CHAPTER TWELVE: ATHENA

When I woke up, I was in one of the school's classrooms, it was dark outside so I couldn't see anything, I tried moving to find my way out but couldn't, then the lights came on and I was surrounded by Dylan and his friends, they were throwing trash at me and calling me nasty names, then the lights went out and I found myself standing in the hallway totally confused.

I tried calling out for someone, but there was no response, and I began to panic because I couldn't remember leaving the house for school. Then, as I was lost in thought, three guys wearing Halloween masks emerged from the empty classroom around me. This terrified me because we were the ones here and they were just standing staring at me not saying a word.

One of the guys reached into his pocket and pulled out an army knife without even waiting to see what he was going to do with it. I turned around and ran as fast as I could, but the faster I ran, the closer they got, and then the guy wearing the mask from the movie Scream grabbed me.

I screamed for help, but my cries were muffled by his hand. The one holding the knife pulled off his mask, revealing Tom Dylan's best friend with an evil glint in his eyes. He used the blunt edge of the knife from before to trace my exposed stomach while the one holding on to me tightened his grip on me.

The guy holding on to me leaned in and whispered into my ear, "You should have been a good little mouse, now you are going to be punished," he growled into my ear.

I recognized that voice anywhere; it was Dylan. The last guy just standing there removed his mask, it was James and he was staring back at me with an amused expression.

"Tom, now teach our little mouse a lesson so she never disobeys us again," Dylan said menacingly, reaching out to caress my cheek, i struggled against him but it was no use, I was like a doll in his arms, then Tom stalked forward and the next thing I knew, he drove the knife through my belly, i looked up at him and then at the knife in my stomach in sheer horror.

The last thing I remember seeing before darkness engulfed me was Leo, who had not previously been present in the hallway, now staring at me in horror as I bled to death while Dylan and his friends' laughter filled the hallway.

I woke up screaming and drenched in sweat, and Sophia was beside me, sitting on the bed, calling my name and repeatedly telling me to wake up. When her gaze met mine and she saw I was awake, relief washed over her face as she drew me into a hug.

"What happened, honey? I heard you screaming bloody murder from my room," Sophia questioned quietly, rubbing circles on my back in an attempt to calm me down.

"I had a terrible nightmare, Sophia, it was horrible," I whispered quietly into her chest as I sobbed.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Sophia asked softly.

"No, please, I don't want to, Sophia, I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Listen to me, I don't care, I just want to make sure you're okay, how long have you been having nightmares? I thought they stopped"

"They stopped for a while, this is the first time I've had one since junior year," I muttered softly as my sobs subsided.

"Don't worry, Honey, nothing bad will ever happen to you while I'm still alive." Sophia said, placing a kiss on my temple,

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" I spoke softly, my voice hoarse from crying.

"Don't worry, honey; just go back to sleep; I'll be right here."

She hummed the lullaby that my mother and Sophia used to sing to me when I was a child, which helped me relax as I slowly drifted off, allowing the darkness to take over. This time, I fell asleep without having any nightmares.

A hand was on my waist when I opened my eyes. I was startled, so I quickly turned around to see who it was, but it was Sophia sleeping off on the other side of the bed. It had been a while since I'd had a nightmare, but last night came flooding back. Which led me to believe that they might have returned due to my last encounter with Dylan.

I sighed briefly and moved Sophia's hand away from my waist gently so as not to wake her as I got out of bed. It was eight in the morning when I glanced at the alarm clock located next to me so I went to take a shower.

Sophia was still in bed when I came out of the bathroom, so I went to start making breakfast. Sophia emerged from the bedroom thirty minutes later, her worried expression meeting mine.

"You scared me last night, Honey," she said softly,

"I'm sorry Sophia, I didn't mean to worry you." "It's okay love, but if you ever want to talk about it, you know you can talk to me, Love," she added.

"I know Sophia, I'm really okay, I promise," I said, giving her a reassuring smile so she wouldn't worry even though I knew I was far from okay.

"If you say so, what are you cooking?" "French toast and eggs, should I get you your coffee?" she inquired.

"Coffee would be wonderful."

I poured her a cup of coffee and set it in front of her before returning to what I was doing. Breakfast was ready by the time she finished her coffee, so I served our meals and we dug in.

"So, any boys I should know about?" she asked, wiggling her brows.

"Sophia, I don't think guys in my school know I exist," I shrug.

"Well, there's this one guy who just moved into town; I kind of have a crush on him, but I made a complete fool of myself in front of him."

"What did you do?" she asked, trying to hold back her laughter.

"I ran into him and fell on my ass, and then I walked into a door, Sophia, a freaking door, and he just laughed his ass off."

Sophia laughed at my predicament, she almost fell off her chair, I groaned, stuffing my mouth with my eggs.

"I'm so sorry love, I know I shouldn't laugh but seriously what were you looking at?"

"I can't even remember."

"What did you do after that?"

"I ran away without looking back, but I could still hear him laugh."

"What's his name?"

"Leo Smith"

"Well, if you like this boy, why don't you give him a chance? He might be different; not every guy is like that scumbag you dated in junior year; what was his name again?"

"William," I said, my mouth turning sour; William Sanderson was a total jerk who deserved to be hit by a truck.

"I hated that kid, he didn't have the guts to tell you what he did to your face, what a coward"

"He is old news Sophia, forget about that prick, he is not worth it"

"Yeah I know, okay so I will be going to work by ten, if you need me to drop you at Rudy's on my way, you have to be ready by ten".

"All right, aunt Sophia, I just need to clean up after dinner and pack my belongings."

"All right, let me go take a shower and get ready, and thanks for breakfast, it was delicious."

"You're welcome," I said as I watched her walk into her room, my thoughts going back to William, the guy Sophia had mentioned; he was my first friend and boyfriend, but he was nothing more than a fucking coward who helped ruin my life.