Find My Heart - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Cole
Someone was after me. It was dark so I couldn't see.
"Oh Coley boy, where are you?!" they taunted in the darkness.
I stumbled around, holding my hands out to feel something, anything.
I found a wall, and followed it until I got the the edge. It turned 90 degrees to the right and then I was stood in a corridor. The corridor at my school.
"Cole! Come out, come out wherever you are!" came the voice again. Only this time I knew who it was. It was Keith Middleton. Homophobe and bully of the worst kind.
I felt my knees start to tremble as I ran down the corridor, frantically trying the door handles to each of the classrooms.
Locked.
Locked.
Locked.
"Come on," I willed, as I tried the last one.
The door opened and I felt relief wash over me as I ran in.
I glanced round the room and instantly froze on the spot.
The classroom was full of cages, and in each of the cages was a rabbit, all with their eyes staring right at me.
I felt a shiver travel up my body and was about to bolt back out of the room when I heard footsteps in the corridor.
"Shit," I murmured as I looked round for somewhere to hide.
For some reason the teacher's desk seemed like the safest place so I quickly crawled under, tucking myself into a ball and hugging my legs tightly.
I heard the person in the corridor trying all the door handles as I had done moments before. After a moment's silence, the door to the classroom I was in flew open and heavy footsteps entered.
"Come on Cole," Keith said, "you know if you run it'll only make things worse. Do you want to spend the night in the dumpster again?"
No, I did not want to go in the dumpster again. Even just the thought of it made me want to wretch.
A sudden scratching noise to my left made me quickly spin round to look.
There was nothing there, but the rabbit cages, they were empty!
I started to slowly freak out. Where were the rabbits? Were they going to get me?
Something nudged my foot making me yelp in surprise.
"Got you!" boomed Keith, reaching under the table and dragging me out by my shirt.
I stared at his feet. They were covered in mud.
"Look at me Cole," he said menacingly.
"I d-don't w-want to," I stammered out.
"Look at me," he ordered again.
This time I slowly raised my eyes, passed his dirty jeans, passed his black t-shirt with a band name that I had never heard of written across it, and up to his....
"Boo!" he shouted, making me jump and snap my head up to see....to see a ginormous bunny head on his shoulders.
I screamed. And screamed. And screamed.
I could hear a noise. The noise I could always hear when I screamed.
It was a low thumping noise that started to get louder and louder, until I could tell it was pounding sound of feet tearing across the ground. The feet of an animal. But a big animal.
It was coming. But I didn't know why. Was it coming to save me or to kill me?
The thumping was getting louder, and louder. It was here.
"Uuuuhhhh," I woke up taking in a big gasp of air.
I sat up in my bed and clutched my chest where my heart was beating wildly.
I had that dream a lot. I had no idea what it meant. I usually had that dream after a particularly stressful day or if I'd had any alcohol.
Ah.
That would be why I felt like there was a hammer drill in my head and the Sahara desert in my mouth.
"Uuuurrgghhh" I moaned as I rolled over to grab the glass of water next to my bed. The water disappeared in a couple of seconds and I swear I didn't even swallow. My mouth just absorbed it.
I flopped back down on my bed and tried to put the dream out of my mind and remember why I felt this way.
Hmm, I think there was drink. Yes blue ones. And then I nearly kissed that guy, Percy. Then grey eyes. Piercing grey eyes. I shuddered at the memory of his hand round Percy's throat.
Then I think there was more drink. Yes, I definitely remember being handed something orange, then there was a red one. Fuck, I was an idiot. I couldn't really remember anything after that. How did I even get home?
I pulled myself out of bed and had a long shower to help bring myself back to the land of the living.
My dad was sat on the sofa watching TV when I walked down the stairs.
"Glad to see you're finally up," he grumbled, without looking at me.
I guess he was mad with me then.
"Why what time is it?" I asked.
"It's 3 o'clock."
"Shit!" I said, wondering how I could have slept for that long. I was one of those annoying morning people and I rarely slept in beyond 9 o'clock.
My dad finally turned off the TV and looked at me. I'd describe his look as 50% angry, 50% disappointed. A lethal combination.
"So do you want to tell me what happened last night?" he asked.
I didn't think it would be wise to admit to not knowing, but I also knew that lying wouldn't get me anywhere either.
"Um, I think I drank too much," I said, staring at my feet.
"You think?" My dad said sarcastically.
"Ok, I know then," I grumbled back.
My dad sighed. "Look, I know that you're 18 now and that you're going to occasionally drink too much, but please at least have the sense to make sure you have friends around you who will make sure you get home safely. It's not fair to expect poor Natalie to be able to get you home on her own when you can barely walk."
"I know," I said, hanging my head in shame. I knew I'd have to do some grovelling to Natalie later. "But at least she got me home," I said, relieved that at least that question had been answered.
"Yes, with the help of a stranger by the looks of it," my dad added.
My head snapped up to look at him. "A stranger?"
"Yes, some guy had to carry you apparently."
A memory started stirring somewhere deep in my brain.
Arms around me. Warmth. Soft hair. Piercing grey eyes. HOLY SHIT!
"Ahh, so you remember then," my dad said, in response to my wide eyes.
"Was it the guy with a silver streak in his hair?"
"Yes, that's the one," my dad replied, "do you know him?"
I felt a small blush start to creep up my cheeks. I wasn't even sure why.
"Um, I think he was the brother or something, of one of the guys at the party last night."
"Right," my dad said. I could see that he was going to say something else, but paused.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said, getting up and heading to the kitchen, "I just got a funny vibe off him, that's all. Now, do you want something to eat?"
"I'll just have some toast thanks," I replied.
I pondered over what my dad had said until he emerged with a plate of buttered toast.
"I guess he does look kind of creepy, but he did get me home safely so he can't be that bad. I also think he may have something to do with the new buyers at Highfield Hall."
My dad suddenly gave me his full attention. "Why do you say that? Did you see him there? What did I tell you about trespassing!"
"I just saw him through the gates," I lied. It wasn't something I often did to my dad, but sometimes it was just necessary.
"Fine, but if he has something to do with the buyers of the Hall, then I don't want you to go there anymore, you hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled back at him.
"I'm serious Cole. I'm telling you now that you are not to go there anymore."
"I know! I heard you the first time!" I huffed back in annoyance.
"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME," my dad roared, and slapped the toast that I was about to take a bite of out of my hand.
My eyes widened in horror. My dad never shouted at me.
My dad took in my wide eyes and quickly backed down. "Sorry," he said, picking up the toast from the floor, "but I mean what I say about Highfield. If I find out you've been in there, I'll ground you for a year. And take away your phone."
I didn't say anything, I just got up and walked straight out of the house.
I power walked along the road putting as much distance between me and my dad as possible.
He always nagged me about trespassing, but I didn't understand what the big deal was. If I was caught, I'd just say I didn't realise it was private. It was hardly the crime of the century.
I reached the Hall and peaked through the gate. It didn't look like there was anyone around. I guess I could go in?
I turned round and kicked angrily at an empty can on the road.
Of course I couldn't go in. My dad had forbidden me to, and as much as I thought he was overreacting, I knew I couldn't go against him when he seemed so certain about it.
I carried on walking passed the Hall and turned off onto a public footpath that led through some fields down to the river. Once I reached the river, I left the footpath and walked through the small woodland that was to one side, and eventually sat down on a large rock next to a stream.
The sun came out from behind a cloud and I lay back on the rock, enjoying the feeling of warmth on my face.
Maybe my dad would come round. Maybe the new owner would give me permission to go into the grounds. Then it wouldn't be trespassing. Maybe I could tell them that I wanted to study the ecology as part of my college dissertation. That could work.
I heard a rustle in the trees and my eyes snapped open, my ears fully alert.
It could be a rabbit or a bird, but the noise sounded too heavy. It could be a deer. I felt a wave of excitement at the thought. A deer sighting would definitely make my day better.
I sat up very slowly, looking over to where I heard the noise.
I heard it again, this time louder, definitely coming towards me.
It was definitely footsteps, but were they from an animal or......
A man walked out from behind a tree, and froze on seeing me sat just a few meters away.
I jumped up in surprise at actually seeing someone else so far off the public footpath. He looked a similar age to me, but taller with broad shoulders....and more muscles. Yes, if he decided he was going to kill me, there probably wasn't much I could do about it.
He also looked shocked to see me there, but recovered quicker than me, and smiled.
"Hey," he said, lifting his hand slightly in a sort of wave.
"Hey," I said back, not sure what else to say.
"What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked. He was smiling, so he seemed friendly enough, but I knew that could change.
"Nothing," I replied, then cringed at how much like a sullen teenager I sounded.
The guy looked at me for a few seconds, before shrugging his shoulders and throwing his rucksack onto the ground before sitting on another rock close by.
I briefly wondered what could be in his rucksack. A knife maybe? Some rope? A small shovel?
I decided I needed to ask.
"What are you doing here?"
"I guess I'm just stalling," the guy replied.
I looked over at him and frowned. "Stalling from doing what?" I asked. My eyes flitted over to the rucksack again.
"Seeing my mum," he said with a sigh.
"Ahh," I said, feeling myself untense slightly.
"So what about you?" he asked again.
I looked over to him and saw him smiling widely at me. He had messy brown hair that looked a little wavy, and warm hazel eyes. He had that kind of outdoors look, like he'd been camping and needed a good clean. But damn, now that I looked at him, I bet he would scrub up well.
"Same as you I guess," I finally replied, "except with me, it's my dad."
He let out a small laugh. I couldn't help but stare. He really was good looking and he had this cute dimple that appeared on his left cheek when he smiled.
He saw me looking at him, but before I could look away he held out his hand.
"I'm Joe by the way."
"Cole," I said, leaning over and shaking his hand.
It felt rough, like he did a lot of manual work.
"So why are you avoiding your mum?" I asked.
He looked up to the sky and laughed. "I'm not sure if you'd call it avoiding. I only found out she existed just over a year ago. I guess I just don't know what to expect."
"Wow," I said feeling a little stupid, "I was expecting you to say something like she nagged you to get a job, or she didn't approve of your girlfriend, not that you'd never met before! I mean, that's taking avoiding her to a whole new level!"
Joe laughed and for some reason I felt comfortable in his presence. And that was a first for me. I was never usually comfortable around people I didn't know.
"So, go on then," he said, "tell me about your dad."
"I don't want to now," I said with a small pout.
"Did he tell you off for not tidying your room?" he said, in the mocking tone of a parent telling off a small child.
"How did you guess?" I said with wide eyes.
"Seriously?" he laughed.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him, "Of course not, you plank, but it's still a silly reason compared to yours."
He raised his eyebrows at me. "No one has ever called me a plank before."
"Yeah well, maybe not to your face," I shot back.
He grinned, but didn't say anything back, seeming content to just sit quietly in the sun for a while.
Eventually I couldn't take it anymore.
"So, if you've known about your mum for over a year, why are you only just visiting now?"
He smiled at me, but I could see that it was guarded, and that he wasn't going to tell me the truth.
"I guess the timing has never been right," he replied.
I nodded in understanding, knowing I shouldn't push it any further.
"I suppose I should get going then," he said standing up. "Time to get it over with."
"Well good luck," I said, already feeling sorry that he was going.
"And to you too," he said, coming over to me and patting my shoulder. "And next time just tidy your room."
He then laughed at his joke and wandered off.
My shoulder felt warm from his touch.
Was it me, or did his hand linger on me for longer than was considered normal?