svelte-wip

[svelte-wip]

Chapter 2

I couldn’t sleep. The idea that Ethan was up late texting her haunted my mind. The image of him grinning, heart fluttering at her flirty response, made me feel physically ill. My head spun with the thoughts. I wanted to bury my face in my pillow, or throw up. Either worked.

Throwing back the covers, I tugged on a pair of jeans, sneakers and a hoodie and quietly left my house, tucking my phone into my pocket. A walk would clear my head, maybe, hopefully, and popping in my earbuds, I played that playlist Xavier had sent me. The comforting familiarity of the music made me relax, and my feet hit the pavement with increasing speed until I was sprinting. The feeling of outrunning everything, leaving everything hurtful and depressing in my room and never coming back, was a tantalizing thought. 

My feet slowed as my heart raced and chest heaved until I was back to walking. Passing underneath a light, I paused when I heard a loud screech of tires. Looking up, I froze in alarm as a car whipped around the corner and hit a silhouetted figure crossing the street towards me.

The body went flying, bouncing onto the sidewalk, something small landing near my feet. They rolled to a stop, splaying out on the concrete with a sickening thud, uncomfortably still. The dark vehicle sped off, tires screeching. Horrified, I could only gape for a moment, not comprehending what I had just seen.

Do something, Kamila, don’t just stand there like a moron.

I bent down, grabbing whatever had landed by my feet. It was a silver ring with some strange red inscription in the inside. It shockingly cold to the touch, and fit perfectly on my middle finger. I fiddled with it, running my fingers over the smooth band, trying to get my feet to talk to my head.

The person. Don’t think about the weird object in your hand. Go do something.

I tucked it into my pocket, where I promptly forgot about it. I raced over to the limp person. Blond hair was slowly turning red as blood seeped from the hidden gash in his head, spilling onto the sidewalk and asphalt.

“Oh my gods, oh my gods oh my gods--” I stammered, crouching down and scrambling to find a heartbeat.

“Hey, can you hear me?! Hey! Mister!” I cried out in panic.

My heart in my throat, I choked out a strangled scream, hoping someone else was around as I desperately tried to find a pulse. My fingers felt numb as I pressed against his wrist, then his neck. Nothing. 

Freaking out, I started to do CPR, suddenly so thankful for my homework-killing habit of drama doctor television.

“Please please please,” Still nothing. “Please, c’mon, live for me!” I didn’t want to do it, since I had literally never seen him before, but I tipped his head back and forced air into his lungs.

His clothes were torn in more than one place, and his right arm was bent at an odd angle. The sight didn’t comfort me.

A couple more thumps and another breath, and I felt him jerk to life under me. I sat back in relief, exhaling heavily and wiping sweat from my forehead as he started to breathe rather unshakily on his own. I fumbled in my pockets for my phone, hoping to call an ambulance. 

It was dead. 

Great. Fantastic. Of course.

The man’s eyes flickered open, revealing orbs so startling blue they almost seemed to glow from his face.

“Thank God you’re alive. I didn’t think you were going to make it.” I said with relief, reaching in my pocket and finding a tissue packet.

I yanked them all out and pressed them to the side of his head.

The man wasn’t much older than myself, maybe in his early twenties, and seemed to be just barely conscious. “Call 911?” He breathed, eyes flickering between being open and closed.

“My phone is dead, I’m sorry.” I said weakly. “Do you have a phone I could use?”

“Good. Don’t call.” He weakly licked his lips.

“What? No, sir, you’re bleeding really badly.” I protested.

I looked around frantically. “Is anyone out here?! I need a doctor!! Hello!!!”

“No, no.” He exhaled heavily, his hand coming up to hold mine that was pressed to his head. “I’ll be okay.”

To my utter amazement, he sat upright, prying the bloody tissues from my hand with...his broken arm.

At least, I thought it was broken. To my shock, it was completely fine.

Wait, what???

My eyes widened and jaw fell as the golden streetlight made no mistake of what was before me. The man yawned as he tucked the tissues into his pocket. He pulled tiny pieces of soaked tissue and flicked them away with an air of boredom. There was no more blood seeping from his temple, and his arm seemed perfectly functional.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Thank you for your assistance, but I really must be going.” He dusted himself off as he stood.

Something wasn’t right. A wave of unease hit me, and I watched with alarm as he looked around, completely alert at the same time. It was like he could sense the same thing, that he knew exactly what I was feeling.

That was an even weirder thought.

I didn’t like it.

I stared up at his tall figure. “Who...who are you?”

After taking a long look around the dark roads, he lowered himself down on the sidewalk in front of me. “My name’s Kieren. Nice to meet you.”

“How...how did you...?”

“How did I what?” He blinked.

I didn’t know what to say. “I forget?”

Kieren chuckled. “If I wasn’t careful, I would think you were the one who just got hit by a speeding vehicle. Thank you for restarting my heart, that would have been quite difficult to do by myself.”

“I mean, sure, but like--” I rubbed my eyes, so bewildered I didn’t know how to even begin to respond.

“You should probably go home. It’s quite late, and I’m sure your parents wouldn’t be happy to know their young daughter is out at 3 in the morning.” Kieren stood up and brushed off his jeans before offering me a hand.

From this angle, I could see that his ears were slightly more pointed than normal. After everything weird that had happened just now, I wondered if it was an actual body modification or something else.

“So are the ears natural, or did you have it done?” I asked, letting him help me to my feet.

His eyes narrowed at my reaction as he pulled me to my feet with uncanny ease. “I was born with them.”

“That’s pretty neat.” I tucked my hands into my pockets, gripping my phone tight.

That wave of unease hit me again, and it was making him agitated. “It’s time to go home. I’ll walk you.”

“But I don’t really know you.”

He snorted. “You just brought me back to life and you think I’ll be creepy about it?” Fair point. “Think of it as a small repayment.”

“Okay.” I relented.

Turning on my heel, I started back to my home. The unease was stronger, and my feet slowed their moderate pace. His eyes that sparkled like a thousand stars snapped to me, as if he knew I could sense the heaviness in the air.

“There’s something funky going on. Did you douse yourself in creep magnet or extra gravity or something?” I tried to joke to disguise how unnerved I felt.

The dark spaces felt darker, the air heavier, the space tight and confining. I didn’t like it.

Kieren slid a half inch closer; I didn’t complain. I didn’t like how things felt, and his added height was a small comfort.

“I would stay away from this area. Don’t come out at night.” His voice was hard.

“You say that like you know what’s making things weird.”

He didn’t respond, and it confirmed some small suspicion growing in the back of my mind.

“Kieren? What’s going on?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, though I do know that there are always creeps out.”

Even though I had just met him, I could tell he was hiding something from me. But he had his reasons, surely. I didn’t know him; who knows what was really going on.

“You’re not a criminal, are you?” I stopped walking.

He stopped a foot ahead of me, turning to eye me. “No. I work for the government.”

“Oh. Of course. You have a criminal after you.” I shuddered.

“Anyway, I never caught your name.” He changed the subject, and honestly, I didn’t blame him.

“Kamila.”

“Ah, our names are similar. That makes things easy to remember.”

My home wasn’t too far away, no more than a street or so, but, somehow, I wished the walk was taking longer.

“So, uh, where are you from?”

“A couple streets over.” He nodded vaguely.

My eyes widened. “Wait, that way? You’re rich?”

“I suppose.”

I shook my head, mumbling to myself. “Things are just getting wilder, huh.”

He had excellent hearing, because he snorted, but otherwise said nothing.

“So this is the place.” 

The front door was cracked open. I squinted at it, trying to remember if I had closed it fully behind me. I could have sworn I did, but maybe I was just remembering wrong. It was three in the morning, after all.

His posture gave off the air of alertness. “Did you purposely leave the front door open?”

“No.” I hopped up the steps, my hand hesitating on the doorknob.

That uncomfortable, pressured feeling was back.

I gasped as he pushed past me, throwing open the front door.

“Hey! You can’t-”

He whirled, clapping a hand over my mouth. My eyes widened in fright, before I bristled in anger. Rude!!

“Shh! What if he’s still in there?”

True.

I relaxed, gazing up at him, and, despite myself, felt myself start to get lost in his eyes. He met my gaze for a long moment, maybe too long, then broke away and walked inside.

My apartment was eerie in the dark with only his phone flashlight shining around, but nothing seemed to be missing or disturbed. My parents bedroom door was still closed, andI could still hear the fan running, so I assumed nobody had broken in and I simply not closed the door all the way.

“Thanks for looking around. Things are okay.” I smiled.

Kieren nodded. “I’ll be going, then. Don’t go out this late at night.”

“Right. You got it.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“Bye.”

I watched him shut the door firmly, peeking out the window as he walked away. I pulled the ring out of my pocket, studying it as I distractedly made my way back up to my bedroom.

How utterly strange.

[svelte-wip]

chapter 1

If there was one thing I could change about myself, it was my terrible, terrible habit of falling in love. It was a curse; I fell in love so often I couldn’t even count all the occasions over the years. And I was only seventeen, to boot. But that wasn’t so bad, not really. It was certainly exciting. No, the curse was that none of them, not one, had ever been interested in me back. I was too weird, too boring, too loud, too quiet, too excitable, too smart, too oblivious...the list went on and on. 

I always looked forward to Thursdays though. Why? Because our schedules lined up and I could talk to my current crush. He was dreamy: inky black hair, bright green eyes with freckles splattered across his nose. Lithe, quiet and smart, he was sweet and cute and seemed to find me endearing. I was happy that he even acknowledged me, considering it to be a sign. Surely, if he gave me the time of day, there was a chance. That he liked me well enough, that, over time, it could blossom into something more.

Nodding to myself, I pushed the door open to my history class. All I wanted was to talk to him and have everything go smoothly. Hang out, laugh, chill, and be ready to get through the rest of the week until I could see him again.

Sitting my bag down, I smiled at him sweetly.

“Hey, whazzup?” He nodded.

“Not much. You?” I replied.

He shrugged, and turned back to his friend. A little hurt, I brushed it off and pulled out my thick textbook. Maybe I had just interrupted him.

“So yeah, my girlfriend was pretty irritated at me.” He said with a weak laugh.

...Oh.

The feeling left my hands as my heart stopped. My book clattered to the table, and I mumbled an “oops” as I hurriedly caught it from falling off the table.

“You okay, Kamila?” Jenny asked.

Her bright eyes watched me with worry. I smiled at her, my throat so tight I was surprised I could get the words out. They still sounded choked, like I had tried to swallow a tissue and was trying to speak around it. It felt like I had, like my mouth was full of cotton. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

Ethan glanced at me curiously as I sat down, but otherwise paid me no mind.

My heart was stinging as I thumbed through my homework.

No. No no no no, this couldn’t be happening. Surely I must have heard him wrong.

The idea of him kissing another girl, grinning from ear to ear when she texted him, hugging her tight, made my eyes burn and heart constrict.

I swallowed hard and thumbed through my book, ignoring the looks she shot me. This wasn’t how I wanted my day to go. This wasn’t what I had been looking forward to.

Why me? Why not me?

“Ah, you have a girlfriend? Since when?” Noah asked with surprise.

“Since, eh, last Thursday? I asked her out after classes.” Ethan shrugged. “You might know her.”

He mentioned her name, but I wasn’t fully comprehending. My mind was buzzing and yet empty at the same time. The name echoed in my mind, and I conjured up her face.

I knew her. We had a class together. She was cute and quiet and bubbly and brilliant. Pretty, curly hair, petite and stylish. Good at speaking, holding a conversation and talented at everything she touched.

The exact opposite of everything I was and was everything I expected him to look for. 

Miserable, I listened in utter silence to the lecture. I didn’t feel like saying anything or answering any of the questions. What was even the point? I was only taking this class because he was in it. I didn’t need any history credits.

I just wanted to go home and bury myself under the covers.

Why did this always happen to me?

--------- 

Walking down the hallway to the last and final class, I barely noticed when my heavy bag caught someone’s arm, making them jerk in surprise and annoyance.

“Sorry.” I mumbled, briefly looking up.

His irritation fading, Xavier shrugged, pausing for a moment. “You okay?”

The image of him walking with his own girl down the hall made me clam up to anything I would have spilled to him normally. “Yeah. S’all good.”

I felt like throwing up. All the guys I had ever liked I ended up watching them get their own girlfriends. If not, they blatantly turned me down in front of a lot of people. One had even turned me down because someone told him to.

I didn’t want to mess with boys anymore. It just never worked out in my favor and I wanted to give up. I had the worst luck and I was learning to accept that I just shouldn’t even try anymore. There simply wasn’t any point.

Walking up the stairs to the main foyer, I barely noticed when someone fell into step with me. “I went to a concert yesterday and it was lit.” A familiar, deep voice said.

He hadn’t left. Probably because he was too brash to notice when I didn’t want him around. I tightened my grip on my bag handle, annoyed that I was feeling better already. “Oh?”

“Yeah, and I actually got you something.”

I looked up in disbelief. “You what? You didn’t have to.”

“Yeah, I know. I wanted to though.” Xavier dug out something from his bag and handed it to me.

I paused on the landing, and he turned to watch me. The material was soft in my fingers as I held it up.

“It should fit you, it’s too tight on me but you’re a lot smaller than me.” Xavier watched me with concern.

The words Fighter written in bold font suddenly brought tears to my eyes. The sincerity of the gift coupled with the timing made me hide my face in the shirt as I desperately tried to get my act together.

“Kamila? Are you okay? Do you not like it?” He stepped closer to me.

My first friend, the one who had given me courage to actually come back and get out of bed in the morning, gently nudged my shoulder. His hand was warm through my shirt, a comforting gesture that made me hiccup.

“I love it. Thank you.” I lowered the shirt, suddenly unafraid to show him that my mascara was probably running and the tears glittering in my eyes. “I’m sure I’ll wear this shirt until all the seams come out and the ink fades.” I smiled at him, carefully folding the shirt and tucking it into my bag.

He placed a hand over his heart. “I’m touched. I’m glad you like it. Do you have to cry about it though?”

“Today has just been rough. You have good timing.” I started up the next flight of stairs.

He easily caught up with me, his long legs covering twice as much ground as mine could. “How so?”

I let out a shuddery sigh. “Y’know, it’s just unpleasant to learn your crush just got somebody, and if you had been just slightly quicker, slightly more, the story would be different, but also knowing that you aren’t enough and won’t ever be what they want.”

Xavier hummed thoughtfully. “Deep. But hey, you can’t fight fate.”

“Yeah. I know.”

He slung an arm over my shoulder, and the weight was comforting. “I’ll message you some sad songs on Spotify and you can wallow in your misery for the week.”

I laughed. “Thanks, Xavier.”

He grinned at me, that beautiful, slightly lopsided grin that made his dark eyes crinkle. “Sure thing. Hey, I’m sure you’ll find someone. Knowing you, they’ll probably crash into you on some crowded street and you’ll both hit the concrete and instantly fall in love or some such shit.”

I had to laugh. “That’s ridiculous and I hope it happens that way.”

He winked, his arm sliding off my shoulder as he lifted an earbud to his ear. “Let me know how your week goes.”

“Of course.” I replied.

I glanced up at him, my heart aching. I had loved him once, before it had come rudely crashing down around me.

“Hey, text me if you need anything. I’m always down to facetime, okay? Never too busy for a friend.”

Ouch.

“Sure. Of course. See you next week.” We parted ways at the main entrance, and I turned to my phone to check notifications.

Another unrequited love that I had buried in the name of friendship. Honestly, why did my heart have to be so soft? So easily attracted and broken?

Something brushed against my arm. Ethan walked by, not even taking notice of me. That was normal for him. He was often in his own little world. 

I envied him. It was hard to get hurt when you had your own little bubble.

--------- 

Running my fingers through my hair, I texted my best friend to say I was leaving school and asked if we could call that evening. She lived halfway around the world, and it was sometimes hard to hangout for more than a moment. I left the building, my feet somehow finding where I had parked that morning. Everything felt robotic and empty as I climbed into the driver’s seat, buckled my seatbelt and put it into gear.

“Things are fine. They will be fine. You’ll crash into someone.” I whispered to myself as I cranked the music louder.

--------- 

“He doesn’t!!!” Maria gasped dramatically when I told her what had gone down that day.

“Yeah, he does.” I traced my finger along the soft fabric of the new shirt. “Boys are losers, you need another dog.” She advised.

I smiled. “You right.”

I told her about the gift, and she sighed. “Sucks that he too, is taken. You guys would be cute. Xavier’s such goals. He’s hot and thoughtful and good with kids and honestly? Wow.”

I laughed bitterly. “I know. All perfection has flaws, though.”

Maria hummed. “Welp, maybe your mister right just hasn’t come onto the scene yet. Maybe you’re still supposed to wait.”

Sitting lower in my desk chair, I drew my legs to my chest and hugged them tight. “I hate waiting and suffering in the meantime.” I said, voice cracking.

Just from her tone, I knew she wanted to hug me. “I know, I know. It’s okay, Kamila.”

[svelte-wip]

part 1