Chapter One:
He was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.
He just stood so regal, so beautifully stoic at the edge of the roof. His back was bare, a tattoo slithering down his spine. She wanted to reach out, to trace the unique designs with her fingers, to feel that sculptured back for herself.
But like every other time, she was forced to only watch. Frozen to where she stood, invisible to what was going on around her, she could do nothing but gaze at the creature as the sun began to rise in the distance.
"Are you very afraid?"
"I want to burn."
"Goodbye Godric."
Godric. What a strange name, she thought to herself before her eyes suddenly grew wide. Why was there smoke rising from his body? Why were there blue flames flickering around his form?
What in the world was happening?
She watched in horror as the flames consumed the creature, dust floating in the morning air in his place.
"No!"
Taylor Edwards cried out as her eyes were thrust open, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her chest was rising in quick successions as her heart thumped away painfully.
It had happened again. It was the same one, the same exact dream. It was the third one that week, the sixth one that month. It was always just the same. That boy – no man – just stood on that rooftop as his body burned from the sun before becoming nothing but dust.
After the third dream, she began to realize that this creature was a vampire. It was the only explanation as to why he burned in the morning sun. She had done countless of research, however, all in secret in her childhood bedroom, as she searched for what happened when vampires burned. There were the typical drawings and movie references. She even came across a sparkling vampire tale that put a bad taste in her mouth. Taylor did come to the conclusion though, that the sun was just incredibly bad.
Sighing, Taylor wiped the back of her hand across her forehead before glancing at the time. She had fallen asleep in the middle of the afternoon again, the sky transforming into a hue of pinks and purples as the sun began to set. She didn't understand why she was having such dreams, but the unnerving feeling she always had after one was settled in her stomach.
What did it mean?
Needing fresh air, the blonde pushed herself from her bed and sneaked out of the room. She could hear her mother in the kitchen, and not wanting to face her mother's wrath for being unlady like with her napping, hurried down the front staircase and out the front door. The moment she rounded on the fence surrounding her family's farm, Taylor couldn't help but stop and inhale sharply. It was cold, the winter breeze catching her thin sleeves and causing her to shiver. Instead of returning inside, however, she climbed over the fence and began to the one place she could think clearly.
The old barn looked like it could be knocked down at any moment with only a tiny gust of wind. Her father always muttered about rebuilding, but the old charmer held a special place in both his and her heart. She had created a space for herself at the very back. They didn't use the barn for many things any more, only for storage, and her father had happily obliged in helping her create her own little sanctuary.
And that was exactly where he found her an hour later.
"Your mother thought you had run off," he mused as he slid the barn door shut behind him, stomping off the snow from his boots, and made his way over. "I told her of course you would never. Not until supper at least."
"That would only be the decent thing to do," Taylor remarked with a ghost of a smile. An hour and she still hadn't been able to make sense of her dream. It plagued her, and it made absolutely no sense. Why this dream? Why this vampire? What was so important about this one creature?
Her father, always the perceptive one when it came to her, immediately knew something was wrong. "Are you okay, kid?"
She thought about forcing on a fake smile and assuring him that she was. But she doubted he would believe her anyways.
"I just have this feeling like there's something I'm supposed to do but I don't know what it is," she admitted, chewing on her bottom lip. She just couldn't shake the feeling like there was something she needed to do, something she had to do. And all because of this dream. But what?
"Is there any reason for this sudden feeling?" he sat across from her on the old worn couch as she sat curled up on her favourite chair.
Taylor considered telling him about her dream, but quickly shoved that thought away. She remembered what had happened the last time she had talked with her parents about her dreams. She had nearly been sent to the loony bin and had suffered through painful appointments with her mother's psychologist friend. No, telling her father about this dream wouldn't be a good idea at all. The last thing she wanted was to be locked up and the key thrown away. Not when she had this strange desire to do something.
But the look her father was sending her was just making it so damn hard to keep anything from him. She just wanted to be a child again, to be able to run into his arms for comfort. But she was nearing nineteen, an adult. She couldn't always seek her father's comfort.
"You know you can tell me whatever it is, right? I know your mother and I haven't always been the most supportive when it has come to your…" he trailed off with a frown. "I'm here, kid. I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me."
Damn it.
Taylor sighed as her shoulders slumped forward. "I've had this dream," when her father merely nodded at her in encouragement, she found the strength to continue. "And it's always the same one, over and over again."
"It's because of this dream that you have this feeling?"
"I guess so," she nodded, still unsure. "I don't know what it means, though. That's what's so confusing. I have no idea what it means, but…"
"You just know," he finished for her.
"It doesn't make sense, does it?" she was almost afraid of his opinion.
She was surprised when a small smile appeared on his lips as he leaned forward and captured her hand with his large one. "Sometimes things just don't make sense, kid. Sometimes you just have to take that gut feeling and go with it."
"But what if I don't know what that gut feeling is?"
"You'll know," he assured her. "Maybe not right now. But when the timing is right, you'll know."
Taylor didn't know if she believed him, but it was all she could latch onto at the moment. All she could do was hope he was right, and that eventually, she would know exactly what to do.
Two more nights passed. Two more dreams.
Before another could occur, Taylor was throwing whatever clothes she could find into a duffel bag. She didn't know where she needed to go, exactly, or even why. But she needed to leave Ohio. She needed to leave the comfort of her family's farm and figure out why in the world she was having this dream.
She needed to find this vampire.
Taylor didn't know if he existed. She didn't know where she would even start looking for him if she did know. But she just couldn't sit there and stew about it any longer. Her father said she would know when the time was right. So she was going.
Her father knew the moment she stepped out of the house before the sun had even risen. He was shoveling the porch before heading over to the barn to meet with their farm hand to begin the day's work. He glanced up at her in surprise, but knew immediately what his only daughter needed to do.
"Do you need anything? Money?" he leaned the shovel against the porch railing as he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"No," Taylor shook her head, clutching onto her father's heavy jacket. It would be the last time she had her father's warmth for a while. "I think I'm fine."
"You call if you need anything, all right?" he told her pointedly. "I don't care what it is. If you need something, or if you're in trouble, you call me immediately."
She nodded against his chest. "What about Mom?"
"I'll deal with her. You just take care of yourself."
A lump formed in her throat as she pulled out of her father's arms. "I don't even know where I'm going."
He paused before digging into his coat pocket and fishing out the keys to the old red truck that had been sitting in the driveway abandoned for nearly a year since the newer model had been bought. "This might help."
"Dad…" Taylor's eyes grew wide. "I can't."
"It was going to be your birthday gift anyways," he shrugged, pushing the keychain into her hands. "Take it. I had old Rusty take a look at it last week. It's as good as new; shouldn't give you any problems. It'll take you wherever you need to get to."
She swallowed hard, trying to keep her emotions in check. "How can you be okay with me just leaving?"
"Because you're not the only one who has a feeling," he explained, squeezing her shoulder in comfort. "I trust you, kid. You say you need to do this, so okay. Do this. But be safe, for your parent's sake."
Taylor stole one last hug before moving towards the stairs. If she didn't leave now, she would lose her nerve. And she couldn't let that happen. Whatever these dreams were, they were sending her a message. Taylor was beginning to understand that now. All her life she had been unique, odd with a strange gift. She never liked to admit it, to open up about it. She just wanted to shove it away and pretend it didn't exist. But it did exist. It was very much real. It was about time she accepted that.
"Call me, kid," her father called after her with a heavy heart.
She paused by the truck, shooting her father one last glance before tossing her bag onto the passenger seat. She desperately hoped this wasn't a lost cause. But Taylor also couldn't help but be scared that it wasn't, that this all could be true, that he could actually be real.
Because if he was, what the hell was she getting herself into?
A/N: And the rewrite begins! I'm really excited about this. I've been considering this for awhile, and just decided to go for it. I'm not sure if I'm going to delete A Moment Changes Anything and the sequel or not, but it will be up for a little while longer at the very least. This WILL follow a similar premise, but WILL be significantly different at the same time. Enjoy!