Captivated (An Affliction Novel) (14 page)

Dean
froze.

I froze.

I couldn’t believe I had blurted that out. There was no proof! I felt like such an idiot. I was accusing someone of being a freakin’ vampire. I wished the ground below me would just swallow me already.

“What did you say?” Dean
asked without turning to look at me.

“Nothing!” I lied.

“I heard you say something. Please clarify.” Dean commanded in a surprisingly nice tone.

“It was a joke.” Another lie.

“A fraction of what you believe to be the truth always lies behind a joke,” Dean informed.

“Not when they’re just meant to be funny.” I answered back, unsure if it even made sense.

“Then what is the humor in your joke?” Dean quickly spun around and stepped up to me, his body almost touching mine. ”Enlighten me.” he dared.

I gaped up at him. He was so tall and scary. I was speechless.

“I know you and your friend have been following me around.” Dean said.

“Well I know it was you that saved me that night! So why don’t we talk about that!” I said in a huff.

“Just go back to your normal life and forget about what I do.” Dean warned.

“And what do you do exactly?” I continued, “What is it that you do at night?” I spat out.

Dean stayed silent. His eyes were magnetized to mine. I became very aware that his body inched a little closer to me. In fact, he was so close I was afraid he would feel my heart thudding against my chest.

“Yeah. We know what you do. I didn’t believe it at first, but now it’s all clear to me. You chop heads off and the bodies disappear. You’re strong enough to punch holes in brick walls. Yeah, I saw that. And-”

“And what?” Dean demanded.

“And. Well…that’s all I know so far.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Then you don’t know everything. You and your friend should forget about me and continue on with your perfect little lives.” Dean ground out irately.

“Gosh! Why are you so harsh? Maybe if you were nicer you could have some friends.” I pointed out.

“Friends? And just what do you consider a friend? Someone that walks with you every day to your class? That tells pointless and stupid jokes? You’re right. I definitely need one of those since there aren’t bigger things to worry about in life.” Dean said sourly.

“We used to be friends. Didn’t you enjoy that?” I asked.

“You and I both know I was a different person back then.” Dean said softly.

“No! You’re still you, Dean.” I claimed while shaking my head in denial.

“Why would you think that?” Dean’s cocky attitude towards it made me even more determined to explore the subject.

“I can kind of see it when you look at me.” I said.

“A look?” Dean chuckled a very sexy chuckle. “Mindy can evaluate what goes on inside a person just by a look.” He mockingly announced with a smile. And it was a tender smile with meaning and passion behind it.

“You laughed. You never laugh! Ha! I got you to laugh!” Excitement sang out of me. I hadn’t seen him laugh in years.

His expression turned serious once again and he brought his face closer to me.

Right up to mine.

Face to face.

Eye to gorgeous green eye.

The smell of his cologne intoxicated me and I wanted to lick the scent out of the air to taste its sweetness.

“Let’s pretend that your ridiculous theory is true. Vampires exist. That I
did
save you that night. It would mean that I was simply passing by and punched a guy for hurting a girl, nothing more. It could have been anyone and I would have done the same thing. You’re not special. And if I am a vampire, then it’s best that I don’t socialize because my friends would be in danger of me getting
hungry.
Anyone around me would be in danger so I would keep to myself.” He paused and grazed his eyes over my lips and back up to meet my stare. “Are we pretending yet?”

I nodded and closed my dropped jaw. I was amazed that I heard what he was saying to me while I was under this spell.

“Now, let’s do something even better. How about we pretend that none of this ever happened and we forget we ever even knew each other. We’ve never spoken to each other. We don’t even know each other’s names.” With every word he uttered, his eyes drooped with a heaviness, and sadness.

“There would be a flaw in that fantasy of yours…” I pointed out.

“And what would that be?” he softly asked.

“Your staring at me would ruin it.” I said.

“I don’t stare.” he claimed.

“I guess stare would be the wrong word…” I continued, “…you gawk at me.” I accused.

“Gawk? What is gawk?” he asked.              

“You tell me. You’re the one that does it.” I said.

Dean was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts to prove me wrong, most likely. But his face softened. He no longer had a scary aura around him-it was peaceful. He looked peaceful.

Dean
brought his face down slightly closer to mine, so close that I could feel his clean breath. My God, even that smelled good.

“My def
inition of gawking would be…” Dean paused as if to hold back what he was going to say. But he couldn’t any longer. “…when you look at her, your heart starts slamming uncontrollably in your chest. So much that it scares you. And every other noise that surrounds you slowly fades away into absolute silence. You only hear the sounds she makes. And when she looks back at you, when her eyes meet yours, it’s as if she is looking deep inside your soul. And she can see all of the hatred you’re consumed in. Her eyes quench the thirst of your soul, gently soothing your damaged heart in the most alluring way… a way you could only dream of.” His peaceful face started to fill with pain. “Then those magical eyes start to look away. The time-freeze you were caught in starts to wear off. And fear takes over. You want to pull those eyes to yours again so that you could once again feel the fascinating sensations of happiness. Then, when she’s out of your sight, you feel empty inside. Your heart is back to normal. Only this time, it’s left with an aching worse than before. But you can never tell her. You can never be with her. You are alone in your pitiful existence-”

He stopped himself from talking further and studied my face. His lips were so close I could feel mine tingling. The feeling was much like when someone brushed their finger above your skin and you could feel the stirrings of it. I had forgotten how to breathe. My eyes had never been opened so wide. And my knees were about to collapse right under me.

“Is that how you would define gawking?” Dean tenderly asked.

ay something! Say something!
I cleared my throat and just when I was going to spit out whatever came to mind, he said…

“It’s getting l
ate. You should go home now.” Dean stepped back leaving a painful distance in between us.

“Why do you always tell me that? You’re like a broken record. ‘You should go home now. You should go home now.’” I paused. “Is it because of vampires? Do they really exist? That’s why you always want me to go home when it gets dark, huh?” I couldn’t help but to show my victorious smile. I figured it out! He wanted me to be indoors where it was safe.

“There you go with the vampires again. Get that out of your head already.” Irritation crept into his voice.

“Fine. Well, are you going to walk me home? Who knows what’s lurking out there.” I barked.

I stormed off without waiting for him to respond. I wanted to see what he would do. When I didn’t hear him approach me, disappointment washed over me. I shouldn’t have stormed off like that. Dean probably thought I was a drama queen.

He wasn’t going to follow.

I didn’t look back-I refused to. If I did, I would look too desperate.

The sun had set and a blanket of darkness covered the earth around Georgetown during my ‘conversation’ with Dean. At the time, it didn’t seem like such a long time had passed. There was a group of deer standing together, enjoying the grass. I also slowed my pace to a stand as I took in the twinkling stars in the sky.

I enjoyed the night, it seemed so peaceful. No busy cars. No busy life-everything was tranquil. No wonder the deer come out at night, there was no one to bother them.

Except for me.

The group froze at the sight of me and seconds later, they all ran away.

“Why are you so quiet?” a husky voice asked.

I whirled around to where the voice had come from. Dean was walking slightly behind me.

“Where did you come from?” I squealed, relieved and surprised that he came.

“I’ve been beside you.” he informed and arched his brow as if I were a crazy person in the woods.

“I didn’t hear you. Did you tippy toe your way up here?” I asked while imagining it in my head. It didn’t suit him in the least bit. His masculinity wouldn’t have let him.

“I’ve been walking beside you. You’re just too busy wishing upon a star and scaring deer to take notice.” he teased.

Surprised that he had been with me this whole time, I began to smile a little too broadly. I jumped in front of him making him stop in his tracks. My smile didn’t fade. In fact, it got bigger.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

Dean tried to walk around me, but I maneuvered myself to stay in his way so that he couldn’t walk. Once again, he tried and I blocked him.

“You like me.” I accused with confidence.

     He huffed out and grabbed me gently by the arms, his grip was firm. The moment his skin touched my bare arms, a high volt of soothing electricity surged from his skin. He closed his eyes as if he were taking the same feeling in. A few small strands of hair rested over my eye and as I reached up to swoop them away, his hand came up too. It was right where it should’ve been, in front of my face, ready to scoot the hair aside. But he stopped, took a huff, and lowered his hand back while closing his eyes. Dean wanted to do it, just like he used to when we were younger. It wasn’t something normal children without feelings towards each other would do. It was different; natural. He pressed his lips and opened those eyes that were already locked on mine. My heart was bouncing all over like a pinball machine. Did he feel the same way? Slowly, his face inched towards mine. His shaky breathing wasn’t hard to notice with the silence around us.

He was nervous.

He moved in another inch towards my face. His eyes were smoldering and determined as he gently pulled me towards him. His lips were now coming even closer to mine... and just when it seemed like they were about to touch, he stopped. I couldn’t believe it! He stopped!

Dean’s lips lingered close to mine as he said, “we need to get you home. Now.” His tone was serious. He pulled away and grabbed my hand firmly. His hands felt a little rough, like he worked a lot with them. But at the same time, they felt safe and comforting. He bolted away, dragging me with him. 

When we arrived at my door, he took off as I reached for the handle. I whirled around and saw him going back into the forest... and the forest was at least several yards away. There was no way he could have gotten there that fast. Not even if he sprinted.

I saw him enter the darkness of the forest without turning back.

He didn’t even say goodnight.

My mother had a dinner plate served for me on the dining table but I didn’t see one for her. Was it really that late?

After eating my dinner quickly, I trotted up to my mom’s room. It was cracked as it usually was when I got home from wherever I was at. I let her know that I was home and then I floated to my room. The words Dean said to me about when he ‘gawked’ gave me head rushes as I replayed them in my mind.

As soon as I shut my bedroom door behind me, I ran to the window. I didn’t know why, but I was kind of hoping to find Dean looking up at me, like I had seen in the movies.

But he wasn’t there. Just darkness.

That still didn’t take away the amazing bliss I was feeling. I couldn’t believe that I had such an impact on him. Wow! Could this really be real? A small screech escaped my throat as I ran to the closet. I wanted to make sure I had the perfect outfit for school the next day ready. I wanted to look my best for him.

It took me hours to fall asleep that night. The excitement was too great for me to relax, like waiting for Christmas morning.

Instead of under a tree, my gift was at school.

     To my absolute disappointment, Dean wasn’t at school. My day had never felt so empty and out of place. For some strange reason that I couldn’t explain, I needed his presence. And I found myself irritated at the day that I faced alone. He had never missed a day of school, to my knowledge. Why today of all days?

After the dreaded school day was finally over Markus drove me home.

“That’s why he hangs out with Shane!” Markus blurted out while pulling out of the school parking lot.

“What?” I asked.

“Cause they’re both vampires. They stick together.” Markus stated.

“I guess that would make sense. Cause it doesn’t seem like Dean enjoys it, but if they
have
to stick together, then he has to put up with it…” I continued, “…then why did he kill those other ‘vamps’?” I air quoted.

“Maybe because of territory? It’s big in the animal kingdom. I’m sure it’s the same with vamps,” he said. “Cause they’re not human.”

“Yeah…maybe.” I said thoughtfully.

“You okay? You look distant.” Markus asked.

“Yeah, I’m just…tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” I said. What I really was feeling was out-of-place because I didn’t see Dean at school.

After Markus dropped me off at home, I dragged my feet up to the house and when I turned the knob to open the door, out came my giant dog, slamming the door against me and causing me to fall on my butt. He took off running straight to the forest entrance we used to go running.
Stupid dog!
I dropped my bag and jogged in the direction Zeke went. Seeing as it was a little difficult jogging with my rhinestone flip–flops, I slowed down to a speed walk. It wasn’t like I would have been able to catch up to the dog anyway. Today seemed a lot brighter than usual, but when I entered the forest, the trees took away almost all of the heat from the sun, leaving behind only some humidity. I usually didn’t come out here this early because of the heat so I wished it was darker out already.

I called Zeke’s name in hopes that he would come running to me in obedience. Silly me. That was probably why the original owner got rid of him. Then, out of nowhere, he jumped out in front of me wagging his tail. This time he stayed in my view and waited until I caught up until leading me deeper into the forest. I swear the dog was teasing me. Purposely taunting me.

Zeke ran over a hill and out of my sight. When I heard the crisp stream of water, I realized that I had never come out this far before. I didn’t even know there was a river here. What sounded like water splashing had me curiously wandering towards the noise. I hurried my pace and when I reached the top of the hill, I saw nothing but trees, bundles of them huddled together like a wall. Zeke peeked his head through one of the small gaps in between the trees then just as quickly disappeared. I followed him through and came into view of the water, it was a small river with a steady stream. Birds were singing a melody that brought happiness and serenity to whoever and whatever surrounded them. In the small distance, a rabbit was drinking out of the clean water. And it was in no way bothered by my presence, as if this was a locked away place of harmony.

I felt something cold and wet on my hand, Zeke was licking it. But as I reached down to pet him, he took off again, quickly stepping along the riverside. Then he stopped and looked back to me, waiting. Without hesitation, I followed, wanting to see more. He slowly climbed down a rocky hill along the water and when I got there, I panicked. Beside me was a waterfall that cascaded down to a small pool of water. It wasn’t a crazy rush of water like you see in movies, it was calm. I took a deep breath and carefully walked down the hill trying not to fall in the water, even though I was only ten feet away. When I reached the bottom, I stood in front of the water in amazement. At the top of the waterfall, there was a long tree laid across, the small amount of water able to get through formed a veil that stretched to the bottom, ending in a faint cloud of foam. The waterfall looked to be only a little over twenty feet tall. On both sides of it, the ground made a circle around the pool of water that led down to the lower level, almost like two staircases. I pictured a mansion... one of those that when you walk in, there are stairs on either side of you.

A small bark captured my attention. I saw Zeke sitting next to a beautiful sight–Dean. He was in bright blue swimming trunks and a black muscle shirt. My mouth watered uncontrollably and I took a big gulp just before my jaw dropped to the ground.

Zeke turned to me and barked. If dogs could bark hello, then he sure just did. Dean slowly turned to me with a sexy grin. It was as if he was expecting me to come. The glistening water reflected off of his eyes. They were magnificent and bright, no dark circles.

That’s when I realized that I hadn’t moved since I spotted him. My mouth was still opened and I hadn’t blinked. I immediately straightened myself up and walked towards the mirage before me, sitting in front of the water.

He was an unbelievable masterpiece.

Shaking, I sat next to him. I kept my distance though. I wasn’t ready to be close to him again. Not just yet… even though my heart and body scolded me for it.

We sat there in silence for I didn’t know how long, but I very much enjoyed the scenery of the small waterfall and everything surrounding. It looked like there was a small cave behind it, too. I had always wanted to stand behind a waterfall, but my fear of deep waters got in the way of that happening.

Dean had his feet in the pool. It looked refreshing. He looked refreshing. So I took off my sandals and set them behind me and rolled my pants up to my knees. I stuck my feet inside the water and splashed around. I felt Dean’s heavy gaze at my feet. I wasn’t sure if I was bothering him, so I stopped.