Chapter 12

Alaina was gone when Arianna woke up this morning. She turned on the screen of her phone and opened her picture gallery. Looking at the picture of her, Alaina, and Abigail. She wished Abigail was here, she would know what to do to help Alaina. She pulled up the keypad and dialed Abigail's number, but she couldn't make herself hit the dial button. Alaina would be furious at her if she called Abigail, but she didn't know how else to help her sister. She was still debating about whether or not to call Abigail when she heard the knock at the front door.

She opened up the door and was surprised to find Caleb on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Where is Alaina?" he replied.

"I don't know, she was gone when I woke up. You shouldn't be here." she told him.

"I don't care. She can tell me to my face why she doesn't want me since she doesn't want to answer my phone calls."

Arianna sighed. "Come in then." and she shut the door to behind him. He went over and sat on the couch. Arianna just stood there. She didn't know what to say. Caleb shifted on the couch, feeling a little uncomfortable at the awkward silence.

"I will go see if I can find out where Alaina is." she said, unable to take the silence anymore.

"Thank you."

She pulled out her phone and tried calling Alaina, but she didn't answer. She tried her again but Alaina still didn't answer. It wasn't like her not to answer her phone. She sent her a text message asking her where she was.

Her phone chimed. I'll be home soon, was the short reply she got. She fiddled around her room for a little bit, she didn't want to go back downstairs just yet. She hated awkward situations and avoided them as much as possible. She felt bad for leaving Caleb sitting down there alone. She finally made her way downstairs. Caleb had gotten up from the couch and was standing on the back deck that gave a beautiful view of the state park.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she said.

"Yes, it's breathtaking." he said. "You have beautiful views here no matter which door you step out of."

"I still can't believe they wanted to sell this house. We got lucky that our realtor found out about it before it was listed on the market. We still have some renovations we are going to do. They will be here next week to start them." Arianna told him.

"I hope I get to see it after it's done." he smiled at her.

"Me too."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, really. But you have to understand that this is a complicated situation, not only for Alaina, but for me too. Whatever Alaina decides to do affects me too." she said.

"I understand."

They both turn at the sound of the door leading to the garage closes. Alaina walks into the kitchen and the look on her face, she was absolutely livid.

"See ya." Arianna tells Caleb and takes off into the park.

"Caleb, what in the hell are you doing here?" Alaina asks.

"I wanted to talk to you and you wouldn't answer my calls or my texts." he said.

"That's because there is nothing left for us to talk about. You need to go home and forget about me and everything that has happened."

He brushed his fingers lightly on her cheek. She pulled away from him.

"Caleb, please, listen to me. You need to go."

"I can't." he tried to take her hand but she wouldn't let him touch her.

"You have to." she said as she took a step away from him. The more she tried to move away, the closer her moved to her until her back was against the side of the house.

"No." he refused to let her get away again. He reached for her hand again, this time she let him.

He took her hand into his and brought it up to his lips, gently kissing the back of her hand. She closed her eyes, feeling his lips press to her hand was more than she could take. Coming to her senses she pulled her hands from his.

"No, you have to stop this." she said. "You don't understand the danger you are trying to put yourself in, and not only you but me as well."

He took her hand again, "Then explain it to me. Explain to me why, and you can't say that you don't feel what I feel because I see it in your eyes."

"The more I tell you about us the more danger you are in. But seeing as you won't give up until I do, then I guess I have no choice." Alaina said as she moves towards the chair to sit down and waits until he does the same.

"We have two councils that are made up of some of the oldest vampires in existence. The Lower Council and the High Council. The High Council who decides what laws we should have and abide by. The Lower Council makes sure the laws are enforced and hand down punishments to those who break the laws. Although there is no law saying that humans can't know about vampires, but they don't like it. They feel that the more humans that know about vampires, the more chaos it will cause. Therefore, the tend to kill the humans that do know." she explained.

"What if I just act like I don't know?" he asked.

"They will know if you are lying or not, and lying to them will just piss them off even more. It's just best if they don't find out at all."

"Then we won't let them find out. But I'm not going anywhere. You have left me once, I don't want that to happen again." Caleb told her.

"The more you are around me, the greater the chance that they will find out. There are more vampires than you think." she said as she stood up, "You have to go."

She tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm and spun her around. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her deeply. She knew she should break this kiss but she didn't want to, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. This would be the last time she would be able to kiss him or even touch him, so she was going to make these last few moments count. She deepened the kiss pressed herself closer to him.

He pulled away from her and smiled, "I'm not going anywhere without you." he told her.

"Yes, you are." with that she knocked him unconscious.

When Caleb woke up, he was back in his hotel room, he had a headache from hell.

"What in the hell happened?" he said to himself. Last thing he remembered was kissing Alaina. He sat up and found a note on the bedside table.

Caleb,

By the time you read this Arianna and me will be gone. We cannot be together, it is too dangerous, for all of us. For your sake, forget about me. Goodbye.

Seriously? He thought to himself. He couldn't believe that she knocked him out and then left him. Again. He wasn't going to give up on her. Fuck the vampire council. He stood up and as he did, the room started to spin. He sat back down on the bed and blinked his eyes until the room started to come back into focus. Ok, so maybe charging after her right now wasn't the best idea. He searched his pockets for his phone, pulling it out he looked at the time. That can't be right, he thought to himself as he read the display that said it was 10:27 am, the next day.

"Geez, how long have I been asleep." talking to himself again. He rubbed the back of his head where it was hurting and felt the knot. Shaking his head, he still couldn't believe she did this to him.

He only had one more day left in Los Angeles before he had to catch a flight back home. His stomach growled. Maybe get something to eat and then go to her house. He ordered room service and waited for it to be brought up. He picked up his phone again and tried to call her, it went straight to voicemail. He brought up his messages and quickly typed a message to ask her to please call him. He thought about changing his flight home and stay a few extra days but if Alaina is gone, then there is no need for him to stay. He needed to find her.

He ate his food as quickly as possible then called for a cab. He took a quick shower while he waited. As soon as he got dressed, he was all but running through the lobby although the cab still hadn't gotten there yet. He was sitting on one of the benches in front of the hotel, anxiously tapping his foot. Finally!! He thought as he watched the cab pull up to the front. He gave the driver the address to Alaina's house, this time having known what it was. He pulled up his GPS on his phone yesterday while he was there and got it.

They pulled into the driveway and he paid the driver and asked him to wait so he could check to see if anyone was home. He walked to the front door and knocked. When nobody came to the door he knocked again and rang the doorbell. Still no answer. He tried the door to see if it was unlocked but it wasn't. Caleb held up a finger to the driver to signal him that he would be right back as he walked around to the back door. He knocked on the door and cupped his hands so he could get a better look inside. When he did, his stomach dropped. There were white dust clothes covering all the furniture. She really did leave he thought to himself.

He sat in the chair and buried his face in his hands as tears slid down his cheeks, his heart shattered in a million tiny pieces. He was heartbroken but even more than that, he was angry, well more like he was pissed the fuck off. All she had to do was just give them a chance, but no, she ran instead. She let fear get the best of her and ran. She could've stayed, she could've done something, she could've...

Caleb sighed, all these thoughts running through his head of what she could've done. He stopped thinking about what she could've done and instead thought of what he could've done more. Listened. He said to himself. He could've listened to her more. She kept telling him no, she kept telling him that she wanted him to leave and that it was too dangerous, but he didn't listen. He was being stubborn and hard-headed.

She kept telling him no and that he needed to leave, but he refused to listen to her. He didn't want to listen. He just wanted her. He didn't care about the so-called danger she kept warning him about. If he was being honest with himself, he ignored her warnings, mainly because he didn't want to believe her.

He sat there, lost in his thoughts, until he heard the cab driver honking the horn. He stood up and wiped his face and walked back around front and got in the car, telling the driver to take him back to the hotel. Back in his room, he sat there staring blankly at the wall. He had been so excited to see her again he didn't stop to think that maybe, just maybe, she didn't feel the same way. Although she didn't seem to feel that way when they were having sex, he thought.

Hell, after all he really didn't know all that much about her. He knew she was a vampire, knew that she had two sisters, only one of whom he met, and a few other small things. So why was he so obsessed with this girl? He asked himself. Was it just because she was so beautiful, or was it something to do with her being a vampire. Did they naturally attract humans in this way so they are easier prey? Did he really even love her?

He kept telling and asking himself this stuff, getting angrier and angrier with each passing thought. It was easier and hurt less to be angry. His phone ringing startled him. He pulled it out of his pocket to see that Drew was calling. He hit the decline button. He wasn't really in the mood to talk. His phone chimed to let him know that Drew left a voicemail. He would call him back later. He went out to the balcony, it was already dark. He stood there just looking at the stars. He decided to go for a walk on the beach, hoping it will help him clear his head.

Feeling the sand between his toes and the water splashing against his ankles, he stood there just looking out over the ocean. A sense of calm washed over him. He was going to listen to her now, he was going to leave, he was going to go home and push her out of his mind. He did it once, he could do it again. The longer he stood there, the more his heart hardened. He made a vow to himself right then and there, he wouldn't let his heart get broken ever again, especially so easily. Whether she intended to or not, she ruined him. Fuck her and fuck vampires.

If he ever came across another vampire, he would kill it. He would have to find out how first though. He knew that some versions were myths, that he could be sure of. Sunlight didn't make them burst into flames, but how well do they stand up to a stake through the heart? He knew there must be a way to kill them, he just had to find the right way, without getting himself killed in the process. He would do his research, and he would find a way.

If he ever seen her again, he would break her heart like she did his.