Wooooooo NEW CHAPTER :) Ashley is in this one a little bit...but I SWEARRRR she'll be in the next one a lot more. So never fear my friends :)
angelperry7: I actually saw that! Sometimes, I mix the names up a little bit...but I fixed it, so thank you! Bear with me :)
Have fun! LOVE YOU GUYS!!
***
When I returned home, Chelsea sprang out of the car and into my arms, wrapping me in a tight hug. I think it would be an understatement to say she was happy about the outcome of her hike with Clay, who looked on icily from the driver's seat. I felt so bad for Chelsea; Clay was pretty hung up on me.
Ew.
I bolted up the stairs, yelling down to an oblivious Arthur that I didn't want anything to eat, and that I was just going to go straight to bed. He was absorbed in a cooking special anyway, and I really needed time to process my newly acquired knowledge concerning Ashley and her family.
But at the same time, I didn't want to think about it. Part of me longed to stay ignorant, and simply deem Ashley a formidably beautiful human being.
Once inside my freezing room, I grabbed my brand new CD player and dove under the blankets of my bed. Hitting play, I cranked the volume up so it drowned out the pattering rain against my window, and listened intently to the shrieks of the singer. Ben had given me this CD last Christmas, but I didn't care much for Linkin Park. This was alright though, considering it was the only distraction I had right now.
It worked. The loud, repetitive beats of each song made me feel as though I were deaf in both ears, but I fell asleep nonetheless.
That was the first time I had a nightmare involving Ashley Davies.
I was in the forest on the outskirts of town, making my way toward the ocean, whose waves I could hear from miles away. Then Aiden was there, pulling me backwards into the blackest part of the forest.
"Aiden? What's wrong?" I asked frantically as his anxious face looked around carefully, twisted in terror.
"Spencer, you have to run!" he whispered as if someone could actually hear us. There was no one else around. He utilized all the strength in his biceps, and I was powerless.
Yeah, I'm not too strong.
"From what?" I asked, trying to resist.
"Spencer, this way!" I heard Clay's voice ringing out from the trees, but I couldn't see him. I finally wrenched free of Aiden's grasp. To my surprise, he fell back on the ground, yelping and twitching, as if I had slapped him and actually inflicted a life-threatening blow.
"Aiden!" I screamed. I watched in absolute consternation as Aiden's limp figure morphed into a strong, rust-colored wolf with coal black eyes. He was now facing toward the shore, where I was headed in the first place, low growls emitting through his bared teeth.
"Aiden," I muttered cautiously, trying to figure out what was going on.
"SPENCER, RUN!" Clay's agonized voice tore through the trees, and Aiden began to bark furiously.
Then, Ashley stepped out from the trees blocking the ocean's view. Her eyes were even darker than Aiden's, and she held up a finger, beckoning to me as she had done just two days ago in the cafeteria.
Every part of my body and mind howled at me not to go to her, that she was too dangerous right now, but my heart lifted when I saw her. I missed her gorgeous face, and it finally felt like I could breathe again.
I stepped past Aiden, toward Ashley, causing him to whine in protest. Her perfect mouth curled up into a smile, displaying her white, pointed teeth.
"Trust me, Spence," she purred delicately, and I was under her spell. My feet carried me toward her, completely defenseless.
Suddenly, Aiden bounded forward, launching himself at Ashley's petite form. The vampire exposed her sharp fangs, and jumped forward to meet Aiden's furry neck.
"No!" I jerked up in bed, ripping the headphones out of my ears. I brought my shaky hand to my forehead and gingerly wiped off the cold, dripping sweat. I groaned when I saw the time was only five thirty in the morning. I flopped back against my pillow, trying feebly to regulate my breathing.
Sleeping was pointless; my mind had conjured up the exact images I had tried so desperately to fight off. Now I needed to face them, though. I climbed into the shower, and let the hot water run over my body, striving to remember Ashley as I had known her before Aiden presented me with all that new information.
Fruitless. The only thing I could think about were her full lips bending back to show her glistening fangs.
After dressing in my most comfortable sweats, making my bed, blow-drying my hair, and walking all the way downstairs to see if Arthur's cruiser was still outside when I could have simply glanced out the window, I couldn't avoid my thoughts any longer.
Dial-up internet is such a pain, I swear. I went downstairs, and poured myself a bowl of cereal while my painfully slow modem came to life. At least one hundred pop-ups appeared on screen as soon as the desktop appeared. I closed all of them with a sigh, and waited a few more moments for the Internet to actually start.
I tied my blonde hair back into a loose ponytail, and opened Google. With a deep breath and a few reminders of how stupid this theory was, I typed in one word.
Vampire.
It took an infuriatingly long time, and when the results did eventually show up, it wasn't until page three that I actually discovered a site that had nothing to do with movies. A quote, plain black text on a white background, greeted me as I opened the official looking page.
Throughout the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons there is no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet dight with such fearful fascination, as the vampire, who is himself neither ghost nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both. --Rev. Montague Summers
I shuddered a little, my mind dredging up an image of Ashley in the forest again. She looked hungry…
Neither ghost nor demon.
After scrolling through an endless list of names, I found only three that interested me. First, the Romanian Varacolaci, an immensely powerful, immortal being that could appear as an extremely pale-skinned human.
Ashley.
Second, the Slovak Nelapsi, a vampire so strong and fast it could massacre entire villages.
Well, Ashley did push that car out of the way…and made dents in it. That's abnormal, even if its not destroying a village.
Last, the Stregoni benefici, who were Italian vampires that claimed to be on the side of the good.
It made me relax a little, thinking that there are good vampires. If Ashley really is a vampire, I think she must be one of the Stregoni benefici. Maybe even a combination of all three. I made a mental list of everything on the website that matched up with Ashley's existence. Speed, because there was no way she could have gotten to me before Clay's van hit me; strength, because of what she actually did to the car.
Beauty, do you even really have to ask? Ashley Davies is the most beautiful human being I've ever laid my blue eyes on.
Pale skin, because she was almost as white as a ghost; eyes that shift color, because her eyes changed periodically from coal black to my favorite hue of honey gold, and every shade in between; and cold-skinned, because when Ashley laid her ghostly hand over my hot forehead that day after Biology, I felt like my head was encased in ice.
However, none of this matched up to Aiden's criteria: immortal, blood-drinking enemies of werewolves. But he did say the Davies' were civilized, so I'm positive Ashley's a good vampire.
If she is a vampire.
Another flaw I found was that vampires only came out at night; they didn't go outside during the day because the sun burned their skin. I snapped my computer shut; I really need to get out more.
I might as well be deemed certifiably crazy.
I shrugged on a raincoat and stomped into the forest, deciding I needed to be in the fresh air to actually collect my thoughts. As I strode slowly through the trees, I shoved my hands deep in my pockets, getting lost and not really caring.
I just wanted to be away from everyone for awhile.
I forced myself to think about whether what Aiden said about the Davies' was true. I re-compared everything about Ashley to the urban legend I had found on the Internet. Then, I gathered everything I had noticed about her mannerisms that might see out of the ordinary. The fact that her and her family never ate, the perturbing yet elegant balance with which they moved, particularly Kyla, and finally, the way Ashley spoke to me as if she were straight out of some Shakespeare play.
She conveniently decided to ditch class the day we did blood typing. Could that be because she didn't want to become…uncontrollable?
No, now I was just assuming. Aiden said they didn't hunt humans though…
She seemed apprehensive about me going to La Push. Maybe because that's the very place she herself can't set foot?
I really need to keep my mind in check.
She apparently knows everyone's thoughts. Except mine…and she told me she was dangerous…
Oh. My. God. All the evidence was pointing to the only logical conclusion now.
Could the Davies' be vampires?
Well, I was skeptical, but not so much anymore. One thing's for sure: whatever Ashley Davies is, she's not human. She can't be.
Then the most important question, going against every rational justification I had: what was I going to do if this theory was true?
I could tell her to leave me alone. And actually mean it. But my head immediately started to pound, and my heart started to ache.
Well I'm obviously not going to do that.
The crazy thing was that the superficially evil Ashley in my dream last night didn't scare me. I suppose my subconscious was attempting to tell me that there isn't a way in the world I could ever be afraid of her.
Why? I don't know. I suppose I should be.
But as Aiden lunged at her, I wasn't really thinking about the effect her teeth would have on him. I was really just afraid he'd hurt Ashley.
Yeah. I definitely should be checked into a psycho ward.
The rain started to come down now, and with it, came the clarity of my decision.
I could do absolutely nothing if I were to find out Ashley Davies was a vampire. Because I was already too under her spell to care. Even though this would have normally frightened me, when I thought of her spellbinding golden eyes, stunning smile, and her velvet, musical voice, I felt tears pricking the backs of my eyes.
I wanted nothing more than to be with her right now.
I felt serene as I exited the forest and hurried upstairs to change and begin my essay on A Midsummer Night's Dream. I knew it was because I had finally made a decision about Ashley. I strangely didn't feel so lost anymore. As for her being a vampire, I wasn't going to think about it too much right now.
I suppose I'll just, as Ashley said, let things fall into place.
I slept peacefully that night, dreaming of her lovely face, subconsciously memorizing every slope and feature. I felt quite lighthearted when I rose from bed that morning. I skipped to the window, throwing opening the shutters and breathing in the fresh morning air. It was sunny; that alone made me smile.
As I walked confidently up to school that morning, I sat down on a nearby bench, realizing I was early. I began to daydreaming, lazily drawing an intricate pair of golden eyes on my notebook.
"Spencer!" Clay jogged over to sit next to me. He was wearing khaki shorts and a striped, green and pink polo. It was warm, but it wasn't warm enough for shorts, in my opinion. I slammed my notebook shut, and put on a genuine smile for the boy sitting next to me.
I knew he would immediately recognize the eyes as Ashley's if he saw them.
"I never noticed, but your hair looks a little strawberry-blonde in the sun," he caught it between his fingers and tucked the strand behind my ear.
"Yeah, thanks," I flinched away from his touch as subtly as possible.
"So, I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight," he smiled cheerfully, and my blood suddenly flared in my veins.
"Oh, um," I tried to find an excuse, but I just reasoned with myself that it was better to tell him the truth now. "Clay, I really don't think that's a good idea."
His face fell. "Why not?"
My thoughts flickered to Ashley and the incredible contours of her face.
Because I don't like you."Because I don't think Chelsea would be very happy with me."
"Chelsea?" He asked, clearly bewildered as if he didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I wanted to smack him.
"Clay. I don't mean this offensively, but are you blind?"
"I don't feel that way about her, Spencer," Clay leaned closer to me.
Was he serious? I'm telling you, I was this close to slapping him so hard that his head would spin all the way around.
"And I'm not interested in you," I mumbled, standing up and walking away.
"What?" Clay yelled to me, concern layering his voice. Darn, he didn't catch that.
"Nothing, I'll see you later."
Sherry chattered on excitedly all through Trig to Ethan about the dress she was thinking of wearing to the dance. Sherry had finally gotten around to asking him. Ethan nodded and smiled in all the right places. I could detect a hint of honest attraction to her through him, but he didn't like her too much.
Yet.
"Spence, you should come with us to Port Angeles!" Chelsea exclaimed excitedly.
I thought about it for a moment and weighed my options. I didn't need a dress, because I wasn't going, but it would be nice to get out of town with some girlfriends. I glanced over at Josie, who was sulking at her worksheet. She didn't have a date; therefore she'd be absent on the trip.
This made me want to go.
"Sure," I smiled warmly at her, and retreated into my Ashley-plagued mind.
Would she be waiting to sit with me at lunch, again? Biology?
When we reached the cafeteria, however, my suspicion from Friday was confirmed. None of the Davies were present at their table, nor was Ashley waiting for me at a vacant one with her crooked smile.
I had an inkling she wouldn't be appearing at school directly after the weekend had ended. Due to her vacancy, lunch and Biology were dismal to the worst extent.
The day passed irritatingly slow. I just wanted to get home and drown my sorrows in my CD player before I went up to Port Angeles with Sherry and Chelsea.
My luck was awful today.
Sherry called to cancel our plans almost as soon as I arrived home. Ethan had asked her to dinner. I tried to sound enthusiastic for her, but I think the disappointment seeped through my voice a little.
I wanted to get out of town.
She apologized profusely and rescheduled for the next night. I focused preparing dinner for Arthur after that, foolishly edgy.
After dinner, Arthur and I watched a cooking special. I was picking up some new recipes, but was still recklessly bored. Arthur seemed happy though, probably because we were actually doing something together for the first time since I moved her.
"Dad?" I asked as he turned his head, eyes still watching Emril slice some onions methodically.
"Yeah, Spence?"
"Can I go dress shopping with Sherry tomorrow night in Port Angeles?"
"Sherry Parros?"
"And Chelsea Lewis," I added with a real smile.
"Sure, they're nice girls. But it's a school night, so you need to be back at a reasonable hour."
"We'll leave right after school so we can come back early," I assured him. "You'll be okay for dinner, right?"
He chuckled, "I cook half your meals, Spencer."
"Just checking," I smiled, "night, Dad."
***
The next morning, I must have circled the parking lot at least three times looking for the sleek, shiny silver Volvo I knew wouldn't be there for some reason.
It was sunny again today.
I made it to English a little breathless, carefully making sure not to look in Clay's direction, and phased out. I couldn't stop the little glimmers of hope that Ashley might be in the cafeteria waiting for me today. Maybe she came late to school.
She didn't. She never showed. It's now been almost a week since I've seen her, and I sincerely feel like my heart is being slashed out.
I can only take so much.
After school, Sherry followed me home in her BMW so I could leave my books and truck at home. I quickly ran a comb through my blonde locks, and felt a jolt of excitement at the thought of getting away from familiar civilization for a couple of hours. I grabbed my wallet along with a purse I rarely used, and hurried back outside to Sherry. We picked Chelsea up next, and began cheering as most girls do for our little "road trip."
My elation increased exponentially as we drove outside the town limits.
Escaping everything.
***
R&R PLEASE :)