Once the movie was nearing its climax and we were completely absorbed by it, a series of frustrated bangs sounded from the front door. Ruby turned looking at me with furrowed eyebrows.
"Who's that?" She asked.
"Why are you asking me? It's your house!" Laughing, I chucked a pillow at her. Muttering a string of curse words, she pressed the pause button on the remote and then stomped out of the room.
From where I sat I could hear her light footsteps tread slowly towards the door and then the door being opened could be heard in the silence. Ruby began sputtering words in confusion as a wild, angry voice cut her off abruptly.
"Where is she?!" Shane's frustrated voice reached my ears and I heard Ruby exclaiming for him to leave her apartment. The rush of feet sent me rolling over the edge of the bed in fear and I climbed underneath it.
Hey if the guy was here to get me then there was no way that I was going without a fight.
My heart beat sped up once I saw his shoes stop in the door frame leading to Ruby's room. "I know you're in there, Terra," his deep voice rang throughout the silence and my heart involuntarily jerked at the sound of it. Normally his voice sounded calm and collected, but now it sounded as though he had been stressed out and worried as hell.
"Found you," I screamed and tried rolling away from where Shane had bent down suddenly beside the bed. A hand clamped around my ankle and swiftly pulled me out from under the bed.
As I got to my feet, I dusted off specs of dust that had gathered on my shorts from being under there, "that was freaking terrifying! What are you doing here?!" I exclaimed, shoving my hands against his chest in anger. His hands grasped mine and before I could react, Shane pulled me into a tight hug, burying his face in my neck.
The place where he had bitten me began to tingle from how close he was to me. "S-Shane?" I asked shakily. My voice sounded weak and pathetic causing me to internally groan.
"Are you okay? I could sense that you were hurt. So I rushed down here," his arms around me tightened as he spoke. The comforting feeling that slowly spread through me was relieving and I found my arms wrapping around him in return.
"I'm fine. Just a little," my voice trailed off as he pulled away from and gazed at me, "family problems. That's it. Nothing too serious." I offered him a small smile but he looked at me intensely.
"Bullshit, Terra." Stepping away from me, he turned around to address Ruby who had been standing in the door way awkwardly watching our exchange. "Where's her bag?" She mutely pointed towards the front room where my bag and shoes sat. Without another word, he moved past Ruby into the front room.
Ruby rushed over to me with a surprised expression, "you never told me that he was hot, Terra." A pang of possessiveness shot through me, but I shook it off. "Are you going with him?"
"Obviously not! I think you forgot the complete fact that he's a stalker, Rubes!" I cried, throwing a hand onto my face in frustration. She had let the stalker in and everyone knows that that's a complete no-no!
Ruby's face held conflicted emotions before she finally spoke up. "Maybe he's not a stalker, Terra. He could actually be someone to you. You should have seen his face when I opened the door. He was so worried and upset. It was heartbreaking." I snorted in response.
"Every stalker is going to be upset when their stalkee leaves their sight." Crossing my arms across my chest, I glared at her.
"Hey, you should at least give him a shot. Plus, he still has Taffy." Horror began to fill my body as my eyes widened in realization.
"Taffy!" I cried out burying my face in my hands. "He has my dog."
"See? A reason to go! Plus I'm pretty sure that you can just beat him up and steal another car of his." She grinned deviously at me. "So are you going with him?"
"Yes, she is," I turned slowly and found myself locked in a stare down with Shane as he held my bag and shoes under one arm. "By the way, love that you're not only wearing my sweat shirt, but you are also driving my truck."
Ignoring his last comment, I crossed my arms across my chest and stood defiantly, "I'm not going anywhere with you." Shane's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he dropped my bag onto the floor. Even though I was going for Taffy, I still need to properly portray the stubborn girl that I am at heart.
"Oh? Do you really want to play this game, Terra?" I gulped as he began slowly stalking towards me. My first instinct was to run, but I held my ground and soon our chests were just an inch apart with heated gazes on one another.
"I'm not going with yo-" My words began jumbles of small screams once Shane swooped down and tossed me over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. "Put me down this instance! Do you want me to bite you again?!" I exclaimed at him while beating his back.
In response, he only moved his shoulder abruptly upward causing me to jerk uncomfortably and slouch further down his back. "Well Ruby, I'm going to be taking her for the night. No need to worry though, she has her cell phone with her and she'll be in the hands of an amazingly sexy man." I scoffed at him, rolling my eyes.
Ruby stood beside her bed watching us with an amused expression filtering across her features. She just nodded up at Shane, giving him a smile. Once he turned and began walking towards the front door with my bag and me in hand, I shot her the finger, but she merely laughed.
"This is considered kidnapping, asshead." I spoke once we were outside the apartment and heading towards the parking lot.
"I know."
"Are you going to put me down?"
"Nope."
"Ugh, you're such a hoe and a stalker." Grumbling, I poked at his back, making sure to dig my nail into his skin slightly.
My eyebrows knit together in confusion when I saw that the only truck in the parking lot was the one that I had 'borrowed' from him. "Where's the car you took here?"
"I actually had a friend bring me. I've been missing this baby," his hand ran across the black paint of the passenger's door affectionately.
"Honestly, I think that you've let me keep your truck for this long is so that you have a reason to talk to me," I commented as he opened the door and tossed me carelessly onto the passenger seat.
"Honestly, I think you're right," I wasn't aware of how close we were until his cool breathe ran across my voice. With a red face, I managed to turn my attention away from him and onto the dashboard. Shane laughed lightly and shut the door after locking it. Curiosity got the better of me, and I tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge.
The driver's door opened revealing an amused Shane as he watched me struggle with the door. "Child lock? Really Shane?" His response was only a shrug. The engine roared to life under his grasp and I watched as his arms flexed while he turned the wheel.
We sat in a comfortable silence for a little bit and I noticed the surroundings around me become less familiar the more we drove. Music filtered through the radio quietly.
"Terra?" At the sudden softness of his voice, I drew my gaze from the black road that laid out in front of us and turned my attention to him, "what happened?" I bit my lip and looked out the window.
Should I tell him? I mean he said he knew something was wrong and he drove all the way from where he lived just to see me. Millions of reasons why I should tell him flashed through my mind, but one stuck out the most from the rest.
Because he cares about you.
Biting my lip even more, I continued to stare out the window as we merged onto the highway, "my dad died when I was a senior in high school. He had been involved with drugs about a week prior to the murder, and I..." my voice trailed off as I felt unwanted tears began to form around my eyes.
"And you?" He prompted softly.
Reaching forward, I clasped my hand onto his that had been resting against the center console and he interlaced our fingers together. I watched in amazement at how much his hand dwarfed mine, but our hands looked as though they were made for each other. I didn't know why I held his hand. All I knew was that it felt right.
"I watched him get shot in the head. He had written a note the morning of the murder and I barely found it when I was shopping with Ruby. I remember racing home with this weight on my shoulders that only seemed to drag me down. When I got to our house I found the door thrown open carelessly and shouts were coming from the backyard. Without a second thought, I raced for the back door, but just as I was approaching it," I squeezed my eyes shut as memories fluttered through my vision, "I heard the gun go off and saw his body fall to the ground." Shane's hand tightened around mine.
"Earlier today, my mom told me she was going to be home. So I decided that I would surprise her by showing up earlier than she had planned for me to be home. When I came home, I went upstairs only to find her fucking some random guy in the same bed that she used to share with my fucking father!" My voice rose with my anger and I felt Shane's hand begin to rub circles with his thumb on my hand causing little tingles to shoot up my arm.
"You know Shane, I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You don't know me and I don't know you," I felt my voice begin to crack along with unshed tears, "and that's the problem because I feel like I've known you my entire life."
~+~+~+~+~+~+~
The familiar house that I had ran away from stood proudly against the darkness that surrounded it. It featured a modern look despite most houses being log cabins in the mountains. Lights illuminated the asphalt drive that led up to the house and the front porch light shown against the large, double doors that led into the home.
With a loud groan, the garage door slid up stealthily to reveal the white truck that I had seen a few days ago. Shane parked beside it, but instead of getting out he turned to me with a sudden seriousness attached to his features. I momentarily glanced away from him when I heard a bark and saw Taffy standing at the glass door that led into the garage wagging his tail happily.
Thank the lord he didn't kill my dog, I breathed in relief before turning my attention back to Shane.
"What I'm about to tell you is very important. Basically I need to know if you really want to hear this because if you don't then I have to let you go. I can't risk you telling people about my kind." His breathing became shaky as he looked at me, "do you... want to be with me? Not for a one night stand or something pathetic as that; no, I'm talking about for the rest of your life. I know it's a lot to take in, but I need to know."
Not once in my entire life had someone begged for me to remain by their side. The sad and pain filled expression on Shane's face confirmed that he thinks that I'm going to say no, but if I do what will happen? In life we have to take risks greater than we can fathom if we want to reach the impossible. A part of me says to say no, but another part is telling me that if I reject him than I'll be regretting it every second in the future.
"Yes." I breathed.
A/N: Anyone reading the update I need you to know that I AM typing the next chapter as we speak! It will be up before noon tomorrow (Pacific time)
There will be a IMPORTANT author's note in the next chapter so please read it!