Forgotten
By
Jennifer Sucevic
Smashwords Edition
Copyright (c) Jennifer Sucevic 2014
First edition June 2014
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form is forbidden without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please go to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase a copy for yourself. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional, authorized edition for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
To contact Jennifer, visit her on Facebook or email her @ [email protected]
Thank you.
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
King of Campus- Sample
Stay- Sample
Confessions- Sample
About The Author
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for choosing to read Forgotten. I could not have written this book without the love and support of my husband. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to do something I truly love.
Part I
Chapter One
I’m just finishing up studying for AP American History when my phone chimes with an incoming text message. Since my brain is pretty much fried and my eyes are just on the verge of crossing, it feels like the perfect time to take a short break. Afterward I’ll need to start thinking about my upcoming art project. But I love art so that doesn’t feel like work at all.
Grabbing my phone, I glance down at the screen.
It’s Callen, my boyfriend.
Even before Callen and I started going out three years ago, we’d been friends. Best friends.
What r u doing?
Stretching out across my bed, I type in a quick reply. Homework
A moment later his reply pops up. Want to come out and play?
Smiling, my brows slide together. Come out and play? Is he serious? What r we going 2 play?
His response- A game
I glance from the blue illuminated screen of the phone to the window on the other side of my bedroom. Even though it's only seven, night has fallen blanketing everything in a thick, rich velvety darkness. Not that I'm actually considering his proposal, but I type in a quick answer wondering what he has in mind.
Where?
As soon as I press send, his response pops up. Backyard
Still holding my phone, I go to the window before pulling back the thin gossamer curtain to glance out into the surrounding darkness. I’d thought for sure that I would find him standing there with a silly lopsided grin on his handsome face but he's not. The patch of grass below my second story window is surprisingly empty.
Searching the back of our yard which butts up against a small patch of dense woods, I don't see any obvious signs of movement. There's nothing but stillness and silence. For just a moment, a strange little shiver ripples through me and I feel an odd ache over my heart. Automatically my hand rises to gently rub at the spot.
It's kind of bizarre, but for as long as I can remember, I’d get this weird little pain over my heart. It doesn't hurt (not really) and it doesn't happen very often. Just every once in a while. A few years ago I mentioned it to my mom and ended up in the pediatrician's office the very same day. They took a few x-rays and ran a whole bunch of other tests but nothing definitive was ever diagnosed. I think the doctor assumed it was all in my head or that I'd made it up for attention or something lame like that. Like I enjoy being poked and prodded and x-rayed.
Staring out at the darkened woods, the strange ache intensifies.
I have countless sketches of the forest in my art portfolio. Sometimes I set up my chair in the middle of the yard wanting to capture exactly how the golden sunlight filters down through the ever changing canopy of leaves. Especially now, during the fall, when the trees are just beginning to glow with brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges before floating down to carpet the forest floor with their fiery hues.
I can't help but wonder- is he there now? Waiting for me?
As futile as it is, I continue sifting through the darkness with my eyes. But trying to find him is almost next to impossible. The idea of ditching my studies for a few silly moments of fun with Callen bubbles up within me because that would feel normal. Like something we used to do when we were kids.
And I miss that.
I miss how easy it all used to feel between us.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I’m pulling a hoodie over my head and grabbing my phone. Leaving my bedroom behind, I type a quick reply.
Where should I look?
My brows draw together and the back of my neck prickles with unease as his text pops up.
The woods
Since both my parents are working in the study and the door is closed, I don't bother interrupting them. After all, I'll just be in the backyard with Callen. I won't even be leaving our property, so disturbing them seems ridiculous.
As I close the door behind me, the scent of crushed leaves and burning wood assaults my senses. I can't help but stop as I inhale a deep breath loving the smell of fall when it hangs so heavily in the air. There's just the slightest bite to the crisp night breeze that’s a not so gentle reminder of things to come. Clutching my phone, I shove my hands deep into the front pocket of my hoodie before walking towards the woods. A large silvery moon fills the dark sky casting both light and shadow over the unlit lawn.
With nightfall, the woods have taken on a more shadowy appearance than usual. Just as I reach the edge, I pause, tilting my head to the side. Straining, I wait for some telltale sign of life.
And then I hear it, the crunch of a branch somewhere to the left of me. My head snaps in that direction. Carefully I pick my way between the soaring oaks and pines that spear up into the dark night sky.
The crack I heard was definitely large enough to be made by something substantial. Not something small like a squirrel or a raccoon or a rabbit. And nothing large and furry (or scary) inhabits this small patch of woods so I'm not overly concerned about running into something bigger like a wolf or a bear.
A few minutes of intense searching turns up nothing or at least no sign of Callen. I guess I should have grabbed a flashlight but I didn't think he was actually going to hide on me. Instead I close my eyes, cocking my head to the side, listening for the slightest sign of movement. I have the feeling that he's close but aren't exactly sure which direction to turn in. So I continue qui
etly picking my way through the trees pausing every once in a while to listen. When that still turns up nothing, I remember the phone in my pocket.
Can't find u. Clue?
As soon as I hit send, I hear a telltale buzz fairly close by. Turning, I quickly take off in that direction. My phone chimes almost instantly in response. Grinning, I read the one word that pops up on the glowing screen.
Cheater!
My fingers are flying over the keys when I suddenly realize that I'm no longer alone. Someone has stepped behind me. Before I can turn, warm hands slip gently over my eyes making the surrounding darkness grow even darker. The instant his fingers touch my face, something electric passes between us. My breath catches as an odd little sizzle slides its way through my body. A peculiar vibration flares before slowly fading to a dull continuous hum between us.
It almost feels as if some kind of unexplainable connection has been opened between us. But I must be imagining it, because I've never experienced anything like this before. In that one bizarre moment of connectedness, it feels as if everything around me has suddenly sharpened- sounds, smells, feelings. My mind feels somehow... expanded. There's something so familiar about his hands on my face that I instantly start wracking my brain before I remind myself that it's Callen, so of course he feels familiar.
But... I don't know... for some strange reason his touch, his very presence, feels different. I can't explain it. And even though I keep telling myself that it's Callen, it doesn't really feel like him. At least it's never felt like this before.
When I'm finally able to string a few syllables together, I gasp, "Callen! What are you doing?"
"Shhh."
His warm breath slides across the back of my neck before slowly spreading through my entire body, heating all the cold dark places within me. It's the strangest sensation and yet it feels so... right.
More right than anything has felt in a long time.
Incapable of movement, I stand completely motionless as he gently pulls me flush against the front of his body. He has yet to utter a single word. With his hands still covering my eyes, we stand quietly in the middle of the darkened woods. If I’d wanted to escape, I could have easily done so. But I don't want to pull free of his embrace. The intimacy between us feels way too good. It feels right. It feels as if something has finally clicked into place between us. A small bubble of giddiness explodes within me.
This is exactly what I've been waiting for.
Sounds and smells suddenly come alive around us. I hear the rustle of small animals scampering across the dry forest floor. I hear birds nesting in the trees above. There's the low solitary hoot of an owl coming from somewhere behind us. The pungent smell of freshly fallen foliage mixes together with that of older, drier leaves that break beneath the careless footfalls of both human and animal feet.
His fingers finally slip from my eyes until they’re resting on my shoulders and if it's possible, he pulls me even closer until my head is lying against the solid wall of his chest. A charged current swirls around us, igniting something irrepressible between us. And in those silent moments, I feel a strange contentment wash over me. It's as if everything I've been searching for is right here, has always been here, in Callen's arms. I’m left wondering how I could have ever felt as if I didn't love Callen the right way.
How could I have ever been so foolish as to doubt him or the love I feel?
Because right now that love is flooding through me, squeezing my heart so tightly in a vice-like grip that I might just burst from the sheer fullness of it. It rushes to fill every dark corner of my body until I am completely illumined with the feel of it from the inside out. It's the most amazing feeling.
Another surge of pleasure rushes through me and for the first time in weeks, everything that has been bothering me, all the doubts and anxieties regarding our relationship, fall inexplicably away as if they’ve been stripped from my person. The unease which has been twisting my insides into a series of complicated little knots is nothing more than a distant memory. It all seems ridiculously unimportant. And now that it's gone, I realize just how riddled with worry I've actually been. I realize just how much it's been eating away at me.
If I could capture a single moment, it would be this one. I feel more at peace than I have in a long time. Once I return to the house, I'll sketch this onto paper. I want to capture the complete perfectness of it. I want to remember exactly how this moment felt between us.
I don't speak and I'm glad Callen doesn't feel the need to fill in the space with meaningless chatter either because there is something so perfect about our stillness. We couldn’t be more in sync with one another and yet there is nothing but silence intertwining us together, strengthening the bond between us.
I gaze at the moon, so full and beautiful and silvery, as it filters down through the tangle of branches above us. His gentle hands rest on my shoulders. I feel the heat of his body protectively curved around mine. His warm breath stirs my hair and something magical skitters along my spine. I close my eyes inhaling a lungful of fresh fall air so crisp and biting that it stings just a bit as I take it in, awakening my senses.
Right now, in this moment, I feel completely aware. More than I've ever felt in my entire life.
He moves a few stray locks of my hair before kissing the side of my face, nuzzling it softly with his lips. A memory unfurls in the back of my mind but I can't quite grab hold of the hard edges of it long enough for it to make sense. It feels like a distant recollection or maybe some strange sense of deja vu. A wisp of it curls around me like a thin ribbon of smoke but I'm still not able to grasp hold of it because when I try, my desperate fingers slide right through it as if it's nothing more than a sly trick of my imagination. The more I focus upon it, the more elusive the thought becomes. My brows beetle together in concentration.
And yet I can't seem to stop chasing after it.
I need to remember.
It feels like I've forgotten something important. It's there in the back of my mind, nagging at me. And so I keep reaching for it. I feel his hands tighten on the blades of my shoulders. There's something so familiar about his touch. What is it that I can't seem to remember?
Wait...
Maybe...
It's...
Just as I focus my attention one last time, I hear a voice slice through the darkness and whatever I was trying to mentally grab hold of shatters into a million jagged pieces within my mind before quickly disintegrating into nothingness. The voice sounds strangely out of place, as if it doesn't quite belong here. For just a moment, I stand motionless unsure what to do before everything slides jarringly back into place.
"Lili!"
My eyes snap open.
Dad.
Whatever trance had fallen over me at Callen's touch has now been broken. And the feeling of otherworldliness, of peace, disappears just like the image I was trying so desperately to grasp hold of. He staggers back a few paces as I turn towards the house. Through the trees, I can still see the twinkle of our house lights illuminating the darkness.
"Here! I'm here!"
"Lili-" There's a strange mixture of exasperation and relief riddled throughout his deep voice. "What are you doing out there?"
"I'm coming!" Yelling the words breathlessly, I run towards the house. As I crash out of the woods into the openness of our backyard, my feet find grass rather than the crunch of fallen leaves. I see my dad standing at the backdoor before I skid to a quick halt.
"I was just-"
I'm just about to say more when Callen suddenly appears from behind my father. My breath hitches as my heart stutters for a few beats.
Chapter Two
Gasping, I stare at Callen as the moon bathes both of us in a soft silvery light. For just a moment, time stands completely still. He looks equally perplexed as to why I would be out tromping around in the woods at night.
Alone.
Except... I hadn't been alone.
Whoever I'd been with had covered my e
yes with gentle hands. Had pulled me so close to his body that I could hear the steady rhythmic thumping of his heart. I could feel the heat of his body as he wrapped himself carefully around me. And when he'd kissed the side of my face...
That had felt more perfect than anything else in my life ever had. Almost absently my hand rises to stroke my cheek as if I can still feel the warm slide of his breath across my skin.
Feeling confused, I shake my head to clear it of all these strange images as my eyes hold Callen's blue ones. And that's when it hits me. Really hits me.
It wasn't Callen.
It wasn't his arms folded around me. It wasn't his lips caressing the side of my face. It wasn't Callen who'd stirred such an unexpected feeling of completeness within me. Dizziness rolls through me like a thick black wave trying to suck me under.
But if it wasn't Callen, then who was it?
The question burrows quickly through my brain leaving only silence in its wake. The slight weight of my cell phone in my hoodie pocket reminds me of the text messages. It was Callen's number that popped up.
But... it couldn't have been Callen who texted me... could it?
A slight trembling seeps its way into my words as I say, "Hi... did you just get here?"
"Yeah, I wanted to stop by and see you before heading home." He gives me a small smile before his eyes scan the woods behind me. Does he somehow know what just happened?
Or is this all some kind of practical joke?
But why would he do that?
Honestly... I’ve known Callen for my entire life. I really can’t see him doing something like that.
And so it's carefully that I ask, "Did you text me earlier?"
Shaking his head, his brows beetle together. "No, I can't seem to find my phone." Then he shrugs his broad shoulders. "I probably left it at home this morning."
Nodding, I force my lips to slide upwards. If I'm right, then Callen didn't leave his phone at home. Someone must have taken it. Is it really possible that whoever was with me only moments ago stole Callen's phone for the sole purpose of luring me out to the woods tonight?
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