Chapter 11

They were able to find a contractor that was able to come out that morning. Going through the house they told him everything they wanted done. Her phone rang, there was no name on the caller ID. She answered the call to find Caleb on the other end.

"Alaina. Why did you leave?" he said.

"How did you get my number?" she asked him.

"I got it out of your phone yesterday when you weren't looking. Now answer my question. Why did you leave?"

Alaina sighed, she knew she was about to break his heart but she knew she had to, she knew it was for the best.

"Caleb, what happened last night was just a one-time thing. It can't happen again." she told him.

"Why?" he asked.

"You know why. You know what I am, what you are. It wouldn't work. The only thing that will come of us is pain. Better to suffer the pain now than down the road when it will be much worse. Forget about me, forget about us. Go on with your life. Find a human woman to settle down with and have babies. Live a long and full life, a human life. Be happy. Goodbye."

She didn't wait for him to answer and hung up the phone. He immediately called back and she declined the call. She put the ringer on vibrate before she put it back in her pocket. She could feel it vibrating already. She walked back into the room where Arianna was telling the contractor how she wanted her room done.

There were three floors in this house. All three floors had a master bedroom with its own private bathroom. They also had another bedroom and bathroom, for a total six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Alaina claimed the master bedroom on the top floor and Arianna wanted the one on the second. Both of the bedrooms had a balcony and full view of the ocean.

They told the contractor that they wanted to knock out all the walls on the top two floors and just make the whole floor just one big bedroom with bathrooms and walk-in closets. On the first floor they wanted to combine the extra bedroom to the master to make the room bigger but leave the extra bathroom for guests to use without having to go through a bedroom. He told them by doing that they would be turning it from a six-bedroom, six-bathroom house into a three-bedroom, four-bathroom house and would decrease the resale value. They weren't going to sell the house so therefore that wasn't a problem.

They also wanted to make the balconies bigger and have them expand the entire width of the house, adding bigger windows that go from floor to ceiling. The bathrooms were going to be like mini spas, and of course huge walk-in closets. Going from floor to floor, they went through everything. They also wanted to add a storage building outside so they could put their surfboards and other gear. The contractor gave them an estimate and said they could start the following week.

She checked her phone and seen she had 17 missed calls and 23 text messages, all from Caleb. She deleted the messages without even look at them.

"Let's go pick out our flooring and stuff." Arianna said, hoping it would be enough of a distraction to get Caleb off Alaina's mind.

Alaina smiled weakly, "Ok."

They went from store to store, having everything picked out. Some things were going to have to be ordered but would still be there in by the time the contractor would need them. They also found a small blood bank that was willing to sell them blood. They paid them enough that they didn't even ask what it was needed for.

By the time they got home it the sun was about to set. Alaina went upstairs to her room and stood on her balcony. She stood there watching the sun go down and kept staring at the sky long afterwards. She was still standing there looking at the stars when Arianna came up. She handed Alaina a glass with one of the bags of blood.

"Here, drink this." she said.

Alaina looked at her and took the glass. "Thank you."

"Will you be ok?" she asked Alaina.

"Yeah, I will. It was for the best." Alaina said as she turned her gaze back to the stars.

Arianna put her hand on her sister's shoulder and stood there for a few minutes before turning around and walking back to her own room. Alaina drank the blood and sat the glass down on the table. Putting her hands on the railing, she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the waves and felt the warm breeze coming off the ocean, the smell of saltwater in the air. It was so peaceful. She couldn't think of another place that was more peaceful than right here. It was quiet. She was glad they found a place that was far enough away from the city so they didn't have to listen to constant traffic.

The sound of the waves crashing on the beach was almost cathartic. She took a deep breath and relished the smell of the water. She stood there almost all night forcing her mind to be empty and just letting the sounds and smells of the ocean fill her.

Caleb kept trying to call Alaina but after a while it just went straight to voicemail. He didn't understand why she didn't want him to be a part of her life. They should be together. He threw his phone on the bed. He didn't care if she was vampire and he was human. Did she not want him? He paced back and forth in his room. When that didn't ease his frustration, he went out onto the balcony that overlooked the ocean. He could feel the breeze coming up from the ocean, although he could barely hear the waves over the people and the cars going by. After a while the traffic died down some and he could hear the ocean a little better.

He decided to call a cab and go to her house. He picked up his phone and noticed the time was after one in the morning. Deciding it was too late to go tonight, he would just go tomorrow. He went over to the fully stocked mini fridge and grabbed a couple of the small bottles of whiskey. He poured them all into a glass and went back out onto the balcony. After a few glasses he felt he was just drunk enough to sleep. Leaving the balcony door open, he climbed into bed and shut off the lights, willing himself to sleep. Tomorrow, he thought, tomorrow she will tell me why she doesn't want me.

The next morning, he woke up with a pounding headache. Fumbling around he found some ibuprofen and took two of them and downed a bottle of water. The noise coming from outside didn't help so he got up and shut the balcony door. He walked over to the thermostat and turned the air on full blast. He laid back down on the bed hoping to be put out of his misery. He drifted off back to sleep. A few hours later he was woken up by someone knocking on his door. It was the housekeeping staff.

"Come in." he said and rolled over to his side covering his head with a pillow. The maid walked in and started cleaning up, putting fresh towels in the bathroom. Picking up the empty whiskey bottles, she went back out to her cart and grabbed some more bottles and restocked the fridge.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked him.

"I need this headache to go away, other than that, no I don't. Thank you." he replied.

She left the room and shut the door. He sat up in the bed and swung his feet over the side. He sat there with his head in his hands, willing his head to stop hurting. This is why I don't drink, he thought to himself. He rubbed his hands down his face, feeling the stubble that was growing. He got up and went and got another bottle of water and took a couple more ibuprofen. He was going to go to Alaina's house this morning, but he was in no shape to see her right now. He sure as hell didn't want her to see him like this.

He sat back down on the bed, picking up the room service menu. Nothing looked appealing enough in the shape he was in, but he knew it would help if he ate something. Finally deciding on something he picked up the phone and placed his order. It wasn't long before there was another knock on the door. He got up to open it to find the waiter with his food. He handed him some money as a tip and closed the door. He sat down, placing the tray on the bed. He picked up the fork and started to eat, slowly. The food was good. He finished off the food and by the time he was done he actually felt a little better. His head wasn't throbbing anymore, but was still a dull ache.

He sat the tray in the floor outside in the hallway. He turned on the shower and stripped his clothes. He just stood there letting the hot water run over himself. He took the soap and started washing his body, then his hair. He turned off the water and grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his waist. He stopped cold when he walked out of the bathroom. The balcony door was open. He walked toward the door and looked out, but nobody was there. Walking back inside he shut the door and locked it. He looked around the room but nothing seemed out of place. He just shrugged it off as the wind.

He grabbed some clothes out of the small dresser and got dressed. He picked up the phone and called for a cab. Grabbing his phone, wallet, and room key, he made his way down to the lobby to wait. When the cab pulled up, he got in.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"I'm not sure of the exact address, but I can tell you how to get there." he replied. He gave the driver the directions and they took off.