Chapter Three

Dad is dead. The preacher stands by his coffin, an overpriced slab of metal headed six feet down. As he gives his speech, crude little snapshots play in my head. Dad, driving down the highway in broad daylight. Dad, glancing away for a second. Dad, not seeing the eighteen-wheeler speeding towards him. Dad, flipping through the air with the car, seat-belt strangling him. Dad, covered in shredded tar and metal. Dad, coughing on his own blood. Dad, dead dead dead dead dead dead-

I shot up in bed, crying out. Raven shot up too, alerted by the piercing sound as painful memories flooded back to the surface, breaking the walls I had erected to keep them away. My roommate ran towards me and instantly wrapped her arms around me like she knew exactly what was wrong. "Shh," she breathed, "it was just a bad dream." I trembled rapidly, nightmare images still circling my mind in a cruel merry go round.

"N-No daddy's dead," I choked. "He's really, really dead."

I felt her lithe body tense before she went back to soothing me. "I know, just calm down. Come with me." She lifted me up under the armpits and pulled me towards her, shuffling across the carpet. Raven laid me down in her bed, which had a cedarwood scent to it, and pulled me into it with her, capturing me in her arms. My entire body was vibrating and covered in sweat in tears, but Raven simply held onto me. "Shh, it's okay Lillian." Daddy was dead, daddy was dead, daddy was dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. I dug my nails into my arms to calm myself, making tiny crescent moon shapes in my flesh. Raven took my hand and held it in hers to stop me from hurting myself. I could've cut her hands with my nails. Very easily. But she trusted me enough not to, and that alone was enough to slow my rapid shaking.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's fine, love," Raven reassured me. She glanced at the window, then back at me. "It'll be time to get up soon. Let me take you to the balcony so you can cool off."

She started to stand, pulling me with her, but I wrapped my arms around her and clung to her tightly. "N-No! Stay!" She sighed and sat back down, gathering me close to her yet again. I started shaking again, the warmth on my body now turned to cold sweat, soaking through my t-shirt and flannel pants. Raven seemed to understand and put me under the soft, fluffy blankets. She turned me onto my side and wrapped her arms around me, holding my back to her chest. I blushed, letting her hold me as the temperature in my body slowly returned to normal. Ravens window was open, the voices of the late night coming through and shattering the dead silence; crickets twittered, birds trilled, and the wind sang a song of deep melancholy. The cold hiding within my bones turned to a dull chill as the sun rose. The crickets voice dropped and the wind fell silent.

From down the hall, I heard a door slam. The other students were no doubt getting up now, and Raven gently unfurled me from her grasp, sitting up. I sat up too, sliding to the edge of the bed.

"I'll be right back," she said, heading towards the bathroom. I heard the shower start, the swoosh of running water permeating the silence. When Raven stepped out of the bathroom, she was wearing a white polo shirt underneath a paint-speckled white leather jacket. This was complemented by ripped black denim jeans accented with a tight black belt and finished off with a pair of violet ankle boots.

I blinked up at her. "You look nice."

She smirked in response. "And you look like you haven't changed."

I rolled out of bed and grabbed my suitcase. I pulled out a sleeveless lavender turtleneck and blue jeans. I had been so tired from walking back to the dorms that I hadn't even bothered to unpack. My off-white sneakers sat by the door, untied as always. They were to blame for me falling and almost ruining Ravens's work. I looked at the mesmerizing painter standing over me. "Aren't you going to look away?" I asked.

She turned around. "Hurry up, girl."

I finished dressing and put a hand on her leather-clad back. "Okay."

Raven turned back to me, then looked behind her at the window. "Do you mind if I walk you to class?"

I rolled my eyes at her protectiveness. "Such a gentleman." Before she could answer, I stepped forward and wrapped my fingers around the crook of her elbow. "Well, kind sir, let us go." Raven started to say something, but she cut it off in a whispery sigh and lifted her elbow for me, walking towards the door. Raven pulled open the door for me as I slipped my shoes on. When we walked out, I gazed up at the campus buildings yet again, seeing that they didn't look nearly as ominous as they had previously. As soon as I had arrived the day before, I'd gotten that feeling I would get at the doctor's office when I found out I needed a shot. Like my stomach just fell to the ground. I turned my attention to Raven. The artist's pace was measured and graceful, almost like she was meticulously painting her steps with that tapered brush again. The heels of her calf-high boots clicked across the pavement. I eyed her fingers as she slid a strand of dark hair behind her curved ear and bit my lip. The pain turned my attention to the front of me, where the elevated theatre building stood.

Raven dropped me off outside my class. "M'lady." I smiled at the fact that she was finally coming around to my antics. I could really see her becoming a great friend.

"Thank you," I murmured as she released me from her grasp. Before she let me go, she wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer, so close I thought she was going to kiss me. My eyelids fluttered as I eyed those velveteen lips in front of mine.

"Anytime, Lillian," she said, before letting me go and turning away on her heel.