Chapter One
Beep..Beep...Beep.
"Child of mine, I swear if you don't wake up to stop that noise, I will end you." An annoyed voice floated in through the closed door.
A groan sounded from the girl's lips, her head aching as she blindly lifted her arm and searched for the source of the obnoxious noise. Her fingers skimmed along a piece of plastic and she eventually found the snooze button, unnecessarily slamming her whole hand on to it, receiving the peaceful quiet that she so wanted.
"Aella!" The same tone as before broke the silence along with a loud slam of a door. The girl blinked her weary eyes open and immediately regretted doing so because the light from the open window stung sharply.
"Alarm clocks were made to get a person up, not to frustrate the said person's mother to death by the bloody noise it makes."
Aella groaned again, this time tossing onto her other side to face the side of the room that
was absent of any windows. "Mum, go away." She managed to mumble, pulling the covers over her head.
Her efforts were useless because her mother tended to be completely ruthless in the mornings. Her duvet was yanked away, making her vulnerable to the brightly lit room. "Aella, if you do not get up now, you will be late and if you're late, then it makes me look bad, and if I look bad then no one will learn to respect me and if no one will learn to respect me then I lose my high position at the firm and-"
"Jesus, mother, enough." Aella finally moaned, forcing her eyes back open and swinging her legs over the side of her bed, taking a moment to fully wake up. "I hate when you guilt trip." She turned, glaring at the woman standing across from her.
Her mother glared back, hand on her hip and fully dressed in her work suit, black A-line skirt and pretty purple blouse. "Well, I hate when you don't get your lazy ass out of bed without my pushing."
Now, fully awake, Aella lips pulled up in her signature mischievous smirk. "Mhm, you're right, mum. Without you, I'd simply be nowhere." The sarcasm deeply leaked through and her mother scowled.
"You're too much like your father." She accused, but Aella easily shrugged the words off, getting up from her messy bed and making her way across the room to her dresser, digging through the articles of clothing as she searched for an outfit.
"Well, I haven't left you yet, so I mustn't be too much like him." Aella couldn't, but bitterly reply as she pulled out a pair of black jeans and a white v-neck.
"You're lucky we live miles away from your school because I'd otherwise make you walk." She replied after a few moments of silence and then tossed her daughter keys. "If you damage this one, then there will be no chance of me saving your ass to get a new one."
The younger girl just smiled, spinning the keys in her hand. "Love you too." Was all she said before shouldering past her mother and walking out of the room.
She finally calmed down once locked inside the bathroom, finally able to breathe and relax and put away the tough exterior for just a moment.
Aella tugged on the handles of the sink, letting the sound of the running water calm her aching mind. Mornings were never her strong point, and she always regretted them after staying up much too late the night before.
She glanced up in the mirror, taking the bruises under her emerald eyes and the way she looked too pale. But, living in a midwestern city that only saw the sun in summer seemed to cause such a color, or lack of.
Her red-brown hair was a curly mess surrounding her sharply boned face, framing it nicely. She tried to pull her lips into a smile as she evaluated her stature, but gave up with a groan as she reached into the water and splashed it on to her face.
She could hear the front door their house slam shut as she was pulling on her jeans, and automatically rolled her eyes. Of course, her mother would never take time to say a simple 'goodbye'. It was always rushing and rude, never loving and comforting. Well, it had been that way, but ever since Aella's father left three years ago, nothing had been the same,
Checking the time on her phone, she realized she was going to be late for school, again, if she didn't get out of the house within two minutes. And, if she were later again, she'd be marked truant, which meant another unsightly fine.
So, she quickly tugged her hair back into a lazy ponytail and yanked the bathroom door open, rushing down the stairs and taking them two at a time. She rushed into the kitchen, yanking on her shoes that lay by the doormat and grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard.
She stopped once more to grab her bag from the couch and then was sprinting out the door, quickly locking it and sprinting to her new car in the driveway.
Aella did pause to admire the vehicle, smirking as she roamed her eyes over the new model and, despite her mother being a complete prick almost all the time, she did appreciate the money she made and still had from her inheritance and divorce.
She jumped into the front seat, jamming the key in the ignition and pausing as she glanced for an aux cord, which she found quickly, silently thanking her mother as she plugged her iPod in and put it on shuffle. A fast-beat Fall Out Boy song came on and Aella grinned as she put the car into drive and started to pull out of their seemingly endless driveway.
One bad thing about having a mother with a lot of money : She chooses to live in the country because her house had to be huge (despite the fact that only two people live there) and she just had to have the long driveway surrounded by pine trees.
Aella pushed her annoyance away as she continued to drive, enjoying how smoothly the car drove on the gravel drive.
It was her morning drives that she loved the most. Even though, she absolutely resented mornings, she couldn't deny the beauty of a rising sun over field of tall grass and the smell of the morning dew drying from the grass.
Thinking of that, she rolled the front two windows down and reached for her bag that she had rested on the passenger seat, digging around in the front pocket without taking her eyes off the road.
She provided a pack of Marlboro Reds and a small lighter. Quickly, she flipped open the top and pulled a cigarette out, lighting it smoothly and carefully, never inhaling the first drag. She shoved the pack back in the pocket, turning up the music and leaning back to enjoy the ride.
She tried her best to tune out any thoughts while driving, just concentrating on the music, cigarette, and road. It usually worked, but that little comment from her mother kept entering and invading her mind, causing her to think of the damned man that had left her mother for a different, younger woman because he could never be pleased with what he had.
She had sworn she would never be like him. She would never abandon her mother no matter how difficult she could be, which was unbearable most of the time, but it wasn't without reason.
Aella was so caught up in these thoughts that she hardly realized the figure standing in the middle of the empty, country road.
It took her a moment to process, but when it did, she yelped, tossing the lit cigarette and grabbing the steering wheel with both hands as she swerved out of the way, foot slamming on the brake.
Her heart beat rapidly as the car came to a fast stop, tires screeching on the asphalt. She let out a shaking breath, knuckles white as she gripped the wheel tightly. Her eyes felt wide and alarmed as she slowly turned her head, glancing slightly behind and to the left of her.
Sure enough, the figure was still there and it proved to be a boy, completely shirtless, but dressed in white pants with no shoes. "What the fuck?" She whispered to herself in complete shock, mouth gaping open in surprise. Who the hell would be standing in the middle of a road in the middle of fucking nowhere in the dead of morning? She thought to herself, still looking at the boy that was now staring at her with a look of confusion.
Her mind immediately said : vampire, but shook the thought away as her eyes flickered to the morning sun. No vampire could withstand that light.
Well, only one way to find out. She decided, coming to grips with herself and turning the car off, pocketing the keys before stepping out of the vehicle.
"What are you doing?" She exclaimed once she was out, throwing her hands up in complete exasperation.
The boy still looked at her with confusion, not speaking. "Hello?" She tried again, moving closer, but slowly. "You're standing in the middle of the road, where cars tend to drive." His eyes narrowed at that slightly, cocking his head to the side.
"Where am I?" He finally spoke and now Aella was tilting her head to the side at the sound of his voice. It sounded soft, and calming, and...ancient, as if he had come from a time far away from this one.
He also looked old, but not old. His light brown hair was shorter and, from what Aella could see, he was covered in tribal looking tattoos. Her eyes glanced back up to his face, piercing pale blue eyes awaiting an answer.
"Illinois." She answered quietly, not breaking eye contact in fear that she was just imagining all of this.
"What year?" He pushed, taking a few steps closer to close the distance between them. He looked down on Aella, standing a few inches taller than her small frame. She could feel the heat radiating off of him and considered taking a step back, but she stayed in place, not wanting to make her fear obvious.
"It's 2010." She slowly answered, narrowing her eyes in curiosity.
The boy seemed more shocked now, taking a small step back and running a hand through his hair in what looked like frustration. But, as he turned slightly to glance at the still rising sun, his expression softened.
"Are you going to explain to me why you're out here in the middle of nowhere, standing in the road without a shirt?" She finally questioned, crossing her arms with defiance.
He slowly turned back, now a very, very small smile on his peaceful face. "My name is Godric and I've been reborn as a human."