Chapter 3
Thoughts can get in the way of a lot of things, as can actions.
I wish everything in life was as simple as ‘ABC’, but its not.
So I’m stuck with this.
My thoughts, stopping my actions.
Making me, do what I do.
And make mistakes.
I slowly walked up the street towards the hospital. It wasn’t a long walk from where Amanda dropped me off, just around the corner. But I took my time. I was stuck in a vortex in my head. Amanda had never acted so weird. She just didn’t. she’d walked out of the house earlier, all spaced out, walked back in, tense and then dropped me off, at the side of the road because a car was following us. That was weird.
As I reached the hospital I still wasn’t paying attention. Then I heard someone call my name.
“Stella, over here,” called the voice.
I looked around and saw the Reighns, standing side by side. They waved to me and I gave them a small smile as I walked over to them.
“Oh Stella, Brittany said you talked to her. She was so happy that you said you would come, she is desperate to know what going on,” Mr. Reighns informed me.
I nodded and we walked towards Brittany’s hospital room. I braced myself, not sure what to expect. I walked into the room.
It was large, white and sterile. It smelt of detergent ad antiseptic. The only noises to be heard were of our breath, and the constant, rhythmic, beep of the heart monitor. The bed was in a corner, near the window. The sun shone through and hit the whole bed. Lighting up the room, it made a pale figure in the bed seem more alive. I gasped.
“STELLA!” a voice squealed as I entered the room.
I walked swiftly to the bed and smiled a warm smile.
“Hey Brit, how are you?” I asked as soon as I sat down.
“I’m good. Well I’m here so that says I’m not fine, anyways I say I am,” she laughed.
I laughed with her, but when she stopped laughing, she started being serious.
“So what’s happened in school? What happened after I ended up like this? Who did you talk to and sit with? Any random news you wish to tell me?” she asked.
I looked at her, open mouthed, gobsmacked. I felt like I was under interrogation by the police for murder or assist in murder. After a long pause, and Brittany’s open eyed wonder, I began.
“Well after I was attacked, I blanked out, then I awoke, this guy was running away and Brannon, Rowan, and a few mates came. They said to call the police, so I did. Then they showed up, and so did your folks. Then your mum and dad took me home,” I paused and smiled over at the Reighns, who were standing in the corner talking. Then I continued. “School was school. I saw, that even after he was so nice to me, on Saturday, he was going out with Samara. Then in English I had to sit next to him. He tried to apologize, but well his apology wasn’t the best. Um, I talked to a girl named Blair. She’s just moved here form Egypt and she is really nice. I sat with her at lunch. She sits with the Ashford’s etc, it was alright though. In sport we played basketball, and well samara tried to beat me up but ended up getting fouled off. Then we had to sit through a two hour assembly! It was about how another two people got attacked, on their way to lunch. The principle also said we’d be going to a boarding school, starting ASAP!” I told her.
I studied Brittany’s as I told her all this. She was shocked.
After I finished telling her everything, Brittany sat there, looking at me. The shock was still evident on her face. Silently she looked down and gathered her thoughts.
“Brit, what’s wrong?” I asked after a long silence.
“It’s just, others have been attacked. And you have to go to boarding school until after Christmas. So for three weeks I won’t be able to talk to you,” she moaned.
“Brit it’s going to be fine! Did you not hear me? Did you not hear anything else I said?” I asked.
“I did,” she replied defending herself, before she continued, “So Samara…. She tried to play basketball!” she exclaimed after a few minutes, suddenly enthusiastic about the whole thing.
We talked the rest of my visit. When the time came, for visiting times to end, I said m goodbyes.
“Stella dear, do you need a lift home or are you alright?” asked Mrs. Reighns.
“No, I’m fine. Thanks for the offer. Amanda’s on her way,” I replied.
Mrs. Reighns looked at me warily but in the end nodded. I walked out of the hospital as the Reighns finished talking their daughter. I waited and waited outside in the cold winter’s air. But Amanda didn’t show. As the Reighns went to leave, I hid behind a pillar. I wasn’t going to let them see I was still here. I waited, and as soon as they had left I called Amanda. I called her mobile, which rang and rang and rang, until it eventually it went into voice mail. So I tried to call the house, but the same result, continuous ringing until voice mail. I had two options, walk home or get a lift with Brannon. I decided to walk home, but then I remembered the attacks. I wasn’t going to put anyone through the pain of seeing me here, in a hospital bed fighting for my life. But with no other choice what else was there to do? Did I really want to call Brannon? My mind was made up for me however, when I stepped out of the shelter and the heavens opened and the rain came lashing down. I scowled. I looked at the mobile which was still in my hand and decided, I may as well face Brannon then walk home and end up soaked to the skin. I rummaged through my pocket and found the piece of paper with his number on it. I took a deep breath and dialled the number and waited, breathe held, listening to the steady ring of the phone. Just as I was about to give up, someone answered the phone.
“Hello, Ashford residence, Brannon here. How may I help you?” he asked.
“Hey Brannon it is Stella. Look, umm I’m at the hospital, and I know it’s a big favour to ask, but I need a lift home. Amanda was supposed to collect me, but she’s a no-show. I’ve tried calling her and all but she won’t answer. And I’ve been waiting ages. So can you give me a lift?” I replied, all the worry, and fear which I usually concealed so well, breaking through my voice.
“Okay. I’ll collect you. Just wait where you are. I’ll be there soon,” Brannon informed me.
Before I could say anything else he had hung up. How rude. I thought.
I waited and waited. Time dragged by slowly. I looked at my phone after what seemed to be hours. What was taking him so long? I wondered, but it turned out it had only been three minutes since I phoned him. I shook my head. I was getting paranoid. I sat on the kerb outside the hospital and leaned against the pole and closed my eyes. Rain drops streamed down my face and down my back, from where I leaned against the wet pole. I thought about how much my life was going to change once I went to boarding school. How I’d have to share a dorm with someone, how we would have meals at set times, classes on weekends, set bed times etc. It all seemed to be so … weird. Then I heard a car screech to a halt near me. My eyes flashed open and I looked around so I could see whose car had just screeched to a halt near me. I stood up and saw the dim hospital lights fall onto a flashy metallic purple car. It was right in front of me with the passenger door open. I headed towards the car hesitantly. As I approached, I heard a voice like velvet call out to me from within the car.
“Stella, its Brannon. Come on lets go,” he called out.
As I went to jump into the car, I noticed the rego plate. It read – 1ashford3. I smirked,
“Stella, why were you out, ALONE? After all the attacks that have happened recently why didn’t you have a lift?” Brannon asked angrily.
“Like I said on the phone, Amanda should have collected, ages ago. I didn’t walk because I didn’t want to end up here. Fighting for my life, or worse DEAD. But at this rate I may as well have walked home,” I replied my voice rising.
Brannon just kept a steady glare out the front window. The rest of the journey in the car was fairly quiet, except for the odd question about where we were going. The silence grew tenser and I found it harder to bear.
“Look, I’m sorry I got so annoyed. But I was scared. I know I should have gone home with the Reighns or something but I only have the Reighns and Amanda. And he Reighns had left awhile ago and would have gotten angry at me for not getting a lift with them in the first place. So what else was there to do?” I told him.
He just nodded.
I turned my face to look out the window. The trees blended in with the lights as we drove. Everything was like a blur. The suddenly everything became clear, the car had stopped.
“Stella, I just parked down the road from your house, so if Amanda drives up later she doesn’t get suspicious. Do you want me to walk you to the door?” Brannon asked calmly, obviously putting on a façade or something to hide his anger.
I looked at him to see if he was joking but he seemed to mean it so I just nodded.
“Stella, I’m sorry. I should have known there was a good enough reason for you to call me for a lift,” he said as we slowly headed towards my house.As we approached the drive, I saw Amanda’s car wasn’t there. I shook my head confused. Why was she out so late?
“That’s okay. I just didn’t know what else to do,” I told him.
“Yeah, that’s ok. I know that now, but well I didn’t want any more attacks happening,” Brannon said, keeping his eyes low.
Something about his actions and tone told me there was more to it then that.
As I reached the door I pulled out my keys. As I opened the door it groaned it complaint and the hinges felt loose. This worried me. As the door opened further, it groaned and creaked more. I looked over at Brannon who was hovering behind me, very quietly. I peered around the door and looked inside.
The hall was dark, plants that usually looked cheerful, looked glum. The pots were toppled over, smashed into pieces, mud was all over the floor, the plants lay limply on the floor. And there were pages from the phone book, all over the floor. The hallway table was smashed, left in splinters the legs broken off as if they were to be used as weapons. The four legs scattered all over the floor, the top of the table was broken in half, lying n the middle of the hall and the phone was lying on the floor, still plugged into its plug, barely. I turned and looked at the wall. I gasped. Written on the wall in deep black ink were the words;
We know you betrayed your brother;
We’ve caught up with you before,
We will meet again. Amanda.
Yours sincerely,
_____the union____
“Stella, we should be going, like now,” Brannon said in a worried voice.
I spun round to look at him.
“What does this mean? Why has it got you so worried? What aren’t you telling me? Why do I have to leave?” I yelled at him.
I didn’t know what or who else to yell at or what else to do, so I just forced my anger out on the first person I saw, which just so happened to be him, the only person in view, in the house, apart from me.
“Stella, can’t you see, it’s dangerous here. Someone is obviously after Amanda. If they wrecked your house to try find her, can you imagine what could have happened to you? What about your parents? What would they think if they came back from their holiday and find you dead or something?” Brannon asked me in a string of harsh questions.
I looked at him, my anger building up.
“Just don’t mention my parents, get out. Leave me alone, and just go back to your little Samara,” I screamed.
Tears streaming down my face, thick and fast. He looked shocked. As if I’d slapped him across the face, with a metal rod. Then I sunk to the ground and started sobbing. A pair of cool arms comforted me.
“Stella what’s wrong? What did I say? Stella come on, tell me,” Brannon pleaded, worry filling his voice.
I stopped sobbing for a moment, and peered up at him through my thick, short, dark hair, which covered my eyes.
“My parents. That’s what you said. That is what’s wrong. Okay? What Samara said at school, about my parents being dead, well it’s true. They are dead. Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault. I’m just… temperamental about my parents,” I told him as I moved my hair away from my face, to stop it covering my eyes.
Brannon nodded. His face looked deep as though he were thinking of some past memory.
Then I heard the low hum of a car pulling into the drive. I stood up quickly and ran over to the window. A small, red ford fiesta was pulling into the drive; Amanda’s car. It was lucky we’d closed the front door and even luckier that we’d parked down the road, and not in the drive. This way I could find a reasonable excuse so that I could cover, and let Brannon get home. I turned to Brannon who had some how, silently managed to get next to me.
“Upstairs,” I said only that. But he got the message - go up stairs.
We ran quickly upstairs. As we reached the landing we froze. The front door creaked open.
I turned to Brannon and pointed to my room. He nodded. Someone, presumably Amanda walked into the house and let out a gasp.
“Stella? Are you here?” called out a voice. It was Amanda’s.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Amanda, I’m here. Where wer-” I asked stopping myself, mid sentence, seeing Amanda’s face and the concern and fear on it.
“Are you ok? How long ago did this happen?” Amanda asked.
I took a deep breathe and gathered my thoughts.
“I’ve only been in the door five minutes and I am ok. I got the bus home. I was going to ask you the same thing,” I told her, trying as hard as I could to keep my voice steady and a straight face.
She nodded. I walked into the kitchen flicked the kettle on and went to go upstairs. But then I noticed Amanda still in the hall.
“Stella, when you go to boarding school, no, no wait, when you go to school tomorrow, hand this to the principal,” Amanda said as she handed me a neatly folded piece of paper.
Then she walked into the kitchen. I watched her as she walked away, then I hurriedly turned and ran upstairs.
As I opened my bedroom door, I thought of how soon, it will no longer be a room of my own, but a shared room. I would miss my own room.
“Hey. You took awhile,” said a voice that seemed to light up the whole room, although the room was dark.
“Well I expected you to have left by now. Like I was expecting you to have jumped out of the window or something,” I answered him, and laughed a silvery laugh.
I flicked the light switch on and saw him sitting on my bed. I smiled. As I walked towards the bed, a creak was heard from the stairs. Brannon stood up quickly and ran to the window. He nodded to me before jumping down to the ground. Not a sound was heard as he landed. So I had to hope he got down ok. As soon as he had left, my bedroom door opened. Amanda poked he head around the door.
“Stella, I’m going out to get some take-away. What do you want?” she asked.
“Well umm I’ll have Chinese,” I replied as I went and sat on my bed. She nodded and walked downstairs.
I listened carefully for the car to start so I could see if Brannon had left.
As Amanda closed the front door, a bush rustled in the garden and I heard a few twigs crack. I spun around and ran to the window. I had to close it. I leaned out, grabbed the handle and went to pull it shut, when a hand appeared on the window ledge. I gasped. Then I screamed. I turned to run towards my bedroom door. As I headed toward the door, going towards the phone, I was grabbed from behind. A hand covered my mouth, to silence my scream. As I fought with who ever was holding me, we started falling towards my bed. We started to tumble onto my bed. I turned myself around as I fell so I could face my attacker.
“BRANNON?!” I exclaimed in shock.
I rolled onto my side so I could see him properly. I smiled at him.
Looked at me and gave me a weak smile in return as he combed his hand through his gorgeous brown hair, which was now full of twigs.¬
“Hey. I’m sorry I scared you,” he apologized.
“Hey not you’re fault. I’ve been jumpish since, well since Brittany was attacked,” I told him.
“I didn’t leave because well, I hadn’t finished talking to you. And Amanda might of heard me leave and start my car,” he said innocently.
I smiled at him. As we lay there he turned to face me. he was so close, I could smell his cologne. It smelt so … right. He moved closer still and then pressed his cool lips to mine. He kissed me and I kissed him back enthusiastically and pulled him closer to me. It was so right being here again, with Lee. Feeling him in my arms, so close to me here, and not with Mia. It was like that had never happened … I thought. Wait – LEE? WHAT? I froze. I stopped kissing Brannon. This wasn’t lee, I don’t like lee anymore. What was wrong wit me?
Brannon picked up on my tension and stopped kissing me. He pulled away…
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