Chapter Four

Harden.

For a hundred years I've lived with the same memory of the same event. When I close my eyes,it's the same set of eyes. When I open listen, it's the same high pitched voice I hear.

Moving to places whenever people started to catch on about our secret was a thing that I always hated. But here in Fox,things suddenly seems so different. It's hard to ignore the voice inside my head that keeps whispering to me,telling me that our run is over, telling me that there's much more to find and love here, telling me my answers are all here. New Orleans had been a special place to be in and I'd stayed there for over fifty years before leaving for Tokyo. 

Being a vampire,we always had to be on the low,hiding from our shadows, hiding from the events of the past that haunted us, hiding from mistakes that is a constant reminder that being a vampire isn't a blessing,it's a curse. During your long lifeline,where always and forever is inevitable to you,you realize that's just a punishment, God's way of punishing you for your past sins. In the end,living was just a curse that we'd have to carry on ..... forever.

Settling into the house wasn't as exciting as Seth made it seem. He was always happy with the travels. I was never. We'd only stayed in Tokyo for twentyty years. The neighbours started to get suspesious and the gossip got to us little by little. We weren't getting old. We looked the same from day one. And we needed to leave. Stay on the low, that's what Charlie always said. We couldn't afford to be known,this was a different age. Gone were the days when vampires lived freely.

For hundreds of years,I've encountered different people,mingled with many but when I saw that woman at the quarter, something different occurred to me, something I knew not of its existence, something strange and almost hard to ignore. I felt my heart beat uncomfortably when she looked at me,when she did that thing with her lips;when she smiled at me.

Her face held the spitting image of someone. Someone I'd seen in the past. Someone I'd loved but the memory is foggy and it's hard to place my thoughts in order. 

I felt my heart tuck as the guy she was with held her,,I felt the strange urge to rip his hands apart. I've never felt so disturbed about any woman before.

I shot my eyes, pulling my shirt off.

"Harden!"I turned back to the door to see Seth. "What are you doing here all by yourself? Don't tell me,Rodger and I wanna hit the valley at the back. Wanna come?"

"You were gonna go swimming without me?"

"Good thing Rodger said to come get you. You know if have left your sorry ass here"

I threw my shirt at him but he caught it before it even reached him.

"Vampire speed"he smirked proudly. 

I started to pull off my jeans.

"Hey what were you doing in town earlier?"Seth continued "we just got here and you're already going to the city? Looking for women?"

"Shut up"I walked towards him now in my shorts.

"Okay I really need hooking up too"

"Just shut up already"

By the time we got out onto the porch,Rodger is already waiting at the door, strangling me with his big arms around my neck. He starts to laugh really hard,Wayne who's standing on the lawn laughing at the short play. 

"Isn't Annette coming with us anymore?"Seth asked Wayne as he passed by Rodger and I,taking the steps to the lawn ground.

"Nah,"Wayne replied "she's not up for a swim anymore"

"Is she alright?" I asked as I finally cut myself free from Rodger's arms.

"Yeah,"Wayne replied "she wants to do the dishes with Mom"

"Race me to the water fall?"Seth barely finished saying before he super-sped through the back of the house, towards the waterfall.

Rodger shook his head as he fell beside me "that idiot always cheats with every little chance he got"

"Well I'm not about to lose to any of you"Wayne said before super speeding towards the waterfall too.

Rodger and I exchanged looks before super running towards the water fall too, covering the long distance in three seconds. By the time we got to the deep waterfall,Wayne was already on his shorts,Seth already diving in.

"See you down there mate"Wayne said to me before falling face up into the water.

Before I knew it,Rodger was diving in too. I took off my shirt and laid it back before diving into the water. I felt the water body lift me,drench me till I felt myself go numb and totally unaware of anything else. I remained at the bottom,the peace and quiet paralyzing me. I tried to shut everything out. Everything that happened today. I began to search deep and far into my mind till I came across something. A face. The face of the young woman from earlier. Her bright oval eyes,the life in them,the smile on her lips,the tenderness in her voice,the unsureness in her words. 

That strange yet satisfying smile.........

I peeled my eyes open and went back to the water surface,the thought of that woman still lingering on my mind.

Alessia.

Just merely imagining her face woke up the smouldering fires in me. 

"You're thinking about a woman right?" Rodger asks the moment I popped out beside him on the surface.

"Why would you say that?"

He shrugged,facing forward "I mean you've got the looks. Not to mention other things. Why were you in town?"

"I was getting tired of just sitting around. So I took a walk"

"Just be careful okay? Fox is a really nice town,"he looks back at me "reminds me of New Orleans. You know what I'm talking about don't you?"

I nodded, trying to remember some things that had happened In the past.

"We should hit the town some other time,"Rodger continued "might wanna catch some fun before we get made again"

"Yeah,it's really annoying. Having to move all the time"

"Yeah"

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I sat behind the desk,peering into the computer in front. Alessia. The name remained a constant reminder of something, something that kept popping up in my head. And I just knew I had to meet her again. I didn't care what I had to do.

I went on f******k, trying to get to know more about her. Of course when I typed Alessia,asides getting the spelling wrong severally,I got several people with the same name. It was frustrating.

Just when I thought of giving up, Alessia Winters pops up in front of the screen. And I knew it had to be her instantly.

Alessia Winters.

I clicked on her profile and alas,the image of this woman on the displayed picture. She had her brown hairs in a a ponytail,her shirt bearing the design of horizontal black and white strips,it's ends tucking into a pale blue jeans rim. She has a smile on her perfectly pink lips,her eyes seeming much smaller as she smiled into the camera. At the corner end of her lip was a deepening point,like a little dimple. She stood behind a beach,her eyes glistening.

She was beautiful.

I'd need more than her F******k page.

I clicked into her profile info and saw that she lived here in Fox. There's no particular address. She attends Beverly hills.

Beverly hills......

I minimized the page and went on g****e. I searched for "Beverly hills, Fox" on the search box and the informations popped up. I clicked on the first headline and images of the school came on. I continued to make series of research when I heard my brothers approaching the room.

"Hey"Seth called as he stepped in, dumping himself on my bed.

"What are you looking through?"Rodger asked,walking towards me. He leans over and peered into the computer screen.

"You wanna get enrolled in a school?"Rodger asked mockingly "that school?"

"You wanna go to school?"Seth jumps off the bed and is standing beside me in the next second,peering into the computer screen.

I turned my chair away to face Rodger.

"Yeah,"I replied "I mean what more way to spend time if not going to school?"

He rolled his eyes to the back of his head,falling straight back onto my bed. "Schools are lame,"he grunts "there were no such things back in the days"

"I like the idea"Seth said,patting my shoulder. "But....do you know a girl that goes there?"

I turned a questioning brow at him.

"What?"he asked,moving over to the shelf.

"I just wanna go out into the night,drink some blood,scout through the night till the day break,"Rodger said "why do we even have to stay home all night?"

"I have the same question going on and on in my head "I admitted.

"You know we have to stay as quickly as we can here,man"Seth said.

"Fine!"Rodger flinched from the bed and pointed to me "you go off being some cool highschooler while I go find myself something to eat. In the woods" he smirked at Seth and I.

"Mom would be mad"Seth told him.

Rodger walks over to him and slumps a hand over his shoulder "don't tell her. We can sneak off and be back before the day breaks"

"You can't just go off drinking off people's blood,Rody"I told him tiredly.

"Can't I?"he gave me a long grin before letting go of Seth and going over to my window. Turning back to me,he said "you coming?"

Exchanging one last look with Seth,I knew we're gonna end up doing this.

* 

         *

                  *

"You sure you wanna do this?"Wayne asks me for the second time.

Beverly hills stood up front from Wayne's car, it's brick walls accentuating it's beauty as we stared up ahead. I sat back in Wayne's car, watching the students getting off the yellow school bus. I could hear the chattering voices of the students all the way from the inside and the lawns.

Turning back to Wayne,I gave him a reassuring smile "yeah,I'm sure"

"Act normal,okay?"he said as I started to push the door open.

Giving him a smile,I shut the door close and watched him pull out of the school completely. 

I made my way through the school, meeting the person who was supposed to get me aquatinted to the school. He showed me to his office where he handed me a map to show me the way. I'd given him my best smile before before walking out of his office.

Alessia Winters......

I took turns, ignoring the students who stopped walking just to stair at me as I went by. The feeling was filling but I only needed to get today done. Just needed to see this woman who wouldn't leave my mind. Even for a second.

I slowly walked towards the stairs,making a corner into another hall. That's when I heard the unmistakable voice. It was hers. I felt my heartbeat quicken and I tried to gulp hard,relief myself of this anxiety,this surge of urgency to see her.

I hurried towards her direction,taking the corner which she was coming through intentionally.

She's taking the same turn with someone behind her,but she's not looking. She's too taken away by the thought in her mind to pay attention to her surrounding. The moment I saw her face casted down, a smile creeped into my lips. I thought my heart melted the instant she pumped into me,her body only touching mine slightly before she tumbled back. 

I continued to watch her delicate face as she tried to compose herself and stand back up. I reached out to steady her. 

I smiled at her, enjoying ever bit of the moment before saying "I'm really sorry"

"It's okay"she started to say as she slowly looked up at me.

That's when I saw the surprise and confusion in her eyes. She obviously remembers me. I could hear the thoughts that ran inside her mind. She was unsure of who I was. But then my heart melted as I heard the change of my name in her mind.

"Harden?"She called finally and I let out a small smile.