“Well, there goes my theory of you fitting in with the cool kids,” he said, as the waitress sat our drinks down and asked for our food order. As I was giving my order to the waitress I noticed she didn’t take her eyes off of Odin. A ping of jealousy washed over me, but I knew she couldn’t help it. His eyes were very enticing, and it would be hard for anyone to look away from him. You couldn’t help but stare. But I still didn’t like the fact that she didn’t even try to hide her gawkiness, or the fact that she acted like I wasn’t even sitting there with him.
Before the waitress walked off I said, “Let me just clear up any theories you have about me. I have good grades, but the geeks aren’t my type of people. I can’t stand how they throw being smart in your face. And, I am not going to compete in any math or science fairs. And I don’t wear pocket protectors so there goes that. I can’t act or sing so I won’t be joining the drama club any time soon. I’m not about to hang out with the emo’s and have to listen to all of them whine about how life is so unfair. I have enough problems of my own, I don’t need to listen to theirs too. And well, I don’t do drugs, so I can’t really hang out with the “hippies”. So basically, to sum me up; one, I’m not a follower and two, I don’t really like people. There isn’t a single person in our school that I would want to hang out with. And why hang out with people I don’t like? So, I can be fake? No thanks. That’s not who I am. I am my own person and everyone around here just seems to be clones of each other.”
Odin just sat there staring at me like I had just lost my mind. I had forgotten that the waitress was still standing there listening to me. Why hadn’t she walked away? It wasn’t like I was talking to her. “What?” I snapped at the both of them. The waitress finally got the hint and walked off. Odin just sat there with a smirk on his face. “What Odin? I really don’t like you looking at me like that. And I don’t have time for this.”
“I can’t help it. You are really cute when you rant like that. And well, it just amazes me that you wouldn’t want to hang out with the “cool” kids. Most people would do anything to hang out with people like Tiffany Smith.”
Tiffany Smith is the most popular girl in our school. She is the typical blonde mean girl that dates only jocks. She only cares about her image. She only hangs out with people of her status and if you aren’t on her level, as she calls it, she doesn’t waste her time with you. She wouldn’t even look in your direction.
“Well, I’m not most people. I am me and I refuse for people to try and change me or expect me to “fit” in with a group of people that disgust me. If people can’t handle being themselves then I don’t need those types of people in my life. So, to answer your question, that is why I don’t have nor want any friends.” We made eye contact with each other and I could feel myself getting lost in his eyes. To quickly break the trance, I could feel myself slipping into, I asked, “So what’s the deal with Ambi? She is pretty intense.”
“She’s not that bad. She tries to act all big and bad but she’s not. If you got to know her, you would see that she is actually a nice person.”
“What, is she your girlfriend or something?” I asked, feeling a little bit jealous. Despite how she acts, Ambi is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. There is definitely no competition between us. Hands down, she has me beat in that category. The thought of them being together saddened me and I couldn’t help but wonder what Odin and I were doing here. I’m not even in the same league as Ambi and if they were dating, I definitely didn’t have a chance with him. Not that I ever thought that I had one to begin with.
“She isn’t my girlfriend, but we did try dating for a couple of weeks.”
“What happened?” I asked curiously.
“It just didn’t feel right. Ambi is more like my sister than my girlfriend. We decided that it would be best if we just stayed friends.”
“Is it hard?”
“What?”
“Being friends with your ex.”
“No. Like I said, we are just better as friends. And two weeks doesn’t really give someone much time to get too serious in a relationship. We basically just did elementary stuff.”
“Elementary stuff?” I asked, feeling a little embarrassed at the fact that I had no idea what he meant by that.
“Yeah, you know like holding hands, kissing, and basically just hanging out.”
“So, having kissed her, that doesn’t make things weird?”
“Not really. Not for me anyways. She says it doesn’t bother her either but to be completely honest, I think she still likes me.”
Noticing myself getting distracted from the real reason why we were here I asked, “So when Ambi was talking to me earlier at lunch and I asked her why y’all were watching me, she said it doesn’t matter right now, what did she mean by that?”
“Intimidation.”
Interrupting our conversation, the waitress finally came back with our food. We sat in silence and ate. Once I had enough of my Chicken Alfredo I quickly got back to the topic at hand. “Why exactly would Ambi want to intimidate me? We don’t know each other. There is no reason for her to act like that.”
“Are you sure there isn’t a reason?” he asked, with a smile on his face that left me confused.
“Yes. I’m sure.”
“Well, there might be one reason.”
“And what reason would that be?” I asked, starting to feel a little annoyed again.
“You know how I just said that she might still like me?” I nodded. “Well, she notices how you look at me every time you see me. Actually, I think everyone does,” he said with a giggle.
My body flooded with embarrassment. I quickly looked down at the table, so I wouldn’t make any eye contact with him. At this point, I was trying to decide if I should bolt for the door. Luckily, the waitress returned with our check drawing our attention onto something else other than my known crush on Odin.
I could feel Odin watching me and it took everything I had to keep from looking at him. I wanted nothing more than for this day to be over with. I was so uncomfortable and embarrassed. I hadn’t realized that everyone noticed the way I looked at him. In all honesty, I couldn’t help myself. And in my defense, his is the most beautiful guy I have ever seen, and his eyes could draw anyone in. As we sat there in silence and his stare burned into my skin I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be with him. I imagined how it would feel to have his skin against mine, to taste his lips, and run my hands through his soft, black hair. Heat flashed over me as these thoughts ran through my mind.
As I was lost in my own thoughts, Odin cleared his throat causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. He said, “You know Lilith, I like you too.”
With my defenses still up I said, “Too? Who said I liked you?”
“Please, I see how you look at me. And I know you don’t know this, but I look at you too. I catch glances of you when you aren’t looking. There is something about you that makes you different from all of the other girls. I don’t know what it is, but I am drawn to you.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I responded. And I didn’t, I had no clue how to respond to that. I wanted to be with him. I had imagined this day ever since the first time I laid eyes on him. Even though I wanted this, I wasn’t ready. Not after everything that had happened to me in the past. Feeling a panic attack coming on, I grabbed my purse and handed Odin a twenty and ran for my car. Odin called out after me, but it was too late. I jumped in my car and headed home.
Once I was home, I grabbed the most comfortable jammies I could find and headed for the shower to wash away the events of the day. Once out of the shower I tried to work on my homework, but sleep came knocking and whisked me away into a dark land of much needed slumber.
Chapter Three
As I am walking up to the school building I notice something is very off about today. It is January in Maine and it is about ninety degrees. It is really hot outside for this time of year in New England especia
lly since it is usually freezing outside. Breaking out into a sweat, a heavy darkness filled the sky that sent chills down my spine. Something just doesn’t feel right, and I know something very eerie is going on.
As I got closer to the building I could hear some rustling in the bushes. I wanted to run, but my feet were frozen with fear. I felt panic rush through my body as a black crow flew out of the bushes. It scared me so badly that I fell to the ground. I jumped up and laughed at myself for being so scared of a little crow. I gathered my things and dusted myself of when I heard footsteps in the distance. Fear filled my body and I knew this wasn’t a person I wanted to encounter.
I tried to open the doors to the school, but they were locked. I decided to head back to my car as quickly, searching through my bag for my keys. When I finally found them, they slipped from my hand and slid underneath my car. The footsteps were getting closer and I knew I had to run at this point. I ran until I reached Gray road. I was only yards away from my house and knew I could make it there before whoever was chasing me could catch up. Pain filled my lungs from running, but I knew I had to put it in the back of my mind and continue running. I ran as fast and as hard as I could.
Concentrating on running and making it to my house before I was caught, I barely noticed the man standing on the other side of the bridge. I had to cross this bridge in order to make it to my house. I came to an abrupt stop causing myself to nearly fall backwards. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him no matter how hard I tried. I knew he was the man that was chasing me. And I knew that if he caught me, I wouldn’t survive. But what I couldn’t understand is how he got in front of me so fast when he was just behind me.
I turned to run in the other direction, but like magic, the man was standing in front of me again. He grabbed me and pulled me in so close to him I could smell death on his breath. He breathed heavy into my ear and just when I thought he was going to say something, pain filled my entire body. I tried to let out a scream, but no sound escaped my lips. I felt myself begin to pass out from the intense pain. I was slipping into a deep, dark abyss and just when I thought I was going to hit the bottom, I was suddenly jolted awake. I hit the alarm clock with such force it fell to the floor and went under my bed.
Waking up late, I contemplated on just staying home from school today, but I knew I couldn’t hide in the comfort of my room forever. I knew I would eventually have to face Odin and I guess the sooner the better. I took my time trying to find something nice to wear to school since I knew Odin would be watching me. I threw my clothes on the bed and headed for the shower since my dream caused me to wake up in a sweaty mess.
After finishing my shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and decided to run downstairs to start myself some breakfast. When I reached the kitchen, I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I swung around so fast I lost part of my towel exposing myself. Heat filled my face and embarrassment took over my body. Odin.
Odin turned away which surprised me. Most guys these days would do whatever they could to sneak a peek at a girl. I felt a little relief as he turned around and allowed me time to fix my towel. I started to run back up to my room when my aunt stopped me. “Aren’t you even going to say hi to the boy Lilith?”
After shooting her a very disapproving look I said, “Hi, Odin. Now if you will excuse me I am now going to go upstairs and put some clothes on seeing as how I am standing here in nothing but a towel. So please, excuse me.”
As I walked back upstairs, I heard a slight giggle from Odin. When I looked back at him he was watching me, of course. We made eye contact and I felt a feeling I have never felt before. I longed to be with him. Heat rushed through my body and butterflies started flying around in the pit of my stomach. His eyes had me lost in a daze.
He looked away breaking the trance I was in when my aunt started talking to him. I quickly made my way upstairs to get dressed. I threw on the blue jeans and a green peasant top I laid out before my shower. After taking a look at myself in the mirror, I laid my face in my hands and asked myself, “What am I doing?” out loud. Knowing this look isn’t me, I quickly threw the shirt off and opted for one of my many T-shirts and hoodies from my closet.
Already missing my first class, I ran downstairs and grabbed a pop-tart from the pantry and motioned for Odin to follow me outside. “What are you doing here?” I asked still embarrassed.
“I was wondering if you could give me a ride to school?”
“And what’s wrong with your car?” I asked, not fully believing anything was wrong with it.
“I don’t know. It just wouldn’t start this morning. I was going to call someone to come and pick me up, but I saw you were still home, so I figured I could just catch a ride with you.” I guess he could see the confusion on my face because he said, “I actually live right across the road from you, two houses down,” he said, as he pointed out his house for me.
“Oh, I hadn’t noticed.” I said, still confused and wondering how I missed that detail about him. Since we were already late I didn’t have time to argue with him. We hurried into my car and I raced to school as quickly as I could without speeding. The ride to school seemed to be extremely long today. Probably because I didn’t think it was a really good idea to be alone in a car with him. The enclosed space of the car was making me unable to focus. The usual heat I felt flood through my body whenever he was around, was driving me insane. I watched him from the corner of my eye. I could see the muscles tensing in his forearm. He seemed to be upset about something, and he never once looked over at me. He kept his gaze focused on the passing scenery as I drove us to our destination.
As we entered the parking lot of the school I heard the bell ring. I am going to be so late for class and I couldn’t even find a parking space. After circling the parking lot twice, I finally found a space and we both ran to the front of the building. As we opened the doors kids were already switching classes. I ran to my locker, grabbed the books I needed as quickly as I could, and rushed to my class making it right before the second bell rang.
All of my morning classes flew by and it is now time for lunch, but I was in no mood to deal with Ambi or Odin, so I opted for a nice book in the library instead. I loved the way the library was set up here. It felt more like a café than a library. There were large comfy couches lining the walls and tables in the middle of the room with chairs to match. There was even an area where you could get coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. But my favorite spot is in the room upstairs. It is filled with oversized bean bags and no one ever uses it. I love the fact that no one would look for me there; not that anyone would have a reason to even look for me anyways. No one here knows me besides Odin and Ambi now. I’m not sure if any of the other students even know it is here.
After selecting a book, I make my way to my favorite bean bag that I usually use whenever I come up here. It is my favorite because it is tucked away in a corner by itself and it can’t be seen from the doorway. I plopped down on the bean bag and began to read my book. Just as I was getting lost in the magical words, a shadow appeared over me blocking my light. I looked up to see Odin standing there with a distant look on his face.
Without hesitation he said, “Look, I didn’t say anything to you this morning before we left your house because we were already late for school, and I didn’t say anything to you in the car, well, because I was trying to let the embarrassment wear off from when you dropped your towel. And now I waited for you in the lunch room, so I could talk to you about last night, but you never showed up. Luckily, I knew exactly where I could find you.” He raked his hands through his hair trying to calm his frustration. “Are you even going to tell me what happened last night? Why did you run off like that?”
“Excuse me?” I asked. Who exactly did he think he was talking to me like that?
Bending down to get eye level with me he said, “I’m sorry if I seem short with you Lilith, but I am frustrated because I put myself out there by telling you that I liked you, and with no answer or respon
se, you just ran out of the restaurant. Do you know how that made me feel?”
Feeling horrible I said, “I’m sorry Odin, I really am. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just can’t do this right now. I like you, I really do but I just….” Cutting me off he grabbed my face and pressed his lips to mine. Electricity surged through my body causing a flame to light up inside of me. I wanted him, and I wanted him now. He pulled my body closer to his and wrapped his hands around my waist. He tasted like mint and I found it so thrilling. He slipped his hand up the back of my shirt and started tracing my spine causing me to lean in closer, letting him know of my approval.
Odin getting a little aggressive, bit my lip causing it to bleed. The pain from the bite caused me to snap out of it and I realized what we were doing. I pulled away from him dropping my book to the floor. I pushed past him and ran to the girl’s bathroom, locking myself in one of the stalls. After trying to get myself to calm down, I pulled the razor out that I had hidden in my bag and ran the blade across my arm. As I watched the blood trickle down my arm, I heard the door to the bathroom squeak open.
“Come out Lilith, I know you are in here,” Ambi said. As quietly as I could, I pulled my feet up onto the toilet. Fingernails slowly tapped on each door causing fear to rise in me. I sat as still as I could, trying not to make a sound until I heard the door to the bathroom open and close. I sat for a few minutes longer waiting to make sure no one was in there before unlocking the stall door. I slowly opened the door and poked my head out, double checking that I was alone. As soon as I stuck my head out, Ambi came flying at me with what looked like a red glow to her eyes. She pinned me up against the wall and said, “Stay away from Odin, he is mine.”
“There is nothing going on between Odin and me,” I snapped back.
Corruption of the Heart (The Corruption Series Book 1) Page 2