24 Mind-talking (24)

The next morning, I was surprised to see the bright yellow light streaming through the white lace curtains and invading my room. I jumped out of my bed and almost ran towards the window in surprise. The sky was clear and blue. There were no clouds and the sun blazed down. It was hard to tell that it had rained the previous day, except for the small puddles and the wet road which were beginning to dry up.

It was Saturday and we were supposed to meet at 2 pm. I showered and changed into new clothes, throwing the old ones into the laundry. I made a bowl of cereals for breakfast and informed Grace that I would be out for hiking today. I decided to finish this week's assignments that I had piled up on my study table. By one, I was almost finished with all the assignments.

It was almost time for Cee to pick me up, so I rushed to my closet to decide what to wear. The sun was flaming outside and it was unusually hot for a late November afternoon. I decided to wear a sleeveless white shirt and paired them with black jeans. I wore a dark green cardigan over the shirt. I combed through my hair and left them open, considering they were in perfect shape today. Neither too frizzy, nor too slick.

Just after I was done, my phone rang. It was Cee.

"Hello!"

"I'm in trouble babes. Help me."

"What happened?"

"I can't decide what to wear. Please help me." She whined.

"Seriously. . . wear anything. You'll look good."

"Please I'm serious about this one. . . Tell me which colour would look good on me, black or Lavender?"

"Lavender." I blurted without even giving it a thought.

"Thankyou so much babes. I was going for the same colour but I wanted to take your advice too. You're definitely a life savior."

"No problem. See you soon." I replied and disconnected the call.

Twenty minutes later, Cee arrived at my house and honked at my driveway. She was wearing a lavender cardigan with blue denims. Her strawberry blonde hair were tied in a high ponytail.

"You know we're hanging out with boys today" It was a statement rather than a question.

"I do know . . . why?"

"You look like you've just stepped out of the shower. Here. . ." She dug into her bag. "Take this and this too." She handed me her mascara and a lip gloss. "You need these."

"I'm pretty okay without these, I guess."

"Don't make me do that myself." Cee warned me.

"Fine." I took them from her hand and adjusted the rear view mirror to get a proper view. After I was done I looked one last time in the rear view mirror and swiped my thumb over my lips to get the extra gloss off of them. I adjusted the rear view mirror back to the way it was and then we hit the road.

We were soon out of town's limits. Thick underbrush and green swathed trunks replaced the lawns and the houses. It took us ten minutes to make it to the opening of the Macleay trail. The road ended, constricting to a narrow foot trail with a small wooden marker. Cee parked her ford and we hopped out of it. We spotted Lucas's and Zach's black porsche and strolled over to it. They were no where around.

"Did they started hiking without us?" Cee spoke as she kicked on the car.

"I hope not."

"You guys are ten minutes late than the time we agreed upon." We both turned as the voice shook us. It was Zach.

He wore a white sweatshirt with faded blue denims, his honey blonde hair were side swept and his usual sweet gummy smile was plastered on his round face as he walked towards us. Beside him was Lucas, dressed up in a black shirt paired with dark jeans. His face held an inscrutable expression but I noticed his lips slightly rising at one corner as soon as he saw me. They looked like models you would find on the cover of some fashion magazine. Tall, right amount of muscles, chiseled facial bones and not to ignore the supremacy they radiated. No amount of beauty could match their perfect handsome faces.

"We are terribly sorry for that, now shall we begin." Cee spoke in a playful tone.

Zach chuckled and so did Lucas. "After you!" Zach extended his hand out towards the trail and Cee headed the way for us.

She made her way into the forest and we followed her. Zach was at her side all the time. They kept talking most of the time, momentarily making sure I and Lucas were right behind them. Lucas was two feet behind me, taking in every view that came along our way. But it felt like he was just making sure that no one gets left behind, especially me who was very slow when it came to hiking. I had pulled off my cardigan and knotted it around my waist and pulled my hair into a disheveled bun, considering the two mile hike ahead and how hot it was. 

The forest spread around us in an endless maze of trees and light filtering through the thick canopy was jade green. I began to have a feeling of deja vu because the fragments of the recent nightmare I have had were still fresh and unforgotten. I scrunched my eyes shut for a second, attempting to push the fragments away and focus on the trail ahead. But it was harder than I thought it would be. The lifeless faces of Daphne and Paul streamed back into my head from the pits of my subconscious and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming. My head started to spin and my legs went wobbly.

"Are you okay?" Lucas was instantly by my side.

"I'm fine." I said without looking at him and took a step ahead.

"Stop!" He spoke directly into my ear and held me by my elbow. "You're not in a position to continue further."

"I'm fine Lucas." I closed my eyes as my head spun further.

"What are you two doing over there? Come on! We have just started." Cee shouted.

"We're taking a little break. Go ahead , we'll catch up with you two." He assured her and they continued on their way.

"I'm totally fine, seriously. We should continue." I said with my eyes still closed and my body leaning on his.

Suddenly my feet were off the ground. My eyes snapped open. He had scooped me up in his arms in an instant and was now walking inside the dark forest.

"What are you doing?"

"Shhh. . . You look awful." His voice was velvety and soothing.

He put me on a fallen tree and I was relieved as soon as I was out of his arms. It was so embarrassing having him around me when I was feeling dizzy.

"Keep your head between your knees and take slow and deep breaths." Lucas instructed as he crouched down in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders.

I tried doing what he suggested and took a few deep breaths. It helped a little. The faintness was suddenly going away along with the bits of the nightmare. With him around I was able to distract myself. And I despised myself to admit the fact that around him I am able to put my mind on things other than those unrealistic events.

"Feeling any better now?" He asked in a soft low voice. 

I nodded and tried to stand up only to be forced into sitting again by his strong hands on my shoulders.

"Hey!" I spoke abruptly. "I can walk now."

"[Katherine]!" I heard his voice. . . in my head. For a second or two, I wasn't sure if I heard him or imagined it. But he was staring down at me with those ashen eyes and a grin was already plastered on his lips. Did he really do that? Or was I being delusional? I took a deep breath and persuaded myself that I had imagined it. Because the alternative was to think that Lucas had the power to channel thoughts into my head which sent a chill down my spine.

I must have imagined it. Even thinking about it was ridiculous. But I heard him again in my head which made me more certain than ever.

"[Relax]!" His voice was again in my head.

"How are you doing this?" I was frozen on my spot. How was he doing this?

He didn't deny it and I stiffened. He rose up and extended his hand out to me but instead I slapped his hand away and lifted myself up the ground.

"How did you do that?"

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Do what Katherine?"

"Don't act like you don't know?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This . . . Your voice. . . in my head." The words came out harder than I thought.

"Tell me you're not serious. You know how crazy that sounds right?" He disagreed.

I pushed him and started walking back on the trail. He never spoke those words out loud. He somehow transferred them into my thoughts. That's how I heard him. But was it really true that Lucas somehow did spoke in my head or was I blaming him for some trick that my mind was pulling on me.

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