Hey readers! Hope you enjoy this one! Please, please review!
Signs, they're everywhere. Sometimes they are literal, such as a stop sign. Other times they are metaphorical, such as a dove, which brings peace and love. Sometimes they are obvious, other times they're hidden, waiting to be seen. I was presented with both literal and metaphorical signs. I was just too wrapped up in my own world to see them. By the time I did see them, it was already too late.
After lunch I went to my classes on auto-pilot. I didn't even know which subject I was in right now. The teacher called on me but I don't remember what I said to him. I was too busy having an internal conversation with myself.
Jared kissed me, I can't believe this! It's like a dream.
Pretty soon it was already time to go on my date with Jared. As I practically skipped to my locker, I found Jared waiting for me, leaning against the locker next to mine. He looked like he'd just walked out of a Calvin Klein Jeans ad. When he saw me his face lit up and he smiled at me.
"Hey." I say. Wow. I think I am actually becoming coherent around him.
"Hey." He replies. Since its Friday I just grab the stuff I will need for the weekend and try to shut the locker door. It doesn't budge. This happens, every so often the hinges of the door rust and stick.
Oh my lanta, please don't let this be happening right now, I think, glancing over at Jared to see if he noticed my struggle with the locker door. Of course, as the fates would have it, he does notice and looks like he is trying not to laugh.
Great, I think sarcastically.
"Need some help with that?" he nods at the locker door.
Stupid, rusty locker door! "Uh...Yeah, please." I mutter looking anywhere but at him. He lets loose a laugh and pulls the door shut with only one hand. If I hadn't seen the muscles tense in his arm I as he closed the door, I would have thought the door wasn't stuck at all.
Wow, I think while looking at his arm, now those are strong muscles.
With my eyes, I follow his arm up to his face only to find him smirking at me.
Damn, I curse myself for being so obvious, he caught me ogling him. "Thanks."I blush a deep red and quickly turn around, and start walking outside. When it seems like he isn't following me, I look over my shoulder at him, "You coming?" I ask teasingly. He laughed and nodded at me, and I smile and continue out into the warm, autumn air, with Jared on my heels.
Just as I step outside, a large crow came and swooped down, missing me by an inch with his beak. "Aah!" I scream, covering my head with my hands. Jared swats the bird with his binder when it swoops down again. It squawks and flies away. "Jeez." I exclaim, "what was that about!"
Jared shrugs, "I don't know, but are you okay?" he asks me. "I'm fine, thanks." I reply.
He guides me to his car, it's a truck of some kind, and the blue paint is chipping off. "This is my baby." He says with a hand flourish, pointing to his piece of junk car.
What is it with guys and calling their cars 'baby'? I think rolling my eyes internally. I didn't want to offend him so instead of telling him that the car looked older than my grandma, who is 95, I give a nonchalant, "it's nice," and hoped he'd accept that as a good response.
He opens my door for me, surprising me with his gentlemanly manners.
Aw, he opened my door for me! My inner teenage girl squeals. He then jogs around to the other side of the car and gets in. After a few minutes of riding in silence, I ask him, "Where are we going?"
Jared looks over at me and grins mischievously. "It's a secret."
"Oh, c'mon!" I exclaim, "Can't I have a hint?" I do my best puppy dog face.
"Nope," he replies, clearly enjoying himself. I mutter to myself about boys and surprises in an annoyed tone and before I know it, we are there. The place Jared chose to take me was children's homeless shelter.
I look over at him confused. "A homeless shelter? I don't get it, what are we doing here Jared?"
"I volunteer here after school sometimes," he tells me. "If you don't want to go in, we don't have to," he backtracks. "We could go to the mall or something, but I thought you would appreciate this place more than some store, but if I was wrong-"
"Jared!" I cut him off. "Let's go in."
He smiles widely at me and we get out of his truck and go inside the small building.
When we get inside I gasp. There are children laying on the ground, crowded together, some sleeping and some not, but what made me gasp was that they all looked starved.
These poor children, do they even eat?
"I know. It's sad isn't it?" Jared asks me. I look over at him with tears in my eyes, I feel so sorry for them, and nod solemnly.
"Come on, the soup kitchen is this way." He says, leading me with a hand on my elbow. I sucked in a quick breath and reflexively jerk my arm out of his scorching hold.
He apologizes quickly, "Sorry,"
His hand is on fire! I think worriedly, he must have a fever! "Jared, why are you so hot?" I ask him and then blush as I hear the other way that question can be construed.
He laughs and replies, "Genes," pretending like his temperature isn't fifteen degrees hotter than it's supposed to be.
"I meant temperature-wise." I groan, embarrassed.
He laughs and says, "I know what you meant. Come on let's get started passing out food."
Then he turns around, not fully answering my question, and proceeded to the kitchen. I let it go, for now, and follow him silently, fully intending to squeeze an answer out of him later.
We get to the kitchen and I meet the regular volunteer people. There is Geoff, who is real quiet and looks to be in his mid forties, then there is Jane who looks to be twenty and she has an eye on Jared the whole time he's in the kitchen. I don't like that.
Stupid college girl flirting with my Jared! I internally fume. Jared barely looks at her though so I'm not too worried.
Then last but not least there is Judy, who is about 60 or so, and the personality similar to that of a drug addict.
Lovely bunch, I think sarcastically.
They give me a quick rundown of what I'm supposed to do, which is pass out bread rolls and bottles of water. Easy, I think. Not really, I think a little bit later.
I was mobbed by a crowd of kids aged ten and down. By the time they all got what they needed, I was flustered and my jacket was ripped down the side because someone had yanked on it. I walked quickly away from the children and run into the kitchen. Jared looked up from making more bread rolls and sweeps his eyes over me, taking in my appearance.
"What happened to you?" he asks with a bit of a smile on his face.
I frown at the mirth in his eyes and said, "I was mobbed."
Jared suddenly let out a loud booming laugh and I scowl at him then turn a bright shade of red. Suddenly I hear a wolf howling from just outside the shelter. Jared's eyes widen at the sound and he suddenly looks upset. He glances over at me and I see 'the look', as I had come to name it, in his eyes, the one with a ton of adoration in it.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go." He apologizes.
"What? Why?" I ask, upset.
"I can't explain everything right now, but I will soon. Okay?" he tells me and then pulls me into a hug, but it's over before I can hug him back.
Then he is gone.
I sigh and say goodbye to everyone as it's time for the kids to go to sleep. I step out of the building and realize that Jared was my ride.
Looks like I'm walking home, I mutter to myself. The parking lot is deserted and the wind suddenly chills me. Shivering, I pull my jacket tighter around me. I'd only been walking for a few moments when I hear a twig snap behind me.
I glance behind and see nothing, but I can't help but feel like someone is watching me. I try to shrug off the eerie feeling. The crime rate is practically non-existent here in La Push. I finally get inside my house and lock all the doors and windows.
Just as a precaution, I tell myself. Quietly so as not to disturb my parents, who I bet are already sleeping, I tiptoe upstairs and into my room. On my small bed are a few sheets of paper. I pick up the first sheet and read: "Kim, your father and I are going to Seattle for the weekend. Here is a list of chores that need to be done. Bye."
No 'good luck' or 'we love you'.
I glance at the other papers and my eyes widen.
A few things? Try 50! Some of the chores include: vacuum out the spare car, repaint the bathroom blue, and cleaning out the gutters.
What the hell! I gape in disbelief at the paper. How typical of them, I think rolling my eyes. Give me the hardest chores so that I can't go anywhere this weekend.
Sighing in exhaustion, as it had been a long day, I set the papers aside and I got ready for bed. After, I was dressed in my holey p.j's, I make my way downstairs to get a glass of warm water. It's a ritual I'd had since I was little. Heading back upstairs with the water, I pause on the first step of the stairs and cock my head to the side.
'Clack'...'clack'...'clack'. What is that noise? The fine hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I listen for the noise again.
'Clack'...'clack'...'clack'…
There it is again. Thoroughly spooked, I sprint upstairs, not even bothering to try to find the source of the noise. I jump into bed and pull the covers up to my ears, trying to block out the incessant clacking that is still sounding throughout the house. It's no use though and I don't sleep at all that night.
The clacking stopped around daybreak, and I breathed a sigh of relief and got ready for the day. I walk downstairs and into the living room. I let out a shriek of surprise.
"Geez, Jared, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I ask him, holding a hand up to my heart, willing it to slow down.
He gives me a sheepish grin, "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."
I blush, Damn! Still not used to that grin.
"It's okay, but what are you doing here? No better yet how did you get in here?" I asked, puzzled. "I did lock all the doors, right?"
"Your front door was unlocked." Jared says frowning. "You should lock that by the way. It's not safe."
I did lock it, I think, going to look at the lock. I open the door and twist the lock open and closed, to make sure it isn't broken. It isn't. That's strange, I think, and then I hear the noise it makes and my blood chills.
'Clack'-open...'clack'-closed...'clack'-open…'clack-closed…
Someone stood here all night locking and unlocking my front door, I think horrified, which is possible because I wouldn't have seen them from the kitchen or the stairs, but they could have seen me.
Please review!