Corruption

Gloria pulled the covers off of me like she always does, waking me from my slumber. The cool air hit me like a wave, crashing into me making me gasp. It had been so warm and inviting underneath all of my covers in my bedroom that I had not woken up this morning when I had heard commotion down stairs. It was a Saturday and Aiden wasn't expecting me until eight o'clock anyway. What time was it now?

"Come on." I moaned, turning to my other side.

"You asked me to wake you at seven, Miss." Gloria said, entering the closet. I watched Gloria with one eye open, one eye closed. She went into the closet, and came out of it in what seemed like a second, holding a pile of clean clothes. She set them next to my head before she knelt down, her face inches from mine. "Aiden is speaking to your parents in the dining room Miss. You might want to be there." She stood up again, nodding.

I sprang from the bed and took the clothes. I gave Gloria a hug, thanking her for the warning, and noticed her cold skin. "Are you coming down with something?" I asked her, "You are really cold and clammy"

"I must be." She offered, no smile on her face like there usually was.

I left her at that, going into the bathroom to get my hair brush and change out of my pajamas into the outfit Gloria had picked out for me.

Gloria and I had become really close these past four weeks. I could confide anything to her. She was a really good secret keeper.

She never told my parents what really happened that night; that night when everything went wrong. We brought them back here and put them into their beds. They didn't remember a thing.

I told them that I was in an accident, which is what I had to tell everyone else. They believed me fully and helped me through 'my injuries,' which were fake, but that didn't matter.

When I brushed my hair and got dressed, I ran down the stairs two at a time. When I reached the dining room door, Gloria was standing outside, listening in. She smiled at me reassuringly.

I inhaled deeply before I opened the door and stepped inside the dining room. My dad was on his feet, laughing. As I came in, Aiden said, "And he hasn't done it since."

My dad straightened his suit, still a huge smile on his face. "Smart boy."

I sat down next to a happy looking Aiden. He looked at me a moment, noticing my uneasiness, and kissed me lightly on the cheek. His cool lips only touching my cheek for a moment before he sat back in his chair. He seemed to be at ease.

"Well." my dad said, glancing at us both. "We must be going. You coming with me today, honey?" he asked my mom.

She nodded. She picked up her napkin off of her lap, dabbed at the edges of her mouth, and put it on her plate. My dad helped her to her feet. She smiled at us and left the room, only to poke head back in. "Stay out of trouble you two."

Aiden put his hand in mine. "Don't worry Mrs. Heart; I'll make sure she doesn't do anything drastic."

"Alright." she said before ducking back out of the room.

As soon as they were gone I turned to Aiden. He was not supposed to be over here this morning. He was supposed to be outside in the front yard.

"Sorry." he said, reading my thoughts through my eyes. He was so use to me around, it was almost like he always knew what I was thinking, even if I wasn't with him. "Nathan invited me in. How was I supposed to turn him down?"

"Saying 'no' could have been an option."

Aiden stood, not letting go of my hand. He started to walk out of the room, so I had no choice but to follow. Once we got outside away from listening ears, Aiden said, "You didn't tell them, did you."

It wasn't even a question.

I shook my head, letting go of his hand. We walked for awhile before either of us said anything. The sun was shining today; no clouds to shove it under a blanket of fluff like it had been for the past week.

I glanced at Aiden, trying to read his expression. His jaw was set, his eyes narrowed, which meant that he was going to be serious.

I couldn't wait, I thought sarcastically, trying not to show it on my face.

Aiden sighed.

I guessed he was waiting for me to speak, so I did. "How could I, Aiden? How could I possibly tell them what I want? Everything just got good again."

Aiden stopped walking, and looked at me. "We don't have to. You don't seem ready; we can wait." I read something else in his words, something I knew he had always felt but he had never really voiced out loud. He didn't want to turn me into a vampire. If it was his choice, he would have never agreed to it in the first place.

"But I don't want to wait. I want to do it now."

Aiden started to walk again. We were at the end of Aiden's driveway, going up to his house. Ryan was outside with Clark, bouncing the soccer ball to one another. They waved and I waved back, putting on a fake smile, but they knew better.

"Well if you don't tell them," Aiden opened the front door, letting me inside, and shutting the door behind me, "then I won't change you. You won't be a vampire."

I pursed my lips, fight back all of the thoughts that were running through in my mind. Maybe I didn't want to become a vampire, but if it was the only way to be with Aiden, then I wanted it more than anything. That was thing I was sure of; I wanted to be with Aiden for the rest of my life.

Amy was in the kitchen, making what smelt like cookies. She has started to bake for me everyday now, still missing it when all she use to do was cook for her family. She no longer needed to do so. It is really flattering that she would do something like that for me, but it made me feel a little guilty. She now had to cook food, which she never really had to do before because of her...situation.

"How are you?" Amy asked, running over to me and giving me a big hug.

"I'm doing okay." I answered, taking a cookie from the plate Amy was holding in front of me.

"She didn't tell them." Aiden said to Amy, kissing her on the cheek. He seemed more elated than upset about this news.

"I know." She said smiling. "I think she shouldn't."

"Really?" I said excited.

"Yes. Then you won't be turned. I think the whole idea is just absurd. No one wants to be a vampire."

"I do." I grumbled, biting into the warm chewy cookie.

"No," Amy said, coming over to me and looking at me with worry in her eyes. "You want Aiden."

I looked down at the half eaten cookie in my hand. "I can't have him if I don't."

"Yes." Aiden said, sitting down on the stool next to me. "But you have other options." He pointed at my right hand. I looked down and saw what he was pointing at. The ring. The ring Mike gave to me what seemed like years ago.

I thought this through so many times. I realized I did love Mike; but I loved Aiden too. I couldn't have both. And I had also found out that the love for Aiden was stronger than when I was with Mike, more like molten rock, slow, but yet, hotter than fire could ever be.

"I just want you to be happy."

I sighed. "It's my birthday next week, you know." I said, trying to change the subject. I didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"We know." Aiden and Amy said together. Have I told them that already? I tried to think back on the last few days and all of the conversations I had had with all of them, but came up with nothing. I came up with the solution just as Aiden said it.

"Hunches, remember? I had a feeling something big and exciting was coming up." Aiden said smiling, pointing to his forehead.

I smiled. I had always seemed to forget that he usually had feelings about things before they happened. He had always been more than intuitive about things. While Aiden and Amy rushed around the kitchen making something for me to eat, and finding a recipe for a birthday cake; I sat on the stool and thought.

Mike had gone home a few days after the funeral. We had talked everyday since. We were too worried about each other, not to. I really wanted to call him. I was kind of having a bad day, but I thought it would be rather rude to call someone one right now.

Aiden was at the sink, washing off some vegetables for the stew they were preparing when he said, "You have a call."

"What?" I asked. Before he could answer, my cell phone started to ring from my pocket.

"Hunches." I said under my breath. But I knew that this was more than hunches. Ryan had explained this to me just yesterday, but I still didn't get it. For some odd reason, their skin was so sensitive that they could feel the cell phones connections and the waves it made when a call was sent out, or a call was coming in. That was how they could tell a second before the phone actually registered the call, that the phone had indeed a call.

I took the phone out of my pocket and went into the dining room for more privacy. The caller ID said, 'Mike' so I quickly flipped it open. "I am so glad you called." I said, relieved.

"Are you now?" Mike said, sounding cocky on the other line.

"Yeah, I was just going to call you." I really don't know why, but hearing Mike's voice calmed me. I knew I couldn't tell him what I wanted to be, but he was still a good comfort without any knowledge of it.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He knew me too well.

"I don't know," I began, sitting in one of the chairs surrounding the large table, "I have had a bad morning already, I guess."

"And why is that?"

"I don't know. Everything thing still seems odd from last month." Mike still didn't know everything about that nightmarish night. He almost knew as much as my parents. He didn't push me to tell him either. I was glad of that. I didn't know if I would ever tell him all of the secrets I was keeping.

"I am pretty sure it does." It seemed that he was getting a little defensive about it, but I brushed it off.

There was an awkward pause before I said, "So--why did you call?"

Mike laughed a little to himself. "Actually I was wondering if I could talk to Aiden."

"Aiden?" I said, taken a back. "Why do you assume I'm with Aiden?"

"Well aren't you?"

"Yes." I grumbled, walking back into the kitchen. Mike laughed into the phone before I handed the phone to Aiden. He raised his eyebrows in question. "It's Mike." I said, answering the silent question even though I was sure he had been listening in to my conversation without really thinking about it.

"Hey, what's up?" he said into the phone, turning away from me to go back to doing what he was doing. He reached into his pocket after a second then sighed. "It's dead, sorry. Hadn't noticed."

I watched as he nodded and gave a lot of 'I knows' and some 'mmm's.' I didn't get it. Why would Mike want to talk to Aiden? It was so out of the ordinary that it bothered me. Not that I was in an ordinary world, but it was still not normal. What could they possibly talk about?

Aiden finally hung up the phone after a long conversation on his face, his bright green eyes seemed even brighter than normal with a hidden pleasure. He finished up the vegetables he had been working on, then gave me back my phone as he walked back out of the kitchen, me close on his heels.

"Let's go for a walk." He said lightly, holding the doors open for me as we went through all of them. We left the house, passing Clark and Ryan who were still playing with the soccer ball out front. They smiled again at me, feeling the calmer sense around me. This time, it was easier to smile back and mean it at the same time.

The sun shone on my face almost warming to me, making me feel at peace. I could tell Aiden felt the same way. He had his eyes closed, holding my hand, letting me steer him. I was so absorbed into the sun the feel of Aiden walking so close tome, our arms brushed lightly against each other with each step, that I hadn't noticed that we were going to the big oak tree and Addison's grave a few yards into the forest just up ahead.

I stopped suddenly, seeing the grave under the shade of the trees a few yards inward. We hadn't been back to this spot since the funeral. I always refused; never ready to be here again. I still wasn't sure if I was ready for it yet, but needed to. I could feel it.

When I looked up at Aiden, he was staring at me. His bright green eyes filled with wonder, trying to figure out what I was thinking. I let go of his hand and walked up to the headstone. Aiden stayed where we was, watching me.

I traced the letters of her name with my finger, trying to hold back all of the emotions I had for this women. Addison Henderson. I hadn't really gotten to know her, or even knew her last name until I had seen this headstone, but the grief I felt was real. She had been Aiden's fiancé about 100 years ago, but Aiden had turned into a vampire and had to leave her. Little did Aiden know that Addison had done the exact same thing as he had, changed herself, but she had gone over to Marissa's side instead of siding with Aiden.

Even though she was supposed to be on Marissa's side, she had turned course and defended me and Aiden, dying herself, but saving others in return. It was sad lose and even though I knew she was my enemy, I somehow felt like she was only putting on an act for Marissa, always truly on Aiden's side.

I thought to myself as I stared at the engraved letters, "I don't know what I would have done without you. I would never have survived; none of us would have. You were beginning to be my friend. I wish we had that time together. I think Aiden still loves you, but I am not sure. He hasn't been himself lately. It is starting to scare me. I don't know what to do. I need some help. I need your help."

Aiden still hadn't moved when I looked up. He was staring at the headstone, thinking.

"Aiden?" I whispered, standing up. I went over to him and touched his chest with my open palm. Still no heart beat. That always surprised me. I never got use to it.

Aiden looked at me quickly, then back down at the ground under our feet. He took my hand off of his chest and held it in his.

I needed to get this out of him. Something was really bothering him, but he wouldn't tell me. I coaxed him onto the hard ground. The ground was getting softer, now that spring was bringing lots of rain. It felt good to once again be sitting under our tree.

I held is hand, waiting for something to happen, even a little breeze. It felt like the world was on pause, like there was no life. The trees weren't even swaying in the breeze; it was total silence...

Until Aiden spoke. "I had a dream a few weeks ago." His voice was harsh, no trace of friendliness.

"Tell me." I said, wanting to know what it was about. He seemed to be very concerned about it. I wanted to know why.