Chapter 6:
Amelia and Cheyenne whisked their way through the forest, excited to go home and unpack. As they were running, Amelia turned to glance at Cheyenne. She had a very distant look on her face, and had been quiet throughout most of their trip.
“Hey, are you really okay?” Amelia yelled, so she would be heard over the wind.
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 Amelia. “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,” Amelia replied, wrapping her arms around Cheyenne's neck.
Cheyenne returned her hug. “I love you, too, girl.”
“Let’s get outta here before we get really caught up!” Amelia said, as she backed away from Cheyenne, with a gorgeous smile that lit up the night.
They joined hands again and strolled through the forest, finally breaking free of the trees. They 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.
“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!” Amelia 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.”
Amelia and Cheyenne exchanged a quick glance, raising their brows in skepticism. Amelia could remember plenty of times when Anna built fires in their fireplace when they were at their previous residence.
“Oh,” was all that Amelia could muster, without sounding completely rude.
Cheyenne went into the house to get drinks for the four of them, while Amelia stayed put, staring dreamily into the flames. Seeing the bright orange light distort the cold air was very calming to her. It showed her once again that this was the right place for her. She loved nature and being in this part of the country gave her the ability to see it whenever she wanted.
Cheyenne returned shortly, arms full of blankets for them to sit on. She handed two to Amelia and gave the others to Malacai and Joel.
“Oh, nice thinking. Thanks!” Joel took the soft flannel blankets from Cheyenne.
Amelia spread the red blanket across the grass and followed Cheyenne inside to get the drinks that she had left. They 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 Amelia walked back outside, she couldn't believe how much of an affect the lights had on their view. Everything seemed in drastic contrast due to her night vision, along with the blazing fire that was reaching extreme heights by the time she took a seat beside Cheyenne on the ground.
“This is a dream,” Cheyenne whispered. “It's completely perfect.”
Amelia glanced at Cheyenne and smiled, then stretched back to lie on the blanket. She looked up at the millions of bright, shining stars and the awesome moon that presented itself, completely full and alive. Cheyenne had set their glasses beside them on a flat part of the blanket, so Amelia reached over her to get hers. It was a large glass full of pure, dark red blood.
In their 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. It was always available on their 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?” Amelia 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,” Amelia interjected, joining the conversation that she had started.
“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 gather rocks to douse the flames.
“You ready?” Cheyenne asked Amelia.
“Yeah, I need a bit of shuteye myself.”
They gathered the blankets and empty glasses and headed inside, leaving the men to straighten up the lawn. When they got to the top of the first flight of stairs, they said their good nights and parted ways. Though vampires weren't required to sleep to stay healthy, they enjoyed getting a bit of rest after a long day.
Amelia walked into her new room, a smile breaking across her face as she took it in once again. Malacai had put in a lot of work and money to make sure this place was perfect for all of them. She lowered herself softly onto the cushioned pillow and drifted off to sleep. |
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