K*H*W* (go to my profile :)
Chapter Two
I stared up at the sky with wide eyes. I felt the cement under my body and feel a dampness spreading throughout my hair. I managed to push myself up into a sitting position. The dampness suddenly spills down my back and I shivered at the coldness of it. I was lying down on the sidewalk in front of my old house with Owen. How did I get outside? I had died inside right in front of the stairs. Did someone drag me-
"Miss, are you okay?"
I looked around to see a small crowd of people standing all around me. I looked at the person talking. It is a lady with shoulder length brown hair and bluish gray eyes. She looked me up and down then barked at the crowd. "Men, turn your eyes!"
I looked at myself to find that my clothes are in tatters and that large parts of my skin are exposed. I tried to cover myself with my hands as the men in the crowd turned their heads to the sky. The lady handed me a large gray bubble jacket. I put it on and find that it reaches my thighs.
"Do you need pants?" The woman held my arm steady. I nodded and a blond woman handed me some baggy long-johns.
"Thank you." I said, putting them on. I looked at the tatters of clothes that now lie at my feet.
The brown-headed woman picked them up. "I'll throw them away for you." She looked at me. "What's your name?"
"Annie." I said. "Annie Sawyer." I gazed at the men that turned back around at the mention of my name.
One of the younger men spoke, "Didn't an Owen date an Annie Sawyer? They had gotten engaged about three years ago. I know him."
"That was me!" I said, feeling slightly dizzy at the turn of events.
The crowd looked at me. "Did he do this to you?" The blond woman asked.
I nodded. "He had pushed me down the stairs. And he had cheated on me while we were engaged with a Janey. She works at a hair salon." I scowled. "She is orange."
The women laughed at my expression. The men clenched their fists. "We'll get you some justice." The young man said, his brows furrowing.
I grinned. "Thanks."
They all walked me off to a cab. "Best of luck." The brown-headed woman said to me. "Ask Mitchell if he remembers my little boy, okay?"
I nodded. "How is he doing?"
"Just fine." The woman smiled. "Jackson is growing up nice and strong."
I smiled. "I'll pass on the news, Fleur."
"Mitchell mentioned me to you?"
"Oh yes," I said, "We were dating."
"Good for you. He's a nice man."
She closed the cab door for me and waved. I looked at the cab driver.
He turned toward me. "Where are you headed- Jesus Christ!" He looked me up and down with green eyes. "What happened to you?"
"I had an abusive boyfriend." I felt my head wound sting. It brought tears to my eyes. "I have no money, I'm so-"
"Don't worry about it." The cab driver handed me a tissue. "It isn't the one you're dating now, is it? The Mitchell fellow?" He shook his dirty blond hair from his head.
"No," I said, dabbing at my eyes. I glanced down at my coat to see that blood is dripping down on it. "A boyfriend from three years ago, a fiancé, sir. He must have put me in a coma because I woke up outside of the house. I can't believe no one saw me lying there on the sidewalk for three years."
The cabbie grinned and started the car. "That's how people are these days." He told me his name: Dale. "Where are you headed to?"
I stared out the cab as the buildings began to flash by. I told him absently the address to the house in Wales. The throbbing in my head began to tone down as exhaustion took place.
He whistled. "I'm sorry, miss. That is a long way from here, several cities at least."
I stiffened and made my voice pleading. "Can you drive me as far as you can? I can walk."
"I'm afraid so." Dale sighed, "I don't like the idea of a pretty little thing like you walking though. I have a buddy you can stay with a few cities over. He has a sister, nice girl. Her name is Kate. You might be able to stay with them for a while." He looked at my head and jacket. "They'll clean you up too. The most I have as a hospital in here is some tissues and a Band-Aid."
I managed a grateful smile. "Thank you so much Dale."
He smiled at me. "No problem. Now go on," his green eyes were warm, "you look like you're about to pass out."
He was right. I could feel myself sinking into sleep. "Okay." My eyelids dropped.
"Tell me your name." Dale murmured as he turned on some jazz then adjusted the volume to where it was in the background.
"Annie."
Darkness slammed on me as I fell asleep.
I woke up in someone's arms. I screamed and struggled, remembering the way it felt when Owen held me in his grip to force me to the edge of the stairs.
"Annie, it's all right!" The arms loosened their hold and I opened my eyes to see green eyes. Dale.
"P-put me down." I gasped, feeling sick with the echoing fear of being pushed down the stairs.
Dale placed me gently feet-first on the ground. I felt my face pale as dizziness rushed up to my head. Dale steadied me. "Easy, Annie."
We were on the sidewalk walking into a house. The front door was ajar and then it burst open as a young man and woman exploded from it. "Dale!" The young man yelled.
He had brown hair and blue eyes, while the young woman had darker brown hair but lighter blue eyes. The woman froze when she caught sight of me. She yanked for the man's shoulder who stopped and stood by her. She gestured at me with a nod and the man stared at me.
"Are you okay?" The woman walked toward me in a slower pace.
"Kate," Dale spoke, "this is Annie. She's had a rough few days."
"Rough?" The man scowled. "She's bleeding and bruised, Dale. You didn't do this, did you?"
Dale shook his head. "No, some other lucky bastard who won't get beaten up, Jonathan."
Jonathan looked at me with a warmer look in his eyes. He walked to me and extended his hand. "Just call me Jonas." He smiled at me.
Kate wrapped me in a tentative hug. "I can clean you right up, Annie." She said in a gentle voice.
They were shaking and wobbling as I stood still. I didn't understand why they were moving about so much until I realized that I was trembling so hard that my vision was become distorted. Jonas and Kate took me inside the house.
Kate made me sit down outside the bathroom -it was on the second floor- on the floor with my head between my knees. Dale gave me a glass of water. "You look a bit sick," he noted.
I nodded and the pain in my head made me moan.
Kate ran from downstairs with a first aid kit in her hands. "I worked at the hospital for a time." She said as she parted my hair to find the wound. "Volunteer services."
I tried to keep up. "Mitchell did too, he was my boyfriend."
"Was?" She sprayed something on the wound that made my vision swim. I groaned. She winced. "Sorry!"
I nodded at her. "It's fine. It hurt more than I thought." She gently dabbed away the blood. "We fell out a time before I woke up."
"Dale told me that you woke up on the sidewalk of the house Owen pushed you. When did you meet Mitchell?"
I compensated for my missed facts. "I had dated Mitchell a time before I met Owen. Then when we fell out, I found Owen. I loved him and he proposed. Then he was convinced that I had cheated on him and pushed me down the stairs. I think he knocked me in a coma because that was when I woke up on the sidewalk."
Kate nodded. Dale caught her up fast. She was silent while she dressed my head injury more. Then she told me to go to the bathroom to take a shower. "I think that's the only injury you have. Look yourself over while you're showering and tell me whether you find more scratches. I'll treat them after you eat."
I stood up to hug her. "Thanks, Kate."
She hugged me back. "You're very welcome. And stay for as long as you need to. Dale might drive you out to another city so you can get back to your friend. Is it just you two?"
"No. We had lived with a few friends and two of them had a baby together." I smiled at the thought of seeing Nina, George, Eve, Tom, and Hale again. "I'll be taking my shower now." I murmured.
She smiled and then said, "Towels are already inside. I left you a few things to take with you. I've been meaning to clean out my closet for a while. I even had a few bags I could give you." She grinned and then walked downstairs.
I walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light. The bathroom was a creamy color with light green towels and a shower curtain. There were several pairs of pants, shirts, and sweaters on the sink's counter. I looked around for the bags and found them on the floor next to the toilet. I felt my eyes swell up. Thank you, Kate.
I pulled back the shower curtain and turned on the water. I couldn't find any more scratches but I had a few deep bruises on my hips and shoulders. I cursed Owen to the deepest pits of Hades while I showered. I gently scrubbed my body with the wash towel. I rinsed off and turned off the water.
I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off. I went through the clothes and found some soft flannel pajamas to put on. I packed the other clothes into the two suitcases. I had washed my hair in the shower and began to dry it with a towel.
I opened the bathroom door to go downstairs when I found Jonas standing by the stairs. He smiled at me. "Looking good, Annie."
I smiled back. "Thanks, Jonas." I looked at the steam wafting from the bathroom door. "Sorry if I used all the hot water, I haven't showered in so long."
Jonas waved it off. "No problem Annie. Go on downstairs and eat."
I grinned and headed downstairs. Kate was fixing four bowls of soup. She looked up when I approached the kitchen threshold. "Oh, Annie, look at you!"
I smiled shyly. "The shower was wonderful, Kate. I packed up the clothes in the bags you left for me. Thanks."
She peered at me with a glowing face. "Your soup is ready," she gestured to the table where three of the bowls with soup were. "Found anymore scratches?"
"No, but I have some bruises on my hips and shoulders." I said. "Can I keep that bubble jacket and long-johns? A friend gave me those." I remembered the Lauren and the blond woman from. . . How long was that?
Kate guided me to the table. "I'll wash those for you." She sat down at the table when she had her bowl of soup in her hand. "Dale, Jonas! Come down to eat!" She called the boys.
Sitting here reminded me of eating with Mitchell, George, and Nina. I felt my eyes begin to water and wiped the tears away before Kate could see. Jonas and Dale walked into the kitchen. Dale's eyes widened when he looked at me. "Annie, you look so much better! It's like seeing a different person."
"I told you that a shower would do her good, Kate." Jonas bragged.
I smiled at Dale and after Kate blessed the food, we began to eat. I was suddenly ravenous when I spooned up the soup. I almost felt sick when I had finished my third bowl. Dale and Jonas had finished eating long before I did. They were all watching me with wide eyes.
"Sorry." I pushed the empty bowl away from me. "I-"
Dale waved it away. "You're supposed to eat when you're hungry, Annie."
I looked down at the table, feeling guilty. "Let me see, I owe you several things. First the clothes, then the shower-No wait," I backtracked. "First the bandages, then the clothes. And then shower, and now the food. I'm robbing you guys!"
Jonas took the bowl and pushed it on the sink. "Annie, you worry too much."
I frowned. "You're right. You know, Mitchell always told me that." I thought back, feeling my eyes mist up. "And George, and Nina. Hal told me that too. Tom didn't care." I stifled a sniffle.
Dale stood up from the table and pulled me up by my hands. He looked solemnly into my eyes. "Annie, go get some sleep."
Kate started the water in the sink. "Go show her the guest room, will you?"
"Will do." Dale said, a shadow flickering behind his eyes. He took me by the hand up the stairs. He crossed the hall and guided me to one of the guest rooms. "Here it is."
The room was just like the bathroom. Creamy walls with a bed with pale green bedspread. The furniture was a dark brown and added nicely to the homey feeling. I looked back at Dale, feeling touched. "Thank you."
Dale looked surprised. "For what, Annie?"
"For not forcing me out of that cab when I had no money." I spoke.
Dale smiled. "I would have done the same for Kate."
I smiled. "You would have too."
"I proposed to her a month before you showed up," Dale said. "Your story is teaching me to not be like that bastard Owen. I'll treat her and any woman I see well."
I went to sit on the bed, looking around the room. Dale suddenly looked very comfortable in my room. He looked at me. "Annie?" His voice was husky. He closed the door gently. I heard the lock click.
Nervousness pulsed through me. "Yes, Dale?"
His eyes went black for a moment. "I hate to do this, but I have to."
"D-do what?" My heart began to race.
"I haven't fed in a while. Kate doesn't know about this." His green eyes flashed black again. "About what I am. I'm going clean, I swear it! But this Mitchell guy, I think I met him before. He's just like me, Annie."
"I know." I tried to speak calmly. "I was a ghost before I woke up. Mitchell had been staked and I wanted him back."
"I wonder if Kate would have done the same for me, if she knew." Dale wondered. Then he stared at me with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry, Annie."
"Kate would have done the same for you without knowing about what you are." I gasped. I thought about running but realized that Dale blocked the door.
Dale edged toward me. "I know how to make this easier for you." He spoke, "I won't drain you entirely because I want to see you with Mitchell. Try to think of it like that."
I sat motionless on the bed, my heart in my throat. "Dale, please-"
Dale's eyes flashed black and the color stayed. He shook his head in defeat and stalked toward me. Dale knocked me against the bed before I could blink. His body was pinning me down to the bed and his hands were moving across my body, yanking down my shirt collar. "Sorry, Annie." I heard him say before his teeth clamped down on the crook of my neck.
Pain and fear shot through my veins as his teeth cut through my skin. My scream gets cut off when Dale pushed a pillow onto my face, muffling the sound.
