The Vampire Hunter and the Werewolf

Uncertainties

    That night Esme couldn't get back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. The answers that Mum and Dad had given her played over and over in her head and when her alarm went off to wake her up for school she hadn't slept a wink. Dragging herself out of bed, jumping in the shower to freshen up, waking her up slightly, she got dressed while trying to figure out what she was going to do next with this new information. Chucking on a pair of faded, light blue jeans, a plain long sleeved white t-shirt and a royal blue hooded sweatshirt with the logo 'Tommy Hilfiger' in white across the front, she tied her hair back in a high ponytail then pushed on her white laced daps. The weather outside was the same as her mood, dark clouds weighed heavy in the sky, looking like they would burst at any moment, about to let loose lashings of rain, the pressure of the water overfilling the clouds, struggling to hold it all in. Running to her car before the sky opens, she heads off to school, thinking about what her parents, if she could call them that, had confessed to her after all these years, her mind a whirlwind of emotions; the deceit aggravated her. Pulling into her parking space in front of the school, not really knowing how she got there, remembering reversing out of her driveway and then next parked up, she realised she was in no fit state to be in school, there was no way she was going to be able to focus on anything, her emotions were unpredictable, crying one minute then in a complete daze the next. Unable to remove herself from her car, she sat there gazing straight ahead, acknowledging nothing and no one until she was surprised by a hard knock on the passenger window, then the door opened. Looking into the eyes of Colton, a startled expression on her face, neither of them spoke. Esme was unsure about telling him she had found out the truth and that he was right about her parents. Knowing the truth was one thing but admitting it, saying it out loud, especially to someone she knew nothing about however seemed to know everything about her, was different. She wanted answers, of course, but from a complete stranger who has appeared out of nowhere and knows more about who she is than she does was extremely overwhelming, making her question his motives. Why did he feel the need to destroy everything she knew and shatter her childhood memories of a loving family that she was part of? He'd managed to completely turn her life upside down in a day, could she trust him? And how come he knew all of this information about her?

    Colton was bent down, peering into the car at her, one arm stretched up onto the roof of her car and the other was leaning on the top of the open door, an unreadable expression on his face. Esme turned to face back out of the windshield trying to ignore the fact that he was standing there, desperately wanting to drive away, going anywhere but here, wanting to spend some time by herself to decide what she was going to do next.

"They told you then?"

A tear slowly rolled down her left cheek, she wiped it away quickly hoping Colton wouldn't see it.

"Can you close the door please! I need to leave!"

Colton stood there, not moving, still no expression, he just continued to stare at her as she sat in her car looking completely dazed. Starting the engine, she places both hands on the steering wheel, waiting for Colton to close the door, wanting to disappear quickly, wanting to free herself from this uneasy environment surrounding her right now, but he doesn't budge.

"Colton! I said close the door and leave!"

Without shutting the car door, he moves towards the rear door, opens it and jumps inside before she has time to put the car into reverse.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm coming with you Esme."

He always seemed so calm, quite expressionless which to Esme made him rather mysterious, unsure what to make of him, she questioned why he was trying to involve himself in her life when they were unfamiliar to each other.

"Why? Why do you feel it necessary to intrude on my life?"

Colton remains silent as he sits in the backseat of the car looking at her in the rear view mirror. His beautiful grey eyes locked with hers via the reflection of the mirror, making her shudder with nervousness and desire. Pulling away from his intense stare and shaking the dissolute thoughts from her mind, she reverses the car out of her parking space, giving in to his stubbornness and leaves the school grounds, not really knowing where she was headed. Letting her subconscious do the driving she ends up at her favourite spot, parking the car outside a beautiful stone building she opens the door and gets out. Colton follows behind as she walks a little further through parking lot and into the magnificent looking building. The enormous, expensive looking steel doors stood welcoming at the top of the concrete steps that led to it, the hazy lights shone dimly through the misty rain that now dispersed through the gloom, heavy clouds, an expected downpour soon to follow. The walls were made of grey stones of all different sizes until the third floor then continued with light grey painted exterior walls until it stops at the 20th floor. Colton noticed the name of the building that spread across the front of the building in big, black, old school, lettering, 'Greystone Hotel.' As he watched her skip up the 5 concrete steps, curiosity made him follow her even though he knew she wanted to be alone due to the fact that she hadn't spoke a word to him. The last person she wanted to be around right now was probably him. He had destroyed everything she knew, however he couldn't get her out of his mind since he'd put the pressure on her parents to admit the truth and he couldn't help but run up the steps to follow her. Esme hastily walked through the hotel, knowing exactly where she was headed, trying to lose Colton in the process as she really needed some time alone, time to process things, to figure out the questions she wanted answering. Uncertain of finding out the truth about her real family, feeling like a missing jigsaw piece that doesn't know where she fully fits any more, scared she wouldn't like what she would find out. She needed to figure out if she wanted to go down this unknown route and she needed to figure this out for herself. Reaching the top of the hotel, looking behind her for any sign of Colton, Esme pushed open the fire door that led to the rooftop and stepped out into the mild drizzle of rain. The wind began to pick up, blowing her hair across her face as she walked across the concrete rooftop to her favourite spot on the far side. A red brick building stood upright with three walls and a pointy slate roof, a mixture between a small house and a bus stop, and for some reason, maybe because of the direction it faced, always avoided getting wet on the inside and shielded her from the wind. Wooden planks run along the back wall creating a bench to sit on, placed on top was a long length, musty foam cushion that spread across the whole length that she had made for more comfort while she sat. She came here at times when she felt low or merely needed a space to relax. The view from the bench, overlooking the city was incredible, especially at night when the lights lit up the streets below and the sunset gave everything an orange glow. Sitting down on the bench she stared out at the distant view she usually enjoyed taking in however the weather made it depressing.

    Deep in thought, having zoned out her surroundings, she hadn't noticed Colton until he sat down next to her, however she did have one question she wanted to ask him before she could decide whether or not to dig further. Keeping her gaze on the foggy scenery, unable to see much through the rain, she plucked up the courage to speak.

"How come you know so much about me?"

Colton stared straight ahead and without hesitation, his expressionless voice echoed around the shelter as he answered her question.

"Esme, it is not long until you turn 18 and there is urgency in you knowing all the information of your past but in time you will understand why I have been so secretive about who I am. For now, all you need to know is that you are an important person in my community and if you let me take you to my home, introduce my family, maybe you will get the answers you are looking for."

Not knowing what to make of all this, unsure whether she could trust him, she sat in silence for a few minutes thinking over the pros and cons of going with him. Finally reaching a conclusion, she stood up, turned to look Colton directly in his beautiful eyes and nodded.

"I'll come with you on one condition."

"Go on."

"You answer all my questions truthfully and if I want to leave, you will take me home."

Standing up from the bench Colton nodded and headed off across the rooftop towards the door they came through. Esme watched him until he pulled the door open then ran after him as lightening began to flash brightly in the sky above. A storm was coming and she wasn't sure whether it was a sign of what was to come. Walking in silence down the many flights of stairs, pushing open the main door when they reached the bottom, running out into the rain towards the car.  Colton jumped into the passenger seat of Esme's car and instructed her on where to drive. Even though it was only lunch time the darkness that spread across the skies made it seem like it was evening, the rain thrashed down onto the windshield making visibility limited and Colton's senses pricked up as a sudden feeling of uneasiness washed over him. He struggled with the feeling, he couldn't quite pin point it. He wasn't sure if this was another random feeling to add to the assortment of emotions he could sense from Esme or something else entirely. The windscreen wipers shot rapidly back and forth, trying to create some sort of range of vision while she drove twenty miles per hour along a forty mile per hour road. Music from the radio could be just about heard over the thunderous rain that bounced off the car, which Colton thought was far too distracting right now as he tried to use his wolf senses and hone in on this troubling feeling, trying to push away the wild variety of emotions he got from Esme, attempting to figure out if there was another reason he was becoming jittery, tense, restless. He wished he could turn full wolf mode right now to access his full range of vision, allowing him to see clearly through the rain and look further into the distance however he knew Esme would totally freak out and all hope of gaining her trust and keeping his secret could be lost. He just needed to use his human senses as best as he could, which was still better than any human being just not what he needed right now. His wolf senses would pick up any immediate danger within a mile of their surroundings but he knew he had to keep everything normal around Esme although he was torn between the two as his wolf would make a better protector if something was to happen. Being in the situation he was in, he supposed he would simply have to deal with whatever it is and hope for the best. 

    Darkness was swallowing them up as the rain beat down harder and faster, the clouds hung low in the sky. No street lights were lit up as they drove along at a snail's pace, unable to validate their surroundings. Finally Colton manages to pick up a defining, recognisable scent...... Vampires. 

    Unexpectedly, the car was thrown sideways through the air and luckily landed back on it's four wheels after somersaulting through the air. Esme screamed at the sudden impact as her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, something to hold on to, to feel some sort of safety if it was to occur again. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, shock setting in as she quietens her sobs.

"Wh....Wh....What just happened?"

With no reply from Colton she swung her head around to look at him but he wasn't there and the passenger door was wide open.

"COLTON!"

Screaming his name at the top of her lungs, panicked, scared, confused about how it had happened and also concerned that he was hurt, she froze in her seat. Her breathing quickened, her chest became tight with anxiety, unable to move she called out his name again. No response. Unsure what to do, the only thought was that she needed to find Colton. She couldn't drive off and leave him there if he was injured. Slowly stepping out of the car, her hands shaking in fear, her legs had turned jelly-like as she struggled to walk around the car. Leaning her hands onto the car as she slowly moved around, checking the floor surrounding her as she went, searching for any sign of him. Hearing a sharp, piercing, screech startled her, making her drop down behind the car, hiding, covering her ears with her hands she scrunched up her eyes, not wanting to look for where or what made that dreadful sound. After staying put for nearly a minute she slowly removes her hands from her ears however kept her eyes closed, petrified to open them, scared of what she might witness. Various noises seemed to surround her and not liking what she was hearing she covered her ears again. As she stayed crouched down at the back of the car she tried hard to place the sounds she heard, trying to work out where she had heard the high pitched screech before, however she couldn't place it, even though it felt very familiar to her. Trying again to release hold of her ears, she noticed it had become quieter and all she could hear was the sound of the rain hitting hard on everything around her. Finally opening her eyes, she cautiously looked around before standing up and moving to the other side of the car. Freezing on the spot, complete shock on her face as she saw Colton sitting on the wet floor, his back leaning against the back passenger door, panting hard, completely soaked to the bone. Without hesitation she ran up to him, knelt down beside him and looked him up and down, checking for any noticeable injuries that may need immediate attention. As her eyes reached back up to his face, his head leaning back against the car, his eyes moved to look at her. Seeing the sadness in his eyes made her pity him. She knew nothing about him. Did he have any parents? Why had he joined her school recently? She could tell he was hurt and this pained her. His beautiful, sparkly grey eyes were now as dull as the stormy sky, his hair now stuck to his face as the rain dripped from it and run down his nose. A flutter in her heart made her gulp, butterflies formed in her stomach as she realised she cared for him. She didn't understand why. She didn't really know him and what she did know about him made her angry. He was emotionless, strange and mysterious, all of which troubled her. 

"Are you alright?"

A wry smile appeared on his face then a subtle nod before he tried to stand up. He groaned from the pain in his shoulder, holding his arm across his chest, using his other arm to help himself get up. Esme immediately took hold of his good arm to offer some help, then as she helped him to sit in the passenger seat she noticed he was also limping. She shut the door and ran around to the driver's side, jumping in quickly to get out of the rain, slamming the door tightly before trying to start the car, checking it was still working. After a couple of attempts the engine finally kicked in and she sped off down the road, desperately wanting to get away and off the road. Thankfully the rain had eased up enough for clearer visibility of the road, enabling her to speed off in the direction Colton was leading her.

    Pulling up outside a pub called 'The Meeting Place', Esme turned off the engine but remained seated, taking in everything that had just happened. Adrenaline still pumping throughout her body. her hands still shaking from the ordeal. Without looking at Colton, she couldn't help but ask him what had happened back there.

"The wind must have blew something heavy against the car which made us flip. I fell out of the car as it flipped and twisted my leg then fell onto my shoulder. Come on let's go inside and I'll get you some dry clothes and something warm to drink."

It was obvious to her that he wasn't telling the truth. It didn't add up to her. especially after hearing all the screeching and sounds of what she thought was a fight, but she wasn't ready to confront him of his lies, she just wanted to be inside, dry, warm and safe. Colton opened the door and slowly exited the car due to the pain he was in, all the while Esme had left her side of the car and approached his door before he'd managed to stand up.

"Put your arm around my shoulders, it'll help you take some of the weight off your leg."

"I'm fine!"

"Suit yourself!"

And there he was, the real Colton, arrogant, abrupt and emotionless. She waited for him to shut the door so she could lock the car the let him lead the way. Although he was slow, she stayed behind him as he walked up to the entrance of the pub and as he pushed the doors open, a few friendly faces sitting at the bar nodded at him, then she saw familiar faces; James, Hunter and Zeke. As Colton limped into the room, still holding his painful shoulder, James' smile dropped as he noticed he was in pain. Rushing over to him, he softly spoke to him in a hushed tone, too quiet for Esme to hear, but followed Colton as he was lead to a booth at the right hand side of the room where James sat him down. Esme stood there not really knowing what to do, soaked to the bone and it felt like she was invisible as no one greeted her or even acknowledged she was there. As she was about to turn and leave, changing her mind about being there, when a voice boomed from the far side of the room.

"So you must be Esme?"