9. Deception

I held her firmly against my body, my hands all over her, hers in my hair. I pressed her gently against the wall and kissed her, taking in her scent. She jumped and wrapped her legs around my waist, kissing back. With her hands gripping my shirt, she got if off easily enough.

I walked up the stairs with grace, making each step as not to jostle her. When I laid her on the bed, I got a good look at her face. Her eyes were warm and familiar with mixed honey and chocolate. Her hair was brown as well, and her skin the same chestnut tan.

"Amber."

The spoke words of mine shattered the welcome dream. I bolted upright, drenched in sweat, and looked at the clock next to me. I fell back on the pillow as I realized it was four in the morning. I tried to force myself back to sleep for at least another hour or two, but I was wide awake as if someone dropped icy water on me.

Realizing I wouldn't be able to sleep, I swung my legs over the bed and tried to clear my head. Unlike my normal warning dream that I have gotten every night since I first got here, I dreamt of Amber. How she crept into my mind during the night I will never know. I haven't thought of her since I first met her, let alone talked to her again.

I see her around the school, but she was never alone. Not that I wanted to talk to her, but I could see she was always flocked by the same group of girls, sometimes boys when they wanted a date. As far as I knew she had accepted no one. The girl didn't want to date, I could understand that.

And when she was alone, I could tell she was happier with that. I watched her in the library through the books, feeling like a creeper by watching her like that, but its not like I stalked her. She always had her nose in some big novel and I had to smile at some of her choices. Ted Dekker, James Patterson, Christopher Paolini, L. J Smith, and some others I haven't heard of. I watched her leaf through the pages, her face as intense as if she was actually in the books. Other than that she would study and write on pieces of paper. When the bell rang she would scramble to get everything together and I would watch her go with a pang of longing.

But we never really talked after our time in the library that first day of hers. And I never try to talk to her, because frankly, I don't want to. Yes, she is beautiful, she is kind, wonderful, and looks like a lot of fun to be with, but I don't want her. I know when I can't have something and when I realize it, I just move on. There's plenty more women out there for me and I don't need her. Its just one girl. She can't matter to the world, much less to me.

After finishing my chores in the morning and taking a quick shower, I stuffed food down my throat, which was pleased to have fresh blood in it from yesterday. It was stupid to let myself get that thirsty, but I've had a lot on my mind for the past couple of weeks.

I opened the door and began walking down the sidewalk. I passed a few people who were just hanging out by the walls like the junkies they are, but one guy caught my attention. He was just standing there like he knew everything and when he looked at me, I felt tiny shivers go down my spine. But he was human, I shouldn't be afraid. So I shook off any fear and walked past him.

"Hello, Jonathan." the man's cool voice said.

I froze, muscles locking in place. I turned to look at the blonde man standing there. He looked about twenty years old, a little beard but it was barely noticeable because it was blonde. He wasn't taller than me, but when he strode over to me, I felt very small and insignificant. I felt a rush of fear and the cowering urge to run, but he was just a man.

A well dressed man, I noted. He wore expensive clothes. A black jacket over a white shirt. He had on the traditional pants to go with the suit and a white tie. It was all very clean and crisp really. Like he had just gotten out of a business meeting with the president or something.

I narrowed my blue eyes, looking at him. What did he want with me? And more importantly, how did he know who I was?

"Hello." I said cautiously, taking in any danger he might pose. Thought I wanted to take the advantage and just relax, something in my brain told me he was different from any human, something very different.

He chuckled casually. "You don't know who I am do you?" I shook my head and he smiled, showing a row of dazzling white teeth. "What a shame. I knew your mother very well."

My eyes widened and I picked him up by the collar, in the middle of the sidewalk, with eyes staring right at me. Not a very smooth move was it? I put him and walked away, trying to not draw any attention to myself.

Though the pace I was setting would make a normal human jog to keep up, he was walking just as I was. We kept going down the street. I was just wishing that he would stop and leave me alone, but he followed me all the way to school.

"What do you want?" I turned on him, making him stop dead in his tracks. The man looked up at me with a curious expression, but it slid off with a cool and easy smile.

"Forgive me, you don't know my name." he said, ignoring my question. "I am Christopher."

Something about the name tipped me off. Christopher, I repeated in my head, seeing how the word sounded. I prattled in my mind, trying to find the connection I knew I had somewhere. I knew this name and I knew I should remember it, but I just couldn't find it.

So I kept him talking, thinking that it might help me figure out why I'm so afraid of him. "You say you knew Claire?"

I saw his eye brows raise as how stiff my tone was, how rigid my body posture was, but he made no comment about it. Instead he said. "Yes, we traveled together for quite some time." I tried not to show my knowledge of how I picked up each of his words. The way he said 'traveled' seemed like a double meaning, but I didn't ask him about it.

"Where to?" I passed over a street, ignoring the honking cars. Christopher was still close on my heals by the time I rounded the next corner.

"All over the place. For centuries I tracked her." he stopped suddenly as his words clicked in my brain.

Now I knew why Christopher sounded so familiar and why I was so afraid of him. One: he was human, yet he's lived for long periods of time. Two: he said he tracked Claire, not traveled. He's a vampire hunter.

Jason told me the story of Christopher a long time ago. He gave me all the details on how they first met and Claire's history with him. She told him, which he passed to me, that he was a vampire hunter with his brother, Aaron, and his sister, Amelia. He told me how dangerous he was and that the only reason Claire survive him was because of how old she was and her gifts. This all would explain how confident he walked, how I just wanted to put my tail between my legs and run as fast as I could.

But as I looked at him with a sharp glare, I saw that he too was afraid of me. The way he backed off a bit, how his shoulders hunched just a centimeter, how his eyes were wary. And he should be afraid. I was Claire's son. Gift or no gift, I had part of her in me and I knew that he knew I was a fighter. That was the only thing I was ever good at besides running. And I got it all from Claire.

So, keeping what ever cool I had in me, I kept walking, seeing the school in my sights. I walked past another Christian school and then a major highway before I slowed my pace down a bit. I checked my watch, almost forgetting of the man walking beside me.

"Vampire hunter, huh?" I kept my voice down, not wanting anyone to hear me even thought we were alone.

He nodded curtly.

I smiled at him, showing my row of dazzling sharp teeth. I had the satisfaction of watching him gulp and wipe some sweat from his brow. I laughed while he joined me with hysterical chuckle. Now I was enjoying myself. Christopher had now lost his confident walk, any threat I felt from him and now I had no clue why I was afraid in the first place.

As the wind blew towards me, carrying the fresh scent of leaves and snow, I saw my family walking down the sidewalk. At first no one looked at me, but that changed when Nick glance this way for a moment, and then did a double take. He nudged Jason and then he looked at me and the person I was talking to. I saw his eyes go wide. He didn't bother to look both ways before he cross the busy street and over to me. Jason glared brutally as Christopher until he shrank back a few steps. Then he grabbed my arm harshly and yanked me over to him.

"What the hell are you thinking, talking to him? Don't you know who he is?" he growled, his eyes darting from Christopher and me.

With a hiss and a warning growl from my chest that made my body shake, I spoke clearly, watching Jason's face covered in disbelief. "You told me to get out, I did. You don't want to deal with me, then quit pretending that you actually care about my safety." I barred my teeth, putting at much acid in my tone as I possibly could. "I'm a sad excuse for a son, right dad?"

I walked away, ushering for Christopher to follow. I felt my dad's drilling stares on my back, but I kept walking. For a moment I saw his hurt expression as I spoke to him for the first time in months, but what right did he have to lie to my face? He didn't actually say the words, but how could he pretend he wanted to keep me safe? Did he think I was some half-wit?

"You shouldn't anger him." Christopher spoke with a tremble in his voice.

Where was his strength now! He tracked down the greatest vampire in my eyes, and tried to kill her. How could he be so afraid. But as I thought about it I did understand. The wrath of a hurting husband for a dead wife was strong and harsh to anyone. Then to a human who was so set on killing his wife before him? That would make my temper simmer too, but he needed to watch him. He could phase, me on the other hand had nothing.

"He shouldn't lie." I spat, not meaning to make him cringe. I took a deep breath, calming my face getting ready to face my won world, in the domain that I ruled.

"Jon!" a girl yelled from behind me. I turned in time to see my new girlfriend for the week, Brooke's best friend, Mallory. I loved chick fights. I planted a kiss on her lips passionately, reminding myself that we were at school at I couldn't get carried away. "Missed you too." she flushed, trying to calm herself too.

I put a fake smile on. When I turned my head, I couldn't help but lock eyes with Amber, her chocolate dotted eyes full of agony. That face had me questioning everything I was doing with my life. But they very second she broke the contact with a red face, I forgot what just passed through my mind.

I mean really, what was I doing with my life, because I have no clue.