Innocence - Chapter 10

I called Mike Sunday night before I went to bed to tell him about my boring Sunday. I wasn’t going to tell him it was the best Sunday in my life. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. We couldn’t talk that long because Mike had to go to school earlier than me.  The time was different ther.  Two hours later.   We mainly just sat there in silence anyway.

Tatyana and Maryana called me Sunday to talk. I wasn’t that interested in what they were talking about. They wanted me to go to the school dance with them. It was a Sadie Hawkins Dance, so the girls had to ask the guys. I wasn’t into dances. Mike and I use to make fun of them all the time.

Sunday night I went to bed early because I was so anxious to see Aden. This was probably the first time I was excited to go to school. It was hard to fall asleep because I was so excited. I finally feel asleep around midnight.

When Monday morning came, I woke before Gloria could open the door. I ran to my closet, got my clothes. I ran a bath by myself, and quickly fixed my hair into a messy bun. I ran down the stairs to the kitchen.

“Candace, is everything alright?” asked my mother. She and Nathan were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

“What time is it?” I asked hastily.

“About 7:30.” answered Nathan.

“Good enough.” I said. I grabbed a poppy seed muffin off the table and headed out the door. Charles was waiting on the front step.

“Come on Charles!” I yelled at him. He got up immediately. I got to the limo before him so I opened the door myself and got in. A few seconds later we were on the road. We were leaving at least 20 minutes earlier than usual, but I wanted to get to school. I wanted to see Aden.

When we got to school I said thank you to Charles and walked inside. I walked a little faster than normal to History. I was hoping that Aden would be there. I opened the door and noticed the teacher wasn’t even in her room yet. But the four Westcott boys were. They were all looking at me when I cam through the door. Trevor didn’t look as happy as he use to, but I didn’t care about him. I was here to see Aden.

“Hey guys.” I said as I went to go sit in the usual spot in the middle of them all.

“Hey.” said Aden and Trevor together. Trevor glared at Aden before smiling at me. When I sat down, Trevor, Ryan, and Clark turned their heads to the front of the class. I looked at Aden and he mouthed jealous.

I smiled and nodded at him. It was good to be around him again. Trevor turned around and glared at Aden. He obviously was reading Aden’s mind. Aden smiled and shrugged at him.

The next ten minutes was silence as the other kids came into the classroom. When the bell rang for the class to begin, the teacher walked in and announced that there was a pop quiz on grammar. I was the first one done. When I sat back down Aden winked at me.

History went in the same fashion. It was so boring, I almost fell asleep. I was constantly watching the clock. I wanted to go to biology. After what felt like hours, the bell rang. Trevor and the other two left without a word. Aden got up and waited for me.

“Alone at last.” He said.

“I know.” I said, standing up.

As we walked down the hall to Biology, Aden asked, “Are you busy this weekend?”

I looked into his eyes. They were a little darker than Saturday, but not by much. “I don’t think so.” My heart beat quickened. I think he could hear it because he laughed.

“You want to meet me by the tree tonight?”

“You mean the one we sat under on Saturday?”

“Yeah, I figured it was… sort of special.”

“Of course. What time?”

“How about 5.”

We were so into our conversation, we almost missed the biology room. We turned in the classroom right on time, and went to our seats in the back.

“I’ll be there.” I said under my breath. Class started a few minutes early like always. We were learning about bacteria and what it does to different living things. A huge screen TV had been rolled into the room. Mr. Hanson introduced the movie then started it. I wasn’t really paying attention. Aden was sitting close to me today. I glanced at him with the corner of my eye and saw him doing the same thing. I blushed and looked away.

This class went by fast. It was probably because I wanted to be here, with Aden.

When the bell rand Aden and I got up, stretched, and walked to the lunchroom.

“That was an interesting movie.” I said to him.

“I’ve seen it about a dozen times.”

“I could only imagine what you’ve seen.”

When we got to the lunchroom, we parted. Aden went to go sit by his brothers and I went to go sit by Maryana and Tatyana. When I sat down, Jamie instantly took my book bag.

“What do you have in here?” she asked. She dug around in it until she found my horse folder. She wiped it out and said, “Oh my God! I love It.” She turned to Maryana and Tatyana. “Don’t you guys just love it? I love horses. I had one once. They are so beautiful don’t you guys just love them?” Her eyes were wide open, and her mouth was hanging open.

“Jamie will you do something for me?’ asked Tatyana.

“Of course.” Jamie said excitedly.

“Listen closely,” Tatyana leaned closer to Jamie. Jamie looked at her square in the face. “Go home. In your kitchen there should be an object with a plastic end, and a metal end. It is called a knife. Once you find it, SWALLOW IT!”

Jamie looked stunned by what Tatyana had said to her. After a moment of silence Jamie burst out laughing. Tatyana looked very angry that Jamie thought it was so funny. She was serious.

Once Jamie stopped laughing, Tatyana said, “I was serious.”

“Of course you were.” Jamie said sarcastically.

The rest of the lunch hour consisted of Tatyana and Jamie staring at each other. Maryana and I would occasionally talk to each other about one thing or another. When the bell rang I got up and put the left over cookie back in its wrapper, then stowed it away for later in my book bag.

Maryana, Tatyana, and I walked to class together, talking about how funny Jamie was. She could be so stupid sometimes. The rest of the day went by so slow. The obvious reason was because I wanted it to end, therefore it wasn’t going too.

The final bell rang and I rushed out the door. I was hoping to see Aden before I left. I searched the halls I walked down them to the main entrance. No sign of him. I walked glumly down the front steps, wishing I would have at least seen him. All of a sudden he was right in front of me.

“Hey, you miss me?’ Aden asked, smiling.

“I thought you couldn’t read minds.” I said smiling back. My heart skipped a beat when he smiled at me.

“I can’t.”

“Well you’re a good guesser.” I said walking towards the limo.

“It wasn’t really a guess. I was missing you, so I just figured you missed me as well.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes.” He opened the limo door before Charles could and said, “See you at five o’clock?”

I nodded and got in the car. He lightly shut the door behind me. I couldn’t wait to see him again.

When I got home I took a bath and got into some new clothes. This time I sorted through every single thing I had, trying to pick the perfect thing to wear. I decided on a regular pair of blue jeans with a light blue shirt. There was some sort of design on the bottom edge, but I didn’t know what it was.

I went down stairs around 4:30 to get something quick to eat. When I entered the kitchen Nathan was sitting on one of the stools by the breakfast counter.

“Candace! How are you? I haven’t seen you in awhile.” Nathan said with a fake smile. I turned around to leave but Nathan said, “Wait. Come here we need to talk.” I turned around and faced him, but didn’t move anywhere else.

“Please?” he said.

“Talk.” I said sourly crossing my arms over my chest.

He sighed. “I know you are upset with me Candace. I know that I shouldn’t have left you and your mother, but it was for the best. Your mother and I weren’t happy. We needed a break. I was going to come back, but I got this huge job offer I couldn’t refuse. That’s why I wanted you guys to come up here. To live with me, so we could be a family again.”

“A job offer you couldn’t refuse? What about Kendra? The women you spent all your weekends with. The women you spent Valentines Day, Christmas, and New Years with? What about her? Was she your new job offer?”

I didn’t wait for him to respond. I stormed out of the kitchen into the dining room.

I grabbed a doughnut and marched out the house in a huff. When I got outside I was hit with a blast of sunshine. I love the sun. I don’t know what it is, but whenever I am in the sun, I feel warm inside. Like no one can bring me down.

As I walked, I nibbled on the doughnut not really tasting it.

When I passed Aden's house I saw Clark and Ryan on the front step of their house. I looked up and saw Trevor sitting on the roof. I waved, but they just stared at me.

I decided that Aden was right. They were just jealous. A few minutes later, I was standing in front of the Aden.

He was holding a basket filled with food and smiling. “You hungry?” he asked, gesturing to the basket.

“Starved.”

“Good, I made us dinner.” He said sitting down on a blanket he laid out.

I sat down next to him.

My heart was beating faster than normal. I didn’t know if it was from the fight with my dad, or being here with Aden. I guess he could hear it because he said, “Is everything alright?”

I looked up into his eyes.

He looked worried.

“I’m fine. Why?” I couldn’t lie to his face so I looked down as I said this.

“Your heart; its beating fast. It usually does when you are around me but not like this.” I blushed at his words. So he could hear it.

“It’s a long story.”

“We have awhile. I’m a good listener.” He said. He crossed his legs and leaned back, resting on his elbows.

“I don’t want to bore you.” I said.

“Don’t worry. I bet it is very intriguing.”

I sighed. “It’s Nathan. Well, my dad. He use to live with us in Atlanta but he moved up here. He told my mom it was for business, but I know the real reason.” I paused to look at his face. He was staring at me waiting for me to continue. “He had this girlfriend named Kendra back in Atlanta. He would spend all his time with her, but my mom never knew. Kendra left him about four months ago so Nathan called my mom. He told her he was sorry and that everything would be better. That’s why we moved up here.” I stopped again, not knowing what to say next.

“But you never forgave him.”

“No.” I sighed. “We just had a huge fight before I came.”

“I see.” Aden was looking up through the canopy of leaves above us. I opened the basket and saw two sandwiches, a bag of potato chips, two cups, and a glass of sparkling water. I pulled out the two sandwiches and said, “Are you hungry?”

He looked back at me and said, “I ate yesterday.”

“Oh right.” I totally forgot about him being vampire thing.

“I made them for you, although, I will share if you would like me too.”

“Yes please. Then I don’t feel like a pig.”

“You’re not a pig, just human.” He took one of the sandwiches from my hand, and bit it.

“Can you taste it?” I asked curiously.

“Yes. But it isn’t very satisfying.” He took another bit.

“Well I like them, thank you.” I also took a bit. Aden took the glasses and the sparkling water out of the basket. He poured it into the two glasses and handed me one.

I took a sip, and then put it on the ground. Aden went back to staring at the canopy of leaves. I studied his face. He looked like he was thinking hard.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked. I went slowly, closer to him and looked up at the canopy of leaves as well. When I was about six inches away, I stopped.

He turned his head toward me and said, “You.” I smiled and said, “And?”

“I was wondering why you aren’t scared of me.”

“Why does it matter?” I asked. I had no idea why I wasn’t scared. He could kill me in a second, but I knew he wouldn’t.

“It matters a lot. In an instant I could kill you!” He looked a little angry.

“But you won’t.” I said confidently.

“You don’t know that, I don’t even know that. I could snap at any minute.”

“Do you really hunt humans?” I asked. I didn’t like his tone. He was getting angry.

“No, but that doesn’t mean I don’t crave…” He stopped for a moment and stood up.

He walked farther into the forest. “You smell so good. Kind of like vanilla, only sweeter.” He took in a deep breath and said, “I can smell you from here.”

I stood up as well, but I didn’t go any closer to him. I didn’t know what to say. What were you supposed to say to a vampire that just told you, you smell good?

“I’m way to dangerous for you.” He stated. I walked right up to him and touched him arm with my hand. Just like his hand, the skin on his arm was as cold as ice but very smooth over his muscles. He didn’t jerk away from me this time. I ran my hand down his arm to his hand.

I gripped it tight and said, “I’ll take my chances.” He squeezed my hand lightly.

Chapter 19

We walked back to the picnic holding hands. It was the best feeling when he touched me. My heart was beating faster than ever. We ate our dinner in silence. When we were both done Aden said, “It’s getting dark. We better get go home.”

“I don’t want to.” I said making a pouty face.

He smiled at that and said, “Will I have to carry you?”

“Fine.” I helped him pick up the garbage. We started to walk down the sidewalk when Aden held his hand out to me.

I put mine in his and he sighed.

“Your very warm.” His eyes were closed. I didn’t say anything. I want this moment to last.

We didn’t stop at Aden’s house, he was going to walk me home. We were silent the rest of the way until we got to the front door of my house.

“Would you like a ride to school tomorrow?” Aden asked, letting go of my hand.

“That would be great.” I said, “What time?”

“7:45 on the dot.” He touched my cheek with his cold finger tips again and whispered, “See you later.” Just like last time, he vanished.

I woke up Tuesday morning very excited. I couldn’t wait to see Aden. This time I chose my outfit carefully, straitened my hair and went down to breakfast. Nathan and my mom were there as usual.

“Hey honey. Are you hungry?” asked my mom.

“Yeah, do we have any pancakes?” Right as I said this, a waiter came over, put three pancakes on a plate and put them in front of me. I ate quickly so I could go call Mike before I left.

When I finished another waiter took my plate and brought it into the kitchen. “Good service.” I said before leaving. Nathan and my mom looked surprised by my attitude this morning. I went into the large entrance way and called Mike. I got his answering machine so I left him a message.


When I walked outside the next morning I saw Charles wasn’t waiting for me. Maybe Aden told him. I looked around and didn’t see anyone. My watch said 7:44 so maybe I was just early. As soon as my watch turned to 7:45, a shiny yellow Mazda RX-7 pulled into the drive.

Aden stepped out of it and said, “Ready to go?”

I slowly walked down the front steps, amazed by the car. “Wow.” I said with my mouth hanging open.

“You like it?” he asked with a smirk on his face. I nodded. He walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for me. I got in and waited for him to get in.

“School, here we come.” He said, starting up the car. After a moments silence he asked, “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. Did you? Or do you not sleep.”

“I can sleep if I want too, but I usually don’t.”

“Did you sleep last night?”

“No. I had too much on my mind.” He stole a glance at me then looked back at the road.

“Where are the other three?” I asked looking in the back seat.

“They took a different car.”

“Oh.”

We sat in silence the rest of the way. When we got to school he opened the door for me. We walked to history together. We didn’t sit in our usual spots by the others. We sat in the back on the other side of the room. Trevor seemed to get redder and redder as the minutes went by. His eyes were as black as coal. He obviously hadn’t eaten in awhile.

Aden could feel my anguish so he said, “He is going tonight. He shouldn’t have waited so long.” I turned my gaze away from Trevor.

“Why did he?” I asked.

“He was trying to prove a point.”

“Which was?”

“Never mind that.” He said, looking stern.

The bell rang, and class began.


Another two weeks went by with nothing special besides a few phone calls with Mike and a picnic with Aden. He invited me to his house on Saturday to formally be introduced to his family. “After all,” he said while on our weekly walk. “You are my girlfriend.”

“Well yeah, but I haven’t even said your name to my parents.”

“That’s different. You hate your parents and could care less what they think. I want my family to like you, to accept you.”

“Do I have to?” I asked, wining.

“No, I won’t force you to do anything. It is just my wish that you meet my family.”

“Fine. What time?” I crossed my arms and tapped my foot.

“Let’s say…sixish.”

“Okay.” I said. We were back at my house already. Before I turned to go he took my face in his and slowly kissed my forehead. His lips were ice against my warm skin. It made me shiver. I knew to stay still, but I wanted so bad to embrace him, to bring him closer to me.

“See you tonight?” he asked before letting go of me.

“Six o’clock.” I said to him. In an instant he was gone.

What was I going to wear? I was going to meet his family? I already knew most of them, but not all of them. I never met his mother but I did meet his brothers. They don’t like me very much.

I was going to see his family.