The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven

by Jessica Miller

  “I'll think about it, no promises though,” I said, even though there was nothing to think about. I had already made up my mind about staying.

  “That's all I'm asking,” he said, kissing me on the forehead just before we got into the elevator. “What else did you talk about?”

  “We didn't get very far. As soon as my dad found out about Jack all hell broke loose.”

  “The less you know right now the better.”

  “How is that better?”

  “Less information Jack can get from you.”

  “I'm not worry about that. As long as I have you, I'll be safe,” I smiled, kissing his hand. He smiled back, but I could tell he didn't feel as confident. “Plus we have Gabe now,” I said, patting him on the back.

  “Nothing bad will happen on my watch,” Gabe said. Tristan still didn't look convinced. The elevator opened up and we moved back allowing room for the new passengers. A little boy, no older than five, stepped on with his mom. I smiled at him and he blushed moving closer to her. He was holding a small security blanket. I knew this much because I remember Jake had one and he would clench to it the way this little boy did. The blanket was old and dirty, but he didn't care. Judging by the old juice stain on the corner I could tell it hadn't been washed in a while.

  Tristan tugged on my hand and I looked up at him smiling. He smiled back and gave me a kiss. The little boy hid his face when he saw us and I laughed. The boy and his mom got off the elevator before we did. When they departed the little boy dropped his blanket. I quickly picked it up and rushed off the elevator to hand it to him. The moment I touched it I had a flash from my date with Tristan. I slowly turned back to look at him. My expression gave everything away. Tristan knew I remembered.

  I took a step back in disbelief and Gabe looked at me funny. The doors began to close and Tristan tried to leap out, but more people stepped on blocking his way. “Ella, wait!”

  “Stay away from me!” I said, backing up. Gabe managed to break his way out of the crowd. I wasn't surprised. His size was intimidating so I'm sure everyone pretty much moved out of his way.

  “Miss Ella, is everything okay?” Gabe asked, concerned.

  “No. I mean I don't know,” I said, shaking my head that was still reeling from this new information. I heard the elevator ding and looked up to see Tristan make his way out. “Don't come near me,” I warned. Gabe, having no idea what was going on, stood in front of me blocking Tristan's path.

  “Ella, will you please let me explain? Yes there was blood on that blanket,” he said without waiting for a response. “It was Skylar's but it's not what you think.” He took a step closer. Gabe put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. “She wanted me to bite her. I refused. I told her we were done. She didn't want to accept it. She cut her wrist open trying to get me to drink, but I refused. I used the blanket to stop the bleeding. I compelled you because I didn't know how else to explain it to you.”

  Gabe dropped his hand and I looked up at Tristan. “Ella you have to believe me. I would never lie to you.” I looked into his eyes and knew he was telling the truth, but was still hurt by all the lying and the secrets.

  I was about to tell him when the little boy and mom came back around the corner. “My blankie!” the little boy cried. I handed him the blanket and the mom thanked me. Once they left I turned back around and walked over to Tristan.

  “Tristan,” I said, taking his hands. “I believe you, but you need to stop hiding things from me. My parents did that to me and I –”

  “I know, I'm so sorry,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. Gabe took a step forward but I put up my hand to stop him.

  “I understand why you did it, but no more.”

  “I promise, no more secrets,” he said, kissing my lips and making me melt.

  The second we stepped into Josie's room, she attacked me. “Ella, oh my God, can you believe it! We're freakin' vampires!” she shouted excitedly. Josie clearly took the news better than I did. Although, I was also told that not only was I a vampire, but a vampire princess who was next in line to rule and expected to go to some special school. I was just guessing that she was excited we were both creatures of the night now.

  I looked over to see Billy sitting at the table with Josie's mom. “What is Billy still doing here?” I asked.

  “Well...” Tristan began.

  “He's a vamp too! How cool that I find out that my best friend and I, plus our boyfriends, are all vampires,” Josie cheered, pulling me over to the table, not giving me a chance to yell at Tristan for not telling me Billy was one, too.

  “Hi Mr. and Mrs. McNaughton,” I said, greeting Josie's parents.

  “Ella, how are you?” Josie's dad asked.

  “I've been better.”

  “I know it's kind of difficult to digest at first, but soon you will see how great it is. I was actually surprised at Josie's reaction and frankly quite scared,” he said, looking over at his daughter who was happier than ever.

  “Don't worry, you know how Josie is.”

  He smiled at me and squeezed my shoulder. “We'll leave you kids to catch up,” he said and signaled for Jade to follow. She stood up with drink in hand and walked out.

  “Ella, aren't you thrilled?” Josie squeaked.

  “I guess.”

  “What's wrong?”

  “It's just...complicated. My parents want me to go this school for vamps with a specialized curriculum.”

  “Yeah, mine said something to me about it, but I told them I wouldn't go unless you did.”

  “See, you'll have Josie,” Tristan said, trying to convince me.

  “But you won't be there.”

  “Ella.”

  “I don't want to talk about it now. Besides you're still not off the hook for the whole blanket thing and not telling me about Billy.”

  “You're going to hold that over me forever aren't you?”

  “Not forever, just for a really long time.”

  “You can punish me for it later,” he winked.

  I hit him. “Nice try.”

  “Let's celebrate!” Josie said, jumping up and grabbing a bottle of liquor.

  “You sure that's a good idea?”

  “Of course it is,” she said as if I was an idiot for doubting her.

  “Go ahead. I won't drink, I promise,” Tristan said. I looked at him skeptically. “Ella, you are too precious to risk. I won't let myself be irresponsible,” he assured me.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “But can we get some food first, I'm starving.” Josie threw one of menus at me as she began mixing drinks. After everyone decided what they wanted I called and placed the order. “Hey, where's Dixon?”

  “My parents stuck him in the next room until we were done talking. He said he was going to explore the hotel,” Josie shrugged, handing me a drink.

  I ended up drinking more than I had anticipated. Tristan had to practically carry me back to our room. My dad called Gabe off – so Tristan and I were on our own. We didn't really need an escort since no one could get past the lobby without clearance.

  I stumbled and he caught me, putting an arm around my waist and throwing one of mine over his shoulder. “Shh,” I said, pressing my finger to Tristan's lips. “Don't let my parrots know I'm dunk,” I hiccupped and then started to giggle.

  “Easier said than done,” he said.

  I planted a big, fat, sloppy kiss on Tristan right before I fell backwards into the door causing a loud thump. My mom swung the door open causing me to almost fall flat on my butt. I would have if Tristan wasn't holding me up. I straightened up quickly trying to act sober but my hiccups continued, sending me into a fit of giggles. “Oh Ella,” my mom said, shaking her head. “Quickly, get her inside and into one of the bedrooms before her father sees.”

  She helped Tristan carry me to the master bedroom. Luckily, the suite was crowded with people, which provided just enough distraction for my dad to not notice me stumble in. Once safely inside the bedroom, Tristan picked me up and carefull
y laid me down on the bed. “Thank you Tristan, I can take it from here.”

  He nodded, ready to leave, but not before one more look at me. I knew it pained him to leave, to not be here to take care of me. “Liam and I both know how much you care about her and I thank you for taking care of her when we couldn't,” my mom said, looking up at Tristan.

  “I will always protect her,” he said, looking at me. I smiled back at him as he turned to walk away.

  “One more thing Tristan,” my mom called and he turned back around. “I apologize for taking over your room. I hope you don't mind, but we set up a room for you boys, on us. I'm sure you can understand why. We just feel it's more appropriate for the boys to stay in a separate room.”

  I rolled my eyes which took more effort than I thought it would. I wanted to yell at her and say stop treating me like a kid, but considering the condition I was in I had no room to talk.

  “Yes, ma'am. Thank you,” Tristan said to my mom and turned to leave even though I knew it was a struggle for him to go.

  After he was gone I sat up, took one look at my mom, then keeled over and threw up all over the floor. “Let's hope this is a phase you grow out of quickly,” she said as she got up to go get some clean towels.

  Chapter twenty-three

  I had the most killer headache in the morning. Only this time I knew it was self-inflicted. The pounding in my head reminded me why drinking in excess is bad. I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I turned on the light and squinted at the brightness, quickly turning it back off.

  I felt like there were tiny little creatures dancing around on my brain. I gripped the sides of the sink and swore I would never drink again. I fished through my stuff, hoping to find some aspirin. When I found the bottle I popped the lid, filled a glass with water from the tap, then I took two tablets. I sat down on the toilet and pressed my forehead against the cool porcelain of the bathtub. It felt amazing.

  I sat there like that, hunched over, head resting coolly, for a few minutes before I toughed up and made myself stand. I picked up my toothbrush, applied the desired amount of toothpaste, and brushed softly and slowly and thoroughly. After I spit and rinsed, I hung the toothbrush up in its proper holder and examined my teeth in the mirror. I ran my tongue over them seeing if I could feel sharp points, or fangs. Nothing. Next I washed my face. The cold water felt good on my skin, refreshing. When I was done, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, watching the green eyes that looked back at me.

  I wondered what they would look like if they glowed. I squinted hard, concentrating, trying to make them glow. “Ella? What are you doing?” my mom startled me.

  “Nothing,” I said, a little embarrassed.

  She just smiled. “I was about to order breakfast. Are you hungry?”

  I clenched my stomach, wondering if it was safe to eat. “Maybe just some cereal.” She smiled again, understanding, and walked back in to the living room without another word. I looked down and just then realized I was wearing pajamas. I didn't remember changing last night so I just assumed my mom put these on me after I passed out. I grabbed a sweatshirt and headed out to the living room. It was empty, quiet. “Where is everyone?” I asked, almost positive this place was packed with people last night. I scratched my head, thinking, how drunk was I?

  “Hmm?” my mom said.

  “Weren't there a bunch of people here last night?”

  “I'm surprised you even remember that,” she teased.

  I looked down, embarrassed. “Uh...yeah...um, about last night...”

  “Already forgotten,” she said, waving it off and handing me a cup of coffee. “I was young once too, you know.” She eyed me with a smirk and flicked my chin.

  “Does dad know?” I cringed at the thought. I was in enough trouble with him as it was and wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

  “No, he doesn't. We'll just keep this between you and me. No need to upset your father.”

  “Thanks mom. Where is dad?”

  “Your father and the guardians left early this morning and will return later this evening. So it is just us girls today.”

  I did love spending time with my mom, especially girl time. Growing up with two older brothers sometimes made it harder so my mom would always try her best to set aside time for her and me. “What do you want to do today?” I asked her.

  “Whatever you want, honey,” she said, handing me a freshly buttered croissant.

  “Can we invite Josie and Mrs. McNaughton?”

  “Of course, sweetie.”

  I racked my brain trying to think of things for us to do. I looked down at my nails, which were still good, and I was just at the spa. Shopping? For once I thought I was actually shopped out. I thought maybe a movie, but there was nothing in I wanted to see. Then it hit me. I remembered seeing a sign at the theatre. One of the local animal shelters was looking for volunteers. My mom and I were always helping with the local shelters back home so I thought this would be perfect. I told her my idea and she loved it. I called Josie who also thought it was a great idea. Her mom, on the other hand, not so much, but she came along anyways.

  The shelter was more than happy to welcome us and put us to work right away. They told us how they were in desperate need of supplies so Josie and I volunteered to go get some for them. My mom didn't like the idea of us going off by ourselves so she made us take two guards with us. I didn't know them, but I knew I didn't like them. I would prefer Gabe over them any day, however, he was busy helping my dad. I stifled a sigh and climbed into the back seat with Josie.

  We found a local pet store only a few blocks away. I think Josie and I went a little nuts with our purchases, but we were having too much fun picking out toys and cute little collars and leashes. If we had our way we probably would have cleaned out the store. We bought so much stuff it almost didn't fit in the car on the way back. Josie and I had to sit with bags on our laps. We even had to have a delivery van drop off all the food.

  When we returned and walked in with only a few bags my mom looked at us surprised. “Is that all you bought?”

  Josie and I smiled at each other. “No, there's more. We just couldn't carry it all in.”

  The shelter owner came over to thank us for our donation, pleased to have even the littlest bit of help. One of the pet store workers propped open the door causing the owner to look at us funny. Her jaw dropped when she saw the truck load of stuff that was being carried into the shelter. I don't think she's ever had a donation quite as large as ours. “I don't know what to say? Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to us. Thank you,” she repeated, smiling brightly.

  We helped store all the items we purchased. We didn't really figure in whether or not there would be room for everything. Luckily she had a storage shed in the back where we put the extra items. Once we were done with that, we helped clean the animal’s cages, helped administer medicine to those who needed it, and even took the time to play with some of the animals. I thought that last part was a perk. When it came time for us to leave we thanked the owner for letting us help and she welcomed us to come by anytime. Mrs. McNaughton even enjoyed herself and ended up adopting a tiny Chihuahua that had been abandoned. When she went to pay the processing fee the owner waved it, saying we had already helped her so much she couldn't accept anything else. Jade, not one to be told no, insisted on paying. She wrote her a check for a large sum of money, more than what the fee should have been.

  The owner gave in and took the check. I thought she was going to pass out when she looked down at all those zeroes. “Now you will have more than enough money to get medicine and hire more staff so you yourself can take a much needed vacation,” Jade told her.

  “Th-thank,” the owner stuttered, still in shock. “A-are you...angels?”

  Josie and I looked at each other and started to giggle. My mom narrowed her eyes at us. “No, not angels, just people who really care about what you are doing here and are fortunate enough to h
ave the means to help out.” The owner gave my mom a big hug, thanking here over and over again. I then noticed my mom took one of the business cards and slid it in her purse. Most likely because I knew she would need the address to send anonymous donations in the future. My mom wasn't the type to help once and then that's it. She would continue to give until she couldn't give any more. And the reason she always left the donations anonymous was because she wasn't in it for the credit. She just loved doing it to help people out.

  On the way out I gave my mom a hug. She flinched slightly at first, startled by my sudden need for affection. “You know I love you, right?” I told her.

  “Of course I do honey, but I never get tired of hearing you tell me,” she said, hugging me back.

  “Oh, there's this ice cream shop down the street that is wonderful. Do you want to go?” I asked.

  “Sounds perfect, but let's wait until we get situated,” she said, referring to all the stuff Jade had bought for their new dog.

  I sighed, having no patience to wait while they loaded the car. “How about Josie and I head down a while and meet you there,” I said, grabbing Josie and taking off before she had the chance to answer.

  “No Ella, wait,” she called after me, but I didn't care. I was in such a good mood that Josie and I skipped down to the Ice cream shop laughing all the way ignoring my mom’s pleas to wait for them and the guards. All thoughts of joy came to a screeching halt when we rounded the corner. I stopped dead in my tracks.

  “Ella,” said Jack, who was suddenly standing right in front of me.

  I was too shocked to speak. I know I shouldn't show fear, but with everyone drilling into my head about how dangerous he was it was hard not to. Josie tried to pull me back, but I wouldn't budge. “I see you decided to believe Tristan instead of me,” he clicked his tongue, tsking. “I'm guessing you figured it out by now, what I want?”

  I managed to make my body work and took a step back. Jack shook his head. “I wouldn't do that if I were you.” I thought I'd make a run for it. I knew I couldn't out-run him but with the guards just around the corner I could maybe – “It won't work,” Jack said, like he knew what I was thinking. I lifted a leg and decided to take the chase anyway. Boy was I wrong. Jack grabbed me and threw me up against the wall so hard he knocked the wind out me. I fell to the ground trying to breathe. Josie attacked him by raking her nails down his face. He growled and snarled, turning on her. I tried to scream but nothing came out. He sent her flying into a parked car. She hit the windshield and rolled down onto the hood, not moving.