𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 ━ transformers

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

Saturday comes quicker than expected. Packing takes up most of my time. I shove clothes into a suitcase as neatly as I can and hope that most of them are suitable for the job I am going to be doing. We had received emails Thursday afternoon and I had been informed that I would be going to some small town in southern California to be a teacher's assistant for an Art class. Why they sent me so far away, I have no clue. But I heard that a lot of students got sent to places in southern California, so I wasn't too bothered.

On Saturday morning, I wake up at eight o'clock, eyes puffy and body sluggish. Getting out of bed is a struggle for me. I had not gotten any sleep the night prior, due to Dad wishing to know every personal detail of my life. I went to bed around three in the morning.

It's biting me in the ass now. Alfonzo is scratching at the door, wanting to be let out to go outside.

I groan and basically throw myself out of bed, my foot landing on the floor at the last second. "Why can't you just hold it like I do, Alfie?" I ask, throwing the door open.

He scampers down the stairs. I follow blindly, hitting the edge of the stairs when I reach the bottom. I yawn loudly, hobbling towards the screen door where he's scratching, whining angrily. I throw the door open with an annoyed glare. The wind blows it all the way back and Alfonzo runs out, barking and yapping as he does his business.

I walk out, despite the snow falling rapidly onto the already white ground. My sweatpants do nothing for the chilling wind blowing at me. The hairs on my arms stand, and I huddle together, watching Alfonzo closely, feeling like I need another three years of slumber.

My eyes trail towards the drive. Mom's car is not in the drive. My eyebrows furrow in confusion. She was supposed to take me to the train station today.

Perhaps she'll be here before three, which is when we were scheduled to depart. I do not think too much about it.

I do, however, think about the Hummer sitting in the drive, along with the Topkick and a new truck that I haven't seen yet. It's blue and red and it's got flames painted on it. I can almost feel my heart stop, can pinpoint the exact moment when it falls to my stomach, poison pooling in my abdomen as flashes rush through my head.

"Alfie!" I call quickly. "Come on, Alfie!" I wish he'd hurry. I want to run into the house and find solace under my covers. I want to hide and close my eyes and forget everything. I want this feeling in my chest to disappear, this sensation of needles pressing into my heart, one by one.

Alfonzo is barking at nothing, pressing his nose into the snow and biting. He runs around, completely disregarding me and my rising panic. I take a step towards the stairs, about to run out there and get him when a voice speaks from behind me.

"If you will pardon my intrusion, I do not believe it is wise wearing such little layers in this climate, Miss Cambridge."

I tense. Every nerve in my body seems to have stopped working. I don't know whose voice this belongs to. It is foreign, too deep and unknown. I stare forward, not responding. I'm afraid of what I'll say if I do.

He comes to stand beside me. I can see flaming red in my peripheral. "Your dog seems to enjoy the season of winter."

I nod. It feels like cement has been lodged in my throat. My heartbeat is pounding in my ears.

The man clears his throat. "It seems as though there has been an altercation, Miss Cambridge," he informs, speaking to me like I was his own comrade. "Two of my soldiers have disrupted your everyday life with their ignorant antics. I apologize for not stopping the problem before it began."

I nod again. "Okay," I say, almost a whisper. I'm not even sure it can be heard over the howling of the wind, but the man seems to have heard it. My body is trembling like it's terrified, the hairs on my arms standing for a reason other than the icy cold blowing around me. Something about this man is so powerful, so achingly enchanting that you must listen to him.