“Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.”
~Dr Joyce Brothers~
~Dr Joyce Brothers~
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Table Of Contents
Prologue
Something in the air wasn’t right. It was silent, not even the sound of the distant meadow larks was carried in the very slight breeze. No leaves danced together in jumbled harmony; No sticks cracked under the paws of animals; no cars sped by; and no children screamed and cried. It was utterly silent. The morning sun darted in rays between breaks in the branches, illuminating the stillness of the clearing. As the gentle breeze brushed through the bright grass, the blades swayed and bent without a sound.
Suddenly, everything shot back into reality. First a loud bang, followed by a sickening crack that seemed to radiate from somewhere in my body and Tye’s voice shouting my name. I was numb, though through my blurred vision I caught the flash of red. Did Tye get hurt? Why couldn’t I get my limbs to move?
“Red!” I was on the ground, crippled, Tye was leaning over me, his unnatural electric blue and black hair fell in front of his eyes as he looked down at me.
“I’m going to... here...?” Though his mouth moved to suggest full sentences, his voice was fading in and out. “Re-... don’t...!” His voice seemed distance, not unlike he was yelling at me from another end of a long dark tunnel.
My blinking slowed as my vision became relatable to blindness, colors blurred together like paint and light turned to darkness.Then I realized what had happened. All too late, it hit me, the flash of red wasn’t Tye’s blood, but my own. The electric crack was no doubt a gunshot.
They found us.
Tye looked over his shoulder hurriedly and seemed to yell something rapidly. As soon as he looked back to me, I used my last breath to memorize the features of his face and the aqua color of his eyes. Then...
Nothing...
Chapter One:
The Stranger
The Stranger
Conversation flooded the halls around me as I lowered my head and pulled my hood up. Nothing would’ve convinced me to lift my gaze from my black shoes. I knew what the voices spoke of. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me.
News spreads fast in the small town of Havenmore. Some juicy break up occurs and it’s plastered all over the school. A crash that might have resulted in a death or might have been a simple fender bender? That’s news to this town. Currently, the news was a suicide. A widow with one child, took her own life on a park bench. The woman lifted a gun to her head, took a deep breath, then pulled the trigger. After that, nothing, nothing more happened. She was gone, no longer breathing, no longer dreaming. Things like that aren’t just brushed aside and forgotten, set on the clearance shelf for elders to glance at but never buy into. They are remembered, set at the front of the store with millions of signs shouting: “Look at this!”.
Death is a natural thing, it comes to everyone, but when someone purposely takes their own life because of grief or stress or whatever their reason might be, it’s talked about. Some might try to ignore the reality of it, but they will always fail. People talk and talk and judge and point. It’s who we are as humans. That will never change, no matter how much we wish it.
“Hey, Rosey! Your mom come home yet?” The voice of some overconfident jock made me flinch and rocket away from my own thoughts. I still wouldn’t look up. He bumped into me, pushed my shoulder and pinned me against one of the lockers. “Don’t look so glum, princess, I’m sure she was drunk when she did it.” He laughed and the group of football players behind him echoed it.
Normally, I would’ve probably felt something, fear or annoyance perhaps, but at this moment, there was nothing. “You’re terrible at comforting talks.” I said flatly, just wishing to get home.
The boy that had me trapped, known as Hunter, the football captain and school bully, frowned. “That’s no way to talk to me.” he pouted and tapped his fingers to my cheek.
The touch made me shudder and pull my head as far away as I could. “Oh sorry, get your effing hands off of me before I bite them off. That better?” my response was cold and harsh, just as it was intended.
His hand moved quickly and he slapped me hard across the cheek. Burning pain radiated from the impact spot, it was warm and I could tell it was probably red. “Don’t talk to me like that!” he hissed sharply.
“Uhm, excuse me.” A voice from behind Hunter piped out and tapped on the large football player’s shoulder. “I would appreciate it if you would let Miss Red go.”
When Hunter let go of me and stepped back, he revealed another male with jet black hair, holding an enthusiastic smile.
“What did you say to me?” the larger male asked.
“I said: ‘I would appreciate it if you would let Miss Red go.” This bold statement came from the stranger with bright aqua eyes. His whole being shimmered with a sort of energy and youth that, at the time, made me want to punch him. In a quick instant, Hunter swung his massive fist at the obviously younger boy who easily ducked and dodged the blow.
“Tsk tsk.” A laugh emanated from the boy as he jumped backwards with speed I have never seen. “Is this how you make all of your friends? Because it’s a very faulty method.” he stated happily as he continued easily dodging each strike thrown by the raging bully.
When I noticed a small smile playing across my lips, I was about ready to scream at myself, but the distraction this boy provided was almost enough to clear my mind. If only for a moment, it was much needed.
This male dove under the jock’s arm and grabbed my wrist. “Run!” he smiled and pulled me down the crowded hallway. The crowds parted as we charged past. My legs struggled to match his amazing speed.
“Slow down!” I called out to him and he laughed nervously then slowed his pace minorly. It wasn’t much of a change, but it was something.
As we bursted out of the school, he stopped and turned to me, not even breathing heavily. “Hi! I’m Tyler, but most people call me Tye.” he said with a warm smile and offered me his hand.
I looked down at his hand then back up to his face. Tye, what an odd name. Slowly, I took his hand and shook it lightly, slightly embarrassed by my rushed breath. “Roseanne.” I stated my name with disgust.
“Roseanne!? That’s a beautiful name, a bit long though, would you agree?” He spoke quickly, seeming to ooze energy. I couldn’t say that he didn’t remind me of Peter Pan. The way he stood so tall and ran so quickly. He spoke fast too and didn’t seem to care what others thought about a childish act.
“I guess...” I agreed then trailed my gaze down the road. Whoever this guy was, I didn’t want to spend more time around him than I had to. My foster home was down the street, if I just ran...
“Yeah, you probably like it!” His voice broke through my thoughts. “Most girls do,” his hand rested under his chin as he thought. “I mean, most that I know like theirs. I think it’s a girl thing.”
Annoyance began to bite at me, I tried not to show it. “Look, thanks for the help Tyler, but I really need to get going.” I told him, feeling rather guilty afterwards. Not waiting for a response, I secured the strap of my messenger bag on my shoulder then started running.
“Hey, wait! We need to talk!” The boy called behind me. I didn’t look back. “It’s important! Life or death even!”
He just wants attention, I told myself Forget about it.
My rapid steps fell into a rhythmic pattern as I ran to the closest thing I had to a true home.
