Rain Gently Tapping Against My Skin

“Damn it,” he growls, looking away from me. “DAMN IT ALL!!!!”

“Kevin, are you okay?”

“Who told you?!”

“I’m not telling you who. You can figure that out yourself,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. “But how long were you planning on not telling me?”

“Answer my question and I’ll answer yours,” he growls, glaring down at me. “And just how much do you know?”

“I’ve got nothing to hide. You go first.”

“Fine. I was hoping everything would calm down. Then I’d tell you,” he says, looking down at the ground. “Now who told you?”

“Well, most of it I got from a dream. Remember the other day when Jesse and Scarlett nearly told me? Well, I called Donovan, and he told me. Then Alison warned me that you’d do this, but we all know I don’t listen,” I say in a rush. “So, here we are! You’re angry and I’m trying to get you to calm down!”

“Yeah, and how’s that working out for you?”

“Well, lets find out,” I say, kissing him. I couldn’t take it. I wanted to know if it was true. But, it felt like the whole world stopped. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t feel anything else but him. It was so unreal … but I didn’t want it to stop. I pull away slowly, smiling up at him.

“Wow … that’s the first time that’s happened …”

“You make it sound like I kissed you before.”

“You seriously don’t remember what happened that night you got drunk?”

“Nope. Not a clue.”

“Then it’s gonna stay that way,” he says, smirking at me. “The less you know about me, the better.”

“We’ll see about that, Kevin,” I say, smirking back at him. “I’m still Sherlock. Remember that.”

♠ ♣ ♠

“Hey, Al! Whatcha doin’ back so early?” I ask, smiling as I hug her.

“Tyler … werewolf … vampire … Donovan … Martin …” She says dazedly, shaking slightly. “Melody! It was horrible!!”

“What happened?” I ask, noticing the scratch marks on her arms. There was one deep scar along the side of her face, which she repeatedly tried to cover with her hair.

“Tyler … he was so angry! Then, all of a sudden, he was a wolf!” She says, frightened. “A giant wolf!!!”

“A werewolf,” Kevin growls from behind me. “They’re dangerous, Aly.”

“Then … Donovan showed up! I just ran after that! But, Martin found me and told me to come back,” she says, her eyes wide and unfocused. “Hecate, I hope they’re alright!”

“How did you get these scars?” I ask, holding up her arm disapprovingly.

“Before Donovan showed up …” she says sadly. “I was too close. So, as he was changing he scratched me.”

“Oh,” I say sadly. “Come on. Lets get Laura to look at them. They look pretty deep.”

“NO!” she yells immediately. “I have to go back! What if they’re all hurt?! I can’t just do nothing! I have to go back!”

“Alison, calm down, it’s okay. Someone will go down to check on all of them. But right now you need to go see Laura to make sure you’re okay,” I say firmly. She nods, walking toward Laura’s house on Cloud territory. “Okay, this is great! We’ve got another monster up our asses. Gosh, how does she find all of these things?! It’s like she doesn’t know anyone human! Are there even normal people in Kentucky?!”

“Melody, calm down,” Kevin chuckles, smiling at me. He had been doing that a lot since we kissed. Not that I minded. “We’ll wait till sunrise. Then we’re gonna sit this kid down, and see what’s going on. But, first, I’m going down there to get Martin out of the middle of it. The last thing we need is him dieing on us.”

“Okay. Where do I fit into this, though?”

“You’re gonna stay here and make sure Alison’s okay.”

“Alright, I can do that.”

“Good. I’ll probably be back in a few minutes. Just leave Alison at my place. Nobody gets in without me knowing about it.”

“I managed.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got guns and swords for all kinds of things,” he rolls his eyes, his wings unfolding. “I’ll be back soon.”

♠ ♣ ♠

“Alright, Tyler, what exactly happened last night?” I ask, glaring at him. Kevin and I are playing good-cop bad-cop. Guess which one I am! If you guessed good cop, then you win the prize of knowing you’ve been paying attention. If you guessed bad-cop, then why is Kevin holding a gun with silver bullets?

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” he grumbles.

“Look, I’m not mad at you. But you see him,” I say calmly, pointing behind myself at Kevin. “That’s Alison’s uncle. He’s not very happy that you hurt her. And, that gun is full of silver.”

“So you’re threatening my life?!”

“No. I’m giving you a choice. You can tell me what happened to my sister last night, and I’ll take you back home. Or, you can risk your life with that.”

“I can hear you!” Kevin says angrily.

“Yeah, I know,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Just tell me what happened, Tyler. That’s all I’m asking.”

He looks up at me, still seeming angry. But, his expression soften, and he sighed, “Alright. I’ll tell you.”

“Thanks.”

“But, on one condition. You tell me what I want to know.”

“That depends on what you want to know.”

“Fine by me,” he says, shrugging. “Last night was a full moon. I had been changing for awhile now. But, I was just so happy to see Alison again. So, we’re heading back to her place after the movie. I don’t know what happened, but I was just suddenly pissed off.”

“That’s it?”

“No. There’s more. What are you guys?”

“That’s classified,” Kevin growls.

I roll my eyes at him, saying, “We’re called Riddles. We’re dead. But, we weren’t good enough for Heaven, bad enough for Hell, and we didn’t have any unfinished business on Earth.”

“’Kay. Got it,” Tyler says, nodding thoughtfully. “Alright, so I’m pissed for no apparent reason. I knew that I was changing then, so I try sneaking away from Alison. But, she’s just worried about me. You know I’m a Werewolf, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. So, I’m trying to push her away. I didn’t want her to see me like a giant wolf. That’s why she has those scars on her arms.”

“What about her face?”

“That, I am most sorry for. I was trying to tell her to go away … and then I got real pissed. So, I scratched the side of her face. Please tell her that I’m really sorry for all of that,” he says sincerely. “Now, why did Alison smell like … I dunno. Like that dude that just popped out. He had fangs and stuff. What was he?”

“That was Donovan. He’s a vampire,” I say, grimacing. “Tell us what happened once he showed up, and I’ll tell you why Alison smelled like him.”

“She’s not dating him is she?”

“No. Alison actually hates him.”

“Okay, making sure,” he says, grimacing. “So, I was full-wolf once that vampire-dude showed up. I wasn’t sure why, but I started attacking him. Alison had ran away after that. She didn’t look scared, though, just surprised or something. So, anyway, I’m fighting that vampire with all I’ve got. I think he dislocated my shoulder. I’m lucky I heal fast, though.”

I waited a moment, to see if he would continue, before finally asking, “That’s it?”

“No. There’s more. But, you said you’d tell me why Alison smelled like that vampire-guy.”

“Oh,” I say, slightly uncomfortable. “Long story short: Alison was kidnapped during her Sweet Sixteen, raped, and got pregnant with his children. But, don’t worry. Jesse and Scarlett are harmless.”

“Alison got pregnant?! Damn. That must’ve been hard on her.”

“You have no idea.”

“Will I be able to meet the little guys?”

“You’ll have to ask Alison. They’re half-vampire. They have fangs.”

“As long as they don’t try to kill me, I don’t care,” he says, shrugging. “Okay, so, after that vampire-dude dislocates my shoulder, he throws me into a tree. Then, this other dude shows up with wings. He didn’t look happy either.”

“What’d he look like?”

“I dunno. But he knew that vampire-guy and Alison.”

“Martin,” Kevin says, rolling his eyes. “His name is Martin.”

“Whatever. So, him and the vampire-guy start fighting. But, the vampire soon left, and I left, too. I don’t know where that Martin guy went.”

“He came back here,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Anything else?”

“Nope. That’s about it. I went into the woods and slept the rest of the night. Then I woke up with him dragging me,” Tyler says, rolling his eyes. “Now, I have one final question: where’s Alison?”

“She’s sleeping. She’ll be happy to see you, though.”

“What makes you think I’m gonna stay that long?”

“Well, first off: you’re not safe. Donovan’s a very dangerous vampire. Alison would want you to be here where the rest of us can keep Donovan from killing you.”

“Some of us,” Kevin corrects, lifting up his gun. “I’m not a very forgiving person.”

“Look, I’m sorry I hurt Alison. I really didn’t mean to. But, I just loose control when I change,” Tyler says sadly. “If I could take it back I would.”

“Save your breath, Tyler. Kevin’s very unreasonable when he’s angry,” I say, rolling my eyes. “You can stay at my place. Just as long as you like cats.”

“Oh, aha ha, very funny. Dog jokes,” Tyler says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Soo original, too.”

“Hey, I had to deal with it, too.”

“How?”

“Donovan somehow managed to change me into a dog,” I say, rolling my eyes. “The vampire.”

♠ ♣ ♠

Well, it’s been a week. The wedding is on December 30th, only two weeks away. Mirabelle and I have been busy planning it, luckily already finding a church. It was also a good thing that everyone — except for Sophie, of course — had graduated from high-school. Sophie’s skipped a few grades, and is now starting her sophomore year of high-school. Even though, she’s only eleven.

“Ugh, I cannot wait till this is over,” Mirabelle says, grimacing. “I think if Jolie shows us another dress I’m gonna scream.”

“Well, we all know who the bridesmaids are gonna be. Jolie wants a dress to express everyone’s personality, while still managing to be classy and elegant.”

“How many were there anyway?”

“Well, there’s Sophie, Nina, Zoey, Cassie, Jessica, Kim, you, and me,” I say, trying to think if I forgot anyone. “Eight.”

“What about Scarlett and Jesse?”

“Jesse’s the ring-bearer, Scarlett’s the flower girl,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Now, who’s Martin’s best man?”

“Umm … I think he chose Kevin. Then there’s David, Max, Josh —,” I winced when she said that, “— Ash, Duncan, Doug, and Kurt.”

“Why Josh?”

“Josh is like his big brother, Mel,” she says, shrugging. “I’ve hardly spoken to the guy.”

“He’s a heartbreaker,” I grumble, rolling my eyes. “But, he’s an all-around good guy. Kinda.”

“You’re still not over him, are you?”

“No,” I sigh sadly. “I mean, I know I should be. Yah know, since I’ve found out the ‘big secret.’ And, I think I love Kevin …”

“But you’re still broken from Josh.”

“And not just that! Kevin was right, there’s just too much going on,” I sigh, overwhelmed. “What, with Alison’s obsessed vampire stalker who’s threatening just about everyone —”

“Ugh, how come we haven’t killed him?”

“Because Alison doesn’t want Jesse and Scarlett growing up without a father.”

“There’s always Martin. They adore him already.”

“Yeah, but they’re at that delicate age … killing Donovan won’t help anything. I mean, even if they do forget about him, how is she going to explain the fangs? The possible cravings for blood?”

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying. But, he’s taking advantage of it. We need to get rid of him,” Mirabelle says gravely. “He’s gonna try ruining the wedding.”

“Yeah, I know. But we can only hope that he won’t.”