Charlie P.O.V

Every time I'm out in town I just happen to be somewhere near Michael. It's like he's everywhere. I know he isn't following me, but a small part of me wishes that he was. In my mind, any attention from him is good.

I wrap my scarf a bit tighter around my neck as I walk. It's just now getting to the first days of November and it's already started to snow. The weather is only getting colder.

Since graduation, I've been seeing less of Michael. I catch glimpses of him around town, but I'm never just a few feet away anymore. I feel like I'm losing him. Although, I suppose it doesn't exactly count as losing something if it was never yours to begin with.

A shaky breath leaves my mouth and is clearly seen in the air in front of me. The crisp air pierces my lungs each time I inhale. I've never exactly been fond of the cold weather.

I walk through town to the local market to pick up a few things that my parents gave me money for. They aren't home most of the time so I'm left to fend for myself. Very rarely are they home for an entire week. More often than not, they're gone on one business trip after another. It's been that way since I turned fifteen.

I pick up several different types of fresh produce; apples, peaches, carrots, and potatoes. I still have food at home, but I'm just picking up a few things today to plan meals throughout the week.

I bag up the produce and pay the farmer for the goods. He smiles and tells me to have a nice day. I nod and start my walk back home.

As I walk, I get the chills. I feel as though I'm being watched. I turn back several times to see if I'm being followed, but no one is ever there. Unfortunately, I can't shake the feeling of being followed.

I sigh and continue to walk home. I walk through the forest to get home. It's the quickest shortcut that I know, even if I don't always prefer it. It's better to take the long way home when it's dark. You could easily get lost in the forest at night.

Eventually, I get home and set the bags down in the kitchen. I still don't feel alone. I look out the window above my kitchen sink and see a pair of sharply colored eyes piercing through the trees. One blue eye and one brown one. The pair is clearly too large to be those of an owl or bird. This is something much larger.

Suddenly, there's a large howl as the eyes disappear. I now know that the animal that was watching me was a wolf. Wolves are fairly common in the area, but they normally never get this close to the house.

I sigh softly as I head to the living room. The wolf being so close has me feeling a little uneasy. I walk through the forest a lot and a wolf of that size could easily kill me.

I turn on the television and change the channel until it reaches the weather channel. According to the forecast, there's going to be a powerful snowstorm tomorrow night.

Because of the snowstorm, my house will most likely lose power and be blocked off from the rest of the town, at least for a couple days. I would prefer that it not snow several feet overnight, but I can't control the weather.

I take off my beanie and run my fingers through my blond hair. It's getting longer than I normally prefer, but it keeps my head warmer during the winter. I can wait to cut it.

I turn the television off after checking the weekly forecast. There's nothing else worth watching. I grab my current reading book off of the coffee table and open it to where my bookmark rests.

Before I know it, day becomes night and I've read the entirety of the book. I set it down on the coffee table and sigh. The sky is now black with white flakes of stars. It's rather beautiful.

I slowly stand from the couch and stretch my aching back. My days have become much longer now that I've graduated high school. I've been looking at colleges and applied to several, but none have replied yet.

I'm hoping that at least one school will reply to my application. The state college just a few hours north wasn't exactly my first choice, but I'd be grateful for a reply anyway.

"I hope I don't get stuck here," I whisper to myself while heading upstairs.

I brush my teeth and head to my room afterward. I've grown very tired and just want to go to sleep.  I throw off my day clothes and transfer into my night ones. I keep my hoodie on because my house tends to get rather chilly on a good warm night. I can only imagine how cold it will be during a snow storm.

I lay down in bed and sigh as my head hits the pillow. I close my eyes and attempt to sleep. Just as I'm about to fall asleep, a very loud howl rips me from my slumber. I sit straight up in my bed and look out my window. I can vaguely see the silhouette of a wolf running back into the forest.

The wolves being so close to my house gives me a very bad feeling, especially with the snowstorm coming. I can only hope that nothing bad will happen. After all, I've never had trouble with wolves in the area before, why would that start now? There shouldn't be a reason. Hopefully, they'll move on and I'll be able to rest without worry.

Wolves are very powerful predators and I'd be a fool to underestimate one. For the time being, it's probably best that I avoid traveling through the woods.