2 First Meeting

As soon as I arrived home, I put the shopping bags by moms’ door, then tapped on it twice to tell her I was back before I returned to my room. School starts in two days, which I now looked forward to. I had to study the maps of the school now, so I didn’t make a total fool of myself when I showed the others around. “Maybe he’ll be there too?” I thought as I flopped onto my bed, landing on my stomach.

I was more than exhausted from today and the day before. It didn’t help that I hadn’t slept at all the night before. I moved onto my back so I could sit up. Just the thought of taking off my shoes made my arms hurt. Leaning down dramatically, I pulled them off, tossing each one into the closet before falling back onto the bed. It didn’t take long for sleep to take me after that.

The ground was cold beneath my bare feet as I made my way through the trees, the sharp twigs cutting into my pruned skin as I walked. Branches caught onto my long snowy hair as I ran, ignoring the pain that assaulted the bottoms of my feet with each step. I’d been to this place before and remembered it from childhood.

The forest was behind the old home was in this town. My biological father had owned the house his entire life, and before him, it was his father’s. He’d told me time and time again not to go out past Clawfoot rock, and every time I had gotten too caught up in adventures that I always did, which resulted in me getting injured a lot.

Tonight was the night my birth father had left, I could feel the tension in the air as I bolted towards my home. The feel of the crisp air hitting my bare skin felt unusual to me, soothing the aching wounds while I was looking ahead through the night’s fog.

Mother always told me that my father left because he had some dangerous secrets. That he had been hanging around the wrong people and that it wasn’t my fault. I had never really thought it was because of me until she started saying it wasn’t.

The surrounding forest had grown darker, bringing out my fears, like the fear of what lurked in that darkness, of being alone, of death. I could feel that something was coming, yet I had no clue what that something could be. I could feel it in the way my hair had stood on end across my arms and the back of my neck, goosebumps following right after. I could feel the ache from the run take a toll on my body, my legs burning, and my breathing labored. I couldn’t bring myself to stop.

Jumping into the air to get over a fallen tree, I felt a harsh pain flow through me. Like my body was being ripped apart, then put back together differently as I hit the ground. Unable to handle it, I let out a terrified cry. Dirt and twigs filled my mouth, stifling it before everything went black. The last thing I saw was the house; I had almost made it.

I woke up in a cold sweat, my body trembling from the same pain that struck me in my dream, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. The room was freezing now, to the point I could see my frightened breaths. My hand reached out and turned the dial to the small heater beside my bed, hopeful the room would be hot upon my return. I needed a bath.

Pushing myself up and out of bed, I stopped to glance out the window. It was dark out; the only light that came in was from the full moon which slowly rose to its peak. It had to be about three in the morning, which meant I had slept for at least eleven hours. I made my way to the bathroom and didn’t bother to play music this time as my hand moved to flip on the scalding water. I was lucky I didn’t freeze to death in my sleep with how cold it was.

The bathroom filled with hot steam as I stripped out of yesterday’s clothes and tossed them into the corner behind the door. I took in a slow quivering breath as I stepped into the scorching water that turned my pale skin bright red the second I submerged. I sat down and attempted to rest my back against the icy backing of the tub; I wanted my body to relax after the burn, and cold shock had subsided.

After about ten minutes, I slid lower into the water, letting it cover my ears, so the only thing heard was the drip of the faucet’s leftover water. My eyes were closing lightly as my mind drifted back to the dream; the pain from it was no longer eating away at me. My body felt like it had melted as my thoughts shifted from the nightmare to yesterday at the coffee shop, back to the male who had been outside.

I felt my heart throb as my mind’s eye looked him up and down; I hadn’t seen his face and had desperately wanted to see him again. If only I hadn’t been so slow, maybe then I would have been able to meet him, see those eyes which would pull me into that peaceful abyss that I’d never want to leave. Taking in a deep breath, I sunk under the water, letting it cover my now-closed eyes as I tried to push those thoughts away. ‘I must be crazy feeling this way over a man I’ve never met.’

I had to remember I’m an outcast. The one everyone in town stayed away from, and once those people heard about me, I would be alone again. Alone until I could move out of there, far away from this town and it’s people.

I pushed my feet against the tub hard, which forced me to sit up, and caused the water to splash up and onto the floor. My toe was pushing down on the lever to drain the bath of its water. I wanted to go out and get some drinks, and I was not talking about coffee.

Getting up, I grabbed my fluffy brown towel and wrapped it firmly around my body. “I hate how my towel makes my body look better than clothes do.” I thought to myself as I stepped out of the bath onto the white rug. I loved this rug for one reason only. I had gotten it on an app for cheap, and when water splashed onto it or got on it from my feet, it turned red in those spots, making it look like blood.

I hurried out of the bathroom and went to the closet, pulling out a baby blue dress that fell just above my knees. It fit my body snugly around the waist and chest, showing off the curves nicely without having to show any skin. I also put on brown and blue heels that made my legs and bum look even better.

I picked up the small black backpack by my table and shoved my keys, wallet, and cell phone inside. Not bothering to let mom know where I was going this time, I hurried out the door.

Not that she would try to stop me; it was the fact that I knew what they were already doing. The paper-thin walls and them not caring if I could hear didn’t help, especially when I was talking to friends. They couldn’t hear it, but boy did it make conversations weird.

The walk to the bar was longer than the trek to the coffee shop; it was on the other side of town where the wealthier families lived. I hated the stuck up jerks in this town, more than I hated the legends about my bloodline.

Just because they had bigger homes and got whatever else they wanted since childhood, didn’t mean they could treat the financially challenged people like crap when they work. I let out an irritated growl; this train of thought wasn’t helping me relax.

Thankfully, my favorite club bouncer was working tonight. Ryan Mitchells was the one person around here that didn’t act like a total snob and didn’t talk about the legends. He wasn’t my friend, but he wasn’t my enemy either.

Ryan was tall, standing at about six foot three, and built exceptionally well. He was muscular but not too muscular; he had dark brown hair that matched his deep hazel brown eyes, and he always seemed to smell like fresh coffee beans.

If I were to stay here and settle down with someone, I’d probably try to be with him. However, that wasn’t my plan at all.

I gave Ryan a slight wave before passing by him as he stood by the door; his only reply was his typical eye roll as I made a beeline for the bar.

This club was the only place with a bar which made sense because it’s named “The Bar,” yet it was just as fancy as the ones you’d see on tv.

I slid on to the black leather barstool and looked around the area, doing my normal scope for an unfamiliar face. Sadly, there wasn’t one, but I caught the all too familiar glare of Honey. Yes, that’s her name. Honey Star Willows. She is the queen of spoiled prissy backstabbers, and she would be proud to know it.

I watched as she gestured to me with her soft little manicured hand, causing her small group of vultures to look towards me. ‘Great, just what the doctor ordered. A dreadful night with a side of resting bitch face.’ I groaned and looked at the barkeep who was already holding out my drink with a reassuring smile.

I didn’t trust him. The way he always watched me made me feel like at any moment I could get chloroformed and dragged away, never seen again. He had strange energy around him tonight, like even he was on edge.

“On the house tonight, Kas.” He said before turning away to deal with the group of prissy vultures who were whining about me getting served first. The creepy guy just grunted and slid them their fruity drinks before sitting down on his chair to clean cups.

With my drink now in hand, I slid off of the uncomfortable barstool and made my way over to my favorite booth. No one ever sat at this booth, but only for one reason. The booth was old, and it’s the last thing in this club that was here when they were designing the building. This was my safe space. The slightly torn and faded leather. The table full of carved in names. This place was my home away from home.

I slid in and rested my back against the wall, letting my eyes close for a moment while I tried to block out the overwhelmingly loud music. Once my eyes were open again, I grabbed my drink and brought it to my lips. It was just how I liked it. My drink was 99% vodka, 1% cherry juice. The burn of it warmed my insides better than fire ever could.

It took a lot more than this one drink though to knock me on my bum. I usually could down ten of these by myself and not feel a thing. However, tonight, my body exhausted, and so was my mind. The buzz hit me after a few minutes, and suddenly, I not only had to pee badly, but I wanted to dance.

Without a second thought, I left my purse and empty cup behind, going straight to the dance floor. Pushing past the vultures and their queen, who called me something like a dirty piece of used rubber, I made it to the middle.

I didn’t care about anything but dancing. At this moment, I had found the perfect dance partner. He was tall, had ebony hair, was muscular, and eyes that pulled me into an abyss I never wanted to leave.

“Dance with me.”