The Song Of His

7. Like an asthmatic dog

I quietly walked out of school, with the intention to follow Dylan and turned around the building to cross the parking lot, to where they usually parked their car. As soon as my eyes found Dylan and Kai Barbosa busy discussing something very seriously, I quickly backtracked my steps to hide behind the wall as I peeked from behind the wall, trying to eavesdrop over them.

It was difficult to hear what they were talking about but I saw Dylan quickly glance around himself making me hide behind the wall again before carefully spying over them again. I watched Dylan taking out the clay bar and showing it to Kai.

Which key where they trying to get a duplicate of?

I frowned at the thought as I frowned at the brothers who looked like the bad guys from the movies. The situation also made me compare myself to those secret agents who risked their lives to save the country. In this matter, it was the school.

"What are you doing here?" The most beautiful deep voice I have had ever heard, boomed from behind. Instead of flinched and holding a hand over my heart, like a normal human reaction, I ended up losing my mind at his voice. My head was dazed letting my stomach clenched pleasurably as a shiver ran down my spine. In the back of my head it kept pricking me with the fact that the voice thought was new, felt familiar. Like I had heard it before. I was roughly turned around just to be slammed against the wall. A gasp left my lips as I came face to face with none other than the guy who had lately been preoccupied with my mind, West Zervos.

His bright green eyes burned glares into mine. For the first time, I had been so close to one of the Adonides, if I excluded the brief collision with Dylan earlier. And the fact that it was my first time hearing his amazing voice had my stomach twist in alien ways that I had never felt before. In a good way, let me add.

West smelled like sun dried sand with an exotic touch of something I couldn't quite put a finger on. Nevertheless, he was all musculine, in looks, sound and smell. Automatically, I had started to breathe hard.

Shaking my head out of the dazed self, I focused on my surroundings and the person before me. He had both of his hands on the either side of my head, trapping me in successfully. The sun shone from behind him, resembling a halo of an angel from above.

"What do you think?" I narrowed my eyes at him warningly but it wasn't so effective when I was close to looking like an asthmatic dog. But he didn't seemed to be fazed. He continued to observe me, as if taking down mental details about how I looked.

"Why are you following us?" His deep voice again seemed to swipe me off my common sense and drown me in his eyes. Those dark green jungles had come alive. Shaking my head out of the tsunami of drooling, I asked in my hoarse voice in between my heavy breaths, "what are you three up to?"

He didn't answer me but rather scrutinized me for a whole minute, leaving me to fight an inner war with myself.

Damn these Adonides and their inhumane beauty. Even if they committed a murder, they could still get away with it.

"What are you?" I finally snapped back to present when West whispered those words. And instead of asking what he meant or what type of question that was, I questioned him back in another whispered with my ragged breathing, "what are you?"

He slightly looked taken aback but had quickly recovered as he retorted, "what do you think I am?"

He had that ghost of a smirk on his lips which I had an opportunity of witnessing just once before, when the coach couldn't get him expelled for whatever he had done in his class. The principal had left him with a warning, to the coach's dismay.

West leaned in towards me reducing the space between our faces as he added, "Or a better question would be, would you want to find out?"

The way he had said it made chills go down my spine, stiffening me up almost instantly.

Did I really wanted to find out about it?

A part of me was curious and excited while the other part of mine was shaking it's head at me, 'don't try to dig things up that aren't meant for you, Carlene.' it warned.

And I wanted to say 'yes', very badly, wanting him to spill all the beans but I felt something strong block the part of my brain that was fed by this curiosity. It was something strong, like a force that didn't want me to answer that out loud.

And as if just to confirm, West whispered just above my ear, "I can be your most beautiful dream or your worst f*****g nightmare."

I didn't know if it was his words, his voice, his promising tone or his minty breath that hit my naked skin of my jaw that made me shiver involuntarily and goosebumps to raise.

I was blank, completely empty in my head. West leaned closer to the skin of my neck and took a deep breath as if smelling me up. Another shiver rolled down at his actions as a whimper escaped my lips.

"One word from you and all will be over," he added under his breath like it wasn't for me to hear but I heard it anyway.

"C-can you pl-please step away?" I quivered.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He quickly composed himself and raised one eyebrow as he stepped away from me, letting me pass. His hand outstretched gesture that he wasn't going to stop me. Nor did I stick around to find out.

Without glancing back, I walked, infact almost ran away from him, towards the parking lot. I looked up to see Dylan and Kai looking at me with poker faces as I ran passed them. It gave me creeps for some reason.

I slowed down to walking when I was nearly half way home and took deep breaths to calm down my pounding heart. My throat felt sore, aching for a sip of water.

Unable to take the thirst anymore, I fished for my water bottle for my bag and started to gulp down the water.

'Carlene...' I choked on the water as I heard that voice again. Coughing vigorously, I hit my chest to stop it. I looked around to find no one in sight, except for a closed shop and vacant streets. Did I just hear it or was my head replaying the sounds from my dreams?

I waited for the sound to repeat but it didn't happen.

I must have imagined it...

Shaking my head to stir clear of any thoughts, I resumed my walk home. The driveway was empty indicating my mother wasn't home yet or had already left for her another job. Taking the spare keys out of my bag, I unlocked the door and headed in.

The new note stuck on the fridge caught my attention. I plucked it to read:

Carlene,

I'm heading out for the second shift. Don't worry, I'll try to be home earlier. I have already cooked the dinner, it's in the fridge.

- mom

I sighed in joy. I was hungry and the news like this made me dance with joy. I didn't waste any time as I wasn't hands, removed the box from the fridge and microwaved it.

The steam that came out of spaghetti carbonara made me inhale the mouthwatering smell readily. After having double of what I usually had, I headed to my room.

After a soul satisfying meal and my stomach not grumbling anymore, my thought process became more clearer. My exchange with West came back to me. Now that I think about it again, it was actually a really strange exchange that we had, quite meaningless, yet it spoke about things that was beyond my comprehension. Like everything that we shared had thousands meanings.

I tried interpreting it in different ways but always ended up coming to the same conclusion. There was something about those three. Something that I couldn't quite put a finger on at the moment but the question was, did I really want to know what their deepest dark secret was?

'One word from you and all will be over.' West's words kept echoing in my head.

What if, it was something that I would wish to have never been curious about? But to decide about that, I had to know the truth.

'Carlene...'

'Carlene, Come here...'

I opened my eyes to stand in the waist deep waters. I looked around to see water stretch for mile and miles together all around me. The sky was dark and clouded. There was thundering in the distant clouds but the moon still played peekaboo from between the fast moving clouds.

A bunch of cattails stood tall form the muddy clay beside me. The water was calm as always, letting my reflection stare back at me. It was dark yet I could see and make out the outlines of different things around me.

'Carlene...' the water surrounding me vibrated as the same voice sang again.

I looked down into the water and saw something glowing neon green beneath my reflection. It was deep inside making it hard to recognise what it was.

"What are you?" I whispered as I let my hand disturb my reflection in the water trying to reach towards the burning green lights. As my hand neared it, it started to move back making me take a step forward to grab it. It moved back again making me follow it. It suddenly started to swim rapidly back causing me to run as fast as I could after it.

'come to me, Carlene...'

That voice again distracted me for a second. Nevertheless, I continued to follow the glowing object.

'Carlene!' there was another voice in the background. A familiar one though.

'I have been waiting for you for so long...' that hypnotic voice sang again, calling me towards itself.

'Carlene! Wake up, honey!' along with the voice I was shaken up. I opened my eyes wide to stare at a familiar grey eyes.

"Mom?" I croaked in a hoarse voice to find myself standing in the living room. My mother held my shoulders to support my weight while I felt dizzy.

"How did I end up here?" I questioned as she helped me sit on the nearest chair.

"I saw you walking in the living room when I entered the house. I casually greeted you but when you didn't reply, I realised that something was wrong. You were sleepwalking," she explained as she filled a glass with water and handed it to me. My heart stopped for a second in dread but then I composed myself.

Feeling grateful for her thoughtfulness, I gulped down the water like a thirsty person who had just survived a desert journey without water. Very contrary to the dream I had.

My mother sat on the arm of the chair worriedly as she stroked my hair.

"Are you okay? I will make a doctor's appointment tomorrow. How many times have you been sleepwalking?" She was worried, no doubt there but I didn't think that it was something to be worried about.

"I am alright, don't worry. This the first time that it has happened, I suppose. I'm really fine, so no doctors please. This was just one time," I took her hand in mine as I squeezed it gently and reassuringly.

"You sure?" She confirmed.

"Absolutely," I gave her a tired smile.

"But if it repeats, we'll show the doctor," she promised.

"Sure, as you wish."

"My little baby," my mom hugged me making me hug her back. Kissing the hair on my head, she withdrew before helping me back up to my room.

It was weird to find out that I was walking while sleeping. Many children did do that on regular basis but me in my late teens do it for the first time had me thinking. And the recurring dream, and that voice... What did it mean? What was this all about? What was I getting myself into? Or had I already gotten myself into something that I had no idea about?

Only time was going to tell me about it, if I was entering into crap or was already chin deep in it.