Chapter 7 :) Sorry for taking so long to publish it. :) I hope you like it. :)
I woke up the next morning with a bit of difficulty. I hadn't slept well enough as you may assume. Not only for the lack of comfort my makeshift bed provided me but also because of the multiple tensions of the other day. My muscles felt as stiff as rocks and my eyes heavy and tired. Damn it! Another day of resting gone to waste. Damn you, Truant! That's right. Damn you! All of the misfortunes that exist in my life are because of him. It almost seemed like if his life rotated in reducing mine to angles and squares, making it a living hell. Speaking of Truant, he hadn't made a sound, not even his breathing could be heard. Was he still asleep? I looked over my shoulder and saw my empty bed. It was perfectly made that it appeared as if none had slept on it in weeks. For a moment it appeared weird to me, but after seconds I felt that delicious feeling of peace and freshness, of that wonderful feeling of happiness that caresses you when something goes well. I sighed with relief and fell unto my pillow once more, comfortable as I basked on my wonderful Truant-free morning. The walls of my room shared this quiet and soothing moment of mine and lulled me slowly to sleep, lost in the dream world that I was so fond of. Of course, I would have allowed myself to rest if it weren't for the voice of my mother that resonated on the house. "I'm coming!" I yelled back happier than usual. I guess not even the interruption of naps would bring my mood down. And, as if I were a ten year old on Christmas, I jumped off my makeshift bed and ran downstairs, making the lack of Truant in my life quite obvious.
"Good morning Cloud!" My mother said tenderly and embraced my frame with her loving arms. I was beyond glad to see her in higher spirits, the past forgotten and her whole demeanor one of radiant light. What surprised me beyond words was that she spoke to me as if nothing had happened last night. And being so, I didn't wish to ruin the little calm between the storm by asking her about her thoughts about what occurred yesterday. "I made your favorite!" She said and placed the plate filled with recently baked hotcakes bathed with maple syrup and butter. I didn't know what else did she add to the hotcake dough but...God...they tasted like heaven's clouds. I immediately dug in like a ravaging wolf.
"Oh! By the way!" She said as she seated before me, her typical cup of black coffee in her hands. "Your friend left early this morning and asked me to give you this." Saying this, she handed me a simple piece of paper, very wrinkled paper if I may say, in which a telephone number with terribly penmanship lay written.
"What for?" I asked my eyes still on the ink on paper.
"He mentioned something about a project you two had to finish and wondered if you would like to do so this week. He said to call if you so desired." She sipped a bit of her coffee and took out a cigarette from the pack before her. One of this days she was bound to get ill due to her addiction. Nevertheless, I couldn't deny that seeing her smoking gave the woman an air of power. She let go a puff of that stinky smoke and smiled my way. "I must say Cloud. That friend of yours, is a true gentleman." I scowled and looked once more at the scrawly writing of Truant. My jaw tensed upon the brewing storm. I had completely forgotten about the project and now not only was Truant ruining my well-deserved weekend..No!...He wanted to impose his disgusting and damned presence on my week as well. My whole body trembled with anger and I could feel the scrutinizing gaze of my mother on my self. I thought of all the calming techniques I knew and tried to ease myself unto inner peace or so its called. I breathed deeply and exhaled longly. In and out. In and out. With a long and final sighed I managed to suppress the turmoil of emotions in me and realized that if I wanted to get rid of Truant's presence in my life I had to end this fast and cleanly. Better now that later. I took another bite of those delicious hotcakes and reveled in that heavenly taste. While doing so I realized that perhaps one deity hated me greatly to punish me with such fate. But then again, who was I to question godly decisions.
"I'll call him." I took the last bite from my plate and stood up. "Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious." She simply flashed me a charming smile. After placing the dirty plates in the sink, I took my leave towards my room. And as soon as I closed the door, I slid defeatedly on the floor. My hand combed back my gravity-defying hair and with I sighed I took my phone out. The faster this ended, the faster Truant was out of my life forever. To my mind came the biology test that was coming. I trusted the knowledge I held for now and will of course study later on. This project was far more important than some meekly test. "Well...here it goes." Trying to push back the urge to puke, I dialed Truant's number. My throat became tighter and tighter with every dull ring from the other side. I loathed this, I loathed Truant with my whole being, with every drop of blood in me. Damn it! Why was my life so miserable? Oh wait...Because Truant meddled in it!
"What do you want from me?" The shadows crept closer and closer still. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Their slithery tentacles curling on my ankles, painfully grasping them. Their cold limbs burning my skin. "GET AWAY!" Panic fills me and I try to pry my feet free, my hands hurting from the cold flames that escape from the darkness. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" The shadows remaining unharmed by my antics and continue slyly to caress my body, wrapping my legs and crawling up slowly. No. No. Get away. Please, get away. The contact on my body makes me tremble. Please. Please. No. No. Fear clogs my mind and I shake violently, twisting and trying in vain to brake from the shadows grasp. With every movement, like a snake, it tightens its hold on me. My lungs begin to collapse, the terror blinds me. No. No. No. Please. I want to live. I want to live. I am having difficulty to get oxygen. The shadows are on me, the air becomes less and less as time and dark limbs cover me. Why? Why? Why? Why is there no one here? Please. Please. If there is someone up there...If there is a kind one up there...Please...I beg of you...I choke as air is no longer entering me. The darkness engulfs my body. The fire burns my skin and it hurts. It hurts so badly. I cry out. The stinging becomes to much. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Why is there no one out there? Doesn't somebody hear me? "AAAAAAAAHHH!" My bones are breaking, my skin is charring. My mind is collapsing on its own, crazed by pain and suffocation. No. No. No. I can't...I can't...I can't go on. I am sorry. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!" No.
"Hello?" I called as soon as the ringing ended.
"Hello." A voice answered my greeting. Quite short. It didn't sound like Truant. Had I been pranked?
"Trua...Link?" I questioned while I analyzed the paper on my hand.
"Yes. What do you need?" He asked with that same dry and monotonous tone. Si it was indeed Truant...But that voice. It was and yet it wasn't. But...why should I care? It wasn't my business, I just wished to finish with this.
"It's Cloud. I wanted to know if you can work today on the project." I replied, imitating the same tone that he had been using on me. Careless of everyone and everything.
"Fine." He hardly cared about the project if his answers were any lead at all. I swore that he was acting that way just to royally make me angry.
"I'll see you at my house at three, fine with you?" I seethed.
"Fine." And he hung up...He hung up on me? He hung up without even a good-bye? THE IMPERTINENCE! THE LACK OF MANNERS! WHO DID HE THINK HE WAS? WHO DID THE BASTARD THINK HE WAS?" In my fury, I three the phone towards my bed, opened one of my drawers, took whatever was necessary and with a loud bang closed my bathroom door. I never saw the message icon that appeared a few minutes later and, still today, I regret it.
I was reading my Biology book when a low knock upon my door reached my ears. "Cloud?" I closed the book and with a warm smile opened my door. My mother's brown eyes greeted me with a sparkly look.
"Yes mother?"
"Your friend is here." She merrily said with a big grin on her face. Truant wished to steal my mother from me. I tried to fake a joyful aura, and by my mother's reaction I succeeded greatly.
"I'll be down in a few seconds." I closed my door as soon as my mother disappeared down the stairs. Plummeting on my bed, I covered my eyes with the palms of my hands. "Come on Cloud...You can do it...Just a day...You can tolerate him for a day...An entire day...An entire day with Truant's presence...With Truant...SHIT! I'LL END UP KILLING HIM!" To my poor mind came the visions of Truant and I joining our lips. The hotcakes wished to get out of my stomach. Damn him! DAMN HIM! The audacity he had to steal my first and second kiss was bound to end with his death by my hands. No Cloud. No. Killing is not in you. You aren't a killer. Breathe. Breathe deeply. Breathe. "How did I end up in this mess." A long and heavy sigh left my body. With difficulty I stood up and went down to greet my "beloved guest."
"HAVE FUN!" My mother yelled from the porch. I sighed. Lately, I have been doing that a lot. I looked towards my "partner". His golden, short hair covered, as always, the left side of his face. Yet...even if he looked as usual. There was...something different about him. I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but there was something. Something that wasn't there before, something that wasn't there yesterday and something that wasn't there when he left. But...why was I noticing now? Why did I care? Why was I now paying attention on him? Why did I wanted to know what was there that wasn't before? If something bothered him? What was if of importance to me? He was Truant and I, Cloud. And to Cloud, Truant was nothing to him. Not a friend, not an acquaintance. Just the guy Cloud hates, loathes and abhors the most since he set foot on this Earth.