Falling to Pieces

Lindsey walked me through a room. I suspected it was a restaurant, I could smell the food and hear people chattering.
She sat me down at a table then nothing. I put my hands out on the table and felt around, searching. My fingers stumbled onto the salt, it fell. I wondered why he wasn’t taking my hand. And then I found them, not moving.
“Joel?”
I reached back and undid my blindfold.
He stared at me with frozen eyes.
“Joel what is it?”
He was staring past me. I began to turn to see what it was, but he was at my side in a millisecond.
“Don't,” he whispered, “Don't look.”
“I d…”
“Don't speak, they’ll hear you,” he said even softer.
“you are going to stand up and say to me that you need to get your jacket from the car, Ok ?”
I stood up and turned to him, and tried to compose my face. “I need to get my jacket out of the car,” I said.
He stood too. “I’ll go with you, I have the keys, and I need to get my wallet.”
He took my hand and walked through the crowed quickly, but it wasn’t quick enough.
Everything swerved into a blur as all the people began running and screaming. Joel took off running, dragging me.
“Joel can we run at…”
He picked me up and continued to try to get out of the restaurant.
“Don't look,” he said, pulling my head down into the curve of his neck.
I slammed my eyes shut, but I could still hear the hissing sounds of their vioces, could still hear the innocent scream. I felt one try to grab me, it’s papery cold fingers on my arm, but Joel got us out.
I felt him put me in the car. The car sprung to life and I felt us move. I still hadn’t opened my eyes, my hand gripped my arm, where the creature touched me.
“I want you to listen to me Rose,” he said in a tense voice.
I still didn’t open my eyes.
“I'm going to stop by your house so you can pack. I want you in and out of there in ten minutes, understood? Then we are going to stop by the apartment to get Lindsey and Ryan. And then we are leaving New York.”
I didn’t say anything. Nothing could come to my mind, I just replayed the horrified screams in my head like a CD that was skipping.
“Rose?”
I felt him stop.
“We cant stop yet, Rose, I need you to go into the apartment now,” he said.
I opened my eyes, only to release the tears and let him help me out of the car. He pulled me up the steps and already had a card ready as he opened the door. Kyle and Thomas looked at us confused and scared when they saw me.
He pulled me into my room, ignoring their faces.
“Hurry.”
I opened a suitcase and flung random clothes in it. I didn’t know when I’d be back so I put in my CD’s and my writing, plus a book.
“Rose,” he hissed, “Come on.”
Kyle walked in. “Rose what’s going on?”
“We have to get away,” Joel said for me.
He pulled me though the door.
“No!” Kyle yelled grabbing Joel’s arm.
“Let go of me!” He yelled.
“Kyle!” I screamed, it was the first time I had spoken since we left. “Let me go, you cant always protect me.”
“Where are you going?” He asked.
“Away for awhile. I..” I had to lie to protect him, like Joel had to do for me when I didn’t know, “I want to get away from here, there is just too much and I want to see places before I die.”
Kyle’s face grew soft. “You’re doing what mom did. Only you’re not sending me away, you're running away.”
I lost it then, the tears came quickly and swiftly.
Joel picked me up and carried me out the door. He ran at vampire speed and got me into the car in a second.
I could feel myself shaking, the world around vibrated uncontrollably. Joel reached over with one arm and pulled me to his side. He smoothed the hair away from my eyes.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, “We’ll get you out, I wont let anything happen to you. I promise.”
I remembered what happened the last time he promised me about safety. It was about my mother. I knew we weren’t going to be okay.
I put my arms around myself and shivered. “All those people?”
His eyes tightened and he didn’t answer.
“Its because you know,” he said, ignoring the horror of the truth I told him.
“They would kill because I know what you are?” I asked, incredulous.
“It wasn’t so bad before,” he said, “They didn’t care, as long as the human could be trusted.”
“But…” I pressed.
He sighed, “But my friend Nethiel, an older vampire, told this girl about them. Well I don't know the whole story, but she went crazy from all the stress and told her werewolf buddy.”
“Werewolves are vampires’ worst enemies,” I said.
Joel smiled at the intuition.
“Yes, so you can imagine how they reacted. But somehow everything ended up in a ‘happily ever after’.”
I looked at him. “Except that now they don't trust any human and want to kill me so I don't tell any werewolf.”
He chuckled bleakly, at an attempt to help the seriousness of the truth.
We were at the apartment now. He got out of the car and got me inside.
“Joel!” Lindsey sighed in relief, giving her brother a hug, “I was so worried,” she whispered in his ear.
He put his arms around her. “I'm alright. Where’s Ryan?”
Lindsey began to cry and it scared me because she always seemed to be the tough one.
“He’s freaking out. Joel I don't know what to do.”
I followed the sound of his sobs into his room where I found him on the Elmo rug with his face buried in his hands.
I put my arms around him. “It’s okay, I'm here.”
He didn’t say anything, and eventually his cries quieted. He put his head on my shoulder and that small fear feel back into me. I was so helpless to them, I would only slow them down. I could not help.
Joel walked in and sat down next to us.
“Ryan it will be alright, we’re getting out of here.”
“Would they have to leave?” I asked, I hated that I had caused all of this. “I mean what if I just left, then…”
“No,” he said shaking his head, “We are all involved, besides who would protect you?”
Again.
Weakness.
I looked down at Ryan and smoothed his crazy brown curls off of his face.
He removed himself out of my death grip and sat in front of the window.
“Joel what's happening?” I whispered.
He took hold of my hands in his cold, pale, vampire hands. It never bothered me before, but now it was all I noticed.
“I need you to trust me, please,” Joel said.
Lindsey walked inside. “We have to go.”
“I don't understand,” I whispered, “How did they find out?”
Lindsey looked at Joel. He shook his head.
They weren’t telling me something.
Something important.
“How long?” Lindsey asked.
Joel grew quiet, listening.
“A few miles, not long. Two minutes tops.”
“Get her out of her, run to the school, I’ll pick you up.”
Joel stood up and pulled me up as well. He pulled Lindsey in his arms.
“Please be safe,” he whispered.
“And to you.”
Then Joel picked me up and ran out the door. I watched this time and saw all the scenery go by like blurred water colored painting. I couldn’t even hear his feet hit the ground as he pounded the ground. We were at the school in moments.
He pulled me out of view, behind the building that faced the road.
“Jo—“
“Shh.”
He was trying to listen again. And then tires screeched on the blacktop in a matter of seconds. He picked me up again and ran into the car. Lindsey swerved away.
“Get down,” he hissed at me.
I fell to the ground.
“Throw water on her.” Lindsey said.
“Why?” I asked.
“To hide the scent,” Joel said, “Lindsey that wont help, her scent is all over the car.”
She sighed, but it was in pain and not frustration.
“You're hurt,” Joel said.
Lindsey shrugged. “Just a scratch.”
I saw the red liquid fall down her arm now. My stomach flipped and I turned to Joel. He was looking down and breathing hard.