Ch. 3 It's All Over

Once he hit the tile floor of his apartment he slammed the door closed behind him. Dropping his backpack on the floor he went to his room and grabbed his cell phone.

He dialed a number that he'd never needed to use. Her number.

"Hello?"

"Anastasia? I've been found out."

"How?"

"I'm not sure."

"Have you been feeding?"

"No. I've been using blood tablets."

"Are you sure? Do you know whether or not she was bluffing?"

"She didn't seem to be. She kept her eyes focused on mine, and her stance didn't show any traces of deception."

"Okay, Seth. My idea is to find a way to dispose of this human. Or erase her memory."

"All right. I'll try not to draw attention."

"Good. Our kind doesn't need any."

Seth hung up and reached for his can of Axe. Heh. This should lure her out, he thought dousing himself with it.

(A/N: Okay that really bugs me when you're walking through a hallway or something and you literally inhale some guy's cologne. I can pretty much taste it. gag It smells like they dumped the entire bottle over their skulls or something.)

He left the apartment, and drove to the park. He dialed Charity's number and asked her to meet him there. Naturally she agreed, eager to see him again. He took a seat on the swings, while his ears listened for the sound of her stiletto heels hitting the pavement. She appeared before him in a matter of minutes, dressed like the whore she was of course. He stood up to "greet" her and she ran into his arms. He pushed her against a wall, and dragged his fangs across her neck. Moaning, her limp body fell to the ground. Seth crouched down to her level and sprayed a memory represent onto her face and left. He returned to his apartment to find a message on his answering machine. He pressed the play button, and to his horror it was the person he cared about the most. And she was in mid sob.

"Uhhmm…S-Seth? P-please pick up. I nee-ed to talk to you…Call-l me back-k when y-you get t-this..bye.."

Seth lunged for the kitchen phone, and quickly dialed Noa's number. She picked up, and he could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Noa? What happened? What's the matter?"

"S-Seth?"

"Yes, it's me. What's the matter?"

"I can't tell you on the phone. I need you to come over."

"Okay I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay. See you."

"Bye."

He sent the phone in its cradle on the desk, grabbed his car keys in mid-dash out the door. Jumping over the driver's side door, he revved up the engine and pulled out of the driveway. Putting pedal to the metal, he raced to Noa's house, hoping and praying to God she was okay. He turned the corner, and parked at the curb. He got out, and found Noa sitting on the sidewalk.

"Hey," he said sitting down next to her.

"H-hi…" she replied, wiping away the tears and trying to compose herself.

"What's wrong?"

"Look behind you."

Seth turned slightly and saw what was left of Noa's home.

"Wha? Where's your mom? And where's Benny!?"

"Gone."

"Meaning?"

"Dead."

"Oh, Noa. I'm so sorry," he said giving her a tight hug.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I came home to find my house in ashes. I guess Mom left the stove on or something. She only paid with her life and B-ben-" she didn't have the strength to finish, crying she fell against Seth's shoulder.He wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her as she cried. They sat there on the sidewalk for a while. Noa finally calmed down about an hour later, and stood up.

"Noa? What are you doing?"

"You'll see."

She walked into what was left of her house, trying to find some sign of life. She walked into the kitchen. Sure enough; Mom left the stove on. She walked down to ashes of Benny's room. Her pale fingers traced his photos, his Ninja headband, and with that she sat down in the middle of the mess. She picked up a melted toy truck, and began to weep. Seth had followed and found her sitting in her little brother's room. He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Noa…if you want come live with me for a while, you can."

"Thank you, Seth. I think I will."

Seth stood up, and helped his best friend up from where she sat. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, seeing that she needed the support of a friend. She walked down to her room, which surprisingly wasn't very damaged. She walked to her closet and grabbed her clothes that weren't tarnished; doing the same with her dresser and desk. She picked up a picture that had been burnt around the edges from the floor. It was of Benny, her father, and herself. Her eyes nearly overran with tears. She picked up what was left of her belongings and stuffed them into her backpack. She put the picture in the front pocket of her jacket, and walked out to Seth's car.

"You don't want to say goodbye?" he questioned quietly.

"I have nothing to say to a dumb-fuck woman who killed the only man who ever cared about me and took away my little brother. I'm glad she's gone."

"Noa…this isn't like you…"

She said nothing but fell limp against his shoulder, her dark hazel eyes over pouring with tears. Seth wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders as he drove back to his apartment. She'd fallen asleep, so he picked her up, backpack and all, carried her into the apartment and set her down on his bed. She woke up at that moment, and fell against the soft black comforter.

"But this is your bed."

"You can have the guest room, I guess. My room was closer; the guest room is upstairs," he said, hoping she didn't think he had intentions of having sex with her. Noa yawned, stood up, and walked into the hall.

"This way?" she asked, pointing to the left and down the hall.

"Yeah, and up the flight of stairs."

"Okay, thanks Seth. You're a good friend," she said, her smile still pretty weak. Seth, being a vampire couldn't feel any really strong emotions, but he did feel a slight tug at his heart; he didn't like having his best friend feel like this. Noa walked up the carpeted stairs, and turned into the door on the left. She walked in to find the room of her dreams; crimson bed spread, black walls, gothic style everything.

Oh my gawd. This is sere heaven she sighed, collapsing on the sea of comfort. She stood back up and set her belongings out on the dresser, trying to make it seem a little more Noa-ish.

Seth sighed, hoping she'd be okay. He walked into his room, collapsed on his bed, and rolled over so he was laying on his stomach. I wonder if she'll ever get over this. I know she and Benny were very close; and she seems not to like her mother all that much…did she really kill Noa's father like she says? I wonder…but I don't want to ask now…I think I'll wait 'til she calms down. He rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling until he dozed off.