• [The Story Begins…]

    “b*****d!” I cried into the night, bloody tears running down my cheeks, “How could you!”

    “I’m sorry, Kaersten, but you must see. Kaersten, shh…” He reached out to touch my face but I slapped his hand away, crimson tears falling more frequently down my cheeks. “I know you didn’t want this, but I couldn’t live an eternity without you! I love you too much!”

    “But he cannot love me now…the only one I’ve ever loved, the only one of MY kind that ever accepted me and you made it impossible for him to ever love me back!!! You ******** b*****d!!” I fell to the ground sobbing, all of my hopes dashed to the winds swirling around the forest that surrounded me and the man who ruined my life. “I hate you,” I whispered. Growing louder each time I forced the words through sobs, “I hate you! I Hate You! I HATE YOU!!”

    Growling, the man monster who stood before me raised his hand and backhanded me sharply. “Stupid wench…You will regret denying my love,” he seethed, “…Go! See if you can survive on your own without protection. Even Kaeden will not accept you like this! I dare you to run off and try and hide from me! It’s impossible! I’ll always find you!” The monster before me sneered and an evil glint filled his sharp amber eyes, “You know what? I may as well get a little enjoyment out of this. I’ll give you one month to hide, only so I can find you and ruin whatever hopes you have of a normal life and, if I must, FORCE you to love me!”

    Happily, if you could call maniacal, evil, hallow laughter as a sign of happiness, he lifted me off the ground by the throat and forced his mouth onto mine in a painful kiss then threw me to the ground. “Run, my little pet, run and hide! You can run, but you can’t hide forever!” With those words the cruel horror that made my life the miserable thing that it is vanished into the darkness, leaving me alone and defenseless in a dark, dank, wood home to many dark creatures of the night.

    [Five Years Prior…]

    “See ya Kaeden!” I called happily, walking away from my crush towards home. Little did I know that tonight was the night my life changed. Forever.

    Kaeden, I thought to myself, I wish you could see through my mask, see my feelings...A strong gust of wind woke me from my pathetic thoughts and I mentally slapped myself. What the hell?! I am not that pathetic. Nor am I a hopeless romantic. Love didn't exist in my life. Love doesn't last. It's there, then it's gone; simple as that.

    Bored, I slid my long, reddish-brown hair behind my ears, my loose curls bouncing with each step. I reached into my bag and pulled out my iPod. Popping the earphone buds, (Which never seemed to fit into my ears), in awkwardly and turned on my iPod to shuffle. "Basketcase," by Green Day filled my head and I gently bobbed my head to the beat.

    Finally I reached my front door, but was so into the song that I didn't notice a second car in the driveway. The song played on as I dug through my bag for my key. Finally, I found it. After searching for the right key I stuck it into the storm door and unlocked it, the click of the lock lost due to the blasting music. I was really getting into it now that I was behind closed doors and started singing loudly and dancing to the beat.

    It wasn't until a much quieter song came on that I looked up and saw my mother and a strange guy staring at me from the couch. I froze on the spot and felt a blush creeping up my cheek.

    "Hi...honey. Erm...welcome home! I'd like you to meet someone," my mother said, attempting to cover the fact that I was just acting like a raving lunatic. My mother was a sweet woman. I felt bad for her. She and my father got a divorce when I was ten. My father decided that marrying my mother was a mistake, and that I was an even bigger one. So he walked out. He wouldn't have looked back either, unless my mom hadn't decided that she wanted a proper divorce. The only reason my father heeded my mother's request was that he knew he could get money out of it. He didn't care about getting custody of me, that was my mother's problem, the money was more important. God forbid money isn't spent on gambling, but on a child's well being. He basically sucked my mother dry of all of her money and now she's working three jobs overtime just to put a little food on the table. Typical family lifestyle.

    Shaking my head, trying to rid myself of the thought, and turned to the mysterious man my mom wanted me to meet.

    He was tall, around six foot, give or take an inch. He towered over my 5'5" frame. His fair skin seemed paler than normal and his features were not soft, but not entirely sharp. All of a sudden I met his eyes. Unlike the rest of his face, his eyes were a sharp amber color, filled with longing. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to why he was looking at me like that, but in the blink of an eye, (literally), it was gone and he looked over towards my mother with smile.

    This guy made me nervous, and I didn't know why.

    With an emotionless face I turned to my mom. "Who is he?" I was very good at seeming distant and cold.

    My mother smiled, not noticing my attitude, and said, "Honey, this is Jude, my new boyfriend..."