Chapter 1
My bare feet slipped on the icy grass, as the boy chased after me. The boy was a guy, who I had thought was charming and handsome. The guy who was wearing a black hoddie and dark wash jeans. The guy who wanted my bloodshed. I knew I was going to die, I just did. There was no way I could keep going in my condition. I had no shoes, and my sleeping short were ripped all the way up my thighs. The navy blue tank top I had on didn't help either. My golden curls trailed behind me, so long that the man could almost grab them. I started to think I was out running him, but I slipped and fell. And in that instance I knew it was all over. I was going to die. So, I didn't scream when his cold long fingers wrapped themselves arounnd my throat. I gasped when the squeeze, and my short sixteen years of existence flashed infront of my eyes.
"Layla Burchwood, you die tonight."
Josephine, my best friend, had probably called me thirteen times. Andrew, my other best friend, was probably already at me house, searching for me, and when he would find me, he would always warn me about not going off with strangers. How ironic that I was dying by the hands of one. I allowed myself to cry. But the man didn't like this and so he pulled out a knife. I starred at it wide-eyed. He thrust at me with the knife, but my skin and the blade never made contact.
I woke up with a gasp, and started gulping in air. It was almost like my dream had been real. I shook her head clearing her thoughts, then looked at the clock. Six o' two. A sigh escaped my lips and I climbed out of bed and into my closet. I changed about ten times, but when I came out, I had on dark wash jeans and a black long sleeve tissue t-shirt. After slidding into some black, eskimo boots, I went to the mirror and studied my features. Dark circles under my eyes, crimson blood colored hair, purplish blue eyes, and full pink lips. Some freckles dotted my pale nose, but I didnt mind. I just swiped on some masquera and eye liner, then walked down stairs. A bagel sat on the counter, with cream cheese and a cup of coffee. I smiled, David, my dad, always made me this breakfast, because he had to be at work early. I didnt mind, and took the bagel an coffee and ate it at the bar. Then I put a bottle of water in my bag, and grabbed my black coat and headed to my car. It was a nice, brand new black Jeep Wrangler, with a soft shell and I'd gotten it for her birthday, which was yesterday. Today was monday. David and I had celebrated Sunday, since he never missed a day of work. I was pretty plain, but I had been specific about this car. I opened the door and looked inside. Creme colored leather starred back. A flashing stereo control system seemed to make the car looked even better. A creamy black dash board shined like a new penny, and the fuzzy purple steering wheel cover seemed to smile. It felt off place, but it was very, very old and deserved a car this nice. It had been my mother's, who had passed on when I was five. She rubbed it fondly, then jumped into the car, making sure I had no mud on my shoes before putting my feet on the floor boards. This car was perfect. I started the engine, and it hummed nicely, like it was saying good morning. I popped in a cd, and started backing out of the drive way. Driving to school with the windows down was horrible but I did not want to miss a moment of my first car ride, by myself. I also didnt want to go to school, and face tenth grade, but I had too. And so I did. I pulled into a parking spot that Josephine had bought me for my birthday, along with an extravegent assortment of clothes. Josephine was rich. She was the type who got chased by boys, instead of her chasing them. She had the best clothes, and the best looks. Her chestnut brown hair was always down, and always reached her mid back. She preferred for it to be curly, and so ususally it was. She had brown eye, not like normal brown eyes though. Josey has copper brown eyes, that seemed eletric. And she owned her flawless tan skin. Everyone was jealous of her. Besides me, and thats why we were best friends. I couldn't hate Josephine. Not because she always had to cutest guy in school or the cutest clothes. Those things never seemed to matter to me. No, we were best friends, because Josephine had once been sick, very, very sick in the hospital, and I had been the only one to come and see her. No one besides Josey's relatives had come to see her. And from the day on Josephine had been my best friends . So I wasnt suprised when Josephine bumbarded her in the hallway, and insisted she go to her locker.
,"Because," She said fixing her eletric brown eyes on me ,"you need your history book, Mr. Milton said so.", I just shrugged and walked over to my locker. I pulled up the little metal bar, and opened the hideous yellow box.
"There, now what?" I asked Josephine in a humorus voice.
"Look behind you, in your mirror though." She said, flipping her chestnut waves. I didn't see what she was talking about, then I did. A pair of dark wash jeans. A black hoddie. That tanned skin. The muscular build. His long, tangly fingers, that had been wrapped around my throat. A throat that now produced a scream. Josey took it as one of intrest, like a squeal.
"He's just gorgoues isn't he?" She said, squeezing her hands into fist and pulling them to her cheeks. I just nodded my head, phased. It couldnt be the boy in my dream. I shook my head one last time, making sure that I had forgotten all the scary thought that had just clouded my head. Hesitantly, I walked over to where Josephine flirted with the boy.
"I mean, your just so helpless looking, and I love helping people, especially newbies. Our school is huge and you could get lost all to easily. Right?" She said batting her eyelashes, that were so long the touched her eyes brows. Something didn't seem right. Where was Andrew? He was always besides me and Josephine, but was no where to be found right now.
"Um, sure." I said batting my eyelashes too when Josey elbowed me in the ribs, hard. The boy smiled and looke at me. His eyes where the color of the moon, on a cold october night. Yellow, and frightning. I could see everything through them. What he was thinking about me, what he was thinking about Josey, how he felt, how many hours of sleep he had gotten, everything. And to the looks of it, he liked the view he was getting. But I didn't. I gave him an icy smile, and jerked Josephine's arm away.
"Where are you going, Josey."
He asked, calmly, not daring to adress me. I'm sure he saw the agervation in my eyes. Josey yanked her arm free and turned around.
"I don't want to be late for class."
She said sweetly. He nodded, and I released her, and she scampered away. I stayed and looked at the boy, studying his features. It wasn't hard to read him. He was confused, and....... worried? That made me worry. Before last night, I never would have been able to do this. Before last night I wasn't so observent. But the bell soon rang, and I turned to walked away when he grabbed my arm lightly.
"I didn't catch your name."
He whispered.
"Ashyln Barranco."
She whispered back. And that was the last she saw of the yellow eyed boy that day, because he walked away, without another word or look. I thought nothing of it, but just walked to history, and slid into my seat before Mr. Milton noticed I was late. He turned on the news and Josey and I started talking. But out of the corner of my eye, i caught something that came out of the projector. A golden haired girl was found strangled and stabbed in the woods not but a couple miles from my house.. She had been wearing a navy blue tank top and sleeping shorts, that were ripped up the thighs, and was bare foot. There was no sign of a struggle, she had been sixteen. Her name was Lillian Burchwood.
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