Chapter One Goodbye

I shuddered as I looked over at my fathers open casket. Tears streamed down my cheek, laughing at me as I furiously kept trying to wipe them. This was all my fault, if only I hadn’t yelled at him, if only I had been a better daughter instead of a spoiled brat. I took the last remaining three steps toward the casket that would let me see my dad. I looked down at his face, it looked so peaceful, it looked like my dad. Nothing more nothing less, just dad. As strange as this sounds, that made it even harder to bury him, as if I were burying him alive. The funeral went quicker than I expected it to go, one hour for all the readings and speeches and stuff, and an hour and a half for the burial.

The funeral ended and my step mother took me home. Now when people hear the words Step Mother, they think "evil mother kills dad!" but no, I love my step mom and her and my father loved each other. As my mom opened the door and walked inside I prepared myself for the "lets talk sweetie" but it never came. She walked toward her room, over to the bottom of the stairs and paused to look over her shoulder.

"Night baby" she said. "We'll talk tomorrow"

As she started walking again she tossed an I love you over her shoulder and kept walking. As I went upstairs and into my room -over top my moms- I could hear her sobbing softly below. I crossed my room over to my bed and flopped face down onto it. For the millionth time, I cried, but sleep never came. All night, all I could do was think, about our last argument, the last things we said to each other.. The last things we yelled at each other.

"I Hate you!" I yelled. "Why can't you just let me do what I want for once?!"

"Because you're eighteen years old and can't think for yourself yet!" Was his reply.

I ran out the door and proved exactly what he'd just said. I tried to run away, only, dad chased me. Right into traffic. I swear that car came out of no where. I couldn't tear my eyes away. I looked right into his eyes and listened to the horrible silent, "Why?" I could hear his voice playing in my head, asking, "Why would this happen to me? Haven't I been a good person? Haven't I tried hard in life?" I only wish I could have told him how good a person he really was, how much he meant to me. I love you dad...

I looked over at the window, out into the early morning darkness, only just starting to lighten. I wished my life could just fade away, wished it could all end and take me out of this tragedy.
This is not my life. I had to leave, if I didn't leave now, my poor step mom would die too... Just like my dad... My real mom. No more, I wouldn't let this happen again. I grabbed my school bag by the end of my bed and dumped all the contents on the floor, searching the mess until I found a pen and some paper.

Mom,
I'm so sorry I have to do this to you right now, this is such a bad time. I have to leave mom.. This is all my fault, everything is my fault and I love you too much to let anything happen to you, so I'm leaving, I'll leave you messages now and then so you know I'm okay. Please don't worry or try to stop me, I'm 18 now so I have the right to go... I love you mom, so much..
Taylor.

I placed the note on my pillow and grabbed my bag from the floor. I wasn't too sure what to pack, cellphone and wallet for sure. I had nowhere to go so I'd be living on the streets. I'd rather that anyways, there would be no one around I could hurt. I packed light since it was a small bag and I'd be carrying it around. I grabbed a pair of old jeans and some thick sweat pants. I was going to stop there for bottoms but I figured I should bring some shorts.. Just in case. I stuck to the same system with tops, long sleeved, T-shirt and tank top. Instead of folding all of the cloths, I rolled them up into long tubes that way I'd still have a little room for a few more things. I grabbed my toothpaste and fordable travel toothbrush and put them in the front pouch along with a comb. Probably not the most important things but if I was going to survive on the streets I'd need teeth and if I wanted to not completely hate myself -too late-
I'd need a comb. At least that’s what I told myself. I had almost walked right past my travel size shampoo and conditioner but realized my mistake when I reached for my toothpaste and saw the little bottle of conditioner in the corner of my eye. I grabbed a few pairs of socks varying in length and sat on my bed trying to go over my mental "what I need" list. Cloths... Check.. Important cosmetics... Check.. There was only one more thing. I reached over to the picture frame beside my bed and took out the picture of my dad, step mom and myself, folded it and put it in my pocket.

"I think that’s it" I whispered to myself.

I grabbed a few hair elastics, put one in my long blonde hair, the other two on my wrist and slipped on my hoody and jacket. I tossed one last look around the room and grabbed my bag, walking over to the window.

"Bye mom.. I love you" I mumbled, swinging my bag over my shoulder. I opened my window, grabbed the ledge and hoisted myself up and over, not stopping to ponder the hight. My bedroom was on the second floor but it was a relatively small house, my window was up about an eight foot drop. I landed on my feet and dropped to my butt so the impact wouldn't shoot pain up my legs. I was surprised when it actually worked.

On the way through the window though, my bag had snagged the vase of flowers on the ledge and knocked it down with a thump. My moms light turned on. I ran over to the closest bush and hid behind it, listening and watching.

"Tay, honey?" mom called. "Is everything okay up there?" When I didn't answer she repeated "Taylor?"

I saw the light in my bedroom turn on and my mom's dark figure pass the window. "Baby?" "Tay?!" "Taylor!!" Through each name, her voice went an octave higher. By the time she screamed my name I had taken that as my que to leave and was already through the backyard gate and into the forest. I wasn't too sure where I was going so I decided I would walk the fifteen minutes to town and the 5th alley I found would be the one I stayed in.

Guess I was wrong...

I got to an alley just fine. When you live in the “Good” side Vancouver B.C all your life, you forget sometimes how bad the drug addict's and homeless people are on the city streets. I live fifteen minutes to the main part of the city. Technically I am in the city but where I live has nothing but a theatre, a grocery store, a couple of wedding stores and a bunch of apartment buildings. I love my city but the part I live in... Or lived in, was really crappy. So when I got to the city and walked down an alley, I realized I'd completely forgotten about what kind of people already lived on these streets.

After walking around for a good four hours with no luck I figured I should stop for something to eat. I walked for another ten minutes keeping my eye out for any familiar restaurant when a tall, dark haired man stopped me.

"Hey there sweetheart, are you lost?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned.
"Oh no, I'm fine thanks I'm just looking for a good place to stop for dinner. You know of any?"
I replied.

The man lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head in thought, then pointed to the left.
"There's a place just down the road from here called bill's grill, its a great place and the prices aren't too bad. Think you can find it? If not, I can walk you over there.”

"I think I can find it if you have a few instructions on how to get there, thanks."

I followed the mans instructions for only three minutes before seeing the big sign. It said bill's grill and sported a duck holding his bill and using it to flip a Burger on a small grill. Creative. Not.

When I stepped inside the first things I noticed were the people. From the outside it looked like a place where you'd see families stopping by after a big shopping spree. Or teens claiming the restraint as their hangout. But when I walked in I saw a few families, but mostly all wealthy. Other customers were either businessmen or rich people. I took in my surroundings, with the bright yellow booth seats and almost neon red walls and carpets. This was definitely not somewhere I'd expect to see these kinds of people. Could the food be that good? Did the Guy send me somewhere that's going to cost me a fortune??

I walked to the bench beside the "Please wait to be seated" sign and bent to sit. Just as my butt hit the chair a young lady with fire red hair and the greenest eyes I've ever seen, walked out of the kitchen door and smiled down at me.

"Hi honey, for one?" she asked, her voice soft and high pitched, tinkling like a bell.
I nodded and asked “Is this place going to cost me a fortune?” then I realized what I asked, stammered an apology and said I must have sounded stupid. When I looked up though, she was only smiling kindly.

“Don't worry hon, we hear that a lot. No, we're cheep but our food is great, everyone loves it here, right now all the businessmen and woman are in before heading off to work, but we get a mixed crowed, some rich” she gestured around the room. “And some... well ..”

Did she just glance at me from the corner of her eye? Great, now I'm getting paranoid. I followed the waitress over to a table with two seats in the centre of the dining area. When she leaned over to place a menu on the table in front of me I read her name tag. Ella.

“Thank you Ella.” I said with a slight smile.

“No problem hon, I'll be back to take your order in a minute.” She smiled a big toothy grin that lit up her entire face.

Ella leaned in and whispered “On the house Taylor.. your going to need it” As I gaped at her with wide eyes for knowing my name, she stood back up, grinned and strode away.

Had I told her my name? I didn't think so and I had ran away only hours ago, not enough time for my mom to even claim I was missing, which took at least forty-eight hours. She must have known me through my mom.

Minutes later Ella was walking back to my table holding a pen and notebook smiling. I gave her my order. Ella turned, still smiling and for a second I could swear her skin was a green almost as bright as her eyes. I blinked and swiped a hand across my face, wondering if maybe I really had gone crazy after my fathers death. I looked back up at her and saw her looking at me from the corner of her eye as she walked away, a slight smile playing across her lips. what the hell was that? running away from home and seeing things, what was next, thinking I'd sprouted feathers and turned into a chicken?

As I waited for my food to arrive I sat with my chin on my hands, looking out the window across the room from me. After five minutes of a whole lot of nothing, and really no one, to look at. A man walked by who looked maybe about twenty five with a strong jaw, prominent facial features and high cheekbones. He had short spiked hair that was dark at the roots and blonde streaked at the tips. When he turned his face in my direction I saw his eyes, they were such an odd colour. His eyes were electric blue. So blue it was haunting and completely unnatural.

The man stopped in front of the restaurant and walked in. He didn't stop at the "please wait to be seated" sign, just walked right in, waved, smiled at Ella and sat a few tables over from me, facing my direction. He was beautiful. I couldn't help but stare at him. He had the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen but if they were that purple then that couldn't be natural, they had to be contacts. Still, something in the back of my mind kept insisting that they were really that insane colour.

The man looked up then and I realized I'd been staring. I blinked fast and looked around, craning my neck and hoping he'd think I was looking behind him. I saw him looking at me, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. I tilted my gaze over to the floor just beside his table and watched him from the corner of my eye. After a few seconds of looking and smiling at me he seemed to tense all over his smile vanishing, eyes slightly narrowing, brow furrowing. Then just as fast as it came, it went. Ella came out and stopped beside his table, grinning.

“Hey Jessie, how you doin' today hon? The usual?” She asked.

“Thanks Ellie, the usual and I'm good-” They launched into a conversation that lasted at least ten minutes before she finally picked up her notebook and pen, brushed off her pants and walked away, leaving him with a complementary news paper. I looked up at the clock hanging on the wall just above the kitchen door.

The clock was a stuffed duck perched on top of a shelf, the clock piece sitting on the ducks back between the neck and wings. Whoever decorated this place had no sense of style.. It was just about ten o'clock in the morning and the business men and women had started clearing out and off to work.

Ella came out with my food and a pop re-fill glass jug. I noticed the man from earlier, Jessie, peering intently over at Ella and I. Ella set my food down on the table in front of me and was just about to grab the jug of pop on her serving trey when it tipped over the edge of the trey and fell onto the floor shattering, pop going everywhere. Ella gasped, putting a hand to her mouth in a silent “oh jeez”. She apologized to me then stormed off to get something to clean it. I thought I saw her shoot a glare at Jessie when she walked past him and would've thought I saw wrong had he not burst out laughing as she did. Was I missing something here?

Jessie strode over to my table, still smiling and sat in the seat across from mine.

“Don't worry kid, she's always clumsy like that” He said with a chuckle.

“Please don't call me kid” I said “I'm eight-teen, and I-”

“Don't try to grow up too fast kid, there’s no rush” He cut me off “The only thing to look forward to in adulthood is hard work, chores, more hard work and eventually death.” Well isn't he just peachy? I thought to myself.

He leaned back in his chair, tipping the legs off the floor slightly and put his arms behind his head.

“Got a name?” he asked, and for some reason I really felt the need to tell him.

“Taylor” I mumbled, looking down at my hands on the table and feeling a little shy.

“That’s a very nice name, I had this friend once-”

It was my turn to cut him off “Is there something you needed sir?” I said then instantly regretted it, how had I gotten so rude?! But when I looked up I saw him smiling, amused, with one eyebrow raised.

“I rather like you Taylor, you have spunk” he chuckled and I blushed.

“No one says that anymore” I murmured “Spunk”.

This time he burst out laughing, so loud I started a little in surprise. I'd just insulted him, shouldn't he be angry with me?

“The names Jessie, as I know you heard when I was talking to Ella” He smiled. “And no I don't need anything, I just wanted some company.”

I looked up at him, His eyes were such an amazing shade of blue.. I had to ask.

“Where did you get your contacts? They're amazing.” I tried to make it sound casual but my voice shuddered slightly and I had to suppress a grimace.

He smiled, stood and did a little old fashioned bow, right arm crossing his chest, left flung out behind him.

“Twas nice meeting you ma'am but I should be on my way.”

Why had he avoided my question? He straightened up again as I glanced nervously around the room, preying no one saw that. When he saw me peeking around he gave another booming whoop of laughter and patted me on the head.

“See you around kid” he said with a wink. He sauntered over to his old table across from mine and grabbed a fry off of his barely touched meal leaving a couple twenties on the table and walked out the door. Ella came out and dropped a mop and big bucket with some soapy cleaner on to the floor beside the pop spill.

“Can I help you with that Ella?” I asked and started getting up from my chair.

“No, no hon, you just work on finishing you meal”

I obeyed.

After I finished eating I sat for another twenty minutes, dreading going back out into the cold streets. As I prepared myself to leave Ella came out of the kitchen and walked over to me.

“Hey hon, heading out already?” she said with a sweet but oddly sad smile. Why was she sad?

“Is something wrong Ella?”

She smiled a happier smile and replied “No hon, I'm just worried about you.” Shocked, I took a step back.

“Worried, why Ella?” I half expected her to say “Nothing” and carry on over to the door, instead, she answered. “I know your running away Taylor” I took another step back, heart pounding. “Don’t worry hon” she laughed lightly. “I know your step mom. She called and told me to keep an eye out for you. She told me she found a letter on your pillow about how you blamed yourself for your dad's death. Hon, it's not your fault.”

I hadn't realized I'd been crying until then, I wiped my eyes and shook my head.
“You don't understand, It is my fault, I lead him right into traffic. I didn't realize-”

“Stop. Right now. Just stop. It's not your fault, he was murdered. I knew your dad too hon and I guarantee you, he was not so stupid as to run out in front of a car. Not even to chase you.”
I hiccupped a sob and wiped my eyes. “Ella, please. Just don't tell my mom where I am. I can't go home, not yet.”

She pulled me into a hug. She smelled sweet, like cookies and vanilla and she was warm, so warm it was like hugging a pile of laundry after it just comes out of the dryer.

“Taylor, Your mom didn't ask me to send you home.”

“What?” I asked, shocked.

“She told me that if you thought you needed to come home you would. She said she trusted you to make the right choices.” She said as she stroked my hair. “She told me, that if I saw you I was only to tell you that she understands your note. That it's not your fault. She said to tell you she really wants you to come home and that if you need anything from the house but don't feel ready to stay, your welcome to get what you need. You know where the key to the back door will be.” Ella stepped back, out of our hug but kept a hand on my shoulder.

“Taylor, if there's anything you need, anything at all, let me know, I'll do all I can to help. Okay?” She smiled and patted my cheek “Do you need a place to stay?”

“Thank you Ella, that means a lot to me” I said, voice cracking slightly. “I'll be fine and thanks for the offer but I know where I'm going to be staying for now. If you talk to my mom again, could you let her know I'm fine and that I'll leave letters in the mail box telling her I'm okay?”

“Of course sweetie. As long as you promise to stop by here now and then so I know your okay too. If your hungry it's on the house here.”

I wiped at the tears on my cheek again annoyed that they wouldn't go away. “I will. Promise.”
With a smile and one last pat on my cheek she said “I'm sorry hon, I really need to get back to work now. I wrote down my address on a piece of paper in case you ever needed a safe place to go. Come to the front and I'll give it to you.”

After she gave me the little slip of paper she gave me one last hug before she scurried off to the kitchen.

I took a breath and looked up at the clock. It was already two thirty in the afternoon, I needed to go out and find a spot to sleep. When I left the house I had brought my wallet with me.

In my bank I had at least five thousand dollars saved from the last two summers when I worked at McDonald’s. I saved every penny and had planned to do it again this year.. Oh well I guess. I stepped outside and looked around for the closest seven eleven. I was debating whether to risk wasting my money away faster by getting a hotel or just take my chances with the streets, when I found an Esso. The next closest thing to a seven eleven. More variety in grocery-like foods. After grabbing a sandwich, some energy bars and a couple bottles of water I payed and went outside to sit on the curb. I sat for about ten minutes then decided I should save my money as

best I can which meant no hotel room for me.

That night I finally decided on an alley behind a tall building, right next to an A&W restaurant that's open twenty four seven so if I needed help for any reason I wouldn't have to run far. I made a make shift bed out of some flattened cardboard boxes I found in a nearby cardboard recycling bin. I covered myself with my cloths and stuffed crumpled newspaper pieces in between my jacket and my shirt to retain some warmth.

Finally, I slept.

Exhaustion forced me into a deep, dreamless sleep. I awoke to someone shaking me.
“Get up!” The stranger yelled and threw me against the wall before I even had my eyes completely open.

I rubbed my eyes trying to see my attacker in the darkness. From the sound of his voice I knew it was a man. He put one arm across my neck and I knew I should have fought but this man was twice my size and weight. I had to do the next best thing. Play along.

“I don't have anything! I'm homeless, I have nothing but my bag-” The cold metal of a gun at my temple stopped me short.

Then I heard the metallic werr of a zipper and realized what this man really wanted. A tear slid down my cheek, why did things like this keep happening to me?

“Please don't, I have money just please don't. Not that.” I begged.

“Shut up!” He yelled and slammed the handle of his gun across my cheek. I gasped. The pain was so sharp it was blinding. I pushed at him with all the strength I had. He staggered back and I jumped to my feet. I turned and took off but only got about twenty feet before I heard the crack of a gun. The bullet pierced my side just below my shoulder. I screamed in agony and dropped to the ground clutching my chest.

“Get away from her!” It was another, more familiar voice. Jessie?

I saw a flash, the man slammed against the wall and slumped to the ground. Jessie ran over to me.

“Taylor! Taylor are you okay?” He asked, panic clear in his voice.

“He shot me Jessie” I moved my hand to show the exit wound just below my shoulder. Jessie pulled me into a hug and mumbled in my ear that I'd be okay. I felt dizzy, like the world was fading, vision darkening slightly at the edges. I had lost too much blood. I was going to die.

Jessie put a hand over the wound and used his other to stroke my hair. He mumbled something in what sounded like another language. After a few seconds he hunched over, a pained expression on his face. He pulled my shirt down below the bullet hole then pulled a small Swiss army knife out of his pocket. A stab of fear and panic ran through me, even through the haze of nothingness. Was he going to try to remove the bullet? Oh please no.

He sliced the palm of his hand.

Then with one more reassuring, mumbled “It's okay” He quickly shoved his hand to the bullet wound. I tried to yell no, ask him what the hell he was doing but I was too weak. Jessie said one more word I didn't understand. Then I felt strong. Amazing, like I could do anything. Then everything went black.

Chapter Two New Beginning

-Jessie-

Jessie looked down at her. She was beautiful. She had been before the change too but now there was something about her that made you not want to take your eyes off her.

“Taylor” He whispered. “What were you thinking?”

He pushed the stray strands of hair from her face and replaced her now warming cloth with a new, colder one. Her hair was long and so white it was amazing, had she dyed it? He didn't think so. He knew he would miss the colour her eyes had been, dark blue, so dark they could have been violet. Now they would most likely be something different. They may match his eyes, considering they now shared a soul. They would for sure share the same tattoos. He peered over at his bedside table and checked the clock. Three thirty two AM. He was so tired but he was scared her fever would spike again, like it had earlier that day. He placed his elbows on the side of the bed and cupped his face in his hands.

At four AM it was time for her Tylenol. Her fever would start up soon though it seemed it had slowed down since when they first got back to his house. He hoped she'd wake up soon. He went to get a spoon for the liquid Tylenol and start another brew of coffee. He stepped into the kitchen and got to work on his drink.

Jessie couldn’t help letting his mind drift to that night he'd rescued Taylor. Someone had called the police after hearing the gunshots and screams and they only took minutes to arrive. Police in Vancouver were fast, they had to be in a big city like that. He had picked her up carefully knowing she would be in extreme pain still from the bullet wound and the ritual he'd done to save her life. He ran down the back of the alley, back the way he'd come. “Jessie” She'd mumbled as he put her in his truck. He couldn't help but smirk at that. Was she dreaming about him? He'd taken her to his house and laid her gently on the bed. He'd been at her side for three days now not sleeping, barely eating. He was worried.

Jessie grabbed his mug and set it beside the coffee pot. He grabbed a spoon and the liquid Tylenol from the far side of the counter and headed back to his room.

He opened the door quietly so he wouldn't wake Taylor. He stepped in and the second he did, a glass cup shot off the bedside table and flew straight for his head. Jessie moved his head ever so slightly to the left of the glass and narrowly missed a lovely shiner. Possibly a broken nose. Close call, he thought.

“I take it your awake?”

-Taylor-

“What did you do to me Jessie? Or is that even your name?!” I shouted.

Jessie frowned and walked to the end of the bed. Where was I? Jessie’s house I assumed. Normally I'd be panicking but my gut told me Jessie wasn't a threat, and what had happened with that cup just now? Had I really done that?..

“Why would I lie about my name?” Jessie said with a chuckle. “It's not like I gave you enough information to tell anyone. I mean sure you could tell police what I look like and my first name but come on, you don't know my last name, age, nothin'. It'd only take me a day to get out of town and have a whole new ID.”

I glared at him as he spoke.

“Besides, why would you? I just saved your life. Without me you'd be dead.” He looked down at his feet.“Took half my soul to do it and you might hate me for giving you a life like this but, at least your here.”

“You should have let me die.” I mumbled.

“Taylor.. It wasn't your fault..” He began then snapped his jaw shut when he realized what he was saying.

“Jessie, what do you know that you aren’t telling me? Spill it. Now.” I must have had a scary look on my face, Jessie looked me in the eyes and took a step back.

“Please don't try and hit me with anymore cups.” He groaned.

“If you don't spit it out I'll throw the whole damn side table at you. I'd like an explanation to that too please.”

“I changed you.” He said bluntly.

“No crap.” Was my retort.

“But what exactly did you do? It's freaking me out Jessie, Why the hell can I fling things in mid air when I get mad? I'm pretty sure that's not normal. Who are you really? What did you do to me?” I was pacing now, back and forth in front of the door, in between the door and bed. A small part of me hoped I'd burn a path right into his carpet making him have to give up his damage deposit.

“I know all about you Taylor, I knew your parents, your mom and dad, your real mom. All supernaturals did, they were pretty well known-”

“Wait, supernaturals? Seriously?” I cut him off. “That is so corny, but there's more than just you?” I should deny this, everything he was saying, and I would have, if I hadn't just flung a cup at him with my mind. I had to be dreaming, or dead, maybe that rapist had really killed me, or when my dad died maybe I'd been hit too. Could this be hell then?

“I need to leave. Now.” I said. Jessie had been sitting on the edge of the bed staring at my pacing feet with his elbows on his knees and chin in his palms. When I said I should leave he practically jumped right out of his socks. He grabbed my hand just as I started turning toward the door. I froze and slowly turned to look at him, His hand was warm and soft, his eyes a luminous blue. I knew now those eyes were really that colour, there were no contacts, he was beautiful. The desperation in his eyes now was almost enough to make me look away but something else in them, something stronger, forced me to keep looking at him.

"You can't leave Taylor, I'm sorry, but you need to be near me until I can properly teach you what you need to know about your new world. As soon as you understand a little more about the risks of this life, if you so choose, later on you can go back to where ever you prefer." He explained, still gripping my wrist. Rather painfully I might add.

Some deep part of me snapped. "So tell me then! Tell me now so I can leave!"

Jessie frowned. "Taylor I think you should rest some more, you still haven't fully recovered. I can feel it, I feel.. never mind." He cut himself off.

"Ugh!" I shrieked, tossed up my arms and turned to storm over to the bed. The sudden movement of my arms brought a sharp agonizing pain ripping through me, setting the muscles in my left shoulder on fire. I dropped to the floor grabbing my shoulder and groaned. Jessie was at my side in less than a second resting a hand on my back.

"Please Taylor, just rest for now, your wound isn't completely healed yet."
I nodded and he scooped me right off the floor and laid me softly on the bed. I couldn't help but blush, I'd never been treated this way.

I looked up at Jessie and noticed he hadn't let me go yet and was looking down at me.

"Your eyes, they're even better than I expected." He let me go, walked across the room and scooped up a near by mirror then handed it to me. I had to suppress a gasp. My eyes were a blue just like Jessie's but had gold lines running through them from the pupils out towards the whites of my eyes that looked like gold lightning. That wasn't all that had changed, my hair was softer, as well as my skin. Unwelcome tears stung my eyes, I was beautiful, I didn't look like me and I was scared. Jessie hugged me, I should have pushed him away, he was my captor right? I should have feared him but every last particle in my body wanted him to hug me and tell me it would be okay, that I wasn't alone. I felt safe. I curled up, head on Jessie's lap and fell asleep.

I woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee. For a second I laid in bed with my eyes closed wishing it was my mom in the kitchen, I knew who it'd be. Part of me was excited to see Jessie but another part of me thought, what are you thinking? This man kidnapped you! Are you insane? I walked over to the in suite bathroom and looked in the mirror. I almost screamed, when I looked in the mirror I didn't see myself I saw an over grown barbie doll with bluey green looking eyes. My once curve-less body now had the perfect hour glass shape of a supermodel. My eyebrows were a perfect, thin arch, cheekbones more prominent. My skin looked airbrushed. What did that stupid man do to me?! This had to be hell, this was my worse nightmare, I looked like the very toy I used to rip the heads off of. Karma. The only thing that made me imperfect was my hair and I would have left it that way just to make myself feel a little... human, but it was starting to mat from tossing in my sleep. How long had I slept?

Back in the alley, in our rush to escape (Me the rapist and Jessie the police) My bag had gotten left behind. Thank god, earlier that day I had switched my wallet, phone and picture from my backpack to my pocket. Jessie must have run and got me a tooth and hair brush from London Drugs, they sat there still in their packaging, bearing the London Drugs logo. After freshening up I went back into the main room and dug around in Jessie’s drawers. Rude I know but if I could do anything that would piss him off, I would, I still wasn't happy with him for the whole 'turn me into some kind of telekinetic freak then kidnap me' thing. I managed to dig out some sweat pants, socks and a wife beater tank top. I messed up my hair a little in defiance of this new “pretty” me. It was gross. My sweats kept flapping around under my feet so I rolled the bottoms up to my mid calf. Jessie was tall, at least six foot four which made him seem like a sky scraper in comparison to me at only five three. Yes I was short, but I could still take down most guys in my age group. I wasn't buff but I wasn't exactly scrawny either.

I walked around Jessie's house looking at the pictures of his family and friends that hung on the walls. I stopped when one caught my eye.

Jessie was holding a little girl no more than two who was almost a spitting image of himself. The only differences between them was instead of Jessie's dark -I assumed by the root colour- hair the little girl had short auburn hair and bright green eyes. Ella. She was hugging Jessie but had her head turned facing the camera with a huge grin that lit up her entire face.

Definitely Ella.

My gaze moved from Ella to Jessie and I gasped. Jessie looked exactly the same then as he did now, that had to be at least twenty years ago. There was no way.. Jessie only looked tops, thirty four, more like twenty five though, there was something ageless about him.
I tore my gaze off the picture and followed the smell of Bacon and clang of dishes to the kitchen and stood in the doorway. Jessie was at the sink doing the dishes in nothing but an apron and boxers, I blushed but couldn't help but stare at him, his body was so lean, sheer muscle, but somehow still thin, not that bulky kind of muscly you see on the guys in magazines. His hair was tousled as if he'd just woken up. I turned my eyes away from his body and did a fake cough, Jessie chuckled and turned slightly to toss a quick look in my direction.

"A good morning would suffice." He said with a crooked grin.

"Don't make me mind-toss that hot, bacon grease covered frying pan at you, stretch" I said. "And since when do the captives say good morning to their captors?"

Jessie laughed and stopped doing his dishes to look at me. Really look this time. For a second his eyebrows arched and he looked at me with a shocked expression, giving me a once over. I inwardly groaned, he was such a guy.

"Take a picture Jessie." I snarled.
Jessie blinked "I haven't seen you since last night, you changed even in that short period of
time.”

I felt my cheeks heat and opened my mouth to say some snappy come back but nothing came out, I closed my mouth and looked down at the floor deciding the tile floor in Jess's kitchen was the most interesting design I'd ever seen. I walked over and sat at his table, grabbing the fork and knife, hinting.

Jess laughed and grabbed some paper towel for the bacon grease.

“You've been sleeping for days. Do you even remember me bringing you food and water?” Jess asked.

“No, not at all. All I remember was the pain in my shoulder..” I trailed off, not wanting to bring up the fact I fell asleep right on his lap.

Jeez, since when had I turned into such a girl?

“Well it wont be bothering you now. You gave me quite the scare. I thought I was going to lose you..” it was his turn to blush. I couldn't help but inwardly smile. So I wasn't the only one acting like a little schoolgirl with a crush. Jess didn't seem like the blushing type.

“You can't lose something you never had to begin with” I said. As soon as I said it, I'd wished I hadn't. Jessie looked hurt. As if he was a puppy who'd dug up a flower and I'd full out beaten him. Damn it.

As soon a the flash of hurt came, it went. He plastered a big phoney grin on his face and grabbed the bacon plate.

“I guess if you hate me so much I don't need to worry about feeding you.”

“Nope.” I said and jumped up, grabbing the plate out of his hands and sprinting to the bathroom. I locked the door and laughed. I sat against the door and listened for his footsteps. Less than a second later I heard a floorboard squeak and soft padded feet tip toeing toward the door. I let out a girly giggle and jumped to the other side of the bathroom sitting up against the bathtub wall. The door slammed open and I sprang to my feet and tried to get away but all I managed was a hop before Jessie grabbed at me and I slipped right into the tub. Jessie let out a booming whoop of laughter and toppled right onto the floor. I shot him a glare but looked over at the full body mirror across the room and saw myself covered in bacon and shower curtain with one leg over the edge of the tub and one tucked under me. I couldn't help but laugh. I looked ridiculous.

Jessie wasn't someone I should fear or hate, he'd saved my life, took care of me and from the look of the black rings under his eyes I could tell he hadn't slept much, worrying about me. Why did he care so much?

“Look” I said pulling to my feet. “I'm sorry for how I've been acting, I know you helped me a lot and I really appreciate that. Without you, I wouldn't be here.”

Jess grinned “You're giving me whiplash Taylor.”

I smiled, more kindly this time and punched him on the shoulder. “What ever Dipsy.”

Jessie chuckled “If your referring to the purple teletubbi, his name is Tinky winky, Dipsy was the green one and besides, my eyes are blue not puple.”

I arched an eyebrow at him.

“Hey when you have a little sister that watched nothing but tree house growing up, you tend to memorize this stuff whether you want to or not.”

That made me laugh. “Sure you didn't just memorize it cause you liked it?”

He just chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“So.. Ella's your sister?” I asked, He nodded and waved me out to the hall."Half sister." I stepped beside him and he put a hand on the small of my back, leading me back toward the kitchen.
“Now that you've calmed down a bit I'll explain what happened back there, Lets sit and have some breakfast while we talk. Sound good?” he asked.

I agreed and we went back to the kitchen.

Jessie and I decided we would have frootloops for breakfast. Due to the fact the bacon was scattered across the floor, I decided frootloops sounded better anyways. Jessie finished pouring the milk into his cereal and got up to grab us some coffee.

Once we were both sitting Jessie said finally. “Where would you like to start?”
I thought that over for a second and was going to ask how he and Ella knew my parents but something told me that wasn’t where I needed to start.

“What happened last night?” I asked. I could see in his face that this was the question he'd hoped I wouldn't ask. At least not yet.

He fiddled with his spoon for a couple seconds then finally looked back up.

“I was told to keep an eye out for you, follow you and make sure you were okay. Your step mom told me too, I stayed close by in case you needed me. I saw that guy following you around and hoped it was a coincidence but from the place I was watching you from I couldn't see you that well. I didn't get there in time, I thought you were sleeping. When I heard you two fighting I came running. When he shot you, You had bled out fast because of where he hit you, normally I would have had a few minutes to spare but he hit just the right spot.. See shoulder hits don't usually kill.. unless you hit a certain spot, but anyways. He shot you and I had to do something, I would never forgive myself if I had let you die. I used a spell my mom taught me years ago, to give you half my soul, see they call us casters and-”

I cut him off mid rant.

“Whoa Whoa Whoa, Hold on here, How do you know my mom? What the hell is a caster and how does any of this involve me?” I asked a little impatiently.

Jessie frowned. “I'm sorry, I know this doesn't make any sense. Let me start from the beginning.”
“I'll start by explaining what you and I are. We're whats known as Casters, kind of like.. Sorcerers and witches but in reality we're also sort of like shamans, with healing powers. See a caster can, well, cast a spell. Men have to use incantations but girls just have to think what they want to happen and it does. I mean you can't just do what ever you want, it's more like telekinesis with a twist. The twist being that if you need a different kind of protection like an energy bolt to incapacitate your opponent, you can cast the male casters spells. Male casters are just called Casters and female casters are called Gallicanae, Galli for short.” He paused. “You're awfully quiet. You still following?”

I nodded and got up for another cup of coffee. Jessie continued.

“There are a couple of things that are specific to the gender though.” Jessie paused and took a sip of his half full coffee.

“What do you mean?” I pushed. He set his coffee down to look at me.

“A Galli can shape shift into anything, though they normally only have one other preferred form, other than human. Also they have very specific rituals for healing that no caster can do. Let me warn you though, shape shifting is very painful and you can only shift to something that has the same body mass as your human form. You can't grow or shrink, just shift.”

I stopped him by putting my arm in the air like an elementary school kid.

Jessie chuckled and pointed at me. “Yes? The young lady in the front?” I laughed and punched his shoulder.

“Stupid. You said I could shift into anything I wanted, now your saying I can't? Make up your mind.”

He lifted his index finger to his lips and gave a dramatic “Shhh!” sound.

I rolled my eyes and he continued.

“Let me rephrase the former sentence. Like I said, yes you can be whatever you want, so long as it is the same size and weight as you. If you wanted to shift to a house cat that would be very painful and extremely dangerous. It wouldn't work but If you were to shift to a wolf or a big cat like a cougar or even a large bob cat, that would work fine. No matter what though, a shift is painful.”

He stood and started putting dishes away from the dry rack.

“A Caster's little” He stopped and made little air quotations with his fingers.”Ability..” He rolled his eyes.

“It's more like a damn curse. You got to experience it first hand. A Caster can save a person by giving up half their soul in a blood ritual.” He stopped and glanced at me.

I couldn't hide the disappointment on my face fast enough. Jessie frowned “Whats wrong?”

“You feel cursed from saving me?” I asked. Jessie's frown deepened.

“Sweetheart, I don't regret saving you, if that's what your asking.”
I didn't answer.

“I say it's a curse because turning someone means bringing them into this life. One more thing you really need to know is that casters and Galli are both semi immortal. A good shot to the head or heart or hit by a bus or even bleeding to death will kill us but we don't die of sickness or old age. I look what, twenty seven? I'm really six hundred years old. Immortality is lonely Taylor. I've lost more people than I can count. I out live them.” The grief in his voice almost made me cry. It was like an open wound that would never heal for him.

I nodded, I didn't know what to say. Jessie did what he had to do, but I didn't know how to deal with that, immortality. So I did what I do best and bottled it up and set it aside for later when I could sit and think or cry it out on my own.

Jessie stopped doing his dishes and strode over, Standing only inches from me. He lifted my chin to meet his gaze.

“We're bound now Taylor, Right down to the soul. I will never regret saving you. I would do it over again a million times if it meant that I could keep you in this world forever”

Forever. It did have a ring to it.

Chapter Three Ella

Later that day Jessie got a phone call from Ella. She had heard what had happened and freaked right out. Jessie insisted I was okay and held her off from bothering me the past five days but now that I was awake, she decided she was going to check on me and that was that.

It only took Ella exactly three minutes to get here after her call.

Jessie opened the front door after hearing her knock. All he got to do was open his mouth in greeting before Ella flew past him and threw her arms around me.

“Oh honey, you must have been so scared.” Ella squeaked. I hugged her back and peeked at Jessie who only stood there with a big cocky smirk glued to his face.

“Nope I'm good thanks.” Jessie said.

Ella just rolled her eyes and held me out at arms length.

“Dear god, look at you girl! Your beautiful!” She said with a grin.

“I look like an over grown barbie...”

“I always did love barbies.” She said.

I gave her a slight smile.

Jessie walked over and took Ella's jacket. As he went to hang it up Ella pulled me into the living room to talk. Her and I talked for about five minutes before Jessie came and offered drinks. I asked for a glass of apple juice and Jessie already knew what Ella would want so he took off again to get us our drinks.

Ella sat beside me on the couch. For only a moment after Jessie had left she was quiet. She broke the silence by grabbing my hand and asking “Are you really okay Taylor? I mean.. Emotionally? I know you maybe don't want to talk to Jessie. Please don't blame my brother, he didn't mean for any of this to happen. he.. well -”

I stopped her. “Its okay Ella, I don't blame him, I thanked him for saving me already.”
Ella nodded. “Okay but, I think you should know why he couldn't just let you die Tay.”

I looked up at her, curious now. I had wondered this but hadn't bothered asking Jessie. “Okay” I said.

Ella's grip on my hand tightened slightly. “Well, you know Jess and I are only half siblings right?” I nodded and she continued. “Jessie's dad died when he was little. He got caught up in a house fire. His dad was a caster. We think the fire was set on purpose. Anyways, Jessie smelled the fire and got mom out of the building he was pretty young back then.. for a caster that is. It was only around ten P.M but his dad had to go to work early so he went to bed early. Jessie ran back in the house before mom could stop him. He ran to his dad and tried to wake him but the smoke had already gotten to him. Jessie didn't want to leave his dad but he knew he had to, for mom. He's been traumatized by that. I think that's why he couldn't watch an innocent girl die. No one could, if you really think about it, I mean I know if I had the power to save someone I wouldn't stand back and watch them die, no matter the cost.” Ella smiled and let go of my hand.

“I guess I should be thankful though. A few years after the death of Jessie's dad, Mom met someone who could finally make her smile and had a baby with him. My dad!” Said Ella. “My dad's a fairy” As she said it she showed her real skin colour, green, just like her eyes.

“Wow...” I couldn't help but stare “Your beautiful... How do you hide it like that?”
She grinned “Magic, mostly but its a sort of camoflauge for fairies. We can all do it, fairy magic is pretty limited we can't fly or shrink into little people” Ella laughed a cute tinkling laugh.”We really cant do much.. well I'd be able to do a lot less if it hadn't been for my mom...”

I spoke before I could stop myself. “What is your mom? Galli?” I stopped. “I mean if you don't mind me asking.”

She smiled. “Kitsune” I must have had a blank look on my face, Ella opened her mouth to explain but Jessie walked in from the kitchen with our drinks and beat Ella to the explanation.

“Kitsune is the Japanese word for nine tailed fox.”

“Nine?..” I asked. He nodded.

“Our mother has nine, in legend they say a fox gains a tail for every thousand years or so and are only ever depicted as having one, five or nine tails. Our mother has nine tails and seemed to get one every one hundred years rather than one thousand. Meaning shes nine hundred years old as I said before, I'm five hundred years old, Ella is still practically a baby in our world at only twenty five years old.” He stopped to smile at her.

“but if your moms a fox then how did she.. you know... have you?”

Ella laughed again. “She shifts to a human”

“So she's a human who can shift to a nine tailed fox?” I ask a little confused now.
Ella grinned. “Other way around”

“Our mom is a fox who can turn into a human.” Jessie said

“but wouldn't that make you..-”

“We can shift too, but I assure you we are definitely human. Because of our dad's genes we are human.” Said Jessie.

“So where is your mom then?” I asked, feeling a little nosey now.

Jessie reached over and patted my head like he had in bill's grill. “Don't worry about it okay?” He nodded slightly toward his sister. When I looked over at Ella she had her head hung a little bit as she looked sadly into her tea cup. Great, now I felt stupid and mean, I should have not pried so much.

“I'm sorry.. I-”

“Don't worry about it” Jessie said, cutting me off. “What'a ya say we start teaching you how to use your new powers?”

“That'd be awesome!” I said, a little to enthusiastically. Jessie smiled “As scary as all this is, it can be kind of cool to think there's real magic out there. If you really think about it though even most magic can be explained away by science. Lets head outside and do some practising. Meet me out there in twenty minutes girls.” Jessie said and walked down the hall, into his room.

“Ella? Is he going to be okay?” Ella stopped sipping her tea and looked up at me “Hm?” she asked.
“I mean, look at him, he looks so worn out. I feel bad, It's my fault, if I'd just stayed home instead of running away like a brat..”

“Jeez Tay.. Stop blaming yourself for everything. Trust me, it isn't you, yeah he stayed up taking care of you so he's a bit tired but he's actually like this a lot. I think the feeling of almost losing you reminded him of mom and his dad. Mom took off to live out in the forest with my dad. I think that miffed him a little but he still loves her. Jessie lived with, and protected mom pretty much his whole life. I think not having her around probably hurts.”

“Does it bother you that your parents are gone?” I asked.

“Well to be perfectly honest it kind of does bother me but not for the same reason as it bothers Jess. I never really got to know them, Jessie pretty much raised me. We go talk to them now and then and mom does love us, my dad too but they were safest just to leave.”

I only nodded.

A slight bang sounded followed by a string of, very creative, profanity. Ella lifted a brow toward Jessie's closed bedroom door. I smiled and held up my index finger.

“I'll go check on him.”

As I got closer to the door I could hear Jessie grumbling to himself about how he hated chairs and that they were useless.

“Your just mad 'cause it outsmarted you.” I said as I entered the room.

Jessie grinned. “And your sneaking into my room, because?..”

“I wasn't sneaking, I walked in normally, I didn't even try to close the door quietly. Sneaking suggests that I was trying to be quiet to hide my entrance, which really.. I did no such thing.”

“Alright then” Jessie chuckled. “Is there something you need?”

“Nope just making sure you didn't kill yourself. Curiosity satisfied, I now know that you weren't killing yourself but were being killed by a chair.”

Jessie put on his best beaten-down-kitten face “It was horrible, It almost killed me. It grabbed my leg and tried to trip me, hoping it would smash my pretty head in on the floor and almost breaking my poor toe in the process.”

“Wow your pretty dramatic, aren't ya?”

“You've no idea darling.” He said with a wink.

I laughed and rolled my eyes at that. Why was smiling so easy around him? I’d only just met this man and he was already starting to feel like a best friend, Ella too. I sat down on the end of his bed and glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

“Jessie, did it bother you to have to raise your sister?” I blurted without really realizing. I quickly looked up at him to make sure I hadn’t hurt his feelings. His face was an unreadable mask.

“Not really.” He said. “I kind of enjoyed it. Ella was a good girl, always happy and kind and extremely smart. She was someone you couldn’t help but want to be around and its not like I was young or anything, on the contrary considering my age.”

“I know, I didn’t mean your age…”

“I know what you meant Tay and honestly, I’m not mad at my mom either. She had to do what she had to do.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry, I’m being nosey.”

Jessie shook his head “It’s okay I don’t mind, we’re bound now so you might as well know these things.”

For some reason, that made me angry. So he feels obligated to tell me then?

“Don’t worry, I won’t be asking you these things again. I'll be outside.” I snapped. Jessie looked up confused. .

"Taylor, I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry about it." I said and stormed out. I only got to the living room before I realized that I honestly had no idea where "outside" was. Jessie's house was huge I'd only seen probably a quarter of it and even that quarter was big. Jessie's room was twice the size of my room. He had two bathrooms upstairs and I hadn't even seen downstairs. His living room had to be one of the biggest I'd ever seen, it had to be big enough to hold at least 40 people comfortably. The kitchen and furniture were new and modern looking.

The kitchen was so clean it looked as if it'd never even been used, though I knew it had been, considering Jess had just used it multiple times and was an amazing cook. I was a sucker for a guy who could cook...

The chairs and couches in the living room had not even a crease in the fabric. Did he not spend much time at home or what?

As if she had read my mind, Ella popped up out of seamlingly, nowhere. Making me jump a little.
Ella laughed .“Creepy, huh? Way too clean for me, I swear Jessie's OCD. I don't know how he does it, I'm way more at home in a pig sty of a house. You should see my house, there's laundry and stuff everywhere... I mean sometimes it bugs me but only if it piles up really bad, I like it when things are just a bit scattered. Just so it feels like a home rather then a hospital, ya know?” She leaned against the back of the couch staring at a picture of her as a teenager on the side table.

“I figured you'd get lost so I came to make sure you made it to the back yard. Ready to start training?” She said with a wink. I nodded and took her hand as she turned and went back the way she'd come.

Chapter Four Training

Ella and I arrived outside to find Jessie already there and waiting for us. He had changed to jeans and a snugly fit muscle shirt. Man he was cute... He was looking out at the lake that sat just behind his house. I looked up at the house. It was my first time seeing it from the outside. Upon taking me here Jessie had carried me inside himself because I'd been unconscious. The side of the house facing the lake had a huge balcony with a sliding glass door leading inside. I thought back and remembered seeing a sliding glass door in Jessie's room off in the corner. So that's where that goes. The house looked oddly smaller on the outside than it did on the inside but it was definitely still huge. It looked like a giant cabin hidden off in the woods; rustic but modern at the same time. I'd give anything to live in a house like that. I looked back at Jessie, who'd moved from the hammock he'd been sitting in to stand near us.
“My mom knows where I am right? I mean, you guys know her, so I assume you told her I'm okay?” I asked.

Ella smiled, “Of course sweetie, I told her we had you as soon as Jessie brought you home from the alley. She doesn't know he changed you though. We thought it best you told her. Unless you preferred we did.”

I shook my head “No, your right, I'll tell her once I know a little more and have a better explanation for her.”

“Alright, lets get started.” Jessie said. “So Taylor, we're going to teach you a bunch of different stuff but for today we'll just start on the basics. I'd like you to know first though that if you're in a situation that's too much for you, always run, never try to take on someone that's too much for you. Your ego isn't worth your life. Okay?” When I nodded he continued. “First I'd like you to learn a little about avoidance.”

At that, Ella strode over and stood in front of Jessie, facing him. She gave me a slight but mischievous smile. In a flash and without warning Jessie dove forward and grabbed Ella's wrist twisting it behind her back as if to put it in an arm lock but before he could even get her arm into position Ella twisted around lightning fast, twirling like a dance move she somehow got hold of Jessie's wrist and flipped him right over her shoulder. He lay on the ground smiling up at her. Ella looked down at him.

“And so the student surpasses the teacher; with only eighteen years of lessons too. What a shame...” She bragged. Jessie rolled his eyes. “We've only just gotten started kiddo, have we not?”

Ella and Jessie sparred around showing me tricks and giving me pointers on holds and dodges. After half an hour of Ella clearly kicking Jessie's butt he stopped the wrestling match and grabbed my wrist.

“Ready for a try?” He said with a grin. I shook my head fast whipping my hair from side to side.
Jessie laughed and patted my hair affectionately. “Careful girly, wouldn't want you to get whiplash swinging your head around like that. We'll just tussle a bit, practice is always easiest when its fun.”

When I was younger I would always play fight with the boys in my neighbourhood. I tried to just pretend this was just like that but when we started to tussle it was just to different. Jessie put a leg behind mine and tripped me sending me to the ground on my butt. I blushed, feeling like I should have seen this coming. It felt silly, play fighting at the age of eight-teen. Jessie bent down to a squat position in front of me, offering his hand. My heart sped up a little at this. In the play fights I had when I was younger, if one of the boys knocked me down they would laugh and tease me. Jessie was so kind.

I grabbed Jessie's hand as if to pull myself up. As fast as humanly possible I pulled Jessie with everything I had to the ground, flung myself up and shoved a knee between his shoulders. Jessie made an “Oof” sound as my knee connected with his back which made me feel a lot better about getting knocked down so easily before. I grinned down at him. He gave me a mock glare that quickly turned into an open smile that made my heart do a little flip.

“Can we start learning about the magic yet?” I asked.

Jessie's smile wavered a bit while he thought about this. “Let's just start with the basics for the magic right now okay? You use your basic magic and I'll use my simplest spells. I don't want either of us to get hurt so I'm trying to slowly get you used to things.”

I let Jessie up off the ground. “So to use my magic I just need to think what I want to move?”
“Pretty much. Like, say you saw a pine cone on the ground, to move it, simply think of it moving wherever you want it to move.” He explained.

Okay, easy enough, I thought.

***

Not so easy! Not so easy! Apparently it was harder than it looked. Some how, when I tried moving the pine cone Jessie told me to test my power on I ended up hitting myself smack in the forehead. Jessie almost peed his pants laughing. He told me not to focus on moving the pine cone so much as where I'm moving it too. On my second try I moved the pine cone but again it headed straight for me so this time I took off running as if being chased by a bee. The pine cone chased me a few seconds before dropping to the ground. Jessie was laughing so hard he was practically hysterical. I glared at him and walked over to face the pine cone. I concentrated really hard on my pine cone, where I wanted it to go and how hard I wanted to mind toss it. The pine cone shot up and hit Jessie right between the eyes. Jessie's eyes widened at me in shock.

“Whoa! Good job! That actually hurt, is there a red mark?” I shook my head, no, but there actually was. Where the pine cone had hit him there was a bright red welt. It took everything I had not to laugh. Served him right for teasing me all that time. I was just about to ask if we could start our fight using magic but looked around and saw it was almost dark out. When I started messing with the pine cone it was still bright and sunny out. How long had we been sitting here messing with this thing and teasing each other?

“Maybe we should head in now.” I mumbled.

Jessie smiled hearing the sadness at having to stop our practice. He ruffled my hair and grabbed my wrist, tugging slightly. “We'll go in soon but how about I give you a little night tour of my house first?”

My face heated slightly at the thought of a night walk along the lake with Jessie. I nodded not trusting my voice. I really liked Jess, he was nice, caring, smart, brave. Petty much everything that usually lead to heart break. I really didn't know anything about this man but something told me he would be a big part of my life from now on.

Jess lead me through gardens and lake side paths. His property was huge. Even with all these beautiful views, the thing I loved the most was a huge weeping willow tree that sat just between Jessie's house and the lake. To the left of the tree was a little garden. There was something about the look of the tree against the lake, the moon shining and sparkling on the water, its luminous light silhouetting the flowers in the garden. It made me happy but sad at the same time. I suddenly felt like crying. For the first time in years, I missed my mom. I never really knew her but I always felt the lack of her presence.

A tear slid down my cheek. Jessie noticed and a sad expression crossed his face. He reached over and wiped my tear away. “Rule number one in this house. No crying ladies.” He said with a slight smile. “Well I guess its a good thing we're outside then.”

Jessie laughed and patted my head. “Come on inside now, you can sleep in which ever room you want, including mine or Ella's. We wouldn't mind sleeping in a spare room. For now though, you probably want a shower and stuff right?” I nodded, I hadn't even taken a shower yet since I'd gotten here. The last time I'd taken a shower was the day of my dads funeral and frankly, I was starting to smell.

Jessie lead me inside, stopping only to grab a clean towel from the closet. He lead me to the bathroom door, said “This is the biggest bathroom in the house, enjoy.” and left me to my business.

I couldn't help but look at myself in the mirror, I looked so different. I was skinnier and paler, even my stance had changed. I was beautiful..

I stripped down and looked in the mirror to see if anything else had changed. I was seriously hoping my boob's had gotten bigger. No such luck. I sighed and turned and grabbed my towel half wrapping myself when something on my shoulder caught my eye, I turned more to try and get a better look. When I saw it, I screamed, a shrill sound that I'd only ever made a few times in my life. Jessie burst into the bathroom with wide eyes looking like he'd seen a ghost. I quickly pulled up my bath towel to hide my naked self.

"Ah! out, out, get out!!" I screeched. Jessie gave me a look as if to say "Are you insane?"

"What's wrong?! Why did you scream?" He asked, concerned. I ignored, for a second that he was seeing me in only a towel and turned my back to him.

"Look!" I said. "Look what you did to me!! Moms gonna KILL me!" I pushed my towel down the back of my neck a little farther and pointed to the intricate design lacing across my neck from one shoulder to the other in thick black ink.

Jessie’s brows furrowed as he turned, closing the door behind him. I heard a loud THUMP against the door and Jessie’s booming laughter blast through the door. I kicked the door and stepped in to start my much needed (and appreciated) shower.

As I stood in my shower, brushing the puff over my arms and legs I watched the path of the puff for more of the dark tattoos. I found five more, much smaller ones. I thought about how funny it was that I was more concerned about my mom finding out about me having tattoos than I was about telling her I was a telekinetic freak who can cast spells. As I thought this I chuckled to myself. Whether I could move things or not, I was definitely a freak. The first tattoo I found was the one around my left ankle like an anklet, rose vines twisting and swirling, wrapping and tangling up in each others grasp. When I checked the other ankle it was the same pattern. The odd thing about the tattoos was that on my left ankle the roses were closed, yet to bloom, Yet the ones on my right ankle were wide open. And instead of a rose red, the flowers were an electric blue, The exact same colour as Jessie's eyes. I assumed that was because he was the one who turned me. The other three tattoos were similar. Two more were blue roses, one open one closed. These two were on both wrists. This time the closed rose was on my right side though and both had strange, fancy writing. I had been in Japanese class in grade nine so I knew a bit about their writing characters and the writing in my tattoo looked similar to Japanese hiragana but not quite right. Last but not least was the tattoo right in the centre of my chest, in plain English it said SOUL TIED in fancy writing. The writing went straight up and down rather than side to side, it was kind of pretty. I was sort of surprised at the fact it was in English, in all the books and movies I'd ever seen, when the supernatural girl found supernatural writing it was normally in Latin or Hebrew or something. How boring...

After I finished my shower I dried off and dressed in the fancy pyjamas Ella lent me. After staring at myself in the mirror for almost an hour I finally decided to get ready for bed. Before my shower I had decided on which room I would stay in. I chose the biggest one across from Jessie's. I didn't pick it because of it'd size though, I chose it because of the TV and desk that sat on either side of the queen sized bed. The desk would be perfect for writing on. I smiled as I thought this. As I arrived in front of my bedroom door, Jessie peeked his head out from behind his door and smiled.

"I hope you enjoy your room, it's yours so long as you want it."

"Thanks, it's really nice." I said, returnig his smile.

"Goodnight, have a good sleep. We'll practice more tomorrow."

I nodded, gave a little half wave and pushed open my door. I was tired from sparring with Jessie so I didn't bother even turning on the light. I left the door open a crack, took the five steps over to the bed and flopped onto it. I layed there thinking about the past few days for about five minutes before something to my right shuffled and a soft male voice mumbled.
I let out a small shreek and flung myself off the bed with a loud THUMP.

Jessie threw open the door and turned the light on.

"What ha-" he stopped as he took in the scene before him.

Jessie rolled his eyes at the imposter on my bed.
I looked up to see a boy with blue hair, blue eyes and... was that blue nail Polish?..

He was amazingly handsome though. I couldn't help but stare. The boy lazyily moved his arms behind his head, getting comfortable and grinned like the Cheshire cat.

"Hey Jess, long time no see. Cute toy, can I play with it too?" He said, looking at me with a very feline grin. His look said that he was the predetor and if I so much as twitched he'd eat me for dinner and bring me to his owner as a presant. I didn't know whether to run or sit still. So I stood up and said.

"Get out of my bed."

The boy slowly sat up, gave a long, dramatic stretch of his arms, stood up and sauntered over to Jessie.

"Let's go get caught up Jess, I guess we can leave the toy in her toy box for now, Hm?" He purred. Again, Jessie rolled his eyes but didn't say a word just walked out with the boy and into Jessie's room.

And that was all the weird I could take for one day. So I went to bed hoping and preying I wouldn't wake up to a creepy blue haired boy or maybe a alien probing my brain. That'd be just my luck now wouldn't it?

* * *

The next morning, I was lucky enough to sleep in until ten forty-eight AM. For some reason, I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open so I decided to have a nice Luke-warm bath. That definitely helped. Feeling clean and refreshed, I brushed my hair and teeth, did my make up and headed back into my room to change out of Ella's nightgown. For some reason, I wasn't surprised when I found the blue haired boy laying on my bed staring intently at me. I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or concerned that I was getting used to this odd life.

“Hello..” I said, cautiously.

He didn't say anything in return, just stared at me unblinking.

Okay, creepy.

“I um.. Kinda need to get changed.”

He nodded but didn't move.

Now I glared at the boy. “Is there something you need? Your kinda creeping me out. If not, please leave.”

The boy stood up, held up his index finger and said “Stay.” He walked out of my room without another word.

I considered changing while he was gone but chose against it when I realized he probably wouldn't knock before coming back in. So I waited.

No more then five minutes later the door slowly, casually, swung open. Instead of an annoying blue haired boy though. A huge blue eyed snow leopard sauntered in. At first my heart sped up and I almost screamed but when I looked into the cats eye I saw not a cat but a human. I saw the boy who'd been sitting on my bed only five minutes ago. Defiant, curious, bored, intelligent and fierce.. I saw what I'd seen last night in his eyes, a warning sign that I wasn't to make any wrong moves or I'd be his prey.

The cat stretched, yawned and jumped onto my bed curling into a ball and looking up at me as if to say “What are you going to do about it now?”

Now, seeing that look of challenge, I knew he was playing with me and that I Was allowed to stand up for myself. He wanted me to.

I pointed to the door. “Out, I need to change. Don't make me chase you with a broom. I will.” He gave me a very feline grunt, shocked I'd actually taken his challenge. It took everything I had not to laugh at his expression. I could almost picture a one eyebrow arch above his eye. Mouth in the shape of an O. I'm sure if he was in human form he would've.
Now he was curious.

He growled; a lazy but warning sound rumbling through his throat. I just laughed and said “Seriously, your hairing up my bed!” Now he was really interested in this game of ours. He rose to a sitting position and let out a roar, scrunching his nose and trying to look fierce. I might've been worried, had I not seen his eyes. Nothing but amusement. I grinned and walked over to him, only an inch away.

“Can I touch your fur? Your pretty.”

I swear I saw his eyes roll. He let out a soft windy “Hu hu hu” sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. He rubbed his cheek against my leg just like a house cat does to get attention and loves. I scratched behind his ear and felt his huge head lean into my hand.

“Sorry but.. Your just not that scary..”

He purred softly rubbed his head against my leg one more time then got up and left. I knew I'd won this battle so I took the opportunity to change into some cloths Ella lent me. Today was going to be really interesting.

Chapter Five COMING SOON

Coming soon

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Texte: Hailey Fowler
Bildmaterialien: Hailey Fowler
Lektorat: Hailey Fowler
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 02.06.2012

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