Vampires And Witches, Kayla Trautman [smart ebook reader .TXT] 📗

alright?” I smiled, “I’m fine. Let’s go back.” Keith picked me up and put me on his back. I said, “Put me down. I can run back on my own.” He didn’t listen. He just ran back there in a flash.
When we got inside he put me down, “There you go.” I said, “I could’ve done that myself.” David asked, “What happened? Did William come back?” I shook my head, “No. I went for a run.” Keith added, “She runs like a pro.” I said, “I’ve been running ever since I was ten.” I went into the kitchen and got a bottle of water out of the fridge. I took a long drink. It was half way empty when I was done. I put it on the table and sat down.

“Are you okay?” David asked. I looked up and sighed, “No. I’m not. I’m hurting mentally and … usually when I run I feel better for a while. But … I can’t …” David sat next to me and touched my shoulder, “You can’t what? Tell me how you’re feeling. You can’t keep it bottled up inside.”

I put my elbow down on the table and put my head in my hand, “Ever since my mom died when I was ten I’ve been running. It may sound silly or stupid to you but I wasn’t just running for the fun of it. I was running from the pain. Away from life. My dad took mom’s death bad. Too bad. I couldn’t lean on him for support when I needed it. He leaned on me. And now he’s gone.”

I started to cry. David rubbed my shoulder, “It’s okay. Just let it out. No one’s leaning on you anymore. Lean on me. On us. We’re all here for you.” I just kept on crying. “You can’t keep on running from the pain forever, Ariel.” I cried, “I can’t do this any more. I can’t deal with this.” David pulled me into his arms and hugged me.

Keith came in and put his hand on my back, “Are you okay? Are you in pain?” I shook my head. David said, “She’s letting it out. A little bit of it anyway. This is only a taste of what she’s feeling. There’s more inside of her that she won’t let out.”

I took a few deep breaths and pulled back. I wiped my tears away, “I wanna go to school tomorrow. My head’s fine so I wanna go.” Keith frowned, “I don’t think that that’s a good idea. You just got out of the hospital yesterday.” I looked at him, “I’m not asking for permission. I’m just letting you know so you know where I‘ll be.” I walked around them and ran upstairs. I couldn’t deal with this right now. Or deal with them trying to get me to lean on them. I can’t lean on them. That’s just not me.

I layed down in bed and just cuddled up there thinking about everything. At that moment Keith came in and shut the door behind him, “Hey.” I looked at him, “What?” He came over and kneeled in front of me beside the bed, “Talk to me. You need someone to talk to.” I chuckled and frowned at the same time, “I don’t need to talk to anyone. I can’t lean on anyone with my feelings.” “Why not? We’re here for you.” He asked confused.

I shrugged, “That’s just the way I am. That’s how I’ve always been and that’s how I always will be. I wanna hold other people up. I don’t wanna have to depend on others for my problem.”

Keith touched my face. I swallowed and whispered, “What are you doing?” He leaned in, “Kissing you.” Then his lips were against mine crushing my lips. His lips were soft against mine. I didn’t kiss him back. I just stayed there. I wanted to kiss him back but . . . I couldn’t.
He felt that I wasn’t kissing him and he pulled back, “Was that wrong? I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first. And waited for an answer. I don’t like the new you. But I can wait. You need time to heal. But I do like you.” I sighed, “I like you too. You’re beautiful. You’re sensitive but not too sensitive. You make what you want clear. For example the day you met me when you slammed me into the wall. But when I’m hurting you’re always here to try and comfort me. Although I push you away and stop you.”

“But you didn’t kiss me back.” Keith pointed out. I sat up and just sat on the edge of the bed with my feet on the floor. He sat next to me, “If you like me, then why?” I replied, “I don’t wanna let anyone in my life.” He asked, “Why not? What will it hurt?”

I looked at him, “Me. It’ll hurt me if we were to become serious about each other and then . . . It just seems that everyone that I love just dies and leaves me here alone. I’m already here alone.” Keith smiled and chuckled a little trying to ease up my tenseness, “Isn’t it a bit early to be worrying about that? To worry about losing the one you love? We like each other.”

I sighed, “You know what I mean.” He kissed my forehead, “Do you want some time alone?” I nodded, “Yeah. That’s all I want right now. That’s all I need.” He nodded and then ran out. But in a flash he was back in wheeling a T.V. in the room. He put it against the wall and handed me the remote, “Thought you could use something to watch.” I smiled, “Thank you. I can’t sleep all the time.” Keith kissed my forehead again and left.

I flipped through the channels and settled with sponge bob. Me and my mom used to watch this all the time when I was a kid and she was still alive. I smiled to myself just remembering the memories from my past.

It was around five when David brought a plate with spaghetti, “Hungry?” I smiled, “Yeah. Thanks.” He smiled and handed me the plate, “It’s nice to see you smile. You’ve been feeling so down lately.” I replied, “Well, enjoy my mood while it lasts because it won’t be for long. I was just remembering some memories about me and my mother when I was a kid.”


David sat on the side of my bed, “How was the relationship between you and your mom?” I smiled, “It was great. We were happy together. I felt of her more as a sister than a mother. We hung out all the time. Whenever she wasn’t with dad and she wasn’t at work she was with me. She was the mother figure when I needed her or when I got myself in trouble but . . . She was the sister that I never had and my mother at the same time.”

David said, “That’s good. If you need anything just call.” I nodded and he left. I began to eat. I didn’t wanna think about my feelings anymore. It hurt too much. I’m just gonna act like it never happened and brush it to the side when someone mentions it. I’ll be putting on an act like Keith said I shouldn’t but . . . I couldn’t help it. I didn’t wanna feel like this anymore. I ate my dinner and put the plate on the end table when I was done. At around seven I turned the T.V. and the lights off and fell asleep.

I woke up and looked at the time. It was ten in the morning. Damn it! I wanted to go to school today! Ugh! I got out of bed and got changed into a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top. I put on black flats and left the room.

“Happy Birthday!” They all yelled. I asked, “What is this?” Hilary said, “You said that today was your birthday. So we’re celebrating it.” I smiled, “Thank you.” Keith hugged me, “How’d you sleep?” I answered, “Good. Why didn’t you wake me up? I wanted to go to school.” David said, “You needed to sleep. And besides, it’s your birthday. Who goes to school on their birthday?” I chuckled, “I do. Or I used to until now. Thank you.”

Diana asked, “Aren’t you supposed to get a vision and find out your purpose is today since you’re turning eighteen?” I sighed and nodded, “Yeah. And I’m not looking forward to that.” We all went downstairs where I found the coffee table filled with breakfast food. I smiled, “I don’t think that I can eat all that.” Hilary said, “Well, I wanted you to have a variety to pick from when you ate this morning.” I sat down, “Thank you.”

After I ate Keith and David cleaned the table up. I said, “I could’ve helped if only you’d let me.” Diana laughed shaking her head, “No. It’s your birthday. We’ll do all the work. You just sit back and relax.” I shook my head, “I can’t do that. That’s not me.”

David came in carrying a cake with candles on it. They all started to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. He put the cake down on the coffee table on front of me. When they were done I blew out all eighteen candles at once. They clapped. I chuckled.

I felt like I was eight again instead of eighteen. I said, “Thank you. But I’m not eating any of it right now. I just got done eating breakfast.” Diana took the cake and ran out into the kitchen. She was back in a flash, “That’s okay. We can open presents instead.” My jaw dropped, “What? Presents? I don’t need any presents. You’ve given me more than enough.” Keith smiled, “Don’t tell me that you’re refusing our gifts. That’s rude.” I looked at him, “Fine.”

David gave me a pink bag, “I didn’t know what your favorite color was so I just went with pink.” I smiled, “That’s perfect. I haven’t really had a favorite color.” Diana nodded, “Isn’t that the truth? All you wore were sweats and t-shirts. I refused to bring your clothes here. I just had to get you new clothes.” I opened the bag ignoring her criticism, “”Gee. Thanks.”

I pulled out a black thin laptop and I was shocked. They put out all this money on me? Why . . .? I hate it when people spend money on me! Ugh! I never know what to get anyone else. And there’s nothing that I could get them to make up for what they got me. I smiled, “Thanks. You shouldn’t have though.” Hilary said, “You’re apart of the family now. So yes we should have. And I’m glad we did.”

I sighed and put the laptop back in the bag. I put the bag down and went over to Hilary. I hugged her, “Thank you. But once I find a place of my own I won’t have to depend on you.” Hilary pulled back, “What? You can’t leave.” I replied, “I don’t wanna get in the way of your family anymore than I already have.”
David came over and touched my shoulder, “Ariel. You’re not getting in the way. You are apart of the family too. Don’t feel like you’re a burden - because you’re not. We like having you here.” I sighed and put