Hidden in Death- Chapter Three

After witnessing death, nothing has been the same. Something is different. The feeling of being followed is getting stronger each day. Why am I having these nightmares? Why am I seeing death in every

       I slowly open my eyes, my head pounding so badly that it feels like I have a hangover. Once my eyes finally stay open for longer that a second, I look over at my clock and see that it is nine o'clock in the morning. Quickly, I shoot straight up in bed, ignoring the massive headache that just made its presence known. I look around the room, realizing that I am back in my house, in my own bed, and changed into booty shorts and one of my silk tank tops. I sit there for a moment trying to remember what happened last night after walking away from the creep that wouldn't take no for an answer. While I am sitting there trying to figure out last night's events; I hear a loud banging on my front door and then I hear Panda barking. I get out of bed, walk out of my room and over towards the door but grabbing one of my swords, that I have on display, off my wall. When I get to the door, I grip the handle of the sword and slowly peek out of the window. Every muscle in my body relaxes when I see that it is only Valerie.

Once I open the door, Valerie comes storming into my house and slams the front door behind her. She looks right at me and before I have a chance to react, she slaps me as hard as she can across my face, causing me to drop the sword on the hardwood floor. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

I stand there just staring at her with my hand on my cheek where she slapped. "Wha... What are you talking about?" I finally find the voice to speak but still in shock from what she did.

"I am talking about how you abandoned me last night! I had to call a cab; so I hope you have someone in your bed right now or I will be even more pissed off at you than I am now!" She says as she starts making her way towards my room.

"Val, wait, hold on a second." I say, stepping over the sword that's laying on the floor and put myself in front of her before she gets too far. "I don't know how to explain this. I don't know..." I trail off when I see her eyes are focused on something else.

"Good morning beautiful, what's for breakfast?" I quickly turn around when I hear a familiar, deep, voice. As soon as I turn around, my eyes land on the guy from the bar, that wouldn't take no for an answer, standing right behind me in nothing but is boxers. I give him a good look, noticing that His hair is all messy like he just had a restless night, his muscular and toned torso with a nice six pack to go along with it. I open my mouth as if I am going to say something but no sound comes out as if my voice had been taken from me. When I glance over at Valerie, I notice that her eyes are wide and she is staring at him intensely. "Would you ladies like some breakfast? I can make some French toast for the three of us." He says, his voice echoing through my house again. Before I have a chance to respond in any way, Valerie nods her head and gives him the okay to make breakfast.

Valerie grabs my arm and pulls me back into my hallway and half way to my room but stops before my bedroom door. "Who is that sexy a*s man standing in your kitchen?!" She asks, her face changing from anger to excitement.

"Honestly... I have no clue; he was not here when I woke up, at least I don't think he was. Last night is a complete blur after you went to the back room."

"You must have had a lot to drink last night. But hey, at least you most likely had some fun last night right?" She says while giving me a playful slap on my a*s before walking back towards the kitchen. Before I have a chance to argue with her, I see her head over to where this strange man is and stand right by him while he is cooking.

I walk back out to the kitchen and stand on the other side of the island watching him cook, when his voice actually startles me. "Jade, are you feeling okay? You look awfully pale."

I look up from the stove and see that him and Valerie are staring at me. "Um... Yeah I am fine." When my voice cracks a little, I clear my throat and smile, "I think I should go change into something else. I'll be right back." I walk out of the kitchen, not giving them the chance to say anything about it. When I get into my room, I shut the door quickly and lean my back against my door while I stare at my bed; trying to figure out what just happened and what might have happened last night after I blacked out.

When I hear a knock on my door I feel my heart start racing, to the point that it feels like it might crash through my chest. "Jade, are you doing okay? Your friend left already, her roommates called about something breaking at their place." I hear that man's voice say on the other side of the closed door.

Without thinking, I throw open my room door and firmly place my hand on his tight, muscular chest and push him as hard as I can so that he is no longer so close to my bedroom. "What the hell happened last night?! What did you do to me?! Why the hell are you here in my home?!" After I am done yelling at him all he does is smile and instantly I am angrier with him. "I should call the cops!"

As soon as I turn around to go back into my room to grab my phone from my purse; he grabs my arm and using his strength so that I don't even budge. "Jade, I am not here to hurt you. Nothing happened last night." He slowly loosens his grip on my arm until he is no longer holding my arm.

I stare at him, still thinking about running to grab my phone but I let myself stay calm. "Why are you here in my home?" I ask one more time, hoping that he has a good answer.

"Do you remember anything from last night? Anything more than me being some guy that was trying to hit on you?" He asks, calmly leaning against the wall while watching my every move.

I stand there and think about that for a moment, not meaning to let my eyes wonder on to his torso, noticing that his shirt is almost skin tight. "No, I don't remember much. I remember me walking outside to get some fresh air and..." I slowly trail off as I look up at his face. "You came out to try again... You passed out... I didn't feel a pulse..." Suddenly I start shaking so I quickly turn around, jump on my bed to climb over it so that I can get to my phone.

"Jade, don't call the cops! You are right, I didn't have a pulse. It was a reaction to what you can do; what you have done." He says, stepping into my room and walking over to me.

I finally get my phone out of my purse right as he grabs my wrist. "Get your hands off me! I don't know what you are talking about. I haven't done anything."

"You don't remember when you were that little because we made sure you never remembered. Haven't you ever wondered why it seems like you never fit in, or why Valerie is the only friend that you have had this whole time? Haven't you wondered how you got all those marks on your body?" He asks me, as he slowly grabs my phone out of my hand before letting my wrist go.

"What are you talking about? How would you know all those things if I don't? Anyways, the markings you think you know about, I got those when I was little. I was told I climbed too high on a tree and I fell, all of the branches scratching my hips and sides up. That is also what saved me some being more hurt when I hit the ground." I say, pushing him out of my personal space again.

"Jade, there is a group of people that have something special in them and sometimes that something special could be extremely dangerous. Your mother, your real one, she wanted you to stay protected from anything happening to you and your... gift." He says, allowing me to push him but still staying close. "It was important to keep you safe so we kept a lot of what happened when you were growing secret so that you could grow up in a normal life. But now that you are twenty-five, the gift you have is getting stronger and it is getting more dangerous with you not knowing who you really are."

"I know who I am, I am Jade Daniels and I don't have a gift or whatever you have been talking about this whole time. You have the wrong girl." I say, my voice shaking a little.

"Yes your name is Jade, but that is not your last night. The Daniels family is not your real family, they are people that took you in when you were wondering the streets alone and covered in blood. You didn't even bother telling them that your real mother was brutally killed in your own home. You weren't even fazed by the fact that you saw a dead body for the first time when you were just six years old."

All I can do is stare at him with a blank look on my face. "Wha... What are you talking about?"

"Jade, you and your mother were home and some men came into your house. They shot your mother before you got out of the house. She was trying so hard to get you to safety; she didn't want you to get hurt." He says, slowly sitting down in the hair right across from my bed. I slowly sit on my bed, not saying anything. "Jade, I want to tell you everything that you don't know. I want you to know all those memories that we have been blocking from you mind. We didn't want you to turn into a messed up kid like you father did. His gift was too much for him and he ended up leaving before you were born. All I can tell you right now is that your parents were part of this secret society that shared the same special gift. All gifts are different and yours is rare."

"I'm so confused... What is my real last name? What is this society and what is this gift that you are assuming I have?" I ask, still staring at him with a blank expression.

"There is so much that I can't tell you. We have someone in this society that had learned what all of the gifts are and can answer all of you questions. The only thing that I can tell you is that you last name is Hecate. Your name is Jade Hecate."

"How do I talk to this person. I need to know the truth about my past. I want proof." I say, finally fed up with what he is saying.

"I can take you to the place where we all are staying. You have to at least trust me that much. All you have to do is change and we will go." He says, standing up and giving me a small smile before walking out of my room, closing the door behind him.

I quickly get changed into a pair of black jeans, and a low cut tee shirt. I quickly brush my hair before putting it up into a pony tail. After putting on my black converse, I grab my purse and head out to the living room where I see him sitting.