Chapter 4

Loud beeps roused Addie from her sleep. She yawned, pulling the covers further over her head before relenting and throwing them off to turn off the alarm clock. She laid there a while before the dream from last night cut through the calmness of the morning, making her snap into a seated position. The nightmare had felt so real; she swore she could feel the bruises left behind by that creature. She rubbed at her neck gently, wincing slightly. She glanced at her alarm clock, suddenly jumping into her morning routine. If she didn't hurry, she was going to be late.
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     She pulled into her parking spot with a few minutes to spare. The red masterpiece pulled up shortly after she did. The window was down and Addie could see Calvin's eyes staring at her. Something there made his eyebrows furrow. She quickly hopped out of her car and rushed inside the building before the tardy bell rang.
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     "Everyone is going to write their name on this and put it in the jar," Mr. Harkins said to the class, passing out little slips of paper. "I will be drawing out names for who will get what part for the play. No ifs, ands, buts, or ors." Addie scribbled her name on the paper, wondering not for the first time why he had to make them act out the plays they were reading. She didn't think that it made the play more entertaining to read. Romeo and Juliette was a classic. She stole a quick glance at Calvin, but sucked in a quick breath as she saw him.
     There were white bandages peeking out from under his shirt sleeve. There was so much blood soaked into them that they barely seemed able to contain it all. Calvin saw her looking and yanked the sleeve down further, obscuring the wound from her prying eyes. When class ended, she rushed up to his desk. The students and teacher had fled to the hallways the second the bell rang, leaving the room eerily silent. She cleared her throat awkwardly. She had been so adamant that she needed to see the injury, but now that they were alone, she couldn't seem to make a sound. She stood there fiddling with her hair before squaring her shoulders and standing up tall.
     "Let me see it." Calvin, who was writing something into a notebook, didn't give any indication that he had heard her. Frustration grew and she began to tap her foot impatiently. Ever so slowly, he put down his pencil and fixed her with his piercing glare.
     "See what?" He mumbled coolly.
     "Your arm. I know what I saw. There's a lot of blood. Have you gotten any stitches for it? Let me see it!"
     "I'm fine and it's none of your business." His tone rang with finality, but she wouldn't be put off so easily. She grabbed at his arm, ignoring the hiss he let out and jerked the sleeve up. As before, the bandages were stained red. They extended from his wrist up to the middle of his forearm. Addie gasped. This was so much worse than she thought, but she tried to compose herself.
     "You need to go to the hospital. It could get infected! Come on, I'll drive you." He untangled himself from her grip.
     "It doesn't need stitches. It's fine. I'll just change the bandages." Addie could see that no amount of pleading on her part would make him see a doctor.
     "Fine. But please let me help. I'll re-bandage it for you." He stared at her for a long time, and for a second she thought he was going to refuse but he slowly tilted his head down in a nod. She reached for him again, but he shook his head.
     "Not here. I don't want anyone else knowing about it." She thought for a few minutes before she answered.
     "I know where we can go." She stood and walked away, knowing he would follow.
     The walk through the halls were silent. Addie remembered distantly that the bell for fourth period had rung, but it was not important. The medical side of her brain, the one that was developed through keen instincts and healthcare classes, was screaming at her to help him. She entered the photography room and locked the door behind him before motioning for him to take a seat. She pulled up one for herself in front of him and grabbed a trashcan. After washing her hands, she settled herself in the chair.
     "Do you have more bandages?" He quietly rooted in his bag before producing several packages of sterile dressing and gauze. Addie glanced up at him briefly before steeling herself for the task ahead. Carefully unwrapping the bandages, she grimaced slightly at the feel of the bloody gauze soaking through to her hands. When all the bandages were off, she sucked in a sharp breath. Four deep scratches ran down his arm. The area around them was red and irritated looking, but luckily it didn't look to be infected yet. She sighed in annoyance. She wished she had some antiseptic to clean it with. She tilted his arm from side to side, but it looked as if the bleeding had stopped. She took a clean roll of gauze and started wrapping, glancing up to him after a few moments. He was looking at her.
     "What did this?" She asked gently. His eyes looked down at the wound.
     "A dog," he replied slowly. She could see straight through the lie, making her lips thin angrily.
     "That bull and you know it. Now. What did this to you?" He sat silently before opening his mouth to tell her. Suddenly his head snapped up. He snapped his head from side to side, sniffing the air.
     "I have to go." He stood abruptly. Addie quickly finished the bandage and secured it as he started half running to the door.
     "Go where? You can't just leave!" He spun around when she grabbed his arm, giving the hand attached to it a death glare.
     "Is everything ok? Is there something I can do to help?" Calvin looked shocked at her words before he composed himself.
     "Just stay here. Go back to class..." He gave her a long look. "Thanks...for helping me." With that, he turned back around and disappeared around the corner, leaving Addie there with her mouth hanging open. By the time she snapped out of the daze, she could no longer hear his footsteps. Had he just thanked her? He almost seemed...nice. Determination heated her insides. She would find out where he was going. Maybe it would help her to understand him better.
     She ran down the hall he had disappeared to. Looking at all the doors, she quickly shot down the idea of him going in any. He had said he needed to go. She burst out of the doors panting. There! She caught a glimpse of his foot as he vanished into the woods. She took off after him, stopping just at the edge of the trees. The forest was dark and ominous. Something warned her not to go in there. But Calvin could be in trouble. She had to help him. Brushing off the unnerving feeling, she stepped into the woods.

Author's Note

Kind of a short chapter, but I've been super busy (I know. Always the excuse right?). The story's going to get much better since all the intro is done with. Please please please comment if you like it. I don't want to continue a story no one likes. The more comments I get, the faster I will want to keep going.