After he left, I just sit wallowing in my utter aloneness. I’ll be alone forever. Mom doesn’t believe me, she made that clear on Christmas morning. She won’t be there for me. Dad believes me, but he has constant health issues. Who knows how much longer he’ll be here for me? Ryker will be always be there, but eventually he’ll get married, and have kids and find his own life. I’m just going to live. And die. Alone.
I decide after a while to go see if there are any lights on in surrounding shops. Maybe I can hang out in there until I can get Ryker to pick me up. As I predicted though, nothing is open, but as I step outside I realize this is mood matching weather. It’s like someone took one look at my mood and spit it out in the form of weather. I step out into the wet, dark, cold parking lot.
I trudge over to the middle of the lot, where I plunk down on my rear end, Indian style. This isn’t your normal “Scattered Showers” rain. No, this was like freaking hurricane weather. Rain is coming down in torrential sheets, it’s freezing because it’s the middle of January, and it’s dark as all get out.
And my soul screams for more.
The beast controlling my emotions and thoughts tears and claws for me to suffer. My mood is trying to escape my body, to get on the outside, to escape. “Feel your misery. Feel it,” they hiss at me.
And so, I sit. My hair and clothes utterly drenched, teeth chattering, can’t see a thing. And for the first time in my life, I accept that I’m a freak.
I accept that I’ll never be like anyone else. I accept that I’m different, and weird. That I’m me.
The cold dark rain is teaching me that. It’s teaching me to let go.
And to mix my sorrow and agony with the wind. Let it go with the wind. Let it go.
A car’s headlights pierce the dark, about five minutes later. I’m sitting with my head in between my knees, the rain washing over my back and down my neck, but the lights seep inside and I lift my head. It’s so dark I can’t tell what kind of car it is, but I assume it’s Ryker’s. Knox probably texted him telling him he couldn’t pick up his freak sister.
It’s what anyone else would have done.
I don’t move. I just continue to sit with my head now propped up on my hands, while I wait for Ryker to come get me.
The car comes to a stop, and he gets out and walks over to me. It’s only when he’s about ten feet in front of me that I realize it isn’t Ryker.
I swallow the lump forming in my throat.
He came back.
He stops right in front of me and offers me a hand up. I’m surprised he even is okay with touching me. Scratch that, I’m surprised he’s even okay with being in the same parking lot as me.
“Raven Keating, what the heck are you doing?” His voice is soft, and I find myself lost. Why isn’t he back here yelling at me for being a freak, and trying to befriend him?
“I’m hunting elephants, Knox.” I glare at him. If this is all some funny joke and he’s just here to make fun of me, he can leave right now. Besides, I can’t exactly turn the sarcasm off. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
I can practically hear him roll his eyes. “Well, it looks like you’re trying to catch the flu, but I know you’re not that stupid.”
I just shrug, water literally running off my shoulders as I do so. “I’m pretty stupid.”
He sighs. “Yes, you are. Get up, you’re probably going to die from sitting there. How long have you been there?”
I stand up, and then realize how completely freezing I am. Fantastic.
“Basically since you left.”
He runs a hand over his face. “Just get in the car.”
I narrow my eyes. He’s offering me a ride home even after all that’s happened? “I’ll get water all over your car,” is all I say.
He just shrugs. “It’ll dry.”
I get in his car and he cranks the heat as high as it will go while I try to squeeze the water out of my hair.
The only sound in the car is the rain hitting the car for a while.
The he says: “I’m sorry I ran out. I just needed a minute to process.”
I glance over at him, my eyes huge in disbelief. He’s apologizing for running out?!
“I figured you weren’t coming back.” I say simply drumming my fingers on the windowsill.
“Why is that?” He asks, turning onto my street.
Air fills my lungs, and I release it before whispering, “Because no one ever does.”
He slowly pulls the car to a complete stop even though we’re in the middle of the street. Knox reaches over and grabs my hand, sending chills up my spine before saying gently, “I will always come back, Raven.”
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Hey all! So, if you haven't yet figured out, yes my chapter's are shrinking. This is mainly because I have diagnosed myself with chronic exhaustion (I don't eat meat, and don't get enough iron therefore) and my normal writing time is at night, when I have been sleeping recently. So, faster uploads mean shorter chapters.
Sorry, guys.
Alrighty, this chapter would have been up last night, but Wattpad went funkayyy... so yep.
Thank you all for reading! I read all the comments, and cherish all the votes. I love to hear from you all, so hit that comment button!
~Juliana
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Irised
Teen Fiction"That's Knox Parker, Rae." "Thank you Captain Obvious. I know who he is," I roll my eyes and buckle up. "What's wrong?" "That's the biggest jerk at school. He's popular and he knows it, he's good looking and he knows it, he's funny and he knows it...
