FORBIDDEN CH.5 HEALED

Sunday, January 25, 2009

We were in a beautiful garden. We were surrounded by many floras. There were irises, carnations, chrysanthemums, and freesia. I walked forward wanting to see more. There was a narrow waterfall falling gracefully. The sound was calming. I felt the flowers' petals. They were soft and beautiful. How come I had never seen this place before? I turned to look at Addam. He was smiling the smile that I loved so much. He reached out and took my hand. He pulled me toward the waterfall. His hand was warm in mine. He was radiating happiness. I smiled to myself. He and I reached our hands out to feel the running water of the waterfall. It was falling fast and heavily. I pulled my hand away before I fell in. He chuckled.

We walked away from it and sat down in the middle of all of this beauty. It felt good here, like I was home. Home as in a place where nothing can touch me and I was always happy and safe. I lay down on my back and stared up at the sky. I had no idea what time it was. "So, do you want to hear how I am who I am?" He asked. He lay down beside me. I looked at him and nodded, afraid that my voice would ruin the majesty in this place. "Well, you see my family and I descended from another family. About 16 centuries ago, in 500 AD, this all began. Well, what we remember began; we don't know who this started from. Everyone knew our secret then, we didn't have to hide, though no one came near us unless they had a problem. We are known as the 'Protectors.' We actually save people from the dangers of the evil, or the 'People of Hell.' They are the ones who take human lives for power. At that time, no one was safe. We had a shortage of power. There weren't enough of us to protect everyone. We had to take multiple cases at a time. Some of us died in the doing. My ancestors were the only family that lived. No one wanted to carry on the legend. Many families gave up their powers to remain safe.

"Little did they know that giving up their powers meant giving up their lives. We are born with this in our blood. Some people may take some type of potion to help us, but only if our leaders approve. They don't very often. See we can never die, unless we give up our powers or if someone else takes them. I haven't been like this for very long. I actually just got my full powers. When you turn eighteen you get your full powers and can do any type of magic. To become one of us, to take the potion, you have to reach that year mark first. We stop growing at eighteen, as in we stay that age forever. My parents were not born with this in their blood. They were about twenty-five when they became one of us. Yes, my siblings and I are all blood-relatives. My parents were actually the first ones to be allowed to become Protectors. They have been alive for over three hundred years. They were only allowed because they were desperate; we needed the power to save the Earth." He sat up before he continued.

I wanted to ask him something first. "Addam, did you say you are immortal?" I asked. He smiled and nodded. I sat up and looked at him. He would never die. That was amazing. I looked down and he continued. "No one knows of our existence now because it's just too dangerous. It's already too dangerous for me to tell you, but they never said you couldn't tell your love. I am the youngest in my family.

"Oh, I forgot. I only have one brother and one sister. Nathaniel and Elizabeth are my brother and sister. They have been alive for a good century and a half. Nathaniel and Nicolette have been together for about half a century and Elizabeth and Isaac have been together even longer. We are all given special powers at birth. I was given the power to torture. One stare and you're in pain. Elizabeth can manipulate minds, Nathaniel can sense danger, or if someone is lying. Isaac has speed and strength, Nicolette can kill off anyone she wants. Her power and my power are very similar; we both torture. When she screams, it's this horrid, high-pitched sonic boom. She can push you back with such force that you have nothing to do but die. It is very helpful when fighting evil." He laughed and it filled the whole garden with magic.

"What about your parents?" I asked, wanting to know more. "Nicholas, my father, he can get premonitions. They are only glimpses. They are always correct, but he can't get them when he wants. He has to touch or think of something related to what he wants to see, and if it is exactly what it is, he sometimes gets more than a glimpse. My mother, Genevieve, can heal. That is one reason she is a doctor. She loves her power, she loves to save lives. And what's better than being a doctor?" He looked at me. He put his hand under my chin and lifted my head to face him. I looked into his eyes and I couldn't find my way out as usual. I was in so deep that I couldn't see anything around us. The garden was gone; there was no one here, but him and me. The wind blew my hair out of my face.

"Eva, are you okay? You seem kind of quiet." I blinked a couple of times and focused my vision. "Yes, I'm fine. Just thinking about what you just told me." I stood up and so did he. "I have to get home; it's my turn to cook. I started walking toward his car. He caught up to me and took my hand. "I just have one more thing to show you."

He dragged me back to the garden and I saw something that stood out among the rest of the flowers. It was tall and it rose higher than any of the other flowers. It was a rose, not like the beautiful red rose. It was orange. Not a lot of people use any other color of rose than red. It was shining in the sunlight, like a diamond. It scattered around rainbows. It was beautiful. I stepped closer. It was like the rose was calling me. Calling me to it. I kept advancing forward until something stopped me. "Eva, this is what I wanted to show you. This rose is my life, literally. It is still building up. Once it is fully grown, which it should have been over two months ago, I can give it away to my love for her to protect it. That is where they got the phrase, 'My life has been put in your hands, take care of it.'"

How could it not have been fully grown? It was beautiful and amazing and his life. I turned toward him and looked up. "Addam, I really have to go. I am getting so late." He held my hand and led us back to his car. I wasn't really that great at expressing my feelings in front of him. He was great at it. He probably has an enormous amount of experience in this area.

We drove home silently. I felt like I had hurt him. And if I had hurt him I had hurt myself. When we got home, I saw the living room light on. Kristin and Jason were home. I saw some of the blinds open. They wanted to see what was going on. I laughed to myself. I started to reach for the door handle when Addam opened the door for me. I stepped out into the cold weather of November. I didn't wear my jacket to school this morning because it seemed like the warmth was going to last. I shivered. The cold air was biting my skin and hurting my arms. I had goose bumps all along my arms.

Addam reached out and embraced me. He was so warm and comforting. I held him tighter. His cheek rested on top of my head. None of us seemed to want to let go. I closed my eyes and put my cheek to his chest. I could hear his heartbeat. It was beating really fast, just like mine. Though, mine was faster. He let me go and kissed my forehead. His hands were on either side of my face. I held them there and kissed one of his palms. We stood there like that for a moment. I didn't even notice that my dad had come home. His car pulled into the driveway. He parked right next to my car, which I just noticed was here.

I didn't look away from Addam. He was so mesmerizing, like a seraph floating down from heaven. I felt the eyes of Jacob on me. He tapped on my shoulder and I looked at him. "Dad, when did you get here?" I asked stupidly. "Just now. Did you cook anything?" I shook my head guiltily. "Well then it's a good thing I brought pizza. Are you going to join us today Addam?" Jacob asked. I was surprised that he even remembered his name. Addam looked up at him and nodded. "I would love to join you for dinner."

We followed Jacob in and Jason and Kristin stepped away from the window. "Hi! How are you? We weren't spying on you if that's what you thought." Jason spit out unknowingly. "No I didn't think that, I saw that." I shot back at him. Jacob got out some paper plates and set them down on the table. "Dig in!" He yelled from the kitchen. Jason - the pig that he is - got the first three slices and ate them whole. I cringed away from that scene and sat far away from him. I grabbed one slice and stood by the corner watching everyone. Addam was being asked many questions by my family. "So, son this is our thank you to you for saving my daughter. She probably thanked you in her own way, eh?"

I groaned. These people were going to make me stay in my room all day long. They were telling him embarrassing stories about when I was younger. After every plate was empty I picked them up and threw them away to let everyone know that dinner was over. I had to go take out the trash and Addam helped me. I was forever grateful that the subject was not me anymore. When we were outside in the cold weather, Addam had his arm around me the whole time. I was freezing and grateful that his arm was there for warmth.

"Eva, you can come over to my house tomorrow and we can work on the poetry project together. How does that sound?" I smiled at his statement. "I'd love to come." I replied immediately. He smiled the smile that I love and looked into my eyes. He was beautiful. Like a seraph descending from heaven. His amber eyes made it very difficult to leave. I wanted to stay in the position forever. I never want to leave.

"Eva, I really have to go. My family must be thinking that I was kidnapped by one of the People of Hell. I will see you tomorrow." He started to walk away, but I grabbed his hand before he could get far enough away from me. "Addam, wait!" I called. He looked back. We stood there like that for a moment. I pulled him in for a hug. He hugged me back and it felt good. His touch sent electric currents all up and down my spine. My knees buckled, I almost fell over. I closed my eyes and breathed him in. I kept my arms locked around his neck. His hands were on the small of my back. I didn't want to let go of him. He held me tighter. He pulled away and kissed my forehead. "I will see you tomorrow. I promise. I love you Eva." I was surprised to hear the words.

I wished that he wouldn't have to leave so soon. I watched as he ran off into the woods behind my house. He jumped into the air, ignoring gravity. He was flying home. I wondered where his car went, because it wasn't in the driveway. Kristin came outside and got me. "So, you really like him don't you?" She asked, putting her arm around me. "You can't imagine how much." I whispered. We went inside.

The whole night I thought of him. I couldn't go back to sleep. I kept telling myself that I didn't want to be a mess when I saw him tomorrow, but I was. When I woke up and looked in a mirror I saw that my hair was a haystack. It was everywhere. I was glad that I had taken a shower last night. I quickly got ready for school and headed out. I skipped breakfast again.

He wasn't there. When I came into English and saw that his seat was empty, my face fell and my heartbeat slowed. I was looking forward to seeing him. He promised. What if something happened to him? The rest of the day felt quiet and slow. I sat with Amber at lunch and she rambled on about the winter dance. I looked at his table and saw that it was empty.

The rest of the week had gone that way. He was not there. I needed to see him. I wanted to know if he was okay. I would go to his house. I went there when he asked me to that first day of his absence. It was empty and huge. The white mansion had no one inside or out. I would go back today and check if anyone was there. I thought about what I was doing on the way there. What if he wasn't home again? What if that meant that he was hurt? What if he had lost his flower? I stopped thinking of that immediately. He wouldn't die. Never.

I parked in the only space available. I rang the doorbell and no one answered. I rang it again, once, twice, multiple times. They answered on the fifth ring. Nathaniel had answered. "What is it? Who is it?" He asked. I paused for a second. "Um, I'm Evangeline Greene. Addam's friend. He saved my life from that horrible Charles. I wanted to see him. He wasn't in school, I was just worried. He gasped and let me in. I walked around him and took everything in. There was a huge chandelier hanging over my head. The stairs were like stairs to heaven. The living room had a huge TV set and a grand piano. There were pictures hanging everywhere. Nathaniel headed for the stairs. He flew up them, literally. "Hey, wait for me. I'm not the one who can fly." He waited at the top of the stairs for me. I followed him down a long corridor to a door. He opened it and I walked through. I saw something that I really didn't want to see.

Addam was lying down on a bed, completely helpless. He looked hurt and sick. He was in major pain as I could see. I walked up to him. He was surrounded by all of his family. I didn't care. I ignored them and walked straight to him. I carefully sat down on the bed next to him. "Addam, what...wha....what happened to you?" I could barely speak. I was panting to keep my breathing steady. My heart was racing. The blood ran out of my face when I saw him. It was very dishearting to see him this way.

I didn't realize when the tears were streaming down my face. He put his hand on my cheek. "Eva, I am fine. I just got hit by a fire ball. I didn't realize that I had crossed that trail when I left your house." I noticed that he was not wearing his shirt under the covers. I gently pulled the covers off of him and saw the burn. It wasn't really a burn. It was a blue glow on his skin. I put my hand over my mouth. It was on his chest where his heart is situated. It was bright.

I set my hand on top of his chest. It was cold and like stone. I slid my hand over it and gasped. It was starting to fade. I instantaneously took my hand off of him. "What did I do? I really didn't mean to, I am so sorry." I stepped away from him unwillingly. Someone spoke up. His voice was low and musical as well as Genevieve's. I guessed that it was Nicholas, Addam's father. "Keep doing that. You're healing him. Genevieve tried that, but it didn't work. Your touch is healing it." He sounded happy and relieved. I stepped closer to Addam and set my hand, palm down, on his wound. It was fading away right in front of me. I watched, amazed by what I was doing.

When it was gone Addam took my hand and kissed it. "See," he said, "you are more wonderful than you think." I smiled at his comment. "All I don't get is how I could have done this. I am not one of you. How can I heal you, but not Genevieve? I don't get it." I was very confused. How could I, a normal mortal, save him, a super powerful immortal. He sat up and pulled me down on the bed. I sat beside him and he put his arm around me. "I think Nicholas has a theory." He mumbled. Nicholas nodded. His dirty blond hair was shining. His olive tone skin was glowing. He looked so much like Addam, except for his hair. He looked like he was in his twenties. He was so young. Now I get why they say they adopted their kids. They looked too young to have teenage kids. "Some humans may have powers of their own, this might be yours. You are probably immune to attacks. In my many years I have never seen anyone like you." The color was starting to come back to Addam's face. I felt a rush of cold air. "Holy--" I shivered. Everyone else looked bored. Addam shot his finger up in the air. I saw a blue spark fly out of his finger. The cold air was gone. There was someone on the floor beside my feet.

"Okay, I'm never going to visit like that again." His black hair had dust in it. When he looked at me I saw that his eyes had turned black. The whole eye, even the white part of his eyes. They quickly turned green when he looked at me. He was a little pale, but still beautiful like everyone else in this room. "Sorry, I didn't realize that there was a human here." He said. Nicholas helped him up. "It's okay, she knows everything. Zane, please don't drop in like that anymore when we don't know if you're coming." Nicholas demanded. "Sorry, I just have a message to send from them. They said that the people are here, and that it is too dangerous to go out and find them. He chose your family to find them, since you are the most powerful ones."

They would be going to fight off "The People of Hell." Zane himself said that it was too dangerous. "I'm running late, I better get going. I'll visit some other time." Zane shimmered away. I wasn't quite used to seeing stuff like this. "Well, now that you're healed we can kick some demon ass!" Isaac yelled. I looked at him. His arm was wound around Elizabeth and he was smiling. "We can take Eva, too!" He said, the smile getting wider. Addam's eyes popped wide open. "Do not even say that. What if she gets hurt? I am not going to take that risk." He yelled at his brother-in-law. Isaac laughed and said, "Nicholas said that she was immune to any demon attack. That means she can handle it."

"She is not immune to demon attack. If she was immune to attack she would not have had a scratch on her from when Charles almost killed her. She is not coming along and that is final." Addam's eyes were turning black like Zane's. I immediately knew what he was about to do. I put my hand on his face to calm him down. He looked at me and I saw his eyes go back to the beautiful amber. "Sorry." He muttered. I smiled when he apologized. "I didn't want you to see me like that, but when it comes to your safety I just--" I cut him off mid-sentence. "It's not your fault. Isaac here should know better. You just got your full powers; you might need time to get used to them." Boy, did I sound like I knew him better than anyone else. I have only known him for a week and a half. Isaac glared at me. I shot him that same look. He quit first. I was really comfortable here. It was like they were also my family.

I smiled when Isaac gave up. Nicolette and Nathaniel were talking to each other. Nicholas and Genevieve were looking at me and Addam. Addam got off of the bed. He had sweats on and he still looked so good in them. He pulled on a muscle shirt and dragged me out of the room. "C'mon we have to work on that project. Remember, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The laptop is in my room." I stared at him in confusion for a moment. I realized that he was talking about the poetry project we got in English. "I thought that was your room." I said. He laughed. "No, that's not my room. That is where we heal. Yes, I know. That is really weird, but that was the only room in this house that Genevieve channeled her powers through the best." He pulled on my arm and led me to a door.

He opened it and my first reaction was, "Wow." It was huge. He had an amazing view from his window. It was the forest. He had a view of a stream. I think I knew what he liked most. Nature. He was probably one of the guys who loved to camp. That was something we had in common. He had a king sized bed in the middle. The covers were a nice brown and black. The room looked like he didn't care who saw it. He had his clothes draped over the computer seat; he had his socks on the floor next to the window seat. It wasn't as messy as my room. I think I have finally met someone who I can really get along with.

He got his laptop out from under his covers. "Sorry, it's kind of messy in here. I didn't really know that I was going to have company." I grinned. "This really feels like home. Your room is not as messy as mine. I mean, I never like to put my clothes in the hamper. Jason always did that when he lived with us. He is such a neat freak for a guy." He chuckled. "Well, do you want to do this or not?" He asked, pointing to the screen of the laptop. I walked over to him and he already had a website. He probably likes poetry. There were so many things about him that I liked. We looked through the list of poems for Ralph Waldo Emerson. We found one that Addam really liked. "How about this one? To Eva by Ralph Waldo Emerson." I laughed. "When did he write a poem for me? I will thank him for that." Addam read the last stanza. "This is my favorite part. 'When the red bird spread his sable wing, And showed his side of flame,

When the rose-bud ripened to the rose, in both I read thy name.'" He looked at me while saying that. He memorized the whole thing. I looked into his eyes and saw something. Was it love, passion?

We both were quiet for a long time. I felt my heart skip a beat. It beat faster and faster. I thought it was going to pop out at any moment. Probably everyone in this house could hear it. He traced his fingers along my cheekbone. They were soft and light on my face. My breathing started getting heavy. He held my face securely in his hands. His face was getting closer to mine. I closed my eyes. His lips touched mine softly. He kissed me. I kissed him back. Our lips were moving in synchronization. I pulled him closer to me, and he pulled me closer to him. We were both on our knees. He kissed me urgently, but his lips were still soft on mine.

This was my home. Here in his arms. Nowhere else. I put my arms around his neck. My fingers combed through his hair. I kept a bundle of his hair in my hand and balled my hands up in fists. He caressed my back and pulled me closer with every passing second. I couldn't remember how to breathe, but I didn't care. I'd rather die in his arms than live without him. He pulled away and we both gasped for air. Our breathing was slow and heavy. I put my hands on his face. We looked at each other for a moment. He spoke first, and I loved the words that came out of his mouth. "I love you."

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