Previously called 'Vampire Love (Damon Salvatore)' but it was written over three years ago when my writing skills were that of a ten year old. I actaully cringed at the awful grammar and spelling. So I guess you could say the story has had a revamp. Hope you enjoy x
Lucas Taylor- Ian Somerhalder
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Chapter One
The trees around me seem to blur as my head felt as if it was spinning. I lie on the snow covered forest floor completely paralysed by the below zero temperature which left me unable to speak or move. Drowsiness washed over me as the sound of frozen leaves crunching under feet hastily approached. I’m done with this miserable life; I don’t want anyone to find me. I’d appreciate it if he could just leave me alone and let me die peacefully. Half of my face felt numb as I’d been resting my head on a blanket of snow for God knows how long. Two feet appear in front of my face, he’s here.
“Roxy try to stay awake for me,” his smooth voice instructed. My heavy eyelids closed in defeat unable to fight the blackness washing over me.
-Six months before-
Hopping off the minibus I arrived at school. It’s July, the last day of year ten crept up upon me. I was so glad to be moving into the final year of high school in September. I’m fed up of being treated like a child. I want to get started on earning qualifications, three more years of education before I can get into University. In a dream I strolled through the canteen “Cheer up it’s the last day of term,” Rachel my best friend jumped up behind me. A smile crept onto my face; Rachel seemed to always have that effect on me. She has a reason to be happy and cheery all the time; she’s perfect in almost every way. Emerald eyes stood out from her shoulder length black hair and pale skin, her figure always seemed to attract attention from the boys. She’s pale…but not as me, no one can beat me in that department. The thought of next year daunted most people, all of the exams and coursework. But I was motivated and ready to get stuck in also I might finally see the back of some of these pricks that are in my year.
The day seemed to drag on, we didn’t actually do any work in lessons. They gave out crosswords and word searches for us to ‘attempt’ some of them even treated us like year sevens and told us to make posters, oh how I love getting creative (hint the sarcasm). Last lesson I had to endure an hour of science with a supply teacher. The table at the back of the classroom contained the ‘popular kids’, they stood trying to look hard wearing their branded clothing. Harry, one of the less popular kids, was just minding his own business waiting at his desk like everyone else.
“Woo nice coat Harry,” Harley ran around the back of the chaotic classrooms waving Harry’s coat around. Harry stood holding onto it for dear life looking rather upset. I glanced at the young male supply teacher standing at the front looking in a text book and rolled my eyes. ‘That’s right just stand there, it’s not like there isn’t bullying taking place under your supervision’. I couldn’t just be a bystander any longer and drifted over to assist Harry in his battle to retrieve his coat. I stood behind Harley “Come on Harry is that all you’ve got?” he snickered gaining laughs from the rest of his group.
“Harley just-“ he suddenly let go. Whack.
Before I knew it I was landing on my arse gripping my mouth. The metallic taste of blood invaded my taste buds. The room fell deadly silent all eyes on me. The bell rang echoing throughout the classroom which snapped me out of my trance. My hand tapped around on the floor beside me before I finally felt the strap to my bag. I hauled myself to my feet and stormed ahead of the class “Roxy! Are you okay?” the supply shouted after me. Oh so finally he pays attention to his class when one of the students have been assaulted, just the kind of teachers we need.
…
I stared out of the bus window watching the countryside go by, my lip had finally stopped bleeding but had left some impressive swelling. The summer starts now, six weeks to do bugger all. Honestly, there is nothing interesting going on where I live. A small village populated with around one hundred people, no shops and no park. What the hell am I going to do to stop myself going insane? As soon as I was home I ran upstairs where I inspected my wound, a deep cut was situated on my bottom lip where I had been elbowed. My Dad went on a business trip to America and mum went with him for a free holiday which leaves me here for six weeks all on my own.
The weather was nice for a change and if I were a plastic, aka girls with hair extensions, fake nails and orange faces, I’d be on the floor rolling around trying to catch every UV ray in an attempt to top up my tan. Fortunately I’m not one of those girls…so let’s go for a bike ride instead. My usual route is a long, almost straight, country road which is a mile long. I tugged my school tie off and threw my blazer on my bed leaving me wearing black skinny school trousers and a smart white shirt. I was enjoying the summer breeze flow through my medium length blonde hair as I biked down the abandoned country trail. A frog in the centre of the road forced me the gradually come to a stop. He wasn’t in any grave danger however I thought I’d help him on his way. With my bike laid down on the grass embankment at the side of the single width road I retrieved the frog and cupped him in my hands. I disappeared into the long grass at the side of the stream which was situated at the side of the road. He happily hopped out of my hand and landed in the clear slow running water.
As I was about to get back up from my kneeling position the sound of screeching tyres approached. My brows frowned in confusion as I stayed crouched in the long grass; this is a very rare occurrence. I don’t just mean me hiding in the overgrown plants at the side of a road I mean that sound. I slightly raised enough to poke my head above the grass like a lion spying on their prey. A smart black car appeared from a private track that led into the forest. The car sped out of the turning throwing up a bit of gravel in its track.
“Twat,” I swore as the car disappeared. The driver didn’t even look to see if anything was coming, if it was two minutes earlier I would’ve still been biking and they wouldn’t knocked me off. The strange thing was that I’ve been living in this village for my whole life and I wasn’t aware that there was a house in that piece of forest.
…
One week into the summer holidays and I was already bored, I sat on my windowsill gazing dreamily out of my bedroom window with the TV murmuring away in the background. I looked up into the blackened sky to inspect the stars. As I listened out of my open window a distance growl seemed to grow nearer. That noise again. It was that bloody car again. It has to be someone new in this area because I have never seen that car of that standard of driving around here. ‘There could’ve been a retired racing driver build a house in the woods,’ I joked to myself. I had a vague idea of where that car came from because I saw it a few weeks ago on my bike ride, whoever it is I am not impressed with their reckless driving. There are so many wild animals like deer run out onto the roads, I’m surprised they haven’t ran over and wiped out an entire species yet. The car itself is quite attractive however that still doesn’t make up for the spoiled peacefulness this village used to possess before they turned up. That night I was asleep when I was rudely awoken by the same engine noise that I’d heard a few hours ago.
“This is really starting to get on my bloody nerves,” I growled turning over onto my other side. As quick as it had approached it had gone again.
The next morning I awoke feeling sleep deprived and my eyelids felt like they has weights attached to them. I managed to gain the motivation to get up and have some breakfast. A knock at the door startled me making me nearly choke on my Weetabix. I swallowed my mouthful as I opened the front door “Morning Roxy, I’m sorry to bother you and I know it’s your summer holidays. Yesterday I managed to sprain my ankle and Bobby needs his exercise so I was just wondering, if it wasn’t too much bother, could you take him for his daily walk?” My next door neighbour, Barbra, explained. I had known her for my whole life and was very close, I often popped round for a quick cup of tea to chat about school and other things. I agreed to take Bobby for a walk even though I’m not the best person to be around animals. I finally managed to get out of my pyjamas into some jeans and fitting black hoodie. Like the unpredictable British weather it was hot yesterday and quite nippy today. After calling round next door me and Bobby got on our way. He was a black Labrador and had been raised by Barbra since he was a puppy, I can remember playing Frisbee with him in one of the fields when he was little.
We took the same route as I did on my bike ride purely because it was a nice road shaded by tree’s and at the end of the country path was an open field where I could take Bobby to play. Although me and the dog did get on there was still a little tension between us “Look Bobby I know we didn’t get off to the best start. Especially that time my mum nearly ran you over but you have to admit it was mostly your fault-“ Bobby hastily dragged me into the field at the end of the road. He finally stopped when we reached the centre of the field where he sat and stared up at me. “What?...what are you staring at?” I stared back. My eyes skimmed the long green grass until I came across a stick. The sky started to turn a murky grey as I lobbed the stick through the air. A light drizzle of rain began to fall but I ignored it thinking it would disappear in a minute or two. We played fetch for about five more minutes but then the rain started to pour down. I used the hairband around my wrist to tie my blonde hair up into a tight bun on the back of my head and pulled my hood up to shield my face from the battering of water.
“Come on Bobby let’s get you home,” I shouted across the field. The rain continued to fall heavier and heavier until it formed into hail. The sound of it smashing against the earth became deafening, you couldn’t hear yourself speak. The moisture quickly started to seep through my clothing making me shiver. A faint grumble growled in the distance as the sky became a darker shade of grey. An unexpected SMASH rattled throughout the atmosphere causing my breath to trap in my throat. Bobby howled in fright and sprinted as fast as light to the exit of the field “No, no, no!” I growled in frustration as I watched him disappear. “She could’ve told me you’re scared of thunder!” I shouted. Suddenly the sky was illuminated by a short burst of lightening. “Bobby get back here now!” I started the three hundred meter run back to the exit gate to the field. If anything happens to that dog Barbra will never forgive me. Thirty metres from the gate that led onto the road I saw Bobby dart across it. Stupid animal, he could’ve been hit by a car.
The sky was once again filled with short electric bursts of light. I ran into the road without thinking. Before I could react there were two bright lights heading towards me. The black car braked hard. I threw my hands onto the bonnet as if to stop the car and absorb some of the force. It honestly came from nowhere. My breathing was heavy as I gazed down at my hands placed on the bonnet with wonder. The rain smashed down and refracted from every surface it contacted. It hammered against body work of the car filling my ears was a constant thudding. Loud grumbles of thunder filled the air and the surrounding countryside and was followed by a blinding spark of lightening that travelled across the murky sky. I slowly raised my head to look through the window screen. We both stood perfectly still staring at each other in the eyes for what felt like minutes but as a matter of fact was literally three seconds. Another loud crash of thunder alerted me to my situation. Automatically I was off sprinting again.
I took a running jump and leapt over the wide ditch separating the country road and a forest. As I sprinted along I couldn’t get the image out of my head. This may sound ridiculous but the man that stared back at me was utter perfection. His raven black hair, his perfectly sculptured face and his amazing grey eyes made my cheeks blush. I ran and ran until I could no longer track Bobby. It was still tipping it down with rain; a familiar metallic taste filled my mouth once again. I brought my fingers lightly to my lip and gazed down to stare at the traces of blood. I sighed and pulled my hood down to expose my face as I faced up to the sky. The rain felt so refreshing on my face as it washed away the seeping blood from my lip.
A bark snapped my attention to the floor where Bobby had appeared from nowhere with a stick in his mouth. I took a moment to process my thoughts, what just happened? I kept picturing him in my head and I swear I knew him. The look he gave me confirmed my suspicions, there was an emotion in his eyes that said ‘hello again’. After coming to no conclusions I led Bobby back home but took another route, I didn’t want to risk getting ran over again. I dropped Bobby off with Barbra and dragged myself back home with all my clothes soaked in bitterly cold water. As I climbed the stairs I stripped off and threw them into the washing basket. In my underwear I nipped into the bathroom and stuck the plug in the bath. It took a few minutes to fill with steaming water and in the meantime I collected my pyjamas and clean towels.
My whole body seemed to relax as I sunk into the deep water. In, out, in, out. I took two deep breaths before submerging the remainder of my body under water. I felt at peace and once again began to think about the events of today. THUMP! In a panic I raised my head from underneath the water and gasped for air. What was that? My heart thumped violently against my chest. Even though I was sitting in a beyond warm bath my arms were suddenly plagued with goose bumps. That definitely came from downstairs. My hand desperately reached out for the towel slumped over the radiator. Within seconds it was wrapped around my body and my ear was pressed eagerly against the bathroom door. Was it my imagination? I can’t hear anything. I honestly heard something downstairs I assured my sanity. Very slowly I leaned and clasped onto a can of deodorant from the bathroom shelf planning to use it as a weapon. Painfully slowly my hand enclosed the bathroom door handle and inch by inch I opened the door. I ensured my towel was tightly secured around my body as I didn’t want to flash at any intruders.
My hand shook as I stepped wearily out of the bathroom with the spray at head level. One step at a time I creped down the stairs, luckily our stairs weren’t the creaking type. After what felt like a lifetime I got to the bottom. I peeked slowly around the corner expecting to be attacked by a burglar. There wasn’t anyone there. My whole body relaxed and the tension vanished as I sighed deeply with relief. Not all was normal though. The door was completely wide open. I scuttled over to the door and popped my head outside to check if there was anyone there, like I expected the coast was clear so to speak.
The cold chill swept against my bare skin, warm water droplets trickled from my wet hair down my back. I was left paranoid by the strange experience as I didn’t have a clue who opened the door. I slammed it closed and grabbed my coat from the back of the kitchen chair to search the pockets.
“Where are my fricking keys?” I growled. In the end I used the bolt on the door and scampered back upstairs to finish my bath.
“Just chill out Roxy, it’s Saturday night. Watch a film and stuff your face with sweets,” I sunk back into the bath.
...
I was falling! THUD. I awoke in shock.
“Urgh,” I groaned as my eyes peeled open. At first I was confused to where I was until I remembered. I fell asleep on the sofa while I was watching a movie. The walk into the kitchen made me feel like the living dead and I nearly fell asleep again as I waited for the toaster to give me my breakfast.
…
I’d spent an hour getting myself fully awake and tidying the house. My reflection stared back at me in the bathroom mirror. My lip had healed quite nicely but there was still a deep red mark where it hasn’t fully restored. My blonde hair was down to where your bra strap is and I haven’t made up my mind to which colour my eyes are. They seem to change every day, some days they’re really light blue and other days they are light grey. After applying some chap stick to my lips to disguise the mark from the cut I returned to my room. The sky was a nice shade of light blue which is a complete contrast from yesterday. Some mumbling caught my attention so I went over to my window to investigate. I looked down to the footpath outside and saw Barbra from next door with Bobby on a leach she stood talking to…that man. You know, the one from yesterday. The one who nearly ran me over? I was captivated at staring at him and didn’t want to look away. The feeling of knowing him washed over me again, I swear I know him and not just from yesterday either.
“Where do I know him from?” I growled through gritted teeth. He stood with a grin on his face, nodding along to the conversation. Hi black hair lightly blew in the soft wind. A black –shirt hugged his muscular chest and arms causing me to feel a bit of a blush to my cheeks. What the hell is he doing living in a village like this? He should be in London modelling or doing whatever good looking, no scrap that, amazing looking men do.
I looked to the sky and thought for a second before my eyes flickered back to the pair who was still talking. He caught sight of me. Barbra was still talking when he looked up at me; he seemed to give me a smirk. Panic set in and I broke eye contact immediately. Without any facial expression I turned and walked out of sight.
“Urgh can’t I go back to school already,” I moaned as I leant against my bedroom wall before sinking to the floor. “Who is this weirdo and what is he doing in my village?” I pondered.
Two weeks into the summer holidays and I was sat in Barbra’s kitchen having a discussion over a nice cup of tea and biscuit. We were so close and I basically see her as my nanny- she’s always here when I need her. We’d been chatting for ten minutes about my plans after I leave school.
“So what is it you want to do after you leave school…and how did you get that nasty cup on your lip?” she enquired.
“I’d like to go to sixth form, get my A levels and as for the cut lip…I tried to intervene in an incident at school,” I said chuckling. I know I’m not the brightest bulb in the box so getting my A levels could be quite tricky.
“You sound a like you don’t think you can do it…sixth form I mean,” Barbra questioned.
“Yeah well…I’m just not that confident that I’m smart enough,” I admitted and sighed before picking up another chocolate biscuit from the plate and dunked it in my tea. *knock, knock* a strong knocking on the door startled me causing half of my biscuit to drop off into the bottom of my mug.
“Crap,” I cursed as Barbra got up and gave me a comforting pat on the shoulder before going to the door. I used my spoon to fish out the soggy biscuit from the bottom of my mug.
I heard a husky male voice coming from the door “Good afternoon Mrs Wood, I’ve just popped round to return your flour I borrowed the other day. I looked down at my phone on the table and pressed a button lighting up the screen. Nope, no messages from mum or dad.
“Oh Luke you are a good boy, please come in,” oh brilliant- another person I have to share my plate of chocolate biscuits with. I snatched another one and dunked it in my tea and nibbled the end. “Take a seat dear.”