Sweet Sorrow Ch. 01

We arrive around 2:30 pm at Clandae High Montana. Thick forest around me would usually calm me, but today it filled me with despair and menace. I used to love the woods; so full of life and adventure, but now when I see it looming over me all I behold is death. Although, everyone likes to pretend otherwise, nothing would ever be the same again.

I hand the driver his due, and as I step out of the taxi my flaming red hair billows around my face, blocking my eyes. Sounds... voices... whispers! Crap! Of course, schools not over yet. I hate him for making me meet him all this kids here. They would point and whisper, but that isn't even the part I can't stand. I loathe their pity; I find their normal, healthy lives offending.

Frustrated with my hair, I yank it out of my face and let it flutter in the wind behind me like a cape. My Eyes! It is not that bright out, but I still slam my abnormally large sunglasses on my face. I am now grateful my hair had temporarily obscured my vision. I can't let them see my eyes! One of my irises is violet with swirls of neon green, and the other is light brown with swirls of blue. Much to my annoyance, my natural eyes usually make people stare, and I absolutely hate the attention. So instead of suffering through all that bullshit, I normally wear dark brown contacts. I had worn them, but had had to remove them, for they were uncomfortable on the long journey from the Northwest Territories.

"Val!" my cousin shouts from 30 feet away, the OTHER side of the massive crowd of students. When I don't try to make my way through claustrophobic mass, he starts waving his massive, callous hands in the air, trying to get my attention, as if I haven't already heard him. Damn, if people hadn't been staring at the girl taking a taxi to school before, they sure were now.

To top it off everyone fell silent as I limbed my way through the gawking crowd. I had to lean immensely on my chestnut, glossed cane. This is extremely painful, but worst yet is that I swear a guy sniffed me as I went by.

By this point the group cleared a space for me all the while openly staring at me; I held my head up and stared forwards, looking at nothing in particular. I felt like a bride dressed as a clown, walking down the aisle. Great! When I finally reach him he, clearly too excited to realize I'm injured, scoops me up into a bruising bear hug. He sweeps me right off my feet, leaving my defenseless and unable to fend off his "attack". I let out a gasp of pain; this certainly doesn't help with my gut wound.

Now I normally never show this kind of weakness, gasping or showing I'm in pain that is, but Derek Helstga is a tough guy. I bet not one part of his body is not covered in hard muscle. He used to serve the Navy with my big brother, that's why I like to call him SoldierBoy. Derek would probably be on another tour right now if it hadn't been for me.

When he finally put me down and saw me wincing he look PISSED. "You're hurt?" he basically growled. "No, I'll live," I mumble. Damn he was so overprotective. "What happened?" he demanded. "Who did this to you?" he whispered in a dangerous tone. Why does he have to automatically assume I got into a fight... well that is what happened but he shouldn't just assume that. But instead of voicing this I counter with, "Can we not talk about this right now?" Nice, now everybody was going to be curious. My frustration and anger boiled up to its peak and I screamed in the general direction of the group, "Don't you people have lives!" Crap, why had I done that. SoldierBoy looked as if I had been stunned stupid, the only sound comes from the wind rustling the leaves and the birds chirping. I would have laughed at his expression, but I can't anymore, not since...

Before I can stop myself, I sprint into the strange forest I have never been in before, I know stupid move, but I can't stop. I HAD to get away.

As I run I close my eyes, sometimes when I do that I can pretend he is with me, laughing, teasing. This is such sweet sorrow!

I speed through the unfamiliar forest with no purpose; I am just an empty shell and have been this way since... what feels like forever. The dense underbrush soon succeeds in capturing my feet; this combined with speed sends me soaring through the air until I land painfully in a clearing. Great, this is going help my healing process!

I land on my left shoulder at an unnatural angle and hear a distinct pop. Pain shoots from my shoulder to the rest of my body, engulfing me in flames. I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out. I soon taste the coppery tang of my blood.

As I come down from my adrenaline high, I realize I must have dropped my cane back at the school; having been too preoccupied with getting away to take it with me. With the help of a sturdy branch that I must have broken off when I "fell", I struggle to my feet. I clutch my shoulder as I consider my situation. How could I have been so reckless and irrational? Mistakes get you killed. I'm in an unknown forest in which I have no sense of direction; I have ripped my stitches and may bleed to death, and have no use of my left arm. Perfect... just perfect.