Chapter 4: Saved?

I woke up back in John’s arms as he ran through the woods.  I was still groggy but I could see the road approaching quickly as the sun began to come up.

I looked up to his face and noticed that he was staring at me, which made me blush terribly.  I hid my head back under my arms and I heard a light chuckle escape his perfect lips.

“What are you laughing at?”  I asked, trying to sound angry, although it only made me nervous.  No man had ever looked at me the way he was now, and frankly, it scared the crap out of me.

“Nothing, I’m just amused by you,” he answered, looking back ahead.

“I’m amusing now?  And how do you figure that?”

“Just forget about it.  The sun’s almost up and we have to find a place to stay.”

“Where are we going to go?  And do you want me to walk, I do have two legs, you know,” I said sarcastically.

“We’ll probably have to find a motel or something to stay at until I get in contact with one of my friends who will take us in.  And no, I would rather you not walk.  You will just slow us down.”

Okay, offensive much?  “Sorry I’m so slow,” I said, crossing my arms.

“No, it’s fine, but I’d rather not be in the sun, okay?”  He sounded a little different-a little ruder, actually.

“The sun doesn’t affect you guys.  You always go out during the day.”

“The sun makes me nervous.  I hate being so pale-it makes me look like a freak.”

I laughed lightly, “You couldn’t look like a freak if you tried.”

I looked up and saw a smirk grow in the corner of his mouth and then turned back to the road that was only a few steps away.

“Aren’t you tired from running?”  I asked.

“Of course not.  I’m basically dead, remember?  Haven’t you learned anything from living with vampires your whole life?”

“Not really; they never let me leave the house with them, so I still always had questions.”

“Well, we might have to walk now, just in case someone sees me.  If I were human and saw a man running down the side of the road as quickly as I was with a woman in his arms, I might be slightly terrified.”

I nodded once as he set me on my feet lightly.  He seemed a little off today, but he was just as caring and courteous as he usually was.

We walked in silence for awhile and I couldn’t stop wondering about where we would go.  I wasn’t scared of dying anymore, so I didn’t really think about them finding me, although it was a perfect reality now.

“So, where are we exactly?”  I finally asked, my arms crossed and my face fierce.  I was still going to be distanced from him, seeing as I still didn’t want a boyfriend, especially not one who was a vampire.

See, my story isn’t like all of the others.  I’m not that wimpy little girl who needs help all of the time.  I can handle myself and I can handle what is thrown in my face from a day-to-day basis.  I hate people and I hate the thought of anyone trying to get close to me; that only opens me up for more hurt.

“We’re in Pennsylvania, right now.  We will be arriving at a hotel shortly.”

“How do you know?”

He simply extended his arm and pointed forward.  I felt so stupid, but right in front of us was a large sign that read “Motel.”

“Oh; sorry,” I said, embarrassed.  He just giggled lightly and kept walking.

 

We reached the parking lot to the motel quickly and almost ran in the front door, slamming it when we got inside.  John walked up to the counter and looked around anxiously, dinging the bell over and over.  It started to hurt my ears and I brought my hands up to them, shielding them from the high-pitched sound.

“Would you quit that?”  I asked, wincing.

“Sorry, I just want to know if anyone is here.  Hello?!”  He shouted.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” a small woman said as she walked though the back doorway.  The place looked so broken and old that I was more afraid to stay here than to keep walking along the road.

“Do you have any rooms available?”  John asked, smiling politely.

“Yeah, just let me see,” she said as she flipped through a small book in front of her.  “Ah, yes, here we go.  Room 15 is available.  Would you like to have it?”

“Yes,” he answered.  I decided to take a look around the room as he paid her and she took his information.

The carpet was a dark brown that looked like it wasn’t supposed to be that color at all.  The walls were a wooden paneling and the doors were all glass.  Everything looked like it needed a good cleaning.

The only furnishing it had was a small bench that could fit maybe two people on it.

I paced back and forth with my arms crossed as John walked back over and out the front door.

“Have a good day, you two,” the woman called out as she strode back through the door in the back of the room.  I smiled and turned back to John who was holding the door open for me.

“Thanks,” I whispered as I walked through.

“So, we will stay in the room and I will try to get a hold of someone who will take us in.”

“That sounds good to me.  Is there a TV?”

“As far as I know, there should be one.”

“Okay, then I’m fine with that.”

We reached our room and he opened the door, once again letting me step in first.  He was a perfect gentleman, but something about him annoyed me.  When did he push back?  When did his back-bone ever show up?

“Why are you so nice?”  I asked as I plopped down on the bed that felt like a wooden board.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean just what I asked.  Why are you so nice?”

“I guess I’ve forgiven for what has been done to me.  I’d rather be a nice person with no regrets than a cold, worthless piece of life.”

“Thanks so much,” I muttered.

“I wasn’t calling you a waste of life.  I understand why you’re cold.  I’d be the same way if I were you.”

I looked down at my hands as I clenched and unclenched them.  I actually hated him for being so nice to me and I wished he would have just left me back to be killed.  I didn’t want this new life he was posing and I knew that I couldn’t ever get used to it, no matter how glamorous he tried to make it seem.

“You’ll be a lot better after we meet up with my friends.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” I whispered.

He sat down on the bed next to me and I scooted away a few inches, but he only moved closer.

“You have to understand that you’re worth more than what you were settling for, Becky.”

“I really don’t care anymore to be honest.  I just want to live the life I was given, okay?”  I said as I stood up and walked towards the bathroom.  I stopped at the door and glanced back at him, but he was just staring at the ground.

“You’ll never understand,” I said to myself.  And he wouldn’t; no one could ever understand how I feel.  The pain I’ve felt cannot be taken away or replaced with happiness, and once he gets that, I can run back to the house and fulfill my duties.

I closed the door behind me and stared at myself in the mirror.  I was right, I did look like crap.  I looked for a hair brush but couldn’t find one, settling for just running my fingers through the hay that was now my hair.  I fixed up my makeup a little with my finger, as well and decided that I looked about as good as I was going to look for a very long time.

My plaid button-down shirt was covered in dirt and grass and I tried to brush it off as best as I could, but that still ended up looking like crap, too.  My jeans had a small hole in the knee now, which angered me considering I’d just bought these last week.

“Becky, are you okay?”  I heard John ask through the door.  He startled me but I thought I should be nice this time.

“I’m fine; I just look like I’ve been living in the woods, is all.”

“May I come in?”

“And why would you want to do that?”  I asked sourly.

“Please may I come in?”

I sighed heavily and walked toward the door, opening it slowly.  I made my face look as upset as I could but he just pushed me aside and walked in.

“What are you doing?  I thought you were trying to find your friends.”

“I’m going to, but not before I talk to you first.”  The man was relentless!  Why couldn’t he just leave me be?!

“Why are you so persistent in finding out my feelings?”

“You feelings are important to me.”

“Why?  How could my feelings be important to you?!  You hardly even know me!”

“I know you well enough that I would like to know why you think the way you do.”

“Listen, John.  I don’t know why I think this way, but I do, okay?  I’m sick of being hurt and I just don’t want to deal with it anymore!  I just want this to be over.  I think you should take me home.  I’ll tell them I ran away and you can go free, okay?”

He sat on the side of the tub and stared at me.  He shook his head from side-to-side slowly and then looked back to the ground.

“This is what I don’t understand.”

“Well, I’m sorry I can’t explain it.  Once you’ve lost both of your parents and been given to a vampire coven as a sacrifice, maybe you’ll understand, okay?  But, until then, you can’t question me.”

“You don’t know my past.”

“Of course I don’t!  I hardly even know you!”

“My parents were both killed when I was young, as well.  Obviously, I was eighteen when it happened, seeing as I am eighteen now.”

“So, that means that they turned you after they killed your parents?”

“Yes,” he said solemnly.  “I did not ask for this life, as you didn’t, but I am dealing with it the best that I can.”

“Well, I’m dealing with it too, okay?”

“Running away is not dealing with this.”

“I didn’t want to run away!  You made me run away!”

“You are running away from your true feelings.  You don’t really want to die; you’re just scared of how happy you could be.”

“I’m not scared of anything,” I said as though I were a child.  Just then I noticed how I really was.  I noticed how cold I was when he was only trying to help me, but I didn’t think I could want to be with him.

“You’re scared of opening up to me.”

I sighed lightly and turned away, crossing my arms again.  “Of course I’m scared,” I murmured.

“Don’t be,” he whispered as he stood up.  He grabbed my shoulders and kissed my cheek as he walked out of the room.

I stared at myself for a moment longer and thought about what he said-the words running through my mind over and over at a million miles an hour.

Did I really want him?