The dark moon rises

Chapter 5

Amelia pov

I must have finally fallen asleep because I’m startled by the sound of my alarm clock. I get a shower to wake myself up and go down to get some breakfast. When I reach the kitchen, something seems to be off, but I can’t put my finger on what it is. I get a bowl out and some cereal and sit down to eat. Whilst taking a sip of my coffee, it hits me. My keys and purse are sitting on the kitchen counter. I didn’t leave my keys or my purse on the kitchen counter. I didn’t even come into the kitchen last night. I think really hard and I’m a hundred and ten percent positive I didn’t come in here. But I must have because the house is all locked up. No one could have gotten in. s**t, what if I forgot to lock the door after I answered it last night? No! If I had forgotten to lock the door surely messing with my keys and purse would be the last thing a burglar or murderer would do. I brush it off as me just been forgetful and head off to work. I only have a half-day at the gym today which flies by and I’m at the bar later so I have a few hours free and decide to head back home for a few hours sleep. Hayden is picking me up from work tonight, and I don’t want to look like an extra for the walking dead. I’m actually really excited about our date tonight. Hayden seems to have worked his way under my skin and that scares me, but I can’t help but feel excited by it at the same time.

As I get home, Milo is there. He’s usually at work at this time.

“Hey, what are you doing home?” I ask him.

“Something came up. Did you come back home last night alone?” He asks me, probably trying to get the dirt on Hayden and me.

“No, I came home with Hayden.”

“Hayden brought you home you mean?” His eye twitched slightly and I had to hold in my laugh.

“Yes, Hayden brought me home, and then.. ya know” I winked at Milo and he didn’t look impressed.

“Did you sleep with Hayden!” His voice got louder and I was finding it hard to keep a straight face.

“What? It’s ok for you to sleep with everything that moves but if I do it then it’s the end of the world!”

“Hayden wouldn’t just sleep with you Amelia, stop f*****g with me!”

“But you make it so much fun. Why did you want to know if I came home alone anyway?”

“Nothing, just making sure you got home ok… who was knocking on the door then?”

“I don’t know. It happened a few times actually scared the s**t out of me. Then I got a strange phone call.” Milo stops walking and turns to me, curiosity written all over his face.

“Why? What was strange? Who called you?”

“I don’t know some creeper saying he has been waiting for me and he will see me soon.” Milo’s face drops. His eyes flash black with anger. Zak and Milo have always done this when they get mad. Nana says it’s because we are special and have a gift. I did Google it once but couldn’t find anything about it happening to anyone else. All that came up was myths about werewolves, vampires, and fairies. I convinced myself for a while that my family was a bunch of creatures that changed on a full moon, but after spying on them and never seeing them change into a monster on a full moon, I came to the conclusion that I was indeed insane. I’ve always seen this happen with my brother’s eyes and it doesn’t freak me out anymore. I would sit for hours in front of the mirror trying to get my eyes to do it, but it never worked.

“Milo, don’t worry, it’s probably someone playing a prank,” I said to try to calm him down, he will just worry and it’s going to turn out to be nothing.

Milo nods his head but doesn’t look convinced.

“I’m gonna call Zak and let him know what’s going on. What did you come back for?” He asked me whilst reaching for his phone and dialing.

“Sleep. I couldn’t get any last night after the call and the guy knocking on the door.”

“I’ll make sure I’m home all the time from now on Mimi.”

“So you and Nina?” I wiggle my eyebrows up and down, making him roll his eyes at me.

“Sleep!”

“Fine spoiled sport. Tell Zak I said hi.” I leave Milo talking with Zak and throw myself into my bed.

•••

I wake up a few hours later feeling refreshed. That was an excellent nap. I get changed into my uniform and pack a pair of jeans and a nice top for my date with Hayden later. I’m actually really excited about the date. I can’t wait to see him again. Oh god, what am I doing? I’m getting excited again. He’s not going to be interested in me. I’m a nobody compared to him. He has women throwing themselves at him. I saw it last night. No! I have seen the way he looks at me. He is interested and I deserve to have some fun with the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in my life.

I grab my stuff, feeling a little more confident about tonight, and head down the stairs. Milo is still sitting at the desk in his office area of the house.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Amelia, wait I will pick you up from work.”

“No need Hayden is.”

“What! Hayden is picking you up?” Milo looks taken aback by this.

“Yes, why? Should I not go out with him?” He shakes his head immediately.

“No, Hayden will protect you with his life if he needed to. I didn’t think you were interested, that’s all.”

“I wasn’t, believe me. There’s something about him though, I can’t explain it.” Milo smirks at this and gets back to his work.

“Have fun and let me know you’re safe.” He shouts as I’m walking out the door.

•••

My shift at the bar goes quickly tonight. It feels like the hours fly by. Hayden still hasn’t shown up and I didn’t think to get his number. I feel disappointed. I got my hopes up about tonight and he didn’t even show up.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” Nina puts her arm around me and gives me a side hug.

“Thanks, Nina.” We walk out of the bar and both stop in our tracks.

Standing leaning against his car is Hayden. He looks sexy as f**k in a leather biker jacket and a pair of dark jeans. His jacket is open and underneath he is wearing a grey T-shirt, but even in the dark, I can see his muscles under the clothing. My mouth feels dry.

“Close your mouth, Amelia.” Nina giggles into my ear. “Have fun you two.” She gets into her car and drives away.

“Hi,” I say shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Hi.” He says breathlessly. He opens the passenger side door and I get in. He closes the door and walks around to the driver’s seat and starts the car.

“So I was thinking we could go catch a late showing at the cinema.”

“That sounds good. What are we watching?” God, he smells amazing, and being inside a small space with him smelling and looking so good is making it hard to think.

“It’s up to you. You can choose.” He flashes me a smile that takes my breath away before looking back at the road.

God, he’s beautiful. He looks like he’s been sculptured from marble.

We got to the cinema and chose to watch a scary movie. I love horror films and apparently, so does Hayden. The cinema is quite full and I have to say I’m surprised. We find our seats towards the back and Hayden passes me some popcorn and a drink.

“Thank you.” I get comfortable in my seat and settle in to enjoy the film.

The lights start to dim and Hayden has his hand resting on the seat between us both. I’m itching to reach out and touch him but I’m too afraid of being burnt by him. I concentrate on the film instead. As much as I love scary films this one was definitely a jumper type. I jumped, sending popcorn flying all over the place. I can hear Hayden chuckle and settle back into my seat. 10 minutes later popcorn flies through the air again.

Hayden grabs my hand and I instantly feel calmer. I let him keep his hand on top of mine for the rest of the film. His skin feels so warm and soft. Now and then he would run his thumb across my knuckles or make small circles on my hand. Tingles run up from my hand into my arm. I honestly can’t concentrate on the film now all I can think of is Hayden’s hand on top of mine. The feel of his skin on mine sends a thrill through me. The lights come back on and I realize I’ve not watched the film, I’ve been too busy thinking of Hayden. He looks over at me with a beautiful smile, flashing that cute dimple of his.

“Did you enjoy the film?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you for bringing me.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Thank you for agreeing to come. Can I take you home now?”

“Yes thank you, Hayden.” He stands up from his seat and holds his hand out for me to take. I look at his hand and take it, relishing the feel his skin on my skin feels.

He is a perfect gentleman. He opens the door for me to get in and drives me home.

“So tell me about yourself?” I ask him.

“What would you like to know?”

“Family!”

“I have 2 sisters. One older and one younger.” When he spoke of his sisters, he had love and affection in his eyes.

“My parents drive me insane but they are the best people I know. I took over the family business a few years ago and they are enjoying semi-retirement. Although they are not that old, so if I said retirement to my mother, she would box my ears.” He chuckled, making me chuckle.

I looked out of the car window and noticed that I was almost home.

“Thank you for tonight Hayden. I had a wonderful night.” The car pulled up to the curb and he turned the engine off.

“So did I. Can I take you out again?” He looked so shy and adorable, asking me to go out again.

“I would like that.”

“Tomorrow you said you had the whole day off. I could pick you up at 10?”

“Ok, I’ll see you then.” I opened the door and stepped out of the car. I heard his door open and close and the sound of his footsteps hitting the driveway. I got to the door and turned to look at him and I couldn’t resist myself. I pulled his jacket closer to me and kissed him smack bang on the lips. His stubble tickled my lips. It felt like electricity was sparking between us but I felt him tense up so I pulled away regretting what I had just done. Completely embarrassed, I opened the door and slammed it shut, not waiting to hear what he had to say. God, why does the ground never open up and swallow me when I need it to. I stood with my head resting on the front door, consumed by embarrassment, when Milo cleared his throat from behind me, making me jump 10 feet into the air.

“s**t Milo, don’t do that!” He stood with a tub of popcorn and a huge grin on his face.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing. Did you have a good night?” His smile broadened, making me want to punch him in his smug face.

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I’m going to bed.” And with that, I stormed off up the stairs,threw myself onto my bed, and screamed into the pillow. How could I be such an i***t? I really thought he liked me, but he just stood there when I kissed him. God, I am such a moron.

I went to the bathroom and took my makeup off before having a shower to clean the stupidness off my body. Tonight I needed comfort, so decided to wear my fluffy pajamas to bed.

•••

I opened my eyes to find I was standing in a hallway lined with furniture and pictures. This was not in my house. I have never been here before. Dust covered the surfaces of everything. I looked around and saw a door so headed towards the door. I opened it and it made a loud creaking sound like it needed oiling. I heard a noise from somewhere in the room. A shuffle.

“Hello?” a croaky voice shouted.

“Hello,” I replied. What’s the worst that can happen in a dream? Suddenly an old lady is standing in front of me. How she got here, I’ve no idea.

“Hi, I’m Amelia,” I say as I step forward. She backed away from me like I would hurt her.

“What do you want? What are you doing here? You must go before he comes.” I have some really weird dreams sometimes.

“Who comes? Me.” I say pointing to myself and my fluffy pajamas.

“No the bloodsucker. He’s coming, go now.” She screamed. Dust flew around the room towards me, sending me flying backward and hitting my head in the process. Everything started to go dark again.