Finding Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book One

Chapter 28. Tensions Rising*

Chapter 28. 18th Floor Balcony by Blue October

Reclining on the fur rug in front of the fireplace in the living room, Evan thought back over the past week and a half she had spent with Emil. She was glad he had welcomed her to his home, and relieved that she had not been forced to suffer in fear at hers, freaking out at every creak and groan in her old house. Here, with Emil near, she had been able to relax and even enjoy getting to know him better.

She had let him in on a little of her broken history when he had asked about her nightmares. There were still things she just couldn't tell him though. She did not even want to think of them. Chilled as if ice water flowed through her veins, she shivered when she thought of all the things her so-called gift had ruined in her life. If she had understood her feelings of déjà vu, she might have been able to actually do something about the tragedy her mother suffered through and been more sympathetic. It was just too late when she understood everything. Her grandmother had not been perfect either, but she was the best chance she had at family. It was so true, you couldn't pick your family.

The day she had told Emil about her family, he had asked her if she wanted to go to the zoo. She had never been, and should have known better than to go in late winter in the Midwest. She had enjoyed it and was surprised by the different behavior of the animals when it was the two of them near, rather than if there were other people around. They seemed to almost communicate with Emil. She couldn't explain it. Evan had made it most of the way through before the cold winds chilled her to the bone. She hated that she had begun to shiver. She smiled as she thought of Emil trying to warm her. He was too cold to do much, but he had tried.

She had been awed by the young woman Emil had introduced her to at a coffee shop in the bottoms. Shauntée apparently had been a prostitute but had listened to Emil's encouragement to get out of that destructive lifestyle. He had even fronted her the money to start her coffee shop and bakery, which the woman had already repaid. Emil had looked like a proud father. It had warmed a place deep inside her, and she had really enjoyed the coffee and hot pastry that the impressive Shauntée had given her. Emil was just too good. She could not picture him as evil. Everything he had shown her and done for others was counter-intuitive of what he wanted her to think of him. She had known from the first day that she had met him she would never forget a single moment, and as each day passed, she had grown to anticipate his presence. She did not want to think of the day she would have to leave and go back to her house. She shivered just thinking of her cold empty house.

Evan honestly felt like she had found someone. The someone she had been looking for her whole life. She knew she was crazy for even considering Emil as anything other than a friend, but after her solitary life, she could not stop these feelings from flowing through her. Evan did not think she was capable of changing the direction her heart was taking her. Her head could tell her 'no' as much as it wanted, but her heart wasn't listening. She could not remember ever feeling like the air she needed went with someone else when they left the room. When Emil was gone for his brief hunting excursions she almost felt pain, she missed him so much.

The statement Emil had made the first day she had arrived, 'If I ever sink my teeth into you, it will be because you asked me to', just before he left so abruptly still had her wondering. Would she actually ever want him to do such a thing, to bite her? She could not imagine wanting to die, or to become a vampire. She had too much life ahead of her. But, she had to be honest with herself. She could think of no one else she had ever wanted to be with more.

Evan had dated a few boys in high school, but her gift had always made those very non-intimate. She had only realized her talent's full ramifications when she was twelve, and it had grown in intensity as she aged. It seemed to be excessively heightened when she had been emotionally attuned to the person she touched. She chose not to have relationships while in college, but in medical school, she had started to date again. She hadn't wanted to go through life alone, and she figured maybe someone who had a desire to heal might be more open and understanding of what she went through. She had been sorely disappointed when who she thought was her best friend, a kind, quiet young man, had scorned her like a possessed witch after she had tried to tell him of her extra sense. That had halted all her aspirations of love in her future. She had decided to focus all her energy on her patients, and so far had done very well staying busy enough not to care.