Awakened

Chapter Seven

I was jolted awake by the sound of screaming erupting through the air. My eyes sprung open and I found myself in the woods, lying in a bunch of brush. I sit up, confused, and see flames blazing through the air, not too far from where I am. Another round of screams fills the air. You can hear such agony in their voices.

I sat up instantly, as the memories started to flood back. I am dreaming again. Maybe I can change the outcome this time.

I knew those screams were from my parents and that the fire that was blazing was our car, so I got up and started to run towards the flames. I run for what seems like forever, but it does not seem to matter how much or how fast I run. It is almost like I am running in place. I am not getting any closer to the flames and the screams stay the same distance away from me.

I can tell I am moving though. I know this because I pass by trees and have to jump over rocks as I push forward. But how am I not getting any closer to the car?

“Amara?” I heard someone yell suddenly. The earth beneath me began to shake. “Amara?” I heard again. “Amara, wake up!”

Everything around me started to fade away as if it was slowly collapsing beneath my feet. Seconds later, things around me go black, but then I open my eyes to find myself back in my room. Jack was sitting over me; he seemed somewhat bothered. “Are you going to be, okay?” he asked.

This went on for a couple of days. Jack would come in to check on me every evening after getting home from work. I hardly leave my room, only eating when Jack brings me food.

I keep having the same dream every night, sometimes multiple times a night. I could see the concern in his eyes even though he did not say anything. But on the fifth night, he comes over and sits on the edge of my bed.

I turned away from him and faced the wall. I can tell by his face that he has something he wants to say, and it is probably going to be something I do not want to hear.

“The school called me, Amara,” he started. “They understand your situation but said if you do not start back on Monday, you are not going to be able to finish the year. You could be held back”

“I don’t care,” I huffed. “I think I’m just better off dropping out.”

He took a deep breath. “Will you at least try? Mom and Dad would not want you to drop out of school.”

“Well, they aren’t here anymore, are they?” I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t be like that, Amara,” he breathed. “You’re nearly finished.”

“If I go back, everyone will judge or pity me. Things will not be the same. Besides, it is the beginning of the school year. What could I possibly have missed,” I pointed out.

“You are a senior, Amara. You just have to finish this year and you will never have to look back. If you get treated differently, then just ignore those kids. You will never have to see them again after you graduate, anyway.” He explained. “But you NEED to graduate.”

I rolled my eyes, “You sound just like Mom and Dad.”

“Good, that’s what I was aiming for,” he laughed softly.

“Not funny,” I huffed.

“You didn’t graduate,” I happily pointed out.

“And I regret that every single day,” he assured me. “If I could go back and finish, I would in a heartbeat.”

I shook my head, annoyed, but then agreed, “Fine, I will go back.”

“Thank you,” he sighed in relief, feeling as if he had won. “Now please, try and get some uninterrupted sleep. You sure look like you could use it. You have bags under your bags.”

“Thanks,” I said as I turned to face him and slapped his arm.

“No really, your bags have bags, and those bags have bags,” he chuckled.

“Oh, shove it,” I smiled.

The rest of the weekend goes by in slow motion, but Monday eventually comes and I find myself struggling to get out of bed. The dream continues to haunt me every night and last night, for some reason, it seemed to keep playing in my mind every time I tried to shut my eyes.

But I push that to the back of my mind and get ready, slipping into a simple pair of leggings and a light blue top. Jack drives me to school and the entire ride is silent. Every few minutes I can feel him turn and stare at me, but I just keep staring out my window. When we arrive, he pulls right up to the front doors of the school.

“Try to have a good day,” Jack finally said. “Call me if you need anything and remember, just ignore all the negativity.” I just sat there and stared for another minute, watching all the students rush inside. “You should go before you are late.”

I nod slowly, take a deep breath, then step out of the car. I barely made it to the two big doors of the school before I started to hear whispers and feel stares burning through me. I cannot make out everything they are saying but I can hear bits and pieces. ‘She’s back?’ – ‘…whore…’ – ‘the party…’ – ‘…the accident.’ – ‘Slut.’

With my head down, I pushed through the front doors and headed straight for my locker. Were all those whispers directed at me? Why was the party being talked about? Did something happen after I left? I wonder what went down.

Hopefully, Amanda will be nearby. I have not heard from her since she tried to visit me in the hospital and she never showed up at the funeral, which is strange, but I hope she is doing okay. I could use my friend right now. I need a distraction. I do not know how I will get through today if I do not have someone to help me through it.

I turned down the hallway to my locker and found Emanuele waiting by it, leaning up against a couple of lockers right next to mine. How did he know I was coming back today? Better yet, how did he even know what locker was mine?

“Morning Amara,” he greeted me with a soft smile.

“Morning,” I whispered, trying to hold back tears.

“How are you doing this morning?”

“Fine,” I lied.

He must be able to see right through me. I could tell by his facial expression that he was not convinced. “Would it be okay if I walked you to class?”

“Sure,” I nodded, then grabbed the books from my locker. As we made our way toward Mr. Edward’s class I take in a deep breath and look up at him. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What have people been saying about me since I’ve been absent?”

“Why do you ask?” he asked as his eyebrows furrowed. I can see it in his face though, he knows something.

“Everyone is staring at me,” I explained as I pointed out the people glaring as we walked past them. “And they are not showing faces of sympathy. They are all whispering with each other and going quiet as I walk by them.”

“It’s not important,” he assured me. “Nothing you should be worrying about right now.”

“It is to me, Emanuele,” I huffed. Now I know he is hiding something, and I very much want to know what that is. “What have they been saying?”

“Well, I’m new here, don’t forget, so I don’t have all the details, but from what I’ve gathered it’s mostly just talk about the accident,” he explained.

“Anything else?” I pushed, my eyes widening, demanding all the info. He is holding something back. I can see it on his face. “Tell me, please.”

“Hey look, it’s the w***e!” I heard an all too familiar voice yell from across the hall, it was Mark. He is leaning up against some lockers with his three jerky friends by his side. They are all laughing and giving him high fives.

“Just shut your mouth, Mark,” Emanuele growled. “Aren’t you tired of this already?”

Mark laughed as he stood up straight and headed in our direction, leaving his friends to whisper amongst themselves.

“Sorry, did you say something, newbie?”

“Let’s just go,” I whispered to Emanuele as I tugged at his arm, but he did not budge.

Only God knows what Mark has up his sleeve and I would rather not hang around to find out. I do not want any attention on me right now and this will surely put all eyes in our direction.

“Yes,” he said with force. “You need to leave Amara alone and stop spreading lies about her.”

“I have not lied about anything,” Mark said, now face to face with Emanuele. “She is, in fact, a w***e. You just do not know her as I do. Do not let her sob story fool you. She is not as innocent as she seems. I bet she even killed her parents. I bet it wasn’t an accident.”

“Emanuele please, let’s just go,” I begged, tugging at his arm again. Mark can call me whatever he wants and even say whatever he wants right now. I just want out of this hallway.

“You’d better listen to her if you don’t have a death wish.”

That is when things start to happen fast. Emanuele lunged forward and punched Mark in the face. Mark stumbled back a couple of steps but caught his balance just before he hit the lockers behind him. He goes to throw a punch at Emanuele, but Emanuele ducks just in time and Mark misses, giving Emanuele the chance to grab him from around the waist and slam him up against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. He pinned Mark up against the lockers and started punching him repeatedly in the face. Suddenly, a crowd formed around us and cheers began to fill the air. He did not stop until a single scream trumped over the cheering, through the air, “STOP!” We all turned our heads to find the principal standing behind the crowd.

I just stand there frozen in place and watch, in shock, as Emanuele and Mark get taken to the principal’s office. I cannot believe what just happened. Why was Mark saying those things? I never did anything to him.

Then it hits me. Was all that talk because of the night I turned him down at the party? Is he telling everyone that I am a slut because I would not have s*x with him? Could his ego be so big for him to want to tell people we had s*x so his friends didn’t find out some girl turned him down?

Who am I kidding? Of course, it is! This is Mark, after all. I would not have s*x with him but, of course, he would not tell people that. He would not admit someone rejected him. Of course, he is the type to turn it around to make the other person look bad.