Reminiscence {Book Two of the Vengeance Trilogy}

Chapter Eleven: First Words (Again)

I sprinted down the steps of the bell tower, rushing to get to Caroline. What the fuck was Peter doing? He wasn't supposed to be bringing her around here. Not only to keep Caroline safe, but because Tom would lose his shit if he just saw Caroline on his doorstep. I had to stop this. God damn it Peter...

I walked at a quick pace through the church, knowing that the other members of the pack would get suspicious if they just saw me running towards the church doors. A few of them did stare at me, but I refused to make direct eye contact with any of them. My only focus was protecting Caroline from the dangers that she wasn't aware of and saving Peter from his own stupidity.

When I finally got to the front door I softly slipped out without a sound, then quickly looked around for Peter and Caroline. They weren't in the direction of the graveyard and when I looked the other way down the street, I saw the two of them only a few meters away from the gate that led to where I was standing. Caroline was laughing at whatever it was that Peter had said to her, but his focus was no longer on her. His eyes were set on me as I quickly made my way over to them, trying to keep the two of them as far away from the church as possible. Peter had one of his big goofy smiles on his face, as if he were proud of himself.

"Oh, Caroline, this is Danny! He's really good friends with the guy I was telling you about," he said in a cheery voice. Caroline looked over at me with a wide smile and I felt my entire body freeze up. She looked at me with so much innocence. I secretly hoped that she would look into my eyes and remember me, but the rational side of my brain knew that there was no way for it to happen. She had no idea about the dangers that lurked around every corner.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." Her voice was so sweet and I couldn't help but wonder if she would always be like this if Elliot didn't give her the memories of what happened over the summer. Maybe she would be better off if she didn't know about our world. Caroline would be able to lead a completely normal life. Everyone would know the truth except for her, but she would be happy.

"Daniel Joseph McCarthy, the Third, at your services, my dear" I said in my normal charming tone of voice. Just like I had the first time around, I took her hand in mine and kissed the top of it, only this time it wasn't funny. When I had done this when I first met her, she was all annoyed and flustered, which of course brought me joy. Now, she giggled a bit, which somehow left me being the annoyed one.

"Aren't you a funny one?" Caroline laughed and I tried my best to smile without it seeming sad. Trying my best to shake off the fact that Caroline thought that this was our first time meeting, I looked over at Peter, who was still smiling so wide I began to wonder if it hurt.

"Peter, can I speak to you, alone?" I asked. He looked at Caroline, but her eyes were still fixated on me, only now she was looking like she was trying to figure something out. Almost like she recognized me...

"Is it okay if I talk to Danny real fast?" Peter said, but Caroline didn't respond. Instead, she silently stared at me lost in puzzlement. Her eyes were locked onto me as if she would lose whatever it was her brain was trying to piece together. I glanced around, took one quick look over my shoulder, and then turned back to her.

"Is there something I can help you with, Sweetheart?"

"I know you from somewhere," she said in a very calm voice that was almost impossible to hear. Before the panic could have a chance to set in, I spoke up.

"Probably not, I'm not from around here," I lied.

"Then why do I feel like I know you from somewhere?" she asked. There was no doubt that Caroline was stubborn, which made me wonder how she and my cousin got along as well as they did. Elliot had the backbone of a jellyfish, but Caroline was the exact opposite. She was assertive when she needed to be, like when her brain was trying so desperately to piece together pieces of her memory that Elliot has scattered.