Killing Me Softly

Five

The weeks fly by and nothing really changed. It seems, however, that Grayson is beginning to warm up to me. We’ve actually talked about normal things and could hold a conversation for longer than thirty seconds. I’d ask what he did over the weekend and he would actually answer with more than just a few syllables. I felt like we were making progress. What shocked me the most was when Grayson initiated conversation first and had asked me about my plans for the weekend.

In the halls between classes, Grayson would acknowledge my presence by throwing a small nod or a quick “hello” my way. He was always with the same girl and I hated to admit that it actually bothered me a little bit.

The bruises around my neck had faded and I was able to stop wearing scarves. Nicole made a comment about it and asked why all of a sudden, I had stopped. The best reply I could come up with was that it was way too hot to continue wearing them. No one pushed it but Sydney seemed skeptical.

Home was still boring as ever. Paul was still annoying and just continued to get worse when he started school. He complained about everything—his professors, the studying, and everything else that came along with school. I think he was just very upset about the fact that he had to actually study in order to pass his classes since everything was weighted on exams.

I still went to my dad’s house every other weekend or sometimes if I felt like it, I would stay the entire week. It was currently Saturday and it was my dad’s weekend. I had woken up around six in the morning from a terrifying nightmare and couldn’t fall back asleep.

I laid in bed for about an hour thinking about it and how similar it was to the nightmare I had a few weeks ago, with just a few minor differences. I was in a room and it was pitch black. I was alone – at least I thought I was, until I heard a growl. I turned around, coming face-to-face with a large, gray wolf. He was just a few feet away from me and each time I took a step back to create some distance, he took a step forward, closing it. Something in my brain finally clicked and a voice yelled at me to run. It didn’t matter how fast I ran, though; he was hot on my heels. I missed a step and tripped over my own two feet, my arms pinwheeling as I fall. Seconds later, I feel his hot breath against my neck, his large teeth grazing my skin, sending chills down my spine. Right before he was about to clamp his jaw around my neck, I had jolted awake.

The entire morning, I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling of how real the dream was. When I couldn’t take being alone in my room anymore, I jump out of bed and head to the kitchen only to find it empty. Dad was probably still asleep, so I made a quick and easy breakfast for myself. Nothing fancy, just some toast and cream of wheat.

I glance up at the clock on the microwave. It was twenty minutes past seven. As soon as I finished up breakfast, I went back to my room to grab my stuff for a shower. A warm, hot shower was exactly what I needed right now.

I take my time, allowing myself to enjoy the hot water. It was nice not having Paul or Elizabeth banging at the door, screaming for me to hurry up. I quickly finish up then head back to the kitchen to check if Dad was awake yet.

“Good morning,” he says, as I walk in.

“Good morning.” I sit down at the table, across from him.

“What do you feel like doing today?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure. Do you have anything in mind?”

Dad thought about it for a moment. “Not really, I just thought maybe you wanted to do something in particular.”

I shrug again. There really wasn’t anything I needed or wanted to do today. I thought about Elizabeth and how her birthday would be coming up in just a couple weeks. “What about the mall? Elizabeth’s birthday is coming up and I’d like to get her something.”

“We can do that. Do you mind if we stop at the grocery store first?”

“Of course.”

“Great,” Dad says, getting up from the table. “I’ll go get ready.”

Unlike my mother—who takes hours to get dressed—my dad was ready within twenty minutes. During the drive, Dad asked me every question ranging from school to home and even asked about Mom and how she was doing. Even though my parents are divorced, they were very civil with each other. They talked every so often, only to discuss issues about me of course, but they could handle being in the same room. They had no resentment whatsoever towards each other and it was great because I wasn’t put in the middle of anything. As mom likes to put it: they simply fell out of love with each other and there were no hard feelings.

Grocery shopping didn’t take long and it wasn’t until my Dad closed the trunk when he got a phone call from work. Dad had made it very clear to his assistant to not bother him on the weekends I was with him unless it was an absolute emergency. And something told me that was one of those times.  

He seemed upset as soon as he got off the phone and was even quiet on the drive home. I helped carry the groceries into the house and waited for him to tell me what was wrong. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I have to go into the office to fix some things,” he told me at last.

I just nod. I wasn’t upset. I knew this was an emergency and he wouldn’t go in otherwise.

When he left, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I didn’t really want to be alone, but I didn’t feel like going out either. So, I called all of my friends to see if they wanted to come over and watch some movies with me. Nicole couldn’t make it because she had a family event, Ivy had to babysit her younger siblings, which left Sydney and Jordan who agreed to come over. I picked out some movies and I got some snacks ready. Sydney was the first to arrive followed by Jordan shortly after.

“Alright, ladies. What are we watching?” Jordan asks, plopping himself down on the couch and resting his feet on the coffee table.

“Ladies?” I muse.

“Lord of the Rings!” Sydney shouts.

“Lord of the Rings,” Jordan repeats.

“It’s settled. Lord of the Rings.” I didn’t want to spend a lot of time choosing a movie.

By about ten thirty, Sydney was passing out, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open and it looked as if Jordan was about to fall asleep. I walk him to the front door, give him a hug, and tell him to be careful driving home. He seemed to have something on his mind and was about to tell me when he says, “Goodnight.” Jordan had been acting weird lately and I wasn’t sure what to make of it and I was too afraid to ask.

In the living room on the couch, Sydney is full on snoring. I gently wake her up and she follows me to my room where she throws herself on the bed, falling asleep instantly.

“You’re unusually quiet this morning,” Sydney says the following morning, shoving another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

I ignore her comment and ask if she wants to go with me to the mall instead. Dad ended up having to go into work today and to say he felt terrible was an understatement. I reassured him as he walked out the door that I would be okay since Sydney was here. Reluctantly, he finally left.  

An hour later, Sydney and I are walking through the main entrance of the mall when I turn to her and say, “I have no idea what to get Elizabeth.”

Sydney thinks about it. “Clothes are always good.”

“She’ll just grow out of them in a few days. “

“Are there any toys she wants?”

“She’s going to be twelve not five.”

“Damn, who would’ve known shopping for a twelve-year-old is this hard.”

I snort. “Especially when it’s a brat like Elizabeth.”

“What does she like?”

“I have no idea anymore. Boybands, lip gloss, who knows?”

We look at a few more shops and I’m still no closer to deciding on what to get her. Thankfully, I wasn’t in a hurry to get her gift today since her birthday wasn’t for a couple more weeks. Sydney was getting tired and so was I.

I was about to call it quits when Sydney tugs on my arm. “Look who it is!” she squeals excitedly. I look around to see who she was talking about but failing to see. “Over by the vending machine.”

I frown as I recognize the familiar, tall stature. Grayson.

“Go talk to him,” she urges me.

I look at her likes she’s crazy. “What, why?”

“You know him.”

“Not really. I only have a class with him.” An idea forms and I grin at her. “Why don’t you go talk to him?”

Sydney scrunches her nose as if a foul smell just wafted through the air. “I don’t think so.”

“I think someone has a crush on him,” I tease.

“Not necessarily him,” she mumbles.

“What?”

She gives me a blank stare. “You mean you like—”

“Juliette!” someone shouts, coming up behind me and making me jump.

I turn around, coming face-to-face with a familiar, mischievous smile. “Hi, Jensen,” I say with a smile and even keep it when I say hello to Grayson.

He simply nods. Of course.

“What are you doing here?” Jensen asks me.

I glance at Sydney, noticing her cheeks have just turned a faint shade of pink. “I’m looking for a birthday gift for my younger sister. What are you doing here?”

“Grayson needed something and I’m just tagging along.”

I glance down at Grayson’s empty hands. Weird. They probably hadn’t been here for very long then. Sydney takes a step closer to me, her arm brushing against mine. Her way of reminding me that she was here.

“This is my friend Sydney,” I introduce them. Jensen gives a bright, friendly “Hello and nice to meet you.” while Grayson on the other hand gives a small, forced smile. I honestly couldn’t understand why he had such a problem with smiling. It wouldn’t kill him to smile once in a while.

“We were just finishing up and were about to catch a movie,” Jensen says. “Did you guys want to join us?”

“Um…” I didn’t think it was a good idea, but I never got the chance to object.

“We would love to!” Sydney interjects.

Grayson sighs and I could’ve sworn I saw him kick Jensen in the leg. Jensen ignores him and I get the sudden urge to kick Sydney right about now for even agreeing to the movie.

She gives me a smile and follows Jensen towards the movie theater.

Grayson and I follow behind the two of them in silence. I wasn’t sure what to say and he didn’t seem to be in any mood to talk. We get to the ticket window and before Sydney or I could pull out our wallets, Jensen had paid for everyone.

Grayson grunts as Jensen hands him his ticket. I glare at the back of Sydney’s head as we walk into the theater. And to make it better, they force Grayson and I to sit together. Sydney was having the time of her life while I sat there, stewing in my frustration.