Unexpected

Rose leaned against the front door of her spacious prison listening for the roar of Aden's engine to disappear down the driveway. He was, to say the least, an unexpected... oh what's the word? Speed bump. No, that's not right. Pleasure, maybe? How about just unexpected? Yes, that'll do. He was definitely and completely unexpected. It was a pleasure to see him, yes, but also frightening. She was afraid he would remember everything and run away causing her to lose him again; or worse, he wouldn't remember her at all, reminding her of her original loss. But his eyes had been more kind then afraid today. Not like the others whose eyes only bore fear and hatred of her. He didn't recoil from her as she had grown accustomed to from the others. He still wore his ring. All of this gave her a hope she hadn't dared entertain before. She could feel her pulse quicken. She was able to smile at his memory for the first time in seven years.

Seven years she'd been hiding in this self appointed prison, only coming out to help solve the occasional unsolvable crime. Seven years spent trying to forget the nightmare that brought her here in the first place. Seven years of pretending she was never in love and never loved by anyone. But she was in love and she had been loved. A long time ago, seemingly in another life. Loved so completely by this one boy - no, man - that he had become the very reason she drew breath. He was still the reason for her existence. No amount of time would be able to erase the imprint he left upon her heart. No amount of denial would change the depth of the love she still held for him. No danger in the world, or his lack of memory could change the fact that she belonged to him.

She'd always known he was alive, somewhere. Somewhere unknown until now. It took everything she had within her to keep from flinging her arms around him; showing him just how much she had missed him. But that would have been foolish as it probably would have just frightened him. Not to mention what it would have done to the reputation she had earned. He clearly had no memory of her or their life together.

She sat hard on her four poster canopy bed, picking up her favorite vampire romance from the nightstand. Within its pages she found his picture. The man she loved so long ago. The man she still loves today. His sandy brown colored hair combed neatly out of his face revealing gentle blues eyes behind black frame glasses. His gentle intellect, far superior to anyone she had ever known; was easily distinguishable in the demeanor he held in the photo. For a moment she was back in high school.

*

The first time she met him was just like any other day at school, grey and dull. She had preferred her anonymity from among her peers over the angst of social popularity. She learned quickly enough how to blend in to obscurity; to be the freak no one would venture to associate with. It was better that way. Safer. You can't lose a friend you don't have, right?

But then he - the dreamiest guy on the planet - waltzed into her life. The first and only member of the student body that caught her attention. He was tall and slender, but well built. Dark, warm blue eyes stood out from behind those black frames screaming for attention; which he was readily offered from every girl in school. It was no wonder what they saw in him. He was exquisitely perfect; a stark contrast to the normal, run of the mill, male in the school. His teeth were a perfect set of pearls. His complexion was a exquisite shade of off white; pale, but beautiful. His blonde hair was neatly in place as was his upscale attire.

He was a transfer from some tiny town in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. Winnemucca he called it. 'The halfway point between Hell and Elko'; where ever that was. Hell she knew all too well; but Elko was nowhere to be found within realm of her geographical knowledge. She had to look it up to find that it was a real town just about three hours south of their current location.

He had spent his first week mingling with the current student body, stealing glances of her whenever he thought she wasn't looking, but she was always looking; always staring at his beautiful pale face.

She had heard him ask about her occasionally. "She's just a loner." One kid said. "Don't let her near you, man, she's evil," said another. "No one really knows, she's just weird."

Curiosity must have got the better of him because he ventured into her private corner one mid-semester day at lunch. "Hi," he said with a kind, sort of velvety voice. "Name's Kaden. Mind if I sit with you today?" He didn't wait for an answer as he sat. Her eyes widened in fear. No one had ever come this close to her at school. The students had always given her a wide berth. Not him. He sat there staring into her eyes seemingly mesmerized by their unique color.

"Why?" was the word she forced out of her mouth. Her eyes scanned the lunchroom for some hint of an inside joke she was to be the butt of. His scent was divine. A mix of spruce and soap; clean. It would be easy to get lost in the liquid blue pools behind those heavy black frames.

"Would you rather I leave?" Seemingly innocent enough.

"Yes," she lied.

His eyes sparkled as if he knew she was lying. He smirked. "I think I'll stay." He cracked open his soda and downed it in one swallow. "What's your name?"

She scanned the room again. No one was looking. They were all too busy with their normal teenage dramas to notice her. "Twila." barely above a whisper. She watched him extend his hand in greeting and she lurched backward. "No!" Her chair tumbled out behind her gaining the attention of every person in the room. She made no attempt to explain herself. She left him at the table awkwardly sitting with his hand still raised in greeting.

He didn't give up. He persisted in getting to know her; though he kept his hands at a safe distance to avoid frightening her again. He kept her company everyday at lunch and gradually graduated to sitting by her in the classes they shared.

Slowly over the course of remainder of the school year, she warmed up to him. Learning to trust him and eventually falling in love with him. She couldn't resist his gentle eyes or his willingness to be near her in spite of the danger she insisted existed.

Eventually she shared her secret with him and to her surprise he wasn't bothered in the least. She had expected him to be afraid like so many others would be; should be.

His nonchalance in regards to her and her abilities were a comfort. He made her feel, not just loved, but loveable. Completely. She was his and he was hers until... everything was taken from her. A tear fell onto the boy's image distorting his quirky smile. She thought he was gone forever. He was supposed to have been gone forever. But he was here; back in her life and completely unaware. Aden Christopher didn't know the red-eyed vampire he'd met today, she knew he wouldn't. But he was alive and well and in her own back yard.

But then so was the man who took him from her. And that man, unfortunately, was quite aware of who she is and was back with a vengeance. His name was Adrian and he sought to take her life, for reasons she did not at all understand. For as long as she could remember, her life had constantly been uprooted, interrupted, and otherwise ruined with his attempts to kill her. She had felt him at the last two crime scenes and sure he would be in the mind of the next victim. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with him again. Though he never came in person, per se, but it was always him behind the sadistic eyes of what ever weak minded criminal he was using a the time.

When she was five, she distinctly remembered the look on the face of the man driving the Bel Air in the next lane. His face was taught with stress as the traffic was exceptionally heavy and he was obviously going to be late for whatever was on his agenda for the day. He looked into her eyes for the briefest of moments with clear blue eyes before they flashed to gold. A grin carved its way across his rigid face as he grabbed the wheel of his car and plowed into the side of the vehicle she was in. Her mother swore, jerking the wheel away from him and thus hitting another car. This caused the typical ripple effect and within a minute the freeway was nothing but a pile of crumpled metal and blood. She and her mother had survived the accident without so much as a bruise; but the man with the golden eyes - now blue - stared off into nothingness. He was dead.

This is how it went every year or so. Those same golden eyes, just different faces, all with the same intent. The golden eyes wanted her dead.

The last time she actually stood up him, and lost the two people who meant the most to her; her mother and her husband. Now that one was back, she couldn't bear the thought of going through that kind of loss again. She'd have to run again. Find somewhere on this wretched planet where Adrian wouldn't be able to find her. Leave Kaden, er, Aden behind so he could be safe. He had to stay safe.

She put the picture back in the book and wrapped herself around the nearest pillow. She prayed for wisdom; she prayed for strength; she prayed for Aden to remember. To love her once again. Then prayed that he wouldn't, so he could stay safe - from her. Tears, yes, but not sleep would come easily tonight for she knew her dreams would be filled with the man she loved and the demon who hunted her.