A Mother's Love : Rewritten

Nightmares and Rescuers

A/N: So this one is a little shorter than my other chapters but it needs to remain as a stand alone. Thanks to my beta! She has made my chapters readable and dealt with my chapter mix ups with stride thanks so much SilasAggeleMou!

I was running. The full moon shone brightly in the cloudless night sky. Its beams peeked between the branches of leaves, giving me just enough light to see my way through the dense forest as I weaved in and out of the trees. Even between the loud gasps of my breathing and the snapping of leaves and debris under my feet, I could hear the steady footfalls of my pursuer not far behind me. I burst out from the line of trees and blinked quickly as the moon's glare momentarily blinded me and I pause. I was now standing in a large clearing, a dead tree stood alone in the middle of the clearing completely bare of leaves, with large rotted vines wrapped around the trunk. I stared in awe at the tree, forgetting the reason I had rushed into the clearing in the first place. It was eerie, yet beautiful, and I was fascinated by it.

CRUNCH.

Oh no, he was coming! Snapping out of my stupor, I raced forward, running straight towards the tree. Why? I didn't know, it's not like a dead tree could protect me from him. Movement from the corner of my eye had me turning my head to spot a shadowed figure standing at the edge of the tree line. He was closer than I thought! I faced forward once more just as I reached the tree and of course my foot got stuck in one of the dead vines. I cried out as my feet got tangled and I collapsed to the ground in a tangled heap. As I lay there, trying to catch a breath, I notice the shadow rushing across the clearing. This had me scrambling to stand, only for the vines that had wrapped around my ankles to tighten, and I fell once more. I reached down and clawed at the vines, trying to free myself before he caught me.

CRUNCH.

Tears filled my eyes as I continued to tug. Come on! Come on!

SNAP!

I let a sob as a pair of sneakers stepped into my line of sight. I froze. Oh God, he found me. My body began to tremble, keeping my eyes trained on my entangled foot, not daring to look up at him.

"Hey there, little bird, need some help?" A warm voice sounded as he crouched down to my level. What? Confused, I slowly dragged my eyes up the length of a pair of blue jeans that looked well worn, but I could tell they were designer brand.He wore a light blue button up shirt that was only held together by a single button. I couldn't make out much in the dim light, but I could tell he was well toned. My eyes continued to travel up, taking in the long hair, possibly brown, maybe blonde? His eyes reflected in the moonlight, and I imagine them to be a dark color. His full lips pulled into a soft smile as he watched me check him out. He didn't try to move, as if he knew how skittish I was.

This wasn't HIM. My stalker was bigger, scarier, determined to hunt down and hurt me. Just the thought of him made me shiver. The boy seemed to notice my trembling and his mouth tugged into a small frown. He gently grabbed my leg, and I flinched. He paused before carefully untangling my foot. The trembling slowed as warmth flooded through me at his touch, I looked up at him with wide eyes. He just smiled and stood up before offering me his hand.

"Well, are you going to sit there on the cold ground all night? I can imagine much better places to relax than on sticks and leaves." The boy's teasing, warm voice soothed the rest of my chills, and without thinking, I reached out to take his hand. He effortlessly lifted me up as if I weighed nothing. Not quite prepared, I stumbled into his chest and strong arms wrapped around my waist.

"Whoa there, there's no need to go falling for me already." The boy looked down with a playful grin that seemed to light up his face. I reluctantly pulled away from the safety of his arms, mentally thanking the dark for hiding my now flaming cheeks.