Change of Heart 2

Chapter 11

He stood in the middle of the woods, wiping the blood off of his mouth with the end of his T-shirt. For about the fifth time, he looked at the small plant growing out of the dry dirt, its purple petals consuming the brownness of his eyes. Slowly, he walked closer to the plant, his bare feet becoming contaminated with dirt. The idea was insane, he knew that, but he had to try. The sun was hot, and he felt it pounding on his back even with the shade of the trees. Kneeling down next to the dangerously beautiful plant he carefully reached out to pluck it out of its roots.

"That's a really bad idea, Aiden."

He smiled, withdrew his hands and stood up to face her. "It worked didn't it?"

"You are crazy." She laughed. She was standing against a tree about ten feet away from him. She wore a dark green T-shirt which blended in with the atmosphere and a pair of jet black skinny jeans complimented by a simple pair of black sneakers. "I can't believe you were gonna do that."

"You came last time when I needed you."

"What if I didn't come this time?" She asked walking away from the tree and towards him. "That Wolfs bane would've killed you."

"But you wouldn't have let that happen." He said. "Just like you didn't let me turn last time."

"I knew you were looking for me, although I didn't think you would go this far to summon me."

"Then why didn't you come?"

"I'm only supposed to show up when you absolutely need me." She said standing in front of him. "So please, if you get a paper cut, don't expect to see me running to you with a bandage."

"What if I'm terribly lonely, does that count?"

"Aiden, this is serious. Don't do stuff like this ever again. Don't even think about it."

"You didn't give me a chance to thank you last time." He smiled. "Thank you."

"I didn't do you a favor. It's my job."

"What are you a dog whisperer?"

"I thought Adrian was the sarcastic one?" She folded her arms.

"You know Adrian?"

"I know all of you." She said holding his chin with one hand. "But you're the most important one to me."

"Why?" His forehead crinkled.

"I've said too much already." She stepped away from him.

"No wait," He held her shoulder. "you haven't said anything."

"Aiden I−

"How do you know me? How do you know what I am? How do you know when I need you?"

"Like I told you, it's my job to know. It's my job to help you."

"You can trust me." He said softly pulling her closer. "You can tell me."

"I'm not supposed to." She whispered pulling herself free of his hold.

"Look I don't know who you are, but all I know is that you make it better." He spoke as she walked back towards the tree to get the bag she came with. She halted. "You make me feel better."

"No one else knows do they?" She looked at him. "You never told anyone?"

"No." He nodded. "I mean what's the point? The guilty feeling will always be there whether I spoke about it or not." He looked up at her. "Every day for over ninety years, it haunts me. Every day the pain grows stronger and stronger and nothing is able to stop it no matter what I do. But that day, when I held your hand, when you held mine....it was gone. That permanent feeling of guilt was gone."

There were tears in her eyes.

"Now you can say that it's your job, but I know it's more than just a job. It's you. You make me feel better." He laughed softly, but not a happy laugh. "I know I sound crazy because I've only met you once before and I don't even know your name, but it's true."

"You're hurting." Her voice cracked. "You've been hurting for a long time."

"The worst part is, I'll never be able to stop. I'll never be able to get away from the guilt." He cried. "I have to live with it for the rest of my life."

"Aiden, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." He said. "You gave me a break; even if it was just for a few minutes. You made it stop."

"I wish I could stay with you." She wiped his cheeks.

"Me too." He whispered closing his eyes and pressing her hands tighter against his face. His pain disappeared like before and he almost felt normal again, but just as he started to enjoy it the pain returned and he opened his eyes to find that she was gone.