Unrequited (4 page)

Turning into his driveway, another thought flashed across his mind. Perhaps Ashton's presence meant he didn’t have to be alone for the rest of his endless life. He shook his head and tried to dismiss the idea immediately. She was a student, after all, and he still didn’t know anything about her.

Will walked into his house and tossed his bag onto the couch. He had a comfortable, but small, cottage-style house on the edge of Belle Ridge. The furniture was tasteful, but rather stately for such a little place. He had gathered his belongings over decades and decades of travel. The dressers and tables were dark wood. The couches and chairs were deep red and gold brocades. The walls were covered in antique tapestries and paintings, many of which were new when Will first acquired them. He felt at home here. The world around him might be a modern one, but he felt most comfortable among items from the past.

He rifled through his mail and noticed a card from his old friend Henry Pike. Will had met Henry when they were both graduate students over forty years ago. Now in his seventies, Henry was the only person who knew Will's secret. He was also the best person for Will to talk to about Ashton Wallace. Through their friendship, Henry had become an expert of sorts in the world of paranormal studies. He was now a professor at the University of Georgia, and the card he sent was an invitation to a special presentation he was giving the upcoming weekend.

Will called Henry and told him he would be there, and they made plans to have lunch the day of the seminar. Maybe by then Will would have a little more information about Ashton, and Henry could help him figure out what to do.

Chapter Five

Ashton walked into the second day of school determined to relax and go with the flow. Her mother had been right; there was no point in denying herself whatever enjoyment she could find during this year. Her father had agreed and encouraged Ashton to make more friends and to join some of the activities she had done back at Mount Clara.

At her old school, Ashton had been involved in almost everything. She was on the student council, she had been on the flag corps, and she was a member of the basketball team. Of all those things, basketball had been her favorite, and she decided to sign up for tryouts as soon as they were posted.

While opening her locker, Sarah came rushing to Ashton's side.

“Well, rumor has it Jackson Truitt asked you to the dance. Is it true?” Sarah was so excited that Ashton wondered if Sarah had some sort of stake in it. Then she realized Sarah had probably decided they were friends, and like any friend, she was happy at the prospect of another friend having a date. In the past year she hadn't had a friend in her life who would get excited on her behalf, and had almost forgotten what it felt like. Her parents were right; she definitely needed to make a change.

Ashton smiled and turned to fully face Sarah, determined to try and embrace new friendships and some sense of teenage normalcy.

“Yes, he did, but I haven't accepted. I don't really know him,” she said as she closed her locker.

“Well, then let me fill you in.” Sarah looped her arm through Ashton's and spent the entire walk to English listing Jackson's qualities.

As it turned out, Sarah did have an interest in the whole dance affair. Jackson and Sarah were cousins, and he had asked Sarah to help him persuade Ashton to go to the dance.

If the dance really meant that much to Sarah, Ashton decided she might as well honor her new “go with the flow” mentality, and accept the dance invitation. Now she just had to tell Jackson.

“Do it at lunch. That way we can all be there,” Sarah suggested, and Ashton smiled in agreement, realizing she had definitely found the group of friends she was going to be part of this year. There was some comfort in knowing people in the world still wanted her company, and it gave Ashton the first real flash of optimism she’d had in a long time.

The morning passed, and it was finally lunch time. Ashton took her place at the table with Aimee, Sarah, and the other girls. Before too long, Jackson and his friends had come in and found their table. Jackson was smiling at Ashton, and she suspected Sarah had already told him what was about to happen.

Mustering her courage, Ashton stood and walked over to Jackson.

“I've decided I will go to the dance with you. Thank you for asking.” And she immediately turned again and walked back to her friends, but not before she saw the wide grin spreading across Jackson’s face. She had butterflies in her stomach as she made her way to her table. Maybe she was just a little bit excited for Friday.

***

Will was staring in surprise, and quickly tried to collect himself. Was this girl so comfortable with her situation that she wasn't afraid to make real human connections? Or instead, was she just so young and new that she hadn't yet realized the ramifications of possibly loving a mortal?

Earlier in the day, Will had gone into the office and found Ashton's records. If the file was true, then his assumptions were correct. It appeared she had been born and raised in Mount Clara until last year, when she had to leave school. The records indicated she'd been in an accident, but the information ended there. If he had to guess, the “accident” was the event that changed her, and according to this file she had probably only been a vampire for about a year.

Her family was staying with her and supporting her. He'd seen them together, and by all outward appearances they looked like a regular family. Will's own family had been too scared to associate with him after his change. The feelings of being turned away by his parents still saddened him, even after all these years.

“I do not know what you are, but you are not my son,” Will's father yelled, his eyes flashing. Will recognized it was fear, not anger, which drove his father now.

“Father, I am your son. I can't help this thing that has happened to me. I don't know what to do. Please don't turn me away,” Will pleaded. He'd come to his family's home in hopes of finding comfort and guidance. Even though he was twenty-five and had been out in the world for a few years, Will needed his family to help him now.

“Go away, Will, and don't return here.” His father forced Will out of the house and shut the door in his face. Even as the door closed, Will could see his mother crying in the corner. He knew she wouldn’t speak up, even if she wanted to.

It was his mother in whom he'd confided. It was she who he'd told of the night that changed him. Scared he was going insane, his mother had told his father. When his father confronted him, he had said the words that sealed his fate.

“I no longer believe that I am human.”

Even after all these years, Will could still see the look on his mother's face when he’d left on that last night. A million times he wished he had yelled to her that he loved her and he understood. With time, he had realized the fear his family must have felt. Even in modern times with exposure in movies, books, and the world, a vampire roaming the streets would be scary. Two hundred years ago, the thought of a vampire must have been unspeakably terrifying. Yes, Will understood why his father sent him away, but it still saddened him.

The Wallace family, in Will’s opinion, was to be commended. It seemed they were continuing to treat their daughter as a daughter, and not a monster to be shunned. As loving parents, they might be interested in meeting someone who shared Ashton's existence. Of course, it was also possible they might run at the sight of a man who wanted to tutor their daughter in her new life.

The teacher inside Will was resolute. Ashton and her family needed to know what to expect in their new circumstances. His own memories of being scared and unsure of how to live as a vampire drove him to make sure nobody else would have to share that fate. He would go to the Wallace’s and tell them his story. Then, when they were ready, perhaps they would bring Ashton to him.

Chapter Six

Friday had finally arrived. The first week of the new school year was coming to a close, and the back to school dance was just hours away. Ashton found herself agreeing to go to Aimee's house so all the girls could get ready together.

“Okay, Ashton, just bring your clothes and makeup. I have everything you might need for your hair at my place. Sarah, make sure to bring my silver heels with you. I want to wear them tonight.” Aimee stood before her friends, clutching a notebook and passing out tasks.

“Also, Ashton, make sure and tell Jackson he's picking you up at my house. All the guys are going to meet us there, and then you girls can just spend the night at my place after the dance.” Aimee clapped her hands against her notebook, “Yay, this is going to be so fun.”

The girls parted ways, and Ashton headed for home to gather her belongings for the night ahead.

“Why did I agree to this?” she wondered aloud.

Having a sleepover and going to a dance seemed like harmless enough activities, but Ashton was still hesitant about dating. If she and Jackson hit it off, it could present a host of problems. She didn’t know if she was capable of handling one more problem in her life.

“Mama, have you seen my green dress?” Ashton called out as she rifled through her bedroom closet.

Elaine walked into the room holding a laundry basket. “I thought it was in your closet, but let me check in my room. It could have gotten mixed in with my stuff during the move.”

While her mother searched for the dress, Ashton collected her makeup, pajamas, and some clothes to wear the next day.

“Found it. The dress was in my closet. Luckily it doesn't look like it needs pressed. Do you have shoes?” Elaine draped the dress over the back of a desk chair and walked to Ashton's closet.

“I already grabbed the shoes, Mama.” Ashton motioned toward a pair of black ballet flats sitting by her overnight bag.

“Oh, Ashton, I don't know why you insist on wearing those flats. A pair of heels would look so much better,” her mother said.

Ashton's mom was always trying to get her into high heels, but she refused.

“I feel like I stick out enough without having my head stick out above the crowd.” She wasn't going to budge on the shoes. Somewhere around the age of thirteen, Ashton had started to become the tallest girl in her class. In some cases she was even taller than the boys. Wearing heels was never going to happen.

She gathered all of her stuff and made the short drive across town to Aimee's house. When she arrived, music and the sound of laughter were flooding from a pair of windows. She knocked on the door, unsure if anyone would be able to hear her. After knocking again, and getting no answer, she opened the door and called out for her new friends. Still, no one heard her, so she made her way through the house to the source of all the noise.

“Ashton!” the girls screamed when she walked in Aimee's bedroom. Sarah hurried forward to grab Ashton's bag and toss it on the bed.

Aimee's bedroom was an explosion of posters, and every poster was devoted to one man: Clark Gable.

“Wow, Aimee, do you have a little crush going on?” Ashton asked as she marveled at the pictures covering every inch of available space.

“Crush? I don't think so. Clark and I are positively involved.” Aimee rushed to an almost life-size image of Clark as Rhett Butler and fluttered her eyes up at his face. Sarah and Ashton laughed as Aimee started to do her best Scarlett O'Hara impressions.

“Aimee has been a one-man woman ever since she watched
Gone With the Wind
in fourth grade,” Sarah explained as she plugged in a set of hot rollers.

In the presence of these friendly and funny girls, Ashton started to relax. She unpacked her bag and shook out her dress. She started to pin her hair up, but Sarah and Aimee insisted she wear it down.

“You put that hair in a ponytail every single day, and it's a crime. If my hair was like yours, I'd never wear it up.” Sarah pushed the hot rollers toward Ashton and insisted she curl her long brown hair. Ashton complied, and before she knew what had happened, both Sarah and Aimee were working on her hair and her makeup.

She took her dress into the bathroom and put it on, then pulled the rollers out of her hair and shook out the curls before walking back into the bedroom. Her new friends stopped and stared at her with wide eyes.

“Ashton Wallace, I just hate you,” Aimee shrieked. “You are gonna put the rest of us to shame.”

“And you’re going to make Jackson fall in love, if he hasn't already,” Sarah added with a mischievous grin. Both girls circled Ashton and fluffed her hair.

When all three of them were finally dressed and primped, Aimee's mom made them all pose for pictures. Ashton was sure they had smiled through at least fifty different shots, and when the boys arrived, she knew they would have to endure several more.

“You girls just look beautiful,” Aimee's mom kept saying between camera clicks.

Ashton had to agree, at least so far as Sarah and Aimee were concerned. While she was still feeling a little awkward, she thought her new friends looked wonderful.

Aimee was on the petite side, with bright red bobbed hair. She wore a sapphire blue dress that hit well above the knee and silver heels that had to be at least four inches high. What she lacked in height, she made up for in personality. Ashton was pretty sure Aimee would be the center of attention at the dance.

Sarah was close to Ashton in height, with medium-length brown hair pulled up into a curly crown on the top of her head. Her dress was black and simple, but still very pretty. Sarah was sociable and fun, but whereas Aimee liked to take control of most every situation, Sarah preferred to stay a bit more in the background. Still, the two girls had been best friends since the first grade, and obviously shared a deep affection for one another.

“Boys are here,” Aimee announced at the sound of a vehicle rumbling up the driveway.

Instead of waiting for a knock on the door, Aimee threw the door open and yelled to the guys to come inside.