Midnight Storm

The sun was shining through the bedroom window letting me know it was morning. I pulled the covers over my head to block it. The good news was that I was still alive. What I didn't know was if Derek had left or not. I was hesitant to get out of bed to actually see. A part of me wanted him here while another part wished the stranger out of my house.

I grabbed my phone to see it was a little past nine in the morning. I finally decided to get up since I probably wouldn't be getting anymore sleep. I kicked the covers off of me before standing up to stretch. After popping my neck, I grabbed my phone and put it on charger. I sneaked out of my room just in case Derek was still here. He seemed like he had needed sleep so I didn't want to wake him from his slumber.

I went to the living room to find him sound asleep on the couch. I cracked a smile at how he was sleeping. One leg was over the end of the couch while the other was on the floor next to one of the blankets. The other blanket was draped over his stomach, slightly hanging off the couch. His arms were underneath the pillow like it was holding the pillow under his head. I went and picked up the blanket off the floor and tried to cover him up some more even though I doubted he was cold. It was really just giving me the chance to check him out.

I left him alone and went to start breakfast for the both of us. While I started making pancakes I began to wonder why this man was wanted dead. He was mysterious in ways and it began to bug me why he wouldn't tell me why someone wanted him dead. He could talk about his house blowing up, but not the reason why it was. He didn't seem like a terrible guy. He could probably even protect himself a lot better than I thought he could. It just didn't make much sense.

"What are you doing?" he asked, startling me since I didn't hear him come into the kitchen. I turned around to face him to find him still shirtless. He raised a brow at me and I cocked my head to the side as I tried to figure out what seemed amusing to him.

"Cooking breakfast," I answered before realizing I wasn't watching it. "Oh shit!" I turned my attention to the pancakes to see the two I was currently making were black. It was then I could smell them burning. I turned the fire off as I stared wide eyes at our breakfast. "Sorry! Sometimes I get distracted and forget what I'm doing. This is why i barely cook, but I thought you might have wanted breakfast. Sorry!" I'm not sure why I was apologizing since he never even asked for breakfast to begin with.

"You were making me breakfast?" he asked, seeming confused by the situation. I bit my lip before nodding. This was such a stupid idea all together. I let a stranger into my home because he needed a place to stay and now I was going to feed him. I should be calling the police or at least kicking him out.

"Just... never mind. I'm going to go get ready and go eat at the cafe like I usually do. If you want something, I can bring it back for you," I offered as I scraped the burnt pancakes into the garbage.

"Do you mind if I come with you?" he asked as I began walking towards my room so I could get ready. Obviously, I wasn't planning on going in pajama bottoms and a tank top.

"Uh, sure," I answered since I didn't quite expect him to ask to go. "Let me get ready and we can go." I sent him a smile before going into my room.

I got dressed quickly since I didn't want to keep him waiting, plus it was the only place I was going so I didn't care what I looked like. I put on a pair of jeans that had a hole in the right knee, a plain pink v-neck, and a white hoodie. I quickly brushed my hair before pulling it back into a ponytail. I slipped on my flip flops, before grabbing my phone and keys and heading to the living room.

"Ready?" I asked, seeing that he was fully dressed again. I felt sort of bad for not offering to wash his clothes or at least drying them. Hopefully nobody would ask too many questions. He nodded so I let him out of the door first before locking it behind me.

Derek said nothing as I drove to the cafe. He stared straight ahead the whole time. You would think for someone who was wanted dead he would be a bit more... paranoid? He was calm about the whole situation. If it was me in his shoes, I'd constantly be looking over my shoulder. I would have told the police as well. Maybe the police were the ones who wanted him gone. I thought about asking, but decided against it.

I parked the car in the closest parking spot near the door of the small cafe. Derek got out after I did and trailed behind me quietly. Guess he was a man of few words. I was only thankful it wasn't a completely awkward silence.

"Good morning, Riley. You're later than usual. Thought you were a no show today!" Alice, my usual waitress said. She was an elderly lady who worked here five days out of the week. She was always so kind and polite to her customers unlike the younger waitresses who didn't give a fuck about you. I always made sure I had Alice since the others I could not stand.

"Yeah, well I tried to make breakfast, but that didn't turn out so well," I laughed awkwardly, feeling like a fool. Alice smiled giving me a knowing look. As much as I came here, she probably figured it out long ago that cooking wasn't for me.

"It's alright, dear." She glanced behind me to notice the very quiet Derek. "Oh my! You have a guest I see," Alice smiled, giving me a wink. I laughed it off. I was thankful she didn't question how he looked.

"Yeah, this is Derek." I moved back so I was next to him and she saw him better. She gave him a smile.

"Boyfriend?" she assumed and I quickly shook my head no.

"Just a friend," I told her even though he really wasn't my friend. He was just a stranger. A stranger I let in and stay the night. A stranger who I tried to make breakfast for, and now is eating at the cafe with. I was cursing myself for getting involved in his mess.

"Well isn't that lovely," she said to me before shooing us towards a table. "Go on, dear. I'll be over there shortly to take your order."

Derek seemed very thankful when we finally sat down in a booth in the very back corner. Alice brought over a menu for Derek before taking our drink orders, well mostly Derek's since she knew what I wanted. I began playing a game on my phone while Derek was looking over the menu. Alice came back a few minutes later with our drinks and taking Derek's order as well as writing down my usual meal. When she left, Derek began to relax.

"Not good around people?" I asked out aloud since I didn't know. He tensed up for a moment at the sound of my voice. Guess he managed to forget about me.

"Remember what I said last night?" he asked, making me glance up from my phone again.

"About people wanting you dead?" I asked quietly, but still got a stern look from Derek. Guess that was my answer. "Why did you come for then?" I asked, confused to why he was risking being seen. He gave a slight shrug.

It stayed quiet between us until Alice came over with our food. I told her thanks as Derek began eating his. I raised a brow at him since I knew personally the food was really hot. It didn't seem to bother him though.

"When was the last time you ate?" I questioned, seeing that Derek eating quickly was catching the eyes of a few other customers.

"Yesterday," he answered after swallowing a mouthful of food.

"Well, if you want to not catch the attention of people, you might want to eat a bit slower. Y'know, like a normal person would," I replied casually before taking a bite of my food. Derek glanced around him and a few people returned back to their own conversations. Derek began eating again, but much slower which I smiled at. He noticed and gave me a questioning look, earning a shrug from me.

Alice came back to the table a few times to check on us. Sometimes she would have small talk with me since Derek still wasn't saying much. Alice came back with the receipt of our meal, which both of us forgot to tell her it was separate. I didn't mind though since Derek was hungry and I was helping him out again.

When we were getting ready to leave, I went to grab the receipt with our total, but Derek's hand grabbed it before I could. "I'll pay." I gave him a questioning look since I wasn't aware that he had money on him. "I rudely came into your house, stayed, and you brought me here. It's the least I can do."

"Alright..." I was a bit taken back. It the the last thing I expected from him. All I was trying to do was help him more, but I guess this was his way in repaying me.

I followed behind Derek after he put a ten on the table for Alice. He went to the cashier and paid with a twenty, telling him to keep the change. The guy behind the cash register gave me a slight confused look and I just shrugged. I waved at Alice and went outside after Derek. I expected him to be near my car, but instead he was walking away from the cafe. Now I was more confused. I knew he wasn't going to stay with me forever, but I at least expected him to want me to drive him somewhere.

"Hey, Derek!" I shouted before jogging over to him. He didn't turn to acknowledge me. "Wait!" I caught up to him and began walking beside him. "Where are you going?" It wasn't my business, but I wanted him to stay safe. He shrugged. "Do you need a ride?"

"I think you've done enough. Thank you, Riley." He didn't even look in my direction as he said thanks.

"Well, do you have a place to stay?" Once again I was pushing my boundaries with him. I knew he probably didn't have a place to stay now. And if he did, he probably wouldn't want to go there. "You can stay with me a little longer if you need to," I said after he didn't answer.

"That's not a good idea," he said before stopping and facing me. "You've done enough, Riley. Go home." I frowned.

"Derek," I sighed. "If you need a place to stay, you are more than welcome to crash at my place. You're not intruding and I enjoy your company even though you don't talk much. I'd feel bad if something happened to you. Just stay for a few days," I pleaded. 'Good job, Riley! Keep the weirdo at your place a little longer because opening the door last night wasn't a stupid enough decision,' I thought to myself.

Derek thought it over before finally giving in. "I'll leave tomorrow," he told me before walking back towards my car. I smiled before following him back and wondering how much more did I put myself into his mess.

Of course he was once again quiet in the car. He sat in the passenger seat like a statue. It made me wonder how he could even sit so still. I was driving with my fingers tapping the steering wheel. I even kept glancing over at him every few minutes to make sure he didn't somehow die in my car.

"Stop," Derek commanded when we were a few blocks from my house. I was a bit startled since he hadn't spoke the entire time in the car.

I gave him a questioning look. "What? Why? My house is just up the road."

"Pull over now, Riley," he sent me a threatening stare, so I did what he asked. He was now beginning to scare me. "I knew this was a bad idea," he muttered, once again earning a confused look from me.

"What are you talking about? Why did I pull over when my house is literally 2 and a half blocks from where we are?" My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly in anger and fear. I was mad not only at Derek for making me pull over, but also myself for being so stupid.

"Your home is not safe. They know I was there," he answered, making me even more confused. I tried to see around the car we were parked behind to see my house, but couldn't see anything.

"Who?" I asked. "The people who want you dead?" He didn't answer so I took that as a yes. "How did they even find you? I thought you said they weren't following you!" I began pulling my phone out of my pocket. The police had to be called because I did not want to die protecting this man.

I jumped when Derek's hand covered mine where I couldn't dial for help. My eyes met his sending him a slight glare even though I'm sure he could see the fear in my eyes. "You cannot call the police," he stated as if he read my mind. I gulped before nodding my head. He removed his hand from on top of mine, taking away the warmth that I was enjoying a little too much.

I kept my phone of my leg, but didn't bother to try to call for help. My elbow rested against the door with my head leaning on my hand. My right hand was draping over the top of the steering wheel as I waited for Derek to say something since my home was apparently not safe. I began to wonder how he even knew since we weren't close enough to see if anyone was there.

"How do you know?" I went ahead and asked out loud. "That they are at my house?" I clarified when he didn't answer. Of course he still didn't answer me. I let out a groan, getting annoyed with the few answers I was getting.

"We need to go somewhere else," Derek stated after a few minutes of silence.

"Who? Me or you? Are you telling me that I'm no longer safe in my own house?" I crossed my arms over my chest and sent him a glare. This was all his fault.

"They are at your house right now. As soon as you get there they will make themselves known and begin to ask you questions about me."

"Thanks, Derek," I grumbled. "When I thought about shaking my life up a bit I didn't mean to become a helper of some fugitive." He opened his mouth to say something, but apparently decided it wasn't a good idea.

"So, lets say I did go home and I gave them the answers they wanted. Would they leave me the hell alone, or no? Would they try to kill an innocent girl?" He let out a sigh.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"So, what is the harm in trying? You can get out and go running off to wherever." I waved my arms around since I had no idea where he would head off to next.

"And what if they do kill you?" he asked, making eye contact with me again.

"Guess I deserve it," I answered in return with a shrug.

"Riley, you don't deserve to die. You could have managed to call the police, but you didn't. You were going to let me stay longer. A part of you even knew it was a dangerous move, but you wanted to help me. That I am thankful for, and I am sorry that you are getting dragged into this mess." I was quite amazed that Derek could say so much at one time. I was also thankful he wanted to keep me safe and felt bad for putting me in danger.

"Alright," I sighed. "Where to then?" My hand was on the steering wheel again as I waited for Derek's response. He didn't answer so I just made a u-turn and began heading away from my house.

As I began driving aimlessly around, I remembered something Derek said last night. When I had ask if they would kill me, he said no. Now he doesn't know. Maybe it was because he never knew. He was just telling me what I wanted to hear. I frowned a little, but decided not to confront him about it. It wasn't the time or place to do so.

We were stopped at a stop light when I saw a hotel. I asked Derek if we could stay at a hotel and he looked at me as if I was stupid which upset me a little.

"They would be able to easily track us there," he explained after realizing he hurt my feelings some. "We need to get out of town. Head north." I nodded as I did as I was told.

It was quiet between us as I headed north. I wanted to complain that I didn't have any clothes or anything else for that matter, but realized that he didn't either. With the mood Derek was already in, I was afraid my complaining would only make it worse.

"Pull over," he commanded, pointing to the run down motel. It was empty except for one car which was most likely the owner's.

When the car was parked, I glanced over at Derek for our next move. He said we couldn't stay at a hotel because they would track us there, so I would guess we also won't be staying here. Not that I wanted to or anything.

"Why are we here?" I asked, seeing that he was in deep thought. He turned to face me with a very serious look.

"We need to ditch the car," he stated. "By now they probably know what you drive. When they realize you aren't going home, they'll search for it instead."

"Derek, who are these people? Why do they want you dead?" He didn't say a word. "I deserve to know since I'm stuck with you, especially since they are hellbent on finding you." He let out a sigh knowing that I wasn't going to drop the subject.

"All you need to know is that they are the bad guys, not me." I looked at him in disbelief as he got out of the car, dropping the subject all together. I cursed before getting out of the car as well.

"Leave your phone," he told me as soon as I locked the car doors.

I frowned before crossing my arms. "What if we need help? What if I need help? What are we going to do then?"

Derek was in front of me in seconds causing me to jump back. My back was against the car door as his face was only inches from mine. His eyes flickered an electric blue as he took my phone and keys out of my hand. My eyes widened and I froze in place as I tried to figure out what just happened. His eyes had changed. That was not normal. "What are you?" I asked, but it barely came out as a whisper.

Before he could answer, a man was yelling out to us. Derek took a step before turning his attention to the man. "What's going on?" the man asked as he came into view.

I let out the breath I was holding as Derek answered. I wanted to shake with fear, but for some reason I couldn't. I kept trying to figure out what Derek was exactly. No human has eyes that changed like that. I had many ideas running through my head, but they weren't possible. I knew whatever he was, I should be afraid. There was something intriguing about him though.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" the man asked. I glanced up when I realized he was talking to me. I took a glance at Derek to see the harsh look he was giving me.

"Uh, yeah," I answered, glancing back at the man.

"Is this man harassing you?" My eyes flickered back to Derek before the man.

"No, sir," I answered. "He's my friend."

Derek gave him some money and told him that we were getting a room here. We followed the man inside to the front desk where he gave us the key without asking anymore questions. "Thank you," Derek said before handing me the key.

"He's suspicious," Derek said after placing my phone in the car. "We'll go to the room and sneak out in a few minutes."

When we got inside I was thankful we weren't staying here. The place was absolutely disgusting. The once white walls were covered in dirt. The white sheets were a yellowish color. The royal blue carpet had stains everywhere. A thin layer of dust covered every object. That was only in the main room. I was afraid to see how the bathroom looked. "Gross. How is this place still in business?" I questioned out aloud to myself.

"We should go now," Derek said, ignoring what I asked. I turned to see him peering around the dingy brown curtains.

We managed to sneak out of our room and make it behind the motel without being seen. Behind it was an open field before it met with the forest. We didn't have to worry about being seen since the man's office didn't have a window facing the back.

I followed Derek into the woods. I was pretty much jogging just to keep up with him. Having flip flops on wasn't exactly helping me none. I realized that I was not dressed for a hike through the woods. I kept stumbling and cursing as I tried to stay with Derek.

"Derek, wait for me!" I muttered as a stick scraped the top of my foot. I didn't realize Derek had stopped since I was looking down, so I walked into him. I quickly apologized before looking up at him.

"You're slowing me down," he stated. I frowned since it wasn't exactly my fault.

I was quite taken back when he picked me up. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck. He began running what I thought was faster than any human. I then remembered how his eyes had changed within a quick second. That wasn't human either. I began to get motion sickness, so I closed my eyes so I no longer had to watch the world rush by me.

I assumed Derek finally stopped running since the wind was no longer stinging my face. I didn't want to open my eyes though just in case the world was still spinning. The last thing I had on my to do list for today was throw up, and I was already feeling nauseous.

"Riley," Derek spoke, sending vibrations through my body. I peered through my lashes to see the world standing still. I glanced up to see Derek smirking at me.

"Uh, sorry," I murmured, unwrapping my arms from around his neck. He put me down, but kept his hand on my back to help steady me in case I fell. I glanced around to see a small cabin and a lake in front of me. It didn't look like anyone lived here, so I wondered if anyone actually did. "Whose place is this?" I asked.

"Nobody's, that is why we are staying here," he answered. I turned to face him with a brow raised in question.

"Isn't that illegal?" I asked, earning a shrug from him. He began walking towards the door and I followed. "He is most definitely a fugitive," I muttered to myself.

The cabin was much better than that shitty motel. It was a bit dusty, but at least it seemed a lot cleaner. It also had a lot more room even though it was a one room cabin with a bathroom. Very little furniture was in the place, and there was no food. It had a stove, empty fridge, couch, small bed, working toilet, and sink.

I took a seat on the couch after slipping my flip flops off near the door. Derek was messing with the stove, and I wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish. It wasn't like we had any food to cook.

"You owe me answers, Derek," I stated. "What are you? Yo-your eyes, they changed earlier. Into this bright blue! How was that possible?" I shook my head. "And then you ran so fast, faster than any human could. You aren't human are you? I mean, you have to be! Only humans and animals exist!"

Derek turned to face me with an amused look. "Other things exist in this world, Riley. I'm a werewolf," he answered casually. I laughed before realizing that he was being completely serious.

"Like a full moon rampaging werewolf?" I questioned, suddenly scared at what I discovered. He nodded. "What. The. Actual. Fuck?!"

Within a few seconds I was darting out the door barefoot, not even attempting to slip on my flip flops. I cried out whenever I stepped on something sharp or if an object scraped the top or side of my foot. I tripped over a tree root that was barely sticking out of the ground, but before I could fall, an arm caught me.

"Please let me go," I cried as I struggled to get away from him. "I promise to not tell anyone about you. I don't even know you! You never existed in my mind!" I pleaded.

"Riley, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. I've already told you that."

"Then why the fuck else would you make me leave me car and phone and bring me out to the middle of fucking nowhere?!" I screamed.

He let go of me and I quickly pushed myself against the tree to put room between us. "The hunters aren't exactly fans of people who side with my kind. You helped me and they wouldn't like that. I could sense their presence at your house. I could hear them talking. I had to keep you safe. Unlike most of the hunters, they will kill anyone who gets in their way. That is why I brought you with me. I never meant to make your life hell, Riley. All I wanted was a place to stay for one night. You offered more than that even though I am a complete stranger. You've done more than most people ever have." Tears were no longer cascading down my cheeks and I could see he was being sincere.

"You don't plan on ki-killing me?" I asked as I rubbed at my eyes. He shook his head no. "Or turning me into a we-werewolf?"

"Can't, I'm not an alpha," he smiled. I nodded before mumbling an 'alright.' I was still wary of him, but I'd give him the chance. He hadn't killed me so far.