章節 7: Coming to terms.
"You?"Nate said surprised, not at all expecting a familiar face to greet him.
"You" Leah said, in a hostile manner looking between Seth and Nate, clearly thinking Nate had something to do with Seth's predicament.
Seth who was looking at there interaction weirdly couldn't help but comment.
"You two know each other?" he asked.
Before Nate could answer, Leah denied instantly.
"No" She said, with a bit of force.
Seth who just looked at Leah questionably, shrugged before he wen't to take a step but he couldn't so Nate helped him forward.
"Careful" He said.
Leah realising that Seth couldn't walk, also wen't under his shoulder to help him.
"It's fine I got him" She said, looking at Nate with a weary look.
Nate who was a bit hesitant let Seth go and watched as Leah helped him inside.
Now standing alone on the porch Nate could hear the shouts and argument's going on inside the house, so to be a bit respectful he took out his phone and dial his uncles number to do what he was supposed to earlier.
"Hello? Nate where are you? are you okay?" His uncle who was clearly worried picked up the phone quickly.
"Yeah, ....I...aa had a lot on my mind, I needed some air" He said with an apologetic tone.
"Sigh, you gave me a heart attack kid, where are you, I'll come and pick you up" He said, assuming Nate spiralled into mourning because of his mother.
Hearing the door of the house creak Nate saw Leah looking at him with a passive face.
"No, it's fine uncle. I'll be home soon" He said, lifting a finger to indicate one minute to Leah.
"Alright son, just be careful" He said.
Nate appreciated his uncles care, even though he wasn't much of a talker and didn't show much affection openly, him calling like this was all he needed to know that his uncle loved him and it made him smile a bit.
"I will uncle" he said before ending the call.
Looking at Leah who was standing there awkwardly, Nate was a loss of words before he looked at the time and saw that it was 12.40.
"Umm, Is Seth alright" He asked to make sure.
Leah looked at Nate then at the door of her house.
"Yeah..he aa he's okay" and again an awkward silence decended.
Nate looked at Leah before he looked at the time.
"Well then I only wanted to see Seth home, I'll aa be on my way" Just when he turned around and was about to trek back to the beach, Leah spoke behind him.
"I'll walk you" she said coming next to him.
"Where's your car parked" she said, now looking at Nate.
"I uu parked it next to the beach" he said not knowing what else to say, should he have said ' o yeah, I ran here from forks so it's no problem'. So, with that they started walking towards the beach in silence.
"So...you make music" Leah asked with a strait face, looking like this is the last situation she would like to be in.
"What?" Nate asked surprised, how would she know.
"You brought the DAW to the shop..I assumed"She said, quieting down.
"O that," He said a bit embarrassed of how he reacted.
"I guess you could say I Dable" He said comically motioning his fingers like he's pressing keyboard keys, wich made Leah scoff and shake her head.
"What about you, what type of music you like" He said, which made her get a thoughtful look.
"I mean, there's not one genre I typically listen to" She said.
"So an all rounder, I get it" He said making a face, which made Leah who was walking next to him scrunch her face.
"What's with that look" she said .
"Nothing, just wondering if you would like reggae with that taste of your's" He said comically, which made Leah laugh a little.
"I'll have you know reggae can sound amazing" she said, causing Nate to roll he's eyes.
"Yeah sure sure that's what they all say" he said laughing.
"But seriously, what's your favourite type of music or even musician." He asked this time seeing the beach from a distance.
"Honestly...I like listening to rap music" she said, which made Nate perch up.
"Rap?" He said.
"Yeah.. is that weird?" She asked unsure of what he would think about her listening to rap.
"No, not at all it's just surprising is all, my cousin also likes rap so you're not the first rap gal I've met" he said the last part hesitantly, trying to not be awkward but failing.
"Seriously..rap gal" she said smiling.
"Sorry?" He said chucking a bit looking at the cold see appreciatively.
"So who's your favourite rap artist? Eminem, Tupac" He asked which made Leah whip her head to look at him.
"What, you thought I didn't listen to rap?" He asked which made her nod.
"I thought you were one of those country music boys" Leah said obviously teasing him, which was hard to tell with her face being so stiff.
"Hahaha funny" Nate said sarcastically.
Nate and Leah who were now walking on the side of the beach comfortably didn't see the 4 boys wrestling in the sand, with all the same wolf like tattoos on there arms.
"Well if you must know...I like NFS" She said suddenly, which made Nate pause his steps.
Leah who kept on walking stoped to look at Nate, wondering why he suddenly stopped. Nate who was about to say something was interrupted by hoots of boys and loud grunting.
"Come on Paul, you got this" Said one of the boys who was spectating the wrestling match.
Nate who was seeing this, wondered if they were the boys Seth was saying the younger boys imitated. looking at Leah for a moment he saw how her face that was a little less stiff turned into complete stone, before she made a beeline and walked towards Nate.
"You..ok" before Nate could ask.
"I'm sure you can find your car from here, right?" She asked sounding urgent and angry, which made Nate only nod his head, before Leah stormed off not even bothering to say bye.
Before Nate could dwell on the fact anymore a horrible smell hit him. It was intoxicating, almost poisonous, it made Nates eyes water a little. The best way he could describe the smell would be burnt fur and wet dog somehow combined into one horrible smell.
Looking at the direction the smell was coming from Nate saw all the 4 boys who were busy wrestling before looking at him with hostility, one of them even looking so angry that he literally looked like he was vibrating.
But what stood out most to Nate was how the largest of the boys, the oldest-looking one, stared at the retreating Leah with a sad expression
But something in the back of Nates mind warned him, almost like a sixth sense that he wasn't supposed to be here, or more specifically in the area these boys occupied. One word entered his mind which confused him to no end.
"Territory"
So Nate realising this feeling may be one of his newly awakened supernatural abilities, decided to trust it for once. And so he made way to the forest next to the beach not looking at the boys who he knew were still staring at him.
So entering the forest, Nate who was wondering how the super running was going to work just took a deep breath and pushed off the ground, and there he was running so fast that it almost felt like he was gliding. The animals he passed by didn't even flinch at him making him wonder if he was even making a sound, but he's thought's were interrupted by the fact that he didn't know where he was going.
Which way was home or even better which way was forks, and while thinking that, something like a sound pulse left his body. Which painted him a picture of the forest surroundings. Not expecting this at all, Nate who was running almost tripped on a root but was able to dodge it because of the sound pulsing vision thing.
' Ugh, need to come up with a better name' He thought, before he saw cars and and people with his new abilitie. Focusing a little harder by trusting his instincts and this new vision, he closed his eyes in the hopes that it would make him find his way back home....and it did, there.. a bit in the distance he saw his uncles house. But what confirmed it was a red pulsing dot on the second floor, which he identified as his cousin.
Opening his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief, he picked up his pace before stopping just before the entrance of the forest. walking out calmly, he walked to the door which didn't have a door anymore.
"Did I do this?" he thought, stepping over the splinters and entering the house.
"Sigh! There you are," he heard a familiar voice say, looking at his uncle who was at the table putting hinges on a new door.
Nate felt a bit embarrassed about that.
"I'll pay for that," he said, not knowing what else to say.
"You gave me and Bella quite the scare," Charlie said, shifting his gaze from Nate back to the door he was fixing. Nate took the seat opposite of his uncle.
"Yeah, about that," before he could explain himself.
"I know," his uncle said, making Nate's eyes widen.
'He knows?'
"I know that it's tough, losing your father at a young age and now your mother. I know it can be a lot mentally," he said, making Nate, who was about to panic, sigh in relief.
"Umm, yeah," he said unsurely.
There was a silence before Charlie decided to get the door back to where it belonged.
"Okay then... good talk," he said walking off before stopping.
"And you might want to go and say something to your cousin, she was worried about you as well," he said, before walking out to fit the door.
Nate, who was just sitting there feeling relieved, sighed, glad that his uncle didn't know the real reason he left like that in the morning.
Getting up and walking up the stairs to where Nate knew Bella was. He knocked on her door and opened it before he saw her sitting on the wooden bench again, listening to the same music she was listening to yesterday on the headphones.
Shaking his head a little, not at all used to the fact that he can hear his uncle's cursing from hitting his finger downstairs and the music playing from Bella's headphones simultaneously. He took a step forward into the room getting Bella's attention.
"You're back," she said sounding a bit strained.
"Yeah, I had to get some air, I hope I didn't worry you," he said taking a seat on her bed. Bella, who didn't say anything, sat down next to him on the bed.
"No, it's fine, I sometimes hike the forest when I'm feeling down as well," she said, taking Nate's hand in hers.
Smiling at her, he said, "Thanks for understanding," before his gaze caught sight of the familiar eye bags beneath her eyes once again. Nate understood the value of talking about one's feelings, especially during low or depressed moments. He had his therapist to guide him through his own struggles, but he knew for Bella, it was hard because of Uncle Charlie. He knew Charlie struggled to talk to Bella that way because he was afraid to say something wrong.
So Nate, being a bit more experienced in this sort of thing, tried his luck with Bella.
Looking at her straight in the eyes, Nate said the words he has heard countless times from his therapist.
"Are you okay, Bella?"
Bella, who was also looking at Nate, didn't understand his question but after looking at Nate's eyes, she knew what he was getting at.
"Dad told you," she said, as a matter of fact, stuttering a little, clearly becoming uncomfortable.
Nate didn't need any words to confirm, so he only nodded which in turn made her sigh.
Bella went silent for a moment before she continued, Nate hoping she would not feel obligated to say anything she didn't want to say.
"I'm getting better, it's just..." she said, stopping mid-sentence.
"Hmm?" Nate hummed and took Bella's hand in his.
"It's just really hard, everything reminds me of him," she said, this time coming to tears, which made Nate hug her.
"Hey, hey, Bella, it's fine, it really is," Nate said in a small voice soothing her by drawing circles on her back.
They were like that for a while, Bella crying and Nate just being there for her.
"You know, I remember...around the time my father died," he started, choosing his words carefully not to sound like he's comparing the two.
"I remember how all these different people came to me, telling me how much of a great man my father was and how it was a shame he died young," he continued, which by this point Bella was listening.
"But all I truly wanted was someone to tell me how sorry they were that something like that happened to me." he said, looking Bella now in the eye.
"So if it means something, I'm really sorry this happened to you, Bella, I really am," he said, looking at her in the eyes to convey his sincerity.
Bella, who was once again in tears, hugged Nate before she said in a small voice.
"Thank you."
After a while of just hugging each other, Nate, who now had extremely sharp hearing, heard a thumping sound slowly becoming even and calming down, and while that happened, he felt Bella go limp which made him realize something.
'She fell asleep,' he thought, glad that she's finally getting sleep.
Tucking her in, Nate made for the door before he stopped because of the music that was coming from the headphones. Looking at the headphones that were connected to the iPod, Nate grabbed it before heading to his room.
Standing in front of his room, Nate hesitantly reached his arm for the door before opening it and seeing the laptop in the same position he had left it in.
Walking in, Nate put the iPod down on the bedstead before reaching for the power button on the laptop to shut it down, but he stopped as he heard his father's voice from a video that was playing.
"Hey Nate, if you find this tape, I would like to explain a couple of things to you before you find them out yourself, you need to be prepared," Michael said, this time in his office wearing normal clothes.
Nate, whose finger was hovering over the power button, opted to listen to what his father had to say.
"What you...no, what I did to you was not so that you could become a monster or a weapon. It was for you to live a normal and fulfilling life, just like all the other kids.
It doesn't excuse what I've done, but I hope you understand that it was for the best," his father said, in an apologetic tone, which made Nate think to himself a little. If he had a son, wouldn't he do the same thing, wouldn't he do everything in his power to protect him, but before he could dwell on his thoughts anymore, his father continued.
"But let's not get sidetracked, first I would like to say that you are not the only one out there," he said, his voice becoming much more serious.
"If all goes according to plan, you will never awaken your other side and you will live a normal human life, but we all know that Murphy was up to something when he said what he did," Nate's father said, throwing in a little joke.
"But as I was saying, you are not alone, there are others like you, other VAMPIRES, they've lived among humans for thousands of years. Feeding on them, playing with them like toys," Michael said, horrifying Nate in the process.
'There are others?'
"I only discovered this fact after I created the artificial blood and this is where the idea stemmed from, to fuse bats with humans," he continued.
Nate, by this point, was absolutely horrified, his entire life not only has he been living a lie but now there are other creatures he has to also deal with, what is this turning into.
"But I made sure of one thing, Nate, if you ever awaken your other side, there's a manual of every ability you possess and how to use them, in this digital diary. You may also be able to handle the abilities much easier because, after all, you've lived with them before," he said before something took Michael's attention from the video.
"Dad," he heard a small voice say before a boy came into view with impossible speed.
"Nate, how many times do I have to tell you, no running in the house," Michael said before he scooped little Nate up.
Nate, who was looking at this, had tears in his eyes, because as much as he wants to blame his father for his predicament. His father just loves him and he did all of this just for him to live a long and happy life.
"I'm sorry, dad," little Nate said.
Michael, who was making a fake angry face, relaxed his brows before he kissed Nate on the neck, which intern made him giggle.
"Is it feeding time already?" he asked, to which little Nate nodded, and that's where the video ended.
"So that's it, huh?" Nate said aloud, closing the laptop screen.
"I'm a vampire," he whispered to himself.
And if what his father said is true, he is not the only one. There are others, which have been living for thousands of years.
'I just want you to live a happy and fulfilling life,' he remembered his father's words.
He will do exactly that, and the only way that would be possible would be if he mastered and made these abilities that are now a part of him his own.
"I Will live, father, and live a fulfilling life... As a VAMPIRE."
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Hey everyone, it's your friendly neighborhood author checking in... once again!
It's been a minute since I last published a chapter. Life's been throwing curveballs, keeping me busy in the real world, and this chapter has been stuck in draft limbo, halfway done.
But hey, here we are! As always, I welcome constructive criticism. Let me know what works, what doesn't, and how you're feeling about our main character.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the love interest is going to be Edythe. So, get ready for some exciting developments on that front! Can't wait to see what you think in the next chapter.
Also if you have any pennies to spare for little Olle me, PayPal me on.
DONATE:paypal.me/Helpauthor03
And I will get a chapter done the same week, so enjoy and see you next time, peace.
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