Ember Unspoken - Chapter Three

After a year of her disappearance, Ember had changed completely. Soon enough, people will figure out what she truly was - A witch on the inside, a monster on the outside.

Caleb ---

         

          Sitting on the bench in the middle of the park, Caleb pulled his coat tighter around him. It was the middle of August, August 17^th to be exact, and all he could think about was her. The way she smiled and laughed whenever they were together. How great they had gotten along and how much it kills him knowing she is gone. Gone forever, he thought to himself. Today marked one year since she had left him. If he had gone with her…maybe she would still be here today. He only blamed himself. He remembered the day after she had left him in the coffee shop, waking up and his mother crying. He had asked what was wrong, and she only stared at him at a loss for words. That was when he knew something was up, that something bad had happened. Maybe it was a family member? Was dad ok? Was Jess, his sister ok? When she told him about Ember missing, it broke him. She didn’t make him go to school that day.

          He missed her so much and for the past year he had begun to realize how much he had felt about her. All he wanted was for her to come back - to protect her in his arms and to hold her once again. To go out to dinner sometimes, and to talk about stupid ex’s. The coffee shop was their hide out. Sometimes they would go to her house or his and watch movies all day long. Lion King was her favorite. He wanted her back. Was that too much to ask for? Missing their conversations and heart to hearts, and how much he confided in her and trusted her. It pained him knowing she wasn’t here.

          The past year had definitely taken its toll on him. After Ember went missing, his mother and father had gotten divorced about a month after. He stayed with his mother though, helping her out around the house when she needed him too. Plus it was easier for him since it was just 10 minutes away from his job. Two months after that though, Jess, his sister, died in a car accident. Not only had that broken him, but it broke his mother too. About a month after, his mother had tried taking her own life. Now she was in a mental institute across the other side of the country.

 His father didn’t handle it well either but instead he found someone else - some teacher from his old high school whom Caleb had never met, and he was happy about that. It would have just caused this whole situation to be even weirder. He didn’t like the fact his father had moved on so easily and sometimes he wondered, did he ever cheat on his mother?

          He was supposed to meet his father for dinner tonight, but instead he bailed. Caleb didn’t care and wanted no part in seeing his father or meeting his new girlfriend. Today has been a hard day as is and he was not in the mood to deal with a dinner that involved him pretending to be happy about his father’s new relationship. So instead, he ignores him. His calls, emails, even his texts which his father rarely does, had just been deleted. He wanted nothing to do with him.

          He breathed in deeply, leaning over and resting his head in his hands, pushing everything into the back of his mind. Staying cooped up in his room most of the time, other than working, had given him time to think. Think about himself, how his life would end up, and of course, Ember. A feeling in his stomach told him she wasn’t gone. She was still alive and breathing. If only that were true…but it pained him to know that even if she were alive, what happened? Why did she leave so soon? Why didn’t she say goodbye?

          Only one thing came to his mind though. He never knew he had feelings for her, only saw her as a friend " a best friend. But ever since she had been gone, he knew he had deeper feelings for her.

          He loved her.

          Leaning his head back against the bench, he looks up at the night sky. Stars covered the blackness, shining down on him with small clouds making their way across. The wind had picked up, blowing through his blonde hair. He had grown it out over the summer, and now it went down to just below his ears. His bangs covered his left eye. He liked it better long for some reason, probably because it gave him a more dangerous look.

          He heard a small tree branch crack behind him, footsteps on the grass as they got closer. Turning around quickly, he couldn’t see who it was. The person was standing under a tree, a black silhouette outlined in the darkness. “Who’s there?” He called, fear crawling up his spine.

          The person stepped into the moonlight and his face dropped. Shocked and beyond confused, he quickly stood up, his eyes never leaving the familiar face. She was taller now and looked like she had lost some weight. The color of her skin wasn’t so tan anymore, it was pale and flawless. Her blue eyes were as bright as a sapphire, more than before, and for one moment he didn’t recognize her.

          She looked lost, not knowing what to say to him. It was as if they were strangers. Instead she only smiled at him, her perfectly white teeth shining from the light. “Hello, Caleb.”

 

 

Ember ----

 

          He looked older and much more buff kind of like he had been working out at the gym lately. The freckles he once had were gone, and instead his skin was tanner and his hair had grown a lot longer. He still kept his blue eyes, the ones she used to loathe because her eyes weren’t as blue. But now, hers were brighter. Something about her becoming a witch had brought out the color more. At least that’s what Felicia had said.

          Standing there, she didn’t know what to say to him. The breeze blew her midnight black hair into her face and she quickly swept it away, pushing it behind her ear. He didn’t answer back. The color from his face was gone and he looked as if he were about to pass out. The night suddenly felt like it had gotten colder. She missed the warm weather in North Carolina, the way the sun had hit her skin. But she was here, in front of him, and the night only got colder as the silence dragged on.

          He looked away from her for a second, and then back. His hand made its way through his hair as he stared at her. She could see the confusion on his face.

          “Are you going to say something, or are we just going to stand here as if we are complete strangers and I am some murderer to you?” She said. The murderer part is true. I mean, if you count the vampire thing. She had never killed a human being before, but vampires are murderers no matter how much they try to deny it.

          He shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.” He stated, his eyes never leaving hers. Silence again.

          She only nodded. Trying to think of something to say, “I like the hair. When did you decide to grow it out?” She said. It was the only thing that came to her mind.

          He rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air. “For christ’s sake, Ember, you have been gone for a year and you decide to comment on my hair?” The tone of his voice scared her a bit. His whole demeanor had changed from confused to just pure anger. “Why haven’t you contacted me?” He asked angrily.

          “I…” She started, but he interrupted.

          “You know what. No. Don’t even answer that because I know damn well I am most likely just dreaming this and you will say something to make me hate you even more.” He didn’t mean that, but it just flew out of his mouth without another thought. Frustrated with himself, he sits down on the bench, resting his head on his hands.

          Ember didn’t say another word. The words he said struck her hard but she knew he didn’t mean them. He was angry at her and she totally understood why.

Walking around the bench, she slowly sits next to him. She wanted to hug him, to tell him everything was going to be ok and that she was ok. But she knew she couldn’t. Because everything was not ok and what she had done to him had hurt him. That was the last thing she ever wanted to do.

          “I’m sorry, Caleb.” Her voice was low as she spoke. “I know you don’t believe me and I know that whatever I say will not change anything, but I truly am sorry.” She looked over at him. He was still sitting with his head in his hands, rubbing his temples with his fingers. His eyes were closed and she knew he was trying to take a moment to calm himself down.

          “What happened?” He asked after a couple minutes, breaking the silence. He looked up at her with red-shot eyes, cheeks wet from tears. He had been crying.  

          She didn’t know how to explain. Knowing she must have thought of something better to tell him, she went with Ian’s story. Not the best choice, but she had to think of something quickly.  “I…I went to an aunt’s house. It was supposed to be for a couple months, but instead it turned into a year.” She lied. D****t, why the hell did she do that? It sounded better in her head.

          Caleb stared at her suspiciously. He knows I’m lying, she thought to herself. “What aunt?”

          “Aunt Jane.” She said, only making up the name that popped into her head. So stupid.

          “And she doesn’t have a phone?” He pushed.

          She should have definitely thought this one out because obviously Ian didn’t. Shrugging, she shook her head. “She lives in the middle of nowhere. No service.”

          He looked away, sighing angrily to himself. “Your mother never mentioned any of this to me.” His voice was low. Looking down at the ground, he placed his hands in his jacket pockets. She was about to ask him if he had talked to her since but he went on. “I want the truth Ember.” He whispered.

          The truth was something she couldn’t give him no matter how bad she wanted to. “I can’t.” She watched him as he shook his head.

          “What do you mean you can’t?” His attention turned back on her. “D****t, Ember, you have been gone for a year and you suddenly come back out of nowhere. I at least deserve the truth.”

          He was right. He did deserve the truth. But she couldn’t " she can’t. Not without risking humans finding out about the existence of her race. She sighed, looking away from him and kicking a rock with her boot. “I can’t, Caleb. I just can’t. And I am sorry. It’s better that you don’t know.”

          He shook his head again. Reaching over, he gently grabbed her chin, turning her attention back to him. “Did someone hurt you?” He looked into her eyes, worry washing over his face.

          “No. No one hurt me.” Technically that was a lie, but she wasn’t about to give him any details.

          “You are lying, Ember.” Caleb said, pushing her on to tell the truth. “I know when you are.”

          “No I am not. No one hurt me. I swear.” She said, trying to make him believe her. Caleb knew her too well though to believe a single lie that came out of her mouth.

          He let go of her chin, turning away from her again and rubbing his hands over his face as he leaned back. She could tell he was mad and knew she should have prepared herself for this. But she didn’t and now she didn’t know what to do. Instead she felt like it was a mistake. She missed him but coming back probably only hurt him more. Standing up slowly, she looks down at him. “I need to get back. It was nice seeing you, Caleb…”

          She hesitated for a second but started walking away when he quickly stood up, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back towards him. Startled, she looked up into his eyes. Bringing a hand up, he gently glides his fingers across her cheek, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel his breath hitting her face, and the touch of his skin made her shiver.

          “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say and I don’t know how to deal with this. Right now, I might be dreaming. It might just all be a figment of my imagination and my mind is playing tricks with me.” He sighed, closing his eyes to contain himself and then opening them again to look at her. “I missed you so much.” He muttered, staring into her eyes.

          She didn’t know what to say to that. “I missed you too.” She replied, just below a whisper.

          He was leaning down now, his breath now hitting her lips. She bit her bottom lip, leaning up and resting her hands against his shoulders. Was he going to kiss her? He was so close, just one movement would cause their lips to touch. “Don’t ever leave me again.” He whispered, his hand sliding through her hair as he pulled her closer, hugging her tightly. She buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him. The beat of his heart was pounding, almost like it was going to come out of his chest. Caleb was her best friend. Someone she could confide in and all those years, she did. He knew everything about her and cared for her when no one else did. Disappearing was the last thing she ever wanted to do to him. It dawned on her how she felt about him.

 

          He rested his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes as he ran his hands down her back. He was holding her close now, tightening his strong arms around her.

          “What the hell.” She heard someone say. Quickly pulling away from Caleb, she turned to see Nathan standing a couple feet from them. He was standing there, hands in fists as he stared at the two of them.

          This was not going to go well.

         

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Nathan ---

         

          He was angry - with her, with himself. Who was this guy and why the hell was he holding her like that? It felt like his heart was pulled out of his chest and stomped on right before him. He drove all this way to tell her about Jeremiah and now, that was the least of his worries. He wanted to know what the hell was going on.

 “What are you doing here?” She asked, pulling away a little for the guy who had his arms around her.

          “Ian told me where you were. I thought I would come and surprise you.” Nathan was beyond pissed. Why wasn’t Ian here? “And why the hell isn’t Ian with you in the first place?” He added, a little louder than he should be. But who cared? He was pissed.

          The guy behind her looked at her. “Wait, who the hell is Ian? And who is this guy?” He gestured towards Nathan.  

          She ignored the guy, pulling away from him and standing a few feet away from Nathan. “I told Ian I didn’t need him. And let’s not just turn this around on me, Nathan. Why are you here?”

          Shaking his head, “Ian is supposed to be with you at all times. You of all people should know that it’s not safe out here. And I am here because there is something important I need to tell you, but right now I can’t”. His attention went to the guy standing behind her. “Who are you?” He demanded, his golden eyes flashing with anger.

          The guy looked over at him again, angry and confused. He was now standing behind Ember, resting his hands on her shoulders. If I could, I would be on top of him in a second and-

          “Nathan, stop.” She said, her eyes were on him still. His eyes met hers again.  “Caleb is a friend. He won’t hurt me.” Her voice was calm and steady. Nathan looked at the both of them, then back at her. She was trying to calm him down because she knew the way he was around people.

          He turned away from them, aggressively running his fingers through his hair. This was the moment he didn’t want to see happening. It was the one thing he didn’t want to see her do and that was meeting someone else. He wanted her for himself but he knew that he couldn’t. Walking over to a nearby tree, he leans his back against it. She was whispering something to Caleb and suddenly walked over. She looked upset. With him of course. 

 

          She was standing a couple feet away from him now. “He’s a friend Nathan.” She said. He didn’t look up at her, only stared into the distance. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Caleb sit down on the bench. Is he ever going to leave?

          Ember stepped closer to him. “What’s going on? Is something wrong at the mansion?” Her voice was just below a whisper, just for him to hear. She was changing the subject. Good choice.

          He looked up into her blue eyes. Knowing he had to tell her, he nodded his head. “Jeremiah.”

That took the anger right off her face as he said the name. He noticed her whole posture change, and fear washed over her, causing her to stiffen. He knew what she had dealt with before and just that name caused her to panic. Ember was terrified of Jeremiah.

          He noticed her clench her fists and the color of red flash over her eyes as fear quickly turned to anger. Reaching over, he gently rested his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Ember was still a newborn and he didn’t want anyone getting hurt. Not even the boy, Caleb, she had been hugging a couple minutes ago.

          Nathan caught Caleb watching them from the bench, noticing the way she had tensed up and the way she had relaxed in just a second when he touched her shoulder. Nathan knew that he was most likely jealous, but he didn’t care. Ember was a vampire now and no way in hell would they ever be together. A vampire and a human. Ha. Like that would go over well.

         

Ember ----

         

          She had her eyes closed now, breathing in and out slowly as she tried to calm herself down. Just the thought of Jeremiah made her tense up because she knew how much he wanted her. It scared her, and just as quickly as fear crept up her spine, she was angry also. She could feel herself lose control in her mind and Nathan noticed also. Just the touch of his hand on her shoulder reminded her she wasn’t alone " that he would do anything for her. It felt like they were the only two standing in the park. Trees surrounding them, water rushing from the creek to their right, and in the distance she could hear an owl. The wind had finally died down and the moon hung over them, shining on them as they stood there. She could feel Nathan’s eyes on her, calming her down with small signals sent to her through their minds. It was crazy how vampires could do that. If he really wanted to, he could read her mind, and she could do the same to him, but that would take a lot of practice and time that she didn’t have. And Nathan promised he never would. She never felt him do it before and even through all the s**t she has been through, she trusted him enough to never get into her mind.

          Opening her eyes, she met his. He was standing in front of her. His beautiful golden eyes staring at her as if to say she was going to be alright, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She breathed out. “Thank you.” She whispered, taking a moment to contain herself.

          He nodded his head and turned his attention to the person behind her. She almost forgot about Caleb. Turning around, she noticed him sitting there staring at them. Hurt and jealousy filled his eyes. Crap.

          Leaving Nathan standing near the tree, she walked over to her best friend. He had looked away than, leaning against the back of the bench and running his hand through his hair. He looked lost and knowing that she had caused this broke her heart. It suddenly came to her that she could only choose one. Nathan or Caleb. She was a vampire, a monster, and no way in Hell would she ever let Caleb find out. It would put him in danger, and herself. She knew what she had to do and sooner or later, she was going to have to face the fact that her and Caleb would never be more.

          Sitting next to him, she gently pressed her hand against his cheek. “I have to go, Caleb.” She said, knowing that it was most likely past 11. She was exhausted and it had been a long day. Remembering her mother, she had totally forgotten to ask him. “Do you want to hang out tomorrow? At the coffee shop?” She needed to know her mother was alright and to at least talk to Caleb again.

          He looked over at her, nodding his head. “Sure.” He muttered. “Just don’t leave me hanging again. Please.”

          She smiled, leaning over and wrapping her small arms around his neck. He breathed in, wrapping his strong arms around her waist as he pulled her in close. “I promise.” She whispered into his ear, kissing his cheek lightly. The smell of his blood filled her nostrils and she was suddenly pulled away. “Meet me there at 5.” And she got up, walking away before he could say anything. She felt confused and utterly out of control of her body.

          Nodding her head at Nathan as she walked by, he followed her.

          “You ok?” He asked, noticing her uneasiness. Thank goodness he doesn’t read her mind.

          She forced a smile and looked over at him as they walked. “I’m fine.” Yet that wasn’t really how she felt, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. Hugging Caleb had felt so real to her, but that last hug made her feel…hungry. She could hear Caleb’s heart beating, feel it against her chest. The throbbing of his vain that popped out of his neck made her feel uncontrolled. She had to get away fast. Tomorrow would be better though. She hoped.

  Looking away from Nathan she couldn’t help but feel that maybe it wasn’t a great idea to stay. But she had to. She had to find her mother, figure things out about Jeremiah and talk to Caleb. She had to stay. Plus she couldn’t leave Caleb again, not now at least. She wasn’t going to put him through that again and when the time came, she will say goodbye. It wasn’t like she could stay with him forever. He would realize she wouldn’t be aging like a normal human being, and she knew what he wanted in life. He wanted children and a great career as a construction worker and a whole bunch of other things that she could never give him.

          As if she had a choice anyway.

She couldn’t stay here but right now, it was all she had to keep herself safe.

Author's Note

This is my very first book that I am writing and I would appreciate it if the rude comments would be kept to yourselves. I am looking for positive feedback and maybe even some pointers on how to keep going. Thank you and enjoy, darlings.