Chapter 9: Present

Let me tell you, being stuck in a house with absolutely nothing to do, sucks. I had done everything I could think of! I taught myself to play piano-which I was pretty good at might I add- I've read almost every book in my and Ben's room, and watched the Jones's entire collection of movies (I hadn't got to the shows on DVD yet). I have also learned French, Italian, and German and I can speak them pretty fluently too. I had definitely learned patience as a vampire; I sort of had to, seeing as I had never-ending time on my hands.

I've been with the Jones's for about two months now.

Today, I was trying drawing. I had never had lessons, but I was pretty good. I looked at the drawing of my old house in New Mexico. As I studied it, I imagined the colors. The pale yellow house with its dark green eaves and border. I felt a twinge of loss and longing for my family and friends.

There's nothing I can do I told myself firmly. I can never see them again. Not anymore.

I sighed and stood up; I crossed my room and went to the window-wall. I stared out the window and daydreamed about what my loved ones were doing thousands of miles away.

Had they given up? Are they still looking for me? The memory of my parents and little bothers' tortured faces flashed into my mind.

Of course they're still looking! I thought. And they'll keep looking until they find me, or until their deaths.

A dry sob escaped as I stared longingly out of the window. I was so consumed in my daydreaming I didn't notice when someone came up behind me. They put their hand on my shoulder and I snapped back to reality. I turned and saw Julie standing beside me.

"It's hard, isn't?" She asked.

I nodded, "Some days, I want to find that vampire who attacked me and kill him for what he did. He hurt my family and friends more than he actually hurt me. I've gained a new family, but they'll never know what happened to me. They'll be tortures by their imaginations, coming up with horrible things that happened to me. When the truth is, I'm here living an almost normal life with people who love me, and I love."

Julie nodded understandingly.

"I'm glad I never had to endure the pain of leaving my family." She said.

I frowned, confused.

She chuckled, "My husband, Robert, and my three-year-old, Matthew, were killed before I became a vampire."

"What happened?" I asked, eager to learn more about my new family.

"It was a fire." She explained, "I lived in Michigan, and it was a particularly cold winter. I'd turned the thermostat all the way up before going to bed. We were asleep, when the thermostat, I'm guessing anyway, exploded. The house was engulfed in flames. Rob went to get Matthew, but the flames were bad. He couldn't get to him. I fell unconscious from the smoke.

"When I regained consciousness, I heard people talking, saying I was dead, to take me to the morgue. I tried with all my might to talk, to move, just the slightest bit. But I was helpless. The next thing I remember was a pair of icy hands checking my pulse, lifting me up and taking me away. After that, the burning pain of transformation."

"That's horrible!" I exclaimed.

She shrugged, "It wasn't that bad. I had Kevin afterward. He was there during the transformation as well; his voice was something to concentrate on other than the pain. Like I said, I would rather have it the way it was than to have Rob and Matthew still alive. I couldn't have bared parting with them."

I just nodded, thinking. Would it have been easier if my family had died and a vampire saved me? I wouldn't have been ripped away from my life, and forced to make a new one with complete strangers. Yes, it would rather that they had died, and I was the sole survivor. I wouldn't have had to put them through so much pain, by letting them think something much more terrible happened to me.

I sighed, what's done is done. There's no point to lingering in the past.

I smiled gratefully at her.

"Thanks for sharing your story." I said.

"Anything to help." She said, patting by back.

"Besides, it's good to tell someone every once in a while."

She left after that without another word. I went back to daydreaming, even though I knew I shouldn't. After awhile, I went back to painting.

~0~0~

Finally, after seven long, boring hours, I heard Ben's SUV drive up. Seconds later, Ben, Remi, Mitchie, Chirs, and Zac were in the living room, throwing their bags on chairs.

"Yay! You're all back!" I said, going down to meet them.

Ben smiled, "Yep. And you're still here."

I rolled my eyes.

"Don't remind me" I grumbled.

He grinned, "Come on Grumpy, I have a surprise for you."

"Really?" I asked.

"Really" He confirmed.

"Okay" I said, going over to him. "Where are we going?"

He took my hand, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"To the garage." He replied.

"The garage?" I asked dubiously.

He nodded, "Yup. Come on."

He led me across the yard to the house-sized garage that they owned. We entered by the side door, instead of the garage door.

Next to Ben's black SUV, sat a brand new, shiny, forest green Porsche Carrera GT.

Ben dangled a set of car keys in front of me. I gasped.

"It's for me?!"

He smiled, "Yes."

"Oh my gosh! Thank you! Thank you so much!" I grabbed the keys and pulled him into a hug in one swift movement.

"Reagan?" He asked in a whisper after a few seconds.

"Yeah?" I asked, still hugging him.

"You're hurting me." He said.

I let him go immediately.

"Sorry" I said sheepishly.

I still hadn't gotten use to being so powerful.

"It's all right." He said grinning.

"What do you say we take this baby for a ride?" He suggested.

"Yes! Get in! Get in!" I said, climbing into the driver's seat.

I put the keys in the ignition and turned them. My new car purred to life. I revved the engine. The sound was music to my ears. Ben opened the garage door before climbing in the passenger's seat. The inside smelt like new leather.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yup."

I touched my foot lightly to the gas pedal and my car moved forward beautifully. I drove out of the garage and up the drive to the road.

"How fast am I allowed to go?" I asked excitedly.

"As fast as you'd like. Just don't crash. Or get pulled over." He said.

I nodded and hit the gas. It accelerated flawlessly. A grin spread across my face as I got faster and faster.

Finally, I slowed down. After awhile I turned around and drove home.

"Thank you so much!" I said, back in the garage.

"You're very welcome." He said.

"But why did you get me something so expensive?" I asked, suddenly realizing the huge price tag my new car had to have.

Ben shrugged, "It's a welcoming present. And something to waste some time with. Besides, we all helped, and we don't get to blow our money very often."

"Well, you shouldn't have. But I'm glad you did." I said, grinning.

Ben chuckled and put an arm around my shoulders. I put an arm around his waist, and together we went back to the house, where I thanked everyone for my present.

Since i haven't posted in a while, i'm putting up two chapters. i hope you like them!