Quiet, small, sleepy. These are some of the words one might use to describe my home town of Snellville Georgia. Everyone knew everyone else and not to be related in some way to your spouse, friend or what not was an enormous rarity- Okay not that rare but still. I hated it. Truly and honestly hated it. I was the kind of girl that was burning for graduation day when I would receive my freedom, and God knows when that day came I was gone. The only thing that had kept me strapped to this tortuous place was my best friend, Ben Johnson, if not for him by now I have no doubt that I would have found some way to claw myself away from this world. Ben was the first one to talk to me and welcome me to the school when my Family first moved here from Atlanta, seven years ago. We have been pretty much inseparable ever since. Our companionship has lasted through the good, bad, and the ugly. We have seen each other at our highest and lowest points and I guess that is why we are so close. There was one thing for sure though: I have no idea what I would do without him. This particular thought caused a sickening shiver to run up and down my spine, and my midsection to twist in furious pain.
“Sam!” My little sister, Carlie, barked making me jerk with surprise as I was dragged out of my thoughts. I had been so out of it all, that I had not even been aware of the view of our high school outside of my backseat window. “Get out!” She ordered nudging me, aggressively in the direction of my door.
“What’s going on Sammy?” My father asked from the driver’s seat of his black Mercedes. My little silver Porsche had been trashed just last week by an old lady while I was in the grocery store picking up some things for my step- mother. She hadn’t seen it and backed right into it with her colossal Buick that had not even been so much as nicked in the entire process. So I was doomed to riding with my parents everywhere until the necessary repairs were made.
I didn’t even bother answering him. I was to tired. I shrugged half- heartedly. Carlie would probably end up blabbing something anyways.
“She had another one of her weirdo nightmares again.” My sister answered as I had predicted. She rolled her big hazel eyes and pushed her long softly curled strawberry blonde locks out of her face. “She woke me up with all of her freaking out.”
I sighed softly making sure I was the only one that heard it. I hated talking about this particular issue with my family. I always ended up feeling like I belonged in some sort of psyche ward somewhere; I usually avoided it at all costs. My eyes caught my dad’s skin- deep concerned gaze starring at me through the rear view mirror with an uneasy nature. Richard had been just as uncomfortable with this matter as I was but for his own reasons. My father was a big time lawyer that at a young age had bought into the whole “American Dream” movement. I wasn’t going to lie, we were rich. Considerably rich, but that wasn’t all. We had the ideal household, with our ideal family, who all had ideal lifestyles. This problem that I had was not -ideal- it didn’t fit into Richard’s perfect picture - I didn’t fit- and it worried him, but only for self centered reasons.
Before he could say anything that would put me into a rotten mood I darted out of the car and just before closing the door after my sister, flashed my most convincing smile. “I am fine dad, you don’t need to worry.” I lied then ran into the school before he could stop me.
Once at my locker, a heavy sigh escaped my chest. Just a few more months until I graduated, then I could get away from all of this. I could handle that right? I snorted at that thought as I changed out some of my textbooks.
Its not that I hated my family, because I didn’t, it was actually quite the opposite. They would probably be better off without me -the unmoral one.
“Sammy!” A filmier voice thundered from behind me so unexpectedly that it caused me to jump and spin around with wide eyes. Ben was so close that I had pretty much ended up in his arms trying to catch my breath and ease my pounding heart. He chuckled looking down at me with an apologetic expression. “Still not gotten any sleep this week huh?” he asked. I told Ben everything so he knew exactly what was making me so unsteady.
“Ben,” I said looking up to his face with a truly hopeless nature. “This is different then normal.” I stated grimly.
My best friend shook his head causing his dark brown shaggy hair to jostle around his face. “Sam, you have had these nightmares for as long as we have known each other. What makes this time any different then all of the others?”
“You.” I recoiled in the same grim tone as before. Every night for the past two weeks I had watched helplessly as the only real friend that I had ever had was murdered gruesomely and graphically while I could do absolutely nothing about it. That’s what was different. Never before had my night terrors starred one of my friends or family -or anyone that I knew for that matter. They had always been horrifically detailed and I usually woke up with cold sweats and shaking hands but now that Ben had been the victim I had turned into some sort of nervous wreck. I knew it was horrible but I had become so used to seeing deaths of faceless people in my dreams that I had become in a way sort of callous to my nightmares. I could carry on with my life in the day without really being bothered so bad, but this -this was a whole new level of disturbing and I was having a horrendous time trying to cope with it. “You.” I repeated staring straight into his ice blue eyes with intense sincerity. “I don’t really like to see my best friend stabbed to death unmercifully every time I close my eyes.”
Ben’s nature softened into a reassuring mode as he laid his sculpted hands over my shoulders and sighed. “I am going to be fine. Look at me,” He said pointing at his large chest. “I am still here, still alive. You’re just thinking about this way to much.” His deep smooth voice sounded so sure and I knew nothing I could say would make this fact change.
I gnawed the inside of my cheek, wanting so bad for him to heed my hunch. But I decided not to say anything knowing that I would not get anywhere with Ben. He was probably one of the only people that could win an argument against me. My Dad was always saying that we were bound to get married one day, which really didn’t bother me. After all, he was my number one friend and it was not like he was ugly, because he wasn’t. Ben was very well built -I mean he was not like body builder ripped- but nicely developed. His rich dark brown hair waved in a slightly shaggy style that framed his face and made his sea foam blue eyes stand straight out in a piercing nature. I am sure every girl in our senior class would have jumped at the chance to be on his arm but he had never really seemed interested in them -just me-. I had my suspicions about that. I liked the idea really, My Father on the other hand. - Well this just took the picture back to the whole “American dream” junk. Ben wasn’t exactly “pedigree”. He lived in a two bed roomed house with his single mother, Deborah Johnson, who worked two full time jobs just so they could keep their feet on the ground. This made absolutely no difference to me though. Actually I think that is one of the reasons why I liked him so much. He was just a regular person.
When I didn’t say anything Ben chuckled and shut my locker door for me. “Come on, we’ll be late for first period if we don’t hurry.”
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