Disclaimer: Don't own Mercy Thompson Series

Changes

It was late night and Andrea Martinez had found herself so far from home and unable to go back. Andrea had grown up in an abusive home in Medford, Oregon and in a last effort to protect her, her mother had sent her to relatives in Gibbon, Washington but life there seemed no better. Her relatives in Gibbon didn't want her there and she decided to run away and live on her own. She had then found herself barely scraping by and wondering what she could do from there. She had tried and tried to find work but without a home or high school diploma she was finding it practically impossible. She had run out of money and was running low on hope.

She was panhandling on the side of 9th street in Benton City when an oddly painted Volkswagen van drove up and stopped in front of her it looked like the mystery machine from Scooby Doo. She stepped up to the opening window expecting to be either propositioned for prostitution, which meant she would refuse and walk away or offered some small amount of money that she would take while trying to hide her reluctance to do so.

"What happened to cause a young woman such as you to walk the streets like this?" the man's thick Italian accent caught Andrea off guard but there was more to him that made Andrea wonder about him.

The question had brought her up short, she had no idea how she would explain to him why she ran away from home. She looked away from him.

"You ran away, didn't you?" he inferred "Might I ask why?"

Andrea was getting increasingly uncomfortable and stepped back away from the vehicle hoping the stranger would give up and leave. She wondered how he had her pegged so quickly. Instead of leaving he turned on his hazard lights, got out of the vehicle and approached her.

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Stefan watched as the teenager became increasingly apprehensive at his questions and he began to worry about what could have possibly been so bad about home that this girl thought the streets were better. When she stepped away from the van he began to get a better picture of what the answers might be and he found the ideas that crossed his mind troubled him greatly. He turned on the hazard lights and got out of his van. Had he not already set his sights on her, his mind had been made up by this encounter with her. She was skinny and frightened in a world that seemed so cruel to her, he wanted to show her that not everyone was like that; he wanted to show her the kindness she had obviously not experienced before.

"What happened to you?" he asked; his voice soft.

"Why do you even care?" she snapped back anger covering what he could only assume were years of pain and fear.

Stefan stayed silent for a moment noting that the girl in front of him was short, possibly under five feet tall and likely underweight. Her long, jet black hair was dirty as if she had been on the streets for days or maybe even weeks and her face hinted at her possibly being Hispanic or Native American or some mix thereof.

"I was abused… okay… is that what you want to hear?" she demanded defensively. "That my dad abused me?"

"Is it true?" he asked his voice soft and calming.

She looked at him trying to get answers from his posture and expression.

"Yes," he noticed her tone had changed from defensive to something reflecting more of what Stefan saw in her posture and expressions. Shame, guilt, fear and so many other emotions that he couldn't or just didn't want to name were spread over her face. She began to look more exhausted and so much younger than she had when he first pulled up. At first he had thought she was in her twenties but looking at her now made him think she was still in her mid to late teens.

Andrea didn't recognize her own voice when she responded to the stranger's question of if what she had said was true. She was stunned when powerful arms pulled her close in an embrace. His skin was cold to the touch and Andrea wondered what this man was. Either way, the touch of another was still comforting and she returned the embrace as sobs began to rack her body despite her best efforts to keep them at bay. His cool skin felt so good compared to the stifling heat of the near record high temperatures she had experienced since running away that made her wonder if running away in the middle of a July heat wave was such a smart move.

She had heard rumors and myths that said that vampires were real, but she didn't believe them. Now she wondered if the Good Samaritan that seemed to care so much about her was a vampire or something else. She had heard that vampires had cold skin among other traits that this man exhibited that lead her to her suspicion.

"Why did you come here to me?" she asked pushing out of the embrace and the stranger let go, "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I want to help you," he replied simply, figuring that building a relationship on lies was never a good idea.

"Why would you help me?" she asked, "You don't even know me!"

"You've had a hard time so far, but that doesn't mean you can't have a better life than that." He replied "Just let me help you."

"I…" she hesitated not sure what this man wanted in return for his help, "I don't know". She turned away from him, hugging herself insecurely. She was hesitant to trust him, and it wasn't just because she didn't know him.

"My name is Stefan," he said.

"Andrea" She replied.

"How about I buy you a hot meal and we can talk about what I am offering." Stefan proposed.

Andrea was tempted to refuse but her growling stomach reminded her that she had not eaten in a few days.

"Okay," she replied.

"Good," Stefan smiled slightly and they got into the van together.

True to his word Stefan bought Andrea food from a local diner to go and sat in the back of his van with her as she ate he would have gone the fast food route but he figured after so many days of not eating she needed the more substantial portions of the diner and the fact that the meal came with vegetables and a main course that looked a hundred times more healthy than a fast food cheeseburger didn't hurt. He could tell she had been a while without food by her build and the sound her stomach was making. He waited to let her eat before he started asking questions, he wanted her to get her fill not worry about thinking about what he had to say to her.

He gave his proposal for her to come live with him once it seemed she had eaten her fill carefully hiding the fact that he was a vampire.

Andrea looked at the last few bites of her food for a moment her mind going over her options. Broke and starving on the street or living in a home with consistent, hot meals, a place to bathe and a warm bed to sleep in.

"What will this cost me?" she asked not used to having anything come her way for free. She looked into Stefan's eyes for a moment then began to realize her suspicion was right. She began to think about things, was it worth it to surrender herself to a vampire to get the necessities of life. Could she live with herself if she chose this path, true living with the vampire couldn't be much worse than living with her father, really given how he had treated her thus far it seemed like life with Stefan would be better than life with her father.

"You aren't human are you?" she asked looking away from his eyes fear edging into her tone, "You need me for some reason."

"You're a smart young woman" he observed, "Yes I kind of do need you, but it seems you need me more."

"Are you like a vampire?"

"Something like that…"

"Wait, if you're a vampire and you bite me won't I become…"

"It is neither that quick nor that simple to become a vampire." He explained, as Andrea seemed to relax.

Andrea weighed her options a life with a vampire, which provided a roof over her head, three meals a day and a bed or a life on the streets barely surviving. She looked Stefan over; he seemed nice enough, better than her father or other relatives.

"There are others like you living with me so when I do take from you; it won't be any more than your body can handle losing." He further explained that the home and food would not be her only reward for allowing him to feed from her from time to time. He explained that she would gain prolonged life and abilities that he possessed via him giving her a little of his own blood.

She rolled the ideas around in her head and soon agreed to the proposition as she finished her meal.

"Rest now, the ride to Pasco will take some time." He told her and got into the driver seat while Andrea made herself comfortable in the back seat.

Soon they were off on their way to Stefan's home and Andrea's final thought before the darkness of sleep overtook her was that she hoped this was the right decision.

To Be Continued…