Carvings That Bind

A New Body, A New Perspective

Sawyer

"Ugh! My head hurts!" Alyssan complains for the umpteenth time. She stomps away from my desk or, it would be stomping if it weren't for the fact that she makes absolutely no noise. It's something that I find very unsettling.

I turn and watch as she flops back on my bed, arms outspread as if she were diving off of a cliff. The corners of my lips tip up slightly at that. Despite Alyssan being completely annoying, it's actually been pretty funny watching and listening to her. She's nothing like Jack or I had previously perceived her to be.

"You're head can't hurt, Alyssan. You're dead. You don't even have a head, technically speaking." Alyssan only rolls her eyes at that, not bothering to look at me. She continues to stare up at my white ceiling.

"Shut up, you don't know that for a fact." It's my turn to roll my eyes now.

Typical, childish response.

We both fall into a silence, me watching her, her watching my ceiling. I can tell she's not here with me, though. Her mind is off elsewhere. I can see it in her eyes and the distant look within them. So, I do what anyone would do in my situation.

I study her. Like, really study her. Ever since I met the chick earlier this morning I haven't gotten to actually look at her carefully. Given, I spent most of the day fainting from shock.

The first thing I notice is that she's not just pretty, she's gorgeous. Her auburn waves rest over her shoulders, looking like a calm, fiery ocean. It's a bright color that only compliments her pale complexion, though she might only be so pale since she's technically dead. I'm pretty sure the dead aren't exactly the tannest people in the world.

I try to recall if Alyssan was this pale when she was alive. I never really payed enough attention to her to remember something like that. Sure, I glanced at her every once in a while and we shared a class or two together, but I hadn't been overly interested in the girl back then.

Now, as I look at the dead chick sprawled on my comforter, I can understand why she's been called the 'unattainable' at our school. Her legs go on for miles. She's got curves in all the right places. Her eyes are a deep set brown that could hold any man captive for hours on end. I don't think I could ever get bored looking into them. They're a stark contrast to her skin and it only seems to make her hair brighter.

Alyssan bolts up into a sitting position, startling me. Those captivating eyes land on mine and there's a determination in them that wasn't evident a few minutes ago.

Alyssan nibbles on her lip for a minute and my eyes are drawn south a few inches, past her cute button nose and landing on her full lips.

"Do you really think we can do this?" Her question pulls me from my obvious staring and my quickly spiraling thoughts.

"What?" I asked. Alyssan sighs, quickly losing any patience she may have.

"Find my body. Figure out what actually happened. Do you really think it's possible?" She asked once more and I can see the worry in her eyes. The fear that she'll never know what happened to her.

"We'll figure it out, Alyssan." She nods and nibbles on her bottom lip once more, clearly not too sure about whether she should believe me or not. In all honestly, I'm not even sure I believe myself. I mean, how am I supposed to find the body of a dead girl who's been missing for three months and people don't even know is dead? I may be the son of the chief of police, but damn, even I have some limitations and they go about as far as solving a crossword puzzle and even that's on a good day.

I don't let her see my uncertainty, though. It's the last thing she needs right now. She's finally got some hope again after three months.

Three months.