His Saving Grace

Chapter Three

The sound of leaves rustling on the ground woke me. Somehow I had managed to fall asleep on the hard, cold ground of the Nickelsen property, but the waking up part wasn’t pretty. Tiny rocks embedded themselves into the skin of my arms and legs, leaving marks. My hair was a tangled mess of dirt and rocks, my sundress was crumpled, and I had slept on top of my phone. My back was aching from the uncomfortable position.

I sat up, rubbing my stiff neck. There was someone seated on a bench nearby, looking as still as ever. It crept me out atg first--as if it was someone from those movies, watching you from a far, waiting to pounce at you.

Shaking my head at the insane thought, I stood up unsteadily on my sore legs, blinking repeatedly to adjust to the darkness. The silhouette on the bench remained still as a statue, until I got 5 feet from him.

“Who’s there?” that person demanded, his voice sending chills down my spine.

Garrett.

“It’s Katie,” I said in a small voice, wanting to walk away as soon as possible.

“What are you doing here?” Garrett asked, his voice becoming low and quiet again. He shifted in his seat, making his features a little more detailed in the moonlight—his hair was sticking out in all directions, his cheekbones were somewhat jotting out, and his lips were a thin line on his face. His eyes remained hidden under the shadow of his hair. At least he knew how to talk. A good sign.

“I don’t know anyone in there, well, besides my sister and Trey,” I said and shrugged. “What about you? Are you kicking yourself out of your own house?”

For a moment I though he smirked, but it happened so quickly to be real. “No. I just don’t feel like socializing.”

“Surely you have friends.”

“Surely you have some, too.”

I shrugged again. “Not really. Well, none of them are in there.”

Cue awkward silence. Again. I just stood there, in front of him, and he just sat there.

“Well…I guess I’ll go now…” I said, risking a glance at him. He was busy fiddling with the zipper of his hoodie. “Bye Garrett.”

“Bye.”

~~

I had absolutely no idea what time it was, since I was stupid enough to forget my watch; and with my phone battery dead, looking for Alahna in this huge house was going to be one hell of a challenge.

She wasn’t in the kitchen, because, well, the kitchen was empty. She wasn’t in the living room, either, where lots of teenagers were drunk and dancing. She wasn’t by the stairs, wasn’t at the front porch, wasn’t one of those girls making out with their boyfriends at the hallways, and in every open room I checked she wasn’t there. I practically searched every square inch of the house for the next half hour.

“Damnit,” I muttered to myself, slamming the door of the last open room I could find in this house. I didn’t want to think Alahna would be doing some things she wasn’t supposed to do. She’s sixteen for heaven’s sake!

I reached for my phone, desperately hoping that some sort of miracle might happen and it would be recharged. No luck. Frustrated, I jammed it back into my pocket, and bumped into Garrett.

Of all people, it had to be the most awkward human to ever walk the Earth.

“Cheesus,” I muttered, rubbing my aching forehead. Garrett was doing the same, but his face was void of any possible emotion you could feel when someone bumps into you.

“Have you seen Alahna?” I asked, picking up whatever fell from Garrett’s hand. It was a picture—a picture of a girl and a boy, sitting next to each other on a couch, smiling as if they were the happiest couple alive.

“No,” Garrett snapped, grabbing the photo from me. “And maybe next time, you should mind your own business.” And with that he stormed of, his fists clenching—crumpling the photograph.

"I'm sorry, geez, I didn't mean to," I said. He growled and stalked off. I stared back at him as he disappeared into what would probably be his room, leaving me as confused as ever.

~~

The last time I checked the clock, it was two a.m. Still no sign of Alahna. The majority of the people who were in the house were drunk or passed out. The air reeked of alcohol and smoke and sweat, and the place in general was a total mess.

I was sitting on the carpeted floor of the second floor, leaning against the wall. The music was still blaring, although no one seemed to be dancing anymore. No one bothered switching it off, and the neighbors weren’t complaining anyway.

That was why I didn’t go to parties. They always ended ridiculously late.

My eyelids started feeling heavy. I never stayed up this late without the help of anything caffeinated. I didn’t bother trying to stay awake—I knew it was pointless. Alahna—wherever she was, I couldn’t care less anymore. Surely she’d be taking care of herself. Maybe Trey brought her home because she couldn’t contact me and maybe she thought I was already in my room, sleeping.

What was Garrett doing right now? Was he sleeping? After long hours of thinking I was ninety percent sure he was the guy in the picture. Who was the girl? Why was he so bothered when I saw the picture?

Stop thinking too much, Katie. That’s all you ever do. That’s what Alahna always told me.

Heavy footsteps padded through the carpeted floor. They were coming nearer and nearer, but I was already at the point of semi-consciousness where you knew you were about to fall asleep. Then there was a voice—a male’s voice. Then I felt someone shake me. The voice said something again—I was pretty sure he cussed—and the floor suddenly disappeared beneath me.