New Beginnings: The Final Volume (2 page)

I
woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my door. I knew it was my mother.
“What,” I growled as I rolled over and looked at the ceiling.

“Honey,
your friend James is here. He was just checking on you.” She was trying to
sound chipper, but I knew she was worried.

“I’ll
be down in a minute,” I said quietly. I heard her leave and I sat up. It was
after seven. The sun was already starting to set which was a relief. I walked
downstairs and James was standing in the foyer.

“Hey,”
he said smiling nervously.

“What
are you doing here?” I was trying not to sound rude; but I was confused. I had
just met him, and I only spoke to him for a few minutes.

“I
was worried about you, and I thought maybe you would like to go get coffee or
something,” he said sounding a little nervous.

“I
guess that would be fine,” I said quietly. I walked to the door and he followed
me out.

“I
am not really familiar with the coffee shops around here. Where are we going?”
I asked as we walked toward all the shops.

“There
is a good one not far from here. It’s actually really close to campus,” he said
smiling.

I
nodded and didn’t speak. I really didn’t know what to say.

“So
how come you left school? I was kind of worried about you,” he said smiling as
he nudged me.

I
smiled. “I didn’t feel good. I decided to go home. I didn’t think anyone would
care.”

“Coffee
shop right here,” he said pointing. He held the door for me and I walked into
the place. It was noisy and it looked like quite a few college kids hung out
here. I felt like someone watching me so I scanned the room. Professor Dorian
and Professor Lockwood were sitting at a table together. They were watching me,
or at least I thought they were. I was beginning to think I was getting
paranoid.

“Do
you want a coffee?” James asked catching my attention.

I
looked back at him. “Ya sure,” I said trying to shake the odd sensations I was
feeling. I did my best not to look back at the table where the professors sat.
I stood in line with James. I kept my eyes on the floor. I was starting to feel
overwhelmed again like I felt in school. James handed me a coffee, and I
followed him to a couch near the back of the room.

“So
what degree are you going for?” James asked trying to get me to talk.

“English
for now. What about you?” I was trying to fight the urge to look around. I was
being paranoid again and it was starting to get too me.

He
shrugged. “Not sure. I am just doing a couple classes to see if anything
catches my attention.”

“Do
you want to get out of here? There are too many people,” I said glancing
around.

He
looked a little confused, but nodded. I stood and hurried toward the door. Once
I was outside I felt a little better. I walked slowly toward the park and he
kept pace with me. He didn’t say much of anything; he just watched me. Once we
were in the secluded park I felt a little better. “I like the park,” I said
quietly.

He
nodded. “I like it too,” he said sounding a little confused. I had to admit I
was a lame date. I wasn’t feeling like myself.

A
rustling noise too my right caught my attention. A large wolf leapt from the
trees. I was frozen in place not sure what to do. James reacted and threw me
aside. I landed in the grass, and James and the wolf went rolling across the
ground. I watched frozen. James was fighting the wolf like it wasn’t an unusual
occurrence. James suddenly snapped the wolf’s neck to the side. It went limp
and James threw it aside and looked at me.

I
looked at him confused. “What is going on?” I asked in barely a whisper.

“Nothing.
It was just a stray dog or something. Are you okay?” He was brushing me off
like it was no big deal.

I
got to my feet and watched him cautiously. There was something wrong. He
shouldn’t have been able to fight the wolf like he did. His shoulder was red
with blood. “You’re bleeding,” I said softly. It was odd, but I could smell the
blood before I even saw it. I felt my mouth start to water and it freaked me
out. “I have to go.” My voice was barely a whisper as I spoke.

“Wait,
what’s wrong?” he asked looking worried.

I
didn’t understand what was happening. The scent of his blood made me want to go
too him. I wanted to taste his blood. I could almost taste it just thinking
about it. “Nothing, I just have to go. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” I
didn’t wait for his reply. I just turned and ran. The fresh air helped clear my
head a little, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling completely. I was glad
that he didn’t try to follow. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go home either. All
that was there was my mother asking me if I’m ok. The truth was, I didn’t know
if I was ok. I didn’t feel like I was.

I
walked quickly down the street past my house. I didn’t really know where I was
going. I was just walking. I was going over everything I had been feeling.
Nothing made sense. I felt weird. I hadn’t felt like myself since waking up. I
felt like I knew people I had never met before, I had headaches and nose
bleeds, I could smell blood and what was worse I wanted to taste it. I stopped
in front of a huge Victorian house. I looked up at it, and I had that odd
feeling I knew the place. It was foggy like the people’s faces. I wasn’t quite
sure how I knew it; but it felt like I knew it.

“Isabella?”
a familiar voice said from behind me.

I
turned quickly and Professor Alexander Lockwood stood there watching me. “What
are you doing here Professor?” I asked nervously.

“I
live here,” he said and smiled like I was being silly.

“Oh,”
I said and looked back at the house. “It’s a pretty house.”

He
watched me like he wasn’t sure what to say. “Would you like a tour?” he asked
after a few minutes.

I
shook my head and stepped back. I couldn’t go in that house. There was
something about the place that made me feel odd. “I should get home,” I said
softly. I met his lilac eyes and I felt like my heart stopped. There was
something about him, and I couldn’t figure it out. I felt my nose start
bleeding. I cussed and pressed my sleeve to my nose. “I have to go,” I muttered
and went to walk away.

He
caught my arm and I looked at him. “Come inside. I have a towel you can use,”
he offered.

I
really didn’t want to have to walk all the way home with blood all over me. I
nodded and he turned and went toward the door. I followed him cautiously. I
stayed a few steps behind. I was still unsure about the place. I followed him
into a bathroom and he offered me a towel.

“I’ll
leave you to clean up,” he said and smiled.

I
nodded and he walked out and closed the door behind him. I did my best to clean
up the blood. I looked in the mirror. I looked pale. I shook my head. I wished
more than anything I could feel normal.

I
walked out of the bathroom and he was waiting in the foyer. “All better?” he
asked smiling like he always did. The way he smiled made me uncomfortable. The
way he did everything made me uncomfortable. I felt like I knew him, and I
couldn’t figure out why.

“Yes
thank you. I should get going,” I said softly.

He
nodded. “Will you be in class tomorrow?”

I
looked at him not sure what to say. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be. After
the nosebleeds, and James wrestling the wolf I wasn’t so sure. “I really don’t
know.”

He
looked a little confused. “Did you not like your classes?”

I
shook my head. “It’s complicated,” I said quietly.

“Perhaps
I could help. If you want to stay and talk I wouldn’t mind the company,” he
said smiling.

I
couldn’t explain it, but I trusted him. I still felt odd around him, but I
didn’t think that he would do anything to harm me. “I suppose I could stay for
a few minutes.”

“Good,
come sit down,” he said as he turned and walked into the main living room.

I
sat down on one of the couches while he made himself a drink. “How long have
you been here?” I asked trying to kill the awkward silence.

“A
long time. What about you?” he asked as he sat in a chair across from me.

“Only
a few weeks. My mother moved here over the summer,” I said as I looked around
the room.

“I
am sure you will like the place once you get used to it. It is a small town.
Everyone knows everyone,” he said amused.

I
nodded. “It’s not bad. I just…I don’t know,” I said shaking my head. I didn’t
know. I couldn’t explain what was going on. He would think I was insane and
probably report it.

“You
can tell me. I promise anything you say to me will remain between us,” he said
trying to reassure me.

I
looked at my hands trying to figure out how to put what I needed to say into
words. “Have you ever seen someone or something that you think you know, but
you can’t place it?”

He
watched me for a minute then he cleared his throat, and set his drink on a side
table. “I haven’t myself, but I know what you are talking about. Does it happen
often?”

I
shrugged. “It was just happening every once in a while. I would see a shirt or
something, and I would think I had seen it before, but I couldn’t place it.
Today it has been happening a lot and I’m starting to think I am going insane.”

“I
am sure you are just stressed. It is the first day of school. That can be very
stressful. I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” he said brushing it off.

“I
am having odd cravings too. I’ve never had them before,” I said quietly.

He
hesitated and watched me. I didn’t like how his expression changed. I wasn’t
sure if I should continue. “What kind of cravings?”

I
shook my head and stood. “It’s no big deal. I am sure it will stop like you
said it has to be stress. I should go. Thanks for everything.” There was no way
I was going to tell him I was craving blood. I couldn’t; he would definitely
think I was insane then.

“Wait
Isabella,” he said as he stood.

I
looked at him not sure what to say. I was getting an odd sensation again, and I
knew if I didn’t leave soon I would end up getting a nosebleed again. He didn’t
say anything; so I just hurried out of the room and out the door. I didn’t know
why I had told him as much as I did. I didn’t even know him that well. All I
had was a feeling that I could trust him. I felt a little better once I lost
sight of his house. My mind was racing. I couldn’t quit thinking about my
encounter with him. He didn’t seem as shocked about my confession; then again
he seemed like he was more curious about what I was craving then he should have
been. I pushed the thought away and hurried into my house. I was relieved that
my mother wasn’t home. I didn’t want to have to deal with her on top of
everything else.

The
next morning I was already awake by the time my mother came in my room. I had
barely slept. My mind was racing and I couldn’t get everything that had happened
out of my head. The more I thought about it the more out of place everything
seemed. The way James fought the wolf like it was no big deal. The way
Professor Lockwood seemed to know what I was talking about when I mentioned
having a craving. Everything seemed wrong. Maybe I was paranoid, but I wanted
to know for sure. The only way I would get answers was by going back to school.

I
left before my mother could ask me too many questions. I wasn’t that hungry, so
skipped breakfast. I wanted to get too school as early as possible. I wasn’t
sure what I was going to do, or how I was going to figure out what was going
on. I wasn’t even sure anything was going on. I was just going off my feelings
and I could be insane.

James
was standing outside the building of my first class as I approached. “Hey, you
feeling better today?” he asked as he walked with me.

I
nodded. “Wrestle any wolves lately?”

He
grinned. “It wasn’t a wolf. It was just some stray.” He shrugged me off like it
was no big deal.

I
didn’t comment even though I knew better. I knew it was a wolf. What I didn’t
know was how it got in the park or how he managed to wrestle it and kill it. “I
have a literature class I have to get too,” I muttered.

“I’ll
catch you later then,” he said hesitantly.

I
forced a smiled and nodded then walked into my classroom. Lexi, the girl that
had checked on me in the bathroom the previous day was the only one I knew in
class. She waved me over to her. I didn’t really want to sit next to her, but I
didn’t want to be mean either.

“Hey,
you look better today,” she said in a voice that was way too chipper.

“Ya
just a bad day yesterday I guess,” I said glancing around.

“You
ok? Are you looking for someone?” she asked sounding more curious than
anything.

She
asked way too many questions. It was kind of irritating. “No,” I muttered and
opened my book.

“Hey
sis, you have the same class as me?” a guy said as he took a seat next to her.

I
looked up at him and froze. I knew him. I was even pretty sure I knew his name.
“Alan,” I said before I could stop myself.

His
eyes widened and so did Lexi’s. “Have we met?” he asked glancing nervously at
Lexi.

“No;
that’s the problem,” I growled as I stood. I gathered my books and walked
toward the exit. That was way too weird. I didn’t know why I even tried to come
back. I knew something like this would happen. He was another face I felt like
I should know. I even knew his name, but I didn’t know how.

The
hall was pretty clear because everyone was in class, but me. I wasn’t in class
I was trying to figure out what my next move would be. “Isabella,” Professor
Dorian said stepping out of one of the classrooms.

I
hesitated and watched him. “What do you want?” I asked softly. I was trying to
keep the fear out of my voice, but it was impossible.

He
looked hesitant. “I just wanted to talk. There is no reason to be afraid.”

“I’m
not afraid,” I lied. I didn’t want to admit to him that I felt like I was going
crazy.

“Bella
come into my office and talk to me,” he said more firmly this time. He was
acting like he knew me on a personal level, and it was making me even more
nervous.

I
decided to run. I knew it was childish, but I couldn’t think of anything else
to do. I ran through the hall and around the corner. “Bella!” he called after
me. He was chasing me.

I
came to a stop when Professor Lockwood appeared in front of me. I went to
scream, but Professor Dorian’s hand covered my mouth from behind. I struggled,
but he was incredibly strong.

“Get
her in my office,” Professor Lockwood ordered.

Professor
Dorian dragged me into Professor Lockwood’s office. I glared at Professor
Lockwood as he locked the door. Professor Dorian still had his hand over my
mouth. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew I was scared to death.
Professor Lockwood stepped up to me and looked me in the eye. His lilac eyes
were mesmerizing. I felt like I was falling and it scared me even more. “Bella
it is very important that you listen to me. You are not to scream. Dorian and I
only wish to help you.”

I
shifted nervously, then nodded. I wasn’t going to scream. I was going to hear
them out. After all I did go back to the school for answers maybe they had
them. Dorian removed his hand from my mouth and stepped away from me. I stood
frozen watching Alexander. “Who are you?” I asked trying to keep my tone even.

“We
are your friends. We are not here to hurt you. We are only trying to help you,”
Alexander said softly.

“Why
do I need help? What is wrong with me?” I asked angrily.

“Nothing
is wrong with you, you have just forgotten who you are,” Dorian said sounding
slightly annoyed.

“How?
Who am I?” I asked turning to look at him.

He
looked at Professor Lockwood for help. Professor Lockwood just shrugged like he
didn’t know what to say any more than Professor Dorian did. “That is complicated.
Right now all that matters is that you know that you aren’t going insane. What
you are feeling is just your memories trying to come through.”

“How
do I get my memories back? What do I have to do?” I asked looking from Dorian
to Alexander.

“I’m
afraid it isn’t as simple as you doing something. A witch put a spell on you.
We have to find the exact witch that put the spell on you, and convince her to
break it.” Alexander didn’t sound very confident as he spoke.

“Then
find her,” I said angrily.

“It
isn’t that simple Isabella calm down,” Alexander growled like he was getting
impatient with me.

“How
can you just tell me to calm down? I am going crazy here!” I said angrily.

“We
don’t know what witch put the spell on you. Only you and Maven know. Maven
won’t tell us, and you don’t remember,” Dorian said trying to reason with me.

“Make
Maven tell you! You have to do something!” I said panicked. If they knew how to
fix me they couldn’t just say they couldn’t do it. They had to do something to
help me.

Alexander
laughed like it was a joke. “She really doesn’t remember anything because she
wouldn’t have just said that.” He sounded like he was making fun of me, and it
only irritated me more.

“Fine,
I will find out who the witch is myself,” I growled and went to walk past them.

Alexander
caught me by my arms and I looked up at him defiantly. “You have no clue what
you are talking about. Going after Maven will do nothing but get you killed.
She doesn’t even know we have found you. If she did all she would do is come
after you. You have to trust us. This is going to take time, but we will find a
way,” he said softly.

He
was right. I had no clue what was going on. I didn’t even know who they were.
He kept talking about witches and spells. Things I only heard in stories. What
bothered me the most was the fact that I wasn’t that freaked
out.
Maybe a small part of me remembered all of it. “What am I supposed to do then?”
I asked quietly.

“Keep
doing what you are doing. Go to school, make friends. Let us find a way and
when we do, we will tell you,” Dorian said watching me.

“I
can’t just keep pretending nothing is wrong. I mean you are saying there are
witches and spells and for some crazy reason I believe you. How do I know you
aren’t witches or whatever, and that you haven’t cast a spell on me?” I was
hesitant about trusting them. They hadn’t made a move to hurt me, and I had a
feeling I could trust them; but lately I wasn’t trusting my own feelings.

“I
am a warlock, not a witch, and Alexander is a vampire. We are not here to hurt
you, and we will tell you anything you want to know,” Dorian said watching me.

I
looked at Alexander. “A vampire? Seriously?” I couldn’t hide the amusement in
my voice. I was starting to think it was a joke. Maybe I was actually crazy.

He
suddenly appeared in front of me. He was extremely close to me. He smiled and
he had pointy teeth. I looked up into his lilac eyes, and I could see he was
amused. “Yes a vampire and I hate to tell you, but you are also a vampire of
sorts.”

“I
don’t have pointy teeth,” I said confused.

He
laughed. “You don’t because you don’t realize what you are. You have the
ability to make yours come and go. Mine are always here. I just make it so
people can’t see them.”

“Oh,”
I said then looked away thinking about it. “What is James? He wrestled a wolf
last night, but he keeps claiming it was a stray even though I know better.”

“James
is a werewolf, Alan is a vampire slash warlock, and Lexi is a witch. There are
others who you know that you just haven’t seen yet. Your mother is also a
witch, and your father a vampire,” Dorian said as he pulled a cellphone out of
his pocket.

I
watched him still slightly confused and hesitant to believe them. “Why do you
need a cellphone if you are a warlock?”

Dorian
looked at me. “I still use a cellphone to communicate. How else do you suggest
I do it; smoke signals?” he asked sarcastically.

I
shrugged. “That sounds more reasonable.” He rolled his eyes and went back to
whatever he was doing on his phone. “Why do I have the headaches and the
nosebleeds?” I decided to ask them as many questions as possible. The more
confusion they could clear up, the better I would feel.

“The
spell has side effects that are causing the symptoms. Every time you try to
remember anything the symptoms present themselves,” Alexander said as he walked
around his desk and took a seat.

“There
isn’t anything I can do?” I asked looking from Dorian to Alexander.

“You
could come meet your friends. Talk to them see if maybe it triggers anything,”
Dorian said thoughtfully.

“That
will either help or cause more pain. All we can do is try it,” Alexander said
agreeing with Dorian as he watched me.

“I
want to try. I want to remember. I feel like I am going crazy,” I said
excitedly. I wanted to talk to my friends. I had been so lonely the past few
weeks. The prospect of having friends made me giddy.

“I
don’t have any classes until later this afternoon. I will take her to the
house,” Dorian said opening the door.

Alexander
smiled. “Good luck.” The way he said it made me a little nervous. I wondered
why he was saying it. I didn’t care. I wanted to see figure out what was going
on.

I
followed Dorian down the hall to the exit. “We are going to walk since it isn’t
that far,” he said as he walked briskly in the direction of Alexander’s house.

“Why
didn’t anyone tell me about this sooner?” I asked as I kept pace with him.

“We
thought it might be better if you didn’t know. We thought maybe it would give
you a chance to start over. Then we noticed that you weren’t reacting
properly,” he said glancing at me.

“Was
my life before this that bad? Why wouldn’t I want to go back to it?” I asked
confused.

He
shrugged. “It is very complicated. What you are is complicated. I wouldn’t
worry about it too much. The best thing right now is to try to see if you can
remember anything about the night this happened to you.”

I
remained quiet the rest of the walk. I was contemplating everything he had
said. What if I was a bad person? I was just hoping I wouldn’t regret getting
my memory back; that is of course if I could get it back anyway. The house came
into view and my pulse quickened. I was getting more and more excited the
closer we got.

Dorian
walked up the steps to the house and unlocked the door. I waited near the
bottom of the steps still hesitant about going inside. What if they didn’t like
me? It was all I could think about. Then again if they didn’t like me I
couldn’t see why they would stay near me and watch me like they did.

“Come
on girl,” Dorian growled as he stepped inside the house. I hurried up the
stairs and followed him inside. It looked the same as it had the night before.
I followed Dorian into the living room. He went to the bar and made himself a
drink.

“I
thought I heard someone come in,” a man said coming into the room. He had dark
brown hair and intelligent gray eyes. He had an accent that sounded like he was
from Europe or somewhere overseas. He hesitated when he saw me. His eyes darted
to Dorian and it was a questioning look. “Has the plan changed?” he asked.

Dorian
nodded. “She was catching on. Alexander thought it would be best to tell her
before she did something stupid.”

I
watched the man as he spoke to Dorian. He seemed familiar like the rest, but I
didn’t remember who he was. It was just like the others. I knew, but when I
thought about it, I came up with nothing. I felt blood start to trickle from my
nose and I cussed. Ali hurried over to me and pressed a handkerchief to my
nose. “How long has this been happening?” he asked sounding concerned.