When we arrive at David
’
s home, I just sit there in his drive
way,
for a while
,
I don
’
t want to move
, I don’t want to be touched, because
I feel like a part of me has died. I lay across h
is seat with tears silently gushing
down my cheeks. D
avid gets out of his car and shifts
over to the passenger side.
He
swings open
the
passenger
door, leans in and picks me up. Carrying me up the stairs to his house, I don
’
t resist.
Out of my tear filled eyes
I see Dawson, Lisa and Megan piling out of
Dawson
’
s car.
Megan and Lisa immediately
begin
explaining what
has
happened.
“
That boy lost his
friggin’
mind, he was swapping spit with that slut of a cheerleader, damn, I hate cheerleaders, anyway they were kissing and poor Alyssa walks in on them, and whoa, I wasn
’
t sure if Alyssa was gonna pull a Mrs. freeze on them both or what.
”
Lisa elbows Megan and scolds,
“
What the hell is it with you and Batman tonight?
”
“
What? Batman is hot, he
has a
killer six
pack and I bet he
’
s a witch. H
ow much do you want to bet he
’
s a witch
?
”
Megan contributes.
“
Megan, he
’
s a damn comic book, give it a rest will ya
,
”
Dawson
says as he gives her a brotherly shove.
David carries me to a guest room and lays me on the bed. Megan and Lisa shift next to the bed, neither one leaves me the entire night.
I am so
sick;
I never knew how a person could feel so ill. I throw up like ev
ery hour on the hour. Lisa reveals
,
“
I have heard of
l
ifemate
s that can become physical
ly
sick if one or even both mates
cross
the line of affection.
”
“
Did y
ou read that out of a book some
where, or h
ave you experienced it for your
self,
just to know how it goes?
”
Megan asks raising a questioning eyebrow.
Lisa shrugs her shoulders at her and says,
“
I read about it
,
you twisted sex fiend.
”
I hear them talking and rambling on
, but
I don
’
t even care about what they are saying. I just want to lay right here, untouched and invisible to all. Lisa tries to bring me something to eat and drink. Just looking at it makes me shift faster than light to the bathroom,
lying
on the cool tile flooring I motion with a weak hand to leave me alone. I curl up into a ball and hover on the edge of consciousness. The r
est of the night fades and
becomes hazy
as the
hours
pass
when
,
eventually
, I wake up in bed as
David walk
s
in.
“
Hey, I called your parents it
’
s been like twenty four hours and I decided I better tell them what happened and where you
’
re at, okay?
”
I don
’
t reply for a moment
,
for fear if I move I
’
ll heave again. I slowly close my eyes and clutch the gut swelling pain inside me. I feel like I am off in a distant world, drifting further and further away.
Lisa leans over and gently hugs me,
“
Megan and I are going to get you some clothes and anything else you need from your house, ok
ay
Alyss?
”
I give
her a slight nod not sure if she saw
, but
I feel her squeeze my hand before she walks out.
Alone again I start to wonder if this is some kind of horrid curse or maybe it
’
s a twisted sick joke. I never imagine one of
us
being so deathly ill. I
’
m not sure how
, but
my body shivers, David had left several blankets with me and I
truly
believe
d
I
wouldn
’
t need
any. The coldness washes over me from time to time and I drag another blanket over my trembling body.
If I
’
m
sick like this then Marc is too. I don
’
t know if it is as severe as what I
’
m going through, what I do know is
that the pain is excruciating which is m
uch worse than the transition from my fire element to ice.
David
lies
down next to me the next night. His hand gently brushes my hair away from my face. He never says a word just looks into my eyes. I can see the worry and concern written all over his face. After moments of long silence I finally close my eyes as he
continues
brushing my hair as I drift off to sleep.
When I wake he is still laying next to me and smiles
, but
with a hint of distress in his eyes. Keeping silent I move closer to his chest and listen to the rhythmic sound of his heart. His fingers trace the features of my face, as we lay there for hours together in the darkness. I realize I am still in my prom gown and then the memories come flooding back to me once again. Endless tears begin streaming down my cheeks. As if David is reading my thoughts he gently takes the back of his hand and wipes the tears away from my face.
“
Let
’
s get you something else to wear,
”
his soothing voice whispers to me. Motionlessly, I watch as he gets up and walks over to my side of
the bed. I try to sit up cautiously
, gripping my stomach as the nausea creeps back up. I have never felt s
o bad in my entire life, firmly
holding the side of the bed I stand up
right
and suddenly feel myself wanting to pass out. David is immediately right here holding me up.
He softly says,
“
I
’
ve got you.
”
I
lean my head weakly on his shoulder. I probably look like a lifeless rag
doll;
unhurriedly
he turns me around unfastens the straps on
my gown and slides it off. I don
’
t care i
f he sees me in only my
panties. He
’
s seen it before so its no big deal, plus I
’
m in no state to argue.
I feel an over
size
d long sleeve shirt slip
over me. I look down to find
its
David
’
s white dress shirt he was wearing just moments ago. He helps me button it up and lays me down gently on the bed. A moment later he is
lying
down, across from me with a new, faint green T-shirt on.
I feel so numb, taking in a deep miserable breath I stare into his forever dark green eyes. As the daylight folds into another chilling night I finally fall asleep and I dream of the night with Marc at the prom. The music playing the same song it did that evening
, but
then I can hear a different sound,
this whimsical laughter gradually
begins to take over the
melody
. I see Kelly laughing hysterical at me as I find myself running from the building. She knows what she
did;
she knows that if she can manipulate him she will destroy everything we have. The mind ripping echoes of her laughter fill the halls so much that I don
’
t know which way to go any
more. I slide down a wall, covering my ears and start screaming,
“
No! No! No!
”
Suddenly, someone is shaking me. David
’
s hands are around me, holding me closer, so close that I ca
n feel his breath against my ear,
“
Shush
,
you’re
having a dream,
it’s
over now,
it
s
ok
ay
, I
’
m here.
”
I whisper
faintly
back to him,
“
David…I feel so messed up.
”
Agony splits open the pai
n and the unstoppable tears travels
down my
flushed
face. As if my skin has become
oversensitive I
can feel every single touch from his fingers wiping away the tears.
The tone in his voice sounds shaky as he says
,
“
Alyssa, it absolutely devastates
me to see you in so much pain.
I will do anything to take it from you.
”
I look into his grave eyes and
softly
sigh
back to him,
“
I know, David.
”
Chapter 24
David brushes my hair until I drift off to sleep again. He has his other arm protectively around me. I remember feeling so comfortable laying there. In the middle of the night
,
I become restless tossing and turning in the bed.
I wake suddenly
, but I
’
m not in bed anymore, I
’
m on the ground in a frozen forest. Beautiful glistening whi
te snow drifts down around me.
I don
’
t feel cold even though my whole body shivers. Sitting up slowly on the snowy ground I see that I
’
m in an enchanted ice forest, cautiously, I hold my palm
out;
it feels real as the tiny snowflakes instantly melt once they touch my skin.
I hear strange screeching noises coming in
from
every direction, surrounding me
, so
I stop moving. I
’
m not able to see far away with the snow falling heavier now. The moment I stand up the entire forest becomes completely silent. No sound whatsoever, except for me rustling to scour the unnerving scenery.
I quickly stop turning in a panicking circle and watch my now ramped breathing as I exhale one frosty breath after another. Standing completely still I try to regroup myself and control my raucous breathing.
Cautiously, I start walking, well more like creeping from one tree to another. Pausing every so often to look behind me, I noticed where I have just been, my foot prints quickly vanish away. Sheets of snow consume the ground and I
’
m not sure how long I have been walking, nor how far I may have gone.
Soon I come up to a steep incline where the trees seem to form an arch over a small footpath in front of me. The freezing wind blows and I glance up at the solid black sky. I still don
’
t feel cold
, but
nevertheless a shiver of fear shakes my body clear down to the bones.
Not really having a choice of where else to go I decide to follow the path under the archway. Walking through the entrance, I turn to watch the plethora of snow gather quietly behind me.
Inching forward it becomes darker and harder to see. The small path overhangs with thick intertwining branches and I raise my hands out in case I bump into anything. I think to myself solemnly,
there is light at the end of a tunnel,
when
a kaleidoscope of shimmering lights appears
up ahead. Walking towards the light, I peer at a solid black pool in the middle of a small clearing with a deep dense ring of snow covering the woods.