New Beginnings: The Final Volume (3 page)

“For
a while. It had gotten worse in the last couple days. That is why Alexander
decided to tell her,” Dorian said as he took a seat.

“Come,
we will get you a clean shirt,” Ali said taking my hand and leading me out of
the room.

I
tried to relax, but I couldn’t. Something about him made me nervous. They all
made me nervous. They knew everything about me and I knew nothing about them. I
didn’t even know how I met them. He led me into a bedroom and selected a shirt
out of the closet. “Thank you,” I said as I accepted the shirt.

He
smiled. “It is your shirt, but you are welcome.”

I
smiled nervously. “I wish I could remember everyone.”

“It
will come back to you eventually,” he said as he walked toward the door. “I
will leave you to change.” He left and I quickly changed my shirt. I decided to
do some snooping to see if I could figure anything out. Maybe by looking around
I would be able to remember something. I would have settled for remembering
anything at this point.

I
opened the side table and hesitated when I saw a picture of me staring back at
me. I picked it up and looked at it. I was lying in a bed and I was shirtless.
My eyes landed on the next picture in the pile. I felt my heart start to race
when I saw it was Ali. The man I had just met. He was lying next to me. He was
holding the camera above us and taking pictures. Maybe he was my boyfriend, and
I didn’t even know it. I never thought of that. I quickly out the pictures away
and shut the door. Maybe snooping was a bad idea. I only felt a little worse
because now I didn’t know what my relationship was with them. I took a deep
breath and stepped out of the room. I wanted to meet others, and find out what
they would tell me.

I
hesitated when another man came out of the bedroom across the hall. “Damn,” he
muttered when he saw me.

“I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you I was looking for Ali,” I said quietly.

He
hesitated and his expression softened. “You don’t remember me do you?”

“I’m
sorry, I don’t remember anyone. It is nothing against you,” I said smiling
weakly.

“Well
I am Nicolai, it is nice to meet you again,” he said playfully.

I
smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too, I guess.”

“I
am sure Ali is down in the garden. I will show you the way,” he said and
started walking down the hall.

I
followed him examining each painting as we went. “This is a really nice house,”
I said absently.

He
laughed. “Your house was much nicer.”

“I
had a house?” I asked a little more curious about him.

“You
had a house, servants, boyfriends, whatever you wanted you had it,” he said
dryly.

“I
take it that was a bad thing?” I asked sensing his annoyed tone.

He
shrugged. “You didn’t think so, and that is all that matters right? The garden
is straight then to the left. Go out the double doors and he normally sits near
the roses.”

I
nodded. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,”
he said softly then walked off.

I
walked down the hall and through the double doors. Just as Nicolai said, Ali
was sitting in the garden on a bench near the roses. He looked up at me and set
his book aside. “I love roses,” I said smiling as I took a seat next to him.

He
smiled back. “I know, that is why these are here. I actually planted them.”

I
looked away not sure what to say. I saw the pictures and now he knew about
roses being my favorite flower. “Were we dating?” I asked quietly. I was pretty
sure I knew what the answer was.

He
watched me and his expression was a little distant. “At one point we were
close, but things got in the way, and we have been apart for a while.”

“Oh,
it wasn’t a bad breakup was it?” I asked hoping I didn’t say or do anything
mean to him. He seemed so nice. He seemed like such a romantic. He was the guy
every girl would want.

He
shook his head. “I wouldn’t say it was bad, it was just sudden.”

“Oh,
are you seeing anyone else now?” I asked hoping he was. It would only make me
feel worse if he was still stuck on me. I couldn’t even remember anything about
him, but he knew everything about me.

He
shook his head. “There is too much going on. There isn’t time for personal
relationships.”

I
nodded. “I wish I could remember everything,” I said softly.

“You
will eventually I am sure.” He didn’t sound very confident as he spoke and it
made me feel a little worse.

The
doors to the house few open and two men came out. They were both older and good
looking, but like the others I couldn’t place them. “What is she doing here?”
the one that appeared to be in charge asked. I was a little surprised that he
sounded angry. Maybe we didn’t like each other.

“Rick,
you should speak with Alexander. He is the one who ordered it not me,” Ali said
sounding a little impatient.

Rick’s
eyes went to me, and I had to admit I was nervous. The way he looked at me made
me think he hated me; whoever I was. “Come on Rick, we will go find him now,”
the other guy said as he nudged Rick.

Rick
didn’t move, and I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but it couldn’t have been
good. “What the hell is wrong with her?” he asked as he shifted his gaze to
Ali.

“She
doesn’t remember anyone,” Ali said quietly as he picked at a rose that was near
him.

Rick
scoffed like he didn’t believe him. “Kind of like she died last time right?”

Ali
glared at him. “She has no memory of what happened so I don’t suggest you go
down that road because you will find it is nothing but a dead end.”

“I’m
sure,” he muttered then turned and stormed back into the house. The other guy
looked at me for a minute then hurried off after Rick.

“What
did I do to him?” I asked quietly. The more I was learning about myself the
more I didn’t like what I was finding.

“Believe
it or not you turned him, and the guy with him, Gabriel, into vampires. You
also turned Matt and Joseph; which I am sure you will meet later. They are
James’ brother and cousin. You also turned a boy named Alan, although I still
can’t fathom why you did that,” he said like he was thinking about it.

“What
do you mean by turned? Did I hurt them? Is that why he is so angry?” I was
getting upset. I hated that I couldn’t remember it was making me insane. I felt
my head start to ache and blood began to pour from my nose.

“Stop
thinking about it. You are hurting yourself,” he chided sounding worried as he
pressed a rag to my nose. I was beginning to think he had them on hand just for
me.

“I
have to remember something. All these people know me and I know them, I do. I
just don’t know from where or how.” I felt tears start to run down my cheeks. I
was getting overwhelmed. It had only happened one other time, and that was when
I first woke up. I felt my chest tighten and it was like I couldn’t breathe. I
could see Ali’s lips moving, he was talking; but I couldn’t hear him past the
sound of blood pounding in my head. Suddenly I felt like I was falling and
everything went black.

I
woke up in a bed. I remembered what happened. I groaned and sat up. Alan was in
my room. He had his back turned to me as he did something. He glanced at me and
smiled. “I figured you would wake up soon. Here drink this,” he said as he sat
down on the bed next to me.

I
took the small cup he offered me. “What is it?” I asked a little suspicious.

He
smiled. “I promise it will make you feel better.”

I
sighed and drank it. It tasted horrible. “That was terrible,” I muttered.

He
laughed. “I know, but it works.” He stood and went back to the counter where he
was mixing herbs or something.

“Do
you like me?” I asked wondering how he felt about me.

He
looked a little confused. “Of course. Why would you ask that?”

I
sighed as I laid back against my pillows. “This guy earlier, I think his name
was Rick. He was angry with me and I don’t know why. I figured I better ask
people how they feel about me.”

“Rick
is just touchy. Don’t worry about him. He loves you even though he won’t admit
it,” he said amused.

“Was
I a bad person?” I was asking because I was starting to think maybe I wasn’t
very nice.

“You
had your moments,” he said playfully. “I am going to go tell Alexander you are
awake. Why don’t you shower and get dressed.” He left before I could ask any
more questions. I didn’t know how I was going to get any answers when it seemed
like everyone was refusing to give me answers.

I
went to the bathroom and started the shower. I wasn’t really looking forward to
going back downstairs. I was beginning to think I was better off alone in my
room.

I
walked back into the bedroom from the bathroom. I hesitated when I saw
Alexander was sitting on a chair. I pulled my towel a little tighter around me.
“I was going to be down after I dressed,” I said hesitantly.

He
smiled like he knew something I didn’t. “Why are you so shy? It wasn’t that
long ago that you were naked in my arms.”

I
looked at him a little shocked. “I slept with you?”

He
laughed as he stood. “You slept with all of us at one time or another.”

I
blushed and looked away as I sat down on the bed. “Maybe I am better off
forgetting who I was.”

“Maybe,
you had an uncanny ability to get exactly what you wanted,” he said as he
walked over to the window.

I
thought about it for a minute. “I think I should go home. Maybe everything is
better how it is now. I will at least be a little better because I know now
that I am not crazy.”

He
looked a little startled. “What about finding the witch and getting your memory
back?”

I
shrugged. “Maybe some things are better left alone. I just want to move on and
let them move on.”

He
didn’t speak. He looked like he was considering what I was saying. “I believe
that is entirely up to you.”

I
was relieved that he wasn’t going to argue. “I will leave as soon as I am
dressed. Thank you for being understanding.”

He
smiled. “In a way I have been where you are. I understand what you want.” He
walked to the door to leave. He hesitated with his hand on the knob. “Everyone
cares about you. Don’t forget that.”

I
smiled and nodded. “I won’t.”

He
forced a smile then left me to get dressed.

I
hurried down the stairs toward the door. I figured it would be best to leave
instead of telling everyone. I hesitated when I saw Rick standing at the bottom
of the stairs. He was leaning against the wall, sharpening a knife. He glanced
up at me scowled and looked away.

“Come
to inflict your presence on everyone?” he growled.

His
words hurt a little, but I pushed the feeling away. I wasn’t going to fight
with him. I was done fighting and being the person he hated. He may not have
thought it, but I wasn’t her anymore. I continued down the stairs. “I am
actually leaving,” I said quietly.

He
blocked me just as I reached the bottom step. I looked at him a little confused
by his sudden action. “Where are you going?” he asked sounding annoyed.

“Home,
where I belong,” I said softly and went to move past him.

He
pressed his body to mine refusing to waver. “So you are just going to give up?”
he asked angrily.

I
looked at him even more confused now. First he was angry I was here, now he was
angry I was leaving. He needed to make up his mind. “Tell me what exactly am I
giving up? No one has anything nice to say about me except Ali, and that’s
because he is obviously lovesick. I don’t know who I was, and the more I talk
to people the more I don’t want to find out. So I am going to go home and
pretend none of this ever happened. I am going to live a normal life where the
things that go bump in the night don’t exist.” I went to move past him again
and he refused to let me by. I was starting to get irritated with him.

“You
are taking the easy way out!” he hissed. If he wasn’t angry before I knew he
was now. “You get to forget everything you have done; and then you leave us all
here to rot. That sounds like the Isabella I know. Maybe you haven’t lost who
you are as much as you think.”

I
looked at him trying to control my temper. “I am sorry for whatever it was I
did to you, and whatever it is I will do to you by leaving tonight. I know that
doesn’t really matter, but I am saying it anyway. You should at least take
comfort in the fact that you will never have to worry about me again.” He
didn’t speak and I pushed past him. This time he let me by; and I walked out
the door. I felt a little better once I was in the fresh air. Rick had made me
feel even worse than I felt before.

“Isabella!”
Dorian growled as he attempted to catch up with me.

I
rolled my eyes. “Leave me alone. I am going home.”

“No
you aren’t. You are home,” he said as he fell into step with me.

“That
place isn’t my home. That place is…I don’t even know what it is. I am not going
back to what I was. Everyone needs to move on and leave me alone!” I countered.

He
caught my arm forcing me to stop. I glared at him and he glared back at me.
“The Isabella I knew wouldn’t have given up no matter how difficult things
got.”

“I
am not her! I don’t want to be her! I want to be left alone. I want to go to
college and have fun. I want to eventually get married and have children. Then
I want to grow old and die. I want to be normal, so just let me go please.” I
had started out yelling, but now I was pleading with him.

“I
hate to be the one to tell you this but normal is not in your destiny. You are
immortal which means you cannot die. So all that will happen is you will watch
your husband and your children age and die. You will never have a normal life.
The closest thing to normal that you can have is if you make a life with people
like you. People who are in that house that you are refusing to go back too.”
He was glaring at me like I was being an insolent child.

Everything
he was saying startled me. No one had mentioned I was immortal. I never even
really considered the idea. I knew I was supposedly some type of vampire, but they
could die. “Just leave me alone,” I said quietly then continued walking. I was
relieved that he didn’t follow.