In the Forest Where I Live

Chapter 8

I gasp as I wake up. //That dream felt so real.// I touch my lips cautiously and look over at Elizabeth snoring gently beside me. I shake my head and get up, looking around. //Just a dream...// I grab my fire poker and prod the logs, making the fire grow larger. I sit down in my chair and watch the flames grow and burn the wood. I inhale the scent of wood fire smoke and smile. The fire grows as my emotions do, started small and getting bigger every second. I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I do. And she calls me princess, does she like me too? This feeling, this, hope I feel, it must be. It must be love. I love her. I loved once. Once before. Love for my sister. She was my favourite person in the whole world. And then my parents were murdered. And then I was destroyed. I brought her to the woods, played with her, loved her, and then I snapped. She told me she was scared of me, and I snapped. I killed her because she was scared. I didn't have the effort to keep her happy any longer, and now she's buried under the tree with the abandoned tree house. Now, she's dead.

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Elizabeth and I are hunting for a deer today. We've seen three but each time Elizabeth makes a wrong move and scares them away. I've told her to be quiet five times but she can't shut up. I spot a deer and cover her mouth with my hand. "Stay here, don't move, don't say a word." I take cautious steps forward, raising my knife slowly. With a quick and fluid motion, I throw. The deer yelps in pain as the knife sinks into it's eye, penetrating fast and deep enough to kill it in an instant. I do a victory dance, and Elizabeth and I lug the deer back home. We skin it, de-horn it, and cut the meat up. "Let's use the hide for a blanket." She nods and we set to work, her washing the new blanket, me salting and storing the meat, before grabbing the horns and starting to carve and whittle. By sun set, Elizabeth has got the blanket done, and dinner cooked. I look up from my whittling to see a bowl of stew in front of my face. I thank her and use one of my new spoons to eat it. I watch her as she sits beside me and eats hers too, looking thoughtfully up at the sky. I eat my stew slowly, trying to figure her out. "What are you thinking about?" I ask. She shrugs. "I love sunsets." "Why don't we go somewhere to see it? I know a place." She nods and finishes her stew, standing up and grabbing her bag. I stand up too, grabbing my bag and leading the way to a huge tree. "Up we go!" I put the bag over both shoulders, grabbing a low branch and starting to scale the tree easily. She follows suit, holding the branches I am, putting her foot where I do. I reach the top and settle down onto the branch, my legs straddling each side of the branch, Elizabeth reaching the top shortly after me. She settles in beside me, close enough that I can smell the faint hint of sweat, and dirt, and deer hide on her smooth, smooth skin. //Woah, those thoughts got bad fast. Snap out of it!// She looks up at the changing sky, the bright blue fading into reds and oranges and pink, purples, and yellows. She smiles at the sight and sighs as a light breeze blows hair into her face. The golden hue from the sun lights of her face and she looks absolutely stunning. I shake my head and look the other way. "So, do you miss home at all?" I ask her. She looks at me with curiosity glinting in her brown eyes. "No, why?" "I mean, your dog, your sister, your parents, your friends...no one?" She shakes her head and sighs. "After I stabbed that girl in the bathroom, my emotions seemed to escape me. I feel nothing." My hearts sinks. "What do you feel about me?" She looks deep into my eyes, silently questioning me. "I don't know. I don't know if I can feel anything. But, there is something." //Something? Better than nothing...but what is it?// "Have you ever been in love?" The words escape my lips before I have a chance to think about it properly. "Yes." She says it so matter of fact, like being in love is no big deal, not like love is one of the most important emotions for people to feel. She sighs again. "She was perfect...but alas, that didn't work out." She laughs and shakes her head. "We should go out!" She grabs my hand. "Let's wash up and sneak into a bar and get fucking drunk!" I smile at her. "We have no money!" She smirks. "We're woman, we're not buying the drinks!"

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After washing and scrubbing every inch of our body, we change into the sluttiest clothes we have. For me, I throw on a tank top I ripped the bottom off of to turn it into a crop top, short shorts and sneakers. She has her hair in a high ponytail, a cute tee-shirt and shorts, and knee high hiking boots. I lead her back to the edge of the forest, looking around to make sure no one is around. "Okay, where is the nearest bar?" "Bar?" she gasps sarcastically. "Baby, we're going clubbing!" She grabs my hand again and pulls me down the street, jogging with excitement. I laugh and jog with her, down the street, through a path, and about 6 blocks west. I hear loud music pumping as we reach the club, a bouncer outside IDing people, and letting only a certain few in. "Okay, we need to distract the bouncer so we can sneak in," she says. I look around for something to use as a distraction, and then I see it. I laugh and grab Elizabeth, pulling her into the line with me, sandwiching ourselves in a group of girls being let into the club. "No need to distract the bouncer when these girls are giving us free entry." We slip into the club unnoticed, walking towards the back where the bar is set up. Elizabeth immediately pulls me over to a couple of well dressed men. "Excuse me, me and my friend are very thirsty," she says and winks at the guys. "Do you think you could help us?" They laugh and order a round of shots. I smile at her and grab my shot, knocking it back and giggling. "Whoo! Let's get another round!" The men shake their heads at me, but order another round anyway. We knock back a few more shots, me feeling a little tipsy already. //Mm I haven't gotten drunk in years!// One of the guys starts dancing with Elizabeth, and one of them eyes me up and down. I knock back another shot and then give him the 'come over here' motion. He smirks and walks over to me, grabbing me around the waist and swaying with me. I laugh as he spins me around and leads me to the dance floor. //Oh fuck it! I'm having fun tonight!// I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me, biting my lip seductively. He laughs. The DJ pumps the beats and we dance and dance and dance. I'm spinning around and Elizabeth is somewhere, and I don't care I'm having so much fun. The guy I'm dancing with pulls me closer and whispers in my ear. "I like your clothes, but I think they'd be better on my bedroom floor." I laugh at him. "I think I need a few more drinks first," I say with a wink. "There's a bottle of wine at my place with your name on it." I laugh. "Let me tell my friend first." He nods as I push him away gently and go to find Elizabeth. I find her dancing with the guy in the mosh pit. I tap her shoulder and shout in her ear, "I'm going home with one of the guys, meet me at my house tomorrow at noon!" She nods in agreement and I go back to the guy I was with. //Time for fun!//

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In the taxi on the way back to his place, we sit in the backseat, his hands trailing their way from my back down to my ass. He slips his tongue into my mouth and kisses me and kisses me and kisses me. His lips are wet as they trail their way down my neck, lower and lower until he's kissing my collarbone. I let out a soft moan. //Please, more. Make me forget her...// I tangle my fingers in his hair and pull him closer. The taxi man honks his horn softly. "Pay and get out." The guy who's on top of me hands the taxi man a $50 and pulls me out of the car with him. He drunkenly stumbles to the door of the apartment we're in front of, and attempts to unlock the door. Finally, the key turns and he pulls me towards the elevator with him. Up to floor 13 we go, his lips on my neck again, biting and sucking and pulling and his hands on my waist and my ass and my back. The elevator door dings and he pulls me down the hallway, unlocking a blue door and pulling me into the room with him. He starts tugging off his shirt, eyeing me up and down. I roll my eyes and whip off my shirt in one smooth motion, tackling him onto the couch, and ripping off his pants. I undo my bra and let it fall to the floor, looking over at him. "Condom?" I ask. He pulls one out of the back pocket of his jeans that are on the floor, and starts to open it. I rip off his boxers and...

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Panting, and sweating, and lying beside this man I don't know, all I can think about is her. Her long blonde hair, her beautiful brown eyes, her slender frame, her laugh, her smile, her. I groan and sit up, checking the clock. 2:30am. The dude is snoring beside me and I groan. The sex wasn't even good. I stand up and walk to his bathroom, turning on the shower and stepping in. I let the hot water rush over my sore body and sigh. //Maybe this should be my life. A new guy every night. Free food and free showers. Wouldn't be so bad. And then I could kill them afterwards!// Shampoo runs down my face and I wash it off again. I stay in the shower for an hour before stepping out and wrapping myself in his towel. It smells like smoke and cheap cologne. I shudder and quickly dry myself off, throwing my clothes on and combing my hair out. I walk over to the dude snoring and sleeping. //Should I kill him?// I decide not to and instead take my bag and walk over his kitchen, throwing in food and grabbing some cash out of his wallet, before grabbing a sweater out of his closet and leaving.