by Shaw, Jaidis
“I’m sorry Alayna,” he whispered.
The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when we stepped into the cool air. I shielded my eyes with my free hand to hinder the brightness. Following Jayden to a nearby car, I scooted into the back seat and curled up next to Jayden as he slid in beside me. I smiled at the splash of color illuminating the sky and sighed, allowing myself to succumb to the heaviness of my eyelids.
***
Stretching my aching body I froze, unable to remember where I was. The familiar sight of my bedroom appeared when I opened my eyes and I released the breath I had been holding. I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before placing my bare feet on the cool floor. I glanced at the bright light shining from the clock on the nightstand indicating that it was just after 8:00PM. The dusk sky visible from the window confirmed the time. Several hours had elapsed since it was morning when I was found.
I was still dressed in the same clothes that I had been given by Thomas and my skin began to crawl at the memory. Grabbing some fresh clothes from the dresser, I made my way to the bathroom so that I could wash away the grim from my stay at Gavin’s hideout. My sweater was stiff with dried blood and it crackled as I peeled it over my head and let it slip to the floor. Removing the remaining clothes, I turned the shower knob to the hottest setting. A hiss escaped my lips as the hot water ran over me, turning my skin pink with heat. I was tempted to turn the cold water on but decided against it in hopes that the hot water would clean away any lingering remnants of Gavin. I inhaled the sweet aroma of my cherry blossom shampoo while I massaged my scalp for several minutes. Watching as the bubbles disappeared down the drain, I made a mental note to ask Jayden how he had found me. There hadn’t been any mention of Dominic being successful in contacting him or even how they knew that Olivia had been helping Gavin. My skin no longer burned with heat and I applied a generous amount of conditioner to my hair and allowed it to sit while I scrubbed my body vigorously with a washcloth. After rubbing my skin to the brink of being raw I ran a razor over my neglected underarms, clearing away the stubble that had sprouted there before moving on to do the same treatment on my legs. Satisfied that I was thoroughly clean, I allowed the cool water that was now spraying from the showerhead to rinse away the conditioner. I ended the flow of water with a quick turn of the knob and stepped out of the shower and shivered when the cold air touched my skin. Taking a towel from where it was hanging nearby I wrapped it around me, tucking the end in securely.
Grabbing another towel I began rubbing my hair, the towel becoming damp with the water that it soaked up. A couple of minutes later when the towel would hold no more I tossed it to the hamper and unwrapped the towel from around my body to finish drying off. Once I was dressed, I twisted my hair and secured it with a clip to keep it out of my face and went in search of the answers to my questions.
When I walked into the kitchen Sofia smiled at me from where she sat at the table.
“You’re awake. How are you feeling Alayna?” She asked, rushing over to the coffee pot, holding it up in the air. “Would you like some coffee? I just made a fresh pot.”
“Yes please.” I smiled and walked over to the table and took up residence in the chair across from where Sofia was previously sitting. “Where is everyone?”
“Darren is staying over at Gwen’s house. The last time I checked in she had set his broken arm and he was passed out on her couch.”
“Is she qualified to do that? I mean, shouldn’t he have gone to the hospital instead?” I asked.
Sofia placed the mug of hot coffee in front of me and returned to her seat. “We couldn’t risk him going to the hospital. At the hospital back home we have a couple of doctors that help protect us when medical attention is needed but we are unfamiliar with the hospital here. Jayden insisted that Darren would be in good hands with her. It turns out that Violet is quite the healer. She helped tend to the rest of us.”
“How are you feeling? You seemed to be out of it for a little while.” I sipped the coffee and smiled when the strong brew slid down my throat.
“I’m fine dear. I was thrown against the wall pretty hard and Violet said that I may have a small concussion and that it will heal on its own in a day or two.” She smiled to reassure the quizzical look I cast her way.
“What about the others?”
“Kyle awoke a few hours ago and went with Julian and Jayden to clean up the mess we created. They should be back any time now.” She glanced out the window for a moment and then returned her attention to me.
“How are they going to do that? Won’t people notice?”
“I doubt anyone would miss them Alayna. Now that Gavin is gone the town will finally be safe and maybe the curfew will even be ended. At least that is what Violet is hoping will happen. She said she couldn’t wait to tell her friends so they could go out to the movies.” She smiled at the thought. “Apparently the teens in town have been itching to break curfew.”
“I bet.” I laughed, remembering several occasions when I walked around my old town after dark enjoying the fresh night air and crickets’ chirping songs.
“Can I ask you something Sofia?”
“Of course.”
“How did you guys find me?”
“I’m surprised that wasn’t the first question you asked.” Sofia reached across the table and patted my hand. “We first realized that something was wrong when we couldn’t find you at the party. Jayden said the last time he saw you was when Violet was leaving and you walked her to the driveway. Darren tried tracking your scent but it stopped at the driveway and we couldn’t find it anywhere. We were so worried about you Alayna.” She shuddered and blinked her eyes to keep the tears from forming.
I forced a smile and encouraged her to continue. “Then what happened?”
“It had been hours and we were running out of ideas. Then out of nowhere Dominic called. It was so hard to understand him because he was talking so fast. He said something about not trusting Olivia because she was helping Gavin and that he was sorry when the phone line went dead. We tried calling him back but couldn’t get through. That is when Julian suggested that we shift our focus to trying to find Olivia instead. And it’s a good thing we did too because we picked up her scent not far from here and followed it right to you.”
“Dominic is the one who took me from the party,” I said. “Gwen picked up Violet and when I turned around to head back; Dominic met me because he wanted to give me a birthday present.” I blinked away images of the black rose and continued. “When I opened the box it was a black rose, just like the one that Gavin sent me. I tried to ask Dominic what it was but didn’t have time because he drugged me. I don’t know what happened after that. All I remember is waking up tied to a chair.”
“That explains why he was trying to apologize then. I just can’t imagine Dominic doing something like that.” She shook her head in disbelief. “We have been friends for years.”
“I can’t recall his exact words but he came to me and tried to untie me. He couldn’t get the knot undone and he said that he helped Gavin because he was too weak to protect himself. I guess he felt as though he needed to do whatever he could to save himself.” I shrugged. “So I told him that if he wanted to help me that he should find Jayden and let him know how to find me.”
“What happened to him?” Sofia frowned.
“Since he tried calling and got cut off, my guess would be that Gavin caught him on the phone. They brought him in to the room where I was being held and he had been beaten. Gavin tried using him to get a reaction from me and when I asked Gavin to stop torturing him, he…” My voice cracked and I cleared my throat. “He killed him; said that he only did it because I asked him too,” I finished.
“It’s not your fault Alayna. Gavin would have killed him anyways. I’m just glad that Dominic was able to call at all.” She flashed a sad smile my way. I could see the loss in her eyes and knew that her heart was mourning her friend.
“I know but
I still wish I could have done something more to help him. Although I’m glad that Olivia won’t be a bother anymore.” I gasped as the words escaped me and I clutched the cup between my hands in regret. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be.” Sofia snickered. “Olivia has always been a poor loser. We should have known that she wouldn’t stop trying to get you out of the way. She was driven by greed and I suppose she thought that being with Jayden would give her more power.” Now it was Sofia’s turn to shrug. “She wasn’t right for Jayden anyway.” She winked at me and I couldn’t hide the grin on my face.
“I could have told you that.” Jayden strolled into the kitchen followed by a wary Julian. Placing a kiss on my forehead, Jayden claimed the seat next to me.
“Are you okay?” I asked Jayden, my eyes catching his.
“I’ve never felt better.” He smiled and clutched my hand in his.
“Did you get everything taken care of?” Sofia scooted a chair out for Julian and he took it gratefully.
“It’s a shame when accidents happen,” Julian said in confidence.
“What did you do to hide it?” I wondered out loud.
Jayden and Julian stared at each other and laughed in unison. “You should never leave candles burning unattended. It could catch your house on fire,” Jayden said.
“You set the house on fire? Will that work?” I asked.
“It will work,” Julian said. “After we made sure that the bodies were nothing but ash we decided that to be on the safe side we would let any evidence we missed be consumed in the house fire.”
“Oh…” Jayden said suddenly. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the necklace that he had given me for my birthday. “Are you missing anything?” He asked and dangled the necklace in front of me.
“Oh my God! I didn’t even notice that I’d lost it!” Tears formed in my eyes. “It must have fallen off during the battle.” I took the necklace from Jayden and looked over it for damage, noticing the broken clasp.
“I’ll get you a new chain for it, don’t worry.” He smiled.
My heart warmed as I cradled the panther pendant in my hand.
“Where is Kyle?” Sofia asked after a moment.
“Oh, he went to check on Darren to make sure that everything was fine,” Julian said.
“That’s what he claimed but I just think he went over there because of Violet.” Jayden laughed.
“He sure is determined.” I laughed. “I don’t think Violet has any interest in him but I will ask her tomorrow.”
“I knew that you two would get along,” Jayden said smugly.
“She’s nice and I’m glad you introduced us. Plus she mentioned some things that I want to ask her about.”
“What things?” Julian asked.
“When we were out front waiting for her aunt she said that I should trust in my blood because it could help me when I needed it to. I didn’t know what she meant at the time but I think she was referring to it healing Jayden.”
“If anyone knows about healing I’d say it would be Violet. She was amazing earlier,” Julian insisted.
“I’ll let her know you thought so.” I smiled.
“You do that but now if you’ll excuse me; I’m going to turn in. It has been a rather taxing day.” Julian rose and tried to hide his yawn.
“Let’s get you to bed dear.” Sofia stood and followed Julian from the kitchen.
“It looks like we are on our own.” Jayden winked at me.
I laughed and grabbed his hand. “Come with me. Now it’s my turn to show you something.”
Jayden allowed me to lead him from the house into the night. I shuddered with pleasure when the cool air caressed my skin. It felt wonderful to be outside at night without the threat of Gavin looming over me. We walked to the back yard and I picked a spot on the ground that allowed me a full view of the sky. Jayden lay next to me and we both stared into the darkness, watching the stars twinkle as if telling us hello.
“When I was little, my mother and I would spend hours outside watching the stars at night. It was a way for us to just get away for a little while and put all of our worries behind us. Not that I had many worries back then.” I laughed. “I remember the way the moonlight would caress her skin and she would begin to glow, like the moonbeams were rejuvenating her.”
“Your mother sounds wonderful,” Jayden whispered like he was afraid to interrupt my memory.
I intertwined my fingers with his and continued. “She was wonderful. The first time I saw a shooting star she said that it was the star’s way of waving to me and that it was letting me know that it was watching over me. I asked how the star could see me from so far away and she said that no matter where I was the stars would be watching, even during the day when they were no longer visible. She assured me that just because I couldn’t see them, it didn’t mean that they weren’t still there looking out for me. From then on whenever I would see another shooting star I would start waving back in delight and thank them for remembering me.” As if confirming my belief, a star flared to life and flew across the sky before us in a brilliant flash of purple hued light.
“It looks like they haven’t forgotten what your mother said either. You better acknowledge them.” Jayden said before waving to the fading streak of light.
Laughing, I waved to the stars and whispered my thanks before turning on my side and snuggling into Jayden. “I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you to Alayna,” Jayden said and pressed his lips to mine.
****
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Chapter Seventeen
Feeling rested from my sleep the night before, I called Violet and asked if she would like to meet up. She said that she was planning on going to the park in town and that she would be happy to swing by and pick me up if I wanted to come along. I agreed and thirty minutes later we were sitting at a wooden table in the park. After some idle chitchat I jumped to the question that had been on my mind.
“Violet? How did you know that my blood would heal Jayden?” I blurted.
“Is that why you wanted to get together?” She asked playfully.
“I’m just curious.”
“I was confident that it would, yes. It’s only logical if you think about it.”
I gave her a questioning look and she laughed. “What do you mean?”
“Do you remember when I told you that I could smell that your blood was different?”
“Yes.”
“I can smell Jayden’s blood in you Alayna. There is only one reason I can think of that would make sense as to why his blood runs through your veins. You were bitten by that vampire weren’t you?”
“Maybe Jayden and I made a blood pact or…” I stuttered. “Or maybe I just have a weird blood fetish.”
“Did you?”
“No,” I mumbled.
Loud laughter burst from her chest and startled some birds that were hopping along the ground nearby, forcing them to abandon their search of food. “Like I said, there is only one reason for him to do something like that, and that was to try and save your life after being bitten.”
I didn’t know if Jayden’s family wanted me giving away details but I knew in my heart that I could trust Violet. Plus she had already guessed what happened so there wasn’t any harm in confirming it for her. “Yes, Gavin attacked me and Jayden saved my life.”
“I figured,” she said smiling. “So as I was saying it was only logical. If your blood can heal your wounds then it only makes sense that it would be true for Jayden,” she paused, “and Gavin for that matter. You told me that nothing good could come from your blood. What did you mean by that?”
“You never met her but there was a female shifter named Olivia that had challenged me for Jayden. We had to fight each other to see who was more dominant. Long story short she bit me and ended up swallowing some of my blood and it forced her human side back out.”
“Wow,” Violet said in amazement. “That
is awesome!”
“That really isn’t the word I would use.” I frowned.
“Yes it is but that’s no matter. Think of your blood like this,” she began, her hands animating her line of thinking. “When she attacked you, the healing qualities of your blood would try to heal whatever it touched; only it wouldn’t recognize her DNA. It would be like a white blood cell attacking a foreign body. But Jayden’s blood is mixed with yours so it would recognize it and help rather than attack.”
I pondered her theory. “I guess if you say it like that it does make sense. When Gavin tasted my blood it healed a cut on his face so I guess it did the same for him since his blood is mixed within me too.”
“Exactly.” She smiled like a proud teacher.
“But that doesn’t really explain how you knew it would heal.”
“Like I said, it was just a guess. Plus I have a knack for things that heal.” She laughed.
“Speaking of that, Julian couldn’t stop talking about how great you were. Thank you for helping them.”
“It was my pleasure. Although I think my helpfulness may have given Kyle the wrong impression.” Her nose wrinkled and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“He seems smitten with you.”
“He isn’t my type,” she insisted.
“I know that. I even told Jayden that I thought Kyle was wasting his time. But you won’t have to worry about it for long because I’m sure they will be headed back home soon.”
“Not soon enough,” Violet sneered. “Kyle refused to leave last night. He said that he was worried about Darren and wanted to be around to help but then he just followed me around. That’s why I had to get out today.” She spread her arms to indicate the park and laughed. “Aunt Gwen said that I should take it has a compliment and to be nice to him but that just irritated me more.”
“I’ll be sure to tease Kyle about it later.” I traced a heart that had been gouged into the table’s surface with my finger.
“Oh!” Violet shouted. I jerked at her sudden outburst and she laughed. “What are you and Jayden doing next Saturday?”