I Love You, I'll Kill You

"So, did Shayne here rough you up a bit?" the boy on the end of the couch asked. This was the 20th question in less than five minutes.

I tensed involuntarily beside Shayne when his hold around my waist tightened after the boy had asked the question. I wasn't complaining that he was making sure that I didn't fall on my face. The young man smirked when he saw Shayne's reaction.

The oldest young man of the group said, "That's enough, Joshua." He was the one giving me the darkest look out of them all. The rest of them seemed rather interested in the fact that Shayne had found me hurt and alone in the woods.

"I suppose I should introduce everyone now that they've had their fun asking you many questions," Shayne began, sighing loudly as if he didn't want to do introductions. "This is Eric." He pointed to the blonde on the floor.

Eric jumped to his feet in a lithe motion with such grace that it made me gasp in surprise. He smirked and held out his hand. "Nice to meet such a nice young lady," he said.

I took his hand and returned the smile. "It's nice to meet a young man who doesn't call me a chick or girl."

He laughed and released my hand and said, "No problem." He returned to his spot on the floor, flopped down on his stomach and went back to watching television.

"And this is Matt," Shayne said.

The auburn haired young man who had been lying next to Eric stood to his feet. He wasn't as energetic as Eric, but no one else in the room seemed to have the same energy as Eric. His hair was cut short, almost to a point to being called spiky. Unlike Eric's baby blue eyes, his were a dark, almost onyx color. He was taller than Eric by a few inches, about six-foot four. They both felt tall against my five-foot, six inches. His skin was darker than the rest of them. He held out his hand with a guarded look in his eyes.

"It's a pleasure," I said, sending him a shy smile while grabbing his hand.

He seemed shocked by my words and courage to grab his hand in a tight handshake. A small smirk trailed across his lips. "Same here," he said. He released my hand and went back to sit on the ground next to Eric, crossing his legs like he had been doing yoga for some time.

"And you've pretty much already met the jokester of the group, Joshua," Shayne said.

"That's me," Joshua said, jumping to his feet with almost the same energy as Eric. He was the same height as Eric. His brown hair was spiked with too much gel. I could only guess how much time it took to clean the stuff out of his hair. His eyes were a dirty green color, mixed with a light brown. He walked over to me and held out his hand.

I was almost reluctant to shake his hand, paranoid that there was going to be one of those handshake buzzers that shocked me when I finally touched his hand. I let out a held breath when I felt no shock. "You seem like a character," I commented.

He smiled and nodded his head. "You can only imagine how boring this place would be without me," he said.

I glance around the room and chuckled. The room did seem like it would be a little boring without him. "I can only imagine," I agreed.

"And that's my brother, Derek," he said, pointing his thumb toward his almost mirror image that was leaning against the wall. "We're twins."

I stared with a perplexed expression, glancing back and forth between the two. "No kidding," I said, shaking my head to make sure I wasn't seeing double.

Derek didn't move from his spot against the wall, not acting anything like his twin. No, he was almost the exact opposite when it came to character. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at me with piercing eyes. He gave a low, "Hey," and that was it.

My ankle was pounding with a heavy and fast pulse. I was pretending to be the tough girl. I did not want to complain when I was being introduced to people of the house. I felt like it would be rude to say anything. But—dang—did it hurt to play a role that you knew would fail in the end. I didn't feel like standing for much longer, so I returned his simple word with a nod of the head. He didn't seem to care. Joshua returned to his seat on the couch so that he could watch television.

I jumped when two loud voices came from the hall behind me. I turned around and saw two young men in the kitchen. One had black hair that was long enough to cover his eyes. He was dressed in jeans that had tears at the knees. He was shirtless, just like Shayne. He was just as well-built as Shayne, as well. All of them were big. Not too big, but built to a point that I could see their six-packs through their shirts. All of them were perfect. The other young man had brown curly hair, long enough that he could tie it back in a ponytail. He was shirtless, too. He was dressed in ripped jean shorts that had paint stains on them. The two of them were fighting over who got the last bag of chips.

"Those two animals are Craig and Dean. They fight over everything, so we've all gotten used to hearing their mindless quarreling," Shayne said with a shake of his head as though he didn't understand the two at all. "And of course—last but not least—Troy."

I glanced to the last introduced person in the house. Sitting on the couch, he gave me the same look I received when I had first entered the house: cold. I felt a shiver of something unexplainable when our eyes connected. The look in his eyes was hostile. He didn't like me, and he was making sure that I knew it.

Shayne put a warm hand on my shoulder, and it made me jump. "Let's go take a look at that ankle of yours," he said.

I looked to him, and our eyes connected. I felt like I was melting inside after I had been staring at the cold eyes of Troy. Shayne's eyes were warm and soft, a color that would melt any girl's heart. I nodded my head, feeling Troy's glare on my back. Shayne lifted me into his arms with a single sweep and carried me up the stairs. It amazed me how he could carry me like I weighed nothing.

"Aren't I heavy? You're not straining one bit, and you're carrying me up stairs," I asked, feeling a bit embarrassed about being carried by someone I didn't know at all.

He chuckled. "Are you kidding me? If you weighed any less, I would be worried about your health," he said. I blushed, turning my eyes to the ground in a nervous gesture. I was sure he had seen it, but he didn't say anything. Smart man. It was a simple two story house, something I didn't get at all. It didn't make sense that seven large young men could all fit in a small two story house. I wondered if it was an optical illusion or something.

Shayne carried me down the long hall to the last door on the right. He opened the door without dropping me; something I thought was rather impressive. His room wasn't large, but the bed in the room was. It took up almost half of the room. He set me down on the soft mattress, making sure that my ankle was levitated.

"Now," he began, "Let's have a look at this ankle of yours." He sat down on one knee to kneel in front of me. He slowly began to untie my shoelaces, making sure to be as careful as possible. When he was sure it was loose enough, he pulled it off slowly, but it still made me cringe in pain. My ankle had at least doubled in size.

"Ow!" I hissed when my ankle moved too much in one direction.

"Sorry. Would it be less painful if I chopped it off?" he asked.

I laughed, unable to hold it back. "No, I think I'll survive," I said through a chuckle.

He smiled. The smile made all the pain in my ankle disappear like magic. He pulled my sock off, leaving my foot bare. My nails looked like they had recently been manicured. Had I gone somewhere special? Or did I always have such well kept feet? Sadly, I had no idea.

"Wow, it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. Maybe I'm just a whiner," I said. My ankle was a little swollen, but nothing that looked too serious. Sure, it was beginning to bruise a little, but after running through the woods in the dark, I think I deserved it for being so foolish.

"It's a definite sprain. It might be worse than it looks. I don't think you tore a ligament, but you definitely came close. We need to put something around it to make sure that you do not strain it any more than you already have," he said in a low voice. He lightly trailed his fingers over the bruised skin, lighter than a butterfly's kiss. I staggered a breath and felt shivers run down my spine.

He looked up from his place on the ground. He had probably felt the shivers that had shot through my body. "You okay? Not going into shock, are you?" He smiled again.

It took me a second to register what he had said. I shook my head, trying to knock myself out of my reverie. "No, just feeling shocks." The moment I said it I wanted to take it back. Here I was, telling a gorgeous, half naked guy that I was feeling shocks.

He gave me a concerned look. "Shocks of pain? I was hoping you weren't in that much pain," he said. He had it all wrong, and I was glad. I was only hoping that he was buying the act.

I couldn't keep my eyes off his chest. He was like a magnet for my attention, something I hoped he didn't realize. I had a feeling he did. "Like I said, I think I'm just being a whiner. I'm just not used to feeling pain. I don't remember what it feels like to have a tremendous amount of pain," I explained.

Shayne's eyes clouded with sadness. He was more upset than I was that I couldn't remember anything. He shook his head, turning his eyes to the ground. "I don't understand how you can accept not knowing who you really are. To not remember those who you have met and loved in your life," he shook his head again. "I just can't imagine the thought. Don't you feel...incomplete?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "A little, but I don't really know what that feeling means to me. Sure, I guess I can wonder how it would feel, but I don't really know what it means to be incomplete. I guess it's just another word for saying there's a missing piece to the puzzle. I guess in this situation the puzzle is my life," I said.

Shayne stared at me for a long moment, looking like he was entranced by my words. A look flickered across his eyes. It was a strong emotion, but as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. He stood to his feet in a graceful motion and walked toward the door. He left me sitting on the bed while he exited out of the door, disappearing from my sight, much to my dismay.

Eric appeared in the doorway no less than thirty seconds later, arms crossed over his chest. He was the smallest of the guys, but was still built to a point that I could see his muscles through his shirt. He leaned against the doorframe in a relaxed gesture. He smiled at me sitting on Shayne's bed.

"Do you always smile?" I asked.

His smile widened. He pushed back some of his blond hair from his face. "I try. I've learned that a smile can be pretty contagious," he said.

I couldn't prevent a smile from creeping to my face. "I guess that's a good reason to smile all the time. I guess you and Joshua are the real clowns of the house, huh?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that we are the life of the house," he said. He gazed at me from the doorframe for a moment while the silence thickened. More questions were coming, I could feel it. He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock on the door that made half the house shake stopped him.

"What was that?" I asked.

Eric growled, sounding more like an animal than human. "It's him. What is he doing here?" He disappeared from the doorway like a flash of lightning. I hopped to my feet and began to limp out the door. It hurt to move, but for some reason I felt like I was being drawn to whatever was standing on the other side of the door. I needed to find out who it was. I had made it to the railing of the stairs by the time the door had opened.

Shayne opened the door, practically pulling it off its hinges. "What are you doing here, bloodsucker?" His voice was full of such dislike that it sent shivers down my spine.

"Where's the girl?" My breath got caught in my throat. It was Desmond. Had he followed me? But how? I hadn't seen him following me earlier. In fact, I had made sure that no one had followed me into the woods. How could he have found me so quickly?

Shayne gave a low growl. "Why? So you can have a midnight snack?" he snarled.

Desmond returned the kindness and began to growl. "Do not test my patience, mutt. Give me Grace and I won't break your legs...for now," he said.

I gasped when I felt something strong hit me like an invisible wave. Something was pounding against me, but I couldn't see it. It was crushing me. I felt something like a hammer hit me. I fell to my knees, gasping for air. Little white dots were beginning to appear in my vision. Not a good sign. Ten thousand pounds were pushing me lower to the ground. I tried to fight it, but found no power against this great weight. I wanted to scream, but found no voice.

"Shayne! I need help!" Eric's voice echoed, sounding like we were on separate ends of a cave when he was actually kneeling down beside me, trying to figure out why I was on the ground. He touched me, and I screamed. He pulled away like he had just been shocked. His touch had only added to the great weight that was holding me down.

The pressure, the thousand pounds lifted from my body enough that I was finally able to get an inhale of air in my lungs. My head felt light after being without enough oxygen. I felt Shayne and Desmond's presence next to me like we had a strong connection. What was this feeling? This power?

"Grace?" Desmond said in a panicked voice, rolling me over onto my back.

I stared up and saw two angels. Desmond and Shayne were leaning over me, both with very concerned expressions. I coughed, trying to clear my throat so I could speak. "I feel...tired," I choked out.

Desmond and Shayne looked to each other, but the glance was not a pleasant one. The look in their eyes was fierce, unwavering, and full of dislike.

"Do you have something to tell me, fang face?" Shayne asked.

Desmond narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't have anything to tell you but for you to keep your nose out of it. If you hadn't started this, maybe Grace wouldn't be on the ground," he snapped.

Shayne growled. "Me? You should be thanking me that I got to her before any other animal could get her. Besides, you're the one who came to my house and started it." Shayne was practically yelling.

"If you hadn't started lashing your aura at me, maybe I would have behaved myself better. You're the one who challenged me."

"What did you expect when you came knocking at my door? A warm welcoming?" Shayne said in a defensive tone.

Desmond shook his head like he didn't believe it. "You knew that I wasn't here to fight you. You just wanted to prove a point."

I couldn't handle it any longer. I reached up and put a hand over both their mouths. "Enough. I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but whatever the hell you two did, it affected me." I pulled my hands away from their mouths before I was finished speaking. They both were now staring at me with a curious look.

"Explain," Desmond said.

I sighed, wanting to do nothing but sleep. My ankle was no longer hurting, but my head was making up for the lack of pain. "I don't know what happened. It's hard to explain. It felt like an invisible force was crushing me. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All I could do was feel this...force crush against me like it was trying to sink into me. It felt like if it crushed me enough it would eventually seep into me," I said. I felt like I was sounding like a maniac—which I probably was—but the looks on Shayne's and Desmond's face made me think that they believed me. They exchanged a quick glance before returning to me.

"Do you think she felt our auras?" Shayne asked. I figured it was for Desmond now that the others were now curiously watching what was happening. Eric was standing behind Shayne, staring down at me with the same look as Desmond's and Shayne's. Even he was curious about what I had to say. All the others I had met earlier were standing on the stairs or near them.

"I think that it's possible," Desmond whispered after a long pause. He extended his hand toward me, waiting for me to take it. I hesitated. Only a few hours ago was I running from him, scared from the words that had come from his mouth. He was the one who had made me this way. He was the one who had erased my memories. I should hate him, shouldn't I? If that was the case, my body didn't seem to care. I reached out and put my hand in his. I gasped when my hand felt hot against his.

He stood and took me with him. With an easy sweep, he lifted me into his arms. He carried me down the stairs before I knew what was happening. The cold air from outside blew into the warm house. Someone had left the door open.

I looked to the living room and saw all the guys I had met earlier crowded into one area. They all looked on edge and were staring at Desmond with defensive looks. They all looked as tense as could be. When my eyes landed on Troy's, they were colder than before. He wasn't glaring at Desmond, but at me. I shivered, and that was the fourth time because of him. Desmond started to carry me out the front door, but Shayne's voice stopped him.

Shayne practically flew down the stairs and appeared in the doorway. "Wait, you can't just take her," he said.

I was a bit shocked by this sudden flow of emotion coming from him. He had been so quiet a moment ago, staring at me with undecided eyes, and now he was fighting for my right to stay. I could feel his heart beating quickly in his chest from where Desmond was holding me.

Desmond turned with me in his arms. "Shayne, I am grateful that you watched over and took care of Grace for me. But now I need to do my job and take her home," he said with slight straining in his voice. He was trying to hold back his temper.

Shayne's eyes narrowed. "Are you dating humans now? I can't even imagine you dating a kind and gentle person like Grace," he said with spite. I opened my mouth to say I wasn't, even though I didn't know if I was or not. I doubted Desmond dated people like me.

Desmond answered before I could. "You don't have to imagine something that's real and right in front of your own eyes."

I looked up to Desmond with wide eyes. "Excuse me? Are you implying that we're dating?" I asked too quickly, panic beating my heart with a fast pace.

Desmond smirked and glanced down to me. "Yes, I am."

I stared with wide eyes at Desmond for a long moment. I felt a second pair of eyes on me and turned to Shayne. I felt my heart break in two. His eyes were hurt, a look of betrayal pasted across his face. He didn't know me at all, and yet he was staring at me like I had stabbed him in the back. I looked down to the ground, unable to handle either gaze. "Desmond, put me down," I said in a whisper, but he heard me and did as I had asked.

"Why do you have that look on your face? You look like you've just hit a dog," he said to Shayne. I heard a bit of humor hidden in that comment.

I looked up with sad eyes, the same eyes that Shayne had used to stare at me. "Is what you say true or are you just trying to make Shayne jealous?" I asked.

Desmond seemed shocked by my expression more than my question. He looked away and sighed after staring at me for no more than a moment, unable to handle the look on my face. He turned around and faced Shayne, putting me to his back. "You're right, wolf. A person like Grace would never date a person like me, regardless of my disappointment," he said as though it hurt him to say it.

"Wait, how do you know I wouldn't date a person like you? I don't even know you that well. And why do you keep calling each other these weird names like wolf and bloodsucker?" I asked to Desmond's back. I watched his back tense and twist in an uncomfortable position. I glanced around his back to Shayne. His face was no longer hurt, but blank. I took a step around Desmond so that I could see what his face was hiding from me. It looked exactly like Shayne's.

"Tell her, Desmond, or I will do it for you," Shayne said.

I looked back and forth between them. "Tell me what?"

Desmond closed his eyes and took a big intake of air.