She grins from ear to ear and gives me a questioning look, so I just take her bag and wave my hand at her to go. I watch them run off and hit the dance floor. I must admit, his invitation far surpassed mine with that chiseled chin and crooked smile. I lean against a wall, and I can’t help but smile as my friend and her dance partner jump around and have a good time together.
Starting to feel like a lonely lurker, I head up the stairs and decide to give myself a little tour of the large and exquisite home while Kassy is left in good hands. I turn a familiar corner at the top of the curved staircase and notice the moon-bathed balcony at the end of an elaborately decorated guest bedroom. There is a large bed against one wall and antique furniture placed between paintings on the other walls. The pictures are incredibly old paintings of sunny Oregon landscapes. I admire the thick brushstrokes that form the sun-soaked valleys as I make my way outside.
On the balcony, a warm breeze hits my nose with the strong scent of a bonfire burning in a pit at the end of the large, manicured yard. I watch the partygoers on the lawn for a minute, just enjoying the laughter and loud drunken scene before me. It is actually a very entertaining sight.
A strange uneasy feeling builds in my stomach as I remember that just earlier today, I was watching Kassy and that black-eyed man standing in this exact spot in my vision. I must have done something to change what had happened, simply by making a few small steps toward looking out for her tonight. I am always so amazed at how pliable the future is when you want it to be.
I suppress a small giggle at one of the frat boys singing loudly and very off-key around the campfire. He will most likely be regretting that, come Monday morning. Why am I always watching people? I take a deep breath of the fresh air before I turn to go back into the house and check on Kassy, but just as my foot passes the threshold into the house, I am grabbed forcefully from behind and thrown up against the stone wall around a dark corner of the balcony.
Shocked at how quickly I ended up in this spot, I almost forget to react. I recover fast and immediately start to yell for help when a large, gloved hand covers my mouth. I look up into the eyes boring down on me and gasp at the striking gold color that fills their irises. It is so unreal and beautiful that I get lost in them for a moment.
The man pressing me against the hard wall uncovers my mouth tentatively and puts a finger to his cloth-covered mouth, gesturing for me to stay silent and then points back to where I came out of the house a few minutes ago. I peek one eye around the corner just as a familiar well-dressed man comes out of the bedroom. I instantly recognize him as the black-eyed man from my vision this morning and my heart races wildly out of fear.
He scans the party happening on the lawn for a moment as a hunter searches for the easiest prey. He actually sniffs the air around him slowly before he grabs the balcony ledge and in the blink of an eye, he swings his legs up and pitches himself over the edge just as I saw him do before.
I suck in a sharp breath and snap myself back to the man still pinning me to the side of the house. I take in the sight of him. He is dressed from head to toe in all black, like some sort of dark ninja. A black hoodie is pulled over his hair and he even has a piece of black cloth draped around the front of his face, leaving just those hypnotizing eyes visible behind it all.
I also notice, from my perusing, that he is significantly taller than I am, with both of his large arms resting against the wall on either side of my head, keeping me caged in against his chest.
He studies me as well, looking almost confused from what I can tell. His eyes scan my face and land on my parted lips. His breathing is heavy as if he just finished a long run but there isn’t a drop of sweat on him, anywhere that I can see.
I lick my lips and clear my throat while I shift uncomfortably against the hard wall pressing against the bones in my back. He notices my discomfort and abruptly jerks away from me, likely just realizing he still had my body pinned beneath his.
“You need to get your friend and go home now. It’s not safe here for either of you.” he says in a deep, almost whisper as he turns to leave.
“Wait!” I reach out and grab his arm before he disappears too. “Who, or what, in the world was that thing? And how did you know he was coming out here?” I ask with panic lining my voice. I do not want him to leave and that thought confuses me. I don’t even know who he is.
He speaks in a deep whisper again, his golden eyes locked onto where my hand is gripping his forearm. “All you need to know is that he is something you should stay far away from. Just get your friend and leave.”
He makes eye contact with me before adding, “Please.” He shrugs out of my grasp and turns the corner into the house. I hurry after him into the bedroom and he is already gone. Did he just say something?
I head back downstairs a little shaken up and bothered by the
