Trying to sleep was like trying to slam shut a revolving door; freaking impossible. I slowly rose from my bunk and threw the blankets away, being careful not to wake anyone. I grabbed my bag and tiptoed across the room, slipping carefully out of the cabin door. I took a quick look around and set off for the one place I knew I could sleep -the forest.
It may sound strange, but when you live in a tree house in your best friend's backyard forest for a month or so because you can't stay with your step father, you learn to love and live in trees. Who cares about little bugs anyway? Well, anything but spiders, those critters are nasty little...
As I neared the forest, the cool summer breeze suddenly began to warm up. I looked back, was I being watched? No, I couldn't be, I told myself, shaking off the paranoia that had been growing in my chest. I continued my night time stroll to find a temporary bed like I didn't care about anything.
After walking for about five minutes, I stopped in front of a beautiful birch tree. Its bark shone just like the moon, a whitish silver colour. "Perfect." I said out loud, grabbing the lowest branch and so I began my steady climb.
~Flash back~
The first time I ever climbed a tree was with Lyra. It was also the day I left my 'comforting home'. I had moved to Rochester, New York when I was thirteen with my mom (Roslyn Holmes) and step father (Bill Winnet). Things went well for the first month, but then Bill began his addiction, drinking.
Around the same time when he had started drinking, I met the three people that made school less hellish, Raven, Safdeisha and Lyra. Lyra was the first person to accept me and we became best friends in little less than a week.
Lyra was the only one who had known about Bill, as she had witnessed one of his disgraceful outbursts, and had seen the scars all over my body. A month after Lyra and I met, I invited her over for dinner luckily my mom was thrilled to meet my new friend, but Bill, hated the idea.
"Roslyn we don't know this girl, why should we invite her into our home?" He had said, eyeing me like I was meat in a vegetarian dish. I remember that I had shifted foot-to-foot uncomfortably.
My mom had wrapped her arms around my shoulders, giving me the brightest smile she could manage. I had given her my best smile in return, knowing she'd do anything to meet my first friend at another new school.
"Lyra is going to be over in half an hour, get ready; I need to start cracking on dinner." She kissed my forehead and walked into the kitchen, leaving me behind with stinky Bill. When she had finally turned out of view, Bill grabbed my arms and pulled me close, his nails had dug into my skin. I had to bite my lip as hard as I could in order to stop myself from screaming.
"You listen here brat," He whispers harshly, his breath had stunk like sour alcohol. "You and your little friend had better behave, or you know what's coming to you." He shoved me away like a broken porcelain doll and turned to go to his room.
I had run to my room to check my arms. Thin marks were all that I could see, everywhere. "Well, looks like its sweater time." I had muttered to myself, grabbing my favourite Panic! At the disco hoodie.
~Dinner~
"Kaylee! Lyra! Dinner's ready!"Mom yelled from the dining room.
"Coming mom!" I yelled back, standing up. Lyra and I walked into the dining room, the lush smell of garlic roast chicken and mashed potatoes danced around the room and made my mouth water.
~Time skip~
It was half way through dinner when things began to get bad. "This is wonderful mom!" I had said to her, smiling ear to ear.
"Yea, Mrs. Holmes, this is amazing!" Lyra smiled brightly.
"Please, call me Rose." She laughed in reply, but their smiles faded as Bill spoke.
"First of all Lyrian, you will not call her Rose OR Roslyn, or Mrs. Holmes. You will call her Mrs. Winnet, second of all..." He stopped and I stared at Lyra with absolute horror as she dropped her fork in shock of his outburst.
"How in the hell do you know my full name?" She managed to say.
"You disrespectful child, I want you out of my house this instant!" His face turned beetroot with anger. That was the last I could remember from that night and just over a year after was when I moved into the tree house...
Suddenly, reality came crashing in like a UFO, for a moment I forgot where I was and what I was doing. I stared at the branch my hand was on and I make the mistake of looking down. I carefully placed my bag on a hook in the bark, and tried to lift myself up after, but my legs and arms failed me. My knee quivers and my fingers released the branch, just like the comical cartoons on CN. I fall back, the branch just out of reach.
I tried to pull myself together, but my brain refused to respond. I knew within seconds, the impact would kill me, or hopefully just break half the bones in my body. I felt the wind begin to rush past me as my decent quickens. I shut my eyes, bracing for my own death. Just as I should of smacked down on the ground, I felt something catch me, then slip.
I lay on top of the person's stomach, and burst out laughing, the person started to laugh alongside me.
"Thanks for saving me..." I gasped loudly. "Tree boy!" I said, pushing myself off of him.
"My name is not Tree boy!" He said with a groan, but still laughing.
"Then what is it?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Nico." He smiled at me.
"Oh, so it is Tree boy." I said, my face cracking into a huge grin.
Nico grabs my waist and pulls me in for a hug. "Crap!" I exclaimed loudly, slapping my forehead.
"What?" He said with his voice soft and his eyes full of concern.
"My bag is still up there!" I make way to stand but Nico just shakes his head, his messy hair getting tousled.
"I'm sure the wind will blow it down at some point." He smiled kindly.
"Yeah..." A cool breeze rushes past, and I shivered and automatically shifted closer towards Nico, who was looking up at the sky. I smiled slightly and he quickly looked down at me, his brown eyes sparkling and glowing with interest.
"What ya doing?" I asked, looking at him questioningly. In a spur of the moment, he grabs my face and squishes my cheeks with his palms. He was cold, but his touch was warmer than the cool breeze around us. He grinned at me.
"You have a green eye and a blue eye!" he exclaimed, tilting his head and examining them. I laughed, the only others who knew about this, were my own mother, and Lyra. I feel myself being pulled forwards slowly, I look into Nico's eyes and for a moment we were as one. But then of course the cold wind blew past and my bag fell right in the space between us. His hands slipped off of my face and he mumbles something under his breath. I could've sworn I heard laughing in the distance.
"Well," Nico leaned over and picked up my bag just as I reached for it, He swung it over his shoulder like a pro. "Holy Hades, what's in here, a rock?" He laughed and I remember the egg. I had forgotten about its existence during all the madness.
We began the walk back to the cabins, and all I could think of was the egg. I loved the designs that were woven into its shell; I loved how it always smelt of ash and fire.
Then, random lyrics popped into my head. "If I retreat, words, wars and symphonies make room, were taking over here," The voice in my mind sang. I shook my head and tried my hardest not to laugh. Nico looked at me.
"May your feet serve you well, and the rest be sent to hell, where they have always belonged, cold hearts brew colder songs, fate will play us out, with a song of pure romance, stomp your feet and clap your hands!" I sing out loud, my ADHD kicking into me.
"Let's kill tonight." Nico laughed at me. "You like Panic! At the disco?" he asked me.
"Hel... Heck yeah I do!" I grinned, but it was cut short as I looked around. "I think we may be lost." I said.
"Looks like it." He sighed at me, I can tell he had been through hard times because his eyes had shifted from a lively brown to a painted glaze. He almost looked like he was haunted by something.
"Nico..." I take a step towards him, "Are you...?"
"I'm fine, just, sorry."He took my hand and spun me around into a hug.
"Wha...?" I tried to say, but I was too confused about the fact we were suddenly standing outside of the Hermes cabin to say anything.
"Go on and try to get some sleep now, big day tomorrow." He let out a ghost of a laugh and then turned to leave.
"Wait!" I called out to him, and he turns with a smirk on his face.
"Yes, love?" His smirk widened, taking a step closer.
"My bag." I held out my hand.
"Oh right..." He unhooks the bag from his shoulder and he turned to leave. I quietly ran up to him, and gripped his shoulder. When he turned again, I lightly kissed his cheek. A slight blush highlights his pale composure. I grinned, but to be truthful, I had no idea what had come over me.
"See you tomorrow." He said, walking away to the Hades cabin. I watched him leave until he was out of my eyesight. Then, I turned, walked onto the wooden deck of the Hermes cabin and opened the door slowly, tiptoeing back to my bunk. I slid my bag under the bed, and then I slid under the covers and was finally able to get to sleep.