Forever Bound - chapter 4

chapter 4 of my book thing.

Four

 

I was breathing heavily and my heart was thumping loudly in my ears and in the back of my skull and kept thinking repeatedly to myself,

It was only a dream, only a dream, only a dream, only a dream!

So why didn't I believe that? I sat upright and staring around, trying to recognise any difference or mundane shadow lurking around me. There was nothing. I sighed, realising my TV was still on, flashing black and white at me in the darkness. I guess I had fallen asleep, jeez; I really could have some hell worthy dreams. I got out of bed quietly because surely, Anna had not been out all night, she never was, and I was directly refusing to believe anything that I had just seen was real. I had always been told to trust my instincts but that was going a bit too far, She always came back to see if I was okay. I opened my door just a crack and peered out onto the hall, gasping slightly as the metal of the handle made contact with my skin. I glanced down at my hands and saw that they were red raw and burnt. HOW. THE. UTTER. HELL? The hall was dark and silent so I tiptoed on the cold, fake wood flooring and into the bathroom. One look in the mirror made me gasp with horror. My eyes, normally a bright, electric blue, were a deep, dark shade of black. My hair was making Becca’s look perfectly styled, and, worst of all I spotted burns �" what looked a bit like a scar �" branded on my left cheek. It stretched from the tip of my chin to my temples, jagging out in patterns I could not recognise. It was a rich, smoky, blood red colour, Beautiful. Being so caught up in wonder and awe that the hard pounding on the door made me jump in fright. I scanned the room for something to use as a weapon or some kind of defensive tool. There was nothing except a toilet roll holder and a toothbrush. Damn, I was supposed to keep one on me at all times. It was not like me to forget something that I had known since… since that night. Even if I was in my own house, nowhere was safe. In fact, people in their own homes were more likely to get hurt. They let down their guard and they let down defences and expect to be safe. It is why so many people are killed at home - Bad logic and false trust in alarm systems. My drastic measures were unnecessary however because just then Anna's voice called through the door.

“Is that you?”

“y-yeah” I stammered.

My voice sounded faint and shaky and I worked at putting my expression back to normal �" or as close to as I could get �" before I opened the door. I turned the handle, the door creaked open, and I stared into my Aunt's face, expecting my added facial feature to shock her.

“It’s three in the f*****g morning! What are you doing up.?”

Her expression demanded an explanation from me but I noticed her clothes and the fresh cut along her hairline and changed the subject

“Couldn’t sleep and even if I could it’s not like I expected you to be back. You rarely are. When did you get back? Five? Ten minutes ago? You haven’t even changed and you smell like those bloody Suckers. Please tell me when you are actually going to take an interest in your sister’s only daughter's well-being instead of leaving her with a house keeper, who, rarely turns up,” was my ingenious reply.

 I had to admit it was good. It left Anna speechless anyway and I stalked back to my room, slamming the door on the cold and my Aunt. I sighed and leaned back against the door. I really did not want to fight with Anna considering how much she had done for me, but she made it damn hard not to when she acted like that. At least she wasn’t dead; at least it was only a dream.

This time I slept free from nightmares.

The time on my digital clock read 7.32 Am. Groaning, I ran my hand back through my hair and turned to my battered old laptop with the missing buttons, switching it on. With a click, the power whirred as it woke up and the screen faded into life. I went to my internet, clicked on the address bar at the top of the page, and typed in my MSN online messenger in the search bar. I had about fifty messages, each one repeated multiple times, I went through them slowly, and very unsteadily, I sifted through my mail until I got bored. It had to be a lot later now so I got up, tiptoed onto the landing, and peered over the rough, wooden banister to see bright lights in the kitchen. My hand hit off the door as I tripped on the stairs, clumsy and uncoordinated and I fast �" walked into the kitchen because I was starving, ravenous even. As I stepped into the room I blinked, the clouded patches in my vision clearing up so I could see the room in further detail. The surfaces were clean. The floor was clean. Everything was, well, clean. The narrow walkway between the worktops and the wall was empty. Again, there was no sight of Anna. Not that I expected anything more, but it was nice to think that maybe, was it not…? Then, why was the light on then? Weird. I walked up to one of the larger cupboards and grabbed a bowl. I poured the milk and cereal and sat down at my circular, metal table and chairs to match.

When I finished my breakfast, I brushed my hair into a bun at the back of my head, pulling out many strands in the process and got dressed for school. The school uniform we had to wear was just that the school logo had to be on at least one piece of visible clothing. Apart from that, you could wear anything you wanted. I walked back through to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I did not wear make-up to school, I did however, put on lots of moisturiser to protect from the cold wind and stop my face from being chapped. As if it actually made a difference what those people �" most of whom I was not going to see after the next few months, ever �" thought. I was different than most of the people in all the schools I had gone to. I did not fit in well. I do not fit in because I don’t care about the next ‘in’ shoes and clothing style. I wanted to be more than that my upbringing proved that already. I ... I believed in the impossible. Things other people would only laugh at, mainly because I already knew it, it had already been proven by Aunt Anna.

By this time I was out the door and onto my street and I waited for one of Anna’s associates to pick me up for school, because since my Aunt was out all the time doing god-knows-what and Gladys can’t drive, I had no one to give me a ride. Normally child services would be all over us but everyone knew Anna could probably get anyone who tried fired because of her influence in The Government. The Government kept everyone in check and in order. With them around there had been no human committed crime in the area since 1992. The police and officers covered up all the rest. People were too afraid. Rumour was that the PM himself annually made a personal visit to the people like Anna. However, that was just rumour and you never pay attention to rumour, only fact. You never know how many lies can spread through this small town so quickly. Soon everyone knows your deepest dirty secrets and darkest regrets. No one knew what he or she did in his or her little offices and I am sure no one would like to find out. Anna was detached from them. She worked there but she never really set foot in the offices. She went off, did her own thing, and got people to do her work for her. All she had to do was send out a well-written-out text message. I watched as Mrs Williams pulled up at the side of the road in her rusty, old Volvo, opened the door, and waited for me to get in. I do not know why but something made me shiver. I peered around, feeling someone’s gaze on me.

Get in the car.

I got in the car. I shut the door and we drove away, the tyres screeching as we turned the corner and sped away into the street.

Author's Note

please please give me hints and pointers and anything that can help me please.