Haunted by the Immortals

Chapter 7

Cami

When I awoke, my eyes were sealed shut, yet I could see everything in front of me. Nat was driving at a steady speed, and often glancing, worryingly at me, Rhoda was curled in a ball, crying herself to sleep, and Stefan was looking through the window and up at the Malibu sunset. As for me, my body was sprawled across the passenger seat, unconscious.

I wanted to go back in my own body and wake myself up. So I did. As I entered my body, my heart was finding hard time breathing. It was weird. For the minute I knew I had come into my own body, I could see everything. My heart beating rapidly, all the veins and arteries which were a dark color; my lungs...absolutely everything: it was kind of scary. My heart was black, yet I knew why. My heart was only black because I was immortal. And when I turned sixteen, when all my powers would be sucked out of me by some kind of poison, it was then, my heart would know that I wasn't immortal anymore and it would beat at a normal rate and look a normal color and pump normal blood.

I wanted to be a normal even if Nat wasn't.

My immune system was struggling to control my body. It knew something was wrong. It knew what I was doing. But it wasn't long until the barrier broke free, letting me suck in my first breath. My eyes shot open and immediately focused on the road ahead. My heart was pounding faster than it would generally do, and my hearing was suddenly so acute.

I could hear Nat's heart pumping blood so rapid that I was scared he was having trouble breathing. He wasn't. I could hear Rhoda's steady pace heart rate, because she was sleeping. But I couldn't hear Stefan's. And then, it instantly occurred to me, that he was half vampire and therefore his heart didn't beat even though he wasn't immortal because of his human half.

It was all in my head. Nothing that happened in Blakesville was real. I made it up. In one, scary, nightmare.

I slowly turned my face so I was facing Nat. He gave me a heart-melting smile and then focused back on the road. "You know how worried I've been? Cami, you know yourself, that if you put a spell like that on your body, it won't wake up. It's just like that. And here you are, close to death, and breathing...fine, and...what?"

I didn't I realize that I was staring at his face. Just looking. Wondering if his mom was as beautiful as he was and wondering if his dad was just as handsome. Or if he was just born lucky. He had everything, you know. Those jade-green eyes, his not-too long or not-too short nose, his full, gorgeous lips, his toned cheekbones, his not-too hairy eyebrows (thankfully, and luckily he didn't have a mono-brow).

I blushed: scarlet red, and gave him a nervous smile. "Nothing," I said quickly. "Just looking at your face," I added, raising my hand and let it run from his forehead to his lips. "I love you."

He grinned. "Yeah, well you better. Cause your man goes through all this and gets stuck in all this shit. Crap, can't these cops give it a rest already?" He paused, realizing something. "I love you, too." And then his soft lips brushed against mine and within a second his gaze was at the road again.

"Mmm, I like it. What's new? The groans of anger with the cops, or you just have a lot to show me?" He gave me a 'what the hell' sideways glance and shook his head, smiling. "Ooh, is this option number two, then?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "God, were you really seeing if I was kissing you right? Man, why is my girlfriend half crazy?"

I nudged him, hard. But he didn't feel a thing. Stupid, stupid me. This is what it felt like to be small. But actually, I reconsidered. No, everyone was smaller than Nat. Not in height (Nat was pretty tall anyway, but I'd seen taller boys) but in muscle. "Shut up. Do you always have to talk to me like that?"

"No," he said. "I talk to you like that because I know, with all my heart that you know me and you know exactly that I don't mean that. Anything I say like that. Cami," he pressed a hand on my belly as a gesture to reassure me, "I know."

Could Rhoda have told him when I was passed out? Or was it just his powers? "And I'll give you the best life you'll ever have, that you'll think I'm crazy. Cami, I want to spend my lifetime with you. I want to sleep with you, whenever we want, wherever we want." Those words made me choke on a giggle. "I want to grow old with you. I love you. I can't lose you." He suddenly pulled the brakes on the car and Rhoda jerked up, full and awake. He looked across at me, looked at the sunset, took a big breath and jogged to my side. He grinned as wide as a Cheshire cat and then, knelt down on one knee. "Cami Ross, will you marry me and be my beautiful wife one day?"

I didn't have any words. I was virtually speechless. The silver ring was glimmering in the sun and I stared down at Nat. I didn't know if I was smiling, or crying or shaking my head. The world just spun around me and Nat. But finally, when all the spinning had stopped, I nodded my heavy head. "Yes," I whispered. "I will, Nat. God, I love you." He slipped the ring onto my finger and for a second it all felt unreal. But as he gave me a kiss and I melted there in his arms, I realized it wasn't. It really wasn't. It was all happening to me.

As he started up the car again, he leaned closer, gave me a light kiss on the cheek and whispered, "To be continued."

We arrived home, safe and sound and without the police on our tails. It felt good, you know, to be suspicious and engaged (not legally, yet. *Sigh*) Nat and I walked through the door hand in hand, smiling. Stefan strode in with a firm grip on Rhoda's wrist who was desperately trying her hardest not to get in. I ignored her and just kept walking with my fiancé.

"Let me go!" Rhoda screamed as Stefan slammed the door shut. He obeyed her and grimaced.

Nat and I got back into our conscience and stared at each other. I turned back and looked at Rhoda. "Rhoda." She kept thrashing. "Rhoda, listen to me! God dammit, girl! Listen to me already." She turned my way, her eyes beaming.

"What?" she spat.

"Rhoda, honey, stop. We're not trying to hurt you. I promise you that. Listen carefully, stop, and look at me. We told you who we were. We're going to take you to your family, okay?"

She wasn't exactly listening. She could definitely hear me, yet she was doubtful. Damn her. Her eyes were wide and dark like hollowed pits. "Okay." She walked to me and didn't look back.

"We're going to help you, Rhoda." I said wrapping her in a hug. I didn't know myself if I was lying or not. But I intended to find out.