by W.J. May
Chapter 3: A Leap of Faith
Staring into the mirror, Natalie watched the sweat collect on her temples. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Slowly, she reopened them. Her face burned with heat and chill bumps ran down her arms. She braced herself, holding onto the sides of the clear glass basin. When she reached for the faucet, her left hand vanished into thin air. Immediately, she looked at her right hand. She gasped and stumbled a few steps back, pressing up against the bathroom door. She could see through the flesh of her skin.
“What in the—” she held both hands in front of her face. Fear consumed every part of her and the walls seemed to be closing in, trapping her. Gradually, her arms withered away and her flesh evaporated into the air. Her body began to feel lighter and lighter until it completely disappeared. Even though she could not see her body she felt the space she occupied. Panic rose up through her causing her heart to beat rapidly.
“No…no… no! Somebody help me … please!”
Natalie shot straight up from the bed. Her breathing was ragged and her head swayed back and forth. Her clothes clung to her body, drenched in sweat. She held up her hands in front of her. She sighed, “Oh thank God. What a horrible dream.” She examined the rest of her body, making sure everything was visible.
A sense of relief settled in and her heart relaxed. The sunlight shined brightly through the wall of windows in the guest bedroom of her aunt’s condo and she wondered how long she had slept. She rummaged through the Egyptian cotton sheets for her cell phone. Checking her phone, she saw that she had several missed calls and text messages from Lise and another number she didn’t recognize. Before she had a chance to read them her phone rang. Even though she didn’t feel like talking to Lise, she took the call.
“Hello.” Natalie cleared her throat a few times.
“Nat? Thank God you answered. Where are you? I’ve been calling and texting you all night. What happened to you?”
“Lise, calm down. I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what got into me. I didn’t mean to be so rude.”
“Forget about it.” Natalie shook her head. She had no idea why Lise had acted that way with her in front of Ryan and Sal. It seemed unlike her because she always showed concern for Natalie, eager to help with any problems.
“Where are you?”
“I stayed at Sharon’s last night.” Natalie ran her fingers through her matted hair, wondering how it got so messed up.
“Why did you leave? What happened? Ryan said you got upset and ran off the dance floor. I looked for you for over an hour.” Lise breathed heavily, like she was walking or running.
“I’m sorry, I had to go.” Natalie sighed. She heard Lise still breathing heavily. “What are you doing? Why are you breathing so hard?”
“I’m on the treadmill. Can you believe it?”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, come to find out Sal likes to exercise too. Enough about me, tell me what happened? Did Tony upset you that bad or did Ryan do something?”
Natalie didn’t feel like talking about what happened between her and Ryan. She needed to think through everything first before saying anything to Lise. “No, I’ll tell you about it later. I’m going to shower and then I’ll be back at the dorm.”
“Do you want me to come and pick you up?” She heard a couple of beeps in the background followed by Lise taking several deep breaths.
Natalie thought about it for a second. Even though she had on a t-shirt and shorts she found in one of Sharon’s dresser drawers, she would rather have her own clothes. “Sure. Can you bring me some clothes too? I really don’t want to go back to the dorm wearing the dress I had on last night. You know how that looks.”
“Yeah, unfortunately I do. I just finished exercising, so I’ll be there shortly. What unit does she live in again?”
“Unit 2405. Hey Lise, thanks.”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s what friends are for, remember?”
Natalie smiled. “I know, see you in a bit.”
She hung up her cell phone and set it down next to her. What happened last night? She had never reacted that way to a guy before, not even with Tony. Especially one she didn’t even know that well. She always thought through her actions before reacting, considering all the consequences. There was something about being with him that made her lose complete control.
She slumped down into the bed and closed her eyes, recalling the feelings that overcame her when they were talking and dancing. She pulled up the covers over her mouth, hiding the smile and giggles she couldn’t keep in. Ryan made her nervous but at the same time she found comfort in his arms. How could that be?
Carefully, she traced back through her mind and tried to remember what had happened. When she licked her dry and cracked lips, she tasted salt; the salt that once outlined Ryan’s full lips. She touched them and recalled the passionate and intense kiss they shared. Shivers ran through her body from head to toe. Despite the incredible kiss they shared, a strike of pain to her heart told her she did the right thing by pulling away and running out the door.
Natalie tried to ignore that voice telling her not to get involved with him. For some reason she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She knew she had to stop this from going any further. Getting hurt again was not an option. Besides, school took priority over everything and falling for Ryan would only mean one thing, disaster. However, she couldn’t deny her feelings and wondered if Ryan felt the same thing too.