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listen to chasing
pavements ~ adele
for this chapter

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I screamed. I screamed for it to stop, but no words escaped my lips. It was as if my lungs were out of breath, hands clasped at my throat, words lost somewhere between my lips and my throat. The sight before my eyes tore through me like millions of shards of glass piercing my skin, bleeding me bone dry. My hands were clammy, and I dug my nails into the palms of my hands. I tried to move, but my feet were rooted to the ground by some sort of force. I couldn't do anything but watch. I watched as the scene unraveled in slow motion, pain hitting me like knives with each moment. I knew what would happen. The headlights, the sound of the tires skidding, the sound of screeching brakes, the body lying limp in a pool of blood–the whole thing was etched into my mind, like an indelible stain that wouldn't fade.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

I woke up with a start to the sound of my mother yelling at me. I flinched at the sound of her words. She grabbed me by my shoulders and dug her nails into my arms.

My eyebrows furrowed with worry and fear as I whimpered, "M-Mom, w-when was the l-last time you t-took your m-medications?"

"SHUT UP! I'm perfectly fine; you should get yourself checked, screaming like there's no tomorrow at 2 AM for absolutely no reason!" she screeched with annoyance, "The past is in the past, just forget it."

I blanched at her words. I knew that she was having one of her episodes, but it still hurt, especially since she knew exactly what happened. I didn't reply, knowing that it would just fuel her rage even more. I simply looked down, tears silently rolling down my cheek. These episodes were normal, and I knew things would be okay in a while.

My mom couldn't control her outbursts, and I knew it wasn't her fault. She had IED, which was Intermittent Explosive Disorder, for which she had to take antidepressants in order to suppress her mood swings. They didn't always work, but since there was no cure, antidepressants were the closest thing.

I mumbled out an apology and shuffled towards the bathroom to wash my face.

"I haven't slept in THREE days, and this waste of a child decides to make it four," she rambled in the background as I washed my face.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I called out from the bathroom. She grunted in response and walked out of the door, grumbling something about today's kids being disrespectful and insensitive. I sighed. Well, so much for being apologetic.

I got back in bed and tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't, not after that nightmare. I groaned in exasperation and rolled over the bed to grab my phone from the nightstand. I turned off the Do Not Disturb mode and decided to scroll through all my social media. As I turned the night mode off, my phone went off with dozens of notifications rolling in. A particular one caught my eye:

Hey :) Just wanted to talk.

~ Forest

I rolled my eyes. Forest? Really? How unimaginative.

You're one to talk. You named him that, River Moon Flower.

Shut up. And it's Araxie. But how did he get my number?

Alayne.

I cursed.

Just then, my phone beeped with another message.

📶 Verizon            2:20 AM        ⚡🔋100%

+1 347-236-8450

Why are you awake
at this hour?

I could ask you the same.

Read 2:17 AM

No sleep. Your turn.

Me neither. How did you get
my number?

Read 2:18 AM

I asked Blondie, that girl you always
hang out with. Her name's Alana or
something.

Alayne?

Read 2:18 AM

Yep, that's the one.

Look, I already told you that I don't
want to talk to you.

Read 2:19 AM

You're talking now.

Ha ha, very funny. I don't
want to talk to you
and that's that.

Read 2:19 AM

Please? I'll buy you flowers.

You can stuff those flowers
in your mouth. Don't talk to me,
I'd hate to see people
associating me with a nimrod
like you.

Read 2:20 AM

I'm hurt.

Well then, mission
accomplished. Bye.

Read 2:20 AM

Araxie, please, just
listen to me.

You can no longer send messages to this person.

I blocked him. It was supposed to be relieving. Instead, I just felt queasy. What if he had to say something important?

Honey, no.

You're probably right. But what if?

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

I reached school before everyone else, extremely sleep-deprived and moody. I walked to my locker, practically dragging my feet, when suddenly, a note caught my attention. I groaned in annoyance. When would Arden leave me alone? Sighing, I pulled it off my locker to read it.

I know who you are.

I stiffened. Was this some kind of sick joke? I growled as I crumpled and tossed the note aside. I brushed it off as a prank of some sort, although I had no idea who had the time to painstakingly write a note, come to school way ahead of time and stick it on my locker.

If the person came before you, they're probably still here, lurking around then, don't you think?

I widened my eyes in realization. But what would I say? I wasn't one for confrontation. I shook it off as a harmless prank and walked away from there, aimlessly walking through the corridors, thoughts swarming in my head.

All of a sudden, I thought I heard footsteps. I spun about, hoping to see who it was, but they were long gone. Instead, there was note lying on the ground. With shaky hands, I picked the note up and read it.

Stop running from your past.

I stood, rigid with shock, eyes wide with fear, trembling in place.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Soon, the student body of Ridgewood started flowing in, filling the once empty corridors. It eased me a little, the sight of all the people. But then, I noticed people whispering and stealing glances at me, and I tensed up at the thought of my backstory passing around, discarding me as an outcast. I looked around and saw my friends walking up to me, a stony look in their eyes.

I furrowed my eyebrows with worry as I frantically asked, "What's wrong? Why is everybody looking at me like that?"

All of a sudden, they broke into grin, except Ally, who burst into giggles, squealing something that only bats could comprehend.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Oh, I'll talk to you later," I huffed.

Maeve, who was dressed in her usual white tee-denim jeans-sneakers outfit, rolled her eyes at Ally and explained, "Ally and the entire school thinks that that there's some hardcore chemistry between you and Arden Walters, that new kid who looks like some hunk to everyone else but dried up seaweed to me."

"Dried up seaweed is right," I muttered.

She snorted, "Tell me about it. He looks like those dumb blondes they show in every rom-com there is."

"Hey! He's that guy in every rom-com that the main girl ends up with, in our case, Araxie here," Ally intervened. She turned to Sarah and asked, "What do you think?"

"Uhm, no thanks, I'll stick to girls, please," she replied, more interested in everything but the conversation at hand.

Ally put her hands on her hips as she exclaimed, "You guys are so oblivious to the obvious chemistry between Ari and Arden."

I laughed at that. They had no idea, did they?

So much for not being associated with him.

My laugh stopped midway as a note in the shape of an airplane landed at my feet. I bent down and slowly picked it up with trembling fingers.

She's awake. Go.

I froze. Did 'she' refer to who I thought it did? Clutching the note in my hands, I made my way through the crowd and ran through the hallways, ignoring the calls of concern from my friends.

She was awake.

I had to find him. I had to find him, and tell him.

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A/N: sksks it's been too long, i'm so sorry for the wait! i just came back home from my trip, and finished writing this chapter as soon as i could! there's so much going on in this chapter, can you feel the tension? who do you think wrote the notes? what do you think of araxie's mom? what do you think of arden? what do you think of her friends? who do you think 'she' is? let me know in the comments below, i'd love to hear your crazy theories! don't forget to leave a vote if you enjoyed this chapter!

much love. ♡