Page 12 of Shadowed With Fear

I look up at her, just as she walks through the door, she turns, her dark curls spilling like waves down her back, hazel eyes that have always looked so sad, the puppy eyes we used to tease her over relentlessly, meet mine. My heart seizes.

I’m so sorry.

She’s out the door without a second glance. It’s quiet. Brahm shuffles papers and folders, and I tap my fingers against the marble.

He turns his head slightly to look out the window before turning back to me.

“That still going on? Seriously?”

I just sigh, rubbing at the back of my neck, eyes tipped to the ceiling.

“I told you she hates me, man. I think she blames me for what happened last year. I know I fucking do.” I spit the last words like they were acid.

I told her for years that we would all be there for her. If Brahm wasn’t, it would always be one of us guys. And if anything, if they weren’t, I sure as hell would be. I can’t stand the thought of something bad happening to her. Yet, it did, on my watch no less.

But of course, I just had to be a huge fucking asshole, and cause her to run off. Just like every other time we are alone for more than fifteen minutes. I open my mouth, say shit without thinking, and we just argue. We always have to argue.

“Grays, it’s okay. You guys fought. Hell, if you didn’t that’s when I would be worried. You didn’t know that would happen.” He stands and rests his hand on my shoulder.

I scoff, “I should have though, shouldn’t I?”

My feet drag across the floor toward my leather jacket and the keys to my bike by the door.

“Grays?” Brahm calls out.

My hands on the doorknob and I don’t turn back. I can feel him standing right behind me. When he speaks his voice is firm, authoritative. A command to a soldier.

“What?”

“Fix it.”

His steps echo back through the kitchen and the patio door slides open and closed.

My shoulders sag and air escapes me.

If only it were that easy.

Dahlia

This is…horrendous. It’s every backwoods carnival of your nightmares. I’m almost positive that a slight shift in the late evening breeze will have the Skyzone Tower keeling over. To be fair, it already kind of looks like the leaning tower.

“Remind me why you dragged me out here again?” I turn my head toward Lizzie and catch her mid-bite of a fistful of Ribbon Fries. She chewed slowly, drawing it out with a slight wince.

“Honestly? I know I’ve been putting up a bad ass front about the whole Issac situation, but D,” she paused, whispering to herself, she continued, “it really fucking hurts.” Her hand came up to rub small circles in the middle of her chest.

At the beginning of August, Wood Ridge University holds the New Student Orientation, where the freshman class and all new transfers get to live on campus for a week. It’s highly impractical and kind of annoying. We get our schedules, attend seminars, “bonding activities”, and eat tasteless cafeteria food. If that wasn’t bad enough, we are also randomly assigned a roommate, and I hadn’t been lucky enough to get paired with Liz. So, it was as much a surprise as it was disappointing that on the first night of orientation week, Liz stood outside my assigned room, banging on the door at 2am crying because she had walked in on Issac with some girl in his Welcome Group.

“I’m sorry.” I cringed to myself. I’ve been such a dick. Of course, she’d want to spend time together after this. They’d been together for almost two years.

“I’ve not been fair to you, Liz. I’m yours for the night. What’s the plan, Captain?” I mock salute and she begins to grin.

“That’s the spirit. Come on, I think there’s like face painting by the game booths, or something.”

And that’s how the evening went. I let her drag me around to whatever she deemed interesting in the section of East End roped off for the evening. The whole thing was taking place in the blocks surrounding the park so the rides were set up in the field that’s sometimes used for drive-in movie events.

We were standing in line for slushies, “not just any slushies, but slushies that come in character cups, D” as she had constantly reminded me when I complained about the prices. She was in front, arms full of gift bags, a large stuffed dragon she had been calling Johnathon, with the happiest expression I’d seen on her face in weeks. The Cheshire Cat on her cheek probably helped.

“I’m gonna find a bathroom. Don’t worry about getting me anything, I’d rather get a lemonade in a bit. I’ll be back in a second.” Liz just nodded and kept her eyes ahead on the big ass menu of flavors and cup choices. I snorted. Knowing her I’ll come back, and she’ll have all of the Disney characters.