Greetings, fellow Word Nerds! You're going to be seeing a lot more of me this month, and here's why. This month, I am participating in a writing challenge called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The idea is to stretch your creative muscles (reeeeeally stretch 'em!) and write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Sound hard? Some would say it is. For me, thankfully, this year has been a breeze, because my novel has literally been writing itself. The only thing I've really done was come up with the plot.
It was scary going into NaNo this year, because my story has a lot of elements to it, and I wasn't quite sure how they would all fit together. Luckily, though, they are, along with events that I didn't even see coming! Well, I'm sure you're tired of me blabbering, so, here is the prologue!! Leave me comments if you like it, or you can let me know on twitter @ThisLoudFandom!!
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Walking The Line- Prologue
Every once in a while, my mind drifts off to that day. It was the first time I saw David, and it was only for a moment before everything went black. I still remember the panic in his voice as he tried so frantically to get someone to help me. I remember thinking to myself, “Don’t waste your time. No one even notices me anyway.”
That all changed from the moment I first saw him. Here was David, on his way to work, when suddenly his life was turned completely upside down by some random passerby with unfortunate luck. If you ask my family what I’m like, they’ll tell you this: “Kallie is the sweetest, most put together, most confident person you could ever meet.”
What they don’t know is, I’m mostly faking it. I always managed to act like I knew what I was doing, and what I wanted, but most of the time, I never actually did. There was only one thing I was sure of, and that was that I wanted to work in the fashion industry. After the accident, I was afraid that I’d never be able to pursue my dream, but luckily, I recovered quickly and could still do what I wanted to do. I thought this would be my only dream, but I was wrong.
After I woke from my coma, I realized something else I wanted. I wanted to be in love. I had dated before, but nothing ever seemed to feel right. I never really felt comfortable enough to share my deepest secrets with any of the guys I dated, and I didn’t like that. I decided I wanted something real. And, I had a feeling that that might happen with David.
David seemed to be the only guy to genuinely care for me. Who else would spend their days sitting in a hospital room next to a stranger in a coma? I often wonder why he did that. He gave up his job, most of his free time, and who knows what else, just to sit next to me and talk to me, knowing I may never answer him. I can still remember waking up, and seeing David smiling down at me. That is something I will never forget.
It’s been a little over six months since I got out of the hospital, and for the most part, nothing has changed. the only change I have had in my daily routine is, honestly, having a routine at all. I guess you could say I have David to thank for that. We’ve spent a lot of time together, and its been the best time of my life. I hope he feels the same way…
I have a box of letters that I keep in my room, all of them from David. He wrote to me everyday while I was in the hospital, and my mother kept them all. She never read them. She left that for me to do when I woke up. She told me that she was scared I would never wake up, and that David had given her the strength to believe that I would. I’m not really sure what this means. It could have just stemmed from him feeling bad that this happened, but then, why did he write me so much? I still haven’t read the letters, but I will.
Why can’t I stop thinking about him? Why is it that every time I picture his face or hear his name, my face gets all flushed and I can’t think clearly? Could this be what love feels like? I shake my head, attempting to brush the thought away. He is clearly too good for me. And anyway, I am honestly happy being friends.
I shift my position on my bed to glance at the clock. Have I really been daydreaming for an hour? I slowly inch myself out of my warm, comfy cocoon and begin to face the day. It’s been wonderful to be back home. I love being in this place that’s so familiar, and I’ll cherish every moment I have here until it’s time to move on. I applied to an arts school in New York, and I plan to study fashion design, along with all the business related things involved with it. I still don’t know if I’ve been accepted yet, but I’m hopeful.
Before I choose what I;m going to wear for the day, I walk over to the window to look outside. The sky ia a grayish-blue color, spotted with a few clouds, and the sun was peeking out from behind one a little. I settled on a black tank top, a lightweight red cardigan, and black pants. I was just about to come out as I heard my mother calling me from downstairs.
“Kallie? Are you awake yet?”
“Yeah” I called cheerfully as I came down the stairs. “I was just thinking about stuff, that’s all.”
“What kind of stuff?” she asked. I could tell my mother anything, knowing she would never judge me, no matter how silly it was. I sighed, tapping the floor with my toe before I spoke again.
“School, my future, stuff like that”
“And David?” she teased. I felt heat rising to my face, quickly covering it with my hands before she could see, but she knew.
“Mom…” I whined.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“Okay, so maybe I was a little…”
“Have you read his letters yet?”
“No” I sighed. “I’m not sure what to think of that. What do you think he said in them?”
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. By the way, he called for you this morning.”
“Oh? What did he want? Did he say?”\
“He wants you to meet him at the park around noon” I glanced up at the clock on the wall and nearly panicked.
“I only have ten minutes to get there! I’m going to be late!” I cried, rushing out the door. Moments after I got outside, I realized I had forgotten my shoes. I ran back, grabbed my black moccasins from the closet, and was gone as quickly as I had appeared. I jogged to the park, keeping a good pace so I wouldn’t be a gasping idiot when I got there.
I arrived on schedule, and saw David sitting on a bench by the stream. I walked over and greeted him.
“Hey there” I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the boyish grin creep across his face.
“Hi!” he stood up to hug me, and I culd feel myself melting into him. He was so warm and cuddly…His scent was intoxicating. Wondered why he was still single, but at the same time, I was glad he was. Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed a bundle of something on the bench next to where David was sitting. It looked like flowers, but I wasn’t quite sure. David let go of the embrace to reach over and grab the mystery item. He then handed me the prettiest bouquet of roses I’d ever seen.
“These are stunning!” I gasped. They were white with pink around the edges of the petals.
“I’m glad you like them” David said softly. “They reminded me of you when your face gets that adorable pink color to it.” I felt my cheeks begin to burn, and David chuckled. “Like that.” We both laughed, and he sat back down on the bench, motioning for me to sit down next to him. I obliged, and we sat in silence for a moment, just watching the birds flutter over the water. Finally, David spoke.
“Kallie, can I ask you something?”
“Of course…” I responded, my voice trailing off. David turned towards me so he was looking right in my eyes.
“How do you see us?”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, do you see us as being more than friends, or is this it for us?” It was his turn to blush, and all I could do was sit there and look at him. He looked down at the ground for a moment before looking at me again, and I took a breath.
“Well…” I began. “Honestly, I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’ve tried not to think about it because I didn’t know how you would react…” Before I could continue speaking, David leaned over and planted a soft kiss on my lips.
“Does that answer your question?” he whispered. I was stunned. Did that really just happen?
“I…uh…” I couldn't even find the right words to say. I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, David shifted his body so he could look at me, concern filling his eyes.
“Are you alright? Should I not have done that?”
“No, I’m fine. That was incredible. Does this mean…?”
“I hope it means you’re my girlfriend” David stated with a cheesy grin.
“It does” I smiled back at him, then rested my head on his shoulder. He reached over every so often to stroke my hair, and when he did, I would let out a content sigh. I didn't think I could be any happier than I was in this moment. David was my safe place. He was my sanctuary. Even the loudest surroundings couldn’t phase me when I was with him,
We sat in silence for a while, until I suddenly had a thought.
“We should go somewhere else…it’s starting to snow.” We shared a laugh, as neither of us had even noticed the change in the weather. We stood up, and David looked at me, cocking his head to the side slightly.
“Don’t you have a jacket?”
“No, I left it at home. I didn't know the weather was going to change like this” I giggled. Without warning, David took his jacket off and draped it over my shoulders. I slid my arms into the sleeves and snuggled into the thick, warm material. It smelled like him. I smiled softly as he reached out to take my hand, and we began our wintry walk.
“Where to, my lady?”
“Hmm…lets see. We could go get some hot chocolate.” David nodded in approval, pulling me closer to him and draping has arm around me. For the first time in my life, I finally knew where I belonged. Right here, with David.
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