Chapter 7
Tala’s Point of View
I finish tying my sneakers and stand up from my bed. Stretching quickly, I get ready for my morning run before school. The clock on my bedside table says it’s a little after five A.M. which gives me about an hour until I need to be back here to get ready for school.
I’ve been here for a little more then two weeks now and things are about the same except for the fact that I’m close to considering Shane as a friend. So now I have him and I guess I have Jason, though I consider him more of a brother if anything. I’m still mad at my mom and end up yelling at her every time we speak and Barron is still trying to get me to talk to him, but I hate yelling at him so the next best thing is to ignore him. Over the past weekend, Jase and Shane took me to play paint ball again and I kicked butt, just like the first time. Shane was on the other team and I shot him….. many, many, many times. It was pretty fun, but he didn’t seem to think so.
School is also the same. I still cause things in science, like breaking glassware and accidentally burning stuff I shouldn’t. Plus, I’ve been in a pretty good argument with the girl, who I’ve been told is Dann, a couple of other time. Sometime a teacher showed up to stop it from going too far. but not always. I always walked away with nothing more serious then hurt feelings. It’s kinda sad to say, but the principle is becoming a close acquaintance already, but he’s really nice. I never would have thought getting into trouble was so easy to do. All those years of trying to be perfect for everyone wasn’t necessary. This is less weight on my shoulders and in feels absolutely wonderful
I knock a few times on Jason’s door as I walk by before leaving the house. I don’t know why, but he insists that I have to let him know when I’m leaving. The first time he told me to just walk into the room to tell him that I was leaving, but that ended up being really awkward when I thought he wasn’t wearing any clothes. I stil don’t actually know nor do I want to ask. To make sure that doesn’t happen again, I said I’d knock on his door on my way out. That made him happy enough and I can get on wit my run
The air outside is cold and it’s a little foggy, but I’ve quickly figured out that’s normal here. I do one last stretch to loosen up my legs before
setting my ipod on my running music and beginning my day with some exercise. I can’t run in silence because it feels awkward and I can’t run to slow music. All of the songs on this playlist are upbeat and loud. It is definitely one of the things that help me wake up in the morning.
I start out slow as a warm up and gradually get faster A few days ago, I got bored and want exploring only to find some trails in the forest behind the house. I walked some of them after school to see where they went and how long they are and viola, that’s where I’m running. I’m on one of the longer trails since I got up a little earlier today. You might ask if the forest is creepy at this time of the morning, but it really doesn’t bother me. I find it surprisingly peaceful and relaxing to be able to run alone with no one else around.
My feet hit the ground to the beat of Good Charlotte’s I Don’t Want to be In Love and I hum along quietly to it. My ponytail brushes against my neck with each step and I soon find myself sweating more then being cold like I was. My heart is beating fast in my chest and a bead of sweat runs down the side of my face. I brush it away with my hand and dry it on my shirt
I check my phone every so often to check the time and at the moment, it’s about five forty. It honestly doesn’t feel like I’ve been running for forty minutes, but after I got used to running back home, time seemed to fly ever since. My dad and I would run miles on the beach, occasionally letting the cold water lap at our bare feet. If I were to try that here, I’d probably end up with a stick through my foot and that would suck.
Thinking about my dad has me frowning. I miss him so much and I haven’t for a few days. I don’t want to seem like I’m ignoring him. He doesn’t deserve that. It’s just Nadie and him in that big house until I’m old enough to move back. It feels like aternity until that’ll be able to happen though. I’ve never been a patient person. Ask anyone.
I slow to a halt and lean against the nearest tree to catch my breath. I should start heading back or I’ll be late, not that I mind that much anymore. Before, I would have had a panic attack, but now I just smile at the secretary, say hi to the principle and go to whichever class I have at the time.
I brush a loose strand out of my face and turn around to start my run back. I freeze with one foot in front of the other and stare wide eyed at the animal in front of me. Standing Iteraly ten feet away is a huge, and I mean HUGE sand colored wolf with white paws and a white muzzle. It’s almost taller then me, a five foot seven girl! That can’t be possible! Every show on TV I’ve seen about wolves say they grow no where near that
size.
I try not to make any sudden movements or make any noise, but my breathing is still slightly labored. Hopefully that won’t bother it.
Its black eyes look slightly crazed as they focus directly on me. Foam is forming on its muzzle which I can only guess is rabies. It pulls its lips
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Chapter 7
back over its big teeth and a low growl sounds from the back of its throat. I can easily see the muscle of the beast under its brown and black coat as it puts its weight onto its hind legs to spring. Being a simple jump away scares me out of my mind. I could easily die.
Needing to get away from it, I take the smallest step back ever so slowly. It grows louder and I freeze all over again. Guess any sort of moving is out of the question. I am so gonna die. Goodbye world, I say and shut my eyes, waiting for the Inevitable to happen. There’s no possible way to make it out of this alive.
I my god.
I’m probably its breakfast and I’m going to be eaten by the big, bad wolf. It has the big eyes, ears, mouth and definitely the teeth. Ohr I’m like little red riding hood, ya know, without the hood.
God, If I’m gonna die, please let me come back as a ghost to haunt anyone I want. Il be the best ghost ever.”
I hear a twig snap and mentally brace myself for the impact. It doesn’t come. Instead, I hear the unmistakable sound of two things colliding. A loud breaking sound and growing assaults my ears all at once. My eyes fly open in time to see another big wolf wrestling with the first one. Their
jaws snap at eachother’s throats, trying to kill the other. This one is about the same size if not slightly bigger, but it’s the color of mud with spots of grey on its ears and paws.
Taking my chance while they’re both distracted, I pick my way quickly, but carefully off the path and around the brawl. Once far enough way, I move back onto the trail to get back to the house. I don’t need to eaten on top of being lost in the woods.
I don’t take an easy jog. I literally sprint back the way I came I stumble a lot on the uneven ground because I
I’m only focused on getting away from there. It isn’t untill see the house again that I begin to slow down. If one of the wolves wanted to get me, they would have by now.. right?
It’s only when I close the front door behind me that I begin to calm my raging heart. I move silently through the house to get ready for school.
The incident with the wolves doesn’t leave my mind as I hop into the shower a little while later. It’s kind of hard to forget if you ask me. They were right in front of me, but the second one completely ignored me to go for the other one. I was so sure I was going to die. That was all that was going through my mind at the time.
I try to forget the whole incident, but it seems my mind likes the idea of replaying if many, many times. To anyone who has walked away from something like that, I’d guess that they couldn’t forget it either even though I want so badly to
My life actually flashed before my eyes as it was happening. It’s made me realize that I can’t stay mad at the world forever, but forever is a long time. I have a long time to forgive and forget.
After getting dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a light green blouse, I grab my school bag from my bed an head downstairs for breakfast. I’ve been here all of two weeks and the teacher are taking no mercy on me. I have two tests today, a quiz tomorrow and we’re running the mile in gym class the day after that. It being only Tuesday means it’s going to be a long rest of the week,
I throw my bag onto one of the couches in the living room and wander into the kitchen. Reaching the right cabinet, I grab a bowl and a spoon from the drawer below it. The box of Lucky Charms is already out so that saves me from having to find it. Barron took it to his room for some reason the other day and I had to pound on his door to get it back. He is still the same when it comes to being a grump in the morning and threw the box at me before slamming the door in my face. Boys never change. If there’s anything I’ve ever learned about guys, that’s it.
I eat in silence and listen for any activity going on in the house. My mom doesn’t get up until at lease eight now, who knows what Asher and the other parents do during the day, and Jase should be getting up any minute now to take me to school. Barron has classes every Monday, wednesday and thursday so he’s definitely still asleep. I do have my license, but I’m missing the car part of the equation.
I rinse my bowl in the sink and look at the time. If I want to be late, then Jase better keep taking his time. My first test is first period and I do not need to stay after class to finish it
“Jase!” I yell not caring if I wake up the rest of the house. “Get your lazy ass down here or I’ll be late… again!” I wait at the bottom of the stairs, impatiently tapping my foot. When he doesn’t come jogging down the steps, I start upstairs. I’m coming in whether or not you’re dressed!” I warn before throwing his bedroom door open. The door hits the wall with a bang and I step inside. A messy, yet empty room is all that greets me. There’s no guy in the bed or in the bathroom.
“Tala, stop yeling already.” I hear Barron’s voice from in the hallway. “Jason has to take care of a few things so I’ll take you to school today” Barron trudges to the open door, hair messed up and eyes half closed. It looks like he threw on the first clothes he touched because his purple
shirt and green shorts definitely don’t match.
Seeing a set of keys in his hands, I snatch them and make my way back downstairs without a word.
“Where do you think you’re going? And with my keys?” I turn around and notice he’s becoming more alert already.
“To school. I know how to drive so why not use the knowledge?” I pick up my bag from the ground where I tossed it and make it to the front
door before he catches my arm
“You can drive?” I roll my eyes at his confused expression.
“I am seventeen. I’m not a little girl anymore so I suggest you let me go now. Wouldn’t want to be the reason your little sister is late to school.” He reluctantly releases me and gives me a stem look.
“One scratch on my baby and you’re dead.” I ignore his threatening tone with a wave of my hand over my shoulder.
“Yea yea, whatever.” I click the unlock button on the key chain and the black hummer lights up. A smile makes its way onto my face as I hop Into the drivers sont “Mama’s in heaven.“Imay be a girl but I love cars. Tell me I don’t know anything and you’re in for a world of hurt.
Barron watches me as I drive away and to mess with him, I swerve a few times and barely miss a few trees directly next to the driveway. I am so going to hear about this later, but I can’t resist the temptation to make him mad. This is his baby, but not today! It’s all mine.
I ended up having a pretty quiet and uneventful day, if you don’t count what happened on my run this morning. I had been doing a pretty good job at distracting myself from thinking about it until now.
Shane wasn’t here so science was pretty boring and all my teachers did today was lecture for the whole period so I caught up on some sleep in math and history. Who needs to learn about things that happened two hundred years ago? That’s the past and we’re living in the better present, And in math… well, it’s just stupid.
Adjusting my bag higher on my shoulder I stroll down the hallways towards the front doors, ready to get out of here. I twirl Barron’s keys around my finger and push open the side door closest to where I parked. He’s probably waiting by the front door for me to get back so he can check his babe for scratches. Please, I’m not that bad of a driver,
Getting inside the hummer, I tun up the radio and the bass blasts through the speakers. Gotta love that boy for installing surround sound. He knows how to pimp his ride. If he wasn’t expecting me home right after school, then I would just drive around town without an actual destination in mind.
Wait, who sayel cant? If I want to go to the mall, then I can.
I make an illegal U–turn in the middle of the street and get a few angry honks from other drivers. I flip them off, like any big city driver would do, and head in the direction of the mall
It’s only a five minute drive since I was already close and I’m not walking this time. Parking is annoying and I end up getting a space which I swear is as far away from the actual building as possible. I fought for the spot too. Kinda sad when you think about it. Almost as bad as black Friday shopping last year where I tackled a woman to the ground for taking the boots I was about to grab. I got kicked out of the store, but not before buying what I came for! That woman glared holes through my head until security escorted me out of sight with a warning not to get into any more trouble. Yea, I got warnings from two other gaurds about an hour later in another store. Let’s just say when I want something. I get it
I walk around for a little while, occasionally stopping in a store if I see something I like. So far I have two new tops, a new prada bag for Tyler’s eighteenth birthday next week, a few things for Ash since I feel as though I haven’t been spending enough time with my puppy and so Hailey won’t feel left out, a poster of One Direction. I swear that chick is obsessed
Smiling to myself, I stop into the food court for a break Ice cream sounds good right about now
Setting my bags down at an unoccupied table, I make my way towards the ice cream man pushing a small cart around the open area of the food court.
“What can I get for ya?” The cheery old man opens the lid for me to look inside.
“Two scoops chocolate on a cone please.” He nods and gets to work making my order.
“Here ya go. Have a good night.” I offer him a polite smile and hard him a five dollar bill.
“You too.“I make my way back to my stuff and take a load off
I eat slowly and try my best not to get any on my hands, but it’s melting so that isn’t happening.
My back pocket starts ringing and I wipe my one hand on a napkin before answering.
“ShooL’I prop my phone between my shoulder and my ear.
“Where are you?” I roll my eyes at his tone.
“The mall. You have a problem with that mom?” lack sarcastically.
I have places I need to be, but someone has my car I thought you’d be back right after school”
*Plans chang–ah shit!” I got ice cream on my shirt. I liked this shirt too. It better not stain.
“What?”
He demands, a little too loud if you ask me.
“Got some ice cream on my shirt. I’m gonna hang up now.”
“Wait, Tal “I press end and set my phone down on the table, I wipe the chocolate from my shirt the best I can with the cheap paper napkins i was given.
A half hour later, I have another bag of clothes to add to the ones I already have. It’s only when I see the sun starting to set through one of the many skylights, I decide it’s probably time to go back. As much fun as my shopping trip is, I will probably have a ticked of brother to deal with when I get back and I need time to deal with him, call my dad and do my homework. Sounds fun right?
I stuff all my bags in the trunk just in time for my phone to ring again. Seeing an unknown caller ID, I warily lift the device t my ear and answer
“Hello?”
“So I hear you’ve had an interesting day.” I let out a breath of relief.
“Jason, how did you get my number?” I walk around to the driver’s side of the car and hop into the seat.
“Dude, you’re my best friend’s sister. I think I can get his phone and steal your number. I hear the smirk in his voice.
“You’re such a stalker.”
“Am not!” He defends and I laugh.
“Okay, so where were you this morning? I had to take Barron’s car to go to school.” Not to mention that I almost got attacked, but I’m not gonna say that.
“I took Ash out for her morning walk. You know, you should take her with you on your runs. It’ll kill two birds with one stone.” Huh, never actually thought of that.
“Well, thanks for that and I think I will Sorry you had to do that.”
“It’s fine, but listen, you should probably get home soon. Barron is about to flip a switch.”
“Tell the big baby I’m on my
y way. I’m leaving the mall now.” I stick the keys in the ignition and start the car.
“Gotcha. See ya soon.”
“Bye” I hang up and toss my phone on the passenger’s seal,
Itap my fingers impatiently steering wheel to the beat of the song and focus on the twist and turns of the road. Why in god’s name does the house have to be so far into the forest. They couldn’t build the place any farther away from civilization. I almost miss my first turn in the dark, but this amazing car makes the sharp turn on al four wheels.
Going around the bend, something suddenly jumps out in front of the car. My eyes widen and instinctively stomp on the brakes. Swerving to the right, I manage to avoid hitting the animal. Next thing I know, the front end is through a tree and the force from the air bag knocks me unconscious
