started to race as I remembered lunch…Draven. I took in a deep breath. “Just lunch…I got a car, though.”
“ Really? What kind?”
“ A bug,” I said, halfway smiling.
“ A bug…interesting.”
I knew he wouldn’t care for it; he drove an Aston Martin – one of the fastest, most luxurious cars there were.
“ I received a surprise gift, too,” he said.
“ What - a house?” I said, halfway joking.
“ Yep.”
“ Are you serious?” I asked, not believing him.
“ Very…just outside of a place called Salem.”
“ What?!” I said, louder than I intended.
He laughed at my tone. “Yeah…I was a little upset about you moving away…my dad said he’d been looking at houses in that area for a while, so he placed a bid on one this afternoon. We should know soon if the offer was accepted – one way or another, I’ll be there in a few days…Bianca’s coming with me – she misses you already.”
I felt sick so sick, I had to cover my mouth. Sweat came across my brow, and I started to pace the little floor space my closet had.
“ Don’t come here – I’m in enough trouble – I’ll come back to New York in a few days. My mom just has to open up her offices in Boston – when she’s back home, she’ll want me in New York with her.”
“ I doubt that,” he said quietly. ”And if you go back to New York, it’s not like I don’t have a place there, too.”
“ Britain, I want space – I’m furious at Bianca – even if you came here, I couldn’t see you; they wouldn’t let me.”
He didn’t say anything for a second or two, and I could feel the tension building between us.
“ Bianca made a stupid mistake…don’t make me pay for it. They don’t have to know you’re seeing me…you have a car now – just take a drive – they’ll never know.”
“ I have to go,” I said in a frustrated tone.
“ Why?”
“ I’m tired. I want a shower – I just need to think right now.” Not waiting for him to respond, I hit ‘End’, then ‘Sleep’ on my phone.
I opened my closet door, and in a daze and walked to my bed and fell across it. I stared at the open ceiling, fighting frustrated tears that wanted to surface. Britain’s phone vibrated as a text came in. I didn’t bother to read it –I just wanted to forget him.
The sound of a guitar gently playing pulled me out of my thoughts. I focused on the sound. I felt like I recognized the chords, but I didn’t know from where. I reached for my headphones and pulled them to my ear, only to find my favorite song still playing. I knew every sound that song had, and the sound I was hearing wasn’t coming from there. I paused the song so I could hear the faint sound more clearly. For a second, I thought that somehow the whispers were mocking the sound. When I realized that this sound was too pure for that to be true, I walked to the short wall of my room and looked down, then up. I couldn’t explain it, the sound was so faint, it almost wasn’t real. A moment later, it was quiet again – oddly, I found the quiet more mysterious than the sound.
I couldn’t relax; I was too worried about the moment the whispers would surface again. They’d never been this unpredictable before.
I decided to get ready. After talking to Britain, going to hear bands play sounded perfect. I needed a way to forget my worries.
The only make up I wore was black liner, and I only used it sparingly around the corners of my eyes. I pulled out my favorite skinny jeans and my small, dark purple affliction shirt; the only thing it had on it besides the name brand was a black Celtic cross that centered itself on my stomach. I had to dig through a bag of belts my sister had packed before I found my black studded one. I fastened the skull buckle, then looked for my short combat boots. I pulled the laces loose on purpose and left them untied. I checked myself in my mirror, hoping that this outfit looked as good on me as I thought it would when I put it
Alyssa Kress
Melissa Schroeder
Robert Doherty
Linda Cassidy Lewis
Claudia Lefeve
Margaret Brownley
Rachael Wade
Leanore Elliott
Finny (v5)
Alessandro Baricco