Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Our Heaven ❯ Save me. ( Chapter 4 )

The sun danced in front of his eyes, waking him from his almost perfect dream. He hadn't slept that good since The Day and for some nagging reason that pulled at the back of his head, he couldn't remember as to why he had slept so well that night. He tightened his arms, bringing them closer to his chest, his mind setting him up to believe that he was going to feel something hard in his arms.

 

Instead, he felt the cool air between them and his eyes shot open. They immediately went to look where the missing body was, a frown set deep upon his lips. He pushed himself upwards slightly, his weight resting on his forearms as he head looked around the room. “Pagan?”

 

He could have sworn she was still here. Even though that little nagging feeling in the back of his head told him that she had stated that she could only be there while the sun was down. He let out a sigh of breath, sitting up and placing his palms of his hands on his knees.

 

The green-eyed boy knew that he wasn't just merely dreaming that he had saw and talked to her last night. Everyone else might have simply wrote it off as a simple dream - a desperate way of trying to get Pagan back into his life. But Duke knew that that wasn't it. He just knew it.

 

He knew it because Duke's arms still tingled with warmth from her.

 

Ruffling up his back hair, Duke almost considered plopping back down into bed and going back to sleep. He really didn't care about school at the moment. So, instead of getting up and getting ready, the boy plopped himself down onto his bed, letting out a breath of air as he lay on his stomach.

 

His eyes slowly slid closed and as soon as they did, an angry Pagan was standing before him, her hands on her hips. “And don't you ever skip school again, mister!”

 

Duke flinched, his eyes snapping open. “Damn you, Pagan!” He swore through clenched teeth, sitting himself up. He would have to go to school now. He knew that he would never be able to disobey anything she said.

 

Getting ready for school went by rather quickly. It was almost as if he was once again racing to meet Pagan down at Arce, racing to see her smiling face and her sweet voice telling him that she beat him there once again.

 

Of course, that dream was quickly shattered as he stepped outside the house, noticing how empty Arce looked without Pagan beside it.

 

 

Walking up the school, Duke's hands were placed in the front pockets of his jeans, his red shirt hanging loosely off of his body. He was beginning to get used to his peers stopping and watching him walk by. He knew the thought that ran through their minds. He knew they were all asking one question.

 

Why hadn't he moved on yet?

 

Duke quickly brushed off all of them, though, as soon as he saw Thane and Heather talking with one another. He jogged slightly, making his way over to his only two friends now. He placed his hands on their shoulders, his eyebrows lowered.

 

“Guys, I need to talk to you. It's about Pagan.”

 

Well, to put that lightly, it got their attention. Heather's eyebrows raised slightly as she slowly turned her head to face Duke. Thane, though, his head snapped to face Duke in such a rush that they ended up smacking heads.

 

“Ow! Damn, Thane, slow down, will you please!” Heather cried out, her hand going to her now sore forehead. Thane mumbled a quiet sorry before he turned back to Duke and urged the boy on.

 

“So? What about Paggie?”

 

Duke had removed Heather's hand from the bump on her forehead, making sure his friend was okay. She smiled up at him before she nodded, showing that she also wanted to know what had brought Duke over.

 

“Oh, well, c'mon. I can't tell you in the hallway.” He said as he grabbed Heather's hand before he began to march his way down the hall, Thane on their heels. He entered an empty room before locked the door and sitting down on the teacher's desk.

 

Heather, who had placed herself on the top of a student's desk, spoke first. “What's going on? First period is about to start, you know, Duke.”

 

Shaking his head, Duke frowned deeply. “Yeah, I know. Bear with me, please. This is going to sound insane.”

 

Thane, who was leaning on the desk next to Heather raised an eyebrow as she waited with her hands folded in her lap. Both had a curious look on their faces.

 

Duke let out a deep sigh before he just jumped straight into it. “I saw Pagan last night. She's an angel and she needs my help for something and she can only come out when the sun is down and I know it sounds crazy but it's true and will you two please stop looking at me like that!” He spoke in one single breath.

 

Afterwards, though, he narrowed his eyes, not liking the way the two of them were looking at him. They both had the same look of disbelief on their faces. Thane chuckled slightly before he shook his head.

 

“Man, Paggie's death is really getting to you, isn't it?” He murmured before he pushed himself up so he was standing straight, crossed his arms and left the room.

 

However, Heather stayed. Her eyes filled with concern as she pushed herself off of the desk, walked over to Duke and placed her hand on his forearm. “Duke, I know that this is hard for you, but you couldn't have seen Pagan last night. She died over two weeks ago.”

 

Duke shook his head, his eyes slammed tightly shut. “You wouldn't understand! You weren't as close to her as I am!” He snapped at Heather, pulling himself away from her.

 

“No, I wasn't as close to her as you, but that doesn't change the fact that the living cannot see the dead.”

 

“But I saw her!” He opened his vivid green eyes, filled with anger and confusion and stared heatedly at Heather. How dare she try to prove him wrong? He knew he wasn't going insane. “When I woke up this morning, I could still feel her warmth in my arms. I could still feel her…” He mumbled, his eyes dropping to the floor.

 

Heather wrapped her arms around the crestfallen boy, using her motherly instincts to comfort Duke. “Duke, that couldn't have happened. Pagan wouldn't want you to dwell on the past, now would she?” She paused slightly, letting her words sink in. “No, she would want you to move on. She would want you to be happy.”

 

All of a sudden, something snapped in Duke. He pulled himself away from Heather and walked wordlessly to the door. Just before he was fully out of the classroom, he turned his head and glared at her. “I will not be happy without her.”

 

And with that, Duke left. He left the classroom, he left the hallway, and he left school, even though he knew that it would cause Pagan much displeasure. How could Pagan's so called closest friends not even believe that she was trying to get help?

 

Duke's whole body shook with anger as he drove down the street. Thane and Heather were betraying Pagan and they weren't even aware of it! How could they ever be so dense? How could they ever turn their back on her when she needed help? What kind of friends were they?

 

Knowing the he didn't want to be alone, he drove to the house next door to his and walked straight inside without so much of a knock. He stood in their doorway and with a big gulp of air he spoke loudly.

 

“I saw Pagan last night!”

 

 

Pagan's family, minus Pagan and her little brother, and Duke were sitting in the living room, Duke in the reclining chair while the parents were on the couch. The parents both wore a face filled with concern towards Duke while said boy had an upset and angry face on.

 

“Why don't you believe me? It's the truth!” Duke spoke harshly tired of having to say those words.

 

“Duke, hunny, we believe you. We do believe that you saw our Pagan last night in a dream and it was so real to you that you made yourself believe that she was really there.” Pagan's mother spoke, her motherly voice filling the room with calm.

 

Pagan's father nodded. “That is all it was, Duke. A dream.”

 

Duke slammed his fists down on the arms of the chair and shook his head. “No! It wasn't! It was real! Pagan came to me last night and she needs my help. Why can't any of you guys understand that?” As he spoke, his voice began to break and his fists slowly unclenched as the helplessness that no one was truly going to believe him set in.

 

Pagan's parents looked at each other before they looked at him and frowned slightly. They both moved over to him, kneeling on either side of him. “Duke, Pagan wouldn't want you to be like this,” the mother spoke first followed shortly after by her husband.

 

“She would want you to move on.”

 

“No, no, no!” Duke shook his head and stood up. Pagan's parents looked at him with concern but didn't say anything. They knew he needed to be alone. He stormed his way out of their house and across their yard. He paused only once, in front of Arce.

 

Duke opened his mouth, almost as if he was going to speak to the tree like Pagan used to. But he quickly closed it, turning his head as he ran his way into his own house and into his own room. He threw himself onto his bed and let out a frustrated grunt. Why didn't anyone understand?

 

Regardless of what everyone else though, Duke knew he would do anything in his power to help Pagan. She was his savior, after all. She was his everything, his one and only. She had helped him and now, even though he knew that she was no longer living, it was his turn to help her.

 

Green eyes slowly drifted shut, his mind filling with memories of his Pagan and their time together. Like most of his dreams, it was filled with memories, whether they were long ago memories or just from a few months ago, they swirled in his mind, causing a small grin to grace his lips.

 

His dream took him to when he was younger, to when his parents were still together and to where Pagan finally became his best friend, and his first and only love.

 

----

 

Duke was eight years old and he was playing in the front of his house. Well, playing wouldn't really be the word, since he was merely sitting there, picking at the grass. But he was doing as his father told him - he was staying out of the way.

 

Out of the corner of his green eyes, he saw Pagan and her little brother playing tag together. Even though they had a four-year difference in age, they were still able to play together. Duke, being an only child, never got the chance to play with a younger sibling, never got to teach them everything that he knew. He would never get the chance, too.

 

He might just be a little boy but he was aware of what was going on with his parents. He wasn't blind; he could see what was happening. The fights, his mom sleeping on the couch, his father coming home late in the evening and worse of all, the perfume on his father that wasn't his mother's.

 

“Duke! Duuuuke!” A voice sing-songed to him, causing his head to turn and the thoughts to rush out of his head. Pagan jogged over to him and squatted next to him, a bright smile gracing her lips. “Don't look so bored, Duke!” She giggled at him.

 

A soft smile fell upon his lips as he nodded his head to her. Of course, not all happy moments last. For Duke, they rarely ever stayed with him, in fact.

 

With a slam of the door and loud stomping, his father stormed his way over to Duke, grabbed him by the front his shirt and lifted him up so his toes were just barely touching the ground. The mere act caused Pagan to fall on her behind and for tears to jump into Duke's green eyes.

 

John, Duke's father, was just shy from being handsome. His features were sharp and always caused a double take with the ladies. Duke had gotten his beautiful green eyes from his father; only instead of having Duke's soft gentle green eyes, his father eyes were cold and hard.

 

His hair had dulled down from the used-to-be bright brown, now sporting a few gray hairs in his short hair. His light pink lips were pulled back in a snarl as he glared angrily at his only child. “I told you to stay out of the way!”

 

“I…I'm not in the way!” Duke gasped out, his body shaking with fear as his wide eyes stared helplessly up at his father. Pagan pushed her body up so her legs were on both sides of her hips and her hands were in front of her knees. She watched just as helplessly as John yelled at her neighbor.

 

“You fucking told your mother about her! You told her about Katrina!” he hissed out the words, shaking the poor boy.

 

Duke whimpered, his hands finally clasping onto his father's. “I didn't do it, Dad. I promise I didn't!”

 

“You little shit. How dare you lie to me.” He barked out, his eyes narrowing deeply. Finally, the smell drifted to Duke's nose and he was finally aware why his father was acting this way. He was drunk.

 

Pagan couldn't take much more of this, pushing herself off of the ground, she ran between John and Duke, her small kid hands trying to push the grown man away from her friend. “Leave him alone!”

 

John let go of his son and took a few steps back, his hard eyes now trained onto Pagan. They stayed locked on her for a few moments before the shifted back to his son and he sneered. “If it weren't for this little girl, I would have killed you. Got that? You're nothing to me anymore.”

 

With those hurtful words, he turned and left, going straight to his car and driving away. Duke fell to the ground on his knees, his hands being used as the only thing that was holding him up. With his head bowed, he gasped for air, emotions overflowing within him.

 

Pagan hesitantly placed a hand on his back, her eyes filled with concern and tears. “Duke, are you okay?” She spoke softly, not wanting to hurt him in any way.

 

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he sat up straight and wiped his eyes. “I'll be fine. Nothing to worry about, Pagan.” He spoke indifferently, a small smile on his lips. He stood up shortly after and dusted off his body.

 

“I'm going in my house. See you later.”

 

 

Pagan sat on the front steps of her house, chewing on her thumbnail as her eyes stayed locked on the house next to hers. She could hear the yelling and her heart went out to Duke. How could he even stand to live with that?

 

Her heart skipped a beat when she clearly heard Duke's name being yelled along with his voice following shortly after. How dare his parents drag him into their fights? It wasn't right.

 

The girl nearly screamed when the door of her own house opened, her father standing in the doorway. “Pagan, it's dark out. You need to come inside.”

 

She shook her head in response, her eyes moving back from her father to the house. If she went inside, what would happen to Duke? Who would worry over him? Her father looked in the same direction, a frown placing itself on his lips.

 

“There isn't anything you can do.”

 

Once again, she shook her head. “Yes there is. Daddy, can I borrow your cell phone?”

 

A confused look washed over his face but regardless, he handed his only daughter his cell phone before he patted her on her head. “Just don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?”

 

For the first time since the fighting began, a smile formed on Pagan's lips and she nodded, holding the cell phone close to her body. “Promise.”

 

 

Closed off in his room, Duke lay on his bed with his pillow placed tightly over his head. He wanted nothing more than for his father to leave the house. He didn't care if his father never came back again. He just wanted him gone.

 

The only reason why he took of the pillow from his head was the sound of rocks tapping against his window. Even during the troublesome times, his mind couldn't help but wander to the thought that rocks shouldn't tap on male's windows, it was suppose to only happen to female's windows with her lover on the ground below.

 

Well, this just so happened to be opposite. Pagan stood right outside his window - he was on the first floor, after all - and she smiled brightly at him after a upset look over came her face. “C'mon, let's go.”

 

Duke lowered his eyebrows in confusion. A flinch overtook him for a moment, the bruise right above his left eye sending shocks of pain throughout his body. “Go where?”

 

“To my secret kingdom! C'mon!”

 

Shaking his head, the boy looked back at his door with a frown before he looked at Pagan and smiled softly. He quickly and quietly climbed out of his window, dropping down next to Pagan. She smiled at him before she gripped his hand and began to lead him away from his house.

 

Of course, thoughts of where they were going to go flooded his mind. Mysterious places, wondrous places, but none of the thoughts were even closed to where they actually went. Eyes wide, his mouth dropped slightly when they stopped.

 

“This is it?” He asked dumbfounded. It was just the silly tree in-between their two yards.

 

Pagan nodded. “It's where I go to get away from everything.” She spoke softly before she turned and faced him. She handed him the cell phone with a sad look on her face before she reached up and softly touched the bruise.

 

“You're father did that, didn't he?”

 

Those simple words caused everything in Duke to just freeze. “He wouldn't! My dad would never hurt me!” He cried out, desperate to protect his father, desperate to come off as a perfect family.

 

But Pagan saw right through it. “You don't need to protect him. You can end all of your pain from him right now, with the phone. With a simple phone call.” She looked at him with a serious face, her right hand grasping his free hand and squeezing it. That simple act showed Duke that he was no longer alone; he didn't have to do this alone.

 

He nodded his head and gulped. Slowly, with shaking fingers, he dialed 911 into the phone.

 

----

 

Waking up with a jump, his eyes immediately went to the girl he had been dreaming of, the girl who saved his life that night and who finally gave him courage to lock away his father forever. He saw his angel.

 

“Pagan? Is it night already?” He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

 

Pagan giggled and nodded. “You look so cute when you are sleeping.”

 

“How long have you been watching me?” He asked, a soft blush hitting his cheeks.

 

“Ah, about an hour. Not that long,” She grinned but it soon fell off as a serious look over took her face instead. “Duke, I need to talk to you.”

 

Sighing a bit, Duke ruffled up his black hair before he nodded. “Okay, I'm listening.”

 

“Help me stop the murderers that killed me.”

 

Her words were said in her sweet voice but somehow, it didn't seem to Duke that Pagan was the one who said it. He blinked a few times, shaking his head. “Wait, what?”

 

“In order for me to fully be accepted into Heaven, I need to put to rest the feelings I have with my murderers. And I think I can do that with your help. I want them to be locked up. If I don't do this, I will never be allowed into Heaven and I will walk the Earth as a lost soul. You need to help me Duke. Save me, Duke, I can't do this by myself.”

 

Duke sat still, trying to let her words run through him. He blinked a few times before he sighed and shook his head. “I'd do anything for Pagan. Of course I'll help you.” He smiled to her before he reached out and gripped her hand. “You are my savior, after all.”

 

That caused the girl to blush. She smiled sweetly at him before she pulled her hand away. “But before we do that, I need your help for something else.”

 

“And what would that be?” He asked slowly, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Letters.”

 

“Wait, what?!”