The Darkest Eternities

XXII. A lost boy

Cara

There was a draft in the house, like a cold wind had blown past. I chose to ignore it, I had probably left a window open.

Entering the kitchen, I shut the back door, making sure to lock it. Who knew what else was out there? Something could easily enter the house and rip me apart.

...as much as you fear him, Ivan truly cares for you... Jasper's words were stuck in my mind, echoing inside it over and over again.

I thought them through, calculating over and over again as if it wasn't such a simple statement, Ivan truly cares for you...

Yes, he cared about me, he'd once -long ago -said he liked me. He attacked Hoff to keep me safe, if it weren't for him... if it weren't for him who knows what would have happened? The vampire would probably have drained me of all the blood in my body.

Deep inside I was very grateful and thankful that he showed up when he did. Deep inside I cared for him greatly, what we had before, that doesn't just go away. It stays with you.

There was no night I slept without thinking of him. I constantly pondered on where he was, what he was doing. I even wondered if he was maybe even thinking of me as I was of him. The chances were slim.

Could the police have taken him away for what he had done? I would ask myself every single night. Wasn't it like self defence?

Not possible. Kogo had explained to me that the reason no one out of the seven billion people on the planet knew about the existence of such creatures was totally simple. They kept it a secret. They were very good at keeping secrets, clearly, seeing as I had no clue that my history teacher was a vampire.

It was a whole organisation! They worked under the shadows with behavioural codes, rules, institutions.

It scared me. What they were capable of, it terrified me.

Can I really look past something like that?

One night, when I could not sleep at all, I even tried to search for Ivan online. Finding him proved to be a difficult ,if not impossible, task.

All I learned was that he was tremendously philanthropic, donating to various charities. He also invested hugely in companies seeking financial aid and reaped the benefits when firms earned mega profits.

Essentially, he was only a smart, benevolent man with extremely deep pockets who lived a quiet and exceedingly private life.

I decided to grab a cup of coffee before starting on my English essay. Standing idly, thinking about a world that did not want to be thought about was not going to help me graduate high school.

A knock sounded from the back door. Turning my attention towards the glass door, I saw Aeren, the boy who had been with Jasper.

The hopeful smile on his face willed me to let him in and I opened the door for him. He seemed trustworthy enough. But I did not let him into the house.

"How do you know where I live?" I question him, my eyes roaming his dishevelled form.

He looked lost.

I stared past him and realised he'd climbed up the gate.

"I..."he paused and shifted his gaze to his feet. "I followed you."

I asked him why he did such a thing.

"It's hard to explain. I just had to see you. You're just so... It's hard to believe you are real. I have many questions," he says. All of what he has said confuses me.