Deadly Messages

Pain seared through my chest, but I can’t stop running. I dodge trees, trying to make a zigzag through the woods, hoping it would make me harder to find. The cold air had my lungs feeling as if they were going to shatter and I can’t feel my legs at all.

I glance over my shoulder, some of my hair sticking to my face, to see if I can see anything behind me. All that I see are trees and the darkness of the woods. Before I can turn back to see where I am going, my body is thrown to the ground. I feel like I hit a wall, but it had to be a tree. I had to get back up and keep running, but I am stuck down. I look around on the ground and realize it is littered with lavender rose petals.

When I look up, I see a shadow looming over me with dark green eyes. When he smiles, I can see his teeth.

“Merry Christmas, Evangeline.” He raises a hand above his head and I can see the glint of the knife catch on the little bit of sun that is coming through the trees. I opened my mouth to scream.

“And then what happens, Evie?” Doctor O'Connor asked me after a long pause in my story.

“I wake up.” I took a shaky breath in after re-telling my dream that night. “I always wake up before he actually harms me, but never before he catches me.”

“Is that the only one you have had this week?” She asked and I shake my head at her question, picking at my fingernails.

“No, it seems like I am having some form of them every night.” I bit my lip. She nodded as she writes something down on the clipboard in front of her.

“Evie, you have been through a traumatic experience. It is going to take time to get over that.” She tells me the same thing she has been telling me for three years. “I know that they were fewer for a really long time, but there is a big life change coming up. You are going to be going off to college and meeting new people.”

“So you think the increase in the dreams are stress related?” I knew this was probably what she was going to tell me coming in. What else could it be? I look up from my nails at her.

“One hundred percent.” She is looking at her clipboard instead of at me. “And I am going to give you a prescription that should help you, that is a little bit stronger than what you are on now.”

“Stronger?”

“It will help you sleep better without the dreams.” She explained. “And our time is up. You have all the information about the new therapist on campus, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Doctor Williams is a very good friend of mine. You are in very good hands.” She stands up and walks me out of the room, handing me a piece of paper for my prescription.

“Thank you, Doctor O'Connor.” I walked out of the door, nodding to her.

“Good Luck, Evie.” She rubbed my back when I walked past her.

I looked out into the waiting room and find the person that belonged to me. Her long black curls blocked her face as her fingers moved quickly over the phone in her hands as she played some game. She was so engrossed in that game that she didn’t even hear me come out.

“Ready, Iz?” I asked and she looked up at me. She smiled and nodded. We didn’t say a word to each other until we are in her car.

“Everything good?” She finally asked as she buckled her seat belt. I nodded and she did the same.

Isabella Flores has been my best friend since the fourth grade. She knew by now not to pressure me into talking about something I didn’t want to. That is what I loved about her. Izzy and I had been taking each other to the therapist for three years now and I could count on one hand how many times we actually discussed with each other what went on in there.

“Then MCU here we come, right?” She threw a hand out the window and smiled.

“Absolutely!” I smiled widely.

“Are we supposed to pick up Casey?”

“No, he got a ride there with Eli.” I told her.

“Good, because I had no idea where we were going to put him.” She laughed and it was true. We had her poor Kia Soul packed with all of our things as we headed to Mistwood Cove University. I doubted we could fit Casey in here, let alone any of his stuff.

It was a two hour drive from my hometown to Mistwood Cove. Two hours filled with talk of what kind of classes we were taking, what we wanted our dorm room to look like, and, of course, what the boys would be like. Coming from a very small town, the selection wasn’t that great according to Izzy.

“You just don’t understand, Ev! Your whole world is about to change where boys are concerned.” She stuffed another Cheeto into her mouth after saying this. I just shook my head.

“We will see.” I said, trying to force a smile. I didn’t like talking about this kind of thing. It had been three years and I could still remember the way he looked, just laying there. I wasn’t ready for another boy. I wasn’t sure I would ever be ready.

“I just hope there are some chicas calientes in that mix, too.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me and I laughed. She was hopeless when it came to dating. She had had like four girlfriends this year alone and it was only September.

Pulling up to Sebastian Hall was a bit hectic. People crowding the road, bodies and cars. I was thankful I wasn’t the one having to maneuver this. I glanced around at all the hustle and bustle of students and parents unloading cars and saying their goodbyes. There was even what appeared to be a couple breaking up toward the front of the building. Bit early for that, wasn’t it?

It was no surprise that Casey and his brother Eli were waiting for us. Or I assumed they had been waiting on us before getting distracted by the brunettes they were speaking to. I watched them as Izzy tried to find a spot to park.

Casey was smiling, his black curls falling over his forehead. He was leaned against the tree, so he was a bit shorter than his brother. Eli was, of course, the complete opposite. He stood at his full six feet two inches tall with his arms crossed. Where Casey was smiling at the girls, Eli’s look more intense.

Izzy found a spot close to the middle. Her parallel parking had improved so much in the past year. I was thankful to finally be able to get out of this car.

“Casey!” I called out, shutting my door. My legs ached as I wiggled them a little bit after sitting down all the time. He didn’t look over. “Casey! Eli!” He looked up and nodded toward me, holding up a finger for me to wait a minute, and turned back to the brunette in front of him.

Eli rolled his eyes at his brother. He said something to the girls and pointed to us. He then flashed them a smile and grabbed his younger brother by the arm, pulling him away from the girls. They giggled and waved at them and Casey looked back. Poor guy.

“We thought you guys had gotten lost!” Casey said when they finally make it over to us.

“You know they had to stop at Eva’s therapist.” Eli scolded him. He opened Izzy’s trunk without even asking. Eli is the only person that still calls me Eva. I started going by Evie when I was twelve, but he has never been one for change.

“Shh!” I swat his arm. “I don’t need the whole campus knowing, Eli. Shut up!”

“It is nothing to be ashamed of.” He said, but chuckled anyway, as he started unloading our stuff.

“And we didn’t take that long.” Izzy starts to grab our stuff out of the vehicle. “Are you all squared away?”

“Yes. And we had been talking to Ashley and Brianna for like twenty minutes before you got here.”

“Brunettes? Really?” I chimed in on his choice in girls. “Do they always have to be brunettes?”

“Nothing wrong with brunettes.” Casey shrugged. “Hoping I will get a taste for blondes?” He bumped my shoulder as he grabbed a box.

“No. Not even a little bit.” I shook my head, absently brushing my blonde hair over my shoulder. “I am hoping your taste will become less shallow.”

“What room are you in again?” Eli asked, his arms full of bags and a lamp.

“104A.” Izzy replied. “Evie, will you go open the door for him?”

I nodded and grabbed a few bags that were set out and led Eli toward the building. Izzy and I were lucky enough to get to come up a week before school had started to get a tour and meet our new therapist. So we already knew where most everything was.

“How was the drive?” Eli asked, as I opened the door. We walked in and sat the bags on the floor. The room was bigger than some of the other schools we looked at. We each had a bed on either side of the room with our own night stand beside it. There were two desks in front of the beds and two closets in that.

“It was fine.” I replied, but didn’t elaborate.

“You all right, Eva?” He asked, folding his arms and looking down at me. “Did something happen?”

“No.” I shook my head. I knew he was asking if something happened at the therapist. Eli had looked at me like his little sister for as long as I could remember, but it had gotten a lot worse after everything that happened three years ago.

There was worry reflected in his dark green eyes and I forced a smile to try to ease that.

“It was just a long trip. I am fine.” I said. “I promise.”

Before he could push the matter more Izzy and Casey came in with another round of our stuff.

“Only a couple of more things in there.” Casey said and Eli nodded and went to get them.

“Why don’t Izzy and I take you guys out to dinner since you helped us?” I suggested. “We can put all this away later.”

“That sounds good to me. Doubt Eli will turn down free food.” Casey shrugged.

Once Eli got back with the boxes we headed out for dinner. Eli was going to take us to a diner close to campus, so we didn’t have to drive. It was still a mess out there.