A Shattered Heart - NaNoWriMo13 Entry

Chapter 4 - Larkspur Petals and Bleeding Rose Crystals

*Chapter Four – Larkspur Petals and Bleeding Rose Crystals*

‘Um, hello?’ Veronica waved her hand in front of Christian’s face to get his attention back since he was staring into space and daydreaming. ‘Sorry I was just thi…’ Christian trailed off as he gazed into Veronica’s emerald eyes which had tinges of burnt orange in them from the blazing bonfire to the left of them. He felt as though he could get lost within them but suddenly there was an ear shattering shriek from a young girl standing near to the flames which interrupted his reverie. Everyone began herding around her and stared in horror at the burning corpse that was lying on the ground next to the bonfire. Veronica looked behind her to say something to Christian although she soon realised he wasn’t near her anymore, she looked all around her but still couldn’t see him, he had vanished into the shadows of the forest. However since she had studied tracking she knew which way he had gone so she slipped away from the horrifying scene and crept into the woods to follow Christian.

Christian sped away deeper into the forest until he found a secluded area where he dropped to his knees as the guilt washed over him; one minute he’d be on a rampage with no remorse then the next minute he was imagining the look of terror etched on his victims faces and regretted every second of his so called life.

A twig snapped nearby which caused him to be on high alert. With lighting speed he shot into the tree above him and crouched silently on a thick branch so that he could spy on whatever it was that was nearby. Minutes passed and still nothing had come into the clearing so he leapt and stalked along the branches so that he could peer through the trees that were around the clearing. Then he saw her. Blonde hair flowing over her shoulders, emerald eyes darting around cautiously, a grey and black knitted cardigan being held tightly around her curvaceous frame and navy dolly pumps peeking out from skinny, light blue jeans. Christian watched her scouting the terrain but she didn’t go near the clearing which he found extremely odd and was curious to know why.

He made his way over the branches until he was directly above her before silently leaping down and landing a few centimetres behind her, he leant his back against a tree and folded his arms across his chest ‘are you following me?’ a startled Veronica spun around to see who had spoken. ‘Oh it’s you, yeah I was. Sorry but when I noticed that you weren’t at the bonfire I thought that you were upset or something so I just came to see if you were ok’ she played with her bracelet as she spoke which caught Christian’s attention. Christian stared at the bracelet as it looked oh so familiar, he knew that he couldn’t go near it but he couldn’t remember the reason why ‘you ok?’ Veronica glanced from the bracelet to Christian ‘um, yes. It’s just that, that bracelet is rather unique, may I have a closer look?’ he moved slowly towards her. She nodded her head and held up her wrist, Christian took hold of her hand and rotated it slightly so that he could examine every angle and detail of the bracelet.

He instantly regretted it when he attempted to trace the detail with his finger since a bolt of excruciating pain lanced through him ‘oh my gosh what happened. Are you alright’ Veronica grabbed his hands and rotated them to inspect the damage but Christian quickly pulled away ‘what is your bracelet made of’ ‘crushed shells and Larkspur petals’ she attempted to grab his hand again but once again Christian pulled away. ‘That would explain this reaction. I’m allergic to Larkspur’ it wasn’t a complete lie but it was probably the understatement of the year. Veronica nodded her head in understanding but continued to ask if he were alright, ‘just a small burn, anyway let’s get back to the festivities’ as Veronica walked off in front Christian glanced down at his now healed hand. ‘Why the hell is she wearing Larkspur?’

He continued to ponder as the two of them arrived back at the park which was a scene of utter pandemonium. Fire engines were shooting water into the bonfire to extinguish it. Police officers were taping areas off to the public. Multiple crew members of the ambulance team were lifting people in body bags onto stretchers and putting them into the back of the ambulances. The rest of the public were either giving statements to the police, staring at the bodies and crying, or being sick in a corner. ‘Who would do this’ Veronica stared at the scene in front of her while Christian gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder ‘some twisted person who doesn’t care for the human life’ ‘I can’t deal with this anymore, please excuse me Mr…’ Veronica realised that she didn’t know his name ‘Bouchard. Christian Bouchard’ Christian slightly bowed his head ‘how are you getting home?’

Veronica merely shrugged her shoulders ‘probably just ring my mum and ask him to pick me up’ Christian quickly cut her off my raising his hand ‘I’ll take you home… I insist, I can’t bear the thought of you out here on your own waiting for your parents to pick you up especially if there is a killer on the loose’ Veronica attempted to interrupt but Christian had made up his mind so she had no option but to follow him.

As the two of them approached Christian’s car Veronica felt a pang of uneasiness when she realised that Christian had an identical car to her older brother Sebastian ‘he must have very good taste’ she heard Christian mention. ‘Sorry’ Veronica couldn’t contain her shock since she could have sworn that she had only thought that comment, ‘you do realise you said that out load didn’t you?’ Christian turned to face her but all she could do was try and disguise her slight blush that had crept over her cheeks. He opened the door for her and she quickly climbed in but Christian didn’t join her for a little while since he had to sort out the roof of the car as it had begun raining and he didn’t want to get the interior of the car wet.

The uneasy feeling that Veronica felt still hadn’t gone, she decided that she needed to prove to herself that this wasn’t Sebastian’s car but how?! After a few seconds she remembered that Sebastian had always kept a stash of Larkspur under the seats just in case one of ‘them’ hijacked the car; Veronica searched and searched but she couldn’t find the stash ‘is can’t be his car’ Christian then slid into the driver’s seat ‘where too’ but Veronica didn’t answer straight away since she was in a world of her own she only answered when Christian waved his hand in front of her face mimicking the same gesture she did earlier in the evening. ‘Err, 23 Auburn Street’ Veronica stared out of the window as Christian switched on the ignition and began driving. Both of them deep in their own thoughts.

Eventually Christian pulled up outside Veronica’s house, ‘thank you for driving me home Christian. I hope to see you again sometime’ she thanked ‘well here’s my phone number I’m available most of the time’ he wrote his number on a scrap piece of paper and handed it to her. She thanked him and promised to call him, she climbed out of the car and walked up to her house but before she got to her door she turned around and waved at Christian as he drove away down the road.

Once he was out of sight she darted into the house and into the brightly lit kitchen where her mother was sat at the breakfast table reading a book of mythology, ‘mother we have a problem’ her statement made her mother look up but before Veronica could say a word her mother questioned ‘they’re back aren’t they?’ to which Veronica nodded her head in conformation.