Black Moon Rising

Jasmine POV I woke up to the sound of my phone alarm going off. I’m exhausted. I barely slept and still didn’t feel quite right. I wondered for a moment if I was getting sick. I shook the feeling and concentrated on getting myself to school. An hour later, after showering and eating breakfast, I was sitting in homeroom. The day dragged on as it usually does, until lunch. I was sitting on the bench in the corner of the quad and felt a pair of eyes on me. I looked around and couldn’t distinguish any single person looking at me from the crowd. I spent the rest of the lunch period trying to inconspicuously search to find the person I knew was staring at me. I got up to throw away my trash and finally found him. Our eyes locked and butterflies erupted in my stomach. He was tall and pretty muscular, far more so than any of the boys here. He had light skin, blue eyes, and a mess of dirty blonde curly hair on the top of his head. The sides were shaved clean and a smattering of sprinkles could be on his cheeks and nose. He was nothing short of handsome. Where the hell did he come from, though? I have been going to school with the same kids for the last 4 years and not once have we gotten a new student. I realized I was still staring and tore my eyes away from him, blushing fiercely. With my eyes down, I rushed to my next class, trying my hardest to push this mystery man from my mind. Try as I might, there was something about him that made it impossible for me to concentrate on anything else. Who is he? Why is he here and why the f**k was he staring at me like I was the most interesting thing on Earth? This internal dialogue went on for the entire period until I couldn’t stand it anymore. There were 5 minutes left of class and I needed some air. I gathered my belongings and walked straight out of class. Pretty sure nobody noticed. I headed home, walking quickly through the door when I got there, flopping in frustration on the sofa. Nobody has paid me any mind in years. I have blended in with the rest of my schoolmates, never doing anything to bring attention to myself. So what had caused this to suddenly change? I picked up my phone and called my mom. She always knew what to say during times like this. No answer. UGH. I threw my phone down and decided to go to the kitchen and do what I know, bake. Before I knew it, hours had passed and I had trays of an assortment of cookies cooling on the racks. I checked the time, it was starting to get really late and my mom wasn’t back yet. I tried calling her again. No answer. Worry blossomed in my stomach. Something is wrong. I set myself upon the sofa with a movie and some cookies, waiting to see the headlights of her car fill the living room as she pulls into the driveway. I ended up dozing off and was jolted awake. Checking the time, it was 1:21am. “Mom??” I called her name as I raced to her room. It was still dark. I ran to her bedroom window and saw that the driveway was still empty. f**k, f**k, f**k. Something is definitely wrong. I call her again. Over and over 12x times and she still doesn’t answer her phone. I check her location on my phone. It’s not updating either. Panic began to set in. I have no idea what the hell I am supposed to do now. It’s always been just me and my mom and I don’t even know who to call to help. I doubt they would even come if I called anyway. I wrapped myself in a blanket and sat on my mom’s bed, sobbing. I am terrified. My mind is jumping from thought to thought, each one trying to make sense of what is happening, and each one scarier and more macabre than the last. By the time the sun started to come up, I knew one thing for certain: I couldn’t tell anyone what was happening. The last thing I wanted was to be taken into some foster home and milked for government assistance. No, I am going to act as if nothing is wrong, because mom IS coming back home, and I need to be here when she does.