Chapter One. Dreamland.
“CRAP!” I COMPLAINED WHEN MY KEYS DROPPED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR NEXT TO MY feet. The clang of the metal rang in my ears a little too loud and I winced. I was so clumsy it was embarrassing.
“What?” asked Isaiah who had his tanned arms resting in the open window. I grabbed my keys from off the floor in two seconds and quickly put them into the ignition.
“What?” asked Isaiah again; he didn’t like to repeat himself so I answered this time.
“Nothing, I just dropped my keys is all, and the clang hurt my ears a little.”
“Ah…” he replied. He sighed heavily and for a moment we were enshrouded in silence. My dream re-entered my head for the fifth time today. The mysterious man was just a few hundred yards away from my outstretched hands. His beautiful face was an angel’s as he smiled. He seemed familiar to me, so much so that I wanted to get a better look of his face.
I started to walk forward; when I set my foot down the ground was soft and my foot sunk in deep. I was in sand, I was at the beach. I hardly cared as I took another step further. He was graceful as he stood there, as the wind made his soft dark curls fly around his face.
But then he took a step back. Why would he do that? I wanted to get closer to him. I started to walk faster. He smiled, which caught me in a whirlwind. I gasped for air, he was magnificent.
I had to keep moving or I would lose him. He took another, bigger step back. Suddenly he raised his arm and with one swift movement gestured me to follow. He was like a swan in his movements. I blinked in awe. In the second it took me to do this the mysterious man had vanished.
No! He couldn’t leave… I started to run but I wasn’t going anywhere. It felt like someone had dumped jell-o everywhere and I was trying to run through it.
“I figured out what would cheer you up Jess!” Isaiah’s voice brought me back to reality abruptly and made me jump in my seat. Isaiah couldn’t stop from shaking with laughter as I re-gained my composure.
“Yeah?” I asked a little breathless. Isaiah smiled at me with his pearly teeth. He chuckled low and soft as he continued.
“Yup, you want to guess what it is?” I couldn’t keep from smiling back at him. Isaiah’s thoughts were amazingly random, so I didn’t even want to attempt at a guess.
“I can’t possibly imagine what you have planned for me.” He raised one eyebrow at me.
“Awe… you can’t let me win. It’s no fun!” he said. “Are you sure you don’t want to guess?”
“Hah I’m sure.” I said; he raised one eyebrow in speculation.
“I was thinking a camping trip.” Isaiah said. I was happy about the idea, I loved camping but I for one knew that my mom would never even think about letting me go out into the forest. But maybe I could convince her since Isaiah was taking me and he was big enough to be a body guard. I was sure that he was also taking some friends.
“Isaiah that’s a great idea, but how am I going to convince my mom to let me go?” I asked. He wrinkled his brow in thought. After a few seconds contemplation his face went back to cheerful smile.
“Jess tell your mom that it’s going to be just fine. Sam, Finch, Reed, and Carl are going to be there also.” Oh, so the whole gang was coming. I patted Isaiah’s warm arm in confirmation.
“Great! Can I pick you up around five then?” His joy was only too apparent as he gave me a high five through the window.
“Sure.” I replied. I turned the key and listened to the rumble of the car. It wasn’t the best car in the world, but it got me places.
“Hey, Jess?” I wasn’t expecting to hear worry in his voice. I whirled my head around and was immediately captured by his expression. He was the caring and affectionate Isaiah I sometimes saw, and when I did I couldn’t help from falling in love every time. His dark blue eyes sparkled with a different light. I stared into them and could see he cared about me and wanted to help me. The very edges of his lips were pulled downward as he sought an answer in my eyes.
“What is it Isaiah?” He removed his right hand from the window and slid it across my cheek. I shivered at the little sparks he left with his hand.
“Will you be alright until tonight?” I reached up and tugged on one of his dark brown curls with a smile.
“Yes Isaiah I’ll be fine, it was just an odd dream is all.” He returned my smile and brushed his curls away from his face.
“Good, I’ll see you at five then.” He removed himself from the side of my car.
“Five.” I confirmed and backed out of the school parking lot the whole time thinking about the sparks he left on my cheek; butterflies in my stomach.
The whole day had been messed up because of that dream. I woke up with beads of sweat on my forehead and my hair matted to the sides of my face. I had scrambled out of bed as if I had been wrapped up like a mummy. The mysterious man in my dream wouldn’t leave my mind. I thought I was going to go crazy. After taking a shower it had finally went away. I managed to forget about it until lunch then it sprung back out; my mind suddenly preoccupied by it.
It took over my mind three more times after that, by the time school was out I felt like burying myself. Isaiah had walked me to my car, one arm wrapped around my shoulders. He was such a good friend. I felt like I didn’t deserve him at my side helping me. I wondered where exactly in the woods we would be camping as I pulled into the driveway.
My mom’s truck was already here so she got off work early at the gallery. Usually she liked to work late, painting was her life and she couldn’t stand to be away from it for longer than was needed. I was curious as to why she had gotten off early. I thought about it and figured she had two reasons.
The first was she had sold one of her ‘masterpieces’ and had some extra money to spare for a nice celebration dinner. Or the second was she had a date, an awfully good-looking date. Either one was likely and I thought about that as I opened the front door.
The first thing that registered in my brain when I walked through the door was lasagna. So… we had the food in play but was there a man coming by later tonight? Or was it just my mom making my favorite? I walked through the archway to my right and greeted her with a smile. My mom and I were nearly twins, or that’s what people said.
Both of us had long auburn hair that went past our shoulders, olive skin, and butterscotch colored eyes. The only difference was I had a small heart-shaped patch of skin on my left cheek that was lighter than the rest of my olive skin. It was my ‘beauty mark’ my mom said. Her first name was Vanessa and together our last name was Cecil; Vanessa and Jesse Cecil.
My dad, Stan Cecil, died a few years back and she was still sensitive about it. “You have your father’s spunk.” She would say. I didn’t really remember his funeral, I have a way of blocking things out and I liked to keep it that way. We didn’t talk about him anymore, but I knew mom thought about him everyday. I could see her hurt in more ways than one every now and then when she thought she was alone. I wanted to help her cope but couldn’t find a way to get my feet moving.
If mom had a date tonight I would be thoroughly impressed to see that she was starting to move on. She smiled at me over the newspaper she had been reading.
“What’s the occasion?” I asked. She put her newspaper down and walked over to me.
“Occasion? What a mom can’t come home early for once?” she eyed me questioningly.
“No, I was just saying that you never come home early. So fill me in mom.” I punched her playfully on the arm and put a hand behind an ear. She hiccupped a laugh.
“Okay ok. I actually have a date tonight.” Her smile widened as she turned away quickly to check dinner.
“Mom? Have a date? Wow, I’m impressed. So who’s this lucky guy’s name?” I asked.
“Max, Max Hudgens.” She said. I dropped my keys. Max Hudgens? That was… WHO? My mom turned to see what the clang had been. When my mom saw my horrified face she dropped what she was doing and hurried over to my side.
“Honey? What is it?” I blinked at her in horror.
“You’re going out with… Mr. Hudgens? Why?” Only crazy people would go out with that guy!
“Well, he’s funny, and not that bad looking and—.”
“Not that bad looking? Mom, have you gone over the deep end?” I put my hand on her forehead to see if she was sick. She took my arm away and chuckled.
“Honey, just because he’s your math teacher doesn’t mean you have to freak out about it.”
“Yes it does! Mom, you can’t go out with Mr. Hudgens , no way.” I pleaded. I wasn’t going to have that smelly, weird math teacher in our house.
“Jesse, Max is going to be here around five o’clock. I don’t want you ruining this for me okay? You know how much this might help me.” I sighed she was right. If it would help her move on then I guess it was okay.
“Alright, speaking of five o’clock; Isaiah asked if I could go camping this weekend with him and his friends. Can I?” I asked. She contemplated this for a minute or so. I decided to sit down at the table while I waited for my answer. I’d rather eat anchovies than stay here with mom and Mr. Hudgens.
“I guess it would be okay. He’s picking you up at five right?” I hugged her enthusiastically.
“Yes, thank you mom. I didn’t want to have to stay here with that thing coming.” I said. She grimaced but let it go. There was a high pitched ding signaling that the lasagna was done and that was also my cue to go upstairs and pack for the camping trip I was looking forward to. I tried to keep light-hearted while I was still at home. If I had to even look at—nevermind. Thinking about what he looks like made me nearly vomit.
I packed all the necessary items, and before I packed my toiletries I figured a shower would be good before three days of outdoors. The hot water helped me forget everything for a while. For ten minutes for I completely absorbed in thinking of absolutely nothing. I was in my happy place you could say. Where nothing mattered it was just me and… nothing.
When I shut off the water everything sadly returned into my head like an elastic band that had been stretched then let go. I eyed myself in the mirror and sighed. I looked like I hadn’t slept or eaten in the last two days. That dream was really killing me. I wished it would stop pestering me and let me forget it like any other dream. But it seemed like someone had put super glue on it and stuck it to the side of my brain.
My body froze when I heard a knock at my door. That couldn’t possibly be Isaiah. I took a quick glance at the clock next to the door. It was only 4:30, I still had a half hour. There was another knock at my door.
“One second!” I called. I heard a muffled laugh behind the door. Of course it was Isaiah. I dressed hurriedly thinking that if this was a contest I could have beaten even the fastest of dressers. I stuffed my toiletries into my duffel bag with the rest of my things and finally opened the door.
“Hey.” Isaiah said. Isaiah stood leaning against the staircase railing. If I hadn’t been holding onto the door handle I probably would have fell over. He was dressed in his faded blue jeans, and a khaki button-up shirt. I felt myself blush as I looked away from his magnificence.
“Hi.” I finally replied. I put on my old sweatshirt and grabbed my duffel bag from off the bed.
“Looks like you’re ready.” He stated. Yeah, I was ready. Lucky for me I got out of the shower when I did.
“You’re early.” I said. He laughed as we strutted down the stairs.
‘Yeah? I couldn’t stand to wait any longer. I wanted to see you Jess.” I blushed again thanking that I was behind him so he couldn’t see. He offered to take my ‘luggage’ he called it. He heaved it over his shoulder like it was nothing and put it in the back of his jeep.
“Bye mom! See you Monday.” I called. I heard an agreement somewhere near her bedroom. I hiccupped a laugh when I imagined my mom putting on makeup. That was something I would have to see later. I was still laughing when I made it to Isaiah’s jeep. He watched me wondering obviously why I was laughing.
“You find something funny?” he couldn’t help but laughing himself. It was good to laugh for a while, especially being able to laugh with Isaiah at my side.
“My mom is getting ready for date with Mr. Hudgens.” I choked out another loud guffaw as I got into the passenger seat. Isaiah had the same look of horror I did when my mom first told me.
“Mr. Hudgens? The math teacher?” he seemed even more surprised than I had been. “Are you serious Jess? That’s really gross.” He got inside and started pulling out of the driveway just as a sleek silver car pulled over onto the curb in front of the house.
“Dead serious Isaiah. Look.” I pointed to the silver car across the street. Isaiah glanced over towards the car then snorted in disbelief.
“Wow, that is really something. Mr. Hudgens going out with your mom.” He said. I managed to stop laughing the rest of the way to our campsite. Isaiah talked casually about nothing in particular. I was starting to wish he would talk about something interesting when we pulled onto a dirt path I hadn’t seen before.
“So where is our campsite exactly?” I asked.
“Right… here!.” He pointed a finger in front of the windshield. I gasped when I saw the beautiful place he had picked for us. There were three tents all next to each other with a huge fire pit in front of them all; a fire already ablaze inside it. All the way to the left of the tents was a small creek. The sound of running water was peaceful, I loved it.
Around the fire sat four guys I knew so well; Sam, Finch, Reed, and Carl. They were sitting on stumps in a circle around the fire. All of them paid no attention to our arrival. Isaiah helped me out of the jeep putting his hands around my waist. There were the butterflies again, this time a lot more. I didn’t want my feelings to get the best of me at the moment. So I ignored the butterflies and stuffed my bag into the middle tent.
This was Isaiah and I’s tent. It was roomy inside, there was already a huge air mattress in here. I tossed my sleeping bag and pillow onto the mattress and stepped back out. Isaiah was already talking to the guys. The most burly of the guys I would say would be Finch. He was the real macho man, and loved a good challenge. The next in line was Sam, he was the auto-mechanic.
Then there was Reed. Reed was the more talkative guy of the bunch. He loved to tell his ghost stories. Then last but not least there was Carl. He was the quietest of the guys, but one of the smartest. If he got himself into what seemed like an impossible situation he could get out in nothing flat.
I found an empty stump next to Isaiah and sat myself down. This was hopefully the beginning of my cheering up process. In fact I felt like I was already better. Imagining my mom putting on makeup put the cheerfulness back in me. Then seeing the campsite raised it even further. Wow, Isaiah accomplished what he’d been hoping to do; and in only 20 minutes time instead of a whole weekend.
Finch was saying something to Isaiah in such a low whisper I couldn’t hear. But I figured it was about me when Isaiah jabbed him with his elbow. I smiled at Finch’s roaring laughter, and at Isaiah’s blush. My stomach growled just as Finch shoved a hot dog at my face.
“Thank you.” I said, he smiled.
“So Jesse, how have you been lately? Isaiah told me that you haven’t been yourself.” He asked. Isaiah gave him a sharp look, but Finch ignored the warning.
“I’ve been okay, just a lot of things on my mind all at once. It kind of gets you, you know?” He nodded in understanding. Even though he seemed to be that buff guy, there was always that soft, caring side that I liked.
“Yeah, well I hope you get better.” With that he turned and continued his conversation from earlier with Sam. Now with my hunger satisfied, I was more alert and ready to do anything. Isaiah turned like he had read my thoughts. He grabbed my hands with his and stood me up.
“Want to take a walk with me?” he asked. His warm hands shot sparks through my skin. But this time I didn’t shudder.
“Sure.” I said. We walked over to the creek and followed it north. We walked silently for a while. Isaiah seemed to be off somewhere in his mind, I wondered what he was thinking. He looked farther along the path then abruptly stopped next to the creek bed. My hands were starting to shake, so I stuffed them into my pockets. Things were so different when it was just Isaiah and me. Everything seemed to fall into place like puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly.
I didn’t have anymore worries, all I could think about was him. My heart began to race and my breathing quickened. Isaiah turned around to face me with an expression of sudden worry. His eyebrows were furrowed together as he eyed me.
“Jess?” I jumped at the sound of his voice; I hadn’t expected him to say anything. He was just standing there observing me; worry still etched into his blue eyes.
“Can I ask you something?” He asked; oh boy.
“Yeah Isaiah, anything.” I said. He took a small step towards me and beckoned me closer to himself. I willingly took another step that closed the gap between us. I took in a large breath and smiled. He smelt of the campfire, pine, just outdoorsy. I sneaked a sniff before I looked up into his concerned face.
“How are you right now?” he asked. Well that was a funny question. I figured he would have seen my happiness. I felt like nothing had happened. Like I never had that dream in the first place. I was unbelievably happy because I was here and with him.
“Isaiah, I’m fabulous. This camping trip was a great idea.” I replied. He smiled and his whole face unwound as we looked into each other’s eyes. My heart was still racing, it was like a drum in my ears. He placed his hands onto my shoulders. Sparks hit my shoulders and made their way down my arms and ended at my fingertips.
I was waiting for this moment ever since I agreed to this camping trip, and knowing that this moment was actually happening was amazing. If his hands weren’t on my shoulders I would’ve flew up into the sky and soared.
“Really?” he asked. Then without a second pause his lips were against mine. I was taken by surprise but anxiously kissed back. His hands moved up and traced my jaw line, then were placed gently onto my cheeks. I could barely breathe, it took me all my strength to pull back to catch a breath. Isaiah chuckled as I regained my normal breathing.
“Wow.” I said. Everything was perfect now. All the puzzle pieces were together.
“Wow.” He replied. He took my hand in his as we headed back for camp.
Everyone was still sitting around the fire chatting when we got back. Finch glanced up and winked when he saw our hands intertwined. But said nothing further. We took our seats next to the fire and were handed roasting sticks from Carl. Smores were next on the list in my agenda for the night. Everything was perfect tonight; I didn’t want it to end. But eventually we all got tired and headed for our tents. Isaiah and I made our way over to ours.
“Ready for bed sweetheart?” he asked. This nickname made me giggle as he pulled me inside the tent.
* * * * *
He stood only a few hundred yards from me. My feet sunk into the warm sand as I moved forward. I
wasn’t going to let him get away this time. I had to see his face, I needed to.
“Wait!” the words that came out of my mouth scared me. I reached out, I was so close now. I closed the last few inches with two steps. I finally managed to catch up to this mysterious guy. I looked up into his face and gasped. I stumbled backward an fell onto the ground.
I was enticed by his beauty, but he terrified me. I felt like he could see right through me. I saw nothing but black in his eyes; I looked away quickly. His skin was white against the night. He stood as still as a statue while he smiled at me. There was an unmistakable difference in his smile.
His canines were just a few centimeters longer than the rest of his teeth. They made indents in his lower lip. One thing popped into my head when I saw them. But I denied the fact that mythical creatures could be real. My body started to shake uncontrollably, and I wanted to be as far from this man as possible.
“Hi Jess.” He spoke with a menacing voice that made me freeze. Suddenly an icicle touched my face.
* * * * *
“Jess! Wake up!” Isaiah shook me until my eyes popped open. I shuddered when Isaiah calmed down and loosened his grip.
“Why were you shaking me?” I felt goose bumps all along my arms and rubbed them. I figured I must have been acting like a crazed maniac in my sleep from that dream. I had it again. It scared me now, I hoped I wouldn’t have it again.
“Jess you were screaming and you acted like you were trying to escape something. Is everything alright?” He put his hands on my shoulders, the warmth felt good on my cold skin.
“I had the dream again.” I said.
