1.

 I leaned against the wooden front door, taking the last drag from my cigarette, as I gazed over at the perfect window. The screen had been returned, blood wiped away, and all not from my own work. I stabbed the end of the cigarette on the stones and tossed to into the yard, over the flower bed, as I exhaled deeply. Two days passed since the break in and I still had a head ache and the blood stains refused to lift from my skin.

I heard the silent engine quit in the front yard, the silence burning my ears, and I pushed myself up from the ground. Fixing the one-size-too-big flannel I was wearing, I grabbed my bag for school and slung it on my shoulder, feeling exhaustion run its finger down my spine. My headache spun round and round, making me lightheaded, as I shuffled down the stone path to the Focus parked in the dirt. Lewis, my boyfriend of two years, leaned up against the hood of the car, his eyes unfocused on the ground in front of him and overall appearance distraught. He didn’t lift his stare until I opened and closed the passenger door, tossing my bag onto the floor mat. He took a step, which covered the distance apart we were, and pulled me into his arms. I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes, finally able to forget the fear and the pain.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, his voice breaking and I could tell that he had been a lot more frightened than I had been.

“Yeah,” I replied with a heavy heart. My nerves were frayed, my heart was pounding every second, and I wasn’t able to sleep. I was okay enough. He didn’t have to carry an even heavier burden.

“Liar,” he pulled away and bent lower to kiss me. I returned the kiss, but he whisked around the car before I was really able to register and he leaned across the top, eyebrows raising in a pointed way. Lewis opened the door and slipped in. I yanked the door open once more, sliding in, and he jammed the keys in, revving the engine.

“I can taste the cigarette on your lips. You aren’t okay. You want to talk about it?” He pulled out of the driveway and onto the road leading out to the highway. Lewis turned the dial of the radio down, for it was quietly playing classical music, and glanced at me through the corner of his eye.

I sighed, leaning back into the warm seat, and pulled down the visor, glancing at my hair in the mirror; I had thrown it up into a bun, not even looking before I left. Lewis leaned back as well, throwing more glances as me as he slowed for the stop sign.

“I just wasn’t able to sleep last night, not even with Cullen sleeping on my floor.” My younger brother offered to camp out in my room with me for the next days before Lewis could spend the night again. He also gave up any social outings with his friends so I wouldn’t have to be alone in the house while our parents were in Maine. I wasn’t able to thank him enough. “I kept having nightmares and kept waking up from them. I wasn’t able to fall back asleep.”

“Were they from the night?” Lewis sped up to make the light and passed through the intersection.

“Yeah, and I kept seeing a figure pass through my room. I hoped it was going to be clearer and I could remember the face, but I couldn’t,” I replied, closing my eyes to bury the memories.

“Do you want to stop and get coffee before school?” He offered, slowing down by the Starbucks on the corner.

“I’ll be fine, I think,” I said as I pulled down my sleeves to cover my hands. I curled up in the seat, turning away from Lewis, and gazed out the window. My mind thought of nothing but how school was the last place I wanted to be. It was my first day back since the break in and I could think this day was going to consist of nothing but billions of questions. Despite the fact that I was a senior, I was still going to be questioned by the other seniors, even though they should have learned by now to mind their own business. That was human nature, though, I suppose; always wondering and inquiring.

I watched the trees fly by, all blurring together into a great barricade of green. I couldn’t help but imagine how it was like to be in Maine with my parents, discovering and wandering, without a care in the world.

“Did you know Ferris is moving back into town?” Lewis stated monotonously, like he was talking about how overcast it was today. Not like his crack head brother was moving back into the same town as him.

“No, I did not. Why?”

“He heard about what happened to you and wanted to see you. Plus, he’s my brother. He wants to see me as well and I’m not going to stop him,” Lewis said as he turned into the school’s driveway. He followed the pointless curves with a smooth ease and he glanced over at me, mouth twitching defiantly.

“He attacked you with a knife and left you with an inch deep cut in your thigh. You want him back in town?” I could remember him showing me the scar when we first started dating. I remember running my fingers down it and feeling the hatred and pain run down my own spine.

“He’s gone to rehab and he’s not doing anything anymore. He’s clean. Just give him a second chance, Rose,” Lewis tried to not snap back at me, but his voice was sharp like a knife.

I shrugged, just hoping to drop the subject, and he pulled into the parking lot, accelerating to his spot. He parked, quitting the engine, and I got out first, not even wanting to stall the day by sitting in his car like usual. If you have a problem, you have to face it head on, right? I slung my backpack onto my shoulders and propped up against the door frame, my eyes on Lewis as he stepped out of the car. His dark brown hair was spiked in its usual faux hawk, the sides of his head shaven short. He had fair skin with light freckles on his sharp nose, that which crinkled when he laughed. He had his nose pierced, a golden hoop you would never notice it was there unless you looked closely. His structure was tall and muscular, perfect for playing football, and he always wore simple clothes. That’s the bonus to falling in love with him, I realized a few months ago. His personality was more beautiful than his outer appearance.

He caught me staring and returned it with a smile in his dark eyes. Lewis winked and shut the door behind him as he walked around the front of the car. I closed my door just as he slid his hands around my waist and pulled me into a hug. I exhaled heavily and felt the heat bounce back to me, warming me up more as a brisk breeze fluttered around us like a dizzy butterfly. Wrapping my arms tightly around Lewis, I rested my head on his chest and felt as though I was dipping my toes into a pond of happiness. But, there to wreck it was one of the Juniors I had a class with.

“Hey, Rosalie, it’s nice to see you again. You alright?”

Lewis slightly let me go, just enough to look at the girl. I could see her through my peripherals and she was standing on the sidewalk, clutching her binders in her hands.

“She’s perfectly alright and would rather not do this all day. So, good bye. Have a nice day,” Lewis spoke with that slight harshness and it sent the girl scuttling off.

“You didn’t have to say anything, you know,” I said, looking up at him. Grinning, he just looked down at me and kissed me lightly on the lips.

“No, I know. But, that was one less person you had to deal with today.”

I couldn’t help but smile and I dropped my hands from his back, grasping his fingers. He interlocked our hands together and dropped his other hand. Above us, a peal of thunder crackled like a fire and a light drizzle danced down around us. I looked up at him and he waved for us to begin walking.

Just as we were cutting across the grass to the H building, the rain started to pour even harder and we shuffled up the stairs, his fingers grasping mine just a little harder. And I could never bear it to ever loosen them.