Life, Death, and Strange Encounters

When I awoke, the feeling of warmth and content washed over me and I didn’t want to open my eyes. I snuggled my face closer to the pillow and decided to just go back to sleep. That is, until I felt my pillow move and the warm feeling to shift.

Confused, I opened my eyes, only to find myself in Isaac’s bed; his arms were around my body, my head snuggled into his chest. How did that happen?! I then remembered that we had watched movies the night before and I had fallen asleep on his bed. The man was probably just too polite to make me leave. To be honest, I was happy that he hadn’t kicked me out. He was damn comfortable…

Yawning quietly, I glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It showed 12:17 p.m. I had assumed that much, we had been up late. The curtains had been pulled over the window, so I couldn’t see outside, but I was sure it was already light, even though it was December.

I turned to look at Isaac, who had his eyes open and fixated on me. I blushed, because apparently, he had decided to discard his shirt sometime during the night and the view was, well, pleasurable. I lowered my gaze and said, “Um, I need to… go change.” Isaac nodded and I quickly scrambled up and walked out of the room. Just when I was closing the door, I heard Isaac sigh and kick the bed. I shook my head in confusion, but decided to drop it, since I was obviously not supposed to have heard that.

When I was done with my shower, I brushed my teeth and put my wet hair into a bun, walking out of the bathroom. I pulled the curtains apart to look outside. White was the first thing I saw. It had snowed again, and more this time! There were footprints in the snow and they were quite deep. I was happy to see that, because it meant I could go outside after breakfast to make snow angels. I knew it sounded childish, but I had loved making snow angels since I was just a little girl.

Quickly, I pulled out some clothes. My outfit consisted of my favourite black skinny jeans, a red and black striped top and my black velvet jacket. I also put on my Converse. Make-up consisted of the usual black eye shadow and a thin line of black eyeliner, some foundation and red lip gloss. I slipped the lip gloss into my pocket, since I was going to breakfast and would need to reapply it later.

My stomach started to grumble, so I decided it was a good idea to make my way to breakfast. When I reached the corridor that lead to the dining room and kitchen, a great scent was in the air. Natalie had made pancakes! I pushed open the door to the dining room and quickly sat down next to Isaac who seemed happy to see me. He sent me a big grin and held up a plate with delicious pancakes on it. “Hungry?”

I moaned. “You have NO idea. Now give them to me!” Isaac chuckled and let me have the plate. I ate my pancakes with raspberry jam, my favourite. Since the others had drunk all the milk, I sipped some apple juice and felt completely content.

After breakfast, I asked Isaac to come outside into the snow with me. He agreed almost instantly and with quite a lot of enthusiasm, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Quickly, I ran to my room and grabbed a coat. I also changed my Converse shoes to combat boots. Otherwise, my feet would have been completely wet afterwards.

When we exited the building, I felt the cold December air on my face and in my hair. For some reason, it didn’t feel unpleasant, it was simply a reminder that Christmas was coming. A big grin appeared on my face and I started running, making fresh footprints on the almost-untouched snow. Soon, Isaac joined me and we spent a while running around and trying to catch each other.

When I was tired of running, I stopped and laid down on the snow, making a snow angel. Isaac stood there watching and when I was ready, he helped me up, so that I wouldn’t ruin my artwork. The angel was pretty and the winter sun made it glisten almost magically.

Suddenly, Isaac scooped me up into his arms and twirled me around. I laughed and squealed and yelled at him to put me down, but of course, he didn’t. Finally, he stopped and I could once again rest my feet on the ground. He was still holding me, though. For a bystander it would have looked like we were hugging. I didn’t want to let go and he didn’t seem to mind being in that position either. So we stood like that for a while.

Deep in thought, I looked up towards the mansion and saw James, Jane’s photographer boyfriend looking through one window with a camera in his hands. When he saw me looking, he waved and suddenly the camera flashed. Isaac looked at me questioningly and I gestured towards James who was now grinning like hell and flashing more pictures. Isaac looked in the direction I was pointing and started to laugh. He then pretended to be mad and showed a fist in an angry manner towards James. James was still laughing and didn’t mind the gesture at all.

Isaac looked at me and somehow I knew exactly what he had in mind. An evil grin spread to both of our faces and we then looked up at James who was still watching us. I think he understood our expressions, because his smile faltered and in a second, he was gone from the window. Isaac and I ran back to the castle as fast as we could, but unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen. We were a bit disappointed, since we would have liked to scare him a little bit.

***

At about 8 o’clock in the evening, I was curled up in my bed, reading a book I had borrowed from Isaac’s library, when Lucy barged in, unannounced, and shouted, “WE’RE GOING OUT TONIGHT! I’ll help you get ready; Isaac and the others said we’re leaving in an hour and a half.”

I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm, I really wasn’t one for parties. But, if Isaac was coming, I was going, too.

She started rummaging through my wardrobe and I let her do it: the less I was in her way, the sooner I would get rid of her. Lucy was a pain in the ass when she insisted upon dressing me up like a doll. Yet, in a way it was a good thing, since she knew what looked good on me. Soon, she had picked an outfit for me and I sighed. She tossed the clothes on the bed and I made my way towards her to put them on. There was no point in arguing, she would have made me put on the clothes anyway.

Lucy had picked out one of my not-so-innocent dresses. All black, with a corset-like top and puffy skirt that reached the centre of my thighs. It was pretty, but I didn’t feel comfortable in it. Who knew why I had even bought it a while back…

I groaned, but Lucy sent me a look that said, “You will wear it!” and I obeyed. I couldn’t deny that the dress looked pretty good on me. I hoped Isaac would be impressed. Also, I slipped on some black tights with a flower ornament on the back and my black heels. I didn’t want to put on very high heels, because if we were going clubbing, it would be a bit uncomfortable. When I was ready with my outfit, I renewed my make-up and added some blush and this time applied red lipstick instead of lip gloss. I decided to leave my long hair down, and quickly brushed it through so that it would be smooth and silky.

Smiling at Lucy, I declared that I was ready. She gave me a once-over and nodded approvingly. “You look sexy, Jo. Fucking hell, if I was a guy, I’d do you.”

I chuckled at that. “Good to know. You look amazing as well. You always look great, though. Even more now that you have Damien. He seems to make you glow.”

Lucy blushed at my words. She was wearing a black miniskirt with a purple strapless top that clashed with her red hair, but not in a bad way. Her long legs were in high heeled boots that reached just below her knee. She had tossed her coat on my bed, but now grabbed it. I took mine and slipped my phone and wallet into its pocket. Then, we were on our way.

Lucy told me that we would meet up with the others at the front door. When we reached downstairs, we could see that only Isaac and Damien were there. Jane, James and a few other people that I didn’t know hadn’t arrived yet. Isaac smiled his dazzling smile when he saw us coming towards them. When we reached the guys, Isaac pulled me into a tight hug. After releasing me, his eyes roamed over my body and I blushed. He then gazed into my eyes and said, ”You’re amazingly beautiful.” I just smiled meekly and he laughed at my uncomfortable shifting under his gaze.

Finally, the others arrived. Along with Jane and James, there were two people I didn’t know. One was a black haired gorgeous girl named Clara, and the other was his boyfriend Nathan, who had dark brown hair. They both seemed really nice.

Since all the people had arrived, we were off. It turned out that we were riding the limo to Isaac’s club in London. We all fit into the car perfectly and the ride was quite nice. I was sitting between Lucy and Isaac. My best friend didn’t waste time at all, as she opened a bottle of champagne about ten minutes into our journey. When I looked at her, she simply raised one eyebrow at me. I shrugged, deciding it was pointless to argue with her. She would get drunk anyway, so it didn’t really matter when she started drinking. When Lucy was in her party mode, she would just go with the flow. I was sure Damien would keep an eye on her.

The club was full of people and a lot were standing behind the door, dying to get in. We just walked past them, through a separate door and went into the VIP lounge. In there, everybody except for me had something alcoholic to drink. I just sipped some Sprite. Alcohol really wasn’t my thing. I was somewhat hurt that Isaac didn’t offer to stay sober with me this time, but he only had one shot of vodka. It didn’t even show that he had had something to drink, so the feeling quickly left me and I started to have a good time.

Soon, we decided to go dancing. People were watching us when we descended from the VIP room upstairs, but they quickly went back to their own element and we had no problem blending into the crowd. The pulsating music made my body shake and filled my senses with adrenaline. Somehow, everybody ended up dancing in small groups or pairs next to each other. Our minds free and bodies moving in sync with the rest of the people, we were enjoying ourselves to the max. Even I was enjoying myself, though I'm not a big fan of clubs or parties. Sometimes I felt that dancing was needed in order to let myself go free. Today was one of those times and I was happy.

I was dancing with Isaac. The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy, since I was so close to him. Yet, this closeness didn't seem to be enough for either of us. Suddenly, he pulled me against him as hard as he could. My arms slipped around his neck as our bodies moved together. His sudden move that I couldn't explain gave me an adrenaline rush. If I wasn't so damn shy I would have kissed him right there. That's the thing with me - dancing is one thing, but truly showing my feelings to someone was something completely different and very hard for me to do. That shyness was my curse.

When the song ended, Isaac excused himself and said he had to talk to Nathan. I let him go and started dancing on my own. To be honest, I wasn't enjoying myself that much anymore. Was Isaac really the only reason I had felt content going to a club? I wouldn't be surprised really; my own mind and heart didn't cease to amaze me at times. I tried to get into the vibe again and after a minute, I felt strong arms wrap around my stomach. I smiled, thinking Isaac had come back, but when I turned around, my smile turned into a look of horror. In front of me stood no other than Jonathan, who was grinning like he had won a grand prize.

I pushed his hands off of me and tried to walk away, but his hand gripped my arm in a painful manner and pulled me back towards him. I looked around in search of some familiar faces, but somehow everybody seemed to have disappeared. The people around me didn't understand something was wrong when Jonathan started pulling me off the dance floor. I bet they just thought we were a couple going for a drink. I tried to pull away and shove him, but he didn't budge even when I kicked him. The grip on my arm tightened to a point where I felt he was cutting off my bloodstream.

He dragged me to a dark corner near the dance floor, but the place was well hidden from anyone's eyes. They couldn't see anything that was going on here and the music was too loud for them to hear my screams. Jonathan pushed me against the wall harshly, his grip moved from my arm to my waist. He started kissing my neck and shoulders and even tried to kiss me on the mouth, but I spat in his face. This only seemed to amuse him as he grinned and yelled into my ear, "I know you love me, admit it, darling!" I shook my head fiercely and tried to push him off. "You're a psychotic, pathetic man! Let go of me and get out of my life!"

Finally, I was able to push him off, after I kicked his groin. I knew the only way I could make him go away was to quickly find someone I knew. Running back to the dance floor, I spotted Lucy in the centre. Thank God for her flaming red hair! I reached her and she could tell from the panic in my eyes that something was terribly wrong. I quickly told her what had happened. Thankfully, the song had just ended, so there was a small break where I could talk almost normally. When I was done, the terror had spread onto her face. She quickly pulled Damien to her and shouted to get Isaac. She drew me into a tight hug and suddenly, I felt tears sting in my eyes. I didn't want to think about what could have happened...

Isaac came running after Damien. When he reached us, Lucy quickly told him what had happened. I was too shocked to speak. He glanced at my shaking form and the worry in his eyes transformed to anger when he searched the room for Jonathan. He spotted him not far away, looking straight at us and grinning madly. Before anyone could understand what was happening, Isaac had pushed Jonathan to the ground and they were fighting. A crowd was starting to gather around them, some curious, some shocked. Isaac was on top of Jonathan, punching his face with great force. After a few moments, Damien, James and Nathan managed to separate the two. Jonathan was wiping blood from his mouth, with malice in his eyes. Isaac was shouting and trying to free himself from Damien's and Nathan's grip, no doubt to go straight back to punching the hell out of his twin brother.

When both of them had managed to calm down a little bit, Isaac told James to let Jonathan go. He walked towards him, but instead of walking away, Jonathan stood there, smirking. "Leave," Isaac growled. "And don't come back. You are dead to me." Jonathan shrugged and sent me a piercing glare. "With pleasure. You can have her, I don't want her anyway." With a final glare at his brother, he walked out of the club.

Of course, everyone was too shocked to think about partying anymore. With grim faces, we climbed into the limo and started the ride home. Isaac had his arms around me the whole time. I was sitting in his lap, eyes closed and still trembling from time to time. Lucy was holding my hands and softly humming in my ear.

When we reached Isaac's, Lucy and Damien hugged me tightly and told me they loved me dearly. Isaac still kept his arms around me when we walked up the stairs. He walked me to my room. Gently, he put me under the covers and tucked me in. When he kissed my forehead and turned to leave, I let out a sob and grabbed his hand. "Don't leave me, please." Isaac looked surprised, but obeyed and got under the covers with me. I snuggled closer to him and closed my eyes. With him, I was sure nothing bad could happen to me. That night, I slept a dreamless sleep. Not even Jonathan could haunt me.