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I stood outside of what would be my new home. I kept thinking to myself: I ran away for a reason, so I have to live with the consequences.
The inside of my new home was pretty plain - everything was white. In the state of things the color soothed me, because it reminded me of home.
I stood in the bathroom and pinched my cheeks in an effort to bring color to my face. The cloudy weather was making my features seem more pale than usual, and I was already so tired from my drive. I stood there for awhile, begging for the nightmares of the past to go away.
"You're safe," I told myself. But I must have repeated that sentence at least a dozen times.Fresh air, that's what I needed.
Deciding not to enclose myself in the box that was my new home, I decided to go hiking and wander. I came upon a nice waterfall with ruins scattered nearby - a peaceful place to forget about my worries, or so I thought.
The man must have felt my blazing glare - anyone could have. He turned around and tilted his head to the side, as if somehow shocked to see someone of my color as well.
His features would be hard for anyone to forget. In the slight breeze, his curls flipped, and his yellow shirt hung tightly to his muscled chest. For a minute, I could have sworn I had lost a breath or two. The man smiled, and started walking towards me. I could feel my hands get clammy.
"I have never seen someone of your color around here before," he said gently. His voice seemed to blend into the wind, but brightened my every fiber like sunshine. Something was telling me I was tredding in deep water, but for the moment all I could focus myself on was his bright yellow eyes.
"Are you from around here?" he asked softly.
"No," I mumbled shyly, a slow blush spreading on my cheeks.
"Well, why don't I show you around town? Bring you to the beach?"
Suddenly memories flared up from my past. I had once known a man this nice, and the consequences of me trusting him led to years wasted, and my ego burned. I promised myself I would never get that hurt again - that abused. I looked up into the yellow man's eyes in sadness.
"I'm sorry, I need to stay away from people right now... especially you."
"It's because I'm yellow, isn't it?" he yelled, throwing his arms down in a quick, swift motion. Oh goodness, I had upset him. I knew what happened when the man I last loved became upset, and immediately my arms flew up in a stance of protection.
"Don't hurt me, please!" I begged, daring to glance into his eyes once more.
"I don't hurt people, that's not what I do," he kept explaining, clearly with anger still showing on his face.
"I don't do that," he repeated, calmly this time.
"I'm sorry," I sighed, arms retreating back to a comfortable position, "I just need some time. Like I said, I'm new."
As soon as I turned away from Xanthus, I hiked straight back to my home, where for the time being I knew I could be safe and away from anymore awkward social interactions. I sat on my couch, thinking of what a fool I had made of myself today. The first person I meet in this town, and I upset them. Way to make a first impression, or a fresh start. All I wanted to do was sleep.
I was getting ready to go to bed when a feeling of nausea hit my stomach. Nothing else ran through my mind, except the fact that I needed to get to my bathroom, and fast.
I threw up everything I had consumed today, and it left me feeling hungry and dehydrated.
In the back of my mind, my brain was trying to will me that this was only food poisoning, but my heart knew better as it started beating out of control. I knew what this was, and a feeling of dread swept through my whole body.I could get away from the nightmares of my hometown, but that didn't always mean the nightmares would leave me. I knew I couldn't get away that easily. Nothing was ever that simple in life.
The best I could do was crawl into bed, and hope everyday that it just wouldn't look like him.
END OF CH.1
