A/N: I first have to apologize for the delay. Life happens and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. I need to gets down on knees and kisses the very ground that Kristine, my beta, walks on. She is amazing for taking time out to beta for me. I can't thank you enough honey.
Also I want to thank everyone for leaving their reviews they mean so much to me.
My eyes opened slowly. Grunting with protest, I gradually turned my head towards the bright, glowing alarm clock. I slept for a full eight hours. I do have to say it was so nice to be back in my own bed. Though the hotel bed had been really comfortable, it just wasn't the same. I turned my head, facing the dark ceiling and closed my eyes once again. I had one hour before I was supposed to be up for class. As I lay there in my morning haze, my mind slowly registered something was wrong. No, something was missing. I tried to recall what that could be. I wracked my brain trying to recall yesterday's events; I had remembered the competition, flying home, my monologue, seeing Zoey (which brought a smile to my face), Zoey's ritual, and then I ran thru the people I knew. Cole, TJ, Zoey, Damien, Shaunee, Erin, and Stevie Rae; it hit right then and there. Stevie Rae… she was gone. How could I have forgotten that? My mind raced with images that I'd subconsciously suppressed.
I raked my palms against my eyes in protest of what I was seeing. I had hoped it was just a bad dream, I guess I was wrong. I forced my eyes open and looked over to the once empty bed next to me. Jack was curled up into a tiny ball. His young, boyish face was red from a night filled with tears. I didn't even hear him come in last night. I wondered how he was handling all of this. After all he had only been here a couple of days. I had to remember that this was all new for him.
My mind naturally drifted to Zoey. I wondered if she was okay. Did she sleep at all last night? Did she cry? Last night, it was excruciating for me to leave. Everything told me to stay but I knew I couldn't and it ate me up inside that I couldn't be there for her. I threw off the covers and made myself get up. I wasn't sleeping anymore and I refused to sit here and think about what I should of done. I shuffled to the bathroom to start my morning routine. I got dressed in the dark, so I wouldn't wake Jack; lord only knows he needed sleep right now.
I made my way down to the common room. It was blissfully quiet as I walked into the kitchen. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat at the kitchen table. About halfway through my breakfast, I heard the front door open and then a gentle tap as it closed. Curious to see who would be coming in at this hour, I peered around the corner to notice Damien tip-toeing through the common room.
"Damien, what are you doing?" I asked quietly.
He gasped sharply and froze at the sound of my voice. As soon as he recognized that it was just me, he immediately relaxed.
"Oh god Erik, you scared the crap out of me," he paused to catch his breath and sauntered over to me. "I stayed with Zoey last night."
I stared at him in shock. He did what? I had a twinge of jealousy and anger. Why should I be angry? He was just her friend and, for crying out loud, he was gay. With the silly notion out of my head I focused on the jealousy part. I was jealous that it wasn't me staying with her. I was too chicken shit to break a simple rule to be with her, when she needed me the most. Another wave of guilt flashed over me for the hundredth time in less than ten hours.
"Wait a minute! you spent the night in the girl's dorm?" I asked furrowing my brows.
"Yes, I couldn't sleep last night and something told me to get up and go stay with her last night. Shaunee and Erin were there as well," he added, probably for my benefit. I nodded quickly and looked away.
Why didn't I just stay? But I was grateful she didn't spend last night alone in her room. A sense of relief washed over me. She made it through the night.
"I wish I could have been there for her," I said aloud, not really intending for him to hear.
"I know and she understands, but you have all day with her now."
"What?" I asked knowing that we had class in less than an hour.
"School has been cancelled today due to the snow storm. I found out on my way over to the girl's dorm. They posted it late last night. We have a free day," he said with a half smile.
We had talked about a movie later on today, but an all day movie-marathon would be fun - a much-needed distraction.
"Why don't we go over in less than an hour or so and watch a bunch of movies and just relax today," I said with a little bit of enthusiasm. The prospect of holding her in my arm all day, made me smile just a little.
"Sounds great, I need to shower and get something to eat. I'll meet you in the common room in about thirty minutes, okay?" I nodded and he turned to walk away.
"Hey Damien."
"Yeah?"
"How did Jack handle last night?" I asked timidly. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know or not.
"He took it pretty hard. I have to remember he has only been here for three days and that was a lot for him to take in. He is very confused and sad by her death. I tried to reassure him that it doesn't happen often but that it is a reality of our lives and that things happen for a reason and though they aren't always fair, we can't fight our destiny." I nodded my head in agreement and smiled that he used my own wording to convey the same meaning to someone else who was distraught over the situation.
"Go get ready and I will see you soon," I said as I spooned in another bit of cereal. He turned and disappeared up the staircase, leaving me, once again, in total silence. I walked over to the heavily draped curtain and pulled it back to reveal a wintery wonderland that covered the entire school courtyard. It reminded me of a white Christmas and it wasn't even December yet. Tulsa is just a weird town to live in, but it was my home for the past three years, you get used to it.
I finished my cereal and headed back up to my room. As I crept back into the quiet room, I was startled to see that Jack was already up. He sat with his head propped up on the headboard. His eyes were puffy but no tears were present.
"Hey Jack, how you feeling?" I asked as I made my way to my bed.
"Ok," he signed. "A little tired but other than that …okay." He closed his eyes and took a few slow, deep breaths.
"I am so sorry you had to deal with that so soon," I said wanting to say more and reach out to comfort him.
"That's okay. Damien told me that it happens and we don't know why. I just didn't expect it to happen to Stevie Rae," Jack mumbled softly with his head hanging down.
"I know." Was all I could say.
"I am going to get ready for school." He scooted off the bed and headed for the bathroom.
"Oh, we don't have class today. They're giving us a snow day."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"What are we supposed to do today?" he asked softly, rubbing his palms over his eyes.
"We are going to watch movies in the girl's common room, want to come?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'd like that," he said softly.
He gave me a small smile and walked into the bathroom. I ran my hand through my hair tying to think of what we could watch. I wanted it to be something that would get Zoey's mind off of yesterday's events. I stood up and strolled over to my vast collection of DVD's. I stopped on my old faithful box set. It was the one that helped me after Paul's death. TJ and Cole watched it with me nonstop for days. Yeah, I was pretty pathetic. I pulled the Star Wars box set and grinned. Yeah, this would definitely help.
I heard a faint knock on my door. I quickly opened it to find Cole standing in the door with a pitiful expression on his face.
"I'm so sorry. I heard about Stevie Rae. Are you okay?" he asked softly, trying to judge my reaction. I knew that he was referring to last year but I had clearly moved on - to an extent, anyways.
"Yeah Cole, I'm doing well. It was difficult to watch but my attention was on Zoey. So I'm doing better than I thought." I hoped he could see past my little lie. Everything about last night lingered in my mind. But for today, and possibly the next few days, I would have to push it out of my mind. Today was about Zoey. She was my main concern.
"Good," he said half smiling up at me. "So, did you know we don't have school today?" He fumbled with the door jam.
"Yeah, I do."
"What are you doing today?" he asked, finally walking through the threshold. I lifted the box set up for him to see. He let out a loud, boisterous laugh combined with a snort. "You have got to be joking," he quirked up an eyebrow. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Yes, it helped me - and besides, Zoey and I didn't really get to fully enjoy the first disk. We were …distracted."
"I bet you were," he grinned widely, wagging his eye brows.
At that moment Jack opened the bathroom door, saving me from Cole's quest for more details about that night. I wasn't giving him anything and that pissed him off to no end. So, any chance he got to probe me about it, he would. I got off lucky today. Jack's head popped up and stopped as soon as he noticed Cole's voice.
"Oh…umm hi," Jack said softly. His eyes looked down and slightly away from us.
"Oh, sorry Jack. This is my friend Cole, Cole this is my new roommate Jack," I said as I motioned with my hand back and forth.
Cole's massive hand stretched out to shake Jack's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jack. Welcome to the House of Night."
Jack gently placed his delicate hand into Cole's, watching it disappear as Cole gripped it and lightly shook it.
"Thanks," was all he said.
"Hey, do you want to come with us," I asked Cole, lifting up the box to taunt him.
"I don't know if I can watch those again."
"Shaunee will be there," I teased.
A smile flashed onto his face at the idea of seeing Shaunee - or the idea I put in his head about the caramel colored Juliet. Oh yeah, he was going.
Jack let out a laugh and then slapped his hands over his mouth. He remembered. I let out my own chuckle as I looked back at the shit-eating grin on Cole's face. Priceless.
"Hell yes, count me in. I guess I can stand to watch that one more time. For you, man," he said, still smiling. He emphasized the end part as if he would be there for me, yeah I knew better.
"Okay! I will see you in about thirty minutes in the common room," I said quickly.
He nodded and walked out of the room. Jack gave me another smile, bigger than the one earlier. It made me happy that he could see an upside to all this tragedy. I grinned back as he went back into the bathroom. I sat back down onto my bed and waited until Jack was ready to go.
Once Jack and I made our way to the common room, we were greeted by Damien who was eating a bowl of cereal. He waved us over.
"Good morning Jack… how did you sleep?" he asked softly. His voice was tender and kind. It seemed like he really cared about Jack.
"Good, better now," he said timidly, while glancing from me back to Damien.
"Good. You worried me last night," Damien said, while placing a hand on his shoulder.
They exchanged a few glances. I looked away, giving them their space. I suddenly felt like a third wheel. Awkward.
Once Damien and Jack both finished breakfast, they looked over at me.
"You ready to go, Erik?" Damien asked.
"Umm, I invited Cole to come with us. He should be down any minute now," I said as I quickly peeked around Jack's body to the stairs.
"Oh, I think Shaunee would like that very much," Damien said with a giggle.
"I'll meet you both there."
"Ok, Erik we'll see you there." Damien and Jack both said together as they walked towards the door.
Only a few minutes later did Cole make his grand appearance. "It's about damn time man."
He huffed at me, "Yeah, yeah. Let's go watch your stupid ass movie. I have a date with my Juliet." He smirked as he gestured toward the door.
It took us no time to get over to the girl's dorm room. The snow had slowed down to a light dusting, it wasn't that bad walking across the courtyard. Once we were in the warm common room, we noticed everyone was down except Zoey and Shaunee. I quickly started to panic before I realized that Shaunee was flying down the stairs. She blurted out to the group, "She's on her way."
She stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of Cole. I looked over to see him sharing her dazed expression as they gazed into each other's eyes. I grinned in triumph as I walked over to Cole.
"Cole, I would like you to meet Shaunee. Shaunee, I would like you to finally meet Cole."
"You were wonderful yesterday," she said, with a hint of flirtatious smile.
He smirked back, "Thank you."
For the first time, I could tell you that Shaunee was speechless. She didn't make any obscene comments or gestures. She just stared at Cole with a star struck look. It was actually cute on her.
"So Juliet, where do I sit?" he asked, leaving it up to Cole to break the ice and show his true colors.
She let out a nervous laugh and pointed to the two plush chairs on the right side of the couch. Erin was fixated on the entire encounter and waved for them to come over. He swiped a chair and sat it in between the Twins, brave man.
I noticed a movie already playing so I placed my faithful selection by the TV and walked over to 'our' love seat. I glanced around the room to notice that it was filling up with girls in pajamas and blankets as they settled in for the same option we were going for, a movie marathon.
Everyone was chatting in the background, talking about anything and everything, all at once. It was awkward at first but as everyone was relaxing in their normal spots it became doableto move on without Stevie Rae. We didn't have to like it but it was a part of our lives, a part of who we are, and what we will become. A Vampyre.
Cole was inching his chair in between the Twins. I smiled at the sight only wishing, now, that I invited TJ to come along; maybe next time. Damien and Jack were sitting comfortably on the floor in front of the love seat.
I sat there listening to Shaunee gush over Cole, while Erin offered her opinion whether he wanted to hear it or not. He was brave to face them both like that! He should get the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery. Damien and Jack discussed the normal House of Night rules and guidelines. We all were oblivious of the movie when we heard Zoey's timid voice from behind us, "Hi guys."
We all turned in unison towards her and, as a group, we greeted her. We sounded like a typical AA group greeting. She gave us a weak smile and started to walk towards me. My heart raced as she sat down beside me. I placed my arm around her and squeezed her for what seemed like a minute. I relished the fact that she smelled like herself again. I was relieved that she was finally in my arms. I didn't want to let her go. Memories and feelings from last night crept up and I squeezed harder, trying to convey how much I missed her and how I wanted to be there for her. I forced myself to push my feelings aside. Today was for Zoey, to help her.
Taking in her scent, I smiled without looking away and announced, "Good. Now that Z's here we can start the marathon."
"You mean the dork-a-thon," Shaunee said with a snort.
Erin added, "If it was the weekend we could call it the geek-end."
Zoey looked up at me with a growing smile, "Let me guess, you brought the DVD's." Her smile alone made me victorious in my movie selection, once again.
"Yep! I did!" I said, popping the 'p'. I smiled back at her. Everyone groaned in unison. Babies.
"Which means we're watching Star Wars," she said, as her smile reached up to her eyes. God, I missed that smile. It was what I wanted - and needed - to see yesterday.
"Again," Cole added for good measure.
"Are you saying that you're not a big Star Wars fan?" Shaunee asked.
He quickly glanced over at me and back at Shaunee. With a huge smile he answered, "Watching Erik's long extended director's cut of Star Wars for the millionth time is not why I came over here. I ama fan, but it's not of Darth and Chewbacca."
"Are you saying Princess Leia does it for you?" Shaunee quipped.
"No, I'm more colorful than that," he said while leaning closer to her. Oh he's good.
"I'm not here because I'm a fan of Star Wars either," Jack piped in. He gave Damien a shy but loving look.
Erin let out a giddy laugh, "Well, we all know Princess Leia doesn't do it for you."
"Thankfully," Damien blurted out, returning the same loving look.
Without thinking I divulged, "I wish Stevie Rae was here. She'd be all, y'all aren't bein' very niiice," I said, trying to use my most persuasive Okie accent. After all, she was the only voice missing from this happy moment. But as soon as the words left my mouth, everyone stopped laughing and just fucking stared at me. I felt my face flame up in embarrassment. What the hell was I doing? I had every intention of not mentioning her name, to help everyone move on, but now I had to be the first one to open my big, dumb mouth and possibly screw up a great day. I wasn't sure what to expect. Should I duck and cover or run for the hills. As if she answered my internal berating in my head, Zoey smiled up at me and rested her head on my shoulder. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I was relieved when I heard Zoey speak against my chest as she continued to look directly at me.
"You're right. Stevie Rae would be scolding us like a momma."
We continued to share our favorite moments, sayings, and actions. Everyone added their own Okie twang to mimic Stevie Rae's one-of-a-kind accent.
"Uh, can I sit with you guys?" a sad, hoarse voice asked from behind us. It was the guy from last night, Drew Partain, the one who had his eye on Stevie Rae. Zoey smiled kindly at him before answering him and pointing to a seat next to Erin. I smirked to myself as I saw the dynamic duo gawking at poor Drew. I felt sorry for the guy but this should make for an interesting afternoon.
"Hey, I'm going to make us some popcorn. Plus, I need my -"
"Brown pop," Damien, the Twins, and I said in harmony.
I felt Zoey roll her eyes as she wiggled out of my arms and headed into the kitchen.
I took my cue and strolled over to the TV, ejecting the unwatched movie, The Mummy Returns.
As the TV flashed to channel 4 News, a quick segment of another missing boy within the Tulsa area flashed up onto TV. A picture was plastered on the screen of a boy dressed in a football uniform. Somehow the picture looked familiar, but I was certain I didn't know him. Just before the news broke for commercial, the name Heath Luck flickered underneath the jocks photo. Oh shit.
I ran into the kitchen to get Zoey. Even thought she didn't need any more stress or any more deaths, I was still compelled to inform her about Heath.
When I saw her in the kitchen she had her eyes closed and her body pressed up against the counter, in thought. She looked at peace and I was about to deliver some more bad news that would destroy her completely. It wasn't bad enough she lost her best friend yesterday, but now she is probably going to lose Heath as well.
As the popcorn popped in the background, I closed the short distance between us.
"Zoey, you need to come into the living room," I all but yelled over the noise.
Her eyes flew open in surprise as she stared at me. My face was in the state of shock and concern. I was sure she could see the urgency in my face.
"What's going on?" she asked, still staring directly my eyes.
I took her hand. "Just come on," I said unable to deliver her any more bad news. We hurried out of the kitchen. All I could get out was that it was the news. We abruptly stopped in the common room where everyone in the room was staring at our TV screen when the segment popped up again recapping what had happened.
Review and tell me who your favorite Star Wars character is..... mine is the Ewoks. They are short and cute just like me. :D
