Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One) (25 page)

I had nightmares that night.  I dreamt of getting taken again.  Nothing felt safe anymore.  If they could take me in the middle of a normally busy street, nothing was off limits.  I woke up a couple times looking all around.  Was somebody standing and waiting in the shadows?  Was I going to wake up to see those yellow eyes staring back at me? 

I woke up Sunday morning relieved and calm.  I wasn’t taken or attacked in the middle of the night, and I started feeling safe again.

I went downstairs to see a giant feast waiting.

“What is all this for?  Are we having company?” I asked.

“No dear, this is for you.  We are just happy you are okay and I wanted to do something special for you,” my mother said.

“Really?  Thank you,” I said in confusion.

They just thought that I had been jumped and they did this for me.  Why all of a sudden were they going out of their way to treat me differently?  Before we moved here, we all led different lives.  My father had work, I had school, and my mother had her friends.  We saw each other for a few minutes each day and barely even talked to each other.  Everybody was too involved with their own lives to worry about anyone else’s. 

I ate as my mother and father looked at me, smiling.

“Can I ask you guys something?” I asked.

“Of course, honey,” my father said.

“Why are you guys being nice and attentive?” I asked.

“What do you mean, dear?” my mother asked, confused.

“Well, ever since we moved here you two have been different.  You have slowly been giving me more attention and paying attention to me,” I said.

“We decided we wanted to give you more when we moved here,” my father said.

“We have moved around so much, and especially with you getting older and moving away soon, we decided we needed to show you love and support.  We regret not giving it to you earlier.  We made a horrible mistake,” my mother said.

I looked in their eyes and could see the sincerity and pain they held.  They truly felt bad and didn’t want to see me go away without them even knowing me.  They didn’t want to be strangers anymore.

I wanted to be close to them.  I saw friends over the years have parents who were their friends.  Parents they could go to and do things with.  Parents they loved.  I wanted to have that kind of relationship with them.  I wanted to feel normal like everybody else.

“There’s a street fair today, if you guys want to go.  They will have different foods and booths,” I said to them.

“We’d love to go with you,” my father said.

My mother smiled and agreed with him.  I smiled and continued eating my breakfast.  Things were really starting to look up. 

I finished breakfast, got up from the table and took the dirty plates.

“What are you doing, dear?” my mother asked.

“I’m going to help you with the dishes,” I said, smiling.

I could see the look of happiness in her eyes.  Her face brightened up and she got up to give me a hand.  As I was putting the dishes in the sink, she put her hands on my shoulders and kissed my cheek.  I felt a warm sensation deep in my stomach as I started washing the dishes.

I quickly washed the dishes and ran upstairs to get ready.  I was excited to spend time with my parents and wanted to savor every second of it.  I got ready and went back downstairs to gather my things.

“Are you ready?” my father asked.

“Yup,” I said smiling. 

We walked out and headed to the fair.  The leaves were changing as we walked down the grey stone sidewalk.  We looked like a normal family.  We didn’t look like three strangers anymore. 

We got to the fair and people were everywhere.  There were dozens of booths set up, with foods from around the world.  Vendors sold their crafts and products, and people were laughing and happy.  We sampled some foods and walked around looking at all of the booths.  My mother found some new handmade oven mitts, and my father found a man selling military memorabilia. 

I looked around to see everybody laughing when I saw a familiar face.  It was James. He was with Maria.  They smiled and James made a heart with his hands at me.  He was looking out for me.  He didn’t want to take the risk of losing me again.

“Isn’t that your friend James from last night?” my father asked, startling me.

“Oh yeah, it is,” I reluctantly said.

“Well, why don’t you go say hi?  Your mother and I are still looking around,” he said.

I walked over to James and Maria and gave Maria a hug. 

“How are you feeling?” James asked me.

“I’m okay.  I was a little scared when I went to bed, but I’m better,” I said.

“We are still looking for the guy that got away.  We haven’t had any luck though.  I think he left town,” said James.

“What about the other three?” I asked.

“They won’t be a problem anymore,” Maria said, smiling.

“We are going to be watching over you for a while,” said James.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We don’t want to risk this happening again.  One of us will be keeping an eye on you for a few days.  I’m watching over you tonight,” James said.

“You better do a good job,” I said jokingly.

He smiled and hugged me.  His arms felt so right around my waist.  I felt calm whenever I was with him.  He made me feel like a different person.

“You better get back to your parents,” he said. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I gave Maria a hug and walked away.

I saw my parents paying for a few things as I walked back over to them.

“How did things go?” my father asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, are you going to go on a date with this guy?  I want to get to know him more,” he said.

“I don’t know, dad.  Maybe someday,” I said with embarrassment.

While we walked home, I had my head down, biting my lower lip while smiling.  I was in love again.  It was as if it was happening all over again for the first time.  Just hugging him and feeling him hold me made me feel complete again. 

We got to our front door and I went in trying to hold back my excitement.  I felt as if my father was already onto the fact I liked James.  I didn’t want him knowing I was in love with him.

“I have some homework to do,” I said.

“Okay, dear, I’ll let you know when dinner is ready,” my mother said.

I went upstairs and sat on the floor beside my bed.  I felt so giddy and excited and it was as if I had no control over it.  Being reunited with James again and hearing him tell me he loved me made me feel like a lovestruck puppy. 

I started to daydream about our life together.  Our wedding would be timeless and romantic.  An intimate setting with close friends and family watching as my white gown flowed down the aisle.  Our hands resting in each other’s as we devoted our lives to each other.

Our children would be beautiful and well-behaved.  We would give them all of the love and attention growing up that I never got.  We would tell them we loved them every day as we watched them skip down the road to school. 

We would spend our lives together.  James would give me the bite and I would become immortal with him.  Our souls would dance together for eternity.

“Juliet!  Time for dinner!” I heard my mother yell from the bottom of the stairs.

I went downstairs and sat at the table as my mother was setting it. 

“How did your homework go?  Do you have any more?” my father asked.

“My what?  Oh, my homework!  It’s going good.  I have a few more things to do still,” I said trying to recover from my slip-up.

“Is that James boy in your grade then?” my father asked.

“I think so,” I said, trying to show disinterest.

“You should invite him over to dinner, honey,” my mother said with a smile.

Unless my mother was planning on donating some blood, I don’t think he was going to be too interested in coming over to eat. 

“Yeah, I’ll try to see if I can,” I said to her.

I really had no intention of asking him at all.  I really didn’t even want him around my parents.  I was starting to bond with them, but that didn’t mean my father still didn’t want to capture and torture people like him.  Pale, cold skin mixed with not eating at all would more than likely give it all away to my father that he wasn’t mortal.

That rest of the night went on without a hitch.  I did some of my homework, dreamt about James and finally went to bed.  I had school in the morning and now that I was back on track I wanted to really try to focus and do well. 

As I got in bed, I saw somebody outside my window looking at me.  It was James.  I got up and went to the window to let him in. 

“What are you doing here?” I asked him quietly.

“I am watching over you, remember?  I had to see you before you went to sleep,” James replied.

“You have to be quiet or else my father will hear you.”

“I know.  I just had to talk to you before you went to sleep.  I needed to hear your voice.”

I got butterflies as he talked to me.  The words flowed eloquently out of his mouth as I lingered on every word.

“I should go to sleep,” I said.

I leaned in and kissed him.  Our lips slowly pressed against each other’s as my stomach was doing somersaults.  His lips pressed against mine as if we would never kiss again.  His hand was placed lightly on my hip.  Our foreheads pressed against each other’s as we stared into each other’s eyes.  My arms were wrapped around his neck; a bright smile lay across my face.

“I love you,” he said softly.

“I love you too,” I whispered.

He let go and started walking to the window.  He looked back at me before leaving.

“I will win you back,” he said.

“You’re doing a good job,” I joked back.

He smiled as he exited the window.  I watched as he faded into the shadows.  I went to sleep slowly, knowing I was safe with him there.

The next morning I awoke and looked out my window.  James was gone.  I wasn’t sure how long he had been there overnight, but I knew he kept me safe.  His love surrounded and protected me, as if it was a suit of armor. 

I was hoping he would be at school today so I could feel his touch against my skin.  I wanted to feel the security of his embrace and his cold skin against my warm body. 

I looked my best today.  I wanted to look good and I wanted him to go crazy.  I put on my best outfit and went downstairs to get my bags.

“You’re really dressed up,” said my mother.

“Yeah, I just want to look good,” I replied.

“For James?” she said, smiling.

“No, just for myself,” I said while bent over picking up my bags.

I was blatantly lying to her but it had to be done.  My parents seemed so in love with James.  It was as if they wanted me to be with him more than I wanted to be with him.  It was strange to have this kind of a relationship with them.

“I’m running late, I have to go,” I hurriedly said to my mother as I rushed out the door.

I was actually running a little early but I just wanted to get to school early.  I didn’t get too much time with James in the morning, but if I got there earlier I might get a few more minutes with him.  A few more minutes lying in his arms would mean everything to me.  It would change my entire mood for the day.

I got to school and ran to my locker.  James wasn’t there.  I knew leaving that early wouldn’t work.  I got my things and stood against my locker waiting.  As every minute passed, more and more people started to fill the school.

“Juliet!” yelled Ariel.

“Oh hey, what’s up?” I asked.

“Are you okay?  What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your dad called the other day asking where you were.  You were missing or something.  Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m okay.  I just got jumped by some girls, but I’m fine.”

“Do they go here?” 

“I don’t think so.  I’ve never seen them before.”

I felt bad lying to Ariel.  She was the best girlfriend I had, and I didn’t feel right lying directly to her face.  What was I going to do though?  Tell her I got captured by a pack of werewolves and James and his vampire family came and rescued me?  Nothing truthful would even sound remotely right.

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.  I have to go but I want to talk to you at lunch.”

“Okay,” I said as I gave her a hug.

Ariel left and I stood there for a minute before picking up my things.  Just as I did, James showed up.  I watched as he walked towards me, his skin glowing underneath the hallway lights. 

“Hey,” he said as he gazed into my eyes.

“Hi,” I said gazing back into his.

Butterflies filled my empty stomach as he put his hand on my shoulder.  I felt powerless whenever he touched me.  Nothing else even mattered.  All that mattered was that he was holding me, and the way we felt about each other.