The End

Prologe

I had wanted a fresh start. I moved to this stupid little town in order to be someone new, reinvent myself, if you will. I packed the bare minimum and jumped in my truck. And then I drove.

However, all of that effort to get away from what haunted me was halted in one moment.

I was enthralled as soon as I saw her profile. I knew from the way her long hair, down to the middle of her back, flowed in the wind, how she threw her head back and laughed, loud and free; she was perfect. She sat there, leaning back on her elbows in a modest swimsuit. Probably trying to get tan. She didn't need it though. She was impeccable.

A guy in their group of average height and orangish-red hair grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. She didn't make a sound though, hanging limp and letting him carry her to the edge of the cliff everyone was lounging on. My hands clenched. Is this her boyfriend? It better not be. But if he wasn't, how dare he touch her, just grab her like that! She should at least fight him. Not let him do whatever he pleased.

He bounced a little, as if to jump into the water below and I coiled to leap up and stop him. But he didn't fully jump. He hopped a little and then turned around, dumping her back onto her towel. The guy huffed. It seemed he didn't get the response he was looking for. She shrugged her shoulders and tilted her gorgeous head at him.

Then the moment was over.

A few other guys started to rough house, the girls putting their heads close together, talking. Everyone found something new to do.

It was interesting getting to see her in this environment. Is this how she would be when we got together? Carefree? Happy? Daring? Hopeful? Funny? Breathtaking? My thoughts raced.
I was never one of those teens, though; to go anywhere with a huge group and hang out. I'm not sure how well she'll be able to connect with me. I don't even know why I came to this stupid swimming hole, waterfall, thing or how I found it. I had never come to a place like this before. Which I guess was my motivation today. I wanted to be someone different. And this is. Regardless, I am so glad I did. I could not be happier. I found her.

It wasn't that she was physically attractive - that's just the cherry on top! It is everything else. Who she is. And I just knew, as soon as I saw her, I needed her in my life. I need to have her by my side. I knew that she could fix the broken parts of me.

I would have sat there watching forever if he hadn't of interrupted me. I didn't know him at the time, but he would soon become an important part of my plan. He would be invaluable; until he became a liability, that is. And they always become a liability.

As soon as he stepped into my peripheral, I was ready to fight. My muscles tensing to the point of being uncomfortable. The second he leaned down as if to sit, I had my hand on my knife. When he opened his mouth, I was ready to spring into action. I had no idea who this man was or what he wanted. But I was ready to kill him.

"You know, staring at an underage girl that that is troublesome." He sat with his knees up, arms wrapped around, showing me his hands were empty. I raised an eyebrow. Who was he to tell me what I should or shouldn't do? He lifted his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture, "Hey, man. No harm, no foul. I just think that you'd get a much better reaction from a sixteen to seventeen year old girl if you actually walked up and talked to her. Not just sitting here alone and staring at her like a creep."

"I'm not alone. You're here." He had a good point though. A teenage girl could easily get spooked and get the wrong idea. So it'd probably be best to really think about my options and distance myself from her at first.

"True, but you've been staring at her, nonstop, for an hour," he pointed out.

I cleared my throat, unnecessarily, and pointedly looked away from her. And it hurt. I almost looked right back at her, but I would not prove myself weak in front of this stranger. I looked at him full on and realized that he was the same as me. There is something in the eyes of guys like us. His brown, almost black, eyes looked dead.

Something hardened, broken, ruined inside; something died in him. And once you recognize it in yourself, you notice it immediately in the people around you. We'd seen too much. Done to much to go back to what we were before.

I take my hand off my knife and reach out to shake his hand, "Nice to meet you."

He shakes my hand once, firm. "Duke." He looks at me expectantly, waiting for my response.

I thought for a moment. I needed a new name. They whole point of moving was to get away from who I was and what I'd done. If I kept my old name, it would be too easy for me to fall into those patterns. I thought of a list of names in my head but they all seemed wrong.

One of the guys in her group yelled out, "Sam!"

I couldn't help myself, I needed to know if that was her name. I watched as she turned around, "Yeah?" My god, she was beautiful, even from this distance. Everything about her screamed innocent and I just knew I had to protect her. There was a reason I saw her today of all days. And this is it: I'm supposed to protect her and keep her safe.

She bent forward, flipping her hair down so she could grab it and throw it into a messy and hastily made bun. She grabbed an extremely pale girl's hand and they jumped off the rocks into the water below. Their screams echoed up towards me.

My small smile soon morphed into a huge grin and Duke whispered mockingly, "Granny, what big teeth you have."

"I know what I need now," I stand up. "And I need your help to get it."