After a case of mistaken identity and being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Amelia Thatcher is kidnapped by vampires Rose and Trevor. When the Original is temporarily knocked out and Elena rescued, she blindly finds her way back home, where th...
The box slips from my grip, landing with a crash on the ground. Maisie laughs. She's fifteen, going on sixteen. But she's smart for her age. Really smart, actually. This house is medium sized. On the outside, it's brown. But on the inside, it's gray. The walls, the floor, everything. Personally I think it's fitting. The world does feel really gray right now.
The box is slightly cracked open now. My mother's pale green eyes stare back out at me. I swallow. Maisie's pale green eyes. But I know something Maisie doesn't. Something my dad doesn't know I know. Lila wasn't my mother. I don't know where my real mother is, but I have an idea where to start. A picture. In an obituary.
A woman,with smiling green eyes and raven black hair. I don't look like her, but I have her name. Amelia Josette Thatcher. Lila was my mother in every way that mattered. Not this mystery woman. Not Josette. No last name. As if that's the strangest thing about her. I've never asked my father about her, and I likely never will. Something tells me she wasn't hidden in an old box for no reason.
~~~
Elijah has left the room. My mind is still whirling from everything that's happened. In the span of 24 hours, I've been kidnapped, almost killed, knocked unconscious three times, and now I'm about to be held hostage. What.the.hell. You know what this reminds me of? The fucking Twilight Zone.
He returns quicker than I thought, leaving me still standing in the middle of the room. I quickly grab the nearest thing so it doesn't look like I've been standing around, doing nothing. I don't want to think about what he'll do to me if I piss him off. Although it seems impossible, what with his eerily calm composure.
He taps his foot, the first sign of impatience I've seen from him since we met. I mutter out a "sorry" and start moving faster. With no warning, he grabs my suitcase from me and tosses it out the window. My mouth drops open. "Time to go. Hold on." I don't comprehend what he means to do until he's grabbing me and hauling me up into his arms with the ease of a child holding a doll.
He steps out onto the roof, like it's the easiest thing ever. My grip becomes like iron, digging into his arm. He doesn't even make a face. "What are you-" he steps off the ledge. I shriek at the sudden drop, and my eyes slam shut. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to-the wind stops.
Shakily, I open one eye, then the other. We're on the ground. With no broken bones. He sets me down, but my legs are too trembly to stand. Elijah catches my forearms just in time as I slump against him. I'm so exhausted. Warning bells are going off in my head about letting my guard down around this stranger, but I ignore them. He's not going to kill me. Yet. He exhales and lifts me up into his arms once again.
It'd probably be embarrassing under other circumstances, but I'm so tired I practically pass out immediately. You'd think after being unconscious multiple times, I wouldn't be so tired. But I've had a lot of surprises today. And this? This is the least of them.
~~~
The movement of the car becomes increasingly noticeable when I first wake up. Squinting, I look out the window. I'm buckled into a seat, and my neck hurts from being bent in the same position for a while. For a second, I have absolutely no idea where I am. Then it all comes back. "So she lives. Are you hungry?" I do a quick 360. Across from me, Elijah sits in the drivers seat.
"Yes." And it was true. I hadn't noticed before he said anything, but my stomach was aching and groaning. I don't say anything else, I'm too nervous. The sun is already up when we pull into a Waffle House. I frown, eyeing his expensive suit. This doesn't seem to be the kind of place he would eat at. "Come on." He unbuckles his seatbelt and I watch in astonishment.
"You...want me to eat...inside...with you?" He stares at me as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "...Yes? You're hungry are you not?" I nod wordlessly and slide out of the car. Doing a quick turn-around, I notice the car is a BMW. Expensive suit? Fancy BMW? He has to be mafia or involved in something illegal. Normal people don't just have this kind of money lying around.
But he's not normal, is he? He killed that man. Trevor. With his hand. I'm so completely lost in the situation. Nothing makes any sense. Elijah holds the door open for me. A pleasantry that to the outside world might look like a rich playboy and his scandalous young girlfriend, but to me just makes me more suspicious. How old is he anyway? Maybe in his thirties?
I am seventeen, going on eighteen very soon. For some reason, that relieves me. We sit in a dimly lit booth. The diner is nearly empty, save for a small family of three. It's unbearably silent. Elijah excuses himself to go to the jukebox. A moment later he returns and an old song, one I don't recognize, begins playing. "Do you like Beethoven?" I shake my head, squirming under his gaze.
"I'm more of an Alex G girl." He nods. "You like alternative music then." I look up then, surprised. "You know Alex G?"
"Of course. I've listened to a range of music in my time. He's certainly better than..certain boy band artists." In his time? I hesitate on the next question. "How old are you?" Tensing, I wait to see his reaction. But he doesn't get angry. "Old." He simply replies. What? That leaves even more questions. "I'm going to use the bathroom. Just uh, order for me." He waves me away. I wonder why isn't more cautious of letting me roam free. But whatever.
I make it into the bathroom and begin looking around. High up on the wall, is a window. Yes! Carefully, balancing on the toilet, I feel around for a lock, something to open the window. Upon finding none, I tear off a strip from my plaid shirt and wrap it around my knuckles. I grit my teeth and slam my hand into the glass.
Pain explodes through my arm. But it does the job. I'm now free to crawl through the window. I reach a hand out and grapple onto whatever is on the other side. "Need a hand?" I freeze. It's impossible. He grabs my hands and pulls me out through the window. Elijah stands outside, gripping my wrists. How-Why-? He clicks his tongue.
"And here I thought we were becoming friends."
~~~
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