To the rather rude reviewer who says this story is getting too long, I want to see what everyone else thinks. If everyone, or the majority, think that this should be shortened then I'll merge chapters together. And anyway, all these chapters are quite small from what others are on Fanfiction.
Anyway thank you all so much for the reviews guys, they really mean the world to me! I'm so sorry this took longer but I've been so busy lately and got writers block, along with a very stressful past few weeks. Enjoy and please review! =-) Xx
Everything about Brady had screamed to me those next few days.
Even when he wasn't in the room, I felt electricity pulsing through me as if he were. When with Rachel or walking around the school, I'd always be thinking about where Brady was. Hyper-aware of everything in sight. But I made sure that he could never get me alone. Why? So I wouldn't have to face any awkward talk about Friday night. Which I was sure there would be as soon as he opened his mouth.
Chloe wasn't in school all week, and I discovered from a passing whisper between two girls in front of me in Math that she and her family had gone to visit her sister in New York. Honestly, it couldn't have come at a better time.
Keeping Brady away from me wasn't as easy as I'd hoped. Somehow he miraculously always seemed to know where I was. Whenever he appeared in the corridors though, I turned around and walked the other way, dragging Rachel too if she was walking with me. She found the whole thing annoying and un-called for, but when I explained to her that it would just be until Friday, she found a way to cope with my arm unexpectedly dragging her everywhere.
And now it's Friday night, two hours before the seven o' clock dreaded meeting, and my heart is pounding furiously hard in my chest as I stare at myself in the mirror. Just looking into my own eyes. I can't not show up, it'll feel as if he's won, so I have to do this. I'm stuck in this situation. But Rachel will be there, she'll... be a distraction, anyway. Hopefully. Maybe someone will choke on something and this thing will finish early? Oh my god, did I just think that?
Pull yourself together Kayla, this isn't the end of the world, I tell myself as I sigh while leaving the bathroom. Rachel would laugh if she could see me now. She was coming round in an hour so we could get some food together then go to the reservation. I hadn't wanted to appear alone, that would just turn the night into a dismal one. Not that it won't be dismal anyway, but still.
Rachel and I are now sitting in the Chinese restaurant up the road. She's digging into the pile of chips that we've bought together, watching the flat screen television behind my head on the wall, but I can't eat a bite. I may just throw up. In fact, I feel like I could do that even without the help of food in my stomach.
Rachel throws a chip at me, glaring slightly as if I just killed her puppy. I scowl back at her.
"Everything will be fine, I don't know why you're worrying. It's just a bonfire," she says simply, glancing back up at the television again. Her eyes widen. "Why, are you scared they'll throw you in the bonfire?"
"No, why would I be scared about that? They'll all get arrested," I make a face, then freeze. "Oh my God, are they in some sort of cult? Do they want people to join them so they invite you to a bonfire? Oh my God, they throw the people that refuse in a bonfire!" My hands throw themselves to my cheek.
It feels ridiculous to panic this much., but somehow there's something helpful about it. Thinking about the things that could never happen over the things that could happen somehow comforts me.
Rachel doesn't comfort me, she instead just rolls her eyes like I'm crazy and laughs. Helpful. What if I were actually panicking about my oncoming bonfire death tonight?
It isn't hard to spot the bonfire through the trees.
It's in plain sight to the road which leads to the reservation, on the left side of the road with the flames just about visible flickering through the gaps in the trees. Is this some sort of reservation party? Because no-one seems to be out here or be intrigued by the flames.
Rachel's practically bouncing along the twigs and leaves as we walk toward the far-away fire, but I feel sick. It's like I can sense Brady. My skin feels tingly and my heart is pounding like it wants to break free of my chest. He's near, I can feel it in my bones.
The only thing Rachel seems to be feeling in her bones, however, is the deep urge to roast marshmallows. She loves the white and pink gloopy stuff. One time, when the Orphanage had a barbecue for my birthday, she'd roasted one until it turned black and fell to the bottom of the barbecue like an abandoned sausage. Hopefully that won't happen again tonight.
Oh God, I am going to faint.
I can see them now. Although I have no idea who I'm seeing. We're in a sort of clearing, but you can see a pathway ahead that veers to the left and the cliff side and sea are visible. That gives me some comfort- my special place, where I usually sit with my thoughts, looks like here.
I can't think about that though, because I'm too aware of the people around me. There are about ten people scattered among the space. A few boys I've seen around school before and some not clustered around the bright bonfire that's sitting in the center. They haven't spotted us yet. I want to collapse- too many anxious thoughts are building themselves like bricks in my mind, heavier and heavier. I thought Sam and Emily are meant to be here? Did Brady lie just so he could get me here?Are we in the right place?
Just as I begin to raise my arm to grab Rachel's elbow, she's stopped walking right next to me, and turn back with a lump in my throat, I spot Sam walking out from the trees. He's wearing no shirt. Thankfully he's the only guy here who's not wearing a shirt. His face looks concentrated on the ground as he walks forward, but when he looks up, his eyes meet mine.
They widen with obvious surprise for a second, then pleasure.
"Kayla, you came!"
He walks towards me on what I now notice to be bare feet. That would be strange and a little creepy if the ground weren't so sandy and flat.
I think I've stopped breathing as I'm starting to feel light headed. I manage to remember to take a deep breath as Sam approaches me. His eyes flicker to Rachel warmly.
"Oh good, you brought a friend. Emily's on her way, she's bringing the food. And Brady is with her, they'll be back any minute," he says, but when he says Brady's name his eyes turn back to me. I can tell that he's trying to make me more comfortable, but to be honest I'm wondering why on Earth God hates me so much.
"I think you might know some people here already from school, erm... Kim?" Sam looks over his shoulder at a girl with black hair whose just straightened up from placing her jacket on a log. It takes me a second, but I soon recognize her as the silent girl who sits behind me in Math. I've never spoken to her, but whenever our eyes meet when taking our seats at the start of class we always smile kindly.
Someone like her can't be in a cult, can they? Oh my God, Kayla, stop thinking of this as a cult!- I scold myself as Kim timidly walks towards us.
Sam squeezes her arm comfortingly, smiling, and turns back to us.
"I think you two share a class together?"
I nod, slightly stunned that he knows that, but then again Kim might have told him.
Kim blushes, she must do that a lot, and smiles at me. I try my best to smile back, but she doesn't seem that surprised or hurt to see that I can only manage a small one.
"Right, well, I think I'll go and help Quil with the fire," Sam nods and walks toward a boy who's frowning and poking at the fire with a stick, obviously unaware that the stick itself is aflame.
I'm too scared to be amused. Rachel says a cheery hello to Kim and bounces off to put down her jacket. I'm left with Kim, feeling almost inhumanly lost.
"Everything will be fine, you know. And to be honest, I know how you feel," Kim blushes, crossing her arms.
"How?" I frown, suddenly feeling breathless. Has Brady told her about me living in an Orphanage, is that what she's talking about?
"Yeah, I mean, when Jared said he liked me and invited me here I thought it was a prank," Kim shrugs, smiling kindly.
"And was it?" I ask, almost desperately. She can see the anxiousness in my face and my crossed arms.
"No, it wasn't. And neither is this, I promise."
I give my best attempt at a smile, still unsure, then freeze for a second when I spot something over her shoulder. Emily is carry a big plastic bag filled with obvious meats, but standing next to her is Brady, staring at me. With a shirt on, thankfully.
Oh god, this is more horrid that I thought it would be. He's staring at me, eyes on mine, and I shift my feet, bracing myself as he walks towards Kim and I. She's looked over her shoulder to find what's made me so tense, and has now turned back with a sympathetic smile. I desperately want the ground just to suck me up whole.
Kim steps back just as Brady reaches us, but to be honest I don't notice and I don't think Brady does either. He's staring at me like he hasn't seen me in years. That scares me, mostly because, somehow, it doesn't feel like he's acting so much this time. As he gets closer I keep noticing every one of his features in sharp detail- his hair, his brown eyes, his abs.
"Hi," he says, one side of his mouth up as he smiles. It makes my knees even weaker, I'm ashamed to say.