"Did you see Reeve after lunch?" Ari asked in an exaggerated whisper, speaking so closely into the phone that I had trouble making out her words.

"No. I kept my head down and rushed to English. When the bell rang at the end of class, I practically ran to my car."

"But you don't run."

"Exactly."

"Wow. I would've killed to see that. Eff you, dentist appointment!"

"Why are you whispering?" I asked as I stifled a yawn. I opened the door to my house, cautiously checking to see if Dad had come back yet.

I let out a sigh of relief when I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The coast was clear.

"I'm still at the dentist. They made me stay after so they could take x-rays of my perfect teeth. Even my mouth is famous."

I rolled my eyes but said nothing, trying hard to bite back the laughter that threatened to erupt from my mouth.

"Anyways, it's a good thing he's not in any of your classes," she added.

"I know. There's a kid that kind of looks like him in my English class. He had the same hair style and everything, but I couldn't really get a good look at him because he was sitting towards the back of the room. I don't think it was Reeve, though." I put Ari on speaker as I changed into my pajamas and slipped under the warm comforter on my bed.

"Still blind as a bat, I see."

"I can't help that I'm legally blind," I countered. "It's my dad's fault. I got it from his side of the family."

"That reminds me, I still have to pick up some things from the market. Luke is coming today!" Ari clapped, and I could imagine her jumping up and down in excitement even through the phone.

"Skywalker? How did my blindness remind you of him?" I asked, wondering when Ari had become so obsessed with Star Wars. I had never seen her watch a single movie from the series, let alone talk about any of the characters from it.

"No, you chicken nugget. My brother."

"Oh. That makes more sense. I'm so tired, my brain isn't functioning properly right now."

"His surprise party is at six, okay? Don't be late!"

I suppressed another yawn as I looked at my watch. 2:42pm. If I fell asleep right now, I would still be able to get in a few hours of sleep before the gathering.

"Okay," I agreed. My eyes felt like sandbags, and I struggled to keep them open.

"You promise you won't be late?"

"Uh..."

"Haven!"

"I will try hard not to be."

"Say you promise."

"No."

"I hate you."

"No you don't," I said with a tired laugh.

"Don't be late," she warned again.

"I'll try my absolute hardest."

"Thanks, I guess."

"But no promises," I quickly added.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate you?"

"Love ya too, Tuna," I said, hanging up before she could say another word.

I placed my phone on my nightstand and flipped over so I was facedown on the mattress. I wriggled my hands under my pillow, feeling comforted by the cool underside of the untouched area.

She's probably going to kill me for hanging up on her, was my last thought before I drifted off into oblivion.

"Stop!" I giggled, squirming to get away. "Stop tickling me! I can't breathe!" Succeeding in breaking free, I ran and tried to make a quick decision.

If I went to the open field on the right, he would definitely see me. There was nowhere to hide there, minus a few skinny trees. But if I went to the playground, there were things to block his way, and he would have a harder time catching me.

I quickly decided and ran towards the playground, making sure to stay hidden in the boxed area under the slide. I covered my mouth with my hand so he couldn't hear me laughing and hoped he didn't see me. I repositioned myself so my dress wasn't peeking out from the side and waited, listening for his voice.

"You can't hide from me," he warned, and I could hear the smile in his voice. His footsteps echoed against the pavement as he ran through the park.

When his footsteps grew faint, I leaned over and tried to see where he was.

But he was gone.

I cupped my hand around my ear and listened, but I heard nothing. No voices, no footsteps... nothing.

Suddenly, I felt someone's breath on the back of my neck. Before I could turn around, I heard, "Gotcha!"

I squealed in excitement when he lifted me up from behind, holding me tightly in his little but strong arms. He twirled me around, and I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

"Put me down!" I giggled, kicking my legs as I tried to touch the ground. "I'm getting dizzy!"

He chuckled and set me down gently. He smoothed out the wrinkles on my dress and the tangles in my hair and said, "I told you you couldn't hide from me."

His blue eyes shined brightly against the morning sun, and his huge dimples came to life as they danced across his cheeks.

The distant sounds of other kids screaming, yelling, and laughing disappeared. I didn't notice the people sitting on the benches or the children playing on the swing set either.

I didn't see anyone else - I only saw him.

He ruffled my hair once more and then bent down to tie the shoelaces of his blue converse.

I watched him expertly tie them back together using the two bunny ears method, just like he had taught me before.

Straightening back up, he hugged me tightly and said, "I'll always find my way back to you, Goldie."

As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the world, I noticed the digital clock read 6:56pm.

Shoot, shoot, shoot. I'm so late!

I jumped out of bed, ran into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, threw on some clothes, grabbed my phone and purse, and was out the door within eight minutes.

Frickity frack, Ari is going to murder me!

During the drive to her house, I unlocked my iPhone screen and checked to see how many missed calls and texts I had. My heart pumped frantically because I knew I'd probably have over a hundred notifications.

But there were zero messages.

Huh.

I frowned. Ari should've texted me an hour ago since I was supposed to be at her house by six. Whenever I was late, she usually spammed me with messages until I arrived.

But this time, there were none.

Confused, I stepped on the gas. Facing Ari's wrath was worse than getting a ticket for speeding, so I didn't pay much attention to my speedometer.

Something was definitely wrong. Ari should've called me by now.

A few minutes later, I arrived. I parked the car and waited, staring at my phone screen.

Goldie.

The name suddenly flashed in my mind, and I was reminded of the dream I just had.

Why did that name sound so familiar?

At first, I thought the events in the dream had actually happened. It felt so real - it was almost too realistic for my mind to make up.

The boy's cerulean eyes, his perfect smile, and his royal blue converse... everything about them screamed familiarity to me.

But I knew my mind was playing tricks on me, trying to use this dream as an excuse to believe that Reeve was a good guy.

But he wasn't.

None of it was true. It had just been a dream.

Nothing more.

... Right?

Sighing, I stepped out of my car and wondered why Ari still hadn't messaged me.

Although her mansion was usually bustling with life - the maids, the gardeners, the pool cleaners, and the chefs - today, it was silent.

Ari said the party was happening today, right?

Had I accidentally slept in until the next day? What was going on?

Upon stepping onto the porch, I saw that the front door was slightly ajar. Without a second thought, I pushed it and took a few steps inside.

"Ari?" The sound of my voice resonated throughout the quiet house.

When no response came, I walked into the all-white living room and called out, "Ari? Rachel? Anyone home?"

I stepped into the kitchen where Rachel usually was, cleaning and making enough food to feed an army.

But today, she wasn't here.

"Ari, if this is your idea of getting back at me for being late, you can cut it out," I said, my voice echoing loudly. I looked around and listened for a response, but no one was there.

I left the kitchen and walked up the staircase slowly, wondering if Ari was in her enormous closet and hadn't heard me.

I entered the hallway and knocked on her door, but like before, no one answered.

Just as I was about to turn the doorknob, my ears strained as I picked up an unfamiliar noise behind me. The muscles in my neck tensed, and before I could turn around, a hand clamped down on my shoulder.

What the hell?

I tried to scream, but it came out as a hoarse whisper instead.

Fear clouded my mind as I struggled against the person's grip. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't free myself.

And then everything went black.

A/N: DUN, DUN, DUUUN! Who do you guys think it is? And what happened to Ari?!

Hahaha! Another cliffhanger for y'all! I know how much you guys love (okay, hate*) these... but I love writing them! Sorry... but not sorry ;)

Also, here's ANOTHER cover that Sherwritesbooks made for 'I Won't'. ISN'T SHE SUPER TALENTED? Thank you again, my dear :) Go on over to her profile and show her some love! ❤️

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave your thoughts :) I love reading your comments... so leave them! Love ya!