Halfway through the long bus ride home, dread knotted thick and hard in my stomach. Foreboding tugged at the my nerves, ratcheting up the tension in my muscles until I felt like screaming.

Something was wrong.

I got off the bus, my legs moving fast without any real thought or direction. I couldn't pinpoint the feeling of wrongness. My stomach rolled. I walked passed my house. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I looked up, toward the woods, and thought I saw Adam in the distance through the trees. His image wavered and vanished, popping up several feet over. The movement was frantic. I drew closer, close enough to see through the mirage as it continued to flicker back and forth. It appeared again, closer to me, letting me really see it. Like an after image of Adam, pale, ghostly, hollow eyed. His lips were blue. 

I broke into a run. My heart slammed against my ribs in time to my steps as I made for the bridge. I could hear screaming. I pushed myself to go faster, ignoring to pinch and burn in my lungs until I practically flew over dirt and asphalt. The mirage of Adam appeared again at the corner just before the woods, disappearing after one fear filled second.

I skidded around the bend, releasing a breathless shriek at the sight that greeted me. A silver car parked on the grass, its doors still open. Mason and Jill up to their knees in the river. It was Jill who screamed, beating at Mason's back, tugging at him.

He ignored her, bent over, his hands in the river. Holding Adam down beneath water.

I charged him and rammed him off balance, knocking both Mason and Jill onto their backsides. I ignored them both, frantically pulling Adam up. His face was too pale. His lips were a shocking shade of dark blue that terrified me. He wasn't breathing.

"What have you done?" Jill screamed at Mason, cursing him out as she slapped at him. The river was shallow enough to cross. To the woods, I needed to get Adam to the woods, to safety. Mason shouted back at her, his words intelligible through the panicked rhythm of my pulse pounding in my ears. The woods were still, not a single leaf shifted, as if it too held its breath through those long moments. I made it to the opposite bank, carrying Adam on my bank into the sanctuary of the trees. I heard Jill cry out, nearly dropping Adam as I turned. Mason had pushed her away, his face black with fury as he stormed over the mossy bridge toward us.

"Get help!" I yelled to her. Jill glanced at me, wide eyed, before her face set with determination. She got to her feet and took off running. There was no time to watch Mason approach, or worry what the lunatic would do when he reached us. I had to save Adam.

I laid him down amid the blue wildflowers, tilting his head as I brought my mouth to his and breathed air into his lungs. Come on, breathe, please breathe. It couldn't end like this, not with all the pain he'd gone through. We were creating something beautiful between us, something only truly starting to bloom. Tears welled up in my eyes. I continued breathing for him, pressing my hands against his chest, trying to force the water out.

Mason grabbed my hair and yanked me away.

I screamed, my voice filled with rage and fear.

The woods heard my cry.

The wind appeared, sudden and ferocious, whipping around us in a frenzy of fallen leaves and other bracken. Mason released me and yelped in surprise. He raised his arms to shield his face. The trees bent toward us, groaning and squealing as living wood twisted. A branch swung down, catching Mason in the chest. He went flying, crashing through the trees to land with a splash in the river.

The jerk moaned, dazed but alive.

Adam coughed and rolled to the side to hack up the water in his airway. The wind died as abruptly as it appeared. The trees creaked as they righted themselves.

"Adam!" I cradled his head as he took deep beautiful breaths. I watched the miracle of color returning to his face and lips through teary eyes. I could hear the approach of sirens. Jill must have made it. My lips trembled as I brushed a hank of wet hair out of Adam's face.

"Thank you," I whispered to the wood, knowing whatever consciousness this place possessed could hear me. The air grew brighter as sunlight poured down on us, warming my back and bringing out the highlights of gold in Adam's hair. He opened his eyes, his irises almost umber in the brilliant sunshine.

He reached up with a shaky hand, wiping a tear from my cheek. "You saved me," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

I laughed, my voice choked by sobs. I cupped his hand against my cheek, laying kisses against the heel of his palm. "I didn't save you, this place did," I said, wishing I could explain to him the magic of the woods. How it protected us.

Adam nodded, stroking his thumb along my cheekbone. "I know, but you saved me from the moment we met," he said. He gave me that heart stopping grin, made all the more beautiful by how close I came to never seeing it again. "I want to take you to prom."

I laughed. A breeze shifted through the trees, full of warmth and sweetness, creating a swirl of loose blue petals around us.

**

"How does it look?" Adam tugged at his tie. It went more askew than it already was. I giggled, batting his hands away as I straightened it.

"You clean up nice, Garner," I said, stepping back to admire Adam's prom attire: a full tux with black tie and cummerbund. The sight did funny things to my stomach, brimming with butterflies, but it was the look of admiration in his eyes that sent my heart humming.

"Pink is definitely your color," he said.

"It certainly is," said my mom, holding her camera up as she walked around us. "Come on you two, I want pictures to show off!"

We obliged her, smiling and laughing as she snapped a dozen shots. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," I said, lifting my skirts. I opened the door to Jill's wan face. She looked wrung out, wearing a tattered pair of jeans and an over sized sweatshirt. Her hair was loose. It looked like it hadn't seen a hairbrush in days.

In the weeks since Adam's attack, she'd missed a lot of school. Mason had been expelled and arrested. He was currently serving time in juvie, with a heavy dose of counseling sessions. Although Jill had tried to stop him and had run for help, it was clear she wrestled with some terrible guilt over the whole affair.

She stood in my doorway,  tugging at her sleeves. "Adam's mom said he'd be here," she said, studying the ground.

"Would you like to talk to him?"

She nodded. I gestured Adam over, letting them step outside to talk in private while I tried not to watch them through the front window. After several minutes, Jill wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug. Her shoulders shook. Adam returned the gesture. When they broke apart, she gave him a teary goodbye, but she was smiling. Baby steps, I thought, watching her walk off in the night.

"You ready to go to the dance?" I tugged his lapels, unable to keep my hands off him for long.

"Absolutely, but I have a small detour for us first," he said. How could I say no to that grin? He offered me his arm, leading me down a familiar route to the woods.

It was a beautiful night, warm but not muggy. I could hear spring peeper frogs serenading us as we made our way across the mossy bridge, careful of our steps. The moon was high and full, casting everything in silver blue light.

"I wanted to kick this evening off with a dance here, between the two of us," he said, lifting my arm to spin me through moonlit veil of flowers. He hit a button on his cell phone, playing soft music as he put his hands on my waist, swaying us to the melody.

We danced beneath the moonlight, among the trees. The song came to an end with a perfect moment. This time, Adam kissed me. 

https://youtu.be/EeJJ6zuvWOY