Awakening
Hallie turned over feeling her familiar Egyptian cotton pillow against her cheek. Her head was pounding as if she had the record for the world’s worst hang over. Groaning she opened her eyes trying to recall how she even got to her bed in the first place.
She could faintly hear her friends laughter from downstairs as they were getting ready for Halloween. Hallie glanced at the clock on her bedside table and realized she had to have been asleep for at least an hour. Sitting up she looked out of her enormous multistory window at a view of the dark beach below. Her parents had given her the two story family beach townhouse since it was only ten minutes away from UCSB and the fact had several others like it across the country. Hallie by far had the best off campus living out of all the girls, or probably out of anyone at the entire college, and so it became the girls official place to get ready before attending a big party.
Hallie looked down at herself and realized someone must have dressed her in her Victoria Secret Pink pajamas because her clothes she was wearing before were nowhere in sight. She wondered if her heels were still sitting in the parking lot where she threw them off because she didn’t see those either. The image of what happened replayed in the back of her mind, but she didn’t want to believe that it had been real. She tried to recall what happened between the Halloween carnival and how she got home, but her mind was a complete blank. Sitting in her bed she suddenly felt humiliated and wondered what her friends must have thought of the whole thing.
Warm light unexpectedly invaded a portion of the dark bedroom as Hallie’s door swung open. Hallie remained still as she tried to make out who was at her door. A tall muscular figure made it’s way inside carrying a laundry basket overflowing with clothes. It was still too dark to make out who it was, but whoever it was went straight to her closet and hung up the clothes as if they lived there. They didn’t seem to notice that Hallie was sitting straight up in bed.
Hallie loudly cleared her throat startling the person so much that they dropped the laundry basket and all it’s contents. Hallie reached over and flipped the lamp’s light on to reveal who it was. When she saw who it was her entire body suddenly felt frozen like it did at the Halloween Carnival. The small blonde hairs on her arm stood on end. With her legs still under the covers she hugged her knees to her chest.
“Hallie,” said the familiar yet deeper voice that she once knew.
Him saying her name sent chills down her spine.
“ Is it really you?” Hallie hugged her knees tighter to keep them from shaking.
“Yeah,” the voice replied softly. “Its me, it’s Christian.”
“Christian,” Hallie’s breathed his name. She hadn’t said that name in so long.
Knowing she was afraid he approached her slowly as if she was some type of frightened animal, she certainly looked like one. Hallie simply couldn’t believe he was here, and she remembered very well that what happened at the carnival was real. Growing upset she wanted to know what the hell was he doing here? Why had her friends let him inside of her house? She was going to strangle each and every one of them.
“ Hey just take it easy I’m not going to hurt you,” Christian said kneeling down beside her bed.
Hallie looked straight ahead reluctant to look at him and let her long loose ringlets fall around her tanned shoulders. She could feel him staring at her.
“Why are you here?” Hallie ferociously demanded. Her voice rose louder and she was becoming close to tears, “Why are you in my house?”
Christian tried to make eye contact with her but she refused hiding behind her long hair.
“ I’m sorry…it’s just that I didn’t even expect to see you….then I had to carry you to my car. Your friends let me follow them to your house and let me inside so I could put you in bed. I washed your clothes you got them pretty f*****g dirty.” he said pointing at the laundry basket.
“ Uh, I didn’t ask you to do that,” Hallie said in a stuck up way as if it was disgusting he touched her nice clothes. God had he dressed her in her pajama’s too? She wasn’t so sure if she wanted to know, but then again it wasn‘t like he hadn‘t seen her naked before. “ Ok and why on earth did you carry me? I don’t remember that?”
“ Yeah that’s cause you kinda fainted.” Christian replied. He cupped his hand over his mouth and quickly faced the opposite direction.
Hallie tucked her hair behind her ear and slightly shifted her eyes to look at him but he turned the other way hiding his face.
“ I fainted?” Hallie questioned in denial. “Are you sure? I can‘t believe I actually fainted…..what is your damn problem anyway??” Hallie asked at Christian who was now crouched on the floor.
Suddenly the room exploded with his laughter. He continued laughing and laughing unable to control himself.
“ Oh f**k you Christian it’s not funny!” Hallie exclaimed offended. That only made him laugh even harder.
“ I’m sorry, I’m sorry---” he apologized between fits of laugter. “I swear, I feel really guilty about the whole thing, but you have to admit it is pretty damn hilarious.”
Feeling completely pathetic that she fainted in front of an entire carnival, in front her friends, and in front of him of all people, she thought the situation over and it began to make her laugh with him. If it had been someone else she probably would have laughed too. Still she felt like such a dip s**t, but sometimes all you could do was laugh at those kind of things.
Laughing together in her room felt so surreal. They hadn’t laughed together in quite a while. Christian grew more serious and pulled up a chair next to her. They glanced at each other in silence for a few moments, then looked around the room avoiding each others eyes. If they stared at one another too long it pained each of them.
“ I know that it’s….so late to be saying this but I’m so sorry Hallie. I really am.” Christian said with years of guilt in his voice.
“ Yeah it is a little late Christian, about six years too late.” Hallie remarked abrasively.
He sighed knowing he didn’t even deserve to be there.
“ You know I gave up everything for you”, Hallie continued tears welling up in her blue eyes. “ Everything Christian. And it might not have been your first time but it was mine. I gave up my virginity to you and then afterwards you just left!”
Christian shut his eyes ashamed to look at her.
“ We were so young Hallie…and it wasn’t your fault, but I was so afraid to start a life with you at that age.” Christian tried to explain.
“ Then why did you run away with me? You could have just said you were afraid. You could have just said that you didn’t really love me.” Hallie sobbed.
“ I did love you,” Christian argued and stood up from the chair.
Hallie wanted to argue back but she couldn’t stop crying. Still hugging her knees she wept into them sorrowfully. Hating himself he didn’t say anything more and let her cry. After she had been crying with her eyes shut for a long time she wasn’t sure if he was still in the room or not. She was startled when she looked up from her tears and he was knelt down beside her again, his face just inches away from hers.
“ Please don’t cry princess,” he said wiping each tear that fell from her eyelids.
Hallie remembered he would always call her that when she was sad, like the time her cat had to be put to sleep when she was nine. She shivered at his cold fingertips and with hurt eyes she looked up trying to take him in. Hallie had to admit to herself that the years had seriously developed him into an absolutely breathtaking guy. Christian was a cute sixteen year old boy when Hallie last saw him, but now he was twenty two, his arms and chest had to have been twice as muscular and something about him was different, and even better than before.
Hallie could hear the rough waves crashing on the shore down below. Moonlight crept into the room making Christian‘s fair skin shine in the dimly lit room. His face was so close above hers now that she could see the beat of his heart on the side of his neck. His hand was still placed on her cheek resting on her now dried tears and his turquoise eyes pierced into her. She began feeling helpless at what he would do as he got closer and closer.
“ Hey babe are you there?” Hallie’s answering machine erupted with David’s voice. “ I called Abby she said something about how you fainted. Pick up if you are there. Ok I’m coming over.” The phone clicked off the machine.
Christian was taken aback at the familiar sounding voice. “ That’s not…David is it?”
“ I think you need to leave Christian.” Hallie violently pushed his face away from hers.
“ You are with him now?” Christian accused her.
“ It really isn’t any of your business, but yes I am with David now,” Hallie replied “And he’s coming any second so just leave. Who knows where you went or what you did, for all I knew you were dead. And that’s the way I’d like to keep it so just leave, get out of here.”
“Gladly,” Christian said storming out of the room and slamming the door. Hallie’s friends had come upstairs when they heard all the commotion and were standing outside the hallway eavesdropping. When he came out of Hallie’s room each girl stared at him speechless.
“ Nice meeting you all,” Christian muttered making his way downstairs and out the door. Hallie stood at the window and watched him get into his car and drive off.
Kristin, Abby, and Julia all spilled into her bedroom, they were all dressed in their s****y Halloween outfits and were unrecognizable with the amount of make up they had on. “ Sweety are you alright?” lady-bug dressed Abby pushed Hallie’s long hair back for her.
“ You look all distressed,” Kristin’s enormous b***s bounced in her skimpy red nurses costume as she put her arms around her friend.
“ Why did you guys let him in?” Hallie asked exasperated.
“ Well none of us were buff enough to carry your fat a*s, and when you fainted the hot guy, whatever his name is, said he knew you from before, so we let him carry you upstairs,” Julia responded twirling her devil between her fingers. A well-suited costume for her.
“ What is the deal Hal? Why did you faint anyway?” Kristin wanted to know
“ It’s a long story…I was just surprised to see him that’s all,” Hallie vaguely responded. Her friends wouldn’t accept that, they needed details.
“ He was an ex-boyfriend wasn’t he? Such a pain running into ex’s,” Abby sighed.
“ Yeah he was something like that. It was such a long time ago, I think I just fainted because I was feeling lightheaded,” Hallie tried to convince her friends.
“ I think we all got lightheaded after taking a look at him. No offense to David or anything, but that other guy had to be one of the hottest guys I have ever seen!” Julia gushed.
“ Hey no scamming on a girls ex-boyfriend!” Abby said stealing Julia’s devil horns off of her head. Abby had to be the nicest out of all the girls Hallie thought to herself feeling a tiny bit jealous of what Julia said. She knew she probably would never see Christian again, but she didn’t want to think about other girls wanting him, especially her own friends.
“ Onto more important things,” Kristin interrupted her thoughts. “ You need to get inyour damn costume already it’s already ten o clock.”
“ Can’t I just like wear a dress or something? I’m really not in the mood for Halloween anymore,” Hallie groaned.
“ Wow it must have been a bad break up if you don’t even want to dress up for f*****g Halloween,” Julia mumbled.
“ Shut up Julia,” Abby said rolling her hazel eyes. “ Hallie do what you want girl, it’s all good.”
“ No way you b*****s! We all planned on wearing red, it will look weird if Hallie’s not wearing red with the rest of us,” Kristin complained.
“ Yeah I guess that would look pretty weird,” Hallie agreed even though she thought the whole red theme was pretty stupid.
“ Good now go get dressed and hurry the hell up,” Julia said shoving the girls out of the room so Hallie could do her thing.
Hallie went back in her room and could smell the lingering scent of Christian, which smelled something like cigarettes and cinnamon. Hallie snatched her Victoria Secret Love Spell perfume and sprayed it across the entire room. There hopefully that would make her quit thinking of him.
Reaching in her closet Hallie retrieved her Little Red Riding hood costume that she bought months ago. Hallie undressed and slipped the short little peasant dress and hooded cape on. She put on her white thigh high stockings and slipped on her extremely high red stiletto’s making her instantly go from a her normal height of 5’3 to a tall 5’7. She figured didn’t need to do anything with her long light brown highlighted curls which was the envy of every girl in her sorority. While she was adding the final touches to her make up she heard a knock at the door.
“ Babe it’s me the girls said you are getting ready. Can I come in? Are you almost done?” David yelled patiently from outside the door.
“ I’ll be out in a minute,” Hallie called back to him. Her boyfriend was here and she didn’t have to think about Christian anymore. Hallie stood in front of her full-length mirror. Looking up and down at herself she really did fit the part of Little Red Riding Hood, vulnerable and bewildered.
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