by Logan Byrne
“Where is he going?” asked Troy.
The man came back a minute later with Juliet, dragging her in the chair. Her face was red from screaming, her makeup running from her constant crying.
“No,” said James.
His hands started trembling in anger as he saw the distress Juliet was in.
“Control yourself,” said Rosa.
Down below, the man who dragged her in walked around to face her.
“After we are done getting what we want from your father, we are going to kill you,” the man said while laughing.
That was the moment James snapped. His eyes turned blood-red and his fangs shot down. He let out a monstrous roar as he broke through the glass skylight.
“Looks like it’s go time,” said Troy.
James’s family fell down behind him, forming a line of people around him. Their eyes started turning red, their fangs slowly coming down. They were ready to fight. They were ready to save Juliet.
The men, knowing what they were facing, started growling.
“We are here for the girl,” said Remey. “Give her up now and there will be no problem. We will leave with her and that will be it.”
“You’ll have to take her from us,” said one of the men as they stood in front of her.
The three men started changing. It was amazing seeing werewolves shift. Their limbs grew as fur started growing and covering their bodies. Their hands and feet turned into large paws that were as big as a human head. Canine fangs rapidly grew as their faces completely transformed. Snouts grew out, and their eyes turned a dark shade of yellow. They stood upright, slightly hunched over at the shoulders. They snarled as one of them lunged at James.
A battle that could only be told through old stories slowly unfolded. James’s family was large, but their individual strengths were no match for fully grown werewolves. The wolves towered over them; their large fangs were double the size of James’s.
Everybody on both sides fought with vigor. Troy lunged at one of the wolves. The thirst in Troy’s eyes for blood was immense. His strength was the only match for the wolves.
Troy and James teamed up against the largest of the wolves. The each took one of his arms and threw him against the wall. He growled and lunged back at them, pushing them both back as they tried to hold up his giant paws above them. Just as they were about to get pushed down, Emma came out of nowhere and kicked the wolf in his snout. He let go of James and Troy and fell backwards as if he was disoriented from the kick.
Juliet was screaming and trying to break the legs on the chair as the battle ensued all around her. Fists and kicks were flying everywhere, and she was praying one of them didn’t hit her.
James came up to her and started to try to untie her restraints. He wanted to break the chair, but knew he could break her wrists or ankles and couldn’t take that risk. She couldn’t heal like him.
As he was starting to get somewhere, he was pulled and thrown across the room. His back slammed into an old metal support beam as a fourth wolf ran at him. He ducked out of the way, sending the wolf to smash into the beam.
He started running back to Juliet as he looked to his right to see one of the wolves charging at him. Time slowed down as Troy tackled the wolf before it could get to James.
“UNTIE HER!” Troy screamed.
As James ran towards Juliet, he saw Rosa and Elsa pushed against the wall, with a smaller wolf choking them. He looked at Juliet, and then back again at Rosa and Elsa. What was more important: the love of his life, or his family?
He ran and jumped on the back of the smaller wolf, plunging his fangs into its neck. The wolf let go of Rosa and Elsa and howled in pain.
The other wolves glanced over to see that James had bitten the wolf. They tried to escape to help their friend, but were overpowered. Every member of James’s family was holding them back, trying to subdue them.
James ran over to Juliet and untied her. She lunged into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder. He held her tightly, this time not letting go.
While his family tried holding down the werewolves, one of them ran out. The largest, their alpha, broke through a small window and ran off. Troy bit one of the wolves in his neck while Elsa bit the other. They slowly calmed down and eventually blacked out into darkness. Their lifeless bodies lay there.
Every person had scratches and torn clothing. Everybody went over to Juliet and James, while Elsa slowly limped over.
“Are you okay?” I asked Elsa.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. It will heal,” she replied.
“We’re so happy you’re safe,” said Rosa smiling.
“Thank you,” I said with my head down.
James put his finger under my chin and raised my head up.
“I love you,” he said while looking into my eyes.
“I love you too,” I said, staring back at him.
“We should get her home,” said Remey.
“I agree. I’ll take her,” said James.
James picked me up in his arms and started running. His speed was amazing. Even with me in his arms he could still move fast.
We got to my house and stood outside my door.
“Thank you for caring,” I said.
“I will always care about you. You are my life,” James replied.
“We need to work things out before getting back together.”
“What do you mean?”
“We need to make sure everything is talked about and that this is the right thing to do. I don’t want to rush it, I want to make sure it lasts this time.”
“I will wait for you until the sun turns dark.”
I kissed James, his cool lips pressed against mine. Butterflies filled my stomach as his soft lips were against mine, his hand placed on my cheek, brushing back my stray hairs. After the kiss, he put his forehead against mine, his hand still on my cheek. I felt a love I hadn’t felt before. In this moment, we were one.
I didn’t have my bag or keys. I rang the doorbell with knots in my stomach as I tried to think of why I was gone all night.
My father opened the door and yelled up to my mother to rush down. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me.
“I love you,” he whispered to me.
I hadn’t felt this level of love or affection from my father since I was a child. I put my head against his chest and closed my eyes.
My mother came down and hugged me with tears in her eyes.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“Why are you so dirty?” my father asked.
I went blank. I had no story for them. I had no explanation for why I looked so dirty and disheveled. As I stood there for what seemed like an eternity, James spoke.
“I go to school with Juliet. After the track finals some girls beat her up outside my house. My mother brought her inside and took care of her until she was well enough to get home. She was unconscious for a little while and didn’t have any emergency numbers on her. It was only when she came to we figured out where she lived and she could be brought home. I’m sorry for the anxiety this caused you,” James said.
“Thank you for your help, son,” my father said as he shook James’s hand.
I turned around and gave James a quick hug.
“Thank you for your help. I’ll see you in school,” I said as I winked at him.
I went inside and waved goodbye to James as he walked away. He looked back and smiled as I shut the door. I was in love again.
“Are you okay?” my mother asked while hugging me.
“Yeah, I’m okay. It was just some jealous girls. I slipped and hit my head and passed out. James and his mother saw me outside and helped me. I have a couple classes with him,” I said.
“Well, I like him,” said my father. “He seems like a stand-up guy.”
It was funny that he said that. He liked James and thought he was great. I bet he wouldn’t think that if he knew that James was a vampire. Even though James and his family saved me, he would still want to thro
w James in prison and throw away the key.
“He was a very nice boy,” my mother said with a smile on her face.
“I’m still feeling a little worn out. I think I am going to go upstairs and get in bed.”
“Okay, dear,” my mother said.
I walked upstairs as my parents stared at me with their arms around each other. They looked proud, as if they were proud I was back. I gave a half smile and went to my room.
I went in my room and passed out on my bed. I didn’t even bother changing or getting ready for bed. After the night I just had, nothing could motivate me to bother changing into my pajamas.
I had nightmares that night. I dreamt of getting taken again. Nothing felt safe anymore. If they could take me in the middle of a normally busy street, nothing was off limits. I woke up a couple times looking all around. Was somebody standing and waiting in the shadows? Was I going to wake up to see those yellow eyes staring back at me?
I woke up Sunday morning relieved and calm. I wasn’t taken or attacked in the middle of the night, and I started feeling safe again.
I went downstairs to see a giant feast waiting.
“What is all this for? Are we having company?” I asked.
“No dear, this is for you. We are just happy you are okay and I wanted to do something special for you,” my mother said.
“Really? Thank you,” I said in confusion.
They just thought that I had been jumped and they did this for me. Why all of a sudden were they going out of their way to treat me differently? Before we moved here, we all led different lives. My father had work, I had school, and my mother had her friends. We saw each other for a few minutes each day and barely even talked to each other. Everybody was too involved with their own lives to worry about anyone else’s.
I ate as my mother and father looked at me, smiling.
“Can I ask you guys something?” I asked.
“Of course, honey,” my father said.
“Why are you guys being nice and attentive?” I asked.
“What do you mean, dear?” my mother asked, confused.
“Well, ever since we moved here you two have been different. You have slowly been giving me more attention and paying attention to me,” I said.
“We decided we wanted to give you more when we moved here,” my father said.
“We have moved around so much, and especially with you getting older and moving away soon, we decided we needed to show you love and support. We regret not giving it to you earlier. We made a horrible mistake,” my mother said.
I looked in their eyes and could see the sincerity and pain they held. They truly felt bad and didn’t want to see me go away without them even knowing me. They didn’t want to be strangers anymore.
I wanted to be close to them. I saw friends over the years have parents who were their friends. Parents they could go to and do things with. Parents they loved. I wanted to have that kind of relationship with them. I wanted to feel normal like everybody else.
“There’s a street fair today, if you guys want to go. They will have different foods and booths,” I said to them.
“We’d love to go with you,” my father said.
My mother smiled and agreed with him. I smiled and continued eating my breakfast. Things were really starting to look up.
I finished breakfast, got up from the table and took the dirty plates.
“What are you doing, dear?” my mother asked.
“I’m going to help you with the dishes,” I said, smiling.
I could see the look of happiness in her eyes. Her face brightened up and she got up to give me a hand. As I was putting the dishes in the sink, she put her hands on my shoulders and kissed my cheek. I felt a warm sensation deep in my stomach as I started washing the dishes.
I quickly washed the dishes and ran upstairs to get ready. I was excited to spend time with my parents and wanted to savor every second of it. I got ready and went back downstairs to gather my things.
“Are you ready?” my father asked.
“Yup,” I said smiling.
We walked out and headed to the fair. The leaves were changing as we walked down the grey stone sidewalk. We looked like a normal family. We didn’t look like three strangers anymore.
We got to the fair and people were everywhere. There were dozens of booths set up, with foods from around the world. Vendors sold their crafts and products, and people were laughing and happy. We sampled some foods and walked around looking at all of the booths. My mother found some new handmade oven mitts, and my father found a man selling military memorabilia.
I looked around to see everybody laughing when I saw a familiar face. It was James. He was with Maria. They smiled and James made a heart with his hands at me. He was looking out for me. He didn’t want to take the risk of losing me again.
“Isn’t that your friend James from last night?” my father asked, startling me.
“Oh yeah, it is,” I reluctantly said.
“Well, why don’t you go say hi? Your mother and I are still looking around,” he said.
I walked over to James and Maria and gave Maria a hug.
“How are you feeling?” James asked me.
“I’m okay. I was a little scared when I went to bed, but I’m better,” I said.
“We are still looking for the guy that got away. We haven’t had any luck though. I think he left town,” said James.
“What about the other three?” I asked.
“They won’t be a problem anymore,” Maria said, smiling.
“We are going to be watching over you for a while,” said James.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We don’t want to risk this happening again. One of us will be keeping an eye on you for a few days. I’m watching over you tonight,” James said.
“You better do a good job,” I said jokingly.
He smiled and hugged me. His arms felt so right around my waist. I felt calm whenever I was with him. He made me feel like a different person.
“You better get back to your parents,” he said.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I gave Maria a hug and walked away.
I saw my parents paying for a few things as I walked back over to them.
“How did things go?” my father asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, are you going to go on a date with this guy? I want to get to know him more,” he said.
“I don’t know, dad. Maybe someday,” I said with embarrassment.
While we walked home, I had my head down, biting my lower lip while smiling. I was in love again. It was as if it was happening all over again for the first time. Just hugging him and feeling him hold me made me feel complete again.
We got to our front door and I went in trying to hold back my excitement. I felt as if my father was already onto the fact I liked James. I didn’t want him knowing I was in love with him.
“I have some homework to do,” I said.
“Okay, dear, I’ll let you know when dinner is ready,” my mother said.
I went upstairs and sat on the floor beside my bed. I felt so giddy and excited and it was as if I had no control over it. Being reunited with James again and hearing him tell me he loved me made me feel like a lovestruck puppy.
I started to daydream about our life together. Our wedding would be timeless and romantic. An intimate setting with close friends and family watching as my white gown flowed down the aisle. Our hands resting in each other’s as we devoted our lives to each other.
Our children would be beautiful and well-behaved. We would give them all of the love and attention growing up that I never got. We would tell them we loved them every day as we watched them skip down the road to school.
We would spend our lives together. James would give me the bite and I would become immortal with him. Our souls would dance together for eternity.
“Juliet! Time for dinner!” I heard my mother yell from the bottom of the s
tairs.
I went downstairs and sat at the table as my mother was setting it.
“How did your homework go? Do you have any more?” my father asked.
“My what? Oh, my homework! It’s going good. I have a few more things to do still,” I said trying to recover from my slip-up.
“Is that James boy in your grade then?” my father asked.
“I think so,” I said, trying to show disinterest.
“You should invite him over to dinner, honey,” my mother said with a smile.
Unless my mother was planning on donating some blood, I don’t think he was going to be too interested in coming over to eat.
“Yeah, I’ll try to see if I can,” I said to her.
I really had no intention of asking him at all. I really didn’t even want him around my parents. I was starting to bond with them, but that didn’t mean my father still didn’t want to capture and torture people like him. Pale, cold skin mixed with not eating at all would more than likely give it all away to my father that he wasn’t mortal.
That rest of the night went on without a hitch. I did some of my homework, dreamt about James and finally went to bed. I had school in the morning and now that I was back on track I wanted to really try to focus and do well.
As I got in bed, I saw somebody outside my window looking at me. It was James. I got up and went to the window to let him in.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him quietly.
“I am watching over you, remember? I had to see you before you went to sleep,” James replied.
“You have to be quiet or else my father will hear you.”
“I know. I just had to talk to you before you went to sleep. I needed to hear your voice.”
I got butterflies as he talked to me. The words flowed eloquently out of his mouth as I lingered on every word.
“I should go to sleep,” I said.
I leaned in and kissed him. Our lips slowly pressed against each other’s as my stomach was doing somersaults. His lips pressed against mine as if we would never kiss again. His hand was placed lightly on my hip. Our foreheads pressed against each other’s as we stared into each other’s eyes. My arms were wrapped around his neck; a bright smile lay across my face.
“I love you,” he said softly.