Dark Night (2 page)

As for my friends, well I missed them, I
feared that the worst had happened to them and I hadn't heard from
them. I hoped they would still be alive, but I knew there was a
very small chance they would.

"Do you want me to get Cole?" Deidre
asked.

Cole Murphy. Yes, he was now sort of a
boyfriend again and he was the reason why I was never again like I
used to be when I lived in Florida.

Cole had gone to my aunts and they were
planning to surprise me for my birthday when everything went wrong.
Now we re-united and we still had feelings for each other, we
didn't bother hiding it.

"I'm fine really." But I did want to see
Cole, I felt safe with him. I looked at my watch, it was six-thirty
a.m. but he would be up.

"I insist he knows you better." She
smiled.

"Okay, I'll just get dressed and head
downstairs."

When we went on raids we tried to get a lot
of clothes. We didn't have washers or dryers yet. We had to wash by
hand, and nobody liked that. It was very hot in here, I put on a
red tank top and white shorts, I knew I was showing a lot of skin
but it was really hot in here, and I wasn't minding to dress like I
used to these days. I left my hair down though, it didn't help that
it was almost to my waist, I needed a haircut. But for some reason
the thought made me a little upset.

I walked downstairs, and knocked on the last
door. It wasn't dark in here only at night we turned out half the
lights.

"Hey." He yawned, as he hugged me. "You're up
early." He noticed. Cole was a muscle junkie, every time he had a
chance to workout he would and boy was he buff, he had a wide jaw
and glossy gray eyes that sometimes looked kind of blue with a
golden ring around them, just dreamy.

I didn't want to upset him by telling him
about that stupid dream or nightmare, I should say. "Did I wake you
up?"

"No. Just going to take a shower," he smelled
good though, but he really looked at me. "What's wrong?" His face
changed, he knew me too well.

"Nothing just had a nightmare again."

"Come in." He said as he took my hand and
pulled me in, closing the door, "how many times this week?" He
looked worried.

"Every night this week," I was shaking inside
but I didn't want to admit it to myself it was just plain
scary.

"That's not normal, Mia, you need to remember
what happened that day, it's the only way to get rid of these
nightmares that are not right."

"I know, but Cole don't you think I've tried
don't you think I'm scared?" I felt chills talking about that. I
was talking normal, though you could hear the fear in my voice.

"I'm sorry. I know that, I'm stupid." He
hugged me and I hugged him back.

"You're not stupid," I corrected him. "You're
great."

He moved my hair out of my face. So he could
see me better. He was five-eleven, but still taller than me. We
started kissing .his lips were soft and warm against mine. He had
one hand around my waist pulling me close, finally closing the
distance between us we got on the mattress, we started breathing
heavily and I realized where this was going. When he ran his hand
up my thigh...I stopped him just in time. We stopped kissing and I
rolled away from him.

"I'm sorry." I said after a few quiet
seconds.

"No. I'm sorry, I thought you were ready."
When he said that, it shocked me, I had no idea that I was giving
him the wrong impression, I hadn't meant to. Even though I still
had feelings for him it wasn't like before.

"I'm not ready...yet," I tried not to lie.
"This is not the place or time for this." I thought quickly to come
up with an excuse.

He sat up. "You should go," he didn't look at
me. "I love you, I always have, always will. But you should not
provoke me like that and then leave me....I'm a man and if I was a
punk ass, man I would've had you no matter what. You should go now
if you're not ready you shouldn't do that again." He smiled
apologetically and gave me a quick hug. Yes, he was a man and he
had also awaken my hormones but my heart said something else than
my body did.

"Give me some time." I whispered before I
closed the door behind me.

It was breakfast time we had a dining area in
the first floor too. We built a semi kitchen, all appliances were
plug-ins but they worked.

"Good morning." Everyone was already
there.

"Good morning." I said back at them.

"Here you go." Deidre said with her strong
British accent.

"Thanks." She gave me my breakfast and we sat
down to eat in picnic tables. From where I was sitting, I could see
Cole they were on the next table across from us. He was sitting
with Luc who was and still is Deirdre's boyfriend I was forcing
myself to swallow the scrambled eggs. But I could hear Cole talking
to Luc and joking around, what made it all unusual was that he
always sat with me during all meals of the day. Today of all days
he chose not to and I knew why. I was trying hard to not be mad
when I saw a girl about my size approach Cole's table.

"Hey guys." She said in a very annoying
voice. I couldn't tell who she was because she had her back to us
but her voice was so annoying that I immediately recognized it.

"Hey." They said smiling like little
boys.

"Cole, could I talk to you? It's important."
Jewel said to him making me very jealous. We found her a month ago
and she had since slept with more than half the guys here,
excluding Cole and Luc.

"Yeah, tell me." Cole said careless.

"In private," she said loud and clear. She
wore a mini skirt that if she bent over you'd see everything and
I'd bet she wasn't wearing underwear. Her top was so short it
could've been a sports bra, but it wasn't. Her shoes were not high
heels, because no one in this place owned any, but she was wearing
combat boots, trying to make her outfit look sexy. It was so
not.

"Sure." He said as he got up and followed her
(not looking in my direction) to the opposite hall from his room,
where her room was.

"Do something!" Deidre said sounding upset.
No one was paying attention everyone was too busy in their own
conversations.

"Like what?" I asked mad.

"Bloody hell, Go." She pushed me and I almost
fell off the bench. My balance was terrible, but I steadied myself
and walked through the same hall they had gone through. I stopped
at the corner when I heard their voices.

"... but, she's not good enough for you, and
I am, why do you not see that?" I felt my stomach twitching inside
when I heard Jewel say that, because of course she was talking
about me.

"Jewel…. Please."

"What?" She kissed him. I couldn't stop
myself from spying, he didn't stop her instead he kissed her
back.

"See... you know you want me. Let's go in my
room..." She said still kissing him and touching him in places she
shouldn't. She opened the door behind him and shoved herself
against him, closing the door behind them.

That’s it! It's over!

All because he wouldn’t wait, I cried all the
way to my room, when I went in Deidre was waiting.

"I'm sorry." She said. I gave her a weird
look.

"What for?" I said sniffing.

"Luc, he told me that Jewel has been trying
to get to Cole for a while now. Cole was not pushing her away. Luc
said that he told him if things didn't work out with you...well, he
was going to try it with Jewel."

"After what I saw...I'd say they've been
trying." I couldn't believe that, Cole was the sweetest guy but I
guess I should have seen the signs. "Deidre, I know it's your turn
to go raiding... but do you think you could let me take your spot
this once?" I said wiping my eyes with a tissue she handed me. I
was absorbed by the scene I had witnessed.

"Of course I had been dying to spend more
time with Luc." She said excitedly.

Luc, Cole, Julissa, and Matt
were the first team of raiders that had just got back the night
before. Deidre, Johnny, Leo, Pam and Richard, were the second group
of raiders. The third were me, Jewel, David, Eliza, and Manuel. The
last group whose names I always forgot was a family. In total we
had four groups that took turns. Since I didn't want to stay with
Cole or Jewel, I would leave this afternoon and be gone for a week
or two was the max.

"Thanks I owe you one." I said wiping my
eyes.

"No you don't. You need to get ready it's
eleven already." She said as she was leaving the room. When we went
on raids we had certain things we had to wear. Everyone had to
dress in black, dressy but casual, if that makes sense. We also had
to wear dark contacts, and wear makeup, well foundation to be
exact. The creatures were pale maybe too pale white, and our skin
had to match theirs. Our hair always had to be down, because of
that reason the girls had to let it grow pretty long. I got
dressed, I wore the black trousers and jacket that my best friends
had given me for my birthday, and a black short sleeve turtle neck
I always wore on raids. I couldn't wear high heels, in case I had
to run but I wore comfortable, casual shoes. As I looked at myself
in the mirror after I was done getting ready, I noticed how much I
really looked like them. That's scary, I thought.

Knock knock.

Deidre came in the room. "Wow. You look don't
look like you ....anyway you guys are leaving any minute now. I
guess they want to start early, are you ready?"

"Yeah, more ready than ever the faster, the
better." I said still fighting back more tears.

"Cole was looking for you, I told him you
weren't in the room, so he wouldn't look." We were walking
downstairs.

"Really? Thanks again."

"No problem," she walked me downstairs and
told me "good luck."

"Tell Julissa I'll see her when I'm back." I
called after she was leaving, my aunt was sleeping still. I joined
the rest of the group.

"Where's Deidre?" Pam asked curious. But
before I answered Johnny told her I would go in her place, and she
smiled at me like she knew and she was pleased by my decision. Pam
was a short little girl. "Little" because she was only sixteen, but
her hair was long and red and the way she had it made her look
older.

"Does anybody have any questions?" Leo, who
was in charge of the group-asked. I wasn't listening, but I knew
it was the same guidelines as usual.

"No." We responded as a group.

Leo was the mastermind, he made fake ID's for
everyone we also had credit cards we used. The girls usually
pretended to be business women that had men work for them (which
was the guys). We would stay at hotels and go shopping aka raiding.
Most of the times it was humans who were in the front desks working
or maintenance, and things like that. But the creatures did watch
everyone who walked outside, or in from cameras and stuff. We
weren't one hundred percent sure about this theory, but that's how
we watched humans disappear for a while now. Humans who were
oblivious to what was happening, they would be caught and be taken
into a room and never come back out. We thought.

"Let's go." Leo ordered us.

"Mia!" I turned around when I heard my name.
It was Cole, someone I was hoping to avoid but apparently wasn't
going to happen.

"Make it quick." Leo said as he left behind
the group.

"What do you want?" I asked in a cold voice,
I didn't even recognize. Not giving him time to speak I kept
talking. " I don't have time for this!"

"What are you doing? It's not your turn and
what did I do?"

"Don't act so innocent now.
You think I don't know about Jewel but who doesn't right?" I waited
a second. But he didn't say anything so I kept going. "Here is the
deal: it's over between you and me. I saw that scene you and that
__slut... how could you? I did love you, you broke my heart the
first time and now this, I can’t handle that!" I was almost
screaming at him now. What was wrong with me? I never acted like
that before not ever, usually in situations like this I would stay
calm, avoid conflict and move on but I didn't care though, I felt
the anger inside me increase.

I was also sweating because this place was
hot, and I was getting worked up.

"Don't even think about lying to my face." I
snapped, "leave me alone and go back in there and screw her again,
why won’t you?" I slapped him hard in the face that my hand hurt.
Then I turned around and jogged out the door, I heard him calling
me. Tears ran down my face as soon as I realized what I had said to
him.

"Mia...wait...Mia.." I got in the black
hummer that was waiting for me and shut the door a little harder
than intended to. But nobody flinched or said a word, I was crying
so hard that I felt my eyes coming out of my sockets (figuratively
speaking). But still no one asked a question, that was a good
thing. It was quiet, Leo had already pulled off and he had the
radio on low volume some rock song playing, probably one of his
burned CD's.

"He's not worth it." Pam said, finally
breaking the silence.

"I know...did you know too?" I asked knowing
the answer.

"Everyone does." Leo answered as he turned
the volume lower," but it was not any of our business, you had to
open your eyes, sooner or later. And you did." He was right.

"Thanks."

"We're being followed." Leo said an hour
later.

"What? by who?" Johnny asked.

"Cop." I said without looking back, my
instincts were telling me.

"He's been on us for a while." Leo said
worried I met his gaze in the rearview mirror and he was thinking
what I was but we didn't say it.

"Pull in that gas station, we need gas
anyway." Pam said from the front passenger seat.

"Okay." Leo said regretting it the minute he
did, because he looked back and the police cruiser was still behind
us.