CHAPTER. TWENTY-SIX

Eden woke up on a black leather couch in a large white wallpapered room. As she looked about, it was a house she had never been in before. She heard footsteps behind her and Eden turned her head quickly. Vincent was standing in the doorway with a wet washcloth.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake," he said as he walked around the couch. Vincent sat down next to her and tilted her head to the side so he could wash the blood off her neck.

"Do you remember anything?" he added.

"All of it" Eden replied.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What the hell was that?!"

"A confrontation between two vampires."

"Vampires. Vampires walk the earth. Wow."

"If there's witches, don't you think there would be other kinds of beings too?" Vincent chuckled.

"I'm glad you can laugh about this Vince because this isn't funny!" Eden shouted angrily as she jumped off the couch.

"Okay, I'm sorry."

"And you knew!"

"Yeah, I knew."

"And you didn't tell me?!"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"I was promised not to" Vincent replied.

"Who did you promise?"

"Your grandmother."

Eden froze in place and looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"What?"

"There's a lot you don't know Eden," Vincent said simply.

"You're damn right! I want to know everything right now" Eden told him, crossing her arms.

"Okay. First, I'm not who you think I am, neither is Trent, Reid, Chad, or Abby."

"What do you mean?"

"We're resurgents."

"Huh?"

"You know what reincarnation is right?"

"Yes."

"We are reincarnations, except that instead only remembering certain memories from our past lives, we remember every past life. As soon as we turn thirteen, we gain all of our knowledge and power back. The five of us helped build Gero Island and every time we are reborn, we find our way back here. I've known your grandmother since 1667." Eden's mouth dropped open; she was speechless.

"I know how this must sound to you, but it's the truth. We just recently told Nina and Rowan about it."

"What about Caleb?"

"As you're well aware, he's a vampire. We met him in 1846 and he is the only vampire allowed to live on the island. We have an agreement with him that if he ever harms a human being on the island, he is to pack up and leave forever or we kill him. I didn't want him here, I never have, but your grandmother trusts him with her life."

"Those picture in the attic…" Eden trailed off.

"What pictures?"

"When I was looking in the attic, I found two photographs. Both of them had a girl standing with four boys. I know one of them is my mom in front of Gram's house, but the other girl I think may be Gram with four different guys in front of a house I've never seen."

"It is. Both pictures have Trent, Chad, Reid, and I in it." Eden sat down on the arm of the couch.

"Oh my god. So, you knew my mom then."

"Very well. She was around your age when Abby told her the truth and it just brought us all closer together, except Abby and Diana."

"Gram said that mom was closer with grandpa."

"I'm sorry you have to find out about all of this in this way."

"Were you guys ever going to tell me?"

"Of course we were. We were waiting for the go ahead from your grandmother."

"First my dad and now this..."

"Abby was afraid you wouldn't be able to take all of this at once."

"I appreciate you telling me all of this Vince, I really do, but I need to go home," Eden said, standing up.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"I don't care what you think!" Eden shouted. Vincent looked at the ground for a few seconds and then back at Eden. He figured she would be in tears by now, but Eden was stronger than he pinned her for.

Vincent pulled into Eden's driveway and put the car in park. They just sat there, not saying a word.

"I'm sorry Eden. If there's anything I can do…" Vincent trailed off. Eden looked at him; he was staring straight ahead and wasn't even blinking.

"Thanks for telling me the truth."

"You're welcome. Caleb told me to tell you thank you."

"Goodnight." Eden got out of the car, closed the door, and went inside.

"Eden?" Abigail called out. Eden proceeded into the living room and saw her grandmother on the couch.

"Caleb called me and told me what happened! Are you alright?" she asked, standing up.

"I'm fine Gram. Why didn't you tell me the truth about everyone? Caleb is a vampire! And you've been alive for what? 300 years?"

"More than that. Those women I told you about, Susannah Sharp and Rebecca Boss, those names were mine in the past. My real birth date was May 2, 1492 and I was born with the name Mary Brooke."

"Witchcraft existed even then?"

"Even then. My father, Frances, was on the ship with Christopher Columbus if you can believe that. My mother was a witch and she trained me. Of course, she kept it from my father out of fear. I died in 1552 and was born Elizabeth Lass. I married a Haidane, who were a well known witch family. I had two daughters, Mia Grace and Lyla who you know a little about already. I died in 1652, again at one hundred years old. Next I was born Deliverance Menzie and grew up in Salem. I got married to a locksmith by the name of Sword and we had no children, but

"I met Vincent and his friends when they were all ten years old and already I knew that they were witches. We all grew up together and survived the trials. We founded Gero Island and helped build it together in 1696. I died in 1745 and was born again as Margaret Winston, but married a Whitmore. I met up with your friends again on the island and continued to protect it. It wasn't until 1846, I was Rebecca Boss at this time, when I met Caleb Wolf. We knew he was different and he told us what he was. Vincent wasn't fond of him at all, but we all made an agreement that Caleb could live on Gero Island as long as he doesn't hurt a human being. He agreed and we never had any problems. After being Rebecca, I was Susannah Sharp until I was forty-seven. And now, I'm Abigail Gregory. In all my lives, I've had a total of four children: Lyla, Mia Grace, Andrew, and Diana. I've only had one grandchild and that's you, so you can imagine how precious you are to me."

"What happened to Lyla and Mia Grace?"

"They ran away" Abigail answered.

"Do you know why?"

"When Lyla and Mia were younger, Lyla was attacked by a mimic, or shapeshifter as you know them, and Mia blamed herself for it. When Lyla turned for the first time, she took it upon herself to run away from us in fear that she would kill us. She didn't understand that mimics are capable of who people are, unlike a werewolf. Mia took off at seventeen and I never heard from her again."

"Does she know that you're a resurgent?" asked Eden.

"I told her when she was sixteen. They wouldn't be alive now though."

"What about the witch hunters?"

"That started in 1701 and ended a few months later. They left Gero Island and started back up again when Andrew was alive."

"And now they're back."

"I couldn't tell you all of this because I knew you weren't ready to hear it. You just lost your mom and I know you're still in agony over it."

"A part of me always will be. Am I a resurgent?"

"When you were thirteen, did you have any visions of any experiences you didn't remember taking part in?"

"No."

"Then you're not a resurgent. When you turn thirteen, the memories come back."

"Does it have to happen like that?"

"I'm not sure, but that's how I've experienced it."

"So I know everything now, right?"

"Yes."

"What do I do about Caleb now?"

"You haven't talked to him?"

"No, but I don't know what to say! I don't think I can talk to him right now."

"Take a few days to think about it then, he'll understand."

"I need to think about all of this, so I'm going upstairs."

"If you need me just yell."

"Okay." Eden turned and went up the stairs. Clark was already on Eden's bed and she laid down next to him.

The next day at school, the guys asked Eden how she was doing and told her that if she wanted to talk, they would be happy to. She noticed that Caleb wasn't in school, which she was thankful for. She didn't want to speak with him yet; she wasn't sure what to think.

After the final bell, Eden met her friends in the parking lot; they were all standing by her car.

"What are your plans for Saturday?" Chad asked Eden.

"Nothing, why?"

"We're going down to the beach by your house for a little campfire and some swimming, care to join us?" Nina asked with a smile.

"Swimming? In November? You're kidding right?" Eden laughed.

"Don't worry, we have that covered. Just bring your suit and meet us there at eight."

"You're serious?"

"I told you I was, so are you in?" Eden looked at all of her friends before agreeing to it.

Caleb wasn't in school all week and Eden started to worry about him. She called his cell phone, but he never picked up and she didn't know Nell's number. She didn't want to go over to his house, just in case he slammed the door in her face. Why he would do that she didn't know. He wasn't ready to talk to her was Eden's guess.

Caleb walked into his house after his hunt. Nell was vacuuming the living room rug and she jumped when she saw him.

"Did you talk to Eden like you said you would?" Nell asked him, turning off the appliance.

"No."

"Why not? You weren't in school all week."

"I'm a vampire remember? School is irrelevant."

"Then why go at all?" Caleb didn't answer.

"Boredom?" she added.

"Possibly" Caleb smirked.

"You have to talk to her sometime you know."

"I know Nell. I'm giving her time to think about things. She knows who I am now and if I were her, I wouldn't want a vampire boyfriend."

"So you're her boyfriend now?"

"I could have been…" he trailed.

"Well, if you don't do something, then nothing is going to happen. Do you want to leave again?"

"It's not in my plans."

"Good, because I want you around for the next twenty years before I perish if that is okay with you."

"You have more than twenty years under your belt Nell, I promise you that" he grinned.

"Shouldn't you be going over to Eden's to watch her house?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

Caleb was sitting in the same tree he sits in every night. When the front door opened, he saw Abigail moving across the yard and stopping in front of the tree he was in.

"Come on down Caleb" she said in a whisper. He jumped out and landed quietly on the grass.

"How long have you known?" Caleb asked her.

"A few days."

"How is she?"

"Eden's fine. She's worried about you. You haven't answered her phone calls or been in school Caleb."

"I know. She needs time away from me to think about everything. You told her about Quentin right?"

"I didn't tell her that he killed Diana."

"Abby."

"How could I?"

"She knows everything now, except that. If you don't tell her, I will."

"Be my guest. She wants to talk to you."

"Not tonight. Just go back inside and act like you don't know I'm here." Abigail turned and walked back inside and Caleb went back up into the tree where he stayed till sun up.