Mom supposed to give me the 'no sex before marriage' talk? Oh yeah, that's puberty.
Now that was a horrible conversation.
"Oh don't worry, Matty." I jumped in my seat, knocking my plate to the floor with my elbow in the process.
My mom came out of her room drying her soft dark hair with her towel while still wearing her fluffy black bathrobe. Not even an ounce of makeup and she still looked beautiful.
"Cam will do just fine." I gave her a thankful smile for saving me from such an awkward conversation with my Father. "Just remember, Honey," she continued, "If you two go anywhere late tonight, always stay in the open and talk to no one." I gave her a weird look, but nodded anyway.
"Yeah, stranger danger. Got it, thanks. And yes," I turned to my dad, "I am excited." I cleaned up my mess and said goodbye to my parents.
I was not in the mood for school. Not only was I tired, but I saw Zachary in almost every class. Today, I just wasn't ready to deal with him.
...
A/N: Hi guys! Thanks to all of you who wished me a good time at Canada! Toronto was fun! (the islands and city)
I'm behind on shout outs so I'm just going to say a thank you to all! I didn't really think I would get so much love for this story so quickly.
A few things I would like to make notice of though:
~infectiouscowls: It's reviews like yours that make me feel like I really mean something to you guys. Even if it is just my stories that make my readers feel better. I'm so very happy I made you happy and your day a little brighter.
~And to all of you who think I'm 'an amazing writer' and 'should consider making it a carrer' you guys are super up-lifting. I don't have much confidence in my writing and when I read professional books, I feel even worse and have a deeper lack of confidence. So thank you all so much. I really hope you mean it when you say you like my stories.
Well, anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait! I was typing this all week on my phone in the notes section and then on my computer when I got home and may I just say- holy crap. no wonder my earlier stories suck so bad. Typing these on my phone involve many errors.
how was it?
something I should do different?
what would you like to see?
complaints?
something you hated and something you liked about this chapter?
OH! And my friend's hedgehog has lost an eye, just incase you were wondering.
*****Golden Woods will be updated soon! Hope you didn't forget about that story o.O*****and I was thinking about re-posting Slaves: Secrets Of Enchantment again, but it wasn't too popular. So if you think it sounds interesting, I'll put the description in the next A/N (I had it on another account when I forgot this ones password, but then I forgot that password so...)
Was it this story where I said I wasn't doing A/Ns? Because if so, that did not work out for me.
Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you think so far! I love you all so very much and am so grateful for you! Sorry for not doing shoutouts. doing both chapters is too much for my lazy self... but I will start doing them net chapter!