“I’ll be back,” he whispered, reaching around me to open the door.
It took a moment for the fog in my head to clear. “I’ll be waiting.”
I stood in the yard and watched him drive away. It was only after he was gone that I realized I hadn’t given him directions to get here.
Chapter Nine
Heven
I walked around in a dreamy haze for the rest of the week. Sam was my boyfriend. I had a boyfriend. Somehow I found myself smiling a lot more, and when people looked at me in the hall, I looked back. Sometimes, I waved. To my intense surprise everyone was nice. No one whispered about me when they thought I wasn’t looking. Thursday night I found myself standing in front of my closet pondering my wardrobe. While I still knew my scars were ugly and the left side of my face was disfigured, I wondered if maybe people wouldn’t notice it as much if the rest of me looked nice. I rummaged around and tried on a few things, but nothing fit. Everything was just too big. I reached for my cell and punched in Kimber’s number.
“I need to go shopping,” I said when she answered.
She laughed. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Wait! I can’t go tonight. Bible study.”
“You’re wardrobe needs help ASAP.”
“I’m supposed to go out with Sam this weekend. If I don’t go to Bible study tonight, Mom will never let me go out with him.”
“Does she know about him yet?”
“Uh, no.”
“After school tomorrow?”
“Thanks, Kimber.”
“Don’t thank me! I cannot wait to see you in something besides a baggy sweatshirt!”
I gave up on my meager wardrobe and flopped down on my bed. My cell chirped, and I grabbed it, opening the text. It was from Sam. Miss U.
Miss U 2.
C U n the AM B4 class?
Can’t wait.
“Heven! Time to go!” Mom called up the stairs.
Have a gd nite. I quickly wrote then stuffed the phone in my pocket and left my room.
I thrilled my mother by offering my help to Mrs. Bennet, the preschool Bible class teacher, who accepted right away. And, just my luck, they were having a special activity that night after classes, and she asked me to stay. The way my mother was smiling I figured it would go a long way to getting me out of the house with Sam this weekend.
It was well after nine by the time we had everything cleaned up from the kids, and I was exhausted. I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. The sooner I went to bed the sooner I would see Sam. We hadn’t been together long, but I couldn’t imagine my days without him. Just the few hours we’d been apart I missed him.
The last thing to do before Mrs. Bennet drove me home was to take out the trash. I gathered the surprisingly full bag and hefted it out of the can. Outside, night had fallen and taken all the warmth in the air with it. I shivered as I hurried around the side of the church toward the dumpster. When I was almost there I heard a noise behind me. I looked over my shoulder but I was alone. After a few more steps I felt certain that someone or something was there.
Watching.
Waiting.
It was just like that night. A sob caught in my throat but I swallowed it. Think! Last time I ran and I was pursued. So this time…
I dropped the bag of trash abruptly and pivoted, walking back the way I came. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement but nothing solid. “Who’s there?” I called, sounding braver than I felt.
A low growl came out of the night.
A whimper escaped me as I scanned the area. I was going to be attacked again. If that happened I wouldn’t survive. I glanced at the door to the church. I could do this. I sprang forward running as fast as I could toward the door, but something leapt in front of me blocking my way. I skidded to a stop, and it prowled closer. It was so dark I couldn’t tell what it was, but I knew that it was an animal, possibly a rabid dog. It was huge; its hulking shape was terrifying in the dark. It was a dark color – most likely black – because it blended in so well with the night. It peeled back its lips and pure white flashed in the night. I stifled a whimper when I took in the size of its fangs. It made sounds that I only heard on Animal Planet and the hairs on my arms stood up. Slowly, I backed away, but it followed.
“Nice doggie.” I said, trying to get the animal to realize I wasn’t a threat and run away.
It lunged. I squealed and took off toward the dumpster, jumping onto the ladder built on the side. I scrambled up as the animal snapped at my heels. Without looking back I jumped into the piles of trash and froze, trying to make as little noise as possible. A loud bang sent the metal of the dumpster vibrating around me. Again and again the animal barged into the side of the container. Was it trying to leap in after me? The inhuman sounds that keened through the night were somewhere between a growl and a scream. Agonizing fear rolled through me and I slapped my hands over my ears as tears rolled down my cheeks. Why was this happening? The metal of the dumpster was humming from the force of the hits; I was sure I would feel the force in my bones tomorrow. That is, if I lived until tomorrow.
Suddenly, everything went quiet. I prayed the animal had given up and gone away.
I couldn’t bring myself to climb out and see. I was paralyzed with fear and terrified of getting attacked. Slowly, I lowered my hands away from my ears and swiped at my tears. It was still there. I could hear it standing on the other side of the dumpster breathing. What was it doing? Why had it stopped? From nearby another sound cut through the dark. A long, lingering howl followed by a snarl that set me to shaking all over again. The animal just outside the dumpster made an answering sound – almost like a challenge; then it slammed itself into the side of the metal again, and I screamed. My scream set off another angry snarl, and I heard whatever else was out there race forward. The sound of bodies slamming together and gnashing teeth terrified me all over again, and I tried to sink even further into the filth that filled the container. Garbage was preferable to the beast that lingered outside. And what was even worse?
Now there seemed to be two of them.
Sam
The interior of the truck smelled like her. For me it was a scent that once tasted, I would never forget and something I would always seek out. Until I laid eyes on her I never thought feelings like this were real. Before her my life was a barren landscape. A world in black and white. Even as a child nothing seemed as vivid as it does now.
The first time I saw her had been an accident. I was racing through the woods, attempting to run away from what I am, from the life I lived. Before I even heard her, I caught her scent and I was lost. I stopped running and turned, seeking out what called to me. When I found her my life changed.