Chapter 2: Healing

I looked at my arm and saw nothing but red. My new shirt was ripped and covered in blood. I was in shock. The pain hadn't hit me yet but I was sure it would soon. I could hear Langston trying to calm Chloe down.

"Relax babe, it's only b-blood." He stopped and then looked at me. The whole family was then staring at me. This wasn't good. Elena was instantly by my side. She looked at the damage and held out her hand.

"Everybody hold your breath!" she shouted. Everyone did as they were told. "Take Chloe outside." A.J. and Lysander took her outside. Langston looked at us.

"I'm so sorry." He said and left. Adonis followed. Zoey just watched with tears in her eyes.

"It's not that bad." I said.

"Yeah right." Zoey smirked. Elena looked at Riley who was still in the same spot. He looked like he was a zombie.

"Son? Go check on your sister. She needs you right now." But Riley didn't move. "Riley" Elena said sternly, "Go." Riley snapped out of his daze and walked away.

I sat on Elena's desk as she cleaned my wound. Luckily it wasn't all that bad. It did require a few stitches.

"Are you gonna give me the dissolvable ones?" I asked Elena. Zoey just smiled at me as she spun around in the desk chair. She was so childlike sometimes. Just like dad.

"Sure. I know what a pain these can be, so yeah." She said as she began to stitch my arm up. I turned my head because I couldn't watch the needle going in and out of my arm.

"Oh relax Zane. It'll be over before you know it." Zoey said. I stuck my tongue out at her. "Childish." she smiled. Elena couldn't help but chuckle at our sibling banter.

"See, this I why I don't like parties. I hate when the attention's all on me." I said.

"Oh honey, it's not your fault. Accidents happen. We told Langston to make sure the new chandelier was installed properly." Elena said shaking her head. "Since Chloe hasn't been away from human blood that long, I can understand why she'd go off the handle." Zoey got up and was looking at the various paintings in the office.

"How do you do it? I mean, handling blood." Zoey asked.

"Practice dear. Years and years of practice." Elena said.

"Well, did you ever think of just doing what was easiest?" I asked.

"Nope. I knew that since I had a son and a husband to take care of, that I had to do what was best for them and me. And besides, I wanted to continue helping people. It's what I do. Even if I am damned." she said. Zoey and I looked at each other.

"Damned?" Zoey asked.

"As in hell? You could never be damned. Not after all that you did and are doing today. I mean, you saved your husband and son. You adopted four other people. And you even manage to put up with us. I don't see how you could call yourself damned." I said.

"Thank you, Zane. You and your sister are so kind. It's you that's put up with us. And we're very grateful for it. Zane, you've turned Riley around. He's so much happier now." Elena said.

"Well so am I. He's a wonderful guy. I couldn't see my life without him." I said.

"He's right. I believe those two were meant for each other. Literally." Zoey said with a smile.

"I said the same thing to Lysander." Elena said. As we were talking, I remembered what Elena had said. About them being damned.

"Wait a minute; you said you were 'damned'. Is that what's stopping him from changing me?" I asked. Zoey's head snapped towards me. "I'll explain later."

"Think of it like this, if you were in his position and had his beliefs, would you take his soul away from him?" she asked as she cleaned up the area.

The car ride home was silent. I looked over at Riley from time to time to see that his face was soft now. But I could tell something was wrong. I would wait until after Zoey was inside to talk to him. I looked back at Zoey who was seething at Riley. I could only imagine what she was thinking about. I would put her mind at ease later on. When we arrived at the house I told Zoey to go in without me.

"Okay. I'll just go ahead and take your presents upstairs, night Riley." she said with a smile. But I already knew that was her 'I'll smile, but I'm pissed at you' look. I watched her go inside the house. Once she was in, I turned to Riley who had his hand up to his mouth. I wonder what he was thinking about.

"I had a great time tonight." I said trying to break the tension.

"Don't lie to me." he said.

"But I did! Truly." I said. He looked over at me with a 'seriously?' look. "Okay, maybe it wasn't the best party and it didn't go as either of us planned, but accidents happen."

"That 'accident' could've resulted in your death. Your and Zoey's." he said. "If I hadn't pushed you so hard, maybe I could've protected you better." I could tell he was beating himself up over this.

"Look, protecting me… is impossible. I'm clumsy. I trip on flat surfaces for crying out loud. It's impossible. I attract danger like flowers attract bees. It's not your fault. Or anybody's for that matter. I was getting hurt long before I met you." he grimaced at that. "But I'm still here."

"I just don't like you getting hurt." he said.

"I know that. I need you to understand something, one day something is going to separate us. And there will be nothing you can do about it. I mean there's all sorts of ways. Accidents, sickness, murder, old age…"

"Okay that's enough." he said quickly.

"What I'm trying to say here is that as long as I'm human, there's a possibility for all those things to happen. But if you change me, we can avoid all of that. It's the best solution." I said.

"Oh please, Zane! That isn't even remotely close to a solution. It's murder." he said.

"So what you're saying is, is that you'll want me even when I look like a grandfather?" I asked. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. He got out of the truck and was by my door in seconds.

"Zane, tell me something, do you comprehend my feelings for you?" he asked. I felt insulted for a moment but answered his question.

"Yes, I do."

"Then why would you want this?" he asked.

"Your mother told me about the thing with your soul. I don't believe in that. So stop worrying about mine. I don't even think we have souls." I said. Riley just shook his head.

"It's late, you should go inside." he said. I looked at the ground and got out of the truck.

"Fine, but before I go. It is still my birthday. And uh, I have yet to receive what I want most from you. So can I ask you for that something?" I asked. He looked at me and nodded. "I want you to kiss me. That's all I could ever want." He cracked a smile and leaned down to meet my lips. It started out gentle and sweet, but then Riley seemed to want more. So we went at it, but before we got too carried away he leaned back. I still had my hands on his chest. "I love you, so much."

"I love you too." he said and turned to leave. I watched as he disappeared in the darkness. That kiss seemed weird. It was as if he was savoring every moment. Not like we don't do that all the time, but this time was truly different. What I wouldn't give to be able to hear his thoughts. I turned around and went inside. I said good night to my mom and went to my room where I saw a very impatient Zoey standing by my window.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" I asked as I took off my jacket. She folded her arms and walked over to me.

"What the hell was that earlier? You actually told Riley to change you?" she asked.

"I already explained that to you when I came back from L.A." I said.

"Oh yeah you did." she said sarcastically. "But you left that part out!"

"There's a reason for that." I looked over and she was sitting on my bed.

"You have so much to live for, why would you want to become like them? You saw what Chloe did today. She could've killed us both." she said with a sad look.

"Then I would've been changed into vampire. Case closed." I said.

"No, case reopened. What about me? I wouldn't have wanted that." she said.

"Look, I don't know what you want from me."

"I'll tell you what I want, do not become one of them, please. You don't know what would happen if you did become one of them. You could kill me and mom." she said.

"I wouldn't do that." I said.

"You don't know. And after what happened tonight, I don't think you ever will. No offense, but maybe Riley isn't the one for you. I mean, maybe you need a normal boyfriend." she said. I felt so heated.

"No Zoey, you need a normal boyfriend! I love Riley and he loves me. He'd do anything to protect me. Why can't you see that?" I asked.

"All I've seen, is the danger that he's put you in." she said.

"I can't believe you don't want me to be happy."

"I do! But not with Riley. He's gonna get you killed one day Zane…"

"No he won't." I said.

"Maybe it would be…"

"Stop!"

"Best if…"

"Don't say it!"

"He'd left or you two never met." she said.

"I can't believe you said that." I said.

"I'm just trying to watch out for you."

"No, you're trying to destroy me! You know Riley's my life. I couldn't even fathom being away from him. And for you to say that he should leave, hurts me more than anything else. Maybe you should leave." I said as I turned my back towards her. When I heard the door silently shut I began looking at my presents. They were all so cool. I printed out the picture of Riley and me and put it in my binder. I decided that maybe I should just go to bed. I was too riled up and I needed to relax. So I got in bed and turned off the light.

The next few days were strange, Riley was acting weird and Zoey and I weren't speaking. I couldn't even stand to be in the same room with her. My mom seemed to notice our separation and decided to speak to me about it.

"Hey, what's going on between you and your sister?" she asked as I put on my black leather jacket with a hood. It went well with my black and white striped shirt.

"Oh nothing. We just had a little argument. Nothing big." I said as I prepared to go to school.

"Oh okay. But if either of you want to talk, I'm here." she said. I smiled at her and left.

It was lunchtime and I sat with my friends. I noticed that Riley wasn't there today. And neither was his family. I wonder what was up with that. I watched as K.C. and Connor flicked food at each other. My friends were the best. So full of life and wonder. The whole day seemed so out of whack with Riley not being there. While I was driving, I remembered that I had to go and pick up my locket from the jewelry store the next day. I had given them a copy of the picture from my birthday party. When I pulled up to the house, I saw Riley standing by the tree in the front yard. I turned the truck off and got out.

"Hey handsome, why weren't you in school today?" I asked. He smiled and walked towards me.

"Let's go somewhere so we can talk." he said as he guided me towards the woods behind my house.

A/N: Uh-oh. For all of you who've seen New Moon, you know what's coming next. As you can tell by the clothes Zane's wearing. (Black jacket with black and white striped shirt.) And oh my god, Zoey and Zane's argument. I feel bad for the two. So R&R and I'll get another chapter up as soon as I can. And Meagan, do your thing. Lol, XOXO ShadowBeauty.