Under the Giant Oak

I was sitting on the couch in the living room of my current residence. All the blood was rushing to my head because I was sitting upside down.

Ronnie wasn't here. He said that he would be back in a few hours and to not leave because I had no idea where anything was over here. It was my night off tonight, so I didn't have anywhere to go and nothing to do. I already explored the entire house besides the basement, and every single room upstairs was empty besides Ronnie's. I figured out why I was sleeping in his room.

I sighed. I was so bored. I got off the couch and looked over through the window. Rain was pouring down outside, so I couldn't see anything further than four feet. I'm sure it was freezing too. I hope Ronnie wasn't out there in the cold. Wait what? I didn't not care, if Ronnie was out in the rain. It's not like he would get sick or something.

All of a sudden, a giant crash was heard from the door of the basement. I walked over to the door and put my ear up against it. There were what sounded like whimpers coming from down there. The whimpers got louder and louder, and they turned into full blown screams.

The screams were high pitched, and images flashed in my mind quicker than I could stop them. The screaming, the fighting, the blood, the looks of horror, everything. The memories flashed in my head so fast it took the breath right from my lungs.

They didn't stop. They just kept replaying in my head like all the worst memories of my life kept replaying in my head over and over and over. I couldn't take it.

I pounded on the door, screamed for them to stop, but they didn't. The screams taunted my every bone, telling me the sad truth still existed. That it would never go away.

Tears came to the brim of my eyes, threatening to spill over. The screaming wouldn't stop. Why wouldn't it stop? I kept pounding on the door, screaming, begging for them to stop. I can't stand screaming. Tears ran down my face. I couldn't see a thing. I could only hear the pounding of my heart in my head, and the sound of my sanity leaving me.

The screams seemed like they went on for hours and hours. They wouldn't stop, and they got louder every single second. I paced around the room. It didn't help. I could still hear it, every single sound that person was making.

I couldn't take it. If I stayed in here any longer, I would die. That was my only thought. I wouldn't survive the screaming.

I ran outside the front door as fast as I could. The rain pelted my skin causing me to instantly freeze, but I didn't care. It stopped. The biggest smile spread across my face. It stopped. I didn't hear it anymore. I didn't care that the rain soaked me to the bone, or that it was 9 degrees outside, or the fact that I didn't know how long I was out here.

Time seemed to tick by, and I was still standing in the middle of the yard. I couldn't feel anything. My entire body was completely numb, my hair was stuck to my face, and I clothes felt like they were twenty pounds. All I did was stare up into the dark sky. You could get a glimpse of the moon every once in a while, but in vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Bright lights invaded my vision. I tried to see what was causing them, but they were too bright. It contrasted against the pitch black of the night sky. There was a slamming noise, and a figure ran in front of the light.

"Max, what are you doing out here?!" Someone screamed over the rain drops. I stopped staring at the sky, and saw that Ronnie was right in front of me with a shocked look on his face.

"The screaming it won't stop." I said.

"What's going on over there Ronald?!" Someone screamed from the porch.

"Nothing! Max, come on you need to get inside." Ronnie replied to the person before addressing me. He grabbed my arm to get me inside, but I wouldn't move. I couldn't go back in there, not with the screaming. Not with the screaming.

"Max, come on! You can't stay out here." He said trying to get me inside, pulling on my arm again.

"No, the screaming is still there. I can't stand the screaming." I said to him. He seemed to understand because he ran to the person on the porch before coming back to me.

"Come inside now, Max. It's safe. I promise." He said. I looked at him, and he looked completely sincere. I followed him inside, and water trailed after me. I still couldn't feel any part of my body, so I was holding onto Ronnie for dear life.

I sighed. There was no screaming.

Somebody came up the basement stairs and Ronnie thanked him. I didn't look at him at all because my face was buried into Ronnie's neck.

"What happened?" The mystery voice asked.

"I don't know. I knew he didn't like screaming, but I didn't think he would act this way to it." Ronnie replied.

"Well, you should get the fellow warmed up. We wouldn't want something as pretty as him to get ill." Another mystery voice said. It was much different than the other, so it wasn't the mystery man. Ronnie nodded.

He seemed to figure out I didn't want to move, so he picked me up bridal style. His warmth invaded my frozen skin, and I instantly curled into him. He walked us up to his bed room, and set me down at the foot of the bed. I whined when his warm body pulled away from me.

"I'll be right back." He said kissing my forehead and walking away.

He came back in the room with a towel, and he went over to the dresser and pulled some clothes out. He then knelled in front of me. He stripped my shirt from my soaked body and threw it across the room. It hit the floor somewhere across the room with a giant splat noise. I didn't see where it landed. I was too busy staring into Ronnie's brown eyes that were masked with concern.

"What did you do to yourself, Max?" Ronnie sighed. I didn't bother to reply.

He wrapped the towel around my torso and tried to dry me off. He then dried off each of my frozen arms. My hair was then set askew when he ran the towel over my head. I must of given him a weird look or something because he chuckled slightly.

Ronnie then slipped a t-shirt over my torso that was obviously his because it didn't fit me at all. My pants were taken off next, and Ronnie dried as much visible skin as he could before he stopped an looked up at me.

"I don't suppose you want me to do the rest, so here's some clothes." He said handing me another pair of boxers and the towel. I walked into the bathroom across the hall, and quickly changed into the warm, dry clothes.

The numbness caught up to me as I walked back over into the bed room. I could feel the blood start to flow through my veins because I could feel the pin pricks all over my body.

Ronnie was sitting up near the top of the bed cross-legged with his face buried in his hands. He didn't seem to notice me, so I shuffled over to pick up my discarded shirt and pants, and put them with my other soaked clothes in the sink. I walked back where Ronnie was still sitting. He took a deep breath and looked up to see me standing at the door.

"Are you still cold?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Come here." He demanded. I went to sit next to him, and he draped a blanket around me and kept his arms securely wrapped around me. I sighed resting my head on his shoulder.

"So, why were you standing outside in the rain?" He asked.

"I don't like screaming." I replied shutting my eyes.

"So, you decided to go out in the rain why?"

"You could hear it all through the house, and I couldn't stand it."

"How long were you out there?"

"I don't know."

"Well, just don't do it again. You scared me for a second."

"Sorry. Who are your guests?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"An old family friend and his fertile. You want to go meet them? I know they want to meet you." He asked. I nodded.

"I should get some pants on then." I stated. He nodded and detached himself from me going over to the dresser again. he grabbed a pair of sweats and through them at me. I caught them with ease and slipped them on before heading downstairs. Ronnie was right behind me.

There were two guys sitting on the couch, looking as if they had no care in the world. The dom had short black hair with somewhat tanner skin. He had some visible tattoos. His fertile was pale, was much shorter, obviously. He had longer light brown hair with some wicked side burns and glasses.

I stopped when I saw them. I didn't really want to meet them anymore. They seemed perfectly fine sitting on the couch chatting away without us. Ronnie put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me forward slightly. I shot him a glare, but he ignored it and kept pushing me until we were visible in the room.

The two stopped talking when they saw us and immediately stood up and walked over to us. The dom placed his arm over the fertile's shoulders as a sign of possession. It didn't matter that he was standing in front of his best friend or not. It was natural instinct for doms to act that way.

I instantly shrunk into Ronnie's side. Sure, I was comfortable with him enough, but them I didn't know at all. I wasn't great with meeting new people, if I need to bring up when I first met Ronnie up again.

"So, this is the infamous Max then? I'm Pete. This is Patrick." The dom said holding his hand out while the other smiled. I shook it quickly before shrinking back into Ronnie. He instinctively wrapped his arms around me.

"Sorry, Pete. He's kinda shy around other vampires." Ronnie tried to explain. I wasn't shy, not really at least. I was a complete jack ass if you tried to talk to me though. But, when meeting new people through mutual acquaintances, I was a complete mess.

"Oh, all is well. Most fertiles are like that. I remember it took two weeks for Patrick to even talk to any of my friends after we got matched." Pete said.

"It did not." Patrick denied playfully hitting the dom. The dom just laughed and kissed him quickly.

"Ugh, you two still act like love sick puppies." Ronnie mock complained. Pete just flicked him off, which caused him to chuckle.

We migrated to the couch and the chairs then. I somehow ended up sitting in Ronnie's lap in one of the chairs with him absently rubbing circles into my hip with his thumb while Patrick cuddled up to Pete's side on the couch. Ronnie and Pete were the only ones really talking. I'm sure I looked tired as hell, and I know Patrick did because every once and awhile his eyes would shut and then open back up real quick.

"So, how long are you guys staying this time?" Ronnie asked peaking my interest in the conversation.

"Until this council business clears up. Could be a few days could be a few months." Wow, did he just say he was on the council, and did he just say a few MONTHS?! There goes my plain of ignoring Ronnie the entire time I was home.