Don't Be Afraid

Chapter Seventeen

Edited /(-_-/)

Now, it's time for Jessie's point of view!

Chapter Seventeen

Athena ran out of the car. She had been acting weird ever since Jesse and her left her house. Jesse was worried about her; she had been acting distant.Maybe she realized how irrelevant I am to her.Jesse thought when she talked rudely to him. Maybe that’s why she jumped out of the car, to get away from him.

Jesse, without hesitation, got out of the car and ran after her. He didn’t want to lose her.

In the car Athena had been looking really stressed. She had her head down, rubbing her temples. She seemed to be thinking intently about something. Then Jesse saw that Athena’s breath became irregular and her eyes were shut tightly. At this point Jesse had pulled over to the side of the street next to the woods. Maybe Athena was getting car sick and just needed some fresh air.

Then he saw that she reached for her bag and took out a bottle of pills.

Jesse had a good guess that those were her prescription anti-depressants. He wondered why she was taking them now. The directions say to take them once in the morning and once at night. He should know because he takes the same medication.

But then he saw Athena grab a handful of pills and swallow at least half a dozen. That was a lethal amount to be taking. People died from overdosing on that many pills. Jesse was growing more worried. At this point he was in full paranoia mode.

“Athena, you are not okay! Look at me.” Jesse almost shouted. He was growing frantic and anxious. It had kicked in that Athena could die from the amount of anti-depressants she had just taken.

Athena didn’t listen to him though. She just kept still with her eyes closed and breathing deeply. Jesse kept shouting Athena’s name, hoping to get her attention. Athena started to shake vigorously.

Jesse wrapped his arms around her trying to get her to stop shaking and to snap out of this trance that she was in.

She shook for about five minutes and then completely stopped. Jesse thought that she was done, she was back to normal. But he was dead wrong.

That was when she got out of his car and ran. Of course Jesse ran after her in the woods.

It was really hard to keep up with her. It was like going through a maze. These woods were thick and had no trails. Athena was running in a completely random trail. Causing Jesse to bump into a few trees and scrape his arm on a few branches. Jesse didn’t feel the minor pain that the branches had given him. All his worried about was Athena and Athena only.

He calls out Athena’s name several times to try to get her to stop running. No of those attempts have worked. Jesse had finally had come to a clearing. Jesse recognizes this to beMartin’s Dead Point. It was where a huge cliff sat and below it was a rough river that had horrible rapids. The rapids were so strong that no one was permitted to swim or even go river rafting no matter how skilled you were. The citizens of his town called thisDeath Riverbecause of the many drownings that had happen in the early 1900’s.

Athena stops in her tracks and looks at the sight before her. The cliff that lead toDeath River. Athena walks backwards after a few moments of staring out into the river. She stops after she walks about five feet and then stiffens her body up to get ready to run.

Jesse just now realizes what she was going to do. She was going to jump. At the moment that Athena started her run, Jesse starts his run. He ran after her again to try to stop her.

Right before the moment she jumped, Jesse tackles her to the ground. She was now pinned to the grass by her arms. After years of football practice Jesse knew how to tackle someone to the ground and to keep them on the ground.

Athena tries to wiggle out of his grasp on her, but Jesse was just too strong. “Athena! Athena, are you listening to me? What the hell are you trying to do?!”Athena was facing him on the ground, so he could see her face. Her eyes were closed and her breath was still irregular. Jesse notices that there was a fairly large and maybe an inch deep cut going vertical on her wrist. Jesse realizes that she was losing a lot of blood.

Jesse moves so that his knees were pinning Athena’s arms down. Despite the cold weather of the November fallday Jesse took off his long sleeve shirt, bundled it up, and pressed it to Athena’s wrist. Jesse didn’t feel the cold that was turning his fingers numb; he was just worried about Athena.

“Athena, please come back. You are not you self!” Jesse hates to admit it, but he was close to tears. He didn’t want to lose Athena. Ever. She was just too important to him.

By this time Athena had stopped moving. Her breath became regular again and her eye lids were relaxed. Jesse calms down by taking deep breaths, a technique that one of his therapists had given him.

Jesse presses his forehead to hers. Being this close to Athena brought back images from last night when they almost kissed. Jesse closed his eyes and whispers, “Athena?”

Athena took a sharp breath in and opens her eyes. Athena’s violet eyes stared into his violet eyes. Athena looked shocked by their closeness. “Jesse, what happened?”

Jesse sighs. “You try to jump into theDead River, Athena. You almost killed yourself.” Jesse whispers, afraid that his voice would crack if he spoke any louder.

“I thought I was dreaming.” Athena says, it sounds like she was telling herself that it felt like she was dreaming. Jesse was still pressing his shirt to Athena’s wrist. Because the shirt was white, Jesse could see the red stain sinking in her shirt. It didn’t matter to Jesse that his shirt was ruined, it just matters that Athena was okay.

“Why are you shirtless?” Athena asks. Jesse almost laughs because her frankness about it.

“You hurt your wrist.” Is all he says. Athena looked down at the wrist that Jesse had his shirt press to.

“Really,” Athena says in puzzlement. “I don’t feel much pain.” She says. Jesse was confused. He let go of his grip on his shirt and pulls it off.

He was in amaze. The only thing he could see was the dried blood that is matted on her wrist. There was no gash, or cut, or not even a small scratch on her forearm.

“How did it heal? That cut should have at least left a scar.” Jesse ponders. Athena shrugs “I don’t know, maybe I have super powers?” Athena jokes a little. Jesse laughs and then got off of her and stood up. He put out his hand and pulls Athena up from the ground.

“I think we should head to Adler. Maybe somebody there will give us answers.” Athena says. Jesse furrows his brows. “Even all that just happened; you still want to go to Adler?” Jesse asks. Athena nods like it was the simplest thing in the world.

“I definitely don’t want to go home after everything that just happened.” Athena says smiling.

They both walked back to his car, where Jesse put on the extra shirt that he had in his overnight bag and where Athena cleans her wrist with baby wipes that Jesse kept in the side of the door for his sister. Then they both head off to Adler, where they would sure get a surprise.