The Rogue's Obsession

Welcome Home

Hannah

The car slides down the highway - I have never been in such a quiet car - or a highway - before. No shouting, no honking. Just the dark sky above and the lights of the jeep.

Gabriel doesn’t make small talk which is more than welcome. I look at him- he keeps his eyes on the road but he looks like his mind is elsewhere.

“What?” he asks, without turning to me.

“I was just thinking you never asked anything about my mom. “

“I am sure enough people have already asked you that and you’re tired of telling them you’re fine. “

“I am fine. “

“Yeah,” he snorts and takes a packet of cigarettes out of his sprocket. He lights one and offers me the packet.

I stare at him.

“You do know how old I am, right?’

“I thought you guys consider yourselves adults after you turned what… twelve?“

“Like you were never twelve. “ I say and see the small smile appearing on his lips.

There’s something about my uncle- he looks the type of person who is always thinking about two things at the same time. Like - he is taking part in this conversation but he is also elsewhere.

“How did you know where I was? I couldn’t call you and I left a message but then I realized I never said where this was.“

He glances at me, something passing his face.

“The guy called. “ he says after a pause.

“Really?” I gasp, “Okay, maybe he wasn’t such an ass after all. “

Gabriel laughs.

“Don’t judge people too quickly. “

We don't talk much afterwards. He says he will deal with my mom’s car and that I shouldn't worry about it.

No one’s ever told me ‘not to worry about it’...

“How far are we?” I ask and he tells me he will wake me up once we get there.

I don't fall asleep, my head is pounding and I finally let myself feel how tired I am.

The warmth relaxes the muscles I didn’t know I had tensed. We arrive sometime in the middle of the night.

There’s a tall fence and it opens as Gabriel drives towards it.

What is this place… It looks like one of those fancy houses with swimming pools in the backyard.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” I ask and Gabriel gives me a look. Then he leads the way, talking to me without turning around to see if I follow. His tone is serious, as a matter -of fact. It’s like he is instructing a subordinate.

“There is a room prepared for you on the second floor. The kitchen is downstairs to the left. “

he keeps speaking as we cross the whole place. I fumbled with my backpack, slipping off my shoulder because the strap tore earlier.

“The guest bathroom is on the first floor but yours is right next to your room. “

“Wait? I have my own bathroom?!” I gasp but he ignores my reaction and keeps walking.

“I have ordered food to be made for you, it’s waiting in the kitchen. I didn’t ask you if there’s something you can’t eat so there are varied options. Put down things you can’t eat and the cook will take them into consideration for tomorrow. “

This house is big. It’s not too flashy- the yard was long and the house is surrounded by trees, but it’s so pretty. I noticed a veranda, a garden that seemed nice and well-kept.

What does my uncle do for a living exactly?

We get to what I assume is the main hall and he looks up the stairs.

“I will see you tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything. “

“Wait, are you just…”

But he is already walking away, leaving me alone in the spacious hallway.

“Well…” I exhale deeply, “Let’s do this. “

I have no idea what’s my uncle’s hurry at three am, but I also remember he’s probably not very fond of having a seventeen-year-old living with him.

I go upstairs, unpack the few things I have and head to the bathroom.

My bathroom.

There's a towel and some comfortable sweatpants and a T-shirt left for me. They are suspiciously fitting too well and pretty cool, actually.

I take a warm hot shower and my stomach grumbles. Maybe I will take advantage of the food prepared for me, after all.

I head downstairs, wiping my hair with a towel that costs more than the rent for our room in New Jersey. I find the kitchen quickly and go to my friend. I don’t turn the lights on and bump a few times in the dark.

“Damn it.” I hissed. Great, I did make noise. It’s just so quiet here, it’s nothing like where I lived before.

I open the door of the fridge and spend some time wondering what to pick- eventually, I choose coca milk. There’s literally everything when I hear something. Steps.

“Sorry if I woke you up, “ I began, “I tried to make less noise but…”

I lift my head and see him.

A tall, dark figure is leaning heavily against the door frame. He is dressed in black, with a hoodie on. It’s so big it hides his entire face. Definitely not Gabriel. He looks like a thief. Then something tells me I have seen him before.

It’s him.

This is the guy I saw back home. The guy who almost kissed me that night. No …

I gasp. Then I drop the carton box and it lands heavily on the tiles, splashing cocoa milk all over the nice sweatpants.

“What ..”

That’s when Gabriel comes. I don't see where he came from and quickly pulls the guy away.

“I was just…” I start rambling but my uncle wraps his arm around the guy and they disappear. Just like that.

What the f**k was that just now…. And while I just stand there, not moving in the dark I feel some of the milk I just splashed running down my front.

This can’t have been him… I glance at my chest - cocoa all over the t-shirt and prepare myself to clean all this mess.

I should turn the lights on for a starter. I head to the switch when Gabriel comes back.

“You don’t have to do that,” he says distractedly. “And sorry, this was RJ. “

“RJ?” I ask, clutching the paper I got to clean the floor.

“Yeah. He is a friend of mine, he is staying here tonight. “

Of course, it’s his friend, why would I think it was someone I’ve met before? Let alone him.

“Sorry, I thought I woke you up. “

“You’re fine. Really. “

“But… was your friend okay? He… he seemed kind of out of it. “

Gabriel meets my eyes as if I said the weirdest thing just now. Which I most likely did.

“He sometimes drinks,” Gabriel says evenly. “His girlfriend left him. “

“Oh…”

“Anyway sorry about that. Let's talk tomorrow, okay? I am sure it’s all new now and you need to get some rest. Good night, Hannah.”

He doesn’t wait for me to respond and leaves.

“Good night. “ I mutter, staring a the empty room.

James

I’m f****d.

I press my hand over my abdomen, the blood soaking through my fingers. I have another shot wound to the right that makes it really hard to walk without spilling blood everywhere.

Gabriel hates blood on his floors but we couldn't avoid it tonight. The copper taste spills into my mouth and my fangs pierce my lower lip as the wound opens wider because of my moving.

But my wolf keeps thrashing violently inside me.

“Would you shut up? " I clench my teeth but he keeps howling. I have a deep cut in my back - yes, the joke’s on me, because I should have seen that one coming. The others were difficult to avoid and it was a close call.

We made it out on time though. I walk the familiar way to Gabriel’s study - we call it a study but it looks more like a place where you can get stitched and treated.

The palace is quiet and I assume everyone has gathered in the study already when my wolf loses it.

I'm so dizzy I can barely walk. I don’t even know where I walk. My mind turns to a raw egg and the pain makes it even more difficult to keep walking in a straight line. The blood keeps running but I find myself leaning against a doorframe.

My wolf is singing in my head, his voice equally loud to the splitting headache and the mind-numbing pain of the two bullets and a few stab wounds I’ve been carrying around.

And I know it.

She is here.