Forgotten

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Holy crap, you're kidding, right?" With her voice raised, Shay leans towards me. She's practically lying across the thick wood table that separates us.

I shoot her a wary look before giving a small shake of my head. I'm still shell shocked and haven't, as of yet, been able to wrap my mind around what happened between Callen and I last night. The worst part is that I'm not even sure how our relationship ended up unraveling in the blink of an eye. One moment we're sitting on the couch discussing whether we're going to do it after homecoming and the next we're broken up.

No longer a couple.

No longer friends?

I look down at the advanced chemistry book splayed open in front of me. I've been reading the same paragraph over and over unable to make sense out of the words as they swim before my eyes. I can't help but wonder what I've done. What I've allowed to happen.

"Come on," Shay whispers fiercely trying once more to break through the dense fog clouding my brain, "tell me what happened- I'm dying here!"

Looking up from my book, I'm uncertain where to even begin. I don't really want to tell her what started the whole thing because she'll just think I'm an idiot. And I'm afraid at this point, I'll probably agree with her. I am an idiot.

"Lili!"

She hisses my name and it snaps my attention back to the present but it also captures the attention of a passing librarian. She's quick to give us a censorious look before continuing with her loaded book trolley.

Feeling deflated my shoulders slump forward before I shake my head. "I don't know," I finally whisper. And I don't. That's the crazy part. I don't understand how we just crumbled into nothingness. I thought we were stronger than that.

"Did you have a fight?"

"No. We didn't fight. We hardly ever fought."

She rolls her large gray eyes. "I know. You two are so completely boring." She purses her lips for a moment. "Then maybe you aren't really broken up." She waves a manicured hand in the air trying to minimize what I know to be the truth. "I'm sure this will all blow over in a day or so." She looks as if she's considering something. "Well, I guess I won't be going to homecoming with Austin after all."

Homecoming.

Ugh.

I shake my head hastily. "No, don't cancel your plans with him." This break up is so new that I hadn't even thought about homecoming. Just when you think it can't possibly get worse... it does. "I just won't go. It's not a big deal. Really, it isn't." Actually, homecoming is the last place I want to drag myself to now that Callen and I are no longer the school's golden couple.

"Oh, you're going." Shay gives me a stern look as she continues, "You have to show your face. Don't worry, we'll go together. I'll be your date." She bats her long mascaraed lashes at me. "But don't even think about trying anything. Contrary to what everyone says- I'm not that easy."

For the first time in twenty-four hours, the corners of my lips twitch upwards. "I'll keep that in mind."

Taking a deep breath, I try settling the strange mix of emotions raging within me. Everything feels like such a gigantic mess right now. And I have absolutely no clue how to fix it or make it better. Wanting a few moments to myself, I push away from the table. "I need to find a book."

"Okay." Grimacing, she glances down at the pages in front of her. "I guess I'll actually do some studying while you're gone."

After looking up where the book in question is located, I move silently through the stacks. I can't seem to stop myself from going over the autopsy of our now DOA relationship. As I do, my hand brushes absently over the book spines lining the shelves. I can't deny that part of me wants to run back to Callen and fix this mess. But there's another part, a stronger part, that silently questions how everything could fall apart if our relationship was truly solid to begin with. And if I'm being completely honest, I keep dwelling on the boy in the woods.

Actually, I can't stop thinking about him. He fills my every waking thought.

Finding the shelf where the book should be located, I squat down skimming over the numbers of each spine. Slowly my finger slides over each new book. Just as I find the one I've been hunting for, the delicate hair at the nape of my neck stands at attention. The feeling of being watched takes me so completely by surprise that I freeze not wanting to shift a single muscle. I blink as a shiver runs through me. My hand rests on the book but my frozen fingers are unable to pull it free of its home.

I remind myself to breathe before finally summoning the courage to shift my head so I can scan the direction from where the intense scrutiny is coming from. Just as I do, I catch a blurred shape out of the corner of my eye. Before I even realize what I'm doing, I'm springing forward towards the now empty space. The book I was searching for forgotten.

Someone was just there watching me!

Who else could it be but the boy from the woods? The urge to give chase, to find him, is so overwhelming that it doesn't even occur to me not to go after him. As I turn the corner, I catch another blur of shape and color before it disappears from sight. All I know is that I have to find him. There are so many questions burning through me.

Why did he steal Callen's phone?

Why did he draw me out to the woods?

Do we know each other?

Who is he?

And he's the one who holds all the answers.

Just as I slam around a corner, I catch yet another frustrating glimpse of movement. Whoever it is, he's fast. I can barely keep up with him. After a few more minutes I realize that I just can't seem to catch more than a second or two of him. It's maddening! My hands ball into fists at my sides.

Even though my voice shakes, I say, "Stop! I want to talk to you!"

I turn another corner, catching yet another infuriating blur of motion.

"Hey! Who are you? Why are you following me?"

All of my questions are met with silence.

Skidding to a quick halt, I listen for a moment or two. Everything is quiet except for the sound of my thundering heartbeat. Raising my hand to my chest, I begin rubbing the ache over my heart.

Looking around the dimly lit stacks, I realize I've ended up in a part of the library that looks strangely vacant. Gulping, fear bubbles up in my throat. Feeling disorientated, I spin around, unsure just which direction to move in. There were so many twists and turns. And I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I just wanted to find him. But now with the silence surrounding me, everything feels strangely scary. My hands begin to shake as I struggle to get my bearings. In a matter of moments the trembling works its way through my entire body. Not knowing what else to do, I flatten myself against the book lined shelves.

Breathe, I tell myself, just breathe.

What am I doing?

Why am I chasing a complete stranger through a deserted part of the library? Someone who could very possibly be stalking me?

Honestly, this guy could be a serious head case. Who else would do something like this? I haven't a clue who he is or why he's suddenly following me. That thought must be the final straw because without warning, my legs give out and I find myself slowly sliding down the shelves until I crumple onto the thinly carpeted floor. With my head resting on my knees, I band my arms tightly around my legs.

I've never experienced anything like this before. This feeling of utter confusion. Of finding myself so completely torn by what I'm feeling. And what makes absolutely no sense is the strange pull I feel towards a direction I'm so unsure of. How can I feel so overwhelmingly drawn to a person I don't even know? Have never even laid eyes upon?

But I do. There's no denying it.

When my heart finally settles and my breathing is back to normal, I lift my head before blinking and squinting as my eyes adjust to the overhead lighting. Just as I'm getting to my feet, I see a folded sheet of paper lying next to me. And just like that- my heartbeat quickens. For a long moment I stare at it knowing that when I slumped to the floor, it wasn't there. More disconcerting is the fact that I didn't even hear whoever left it for me.

With cautious fingers I pick it up. Unfolding the paper, I read the single handwritten line. And just like before in the woods last night, something pings in the back of my mind.