Chapter 12

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     Joseph stood outside of Gwen’s apartment slowly enjoying a cigarette. She would be home from work soon. Joseph had already left to hunt and all he had to do now was wait for her to get home; he had locked himself out of the apartment.

     It was a pleasantly mild late December night. He had walked to the corner store and bought Gwen a single white rose as thanks for letting him crash at her place last night. He figured he would leave the next day and disappear from her life again. This thought saddened him. He wanted friendship more than anything in this world, but it seemed impossible to obtain.

     Joseph didn’t want to hurt Gwen the same way that he had hurt Matt. Sometimes he wondered how that poor boy was getting along with his uncaring parents. Gwen had been so good to him and she was gone most of the day so Joseph could sleep in the darkness without question. She was a great friend to him back when they were kids and she had forgotten her anger towards him.

     The vampire flicked away his cigarette butt. He decided he would tell her the truth. She had the right to know he was a vampire; and maybe if he came out with the truth right away he wouldn’t need to worry about her falling for him and then breaking her heart.

     Soon after he finished his cigarette, Gwen came in view around the corner. She looked as exhausted as she did last night. Joseph felt a twinge of pity for her, but his vampire heart was not able to hold onto the emotion as long as he would have liked.  She looked up from the slushy sidewalk to him when she arrived at the stairs.

     Joseph gave her a smile and held out the rose wrapped in paper to her. “Good evening, miss.” He laughed a little.

     A smile slowly grew on her face as she took the rose. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do this.” She said shyly while digging in her pocket for her keys.

     “I wanted to.” Joseph said with an insistent nod.

     “Well, thank you.” Gwen said softly as they walked up the stairs to her apartment. They were silent until they got back inside. She put down her purse, poured a glass of water and flopped down on the couch tiredly, which was still covered in Joseph’s make shift bedding.

     Joseph took the rose from the counter and put it in an old vodka bottle he found under the sink. He filled it with water and placed it on her table.  He sighed and sat down beside her. He was starting to second guess his decision. He could not believe that he, the infamous Black Phoenix, was afraid of telling her the truth. He looked down at his hands, making sure there was no dried blood on them.

     “So how was your day?” Gwen was the first to break the silence.

     “Slept.” Joseph said simply. His hands were shaking; he held his knees to try to disguise his nervousness. “Hey Gwen?” He said after a moment.

     “Yes?” Gwen’s voice was tired. She did not notice that something was obviously nagging at Joseph.

     “I need to tell you something.”

     Gwen finally picked up on his tone. She put down her water and leaned over to touch his shoulder. She was a compassionate person and it was in her nature to help when someone was feeling bad. “What is it? What’s the matter?”

     “I need to tell you something and I’m not sure how you’re going to take it.” Joseph repeated.

     Gwen raised her eyebrows. “Joseph, you can tell me anything.”

     Joseph shuddered. “I have to confess something I’ve been keeping from you.”

     Gwen took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Please, tell me.”

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