Autumnal night

A crack of lightning casts the graveyard in a flash of brief, white light before disappearing again. I shiver as fear crawls up my back, and continue on my walk. The crunch of the autumn leaves beneath my boots would sound soothing and comforting any other day, but on a night like the one I find myself in, I couldn't ask for a worse sound to flood my ears. A shaky breath enters my body and I attempt to wipe the sweat off my hands. It's dark and much too quiet. There's nobody around, leaving me alone with my irrational thoughts and fears. CRACK. I let out a scream and trip over my feet. Where the hell did that twig come from? Maybe it's not a twig... If I could slap the voice in my head, I would. Looking around me, I pull my pathetic piece of fabric, which is meant to be a coat, tighter around my shoulders and attempt to distract myself from my invasive thoughts by taking in the scenery around me. I haven't been on this side of town in ages so things are bound to have changed. Outlines of old oak trees glare at me in the dark and an owl hoots somewhere in the distance, as if sensing my discomfort and wanting to join in with the teasing. A cool breeze begins to form, forcing the leaves to swirl around my feet. My mind thinks back to the movie Charlie and I watched a few weeks ago and the witchy rituals performed in it. God, I really am self-sabotaging. The gravel beneath my feet begins to get crunchier and the rain, which had been gently tapping on my shoulders a few minutes ago, was now pounding. Something inside me changes, and all of my senses come on high alert. I don't recognize this place. The road seems different, the shapes around me seemed to have changed and become even eerier and even the wind tastes different as it invades my mouth. I know this town like the back of my hand; I could walk it blindfolded and deafened twelve times and still never tread a foot out of place. So, I don't like this feeling at all. I stop for a second and squint, seeing if that helps me take in everything any better but, if anything, it only makes everything harder to see. I reach for my phone and tap the screen, hoping that looking at a map might re-jog my memory, but instead, I think my heart might need re-jogging. Frantic, I hold the power button down, praying that I was being clever and turn the power off to save battery, but I am greeted with the warming icon of a dead battery. Screaming feels like the right thing to do now, but being a 19-year-old woman, it might make me look a bit insane, not that there's anyone to see here anyway. My anxiety begins to take control of my body and soon my hands are shaking uncontrollably. Should I turn back and head the way I came from? Should I keep going? Should I try and find someone and use their phone? Should I just stay put? Deep breaths. In and out. Everything is fine. Everything will be fine. My hands slowly begin to stop shaking and my mind begins to clear, and that's when I begin to realize how numb my body is. My 'coat' really hasn't done anything to keep the cold away, and with every passing second I am regretting not taking Leo up on his offer to drop me back.

'Surely you can't walk home by yourself! You'll freeze to death, get lost, or get kidnapped. Just let me drive you home. It won't take too long!" He said, smiling at me. I just laughed at him and continued to tie the laces to my boots. 

"I'll be fine. It's literally a twenty-minute walk and I need the exercise. Plus, you even said you needed to work.' I retaliated. 

"You sure?" He asked, and I could tell he was nervous about letting me go by myself. I could see he was trying to figure out what his brother would say if he found out his little brother had let his girlfriend walk home alone. 

"One hundred percent," I told him, before pulling him into a hug. It was a little awkward, but I had promised Charlie I would try and make an effort towards his little brother and make him feel more included. I pulled away first and grabbed my bag from the hall stand.

"Have a great first day of uni!" I told him. He smiled at me, trying to keep his excitement off his face and failing miserably. 

"Yeah, thanks. Maybe I'll see you around campus?" He asked. 

"Maybe," I told him, knowing for a fact I wouldn't. "I'll message you when I get home, just so you know I'm safe," I said, walking to the door and giving him a wave before I walked through it.

I would take awkward conversation - or silence - for ten minutes over whatever is happening to me now any day of the week. Another owl hoot. My feet begin to nervously tap on the ground as I try and make a decision on what to do. When I finally make a conclusion, I put my phone back in my pocket and turn around, hoping I can remember the way to my boyfriends house, and hoping his little brother might still be offering a car ride home. As I trudge up the road, fighting the tiredness in both my eyes and my brain, a bright light appears from nowhere. It isn't lightning like before, but it's car headlights, thundering toward me. I throw myself out of the way and end up in a bush covered in thorns. I curse under my breath before I realize the car has stopped. Right in front of me. I begin to breathe faster, and slowly begin to lower myself back into the bush again, hoping I can't be seen. A car door being opened and closed echoes through the night and the sound of gravel being crunched gets closer and closer. I close my eyes tightly shut and find myself praying to some god I don't even believe in.

"Ava?" A voice calls out. My head whips up and I find myself eye-to-eye with Leo. He smiles a shy smile at me and holds his hand out toward me. "Need any help out?" I take his hand sheepishly and he helps me climb out. I take a few seconds to gather myself before curiosity gets the better of me. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask him. He smiles again.

"Well, you said you were going to message me when you get home, and I got a bit worried after an hour passed and there hadn't been one, so I got in my car and followed the path I thought you might have gone down and, voila, here you are!" He says. I laugh to myself and silently thank someone for Leo. 

"Thank you," I tell him before I notice he is still holding my hand. He follows my eyesight before laughing and letting go.

"Sorry," he says. "Do you want to get in? I can drop you home." I nod and follow him to the car. Once we're in, he turns up the heat and the radio before beginning to reverse up the lane. We sit in silence, not awkward but not pleasant either, as he drives me back to my flat in student accommodation. Once he parks, I turn to open the door, a thank you ready at my lips.

"You're really beautiful. And kind. And intelligent. And you deserve to be treated right." He says, shocking me into silence. All I can do is stare at him. "You deserve to be treated right, Ava." I swallow, feeling dread and nervousness build up.

"Thank you?" I say, trying to figure out what he's doing.

"Charlie doesn't deserve you, you know. He's a dickhead. A real dickhead. He's not meeting up with his friends to watch the football match tonight. He's meeting up with this girl. He has been for ages. Since the beginning of the summer." He doesn't look at me as he bombards me with this information. 

"What?" I whisper, moving closer to him. He does the same until our faces are nearly touching. 

"Her name is Jessica. She's twenty-one. They met at some sort of party and hooked up there. They've been meeting up for ages - he sometimes stays at her house for days. He made me promise not to tell you, but I couldn't help it." He's staring deep into my eyes.

"God." 

"Are you okay?" He asks, a real look of concern in his eyes. My lips say yes but my head shakes. "I'm sorry for pouncing this on you. I just thought I was going to burst if I didn't tell you tonight."

"No, it's fine. Thank you for telling me. Really." I reply. The conversation is clearly over and there is nothing more to be said, but neither of us moves. There is something that is keeping us both here, making us unable to look away from each other. His eyes are so green, I'd never noticed it before, but then, I'd never been this close to him before. And he smells...nice. Like he's actually given it a thought, unlike Charlie. And he has dimples. These are really cute dimples. 

"I should probably go," I whisper.

"Probably." He whispers back, but still, neither of us moves. But then he does. He closes the small gap between us and presses his lips against mine. I stay still for a few seconds, purely out of shock, before I kiss him back. My hands go around his neck and he lifts me into his seat. We stay like that for a few minutes before we pull apart. We're both breathing heavily and just staring into each other's eyes as if trying to figure out what just happened. I clear my throat awkwardly before climbing back into my side of the car. 

"I really should go now," I say, not looking at him. 

"Yeah, have a good night." He says, and I know he isn't looking at me either. I open the door and climb out and, just as I'm about to close the door, we make eye contact. Butterflies enter my stomach - a mix of guilt and excitement. And then I slam the door closed. I sprint into the building and enter the nearest elevator. Taking deep breaths, I silently pray that no one just saw what happened. I've finally composed myself by the time the elevator door opens, but I stop in my tracks when I see who's standing there. 

"Charlie?"

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Thank you so much for reading this! If you could leave some feedback about this that would be really great because it's my first story and I know there are HUGE improvements to be made! Have a great rest of your day!!!! :)