Endless Secrets

The room is silent – except for the whispers. I pretend not to hear, but I know they’re talking about me. I can feel eyes on me, moving away every couple of seconds. They can’t be talking about anything nice; why would they try to keep it from me otherwise? They think Alice is telling the truth – that must be it. They actually believe her – well, of course they would; she’s family. I’m not. I want to tell them the obvious: either she’s lying or she’s mistaken. It’s impossible for her to have a vision about me. Alice should know that. So why does she keep insisting it’s true?

With a quiet sigh, I decide against speaking out. Standing up, I pull myself free of Jasper’s tight grasp. “I’m going to head back now,” I say, refusing to call my temporary residence in La Push home. Several heads turn towards me, but I refuse to meet anyone’s gaze. I’m humiliated. I don’t belong in here; these are goddamn vampires. Not that I’m against the company of vampires. My family had been living around them for years. It was crucial for me to accept their presence, even become friends.

Refusing to even look at Jasper, I leave the room. I hear him stand up to follow me, but someone tells him that I “need time alone”. As soon as I step off the porch, I start to sprint. Running as fast as my legs can move, I want nothing more than to get away from here. I have an overwhelming urge to go home – my home in Italy. However, that would be accepting defeat and giving up much too easily. I won’t let Alice tear me away from my imprint. Maybe they were right; maybe I just need some time alone. I need to think, to find out what’s going on. I need to know why the vision about me was so terrible and why Alice wants me gone. Even more than that, I need to know what she knows about me. That could also explain why she would want me dead.

I end up at the cliffs of La Push, staring out at the ocean. Taking in a deep breath, I realize I can smell something behind me. A vampire. I’m about to curse Jasper for not leaving me be, when I realize, too late, that it’s definitely not him. A hand wraps around my throat and roughly pulls me into his arms, keeping me from moving. I freeze, eyes wide, unsure of what to do. I’m trapped.

“Relax, love.” A voice murmurs.

I sigh in relief. I know that voice, that smell. He releases me then, allowing me to turn and look into his familiar blood-red eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I hiss, glancing around. He was in La Push; a town full of shapeshifters. Surely the others have noticed the vampire among them by now. I didn’t want to be caught alone with them. They would start to wonder.

He laughs. “It’s been a while.” Then, seeing my nervousness, he frowns. “Calm down, Silvia. No one knows I’m here, except you.”

“Good.” I say, looking towards the ground. Did he know about Jasper? Did he know about Lionel? Marisol? The last I’d seen him, I was alone. I had never expected to find any companions.

“What, I don’t get an ‘I missed you too, darling?’” He asks me, frowning once more.

When I don’t respond, he sighs angrily. “It doesn’t matter. I already know what’s going on.” He says with a smirk. “Your father will be furious.”

It takes me less than a second to realize what he’s talking about – imprinting on Jasper. I don’t know how he knows – he might be good at reading me, but he couldn’t read my mind. He had to have been watching me, though neither Jasper nor I had seen him. How long, though? And how did he find me? I knew he was good at finding people, but could he truly find someone across an ocean? Only my father knew where I was going; well, at least the general direction. He’d been the one to send me this way.

“No, Ri, please don’t tell him!” I plead desperately. If my father finds out – I don’t even want to think about it. He’d force me to come home and would probably never let me leave. How could I imprint on a vampire? He’d spend the rest of his life trying to erase the imprint. Somehow, he’d find a way. I was sure of that.

“I’ve already seen it; he’ll find out whether I tell him or not.” He shrugs, as if it isn’t a big deal. Then he looks at me sadly, his eyes boring into mine. “Please come home, Silvia. I—we miss you.”

I look away. I missed him too – he’d been my closest friend in Italy, other than Lionel. It was odd, of course; a vampire and shapeshifter being friends. Close friends, actually; probably almost lovers in some eyes. More than once, my father had tried pushing us together. That would be the major reason why he would hate my imprinting. He’d always wanted me with Ri; he wanted someone he knew could protect me. My father didn’t have anything against vampires; we’d lived around them all our lives. In Italy, it seemed as though you couldn’t go anywhere without running into one.

“I’m sorry, Ri. I can’t. I have things to do here.”

“Goodbye, Silver.”

He vanishes.



When I get back to the house an hour later, half of the La Push pack is inside. Since “moving” here, it seemed as though their meetings focused around my house. It was odd, yes, but I didn’t mind. At least I knew what was happening without having to run to Sam’s to get the gossip. This house was much larger than his, as well; it could hold more people without being overly crowded.

“Where have you been?” Lionel asks when he sees me, worried etched on his face.

“Jasper’s. I…ran into some trouble on the way back.”

Immediately, I’m bombarded with questions. Did I run into the vampire? Yes. Who was it? I don’t know. Male. What happened? We fought and he ran off. I didn’t think he’d be coming back around. He knew he was outmatched.

I stayed downstairs a while longer, reassuring everyone I had handled the situation well. I was all smiles, but honestly all I wanted to do was sleep. It was already pretty late and I’d had a rather dramatic day. Eventually, people left the house in groups; almost like they were leaving a party. Marisol went to bed, leaving just Lionel and I in the living room.

“Who was it?” Lionel asks. Of course he had spotted my lie; he knew me too well. We had been friends for years; he’d gotten through my normally tough “shell”, as he called it. I felt as though that shell fades every day I spend in Washington.

Sighing, I plop back down onto the couch and lie down. “It was Demetri,” I tell him, glancing over to see his reaction. He was definitely surprised. I was sure he didn’t expect to hear that name come up once we’d left Italy. Lionel only knew what I told him; Ri hadn’t often been around him. Ri could only stand being around one shapeshifter – me – apparently. How comforting. Nevertheless, I’d told Lionel much of what happened between the vampire and I. How my father was forcing us together, how Ri wanted it – how I didn’t know what I wanted. How the asshole drank my blood.

“He’s gone now. Don’t worry.” I tell him, rolling onto my side, facing away from him. It’s there that I fall asleep, unwilling to get up and walk up the stairs to my room.

It’s not long before I feel weightless. Lionel carries me up the stairs to my room. He gently puts me on my bed and throws a blanket over me, before placing a brotherly kiss on my forehead.