Page 6

Why did I follow him into the forest? I literally followed my stalker into the forest. For some reason after he grabbed my hand I was instantly compelled to follow him.

Although, my anxiety still did not fade.

Maybe he just wanted to apologize for what happened.

He didn't seem to be aggressive, even though he was angry I was avoiding him.

Hopefully he learned by now not to bite people.

Dominic came to a stop and sat down on a fallen tree's trunk.

I decided to sit down next to him but kept a considerable amount of distance between us.

He held his head in his hands and looked down at the ground.

Anxiety seemed to flow out of him, replacing the confidence he had when confronting me in the classroom. Curiosity ate at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, the empath coming out in me.

I shouldn't have cared about him, but something inside of me wanted to comfort him.

Something inside of me longed for him. All emotions that were in conflict with what I knew about him.

I shouldn't trust him after what happened, but every bone in my body seemed to call out to him.

What's going on? I started to reach out to touch him, but I stopped my hand right before making contact with his hand.

Dominic looked up and locked eyes with me again, eyes that were filled with something that looked like longing.

His eyes glowed that gold color again, and it startled me so bad that I fell off the log.

I ended up falling on my back, my bookbag cutioning my landing.

Even though I was not hurt, I started to cry.

All of the hurt and sorrow I bottled up for so long started to flow out of me, and I couldn't stop it.

At that moment I didn't care what he thought about me, or about what anyone thought about me.

I just let myself cry and cry and cry. I forgot about my surroundings, and the pain consumed me.

Memories of the screaming, the horrific stories, and the loneliness flooded my mind.

There was nowhere I had to call home. Everywhere I went I was an outcast. At home I was the pawn my parents tried to play to get me to cross over to their side.

At school I was the girl that went quiet after she had her heartbroken.

In public I was just another face in the crowd, nothing notable for anyone to recognize.

But, maybe I didn't want to be recognized.

Maybe I did want this loneliness. I just wanted to fade into nothing.

When I physically could not cry anymore, my mind came back to the present. I realized I was being carried. Looking up, I saw Dominic's face. When he noticed me looking, he stopped in his tracks and met my gaze.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"Home." He replied.

Panic overcame me. I didn't want my mother to see me like this. It would only increase her grief over the divorce."Please don't take me there." I pleaded.

"Why?"

I didn't respond.

"Where do you want to go?" His voice started to fade out as my mind faltered

I still had no reply. I felt numb. All I could focus on was the beating of Dominic's heart, and the warmth of his body against mine.

If he said anything, I did not hear it through my daze.

I felt us moving again. I did not care where we were going.

Slowly, my vision turned black and I gave myself over to nothingness.