Nine Lives

Chapter Two

I was actually surprised he remembered our anniversary, I was sure he would forget. Not that he was truly forgetful.

I stroked his hair gently before kissing him softly on the forehead, as I pulled myself back upright I smiled to myself. People have often asked me what I was doing with a guy like Hayden, let me explain.

Hayden, to some people wasn’t the most attractive guy on earth, his dark cropped hair was sometimes greasy and his eyebrows sometimes would meet in the middle but what people couldn’t seem to get their small minds around was this one tiny fact;

I loved him.

It didn’t matter that he occasionally snored or put silly faces at the end of his text messages. It didn’t even matter that he wore his heart on his sleeve, it mattered that he whispered I love you in my ear each night before we would go to sleep and brought me gifts every now and then to make me feel special. Those little things some people would call ‘annoyances’ I loved him more for.

It mattered because I couldn’t actually see myself with anyone else; I didn’t know if that was because I didn’t want to or because I was so in love with Hayden. Since I was young I’ve believed that being in love wasn’t being with that person you can live with, its being with the person you can’t live without and that is how I felt about Hayden. It might be clique but I didn’t care.

He was my high school sweetheart and I was his, and before long we were six years down the line and still felt the same as we did when we first started going out.

Just like every other couple we have had our moments, Hayden more than myself, where he’s turned up on the doorstep after having a few drinks with the boys. Hench a few years ago;

“-I don’t care that you have these consoles or talk to your friends, it’s that you never pay any attention to me while you’re doing it, Hayden! You’re making me seem like a mug! God, it’s almost like you don’t even love me anymore but you’re too afraid to even tell me!” I knew my voice was hitting the roof and the neighbors would be complaining in the morning but I had enough. Hayden had to grow up if he wanted to keep me in his life or I’ll walk.

“Lexi, I do love you. Loving you is like breathing, how can I possibly stop?” He yelled, tears filling his eyes.

“But you don’t, Hayden… I don’t feel loved…” I sighed, hanging my head “I can’t do this….” I shook my head as tears welled in my eyes and I came to grips with the hard truth that was reality

He gripped me by my shoulders, as my eyes refused to make contact with his “Lexi… Don’t do this…. I’ll change, I’ll be better, I’ll do whatever to keep you in my life… Just please don’t leave me….” His voice trembling with the tears

I knew there was truth in what he was saying. He would change, but only so I would stay with him not because he knew he was wrong and was willing to resolve things. At the end of the day he was a typical man and he would never learn..

“You… Promised me last time you wouldn’t drink anymore… because you scare me when you drink too much and you know that….”

“I know baby, I know… and I’m trying to stop drinking, I am!” His hand flew from my shoulder to my cheek to make me look him in the eye “But like everything, it’s hard to stop something once you’ve started…”

I knocked his hand away angrily “It’s hard to stop drinking? No, it’s easy to stop drinking, Hayden. You just stop buying it in the shop.. You are violent, abusive and I find it hard to believe that you can’t see how bad you treat me… So I don’t think we should be together until you decide what’s more important to you”

He had made his decision one hour later; I walked into the kitchen to see him pouring the remainder of his alcohol down the drain.

I grinned to myself, he did manage to win me back eventually and he did learn to not argue with me, the poor man doesn’t even drink anymore. Did I scare him off doing it? I hear you ask, perhaps. Does that make me a bad person?

As I crept off the mattress, leaving Hayden asleep and snoring soundly before tiptoeing towards the computer in the corner of the room, pushing the power button I tapped my thighs in rhythm whilst I waited for it to load up.

I looked down at my forearm, frowning slightly. What the-? A small inscription was carved into my skin. The number ‘6’ was clearly visible. What did this mean? 

I spun around in my chair to the sound of knocking at the front door, making me jump as I slowly scuffed my way towards the large wooden frame, opening it to be greeted by the same cold, familiar feeling I had felt in my dreams but the being that was stood in my doorway didn’t match the one that constantly hunted me.

He turned slowly to give me chance to examine everything about this stranger, the long leather jacket with sheepskin trimmed neatly to fit along the top of his collar gaped open, revealing a toned naked upper body and a trail of dark hair that crept from his navel down underneath the tight denim jeans that seemed all too snug, tucked away inside a pair of ankle leather boots to match the long jacket. 

His skin had a pale almost deathly white tone to it, which only made the jet black irises that inhabited his sockets stand out more from beneath long dirty blonde hair. His lips were thin with an almost evil twitch in them between a well defined jaw line which was delicately decorated with stubble.    

“Hello Lexa…. You’ve grown up well..” He leant forward to take my hand and place a kiss on the curves of my knuckles.

“Do I know you?” I asked, ripping my fingers from his ice cold grasp

“Oh, sweetheart, Stop fooling yourself. You know me.” The twitch in his mouth grew as he smiled “I’m the one you’ve been running from…”

I froze in the doorway, wanting to scream for Hayden or run away from him or even slam the door shut. Surprisingly out of fear I could do none of the above.

“What’s the matter Lexa? Cat got your tongue?” He sneered, his voice thick “Or is it…. Oh no…. You’re not afraid of me now are you?”

“Please don’t hurt me…”

He roared with laughter, reaching out to place both hands on either side of my neck. I realized that they were no longer human fingers gripping my throat but cold skeletal ones “Oh, I promise… It won’t hurt you one bit…”

I begun to struggle against him but he only laughed harder, the cold blooded maniacal laugh that escaped his inhuman lips sent shivers down my spine until I could take it no longer.

“If you’re gunna kill me, then just do it already!” I screamed as I looked the monster in the eyes, fear filled them but at least I was brave enough to look at him as he inflicted the final blow.

I felt the twinge for a second as he broke my neck, the horrible sound of crunching bones as my life was robbed from me within seconds.

The last thought that went through my mind was Please, let it be a dream…