The Day I Fell In Love With A Demon

Who Could Have Been A Stranger...

Who Could Have Been A Stranger

"Hey, sleepy head," said a warm, gentle, familiar male voice.  My mind, deep-down, seemed to know who it is, but my brain just couldn't place it.  Curiosity overwhelming me, I opened my eyes. 

All I saw at first were white bed sheets.  Panic struck me; I didn't have white bed sheets.  The ones at home were silky and red.  Glancing where my dresser should be, I saw a white curtain.  A jolt of panic errupted in me, and I turned and saw a plain alarm clock that said it was 3:10 a.m.  Where had last night gone?  Who was talking to me?

Then it all hit me: the night, my stranger.

And Sophie.   

I waited for a second.  I knew that any sane person would be sobbing their eyes out right now.  But as I waited, my chest felt hollow.  At first I was appalled at myself, but then I understood.  I was in flat-out denial.  I wanted to cry, but I couldn't find the tears.  I just hadn't yet accepted that Sophie was dead, and I didn't want to. 

I must have looked pretty bad because my handsome stranger said.  "It's alright, remember? You said so." It was then I turned to look at him.  He flashed me a crooked smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Now that I had a general sense of what was going on, I stopped to get a good look at him.  He had brown hair that was almost black and was just a bit too long, hanging in his face.  He also had freckles that made his eyes looked even bluer in the center and green on the ends.  He was so handsome when he was cleaned up; especially compared to me.  

When I said we were three pretty girls, that was other people's opinions.  My friends were beautiful, not me. I had green eyes that made my red hair stand out.  My hair was supper curly and hard to brush.  I was average height and not really fat or slim. I had such an odd look.  I guess I was kind of pretty, but not like my friends or this stranger.  

As I was looking at him, I noticed that I hadn't even looked him in the eyes.  My head rose, and a warm feeling sunk into my body.  He had beautiful eyes; blue but almost green like I'd seen before.  

"I'm in a hospital," I said.   The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.         

"Yes," the boy said, obviously unsure of what to say.

"Ok...um." I was now the unsure one.  "Hello um... stranger.  I guess I passed out.  I never pass out except once at my thirteenth birthday.  My friends dared me to drink a whole two liter of Coke in one chug.  I won.  You know it's my birthday today.  I'm sixteen today.  I'm Kendra." I babbled on.  What was wrong with me?  He either didn't notice or thought it was rude to say something.  Only a small smile crept across his face. 

"What a crappy birthday for you," he said with a sad look in his eyes. "My name is Vincent.  You saved my life; I am forever in your debt." He was totally serious.  The first thought that crossed my mind was that he was a crazy that killed Sophie, and I had just saved him. 

When my mind said the name Sophie, I winced.  I managed to block out the tears that were threatening to come.

I mean, what did I know about him? I had been honest, but that didn't mean he was being honest. Just because he was my age didn't mean he couldn't have killed her.

I knew that was not true as soon as the thought crossed my mind.  He didn't do it.  I just knew.  It has been happening to me since I was about five.  I just knew things, like having premonitions; or like a psychic, but not like the phony ones who told your fortune of a hundred bucks.  I didn't really want anyone to know, so I never told anyone before.  

I knew people might suspect I was a psychic, but no had out and out asked me.  Emma, my littlest cousin, had taken my little cousin's bear and I knew it.  I was right.   It had only gotten worse as I got older.  I knew the answers to tests I never studied for, in classes I'd never taken.  I could understand languages I never learned.  I could even tell when I relationship would or wouldn't work out occasionally.  It was amazing what I could do sometimes.  Of course, those things could only happen on rare times.  But... for the second time in twenty-four hours, my mind drew to a complete blank.  It was like there was a wall stopping my memories.   

I was still deep in thought when he spoke again.  "Kendra," his voice turned gentle.  "You have been asleep a long time.  You had no ID on you.  Your parents will be wondering where you are." At this point he hesitated; as if debating whether to say what was on his mind. "Unless, do you want to wind down for a while and relax with me?  Nurses won't be here for a long time.  We could just talk and get our minds off of things." A day or two ago I would never have agreed to sit and talk to a handsome stranger.  I was a good kid; smart, honest, and considerate towards other people.  I had never had boyfriends, no matter how much my friends had teased me about not having them.  I just wasn't ready.  Today, with this boy, always doing what I normally did felt wrong and staying here with him is what really felt right. 

The same warm feeling settled into me, and my decision wasn't even hard.  Who could have been a stranger was now a friend.