car once Mum found the keys in her satchel and unlocked it, and I followed in after her. My thirteen year old sister hadn't said a word to me since she first found me in the forest and she obviously avoided Mum and Dad's embrace with me just a few minutes before - was Cassie angry with my apparent foolish actions? Strangely, I was the one who needed her now - not the other way around as it should have been.
As Mum and Dad got in and the noisy growl of the engine filled the still-uncomfortable silence, my mind started to wander all over the place. What will happen now? Had Joel got in contact with my parents before they found me? Will I ever love again? My last question sent a stabbing pain through my heart that made me gasp in horror.
But before I could wonder further about what would be my ultimate destiny, unconsciousness - a heavenly, refreshing gift that was the most valuable gift to me at that moment - gained control of my body and put my poor mind at rest.
Chapter 3
Within a flash, I'd finally discovered peace. Yes, lovely, wonderful and soothing peace. Oh, how comforting it was to know that I was safe and sound - surrounded by my caring, concerned family and all senses of vulnerability suddenly vanished - and I knew I was at my beloved home.
Although my heart yearned to see the night sky again, my eyes, no matter how much I tried, wouldn't open. Huh, maybe Cassie got hold of that tube of super-glue and covered it on my eyes - or sleep was trying to overcome me. Again.
Flowers of all colours - delicate light pinks, juicy bright reds, eye-popping lilacs, yellows as vivid as the midday sun - flooded in my eyes and I sensed that I was lying on the grass in a meadow, probably in the middle of nowhere.
Birds twittered (not on the internet, no doubt) to each other, sharing a heartfelt song, and trees offered me some shade from the glaring sun which warmed my otherwise cool skin. No need to slap on the fake tan, I happily observed.
Then the nightmare truly began. In what felt like an old flashback, Joel was standing right in front of me, his heavy breaths fully on my face, and a look of thunder was heavily displayed on his livid face.
"Why did you leave me alone in the woods, Sadie?" Joel snarled, his once-trustworthy eyes full of rage and hatred. "I would have never left you!"
All signs of possibly experiencing an idyllic dream instantly vanished as my heart felt like it shattered into a million blood red pieces, spilling all over the bright green living grass and daisies.
"But you left me alone in the woods, Joel, not the other way around!" I indignantly responded, stumbling over my words. "You chose to leave me with no explanations or reasons to explain yourself - how do you expect me to feel?"
Part of me felt as though I was speaking my thoughts out loud to only myself, not to the person I strongly detested and loved at the same time. It now made sense why Mum had never had 'the talk' about relationships with me - love, even if spoken about, is a very complicated subject. Shame I hadn't been warned about its perils beforehand.
Joel, whose domineering presence chilled me to the bone, displayed an expression of bewilderment on his surprised face and for a spilt second his mask of hatred disappeared, displaying a vulnerable side I'd not yet seen.
Then, within moments, he reapplied his ghostly pallor and hissed, "I never did and never will love you, Sadie Thompson" - spitting my name as if it was a deadly poison - and walked into the woods in a trail of darkness.
********
It was only a dream, that's what I kept reminding myself the following morning. But nevertheless, the nightmare felt terrifyingly real and the memories of it kept flashing back during the whole day, sending a paralysing chill down my spine.
All day, I stayed in my cramped, tiny bedroom, simply leaving it for meals and the bathroom every few hours. Strangely, Mum and Dad seemed
As Mum and Dad got in and the noisy growl of the engine filled the still-uncomfortable silence, my mind started to wander all over the place. What will happen now? Had Joel got in contact with my parents before they found me? Will I ever love again? My last question sent a stabbing pain through my heart that made me gasp in horror.
But before I could wonder further about what would be my ultimate destiny, unconsciousness - a heavenly, refreshing gift that was the most valuable gift to me at that moment - gained control of my body and put my poor mind at rest.
Chapter 3
Within a flash, I'd finally discovered peace. Yes, lovely, wonderful and soothing peace. Oh, how comforting it was to know that I was safe and sound - surrounded by my caring, concerned family and all senses of vulnerability suddenly vanished - and I knew I was at my beloved home.
Although my heart yearned to see the night sky again, my eyes, no matter how much I tried, wouldn't open. Huh, maybe Cassie got hold of that tube of super-glue and covered it on my eyes - or sleep was trying to overcome me. Again.
Flowers of all colours - delicate light pinks, juicy bright reds, eye-popping lilacs, yellows as vivid as the midday sun - flooded in my eyes and I sensed that I was lying on the grass in a meadow, probably in the middle of nowhere.
Birds twittered (not on the internet, no doubt) to each other, sharing a heartfelt song, and trees offered me some shade from the glaring sun which warmed my otherwise cool skin. No need to slap on the fake tan, I happily observed.
Then the nightmare truly began. In what felt like an old flashback, Joel was standing right in front of me, his heavy breaths fully on my face, and a look of thunder was heavily displayed on his livid face.
"Why did you leave me alone in the woods, Sadie?" Joel snarled, his once-trustworthy eyes full of rage and hatred. "I would have never left you!"
All signs of possibly experiencing an idyllic dream instantly vanished as my heart felt like it shattered into a million blood red pieces, spilling all over the bright green living grass and daisies.
"But you left me alone in the woods, Joel, not the other way around!" I indignantly responded, stumbling over my words. "You chose to leave me with no explanations or reasons to explain yourself - how do you expect me to feel?"
Part of me felt as though I was speaking my thoughts out loud to only myself, not to the person I strongly detested and loved at the same time. It now made sense why Mum had never had 'the talk' about relationships with me - love, even if spoken about, is a very complicated subject. Shame I hadn't been warned about its perils beforehand.
Joel, whose domineering presence chilled me to the bone, displayed an expression of bewilderment on his surprised face and for a spilt second his mask of hatred disappeared, displaying a vulnerable side I'd not yet seen.
Then, within moments, he reapplied his ghostly pallor and hissed, "I never did and never will love you, Sadie Thompson" - spitting my name as if it was a deadly poison - and walked into the woods in a trail of darkness.
********
It was only a dream, that's what I kept reminding myself the following morning. But nevertheless, the nightmare felt terrifyingly real and the memories of it kept flashing back during the whole day, sending a paralysing chill down my spine.
All day, I stayed in my cramped, tiny bedroom, simply leaving it for meals and the bathroom every few hours. Strangely, Mum and Dad seemed
Similar Books
Consumed
David Cronenberg
Phantom Prospect
Alex Archer
All My Sins Remembered
Brian Wetherell
Beautiful Chaos
Kami García, Margaret Stohl
a Night Too Dark (2010)
Dana Stabenow
Tracking (Return of the Nine)
Viola Grace
The Cop on the Corner
David Goodis
One Thousand White Women
Jim Fergus
Owning Up: The Trilogy
George Melly
In Too Deep
Ronica Black