In My Veins

Olivia

Making my way out to the patio decorated in white fairy lights Aaron is standing by the fountain with a drink in one hand, a joint in the other. Slowly approaching him. He makes direct eye contact with me chugs his drink then throws the cup to the ground hard, glass shatters everywhere making me flinch. That cup could have been his 5th drink for all I knew at this point.

" Did you hear my father's big speech?" He asks after taking another hit from his joint.

" Yes. Is that why you're so upset?" I ask confused. 

There's so much anger in his tone. Then he laughs, taking another hit of his blunt, bigger than the last.

" I'm mad because it's all a lie! My father is the one with the pain pill addiction and he's blaming my mother for it! This benefit dinner is to make her look bad! And for him to look like the victim so he can get all the pity votes so he can be mayor. " He explains.

" I'm so sorry! I had no idea! Let's just get out of here and go somewhere so we can be alone, maybe go get some food or something? I'm starving." I say holding out my hand for him to take it. 

I need to get him out of here before he makes a huge scene. If not his father is going to lose his s**t on him and then Aaron would take it out on me later.

" You don't understand. I can't just leave, I would never hear the end of it! If we left I would end up making my father look bad."

He is slurring his words so badly. It's driving me crazy! We both hear laughter coming from inside the house. Aaron drops his joint in the fountain and it dies instantly. I honestly have no idea what to do? He's too f****d up at this point to comprehend anything I'm saying to him. Never have I seen him get this bad before.

" What do you want to do? Go back to your room? Hang out here? Leave?" asking as I slowly move closer towards him.

" I think I want another drink." He says stumbling past me.

" I think you have had enough to drink." I say grabbing his wrist to stop him. 

It all happens so fast. I felt a blow to the left side of my face. Losing my balance stumbling backwards hitting the ground. A stinging pain hits the left side of my face. Tears spring instantly to my eyes. Trying to comprehend what the f**k just happened. Bringing my hand up to my face pulling it way to see blood on my hand. I look up at Aaron in complete shock. His class ring was on his right hand and was covered in blood, my blood! He hit me with that hand on purpose knowing it would hurt more, because of that f*****g ring of his!

" You don't tell me what to do b***h! Oh! If you even dare to tell anyone about this I will hit more than your pretty face next time!" He threatens me. 

The look on his face shows me that he's not kidding around, if there's a next time he'll beat me to a f*****g pulp. Never have I really feared Aaron before till this very moment. Knowing he meant every word coming out of that mouth of his, it scares me. It shouldn't because he's hit me many times before. He had never hit me on the face, he always made sure to do it somewhere I could over up with a long t-shirt or long jeans. Like last summer I didn't show my legs off at all for the fact that I was always covered in bruises, I barely got to wear tank tops.

" I'm sorry. Excuse me." I say quietly getting up from the ground and rushing towards the side door of the house. 

I knew his house like the back of my own hand. Not even caring to look back to make sure he's not following me. My main focus is to keep myself together to hold in my tears until I'm far enough away from him to feel safe. As soon as I enter the side door to his house, everything around me changes and shifts, I'm suddenly in a barn on my knees with my hands  tied behind my back with a gun pointed right at me, by the man that I love. Every time I see him, he takes my breath away. Then it hits me that I'm dreaming again. Trying to move my hands, I realize I can't. That's the weird thing about these dreams. I can't move, only view things from the girls body that I'm trapped in when I have these strange dreams. Stuck feeling everything that she feels, right now she knows that she's going to die by the man she loves and she's okay with that. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes because I know what is about to happen. I just wish he didn't have a blind fold over his eyes, the least that he could do is look me in the eyes as he kills me.

" Okay Drake, this is your 5th and last shot. Now, make it count." A familiar voice says.

As much as I want to turn my head to see who is talking I can't, all I can do is keep my eyes locked on Drake and focus. He's nervous which makes me nervous, he takes a deep breath. His hand holding the gun starts to shake.

" That right breath Danny boy, for when you pull that trigger you might never pick up a gun again. Now shoot!" The obnoxious voice yells.

Taking one last breath trying to calm himself Drake lowers the gun from my head to my chest. He took my advice from earlier but I was wrong, I thought I would be standing but Chase made me get on my knees. Tears start to fall down my face.  I look up at the ceiling praying that god takes my soul quickly. Taking one last deep breath he fires the gun. The gunshot echoes around the barn followed by my loud piercing scream and I hit the ground as the pain washes over me.

                                                                                               *****

Letting out a loud scream I sit straight up in my bed against my pillows and start panting. Waiting till I catch my breath, I tell myself it was just a nightmare, it wasn't real, I keep telling myself that over and over again. These nightmares I keep having just keep getting worse and worse. My whole body is caked in cold sweat and my comforter and sheets are tangled up around my legs and feet like I just lost the fight of my life against them. My left cheek stings from when Aaron hit my left cheek in my nightmare. There's no way that it really happened. It was just a dream, pulling the covers off me,  just as my feet are about to touch the floor I realize that I'm not alone in my room, someone who looked just like me was standing at the foot of my bed.

The hair on my back of my neck stands up and goosebumps cover my body. I want to scream but for some reason I am frozen and can't take my eyes off of her. It's like looking in a f*****g mirror. 

" Oh my sweet sister, All I ask is for you to love him and take care of him like I did. Deep down, I knew he was meant to really be with you and that I was meant to die."

" What are you talking about?" I shout at her " This is just a dream, right? I'm still dreaming." I tell myself looking away briefly from woman who wore my face.

She didn't answer me. It was as if she didn't even hear me talking, she continued talking to me. 

"It still hurts not being able to hold him anymore. But sadly I don't have much time for they are tracking us. Stay safe and be alert! But above all sweet sister hide the mark!"

With that said she was gone just as fast as she appeared. What the f**k was that? I have had dreams like that in the past where I've seen someone living a life with my face. But never had she talked to me before. Pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming Nick my twin brother enters my room. 

"Olivia are you okay?" He asks staring at me seeing the fear on my face. 

"I'm fine, just waking myself up from another nightmare." His face went from concerned to really confused.

" Liv, are you having those dreams again about living a life that's someone else's?"

" Yeah but this last time it scared me..."

" What happened this time that was different from the last ones?" he asks as he walks over to my bed sitting next to me.

" This time she talked to me, I know that sounds crazy but she did!"

" Um.. What did she say?" Ugh, he thinks I'm crazy, then again I would too if I were him right now in this moment. 

" She told me to take care of him and love him like she did. She also said oh my sweet sister. Nick I'm scared, before she disappeared the woman said we are being tracked, to stay safe and alert. And above all to hide the mark."

" Let me see your birthmark." Nick says in serious tone. 

 What is wrong with him? Why is he acting weird.

" Um, okay, it really hurts for some reason so don't touch it, got it!?"

" Haha, I'll try not to." Turning around so my back now faces my brother he slowly lifts up my hair. As Nick pulls down my purple tank top to reveal the mark right between my shoulder blades. He lets out a breathe in frustration, letting my hair fall around my shoulders. 

" What is up with you lately? What are you not telling me?" Asking him as I turn around to look at him. 

" Hide the mark, wear your hair down." He tells me in a firm voice. 

Just as I'm about to ask him why and demand for him to tell me what is really going on. He lifts his hand up gently moving my cheek to the left to get a better look at it.

" Where did this bruise come from? It wasn't there last night?" He asks concerned.

Covering my cheek with my right hand, without answering Nicks question rushing to the bathroom I check out my cheek in the mirror and sure enough there is a small bruise right there on my left cheek where Aaron struck me in the dream.

" What happened?" Nick asks me from the bathroom doorway watching me.

" I had a dream that Aaron hit me, he hit me in this same spot and now I have a little bruise there. Nick, I'm scared." I say turning to look at him.

Nick's demeanor changes from concerned to not worried at all. He just chuckles at me, which makes me more confused.

" Liv, you had a bad dream and then hit yourself in your sleep and from the looks of it, you really hit yourself."

" It's not funny!" I snap at him and shut the bathroom door on him.

" You're getting worried over nothing, it was just a dream." He shouts at me through the door.

'It's just a dream.'

If I hear those words again I'm going to snap. Nick has been telling me these words for the last couple of weeks and he acts like I'm a ticking bomb which is even more annoying. Staring at myself in the mirror looking at my new bruise, I hear that voice in the back of my head that I have been hearing for the last few weeks.

" Wake up Olivia."

****

The ride to school with Nick and Kaylin is awkward. Nick didn't say much to me in the truck and Kaylin kept looking at me in the review mirror with her bright green eyes, she kept opening her mouth and closing it over and over again as if she wanted to say something to me but knew right now is not the best time.  I couldn't help but admire her outfit choice today, she looks super elegant in a bright red dress that looks like it should be a night out dress but it isn't. She wore her beautiful blonde hair in a side chunky braid that melts into one big fishtail. She looks like a goddess comparted to me in these old faded blue jeans and black tee shirt. After I woke up from my nightmare from hell, I didn't feel like dressing up today which I knew Aaron was going to comment on.

When we arrive at school, Nick and Kaylin took off towards their lockers and I head towards mine ignoring all the looks and whispers from my fellow classmates. This is what happens when you date the most popular guy at school and live in a small town. In cinder falls everyone knows everyone, and in a small amount of time they learn everything about you . As I turn the corner and enter the hallway Aaron is leaning against my locker waiting for me. His bright green eyes light up as they see me and he smiles at me flashing his perfect white teeth. 

  " I missed you." He says in my ear as he gives me big hug. 

  " I missed you too." I reply. 

I should be happy to see Aaron but I can't help but feel stressed.  Aaron keeps his arms around me for a few more seconds and pulls away taking me in. 

  " Is something wrong? You don't look like your self today."  

I knew this was going to happen, he gets annoyed if I don't dress up and make myself attractive. I'm not in the mood to fight or argue with him. His eyes stare me down intensely making me uncomfortable.  Flashes of the nightmare I had of him hitting me across the face enter my mind. 

   " I didn't sleep good last night... I'm tired." I answer him, turning away from him opening my locker. My hands start to shake and I try my best to hide it from him. 

  " I'm sorry that you had a rough night, maybe you should go home and get some sleep, take a shower and come back to school." He says in a some what concerned voice, but mostly he just sounds annoyed. 

  " Maybe I'll do that."  I say grabbing my books for homeroom putting them in my bag.

  " Miss Jack, can I see you for a moment please." Principal Anders voice comes from behind me. 

Thankfully he doesn't sound mad, I hurry and try and think of a reason of why he would want to talk to me, but nothing comes to mind. 

  " Yes." I say, shutting my locker meeting Aaron's eyes one last time and walking towards Mr. Anders. 

  " Follow me" 

I follow him all the way towards the front office, students throw glances our way or hurry and rush off towards their class before the bell rings. Mr. Anders has a habit of handing out as many detention slips as he can in a day. 

Once we reach the front office I see a woman standing there who looks out of place staring down at her phone in disappointment.  I've never seen her before, but with the way she is dressed, she means business. Her looks are so striking and her black hair really makes her red lip stick stand out and her black suit makes her brown eyes really pop. 

  " Liv, this is Mrs. Parker. Her son Drake is starting today would you mind showing him around?"  Mr. Anders asks me. 

  " I would love to." I say with a fake smile, I'm so NOT in the mood to be doing this at all. I wish that I never signed up to be part of welcoming community in the first place. Looking around I don't see her son anywhere in sight. 

Mrs. Parker looks up from her phone at the sound of my voice and meets my eyes for the first time. She stares at me in complete horror, her brown eyes look like they are going to pop out of her head. She takes a few steps backwards away from me frightened like I was ghost or something. 

  " Rachel?" She asks me. 

Rachel? Who is Rachel?

  " No, I'm Olivia. But everyone around here calls me Liv" I say confused, unsure what is happening right now. I look over at Mr. Anders who looks just as confused as I am. 

  " Oh my god, I am so sorry! You look just like a girl I knew back at home and it freaked me out." She says placing her manicured hand over her heart, I can't help but notice her British accent. 

  " No worries." I say with a smile, trying to let her know that she didn't freak out. 

  " Olivia, beautiful name. I'm Mrs. Parker."  She holds out her hand for me to shake, which I accept. 

  " Nice to meet you as well Mrs. Parker. So, your son. He is starting today?" I ask confused as to why he is not here with her. 

   " He is over there." She says with a smile, pointing behind her at main doors of our High School. 

Following her finger with my eyes, I spot her son leaning against a pillar not to far away from the entrance watching us. I can't really get a good look at him,  Mrs. Parker waves at him to come and join us.  As he approaches,  I take in his attractive features. He looks just like a Hollister model, tall and muscular with a perfect hair and jawline. My whole body freezes as I lock eyes with him. He has the most beautiful brown eyes I have ever seen in my entire life, if the light hits him in just right way, they almost look Amber. He looks so familiar, I can't quite put my finger on it. Then he gets that same horrified look on his face as his mom when he gets a better look at me. He keeps his brown eyes locked on me as he stands next to her.

I can't take my eyes off of him, no matter how hard I tired. It feels like he is studying every inch of my body, his intense stare gives me goosebumps. My instincts are telling me to run away from him fast. But then another part of me is intrigued and that voice that I have been hearing in my head keeps telling me that he is the one.