Yaunfen (Book three to Attraction)

12.

The greenery surrounds me as if I am in a ball of mossy at the center of the Earth. It stopped raining an hour ago, so I've been walking around the woods alone. After what happened with Conner today, I just needed to be alone and have some space to myself to think. I left my phone at home so I had no distractions, too. When I finally find a tree that I like, I sit down on the ground against the tree as a few tears gather in my eyes. I hug my knees to my chest as I let out a sob while burying my face in my knees. I'm sure my makeup is smeared now, but I don't care about that. How could Conner have done this to me today? What did I do to deserve this? ...Well maybe this is is my karma for what Seth and I got drunk together and did.

I continue crying for a few minutes just allowing myself to break in the silence of the woods.

"You alright there?" The female Irish accent speaks. I gasp softly and look up to see a tall brunette woman with bright red eyes looking down at me.

Her full long brown hair is fanned out around her shoulders and her brows are creased in worry. But she looks the definition of beautiful, her skin is smooth like marble, she's pale but not overly so, her lips are full and a pretty pink shade. But she isn't human, she's what the elders were talking about at the bonfire Friday night. She's a vampire. My heart pounds wildly in my chest now as I freeze up unsure of what to do in this moment. Am I going to die?

"Relax." She clearly speaks. Her accent is thick but I can understand her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Please... Don't." I manage out.

"I promise." She's kneels down close to my height now as I stay seated on the forest floor. Something about the way she says those words makes me believe her.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing out here crying?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did your parents piss you off?" She presses. A small smile forms on her lips as if she's trying to make light of the situation.

"No... It was something else."

She nods. "I'm Lindsay."

She sticks out her hand for me to shake, I hesitate before shaking her cold hard hand. But I don't feel put off by this, there is something soothing about the coldness radiating from her skin.

"I'm Hazel." When I say my name her brows raise in shock, she smiles.

"Ah, so you're her daughter."

I frown in confusion. "You know my mom?"

"We're old friends." She responds cooly.

"My mom was friends with a vampire??" No way.

"I see there's a lot she needs to catch you up on." She chuckles, her laugh sounds beautiful. She's so beautiful.

"And here I was thinking I knew everything about my parents..." I shake my head.

"People surprise you, don't they?" She speaks.

The flash of what Conner did to me comes back into my mind again, I frown.

"Yeah... They do."

"What happened to your head? That's turning into a nasty bruise." She sounds genuinely concerned.

"I fell."

She snorts. "That sounds like bullshit."

"It's the truth."

"Okay, Hazel. Whatever you say." She sounds like she doesn't believe me and that scares me. If I can't get a complete stranger to believe me how am I going to get my own parents to believe me?