Cheyenne and I darted our way through the forest, excited to go home and unpack. As we were running, I turned to glance at Cheyenne. She had a very distant look on her face, and had been quiet throughout most of our trip. I knew something was on her mind, though I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.
“Hey, are you really okay?” I yelled, so I would be heard over the wind around us.
Cheyenne slowed down and came to a stop. “Amelia, I'm fine. It's just one of those days, ya know? All the emotions and finding out all these great things. It's very overwhelming and I'm trying to let it all sink in,” She smiled widely at me. “I'm just so happy for you. To have watched you grow up from a baby, and now seeing you so very happy, it just makes my heart smile. I love you so much and the only thing I have ever wanted was to see you happy.”
“Oh, Cheyenne! You are too sweet for words. Just remember that your happiness matters to me, too, and we are in this together. I love you,” I replied, wrapping my arms around Cheyenne's neck. I couldn't ask for a better friend. She cared about how I felt and was there for me every moment of every day.
Cheyenne returned my hug. “I love you, too, girl.”
“Let’s get outta here before we get really caught up!” I said, as I backed away from Cheyenne, who flashed a gorgeous smile that lit up the night.
We joined hands again and strolled through the forest, finally breaking free of the trees. We rounded the front of the house to find Malacai and Joel standing on the front lawn, burdened with quite a few sticks and branches. They were steadily building a small bonfire in a rounded, dug-out section in the grass.
“What's going on out here?” Cheyenne asked, stalking carefully around the slowly igniting flames that occupied the far end of the front lawn..
“We just wanted to celebrate our first night with something nice. We thought you girls might enjoy this,” Joel replied, his eyes falling low, emanating disappointment.
“I think it's great!” I said, running excitedly in Joel's direction. “You know how much I enjoy stargazing on a beautiful clear night.”
Joel's face lightened up a bit, “Oh, well I'm glad you will enjoy it. Anna isn't coming out; she thinks it's too dangerous.”
Cheyenne and I exchanged a quick glance, raising our brows, mirroring our skepticism to each other. I could remember plenty of times when Anna built fires in their fireplace when we were at our previous residence. So, why would she says it's dangerous? Interesting.
“Oh,” was all that I could muster, without sounding completely rude.
Cheyenne went into the house to get drinks for the four of us, while I stayed put, staring dreamily into the flames. Seeing the bright orange light distort the cold air was very calming to me. It proved to me once again that this was the right place for us. I loved nature and being in this part of the country gave me the ability to see it whenever I wanted.
Cheyenne returned shortly, arms full of blankets for them to sit on. She handed two to me and gave the others to Malacai and Joel.
“Oh, nice thinking. Thanks!” Joel took the soft flannel blankets from Cheyenne.
I spread the red blanket across the grass and followed Cheyenne inside to get the drinks that she had left. We first turned out all of the lights in the house, soon returning to the kitchen to grab the four drinks that sat on the cherry dining-room table.
As I walked back outside, I couldn't believe how much of an affect the lights had on our view. Everything seemed in drastic contrast due to my night vision, along with the blazing fire that was reaching extreme heights by the time I took a seat beside Cheyenne on the ground.
“This is a dream,” Cheyenne whispered. “It's completely perfect.”
I glanced at Cheyenne and smiled, then stretched back to lie on the blanket. I looked up at the millions of bright, shining stars and the awesome moon that presented itself, completely full and alive. Cheyenne had set our glasses beside us on a flat part of the blanket, so I reached over her to get mine. It was a bottle, almost like one that would contain beer, except it was full of pure, dark red blood.
In our world, vampires had things like this made because it was so easily accessible. It was usually made from the blood of deer and the sort. No animals were killed in the process, though, proving that there were other vampires just like us. It was always available on our version of the black market. Only there, it was cleverly named “Dark Desire.”
“So, what kind of history does this place have? You know anything about the previous owners?” I asked Malacai, attempting to find something to chat about.
“Well, the young man that showed me the house said that it belonged to his late parents. From the way he spoke, I'm assuming they just recently passed away,” He replied, a look of sadness falling across his strong face.
“Wow, both of them?” Cheyenne sat up on her elbows, shocked at the strangeness of it.
“Yeah, I wanted to delve a bit deeper into it, but I didn't have the heart to make him talk about something like that. While you were all asleep in the car, I saw what looked to be a funeral procession easing through the town,” Malacai said, looking sternly at the billowing flames.
“That's really sad. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be to lose both parents at once. He must be very upset,” I interjected, finally joining the conversation that I had started.
We sat there for over an our, reliving memories, and telling stories. It was the most fun we'd had together in a long time.
“Well, guys, I think I'm about to go lay down for a while. Anna is probably wondering why I've been out so long,” Joel stood up from the blanket he had been lounging on.
“Yeah, I think I'm going to put the fire out and head to bed myself,” Malacai yawned and began to gather rocks to douse the flames.
“You ready?” Cheyenne asked me.
“Yeah, I need a bit of shuteye myself.” I stood and stretched.
We gathered the blankets and empty glasses and headed inside, leaving the men to straighten up the lawn. When we got to the top of the first flight of stairs, we said our good nights and parted ways. Though vampires weren't required to sleep to stay healthy, we enjoyed getting a bit of rest after a long day. The other vampires, the evil ones, usually went without any rest at all. They were determined to spend every moment trying to find someone to feed on.
I walked into my new room, a smile breaking across my face as I took it all in once again. Malacai had put in a lot of work and money to make sure this place was perfect for all of us. I stared at the fairy on the wall for a long moment, amazed at how life-like she looked. Malacai did know me well to have remembered how much I adored fairies. I lowered myself softly onto the cushioned pillow and after a while to think, I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up to a bright ray of sunshine flowing through my midnight blue curtains. As always, the sun caused my skin to turn almost white. Though unlike what the myths suggested, it couldn't hurt me. It only made me feel as if I were getting cold chills all over. It was almost like something was crawling all over my exposed skin. I rolled over in the large, soft bed and covered my face with a pillow. I was determined to rest for at least another half an hour.
As I got comfortable again, I heard a light tapping on her bedroom door. I played with the idea of pretending I hadn't heard it, but thought better of it immediately.
“Who is it?” I yelled, irritation flooding through my voice.
“It's me, Grouch.” Cheyenne replied, noting the obvious tone I had used on her, but laughed it off.
“Come in, girl.” I said, realizing it was my best friend, probably just wanting to talk.
Cheyenne came in and closed the door behind her. “You know it's like eleven o'clock, right?”
I glanced over at the clock that had been placed on the nightstand before we had arrived. “Yeah, I guess it is. Sorry about that, the sun was trying to blind me and I had finally found another spot to sleep in.” I laughed and scooted over so that Cheyenne could take a seat beside me on the bed.
“Well, the reason I came up here is worth it anyway! Okay, so earlier, I had just woke up and I heard the doorbell ring. I couldn't imagine who would be showing up here this soon, so I got up quietly and hid on the stairs while Malacai walked to the door. There was this gorgeous man standing there! He talked like he might have been the guy that sold us this house! Malacai is still talking with him on the porch! You want to go with me to introduce ourselves?”
I sat up in the bed and pulled the blinds back that were covering the window. When I looked outside, I could see the front lawn, and there was Malacai and the most beautiful man I had ever laid my eyes on in my life. He had long, plaited hair, and his skin was the color of honey.
“Let's go!” I said, as I backed away from the window and jumped up out of the bed.
“Yes, Ma'am!” Cheyenne responded, and ran out of the room to give me a chance to get dressed.
Apparently Cheyenne was already ready. She was dressed up in a long, flowing sundress and had her hair tied up on the top of her head. It was so long, it flowed down across her shoulders, in spite of being pulled up.
Five minutes later, I was dashing out of the bedroom and quickly down the stairs with Cheyenne at my heels. I had decided to go with a casual look. I had semi-tight denim jeans on, and threw on a bright pink halter top. When we made it to the front door, we both paused and looked at each other.
“You ready?” Cheyenne asked.
“Oh, yeah.” I responded, smiling from ear to ear, despite my sudden nervousness.
I slowly opened the front door to find the gorgeous man standing right in front of me. It took me completely off guard, so much that I almost fell back.
“Hi, there.” He said, grinning. He had stepped back a bit. He had obviously been about to walk in the door when I had opened it.
“Hi. I'm...Amelia.” I said, stuttering and trying desperately to make sure that was my real name. I held out my hand and he extended his in response.
“My name is Damian.” he said, we they shook hands. He had the softest hands, I couldn't believe I had found a man with soften hands than my own. “My parents used to own this home and I wanted to come by and introduce myself. How are you liking the house?”
I caught myself looking him up and down, admiring his muscular body and gorgeous attire. He was wearing khaki pants, and had a blue polo shirt that accented every bulging muscle he had. I found my way back to his enticing hazel eyes. “I love it. It couldn't be more perfect!” I finally blurted.
“I was just telling your father how glad I am that I could find such a wonderful family to sell the house to. You deserve it.” He said.
I chuckled a bit, not only from nervousness but from the fact that Malacai had told this man that he was our father.
“Come on in, Damian. Let me get you something to drink.” Malacai said as he ushered Damian into the house.
In our home, we always kept human groceries. Our refrigerator was full of sodas, lunch meat, and the usual condiments. Malacai might not like humans, but at least he had the courtesy to treat them well if they happened to come into his home.
As I watched Malacai and Damian head for the kitchen, I realized that Cheyenne was nowhere to be found. I started searching the downstairs area of the house until I found Cheyenne sitting in the study, seemingly reading a book.
“I gotta look smart!” Cheyenne said. I0 didn't even know that she had even saw me come into the room; she looked so engrossed in the book she had in front of her face.
“You are smart, girl. Calm down!” I replied. “He seems really nice.”
“Ah, man. You can have him.” Cheyenne said, as she saw the look on my face. I had attempted to keep that school girl look in check, but apparently it wasn't working.
“Chey! This isn't a contest. We just met him for goodness sake.” I said, all the while thinking about the man that sat chatting with my “father” in the kitchen. I couldn't explain the feeling I had gotten when I had opened the door and saw him standing there. It was as if I had gotten the butterflies, only I had felt them in my heart instead of my stomach. I started getting the feeling again as I thought about it.
Just then, Malacai stepped into the study, with Damian following closely behind him.
“We've made this room into a study. As you can see, the girls like to do their reading and computer work in here.” Malacai said, as I calmed herself after being startled by their entrance. I hoped they hadn't heard anything Cheyenne and I were saying.
“This is great! I wish we would have thought of this. It was more of a storage room than anything when we lived here.” He said, his voice as soothing as a lullaby.
“We?” I asked. I couldn't help it. I was intrigued by this man and wanted to know everything I could about him.
“Yes, my parents and I, before I moved out.” Damian replied. “I've been living about an hour and a half away with my room-mate for about two years now. It's a slightly larger town called Strawberry Plains”
“Oh, okay.” I replied, not being able to speak anymore at that moment. I looked back at him, to find him staring straight at me. His gaze was intense and I could tell he had been going through something rather difficult lately. I might not be able to read minds completely but I was close. I could read auras and body language as well, so it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on with just about anyone.
“Well, it was really great meeting you guys, but I'm gonna have to get out of here.” Damian said, and waved good bye.
Cheyenne sat completely still, looking to be completely engrossed in her new-found book. Once Malacai left the room to walk Damian to the door, she set the book on the table.
“What was that about?” Cheyenne said, grinning.
“What was what?” I replied quietly, more concerned about when I was going to see Damian again.
“I almost thought you two were going to kiss! You've been staring at each other for the last five minutes.” Cheyenne said.
“He seems so sad, Chey. You think we'll ever see him again?” I half-whispered. I peeked my head around the corner to see Malacai and Damian by the door. They were talking low, but I was sure I heard something about an accident. I walked back to her chair and sat down by Cheyenne again. I heard the front door close and knew that I might not ever see that handsome man again. Somehow I knew, though, that I could make it happen.
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