Airel - Aaron Patterson [49]
Michael whispered just low enough for me to hear. “You should be more careful. Next time you might break your neck.” He had a smirk on his face.
I tried to sound mad, but it came off as weak instead. “I’m fine.” I thought I sounded a little like Lady MacBeth, protesting too much. “You don’t have to carry me. I can walk just fine on my own.”
“Sure you can, but it’s more fun to carry you.” I nearly fainted, feeling his strong arms enfolding me. In spite of everything that had happened these past few days, all the chaos and weirdness, I felt secure in his arms. I could have died happy and did not want him to let me go, ever. “We wouldn’t want you to slip and fall again. That could be embarrassing.”
Oh, noooo. We wouldn’t want me to be embarrassed.
He smiled at me. I was in heaven. All was gone, forgotten, forgiven. I just really love the whole entire world right now… I wrapped my arms around his neck, to help him. If I was a daring girl I would have rested my head on his chest, but that wasn’t gonna happen. At least not right now. “Yeah, like this isn’t embarrassing, you holding me like this and…and…”
“And what?” He laughed.
“Never mind. Just walk, mister, and try not to drop me if you can manage it.” Kim ran ahead of us, catching up from flirting with James, and opened the door to the nurse’s station. She smiled at me as we passed, rolling her eyes obnoxiously.
Michael set me down on my feet, and for a moment he was Superman and I was Lois Lane and we had just had our moonlight flight. I wanted to pull him closer to me, but I didn’t dare. I decided to sit down, just to be safe. He sat right next to me. Thank you, God!
Michael looked at me with concern, staring into my eyes. Our faces were only a few inches away and I could feel his breath. He smelled like PowerAde and laundry soap—and sweat. His eyes held me in a magical lock that I couldn’t break as they searched for something. But I couldn’t tell what he was trying to find.
“Thank you,” I said in a soft whisper. It was like a kiss. I was all too aware of how I must look, with a big goofy looking face and a big fat lump on my forehead. I felt flushed and turned away, breaking the spell. He stood up and said, “’Kay, then,” waved his perfect hand at me, and left. I didn’t know what to think.
Kim plopped down with a sigh in the chair he had only seconds ago occupied. I was a little jolted by that sacrilege. “Fell,” her voice was sugary sweet and her eyelashes fluttered. “What a load of crap! You passed out because you were scared to death.” She was pointing and poking at me.
“Dude, ow! Chill!” I grabbed her pointy finger angrily and shoved it back at her. I was a little offended at how my fantasy world had been so suddenly and rudely broken. She, of all people, my best friend, ought to have known that I needed time to come down from that high. Dang it!
My life was a struggle again and things were impossible, unexplained, and dangerous. And then, front and center in my memory was the face of a cold-blooded murderer. It all came pouring back in on top of me.
The killer had found me at home, left a calling card, and now he had been watching me at school, for who knows how long. I felt like my back was either up against a wall or like the wall had jumped onto my back and I could not get it off.
“Airel.” Kim sounded like she knew what I was thinking and I realized I was holding my head in my hands. “He’s stalking you. We should go to the police. I mean, like, now. This is getting a little out of control, don’t you think?”
“We can’t, Kim. I don’t have a good reason. I mean, he knows something about me and…” I caught myself and clamped my lips shut before I could say any more. What was I supposed to say? That