Infamous

I never thought for a moment in my life that I would ever been this happy..

I never thought I'd find someone who completed me so perfectly it was almost like a fairytale. I never thought I would have a family that made me feel so welcomed and so loved..so cared for. Waking up in the mornings, looking forward to whatever the day has in store for me, the sun shining through the curtains like a spotlight and birds singing for the dramatic affect. To see the gorgeous face of my loving husband every single day and getting to be by his side for the rest of our immortal lives. Years ago this just didn't seem possible! My heart was beaten down and stomped on, barely beating anymore. I couldn't bring myself to truly love anyone from the fear of being broken again and again and again. There were times where I didn't believe I had a heart, just a pulsing empty shell that dwelled within the contours of my bones.

Deep down...I guess I did have a heart. But I didn't want to give it to anyone.

Until Chris came along...and changed my life. Changed me for the better.

Our love has been tested. Our patience has ran out time after time. Our lives at risk every moment. And I didn't think we could overcome it...but we just..did overcome it. Pain will always been part of us. It will follow us. It will attack at any given moment. There is no stopping it. But how we respond to it..will determine our fate forever.

Looking down at the aging marble stone in front of my eyes..I could only think to myself.

Losing a friend you considered family will be a pain that will forever be apart of me. There were many ways I could have responded to it. I could have chosen to give up, shut down and close the world out. Instead I chose to live, because I know that's what he'd want me to do. That's what Angelo would have wanted me to do. And to this day, ten years after his passing, I'm still here, living my life. And celebrating the life he could have had.

Although the tears still fell each time I came back here, on this same day, every year. The joys of life always outweighed the burdens of life. I have faced the fact that a time will come when this will happen again. Either to me, or it'll be me. Every moment is precious, every second is golden. It's scary to think that any second it can be over. But the moment that second passes, you learn to live a little more each time. Until your time is up. And you can walk across that rainbow bridge knowing you lived.

Chris had went home with the others already. This is was normal..I always lingered just a bit longer. Just to think of the words I wish I could say to Angelo if he were here right now. I always wished to be alone..it was better this way.

I had stayed longer than I had realized. The sun was already down and the moon was up. Chris had sent me a few text messages. And I replied with a simple..."I'm on my way home".

Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I looked at Angelo's named one last time, with a saddened smile.

"See you next time brother.." I kissed my fingertips before laying them on the stone, feeling a brief tingle. I lingered for just a moment more...before letting go. And already waiting for the next year to come, so that I can relive the moments we had all over again, as if they were brand new.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and turned away from his grave, walking away with a slight sigh. It was cold out today, very cold. The leaves were crunching beneath my feet as I walked. For a spring night, it felt more like winter to me. The trees had not yet grown back on the trees. What a strange occurrence. But it didn't bother me none.

It was quiet when I reached the cemetery gates. I preferred to walk a bit before running the rest if the way home. I told Chris just to take the car. I liked to clear my head before going home and returning to my perfect little piece of heaven. I did this every year.

But this time..something was different. The more I walked into the city, the more it became quiet. A little too quiet for my liking. The type of quiet that made everything seem alive. My guard went up just a little bit. And the second it did, the quiet had disappeared. In the distance, I could hear faint arguing. It was very very distinct voices. Two males and one very small female voice. I paused for a moment to listen in.

"Where is our money Lynn?! It's been three weeks now and you haven't paid a damn dime you broad!" I cringed a bit internally at the sound of his booming voice and choice of words. To make matters worse, I heard a loud smack and the woman whimpered.

"I'm t-t-trying Tito! I'll have your money soon!" She begged and pleaded with the man but I heard him laugh in response at her pathetic plight. I moved at lightening speed until I was feet away, standing behind the corner. But the second I looked, there was a bright quick flash and a deafening cracked the reverberated off the brick walls. I flinched but it wasn't in response to the gun shot. Instead there was a shriek that pierced the night sky like a siren luring in her prey. I blinked a bit in astonishment because it was from her. It was a much more..small and innocent cry. A baby's cry...

"Shut that thing up David!" Tito shouted at him and to my horror, I heard the gun click.

I don't know what happened. I don't know why. But my body moved on it's own in a single second. There was this instinct that hit me like a train. I knew I had to stop him from harming that child.

I was in front of them in a second, fangs bared and ready to take the first bite. The men's greasy faces twisted up in horror at the sight of me. In one second, I glared at their ugly criminal faces before grabbing the gunman's arm and twisting it until the break bounced off the walls. He screamed in agony and the gun dropped to the ground. I grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him over my head before throwing him at the wall. My head whipped back around has I saw the other one, Tito, reaching for the gun. I kicked the metal away before grabbing him by his neck, pinning him against the wall. The baby's cries were in the back of my mind, slowly taking over my thoughts. I just had to protect it..at all costs.

"What the fuck do you want man! I don't even fucking know you!" He struggled just a bit against my hold as I stared up at him in disgust.

"Killing a mother and then attempting to kill her child..." I said through gritted teeth as he gulped. Behind me, I could hear his friend groaning in agony but not moving whatsoever.

"It was just business! Nothing personal! She owed us!" I raised an eyebrow at his rambling and felt even more sick then before.

"It became personal the moment you thought you could play god..." I said before pulling his body away from the wall and then slamming it with a harsh force. I could feel his bones cracking beneath my fingers and it felt almost like heaven. Just close enough to erase any guilt I would have felt. The monster inside me ceased and the baby came back to my mind. I turned immediately and dropped to my knees. I looked at her face and my heart broke...realizing she was just a child herself. Her face was covered in blood and dirt, caked with sweat. Her clothes were torn to shreds and smelled foul. She wore a dirt stained garden hat with a rose that was dirty red. It kept her matted blonde hair in a controlled chaos type of way. She couldn't have been any older than sixteen. And she was obviously living in the streets.

I could smell the blood coming from her..smelled like lavender. And there was a lot of it. But there was a faint heartbeat coming from her. Very very..faint.

I could still save her

I lifted my wrist and prepared to bite into it but someone grabbed me, halting my movements instantly. I looked at the hand before looking at the culprit. Her eyes were closed, she was not moving. But the grip she had on me was strong. I was confused.

"Let me help you..." I spoke to her but she moved her head, every so slightly, in a head shaking moment.

"T-t-take him..."She whispered to me. I blinked at her, even more confused than before.

"And give him the life...I c-c-couldn't..." Her words trailed off into a unspoken whisper, at the same moment I heard her heartbeat stop. The blood in her veins stopped running. The lavender smell of her blood turned into nothing..it was gone.

I stared at her..waiting for her to wake back up. And getting angry at myself, for not saving her. There was still time! She would have came back..a vampire. But it was still a chance at life. And now that's gone all because...she didn't want to be saved. And I was too dumbfounded to even act.

I shook away the thoughts of guilt and looked down at her body, seeing a white baby blanket covered in dirt and lord knows what else. With a soft sigh, I carefully reached down, prying her arm from the strong grip she had on her baby boy and removing it instantly. I lifted him with both arms carefully. He had long stopped crying and was now sleeping soundly. He was so young...a few weeks at most. And he was so beautiful. I was never one to like children or even think about them. I never wanted them. And my choice in partners prevented me from having them.

But the moment I saw his face, something deep inside me unlocked and was taking over me. This little creature...was wonderful. And I wanted to give him a chance a life..just like his mother wanted me to.

Our moment was cut short, due to the sounds of sirens wailing from a distance. Someone must have heard the gunshots as well and called the police. I was just faster than they were.

I felt so terrible leaving her here but there was no time. They were getting closer and I didn't want to have to explain the two dead souls and the partly dead soul a few feet away. With a quick decision, I stood up and shielded the baby tightly against my chest, before taking off against the wind, as if I was never there and neither was he.



On my way home, it occurred to me that I have someone else's baby. I had no idea how I was going to tell Chris or how he was even going to react. Chris had never seem like the type to even like children. I mean..I wasn't very objective to having one but he didn't seem interested at all. But I knew no matter the reaction, I wanted to keep the baby. He was...special. I could feel it.

The door was unlocked when I got home and I walked in silently, bouncing him gently in my arms to keep him sleeping. I didn't want to wake him up and have him screaming. That surely wasn't a way to convince Chris.

I was quiet, but not quiet enough for Chris. I could hear him get up from the couch in the living room and walking towards me. I braced myself mentally for whatever was about to happen.

"Well it's about time. Thought you were going to sleep at the-" He cut off instantly as he saw me with the mysterious package in my arms. I smiled weakly at him as he looked at me, with a curious expression. A curious but not too happy expression.

"What is that..?" He said as he pointed to my arms. I had a feeling he knew because what else would I hold in an arm position like this in a blanket? I chewed on my lip a little before answering him.

"Nothing too concerning..." I decided on saying and he tilted his head at me, his mouth dropping open at my stupid response.

"Kade there is a baby in your hands!" He snapped at me.

"How do you know it's even alive?" I asked.

"It has a heartbeat!"

"Could be a cat"

"Since when does a cat have five fingers???" My eyes went wide as I looked down and saw the he was wide awake and moving around with a curious intent.

"It's just a baby" I said to him.

"Kade that is a human child that isn't yours or mine...wait where the fuck did you get a baby?!"

"Don't cuss in front of him!" I glared at Chris before covering the baby's ears. Chris laid a hand on his face, took a deep breath before speaking.

"Kade..I really don't know what's going on. But you have lost it. Take that baby back where you found it and stop being weird. Please. For the love of all things holy, take it back to its parents." He said to me in a fed up tired tone. I looked down and saw the the baby was reaching for my hand. I smiled and dangled my finger above his head. He wrapped his little fingers around it and I felt this warm feeling come over me.

"I can't take him back Chris..."

"And why is that?"

"His mom is dead.." I said quietly as I looked back up at him, my smile disappearing instantly. Chris paused for a moment, looking around the room as if to find the answer somewhere else. He finally settle back on me with his eyes narrowed.

"What happened while you were gone Kade?" He asked me and I sighed, walking over to him and standing next to him. He looked at the baby with uneasy eyes. But I could see something else in them..something I had never seen before.

"I could hear the altercation when I was walking home. I don't really know what started it, something about money. I heard his mom get hurt. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. They already shot her point blank" I looked down at his face, feeling a sense of sadness. I could see her in his features. In his rosy cheeks and button nose.

"They were going to kill him..because he started crying. But I couldn't let them Chris...I couldn't let them kill this little bundle of innocence...he did nothing wrong. He was just simply..born. And I stopped them. I did..I could have saved her" I looked up at Chris who looked at me at the same time. He brows were furrowed.

"But she didn't want to be saved..before she died..she told me to take him. She told me to take him and to give him the life she couldn't." I looked back down at the baby, feeling my heart swell in my chest. He was just so..pure.

"I want to honor her wishes. I can't turn my back on him. I don't know what he's done to me. But I know that I can give him a wonderful life. We can give him a life!" He still didn't seem to be bought on it. He touched my cheek and stared deep into my eyes.

"Kade..neither of us have any experience with children, let alone newborns. We know nothing of raising a child."

"But we can learn! Tell me...tell me you don't feel that..that need to protect him. Look me in my eyes and tell me you feel nothing Chris.." And just as I expected, he looked away from me and said nothing.

"We can do this. I know we can. It rash and definitely not a walk in a park. But maybe this is what we need as a couple. Maybe we need a family..and I know..he needs a family" Chris was debating it very hard but the moment he looked at me, I could tell..he couldn't walk away either.

"Okay..okay..we can do this love" He said to me and I smiled before kissing his cheek. He smiled at me and kissed my lips briefly. We pulled away from our kiss and looked down at him. He was staring up at us in wonder. But his eyes struck me..they seemed so familiar. That color of blue with specks of grey in them. They reminded me...of a person I cared about. I cared about very deeply.

"What should we name him?" Chris asked me and I smiled in response, touching his rosy cheek with my finger. Already knowing instantly. With that face of innocence and those beautiful eyes..there was only one name.

"Angelo...Angelo Joel Cerulli"

If there was one thing that Angelo has taught me..it would be that when one door closes..another one opens. And wounds will heal...with the Hands Of Time