He lets go of my shoulder, and we carry on walking. I think about what he just said. I’m confused about why she’s on my mind so much too. I’m even more confused by how I feel about her—someone I don’t know, a complete stranger, a face without a name. How could this be poss ible?
We reach my next class and part ways. I’m not as conceited as my friends make me out to be. I don’t think I’m God’s gift to women.
It’s more that girls have always liked me, always complimented my wild brown hair—they seem to love that look. I get a lot of compliments on my big blue eyes as well, and thanks to my brother and his obsession with working out, I’m in pretty good shape physically. I don’t try hard with the opposite sex. In fact, I don’t try much at all. It’s been effortless for me to meet girls so far and even easier for me to talk to them, except for this one. No girl has ever been a challenge before. That must be why it’s bothering me so much. I’ll just have to learn to put some more effort in and then maybe I can win her over.
The rest of the day flies by, and before I know it, my last class has ended, and I’m on my way home.
I’m exhau sted.
I’ve been having trouble falling asleep these past few nights.
After parking the Lexus, I run up the steps to to unlock my front doors. I walk into a quiet house. It seems no one is home. I make my way to the kitchen to find that either my mom or Lizzie has put some leftovers on the counter for me. The food smells great, and as I eagerly open the Tupperware lid to find chicken, rice, and vegetables, I realize how hungry I am. It’s gone within
seconds, and as soon as I’m done, I make my way towards my bedroom to lay my head down. For a moment, I consider taking the elevator, but my feet are already on the stairs, taking two steps up at a time.
My bed has been made, so I just lie on top of the covers and put my head on the pillow. I can’t stop picturing the girl’s face and thinking about how beautiful she is. I look over to my school bag and remember that I still have her note. Reaching over, I unzip it and hold the piece of paper in my hand before unfolding it slowly. I read it again and sigh. How many rejections will I get from this girl? Should I even keep trying to get her to like me?
It’s probably in my best interest to wait for a sign from her instead of embarrassing myself a gain.
Feeling defeated, I lay my head back down on my pillow and quickly glance at my phone. I have a few hours before I need to pick up Liam and Phil. I’m too tired to keep my eyes open and need to feel refreshed before going to the bar tonight. I can already feel myself starting to doze off.
Somehow, I find myself walking on a dark road, lit only by a few streetlamps, some flickering on and off. It’s a very long road with hidden alleys, and I look around me, trying to find another person, but no one is in sight. I continue walking without knowing what street I’m actually on. A warm breeze hits my face, blowing through my hair, and I walk very slowly, with my hands in my pockets, feeling a little lost.
It’s then that an invisible force stops me across the street from a darkened alley. I hear someone screaming for help and I run across the street to get closer to the person in need. Further into the alley, I can clearly see a girl slumped under a single streetlight, its beam shining only on her. I jump back into action and rush to her, dropping to my knees to pick her up. Her brown hair is stuck to her face, matted with blood, and I can’t see her features at all, but her cry is heartbreaking. I can feel my heart racing as I carry her in my arms, starting to run as fast I can, shouting from the top of my lungs for someone to help. I’m trembling now, and I feel fear rushing down my s pine.
The street is dark under the night sky, and I’m far from all lampposts with the girl in my arms. There are no cars in sight.
I’m desperate to find anyone to help me save her. Then, in the distance, I spot someone walking under the only streetlight left working on this dark road.
“Please,” I cry, “help me save this girl. I need you to call an ambulance! She’s d ying.”
The person under the light is standing still. My eyes begin to focus as the person slowly walk towards us, but it isn’t until the person stops and stares at me with a smile that I realize it’s the brunette from my class. Without moving an inch closer,
she stands there, looking at me with the girl in my arms. I freeze in place, staring back into the girl’s brown eyes. Then, I become distracted by sounds from far away. It sounds like sirens coming clo ser …
My eyes open with a jolt. My heart is still racing. Beside me on the bed my phone is ringing loudly. I quickly reach over and answer without looking to see who i t is.
“Hello?” I answer in a raspy v oice.
“El, you sleeping, man?” Philip’s voice rings in my ear.
“Not anymore,” I say catching my breath. “I’m glad you called when you did.”
“I’m glad I called too because we should be at the bar in an hour,” he remind s me.
“I’ll be on time,” I pro mise.
I can tell that Philip is looking forward to seeing Leanne tonight, which means I need to get myself ready to leave, but first I need a moment. I haven’t dreamed about the girl in the dark alley in a long time, and it was bizarre to have the girl from my class in the same nightmare. She looked as beautiful in my dream as she does in real life. But how could a nightmare about that night turn into a dream about her? I must be obsessing over her more than I should be. I remember Liam describing what it means to dream and how it’s connected to our thoughts and emotions. I paid close attention to him that day, as I had been continuously dreaming about the girl in the alley. He explained that dreams consist of material from our memory system that we draw on to cope with trauma or stressful events which occur in our lives, but it’s also been said that dreams are representations of our unconscious desires and thoughts. I guess that explains how I just saw them both in the same d ream.
It disturbs me though because I just want to forget all about that night, but it seems as though it’s going to keep haunting me, even though years have passed since. The last thing I need is a constant reminder of the girl I’ve been trying to erase from my memory. At times, I still wonder if she survived, and if she did, how she got on with life after that night. I also wonder if she ever thinks about me. Maybe she has driven herself to the same point that I have. The difference is that she can never forget what happened to her.
As for me, well, I doubt I will ever forget finding her, and I may never find out what happened to that poor girl. She was in such horrible shape that it was impossible for her to open her eyes and see who it was that carried her out of the alley and brought her to the hospital. I wonder if she knew the guy who hurt her, if he was caught and paid for his crime. These are
questions I may never find answers to. My heart still accelerates every time I think about the whole experience, but the girl’s experience was far more intense than mine. Although it’s going on five years since it happened, I still often pray that she was s aved.
I’m going to have to block all this out of my mind if I want to enjoy my night at the bar. I also have to remind myself that Philip will kill me if I’m late.
I jump in and out of the shower, throwing on a pair of black jeans and a white shirt with Burberry check pattern. I fix my hair to its best, spray on some cologne Allison bought me last Christmas, and make my way down the stairs. While I was getting myself ready, my phone rang several times, but I didn’t answer it since I was in a hurry to get dressed and make it to Philip and Liam on time. I look at my phone now to see three missed calls: Nadia, Josie, and Naomi. They’re all fun girls, and I have a good time with each of them. Naomi still mentions that she wishes I’d taken her to prom as my date but says she forgives me, and I have no doubt that she has—we’ve spent many nights together since. I decide not to call any of them back tonight. I look at my phone again to see a message waiting and retrieve it while still walking through the h ouse: