Preface & Chapter 1

                                      Preface

I walked down the familiar street, as I often had, but this time I felt worried. There was nothing at all menacing about George Street, in fact just the opposite. This street, lined perfectly with age old Oaks on either side, seemed so peaceful. The gentle summer breeze pushed dancing leaves past my feet as I walked on. The night sky shone brightly with the help of a full moon…maybe that’s what was making me feel nervous, edgy. Normally when I walk to Alex’s house I feel excited, anxious to see the one person who truly brightens my day. But this time something was different.

            All of a sudden the warm breeze turned cool, intensifying. It blew toward me, whipping my hair and ruffling my shirt with fury. I wrapped my arms around myself and quickened my pace, no time to enjoy the natural scenery; I was now only intent on getting to Alex’s. As I walked closer and closer to his house I noticed that his light was out. That’s funny. I decided Alex must have fallen asleep waiting for me, my homework did take a little longer than expected. As I was walking I stumbled, tripping forward a few inches. I realized that the lace to my left Converse had come undone. I was right outside Alex’s house now, so I decided to lean against one of the big Oak trees to tie up my lace, no doubt it would hinder me again if I didn’t. 

            The next sequence of events happened quickly, it was all a blur as my blood raced with adrenalin….mixed with a compelling source of fear. As I finished tying up my laces I looked up at my destination, Alex’s bedroom window. Instead of seeing it propped open so that I could climb in, I saw something coming out. It was a person. He was big, muscular, and wearing a black hoodie with dark wash denim jeans. I had to squint to see his facial features, but the darkness of the night prevented me. He staggered out of the window, a tight squeeze for someone so …muscular, and climbed atop the roof with a duffle bag in hand. I stood behind the tree, fear rippling through my body. Who was this person? Why in the world would there be another guy in Alex’s bedroom…while the bedroom light was off? As the clouded figure reached the roof, he stood exactly in the centre and the moonlight finally enveloped him. It was Logan. The next second he was gone, vanished.

            I struggled to catch my breath, swallowing hard and finding courage within myself. What if Alex had just been robbed? What if Logan had hurt him? I ran to the side of the house and climbed the trellis into Alex’s room. Being about as graceful as a cow I thudded to the floor.

            “A-Alex?” I whispered. My voice breaking as I struggled to take in some much needed air. No one answered. I walked a few feet, my hand on his wall trying to feel for the light switch. “Aha! Found you,” I said to the switch in a relieved whisper.

            As the overhead light flooded the room I turned my body to face Alex’s bed. Instead of seeing Alex waiting for me with a smile and a soda as he usually did, I saw something else, something that had the ability to haunt my dreams forever. I saw Alex’s lifeless body slumped over on his bed, his once warm blood pooling from his lips, and all the while he was looking at me.  He stared at me; eyes wide with terror, but those were not the eyes I was so in love with; now his eyes were empty.

 

 

 

 

Chapter One

            Ring… Ring… Ring… I let the phone ring time and time again. I knew it would be Mr. McGregor, the school principal, calling. I wondered what it would be about this time; either calling to complain about my poor attendance or calling to ask my mother out for another date. My parents had divorced when I was only five years old and over the years of living with my mother I had become accustomed to her many escapades. It was my mother who suggested the divorce to my father, and being the man that he is, my father only wanted to make my mother happy. She’s different from most women in the way that she doesn’t want devotion. It seems like it sickens her. Other women wait their entire life to find a man like my dad, one who would dote upon and live for them, but not my mother. She needed adventure and she found it in a decade long string of one night stands. I’ve seen man after man leave our house in the morning, not even leaving a note to say goodbye. But Mom never seemed to mind, I assume she’s the type who claims they don’t like to be tied down, but in actuality are afraid to face themselves.

            When the answering machine beeped and McGregor spoke his first words I knew instantly that he was calling for mom. “Hi Michelle, its Paul calling. I had a great time with you last Friday and I was wondering if you’d be interested in producing a sequel. You know my number, so just call me…or not…either way is good. Bye.” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his message. The way he spoke so softly and sped through it in no way resembled St. Peter High School’s towering and intimidating principal. I doubted my mom would call him back, he’d just broken her cardinal rule for dates: no call backs. Mr. McGregor, no matter how much he enjoyed tormenting me, was too straight-laced for my mom, she needed a villain.

            Luckily for myself I had narrowly avoided one of Mr. McGregor’s attendance calls. Normally when he called about business matters his voice was stern and worrisome. He would always address me in the messages as “Miss Abigail” instead of calling me what everyone else did: plain, old Abby. Apparently my attendance record was “troublesome” in the sense that I hadn’t had one for almost a month. It happened once in a while though; I’d miss a week, a few weeks, here and there throughout the school year. But this time it was different.

Ever since I was thirteen I had gotten these severe headaches. It felt like a blazing fire inside my skull that my brain was begging to have put out. I was taken to all sorts of specialists, head doctors. They had inspected me, given me cat scans, and checked my sinuses. All the tests had proved inconclusive. It worried my mom a lot but the doctors said that in time the headaches would stop, perhaps they were psychological; an affect from my parents divorce. No offence to the wide range of shrinks and doctors out there, but they didn’t know a thing. I’m seventeen now and the headaches have only intensified. Instead of a blazing fire, however, if feels like dry ice; heavy, thick, numbing. On most days it’s not so bad, but for some reason the last month had been a torture. I knew that I couldn’t waste anymore time by being stuck at home so I had to suck it up and go to school tomorrow. The only good thing about that would be seeing my friends, and of course, Alex.

           

“Alexander Thompson + Abigail Lawrence = Love always” is an inscription that I had mindlessly written in my second period Math class on my first day back. I could hear my teacher, Mrs. Clement, talking in her monotone voice off in the distance, probably explaining some big formula that I would be tested on later. I knew I should have been listening, but my thoughts kept trailing off to lunch, when I would get to take my seat next to Alex and hear one of his lunchtime jokes. It’s the simple moments with him that I enjoy the most, the small gestures that no one else sees but him and I. Through my daydreaming I had become aware that someone called my name: Clement.

            “Well Miss Lawrence, we’re waiting. What is the answer?” She stared at me with her incredulous eyes and I felt truly intimidated.

            “The slope of the Pyramid at Giza would equal 51.51 degrees.” I looked behind me to see who had saved me, it was Logan Matthews.

            “Well then… Abigail, what’s your answer?” Mrs. Clement said in a stern and questioning voice, never taking her eyes off me. She ignored Logan as if he had not said a word. That was part of her psychology: if I don’t acknowledge them, they’ll stop speaking out of turn. Right, like we were a bunch of five year olds.  

            Hoping that she wouldn’t catch me blushing I glanced down at my “notes” and said, “Um, I calculated 51.51 degrees.” Logan was a smart kid from what I knew; surely he had the right answer. Though, I did feel bad for taking advantage.

The fact is it was hard to gather any information about Logan other than what I had observed first hand. No one ever spoke about him; there were no nasty rumours that usually were attached to kids who were considered “loners”. Then again, no one ever spoke to him either. I found it odd that Logan didn’t have a group of friends, he looked like the type of guy girls would flock to, the type that guys would want to hang with. Logan had lived here in Peterborough for as long as I could remember, going to the same elementary school as I did. Being in such a small class it was surprising that I’d never had much of a conversation with Logan; but he did always keep to himself. The funny thing about Logan was that he was always staring at people, like he was observing them. I’ve caught him staring at me many times; this was slightly less embarrassing then when he caught me staring at him.

This much I knew about Logan; he was attractive. Logan was very tall, even taller than Alex, at least 6’2. He had shaggy hair that was a golden blonde colour, and the greenest eyes I’d ever seen. What was so unique about them was the golden ring which encompassed his outer pupil that would sparkle when the light hit them a certain way. Aside from his eyes, the most noticeable thing about Logan was his stature. He was huge; not fat, but very muscular. He looked far older than 17, rather he looked like he could pass for at least 20. Don’t get me wrong, I love Alex, but his body was far less superior in comparison to Logan’s. I felt guilty for thinking of Logan in this way, and comparing Alex to him.

“OK class, let’s discuss the answer…” Mrs. Clement droned on forever discussing the possibility of the slope and the formula to correctly calculate it, seemingly forgetting about me. I turned around again to thank Logan for saving me the humiliation, but as I turned to his seat, he wasn’t there. It was as if he had just gotten up and left; but I hadn’t heard the door open or close. Then again, I was hardly thinking straight, my blood was pulsing through my veins and my heart was hammering away in my chest due to the embarrassment of being centered out. Though most of my teachers thought I was brazen, in fact I was actually a nervous wreck. My mother said that I was just nervous because I had such a big heart that I took everything too seriously. It sounds strange, but for me, it’s like I’m waiting for something to happen. When the bell finally rang and broke through my distant thoughts, I was ecstatic.

Knowing it was lunch time put a feeling of calm upon me. I could settle my nerves with a cup of peppermint tea and eat an apple for some extra blood sugar. Besides all that, I got to see Alex. Since we have no classes together I barely ever get to see him. The fact that he’s a senior and I’m still a junior also played a huge role in keeping us apart, as far as school goes. Sharing the same lunch period was a godsend. I walked into the cafeteria, grabbing a red tray and putting it down on the counter. As I followed the procession of students in front of me I felt as if I was following behind a hurse with each car behind it moving slower than a normal pace.

 I grabbed my apple and our portly lunch lady stared at me incredulously, shaking her head and appraising the size of me. I’ll admit, over my high school years I had lost a lot of weight. Mostly it was due to the headaches, with such agonizing pain I found it nearly impossible to eat. The effect on my body was not too severe. I wasn’t exactly skinny, but I was thin and fit. Being on the track team at school (when I could attend the meets) was just the thing that made my doctor happy. I built up some muscle and my already long legs seemed to get leaner. For the most part I was pretty content with my body, a rarity for teenage girls, and I didn’t feel the need to be self-conscious. My hair was one issue that I completely gave up on. It was just past my shoulders, a little wavy, and a honey-brown color; the only bad thing was that it was so fine that it would usually get knotted. My solution was of course to either just leave it down and go for the wind-tossed look, or leave it up in a trusty ponytail. Today the ponytail had won my favour.

I finished making my tea and walked into the cash line. As I reached into my pocket to pull out some change a voice behind me, very much like a purr, whispered, “Don’t you dare move a muscle. That’s right, put your wallet away, this is my treat.”

I turned behind me to see Alex as a widespread smile broke across my face, helplessly. I stood up on my toes to kiss him and he set down his tray next to mine so he could envelope me in a hug. Our embraced lasted for the most amazing five seconds before Alex returned to his nonchalant self and grabbed both our trays, moving up the line to pay. I was a little upset that he would waste his money on me, but I made a mental note to pay him back later. When he had received his receipt Alex handed me my tray and kissed the top of my head.

“It’s great to finally have you here, Abby. The whole gang’s missed you, but of course I missed you the most.” At this he smiled a huge grin, like he won some kind of contest. “How are you feeling today, honey?”

“I’m better today, actually. I’ve missed you all too, especially you. What do you say? Can tonight be one of our nights?” I asked hopefully, looking into Alex’s eyes as we walked. I batted my lashes a few times in an attempt to make him say yes. I looked more goofy than persuasive but of course he agreed to it. We both smiled to each other. Alex’s eyes were never more alive than when he smiled. His upturned lips seemed to melt the cobalt blue in his eyes, and at that, I was lost forever.

We finally reached the lunch table and four pairs of familiar eyes looked up at me as I took my seat.

“Abby! Wow, you look awful, are you sure you should be here?” Amelia said as she appraised the dark circles under my eyes.

“Gee, thanks. I pretty much have to be here, you know how McGregor gets. But I’m feeling okay; this is one of my good days.” Amelia was the most worrisome out of all my friends. She, like my mother, always thought I needed extra tending to.

“Abby, why is it that you always wear those jeans? You’re wearing the same jeans that you wore on your last day a month ago…people are going to start wondering about your hygiene.” This time the appraisal came from Emily.

“Em, I hate to break it to you, but the people here aren’t bored enough to notice what pants I wear.”

“I don’t know about that Abby, I notice.” Emily noticed everything; her glasses probably helped with that. Emily was an inch taller than I was, with blond hair and brown eyes. When it came to fashion Emily was “it”. She knew which trends to follow and which would be left at the waste side. In fact, she inspired a lot of the trends in our school, ones that I would never follow. My style consisted of jeans, sneakers, t-shirts, and hoodies. I liked to keep things simple, but I did have a few more dressy items for date night or when I was going to hang out with Emily.

I slowly sipped at my tea and swallowed a pain killer while Emily and Amelia prattled on about school work and some project that was due at the end of the week. What caught my attention was how quiet the other two pairs of eyes were. My friends, Mike and Steve, hadn’t said a word to me. I looked to Alex, raising one eyebrow. He understood it in one second flat and smiled a huge, almost giddy, grin.

“Go on, tell her Steve!” Alex said while staring at Steve who immediately flushed bright red and stared intently at his potato salad.

“Aw, come on Alex…ease up on Steve. Besides, he can’t control where his mind wanders at night.” Mike had looked deliberately at me and winked big. My curiosity was peaked but I had a feeling that whatever it was, it was going to be uncomfortable for Steve and for me.

“I…uhh…never mind.” Steve stuttered and somehow turned a brighter shade of red.

“Really, it’s ok Steve, I don’t need to know.” I looked away and drank my tea faster, trying not to think of what Steve had dreamt. Lately my own dreams had taken on a slightly ridiculous stance. I was never one for creativity or for having a vivid imagination, but more and more my dreams became fantastical. I would dream about saving townspeople by flying and leaping off buildings, and once; I even dreamt about becoming invisible. After having these odd dreams I had promised myself to cut back on my caffeine intake, which clearly I was not doing.

As the others at my table ate their lunches and immersed themselves in conversation I found myself daydreaming. I could hear their voices as Alex mindlessly stroked my hand; Emily was advising Amelia to wear a knee-length, off-the-shoulder dress for our upcoming formal which I had no plans to attend. I, on the other hand, would be staying in that night…probably with Alex which meant we would have to do our homework first. That was the one thing I both loved and hated about Alex, he was so damn responsible! It drove me crazy sometimes, I like a little disorder; but its redeeming quality was that I could always depend on Alex for anything. Besides that, his responsibility actually helped improve my grades, so I was thankful.

Alex had always insisted on doing what had to be done first so that we could enjoy the fun things a little bit more. I could see his side of the argument, but here in Peterborough I was in no rush to get to the “fun things”. There is hardly anything to do here. The shops are small but quaint, but in my opinion it could never measure up to big-city living. My favourite place to spend my time was downtown in the tiniest of bookshops. I could spend hours in there, rifling through hundreds of copies of books and looking for certain gems. I once found a special edition of Jane Eyre and snapped it right up. Since it is a second hand store I got it for way cheaper than I would have if I’d bought it in one of those new commercial stores. Aside from my book hobby, I found nothing in this town overly exhilarating. The boys, however, had a few activities to keep their small minds entertained. I personally found it disgusting and inhumane, but every spring and summer they would make a trip down to the river and find a few frogs. Using one of their father’s small explosives they would throw the frogs into the air and blow them up; watching the small pieces fly everywhere. This is the reason there are serial killers. Activities like these just go to show how easily the kids around here get bored. 

Despite its small-town status, Peterborough was just the place to go to if you needed some peace. The river was always so beautiful, so tranquil. Each spring dozens of ducks would come and swim along its banks. On these days Alex and I would bring a few slices of bread so that we could crumble it up and feed the ducks and their tiny babies. In my mind, the ducks had it right. I loved swimming more than anything else, and with so much water it was hard to resist this time of year. I remember this one spot; it was near my grandmother’s apartment building. My family and I would walk down a common path after dinner and then would stray from it. We went on a less traveled path and found a little oasis. It was a tiny island, not more than 50 feet in diameter. It was covered in the shade of a huge evergreen tree and it hosted a few large boulders. I can remember sitting on one of the boulders with my mom and feeding the ducks, followed by a brisk swim in the water. My mom would always remind me to bring my goggles so that I could go underwater exploring (in the shallow area). The bottom of the river was littered with chunks of marble, in the most stunning patterns. I forget the exact reason for it, but I think that all the marble is there due to an old factory having been there once, and getting taken down. But then again, history was not one of my best subjects. Still to this day I go to that little spot, my spot, and feed the ducks and collect the marble chunks. It’s another small-town hobby that I just cannot miss out on.

  Perhaps the small-town charm is what attracts the few tourists that we actually do get. In part, they come to see the historic Petroglyphs just north of here. I can’t even count how many times I’ve been to see them. That sort of Native American history is prevalent all around this area. There is this one place a little while away from here that has totem poles and a shop where you can buy lots of Native artwork and crafts; it’s pretty amazing. Despite the cultural aspect some people also come to see the Peterborough Lift Locks. It is the largest lift lock in the world and we have tours of it every day in the summer. I’ve been on it a few times. Its nice enough, but nothing that great. I think the draw of it for me is that the lift lock collapsed once when a tour was being held. It was terrifying and disastrous, but somehow that sense of danger compels me. Maybe it compels the tourists too, because for some reason or another, they come.

When I heard the bell ring I knew that lunch was over, and I was mad at myself for letting my mind wander for so long. When I came to full consciousness I heard the end part of one of Alex’s jokes. The punch line was along the lines of “she has her tampon behind her ear and she can’t find her pencil.” As the boys all laughed it up, Amelia, Emily, and I all made disgusted faces and rolled our eyes. It must have been the punch line to a blonde joke because Emily seemed particularly offended. We all began to clean up our table and throw out our trash when Alex grabbed my hand and pulled me close into him. He whispered to me, barely audible, that he wanted me to come with him and skip last period. Alex was usually so responsible, almost never skipping class. I knew something must be off, but he seemed excited, so I knew it wasn’t anything bad. Maybe he was just as eager for some time with me as I was for time with him. Besides, I had last period chemistry class so of course I didn’t mind skipping.  I said a quick goodbye to the gang and walked with Alex out the cafeteria doors.

Alex and I walked off school property to a nearby park where I took a seat on a rusted swing. Alex came behind me and gently pushed me, the swings creaking beneath the rust at the new force of motion. It was another one of those perfect moments. The soft summer breeze blew sweetly in my face and coaxed me to let down my hair. As I let it down, the wind caught a thousand strands and tossed it over my shoulders. It was a feeling of freedom that I seldom got and so I smiled and laughed in pleasure. Alex then stopped pushing me and slowed my swing to a stop. He sat in the sand right in front of me, cross-legged, and stared intently at me.

“Okay Alex, out with it.”

“Come lay with me beneath the tree?” The way he asked me worried me, I knew something was different. But despite my initial feeling I decided to go with him, taking his hand and walking a short distance to a large tree which was generous in covering us in shade. I laid next to him in the lush grass, placing my head on his chest as he stroked my hair gently while my head moved up and down at the slow rate of his breathing. I could feel Alex move his hand from petting my hair and put it in his pant’s pocket. I noticed him starting to pull a small white box out of his pocket; it was tied with a tiny red ribbon. Instinctively my eyes widened and I slowly sat up to take in the whole picture: Alex + present. My heart began to race and a million questions ran through my mind. What is the gift for? I didn’t miss any special occasion, did I? Why aren’t I saying anything..?

“Alex…what are you doing?”

“Abby, we’ve been together for a while now. I wanted to do something to show you just how special you are to me. I don’t ever want to lose you,” at this he slid his warm palm down my cheek, “you’re beautiful…I will never stop wanting you, I need you in my life.”  He handed me the small white box and I began to pull at the little red bow. It quickly came undone and I was eager to open the box. My trembling hands slowly opened the box to find inside a delicate silver necklace. The necklace was elegant in its simplicity; and perfect for me. There was a slender crescent moon medallion that hung in the center of the chain. As I ran the chain through my fingers and admired it, Alex reached to take it from my hands. I leaned forward and allowed him to put the necklace…his necklace, around my neck.

“Now, I don’t expect you to wear this everyday, and you should know that it’s not a promise ring because somehow I thought that would have made you uncomfortable. So really, Abby, this is a promise necklace. Besides, the moon is reminiscent of your pale skin and piercing eyes. Besides the obvious beauty, the moon is ours. This necklace reminds me of all the nights we’ve spent together, looking up at the sky.”

I was almost speechless. I had not seen this surprise coming. Though I was unsure if Alex could in fact see (after all, his description of me was anything but apt), I was positive that this was a huge step in our relationship. Bringing my hand up to my throat where the crescent moon hung, I let my fingers gently run over it. Alex was right; if it had been a ring I would have had an aversion to it. After all, we’re both so young. A necklace I can handle, but a ring seems to say something more. Not that I didn’t love Alex, but I just wasn’t ready to give up being a teenager.

I looked into his eyes, at that moment, and took in his delicate smile. I brought my hand up to his neck and locked into his gaze, smiling easily. We both tilted our heads forward, so that our foreheads met and I allowed myself to close my eyes for just a little while as I took in the moment. When I opened my eyes, I kissed Alex’s lips gently. I’ve always been an independent person, so I hated to admit to myself that I needed Alex. In my world where nothing much made sense, he made me feel at ease. It was Alex who made me happy, took the pain away, and it was Alex who would love me forever.  

“So does this mean that you will wear it?” The sudden noise brought me back to my senses.

“Yes, Alex, I will wear it. Everyday. Thank you for it, really, it means a lot. I love you Alex.”

“I love you, too. And please, don’t even consider paying me back for this.” Darn it. “Besides, Abby, this is something you can’t pay me back for.”

“Why not?” I could make his next gift match this one in price and sentiment, after all. I liked things between Alex and me to be even.

“I mean that I didn’t buy this. I found it, a while back. I’ve been saving it for the right time, you know. I didn’t see any signs for a missing necklace…that’s how I knew that this necklace was meant for you.” As he spoke those words I couldn’t help but wonder who the necklace had belonged to before it was mine. Was it a symbol of love for someone else? Or was it simply a piece of bent metal, merely an ornament? None of that mattered as ran my fingers over the crescent moon. What mattered now was that it belonged to me, and it was a symbol of the love that Alex and I shared. I lay back in to Alex’s lap beneath the tree and began to sing softly while I shut my eyes. I sang to him our song, Love You ‘Till the End, by the Pogues. Though I’ve been told I have a nice voice, I rarely ever sing to people. So, because Alex had given me a special gift, I gave him the only gift I could at that moment, and let the melody carry us away.    

            I woke to the feeling of Alex gently rubbing my arms. “Abby, honey, we’ve got to go,” he spoke softly into my ear. As I opened my eyes fully I realized that I must have been asleep for a while; the sun was starting to set.

            “What time is it, Alex?” I asked while sitting up and brushing my fingers through my disheveled hair.

            “It’s past six. Guess we missed our last class, too.”

            “Wow, I can’t believe we both fell asleep,” I said as I stood and brushed the dirt off my clothes.

            “Well, I didn’t…it’s just that you looked so peaceful I couldn’t bring myself to wake you. But I thought you’d like to watch the sunset. Besides, holding you in my arms for hours is something that I could hardly bring myself to end.”

            I knelt down and kissed Alex on the cheek. Grabbing his hands and hoisting him up, I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry that I fell asleep on you, it must have been the painkillers. I should get home now though, mom will be worried.”

            “Yep, you’re right, she was worried. I called her a while ago and told her that you were with me, at the park, and that I’d have you home for dinner.”

            “Well, Mr. Thompson, you think of everything, don’t you?”

            “Only when it concerns you do I make every effort,” he said with a smile. “Come on, we’ve got to get home and you’ve got to get your homework done from this morning.”

            We started walking home at a quickened pace, holding hands. When Alex touched me it felt like a strange fire, burning its way through my circulatory system, traveling through every part of my body. As we walked all I could do was smile. This had been a perfect afternoon, aside from me falling asleep! I’d have to try to go to bed early, but I knew that wasn’t likely considering that tonight Alex and I would be having one of our nights. When we finally reached my house, a familiar car was parked in our driveway, and I was not looking forward to seeing the man it belonged to.

Reviews

[CassieLynne]

wow I absolutely love this!! it's like the edge of your seat type thing :D

[deeps]

I really hope there is a chapter 2
I liked this.
Wonderful imagery in this. I can see the evnets unfolding.
You are a graphic writer in which I mean you paint a
well picture with your words.

Such wonderful Characters as well.
Your story flowed nicely.
I hope to read more from you.