Chapter One
"Jay" a voice said behind me. I turned to see Mrs. Carolyn walking towards me. She was a secretary at the Help The Disabled With Kindness, it was a nice place. There were a lot of disabled people here today. Ive been around disabled people my whole life. My sister was blind, and I had been her caretaker for many years. But since my writing career, I had moved to New Orleans, where there was a very nice publishing company. It was a new experience that I enjoyed, I just missed taking care of my sister. I was so used to it, now that I was away, I missed it dearly.
So I came here, looking to help other disabled people. I wasn't sure how it worked, but I was willing to learn. "Now, if you please follow me, you'll meet the person you'll be taking care of" Mrs. Carolyn said with a smile. Following her, I prayed I didn't get someone who was mean all the time about being helped. We walked into a room, where a man was sitting in a wheelchair near a table playing chess with a older gentleman. "Mr. Albright" Carolyn said with a smile. The man who looked to be in his 20's turned and looked at us. "Ahh Mrs. Carolyn, I wondered when I would get to speak to you, I was just having fun beating Mr. Nightly at chess" he said smiling.
He was tall, despite he was in a wheelchair. His skin was tan, probably from his Greek heritage, his eyes were a dark blue, his hair was long and black. He had a few tattoos running down his left arm and one only on his wrist. His voice was deep like rolling thunder. I felt bad for him, having lost his ability to walk.
"This is Jay, she'll be your caretaker for now" Mrs. Carolyn said smiling and pointing towards me. I felt my face turn red. I always got embarrassed when I meet new people.
He smiled at me. "Hello Mrs. Jay" he said and looked up to Mrs. Carolyn. "When does she start?" he asked with a smile. "Whenever you would like Mr. Albright" Mrs. Carolyn said in a all too sweet voice. She had a crush on him. "Okay, let be today, I can show you where I live, cause im pretty sure you don't have a clue where that is" he said with a laugh. I felt my face turn red again. No I didn't have clue where he lived. I was still trying to get used to finding my own place.
"Well then I'll go back to work if you don't need me" Mrs. Carolyn said, but I picked up on her hint. She wanted a reason to stay here. He just smiled. "We're good" he said and turned back to the older man he was playing chess with. "Well Mr. Nightly, I believe I have to go, but I will enjoy continuing later" he said to the older man. Mr. Nightly just smiled and continued.
He merely turned and started to wheel himself to the exit. "Would you like me to help you?" I asked watching him. I had my doubts about pushing him. He seemed like it would be hard for someone my size compared to him.
He smiled. "I don't know, you look like you may not be able too" he said with a small laugh. He stopped just before the door, I walked ahead of him and propped it open. He carefully wheeled out. "Lets give it a try" he said with a smile. I walked around behind him and tried to push the wheelchair. It didn't budge. I had to laugh, why couldn't I be stronger?
To my surprise he laughed too. "What?" I asked confused. He smiled. "I have the brake on" he said laughing. I felt my face burn up. Figures he would mess with me. I watched him take the break off and I gave it another try, this time his chair moved easily. I was surprised, he seemed so light yet he was so tall. "See you can do it Jay" he said smiling back at me. I felt my cheeks redden. He just smiled. "You blush a lot" he stated and looked back at me. Yea I knew I did. I got embarrassed easily. "So, Jay, what brings you to New Orleans?" he asked as he looked at the shops we passed. "I am a writer, I couldn't find a company to publish my books back home, and the nearest one and one that would give me enough to live off was here" I explained. "Oh, small town girl huh?" he asked.
"Yes, this is my first time being in a big town like this" I said smiling. It was a pretty kool place. "Enjoying?" he asked looking back at me. "Its new. I still get very confused when I look for things" I admitted. He smiled. "You'll get the hang of it. In the mean time, just ask me, and I can probably tell you where whatever it is your looking for" he chided.
"So, what do you write about?" he asked after a pause. "Oh, I write about the supernatural" I said smiling. I loved to write about vampires and werewolves. It was all so much fun.
"Really? What's your favorite to write about" he asked with a curious look. "Vampires" I said hesitantly. Not a lot of people liked it when I said that, so many non-believers. He raised a brow. "Vampires? You mean the bloodsuckers of the night?" he asked laughing. "Yes, their my favorite to write about" I commented watching him. He smiled. "I like vampire stories too. Tell me what book is yours and I'll buy it" he said looking back at me. I paused.
"You would?" I said surprised. He nodded. "Yes, I have many vampire books at my house. I'd be glad to add yours" he said smiling. Like me, he smiled a lot. It made me feel more comfortable around him.
"So, are we any where close to your house?" I asked looking around. "Its across the street, at the blue house" he said pointing. Well that didn't help, a whole row of houses on the other side of the street that were blue. He laughed. I guess I pulled a face. "Don't worry. I'll show you which one it is" he said. I wheeled him over to the streetlight and pushed the button to cross. We waited for the light and crossed. I found his was the third blue house. Pushing him up the ramp, I waited for him to open his door and carefully pushed him in. He turned on the lights. I could see he didn't have much furniture. Maybe got rid of a lot of it due to his accident.
"Well this is home sweet home" he said smiling and wheeled to the kitchen. I followed him. "Can you get me a glass?" he asked, pointing to the cupboard beside him. Opening it, I reached up and got a cup, handing it to him, I watched him wheel over and get some water. How did he get a glass when no one else helped him? Pushing the rude thought aside, I thought of questions to ask. "So, what would you like me to help with today?" I asked glancing around the kitchen. It was fairly large for only having one person here. He smiled. "Well, I'd be glad if you would me tidy this place up. Ever since Zack moved out, I havent been able to clean it" he said looking around. Zack had been his last caretaker, who moved in with him to help take care, but suddenly he juts moved out.
"May I ask your first name?" I said suddenly. Calling him Mr. Albright all the time might make him mad. I knew a few people back home who did. If I didn't call them by their first name, they would get mad and yell. He smiled. "Its Jason" he said softly. "Okay then Jason, where would you like me to start cleaning?" I asked. Yay, being able to clean was good. I didn't want to admit this place needed it badly. But it wasn't Jason's fault.
He laughed. "Eager to clean huh? Well that's good, I like that" he said, wheeling over to the cabinet and opened it. A rather large selection of cleaning supplies sat in a neat order. I was surprised. A guy have this much cleaning stuff? Kind a weird. He laughed "Before the accident, I always cleaned everyday. Kind a OCD about it" he said laughing.
"Theres nothing wrong with that" I said laughing, my sister had been the same way. For being blind, she loved to clean, and I loved to help her.
"You don't seem bothered at all by my disability" he stated suddenly. I smiled. "I have a sister whose blind" I said bending down to look at the cleaning supplies. I heard him mutter an apology. I looked up at him. "Its not your fault, im used to it. We always have fun trying to clean or cook" I said laughing. Trying to teach her to cook had been fun and surprisingly easy. She understood things right away.
"Did you ever hate that she was disabled?" he asked watching me. I picked up a cleaner. "The only time I did was when I was little, my father was..more fond of her than me, than it was when my father used her to get free stuff" I explained as a read the different cleaners. "He used her to get free things?" he said surprised. I nodded. "Yes, but not as much anymore, so that's good" I said and stood up. "Why's that?" he asked with a confused look. "Cause he died of a heart attack three years ago" I said with no remorse. My father had been an ass. Always using people around him. Never being kind to those who were kind to him.
"Im sorry to hear that" he said looking sad. "Its not your fault, in way im glad his gone cause he cant hurt her anymore" I said with a shrug. I didn't care if it was mean. My father never wanted us in his life except when we had money and when we could get him something. He had been an abusive drunk.
"So where should I start first?" I asked looking at him with a smile. "Well you can start upstairs, and work down, and I'll do what I can" he said smiling. "Okay, but if you need help, I'll stop and come down to help you" I said seriously. He nodded, and went into the living room, where he started to tidy up the coffee table. Walking up the stairs, I saw a mess all thru the hallway, two bedrooms, and bathroom. It was honestly disgusting. Was this where Zack had stayed? In this mess?
Setting down the two bottles and sponge, I looked for a trash can and picked up papers, wrappers, and things I figured could be thrown away. After that, I moved all the clothes on the floor to the closet, I would wash them later. I didn't know if they were Jason's or Zack's. Walking into the first bedroom, I saw a king sized bed and a bookshelf. It was overfilled with books. Jason's room. I recognized many of the vampire books. This was Jason's room. I wondered how long it had been since he had been in his own room?
Cleaning off the bed, I found a change of sheets and remade it. It looked better than the trash covered sheets before. I had noticed all the furniture and colors were black, dark red, and blue. Those were the only colors in the house besides, the wood parts of the frames. The walls, curtains, and pillows were all dark blue. It was comforting.
I always hated when you couldn't color the walls and they were an annoying white. The light bounced off of them so badly it would blind me.
Finishing tidying the room, I closed the door and went to the bathroom. I prayed it wouldn't be that bad. If it was too bad, I wasn't going in there. Opening the door, I saw it was rather tidy. Only a few magazines on the floor, towels, and hair products. Bending down to throw them in the trash I noticed, most of the products were for women. Odd. Jason didn't say anything about women being here. Maybe they were from Zack's girlfriends?
Throwing the magazines and empty bottles away, I cleaned the sinks and shower. A king sized shower for a king sized bedroom. It would be nice had Jason not be disabled. I wondered how long had he been disabled. His whole life? Or a few short years? Trying not to think about it, I finished wiping down the sink and walked out of the bathroom.
I didn't want to go in the second bedroom, judging from the mess in all the others, the mess seemed to get worse as you got closer to the second room. Cleaning around the doorway, I noticed it seemed to be made up, as if to keep people out. A towel layed on the floor around the frame and three candles sat there. Odd. What was the get up for? Reaching up to open the door, I heard Jason call for me. Standing up, I trotted down the stairs. I didn't see him in the living room. Walking over to the dining room, I saw him throw some papers away.
"What did you need?" I asked walking up to him. "Can you take these books and put them in my room, I don't know why there down here?" he said handing me four vampire books. Accidental Vampire, In the Forest of the Night, My Neighbor, and My Boss is a Vampire. I only knew two of them. The others I hadn't seen before. "Sure..umm whats in the second bedroom?" I asked before walking up the stairs. I saw him stop what he was doing, he turned and looked at me. "Did you look in there?" he asked watching me. I shook my head. "Its Zack's old room. I couldn't get the smells out no matter what I did. No cleaners or air fresheners could get the smell out" he explained, his eyes never leaving me.
"What he'd do party so much in it, the room took on the smell?" I asked confused. "I don't know what he did in there. He always went up there and barely helped me" he said cleaning again. It bothered him to talk about it. Walking up the stairs, I glanced at the door. Why was Jason so concerned about me looking in the room? I didn't believe the whole bad smell thing. It seemed like he wanted to keep people out and I wanted to know why?
Putting the books on the shelf, I turned and noticed the door was closed. I had kept it opened, how did it close?
"You're a cute little girl" a voice said and I jumped, turning towards the window. A tall man with medium length brown hair stood there. How had he gotten in here, past Jason? In one step he was in front of me, I stumbled back into the bookshelf. He reached up and played with a lock of my hair. "Jason knows how to pick cute ones like you" he said with a smile. He was a lot taller than me, I only came up to his chest. His eyes were a cat like green.
"What..what does that mean?" I asked afraid to know the answer. "Hon, you don't want to know, it would only scare you more little one. Why don't you see for yourself what's in that room" he said with a smile. "Jason said not to go in there" I said hoping it didn't make him mad. "Yes little Jason never wants his care takers to know whats in that room. But a cute little girl needs to know before she gets to involved here with Jason" he said twirling a strand of the my hair around his finger.
"I'd hate to see a cute little girl like you, Jay, get hurt by Jason. He can be very cold" he said smiling, I felt my blood run cold when I saw fangs. A Vampire. "Now little one, I'm going to bid you good day and tell Jason, Aros said hi" he said with a smile, touching my cheek and backed up, fading into the wall. I stood there baffled. How could a vampire be out in the day? I knew some stories said they could be out in sun, others said they had to drink a lot of blood to go out in it. I reached up and touched my cheek where the man had touched my cheek. The skin had become cold, it made me shiver. Quickly walking out the room, closing the door and trotting down the stairs, I felt a slight panic wash over me. That man had known Jason somehow, worse he had known me and I didn't know him.
"Jay, whats wrong?" Jason asked behind me. It made me jump and turned to see him looking worriedly at me. "I…I just freaked myself out, that's all" I said with a weak smile. I didn't want to tell Jason about meeting that man. I didn't want it to be a prank and me seem stupid.
"Are you sure, you look like you've seen a ghost" he said getting closer. No I just saw a vampire. His hand touched my cheek in the same spot as Aros did, but unlike Aros, Jason's hand was warm. "Your like ice, you need to stay down here and warm up" he ordered. I nodded. I didn't want to go back up there. It was freaky. It seemed something was watching me from that second room. And then the incident with Aros, I really didn't want to go back up there.
Jason came back in the living room. "What freaked you out?" he asked softly watching me. "I just thought I heard someone talking in one of the rooms, when I looked no one was there, and the door just suddenly shut" I said making up a lie. Actually it wasn't a lie, that happened once before. I saw his eyes narrow. "You heard voices and then the door slammed shut?" he asked. He wasn't buying it. I nodded. He pulled a surprised look. "Maybe Zack wasn't lying" he said still looking surprised. Huh?
"What do you mean?" I asked feeling my face drain of color. "Zack claimed he heard voices talking all the time. He said when he would try to find them, he never could. He was always freaked" Jason explained watching me. "And you never hear them?" I asked curious. He shook his head. "No, I never have. I was in the room with him when he asked if I could hear them, I didn't hear anything, he got mad cause I couldn't hear them…or he thought I was lying" Jason spoke softly as if remembering it.
"Is that why he moved out? Cause he couldn't take the voices anymore?" I asked watching Jason. He nodded. "He said he couldn't take hearing them anymore" Jason said with a shrug. "So I let him move out, I couldn't keep him here" he said with a sigh. "So now that that's settled, what shall we do now?" he asked. I glanced around the room and saw it was cleaned up. Same with the dining room. How had he been able to do all the cleaning in wheelchair?
"Well, I don't know. Its 6:23" I said glancing down at my watch. Between meeting Jason, getting here and cleaning, I had been out for 5 hours now. "How about we get dinner started?" he asked smiling. I laughed. He was hungry, but I wasn't going to eat here, that would be rude.
"Okay what would you like me to fix?" I asked looking over to him. He pulled a thoughtful look. "How about…steak and whatever you want to add to it" he said laughing. I laughed again. "Just because im cooking it doesn't mean I have to decide the whole meal, you may not like what I put with it" I said laughing.
"Hey, im sure whatever you put with it will be fine" he said with a smile. He was so nice, it was weird coming from a place where guys near my age were complete buttheads.
Walking into the kitchen, I looked through the fridge for the steak. I felt a weird feeling run down my spine, like someone was watching me. Turning I didn't see anyone, not even Jason. Weird. Finding the container, I took it out and found a pan to cook it. While the meat was on, I looked for some type of vegetable for Jason. I had not a clue what kind he liked. Opening a cabinet, I saw nothing but green beans, corn, and yams. Hmm, guessing he doesn't like much.
Reaching for a can, I couldn't reach it, so I crawled up on the counter and got a can. I heard something move in the cabinet and looked back up in it. A hand shoot out and tried to grab me. I squealed and fell back off the cabinet. Landing on my back, I looked up at the cabinet, an arm was trying to reach for me. Holy Shit! "Jay" I heard Jason say and he came into the room, his face full of worry. "Are you alright, how'd you fall?" he asked wheeling over to me. He helped me up to my knees. Could he not see the arm sticking out of the cabinet? I watched in horror as the arm went back into the cabinet.
"A hand suddenly reached out and tried to grab me from in the cabinet, I fell back" I explained. What the fuck was up with this house? "A hand reached out of the cabinet?" he asked surprised. I nodded. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's up with this place" he said softly. "Its…its happened to you?" I asked praying I wasn't going crazy. He nodded. "It happened a lot before I got hurt. Everyday I had to deal with stuff like what you've been talking about, but after my accident, it all kind of stopped" he said looking uncomfortable. "You mean it doesn't happen to you anymore" I stated catching his meaning. He nodded. He said he would stay in here with me, I was thankful.
Helping me up to my feet, I walked back over to the stove and finished cooking. So whatever was in the house, stopped messing with him when he got hurt? Whatever was in here, probably didn't want to mess with a person who had no real way of getting away from it.
I felt Jason's gaze on my back. He didn't have to watch me. Opening the can, I spooned the green beans out and put the bowl in the microwave. The meat was done, I was just keeping it warm while the green beans heated up. After two times in the microwave, I put them on a plate and walking into the dining room. Jason was behind me, with a his cup from earlier. "Thank you Jay" he said smiling. "Are you sure you don't want any?" he asked watching me. I shook my head no. "I have some leftover rice and rivvles at home" I said smiling. 'When shall I come over tomorrow?" I asked curiously. He smiled. "Umm well I have to go to the store and get some things, so maybe around 11" he asked looking over at me.
"Okay, tomorrow at 11, I'll be here" I said smiling and found my backpack. I never went anywhere without my backpack. "You have a good night Jason" I said smiling and walked to the door. "You too Jay, thank you" I heard him call. Closing the door behind me, I walked down the side walk. It was a cool night, it had been raining. Reaching the street light, I waited for it to turn green and cross. Reaching the other side, I headed to my apartment on Mary Lane. It was around 7:30 now, so I was hungry. Up ahead I saw a small group of guys slow down. Great just what I needed, perverts. Walking past them, I heard them start to follow me. Shit.
Walking a little faster, I heard them start to call out to me, calling me names. I ignored them. The further I walked, the closer they got. Turning around, I looked back at them. "Here little kitty" one said laughing as his buddies joined in.
"I don't think the little girl likes you guys" a voice said behind me. Spinning around, Aros stood there with a grin.
"Hello, love" he said smiling at me. He was freaky.
"Hey back off, ass wipe, shes ours" the blonde one said walking up to Aros. "I don't see your name on her" Aros said casually. "Looks like he wants to pick a fight Eric" the spiked redhead said laughing.
"Kick his ass Eric" the brunette said laughing and hitting at his buddies. Okay, I wasn't going to stand around and watch this. I turned and walked quickly to my apartment. I didn't hear a scuffle or fight. I was tempted to turn and look to see of Aros would be okay, but I figured it wasn't a good idea. Walking up to the iron gate door. I pulled my keys out, unlocked the door and quickly went in, closing it and locking the three bolt locks. I know, im paranoid about my door being locked. I went to my room and quickly changed into a 13 century style dress. I liked to wear it to bed, it was light but not light enough for me to get cold.
Trying not to think about anything that had happened today. But that was hard. I got freaked easily, especially if it dealt with the supernatural. Looking for the tubber ware that had my rice and rivvles in it, I heard a noise behind me. Turning, I looked down the hall. Nothing. Great, im going crazy.
"Your not crazy love" a voice said. I jumped and screamed, but turned to see none other than Aros, leaning casually against the door frame. Not a scratch on him. Had he taken those guys on?
"Yes, I did take them on, but they were wimps, so no worries love" he said laughing when I pulled a face. "Yes, I can hear your thoughts as you think them" he said and walked around the kitchen. "What can I help you with?" I asked watching him. He turned and smiled a little to kindly at me. Then he leaned against the counter, crossing his arms across his chest.
"You need to stay away from Jason. His a dangerous man." he said with a serious tone. Jason? A dangerous person? Shoot, he can hear that.
He laughed lightly. "Yes, love I can. I find it entertaining though" he said glancing around the room.
"Okay, why is Jason dangerous?" I asked carefully walking around to my microwave, the beeping was getting on my nerves. "He likes to lure helpless children like you to his home and do, rather unpleasant things to them" Aros said with no emotion on his face. "But he cant walk, what would he do?" I asked, I didn't understand. "You cant think of anything?" Aros asked raising a brow. Well yea I could, but I didn't want to be scared to death of being around Jason.
"Hon, you need to be afraid of anyone, your around" Aros said with a sigh. In instant he was by the counter, the next was right beside me. I jumped back into the wall. Damn it, that was freaky.
"Watch out for him love" he whispered and vanished. Im not sure how long I stood there, but it seemed like several hours. Jason was a dangerous person? I didn't want to believe that for a minute. If Jason was dangerous, what was Aros?
I woke up around 10:15, I got up and took a shower. All through the shower I couldn't stop thinking about what Aros said about Jason. I was tempted to ask Jason about Aros, but part of me was worried it was a cruel prank. Only confusing myself more, I climbed out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed. Today choice was my green tripp pants and matching shirt. I put on my pants and shirt, trotted down the stairs and put my boots on.
Grabbing my keys, and book bag, I walked out the door. Making sure it locked when I closed the door, I headed to Jason's.
It took 30 minutes to get to Jason's. Knocking I heard him yell. Waiting for him, I wondered how I could ask him about Aros. I heard the door open and saw him smiling. "Hello Jay" he said smiling. "Hi Jason, hope im not early" I said realizing I still had 15 minutes. "No, its fine" he said shaking his head. He moved back to let me in, I carefully walked past him. I didn't want to get caught on his wheelchair and trip.
Closing the door, he wheeled over to me. "Anything I can get you?" he asked smiling. "I'm okay" I said smiling back. For some reason I was nervous around him. The way he stared at me, made me feel like he was wanting to ask something. "Okay, well lets go look through the cupboards and fridge, the we'll be off" he said and headed into the kitchen. I decided not to ask about Aros, I would wait and see if anything kept happening.
"Is Jay in there?" I heard Jason asking. I turned to see him staring at me with an arched brow. "I'm sorry, I have a lot on my mind" I said feeling my cheeks burn. Damn I was spacing.
He laughed. "Sorry, anything you'd like to talk about?" he asked looking at me with a concerned face. I wanted too, but I was too worried about him getting angry or something.
"Promise you wont get mad?" I asked after a minute. He shrugged. "I promise" he said nodding.
"I meet someone who says you're a bad person" I said slowly. Boy I felt uncomfortable saying that. I saw a look pass over his face. "You meet Aros?" he asked after a minute. I nodded. "When?" he asked looking serious. "I meet him yesterday, when I went to put the books up. Then on the streets walking home, and again in my kitchen when I got home" I said watching him. He looked surprised. "You meet him here? Why didn't you say anything?" he asked watching me. "I was worried you would get mad or it might be a cruel joke" I said staring at the ground.
"Did he hurt you?" Jason asked with a worried tone. I shook my head. "Aros and me were friends before I had my accident. We did a lot of bad stuff together, and when I got hurt, I quit hanging around him. He got pissed at me for letting my disability stop me from having fun" Jason explained. For some reason, that didn't sound right to me. Like he had that made up and used that line a lot.
"Okay" I said nodding. I didn't want to disagree and piss him off.
After we made a list of things to get at the store, we left and headed to the town center. The whole time while we were in town, I felt Jason watching me. It made my skin crawl. Why did he have to watch me?
After we got all the shopping done, we went back to his apartment and I helped put it away. The whole time I felt Jason watching me. It made me nervous. Turning, I noticed he wasn't behind me anymore.
"Jay" a voice said. Spinning around, I didn't see anyone. "Jay" a voice said again. No one there. Walking around I looked for Jason. Suddenly, the skin on my neck crawled. Spinning around, I saw a woman standing there, her skin was a bluish tint and her clothes lay bloodied and tattered. She lunged at me and I fell back with a scream. Strong arms caught me. Looking up quickly afraid of it being the woman, I saw Jason. His face was full of worry and concern.
"Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded. "Where is she?" I asked glancing around. "Who?" he asked confused. "The woman, she lunged at me" I explained. "Jay, theres no one here but you and me" he said looking at me with concern. "Did you hit your head or something? You talk about seeing people a lot. Are you sure its not a condition?" he said, eyeing me. Jerking out of his grip. I didn't know what to say. I saw them and he didn't. I knew it was hard for someone to understand if they didn't see them too.
"I'm going home" I said and walked over to the door, grabbing my coat. I went to pull the door opened but it didn't budge.
"Why wont the door open?" I asked looking back at him. He looked up at me. "I don't want it too" he said with a serious tone. "What do you mean, you don't want it too?" I asked turning back to him. "I don't want you leaving" he said in a low tone. "Why?" I asked, afraid of his answer. "You're a very special girl Jay. You can see the dead and interact with them. Something not a lot of people could do" he said staring at me. "Why?" I asked. I was terrified.