Tainted Blessing

The never-ending screech of an alarm clock assaulted Zira’s ears. Each time it went off it ripped her further from her blissful dreamless sleep. By the third round, she opened her eyes and cursed at the blinding sunlight hitting her directly in the eyes. Blinded, tired, and wedged under something heavy Zira wiggled to the edge of the bed and sifted through the pile of clothes on the floor until she found the source of the noise.“Oh shit.” When she finally managed to silence the alarm she realized why it was going off. It was already 8:30 am. She had class! Zira turned to figure out what was on top of her and froze. It wasn’t a what. It was a who. She narrowed her eyes at the very attractive and very blurry face resting on her bare chest. It looked like she had a good time last night. When she felt movement behind her back and an arm wrapped around her pulling her close, she craned her neck to see the same face? Oh, she had a great time last night. All the movement made her head spi

Despite the sunny day, it felt like a cloud was hanging over her head. Waffles were her favorite but even those didn’t taste good to her. She tossed the plate into the nearest garbage can on the side of the road. Things had been going well all things considered. Most of the town hated her for some unknown reason but it wasn’t just her. It seemed as though anyone that wasn’t local was shunned.The harassment was another story. But she couldn’t tell Kady or Taylor. Aside from the fact that Zira wasn’t there to make friends, she needed to keep a low profile. Finding Fredericks University was a miracle let alone getting accepted and a full ride. It was the perfect school with good credentials that no one has ever heard of. Leaving was a shame and it would take time to find somewhere else to go.Standing outside of the large glass double doors with her hand on the handle, Zira took a few deep breaths. She just had to keep her head down until she made a better plan. Reacting out of fear was

Party number one was a bust as expected. Zira and Aubrey got there late. They needed to have a few drinks just to convince their selves to go. Kady did her best to make her not notice the dirty looks but now that it was pointed out by someone else and Zira knew it wasn’t just her it was impossible to overlook. In the past, Zira always had so much fun with Kady that she never noticed the awkward atmosphere. Of course, the alcohol helped too. The three girls were dancing and laughing when Taylor came and wrapped his arms around Kady’s waist. She squealed and turned around to kiss him. They were so cute together it was almost sickening. Zira never thought about having a relationship like that before. After her time with Mason, she just wanted to have fun and do whatever she wanted. The thought of that kind of commitment made her sick. Even as she was thinking that she found herself looking around hoping to see the twins.“I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” Zira said over the music. Aubre

All of the voices grew louder until they were howling inside her head. She looked into the bright blue eyes that pleaded with her. Inky blackness spread from the center consuming all color and light until they were pools of darkness covering his entire eye socket. He lurched forward grabbing the barrel of the gun and forcing it against his forehead. Zira yelped and squeezed. BANG!Zira sat up screaming and flailing. Hands wrestled with hers making her flail more. A firm grasp locked on and forced her down.“Zira! It’s me! It’s me, calm down. You’re okay.” The soft voice brought back all of Zira’s memories. She wasn’t in the woods. There was no cold metal in her hand. No one pleading for their life. Relief flooded through her shaking her whole body. That nightmare was behind her. “What happened?” she looked up at Kady. The concern on her face was almost too much. Light was just beginning to break through between the black-out curtains hanging from the large window across from her bed.