His eyes. Pale grey with a silver opalescent shine that I instantly recognise. The eyes that have been plaguing me for weeks. They're his eyes! I blink in shock and I know I must look like a deer in headlights right now.
“You're- umm- It's-” Words fail me and I try to steady my racing heart. I click my tongue and tear my eyes from his. I steady my breathing and assess the man in front of me to try and get a handle on the situation.
He looks to be in his mid-twenties but gives the impression of someone much older somehow. His jet black hair is cut short at the back and sides and longer on top. It's styled to look a bit messy as strands fall stylishly over his eyebrows. His skin is tanned and totally blemish free. His square jaw is chiselled in a classic model shape with sexy as hell cheek bones. He holds himself very well and his physique is tall and athletic like he spends most of his time in the gym.
He must be like 6 foot 2. If I were to describe my perfect man, this would be it. Too bad he might have stalker tendencies. My luck in men really is crap.
“Umm, yeah I'm good. Thanks for getting rid of him.” My breath catches when I think of what could have happened if this guy wasn't around. Tears threaten my eyes and I turn away from him and take deep breaths. I hear him come up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. I immediately jump away and then curse myself for still being so on edge.
He puts his hands up and takes a step back.
“Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to freak you even more. I'm Alistair.” He smiles slightly then seems momentarily distracted. He takes my hand and turns it palm up. The cut on my hand has stopped bleeding but it's not quite scabbed over. He runs his thumb over the cut then drops my hand as if it stung him.
I wrap my arms around myself and take a few steps away from him. I force a smile and open the doors to the college slightly so I can peek down the corridor. Cassey is still nowhere to be seen.
My Instincts are not letting me calm down. The buzz of energy once again fills the air but instead of making me scared it gives me confidence. I look at Alistair who is leaning against one of the poles that make up the large covered area leading to the college. He's rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. The same one he traced my cut with. I swallow hard and try to look confident by crossing my arms and straightening my spine. “Was it you in front of my house?”
He opens his mouth to speak then promptly shuts it as Cassey comes crashing outside holding both our coats.
“Sorry I took so long! Christian asked me out then we had a make-out sesh and my brain got muddled.” She smiles at me as she hands me my coat as a peace offering. I try my best to smile but what happened just minutes before makes my chest tighten.Her face drops as she looks between me and Alistair. “Hun, you OK?”
I shrug my coat on although I don't feel cold despite the fact that it's probably near freezing. “Yeah I'm good.” I give her a quick wink so she knows I'll spill the beans when it's just us two. “Come on let’s go.” I turn to Alistair and give him a quick wave. “Thanks again.”
He nods and smiles. “Anytime Krista.”
We make our way to her car and within minutes we're driving out the college grounds. I feel relief from getting away from Alistair and my breathing is finally under control. Wait, how did he know my name?
Cassey reaches over and turns off the stereo. “OK, spill the beans you looked freaked and who the hell was that guy?”
I look behind us back towards the college and Alistair is nowhere in sight. Even though we're in the car on our way home I still can’t bring myself to relax even the tiniest bit. Before Alistair pulled Nick off me he just watched. For how long I don't know but for a second I thought he was gonna do nothing. I know it’s not paranoia. Maybe telling Cassey everything will help me put my whirlwind of worries from today into perspective. “That was the hooded creepy stalker.”
“Shut the front door! What did he say?”
“Not much but a lot more happened earlier than your gonna believe.” I start at the beginning from seeing him in the car park when we got to the dance to her crashing out the door. Every detail that I could remember I told her. Finishing on my possibly paranoid worries.
As I was explaining everything the storm from earlier came back with a vengeance causing Cassey to slow down in order to avoid stuff that had blown into the road. The wind was so strong the car was being shoved into the other lane.
Cassey grips the steering wheel tighter with her eyes glued to the road. “When I see Nick I'm gonna kill him. Are you gonna report him? You need to 'coz he can't get away with – Shit!”
A huge gust uproots an entire tree causing it to fall towards the road just feet in front of us. Cassey slams on the breaks but there's no way the car is going to stop in time. I instinctively put my hands up ready for the impact as we both scream for our lives, but the crash never comes. I open my eyes to see the tree leaning over the car but not touching it. It's just hanging there. I go to put my hands down to grab Cassey and the tree starts falling again. I scream and put my hands back up and it stops. Cassey is staring at the tree white as a sheet and we're both too terrified to move or speak.
My arms start to ache as if I'm holding a great weight and again I go to lower them and the tree falls further. I feel power build within me and I straighten my arms, pushing the tree higher above the car.
“Kris what are you doing?” Cassey's voice is barely a whisper.
I can feel the tree as if I'm actually holding it. I focus on that feeling and I instantly know where every branch and leaf is. Feel it's sorrow for being torn out of the ground. Tears fill my eyes and a desperate need to help it fills me.
I sit straighter and push the tree further away. The weight of it as it's being pushed down by the wind makes my arms shake. The tree is outside of the car and yet it feels like I'm outside with it struggling under its weight, not sat inside a car separated from the gale force winds that are attacking everything outside. Reaching out with my mind I feel the roots being squashed against the wet ground and I will them to find purchase in the soil. Burying themselves and slowly pulling the tree back into the ground where it stood before.
I must look crazy, with my arms up in the air, shaking and struggling. Sweat beads on my forehead and I grit my teeth as my arms threaten to buckle. A surge of power fills me making my arms tingle with a renewed energy and I push forward forcing the tree upright against the wind. Finally, it's standing tall with its roots buried in deeper and stronger than before. There's no way it can be blown down now.
The weight of holding the tree is gone and is replaced with a sense of calm and gratitude. I can't help but smile at the craziness of what I had just done. It's impossible and yet I can feel what the tree felt in some weird way. Like I'm connected to it. I fall back in the chair and take a deep breath. My arms feel like jelly and my fingertips are still tingling from whatever force helped me achieve the impossible. I look out my passenger side window to see the tree holding its own against the weather, like it doesn't even bother it any more.
I feel a thump on my arm breaking me away from the connection. “What the fuck just happened?!” Cassey's voice reaches a new level of high pitch. “You were doing some crazy Jedi stuff and put the tree back! You put the fucking tree back!”
“Yeah I did didn't I.” It's not a question. I just can't understand how I was able to do it.
“How?! You weren't even touching it?! It's a big bloody tree!” Cassey is running her hands through her hair like a mad woman.
