I woke up with my back sore, and the sun light shining in my eyes. I was wearing my new pj's that I had bought yesterday. They were warm and soft. I worked all day, until the early hours of morning getting my home cleaned. Everything was now spotless and perfect. I had cleaned every nook and cranny and I was satisfied. Everything was put away. My clothes in the closet on hooks, the food in the fridge. I even had a garbage can in the kitchen. I knew that there was still a lot to do, but I didn't care. I was excited to do more. I wanted to plant some flowers in the back yard and make a garden.
The futon was in the living room, against the wall. I could stare right into the kitchen, if I had my eyes open. With a yawn, I opened my eyes slightly. For some reason, I smelt bacon cooking and eggs. That was when I saw the tall, lean figure in my kitchen. It wasn't a burglar at least. I doubt anyone wanting to steal my stuff would stop to make himself breakfast.
With alarm, I sat up from the futon, kicking the blanket off of my body. The sunlight was warm from the open window. I had to buy curtains to, along with a proper bed. Standing on my two bare feet, I stretched out my aching back before proceeding to the kitchen.
"Sebastian? What are you doing in my house?" He turned to look at me, his freshly washed hair was damp. He smiled at me, his pearly white teeth gleaming. He had the same stubble of a beard on his soft jaw line. Sebastian looked a lot less menacing from how I remembered. "Well, look who is finally awake. It's nearly one in the afternoon." He replied, ignoring my question.
Sebastian was wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt. The outfit was the most casual I have ever seen him in. He looked rather relaxed for a change. Sebastian was cooking eggs and bacon in a frying pan over the oven. It smelt delicious. Toast was already toasting in the toaster, that Maggie had lent me.
"How long have you been in my house for?" That was the question I wanted to know the most. Walking across the tiled floor, I sat on one of the two wooden chairs. I looked out of the window at the street below. "A few hours really. You need better locks." He remarked playfully. "No kidding." I mumbled.
It wasn't like I didn't like Sebastian and all, but if he found me so easily, would I be chased down by Union? I wanted to move on, but it looks like that wasn't going to happen. "You were hard to find, believe me. The only reason I found you, was because I happened to be outside of the hotel when you hopped in a taxi and left."
Sebastian had his back to me. He was very tall compared to me. "So you followed me?" I couldn't help but grin at how weird Sebastian was. He literally followed me across the country. "Yeah." He replied sheepishly. "I had no idea where you were going, or why you left. I just followed you. I didn't want you to get hurt ." He mumbled, but I heard him clearly. My cheeks blushed pink. "I had to wait until the next flight here, then when I finally got here, it was around 5 in the morning. Damn, I went to a few friends and I looked everywhere for you."
Sebastian turned around with two plates in his hands. He closed the distance between us and set a plate in front of me. He put the other plate across the table from me and sat down. The table was rather small, but just big enough for the both of us. Looking down at the plate, I saw two fried eggs, bacon and a piece of buttered toast. I met his red eyes that were staring back at my hazel ones intently. "Thank you for making breakfast." I said quietly. I brought the piece of toast to my mouth and chewed on the edges.
"My friend called me up and told me that he saw you at the diner. He told me that you were making calls for an apartment. And here I am." He was grinning as he spoke. He piled a fork load of bacon into his mouth. "You went through a lot of trouble over me. I was convinced no one cared." I couldn't control the crack in my voice and the lump in my throat. The emotions poured out in my words. I ate the rest of the toast quickly, but I tasted nothing.
"What makes you think no one cares?" Sebastian ate his food while I just stared at mine. "Daniel told me that I wasn't welcomed back in his home. He kicked me out. He only adopted me to get to Union. Now I look like a freak too." I pulled the sleeves of my night shirt over my wrists to hide the pale blue markings. I wanted so badly to move on and accept the way I looked now, but I felt like a freak and after what Daniel said in the hotel, I could never feel acceptive. I was simply not good enough. The fact was killing me. I was so torn between making myself happy and the others around me.
"Daniel doesn't deserve you. I think leaving that hell was the right thing to do. I also think that he deserves to have his wallet stolen." His voice was comforting. I was still amazed about how I imagined him as a child. He was evil and mean to me. He took me away from my family. But after growing up and seeing how kind he really was, he was anything but a monster. Sebastian made his mistakes, but he has moved on and I respected him for that. He did a lot for me. Hell, he traveled across the country to see if I was ok. Sebastian rescued me.
"You never stop amazing me. I mean, I took you from your home twice. You had every reason to leave me to die. But you didn't. Any one else would. Your kindness is refreshing to see. All of my life, I have been fucking up and doing bad things. But you managed to find something good in someone so bad." When I looked up from my plate, he was leaning back in his chair, staring at me with a piece of bacon in his hand. Sebastian's red eyes were soft.
"Stay here." I blurted out quickly. "Live here with me. I know this place is small, but it's nice. I will-" I was about to ramble on and on but I realized how stupid I sounded. He probably had a house and a place to stay. Sebastian had a life. I looked down again at my plate and I stopped talking. "Ok." My head snapped up after he said that one word. "R-really?" My eyes widened in shock. "Yeah, but we'll need some more furniture. I can't sleep on the floor." A large smile grew over my face. At least I wasn't going to be forever alone.
. . . .
After a quick shower, I threw on a pair of white shorts and a blue top. I also put on my new sandals that I bought. I brushed out my burgundy hair and pulled it into a pony tail. My hair trailed down my back as it was beginning to grow back. I looked down at my legs and realized how fucking crazy I looked. The blue vine like markings snaked around my ankle and grew up my legs. My arms were no exception. The pale markings climbed up my neck.
After stepping out of the bathroom, I walked sheepishly to the kitchen, where Sebastian was reading the newspaper. "Should I wear jeans and a sweater? I know it's hot out but I don't want to scare people..." I held my head low. I was so embarrassed about how I looked. "No, you look fine. Let's go. You can tell me how you got the markings in the car." Nodding, I followed him out the door. I locked both doors and threw the keys into my purse. The sun was warm against my skin.
Parked in front of the house was a dark blue dodge charger. It was gorgeous. "Is that yours?" I asked excitedly. "Mhm. I just bought it." He replied, casually. I practically flew down the stairs. One in front of the car, I gasped at the shiny new exterior. "This is so much better than the abducter van." I mumbled. "I think so too." Sebastian unlocked the door and I lowered myself onto the seat. It was so cool to be inside of that car. I closed the door and admired the interior.
Sebastian got inside as well. He turned on the engine and it purred like a kitten. I let out a moan as I roamed my hands over the leather. Sebastian sent me an amused look before pulling away. "So, how'd you get the marks?" He asked as he had one arm on the steering wheel and one out of the open window. With a sigh I stared out of my tinted window. "Well, I hardly know the details but basically, the day I was brought back to the safe house, I died." What a way to start off the conversation. I still feel strange, knowing that I was dead. "Gabriel came and revived me, I guess. He gave me life. He was the only one who could have saved me. I stopped breathing and my heart beat was gone and everything. I just remembered waking up days later with this all over me. Gabriel said that Pierce mixed some of his blood into mine with Dust and when the angel and demon blood clashed, some crazy stuff happened." It was anything but a good explanation, but it was enough.
"Jeez. You have the worst luck, don't you?" His voice was serious. "I keep saying that to myself. But I did rent an place after only one day of being here." I was very proud of myself. "People just can't say no to you. You had me wrapped around your finger." I chuckled at his remark. But the conversation quickly turned serious. "Are you really sure about staying with me? You have a life to live. Besides, you hardly know me and I will probably be sucking you dry of your money after this runs out. No one will hire me." My voice came out soft. I was ready and prepared for him to change his mind and leave me. I have gotten far too used to it. "I'm not like the others. I happen to care about you and nothing will change that. I need to protect you, Arianna. Don't worry about the money, I have far more than I need." He said sternly. He left no room for an argument.
I stared out of the window silently. The city passed in front of my eyes. I saw all types of people and buildings. I wanted to explore this city and I now had someone to do that with. "We have a lot to buy." I said through a yawn. "I know. But it will be fun to furnish the house." He replied. I agreed with him. It would be fun to pick colors and pieces of furniture.
A while later, we parked in a furniture store parking lot. The building was huge and probably filled with a million choices for us to choose from. I excitedly hopped of of the luxurious car. I stood beside Sebastian as we walked inside of the building. All around, I could see furniture galore. I pulled Sebastian's hand to lead him towards the couches.
We looked at the different colors and fabrics as a posh looking woman stepped forward. She was wearing a pencil shirt and a blazer. Her brunette hair was in a bun and her red lips smiled smugly. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked with mock concern. "Yes, we are furnishing our house and we currently do not own anything." I replied. She sighed when she realized she would have to be doing work.
. . . .
The next hour, we spent buying furniture. We bought two queen sized beds, a pale blue area rug, a beige couch, two blue arm chairs to math the rug and many other pieces of furniture for our rooms and the living room. Sebastian payed for everything off of his debit card. I was pretty shocked about how much he had to throw around and I was extremely guilty. The furniture was going to be delivered and set up at 6 so we had a few hours to spare.
We were driving to our next destination when I said "I feel horrible. You spent so much money on our furniture. I should have paid for that." I pouted. Sebastian chuckled before responding. "I robbed a few banks when I was younger. I don't think buying a lot of lamborghini's will even make too big of a dent in my bank account." I'm not sure if he was joking or not, but I decided it was better not to know. "What should we do with Daniel's credit card?" I asked as I pulled it out of my purse. "We'll have to cut it up and dispose it. You haven't used it yet, right?" He asked. "No, I haven't. I read somewhere that the cards can be traced." I placed the card back into my black purse before hanging it back over my shoulder.
Sebastian parked the car in a large parking lot. We were in area that he said was full of stores for buying clothes. He apparently brought nothing with him, other than his money. I definitely needed more clothes in my closet. A few articles of clothing were not going to last me very long. Besides, I didn't need to worry so much about money now.
As we walked out of the parking lot, I noticed how completely crowded the streets were. It was in the middle of the day and I guess everyone wanted to be shopping for clothes. We joined the mess of people as we walked side by side down the side walk. Store fronts were brightly lit to show off the latest fashion.
"What the fuck?" Someone called loudly. I turned my head to see a group of teenagers gawking at me. I turned away to ignore them, but the comments continued. Not being used to such rude behavior, I quickly stepped inside of a store to avoid them. My cheeks were bright red in embarrassment. "Ignore them." Sebastian said after he too followed me inside of the store. I nodded quickly before rushing off to look at things.
I bought a few things from the store and so did Sebastian. The next few hours, we spent collecting bags full of clothes. After our hands were full, we both decided to walk back towards the car and head home. The furniture guys would be there soon. But as we approached the parking lot, I noticed a group of men, standing around Sebastian's car. Some of the people were even leaning against the car.
Sebastian turned to me and handed me his bags. I just managed to hold all of the bags, but they were heavy. "Stay here. I know these guys." His voice was stern, but like always, I don't do what Sebastian said to. I hid behind a truck parked two spaced from Sebastian.
"Well, look who it is. Shadow, you know that New York isn't the best place for you." One man said, his voice gravelly. "Yeah well, I'm here to stay. Besides, I'm not who I was years ago." Sebastian's voice was defensive and cold. I placed all of the colorful bags on the ground quietly, they were beginning to hurt my wrists. "We have no problem with you, but we know plenty of people who do. We just thought we'd warn you." Another voice said. "Turning to Union was a shitty thing to do though." Said the first voice. Then there was a brief silence. "Do you feel that?" A new voice asked. "I feel an angel close by. No...not an angel. What is that?" I froze. Were they referring to me?
The group of men shifted to where I could see the face of one man. He was covered in tattoos and he had a face full of scars. "Not an angel. It's just a friend of mine." Sebastian walked around the cars and towards me. He had a hard expression on his face and he bent over to pick up some of the bags. I carried the rest as I followed him from around the truck. As the rest of the men came into sight, they all looked like typical gang members.
The one with a scarred up face whistled sharply. "Another one you picked up Sebastian?" He said through a throaty laugh. "No, it isn't like that." He answered quickly. "Yeah, right. You'd best keep her safe. I can feel her power and I know plenty of people who'd kill for that." After his frightening warning, I quickly put the bags into the car and hopped into the safety.