Breathless

Chapter 1: How did you know my name

For long as I could remember, no one lived in the Winchester mansion. It was your classic rich people house on top of a big hill. It was made of white stone with pillars and floor to ceiling windows. It looked so royal and beautiful. My window faced it and I would wake up to it every morning. There was an air of mystery in that mansion. It was kind of creepy too and when I was little, I had imagined that a witch had lived there. Large, black, iron gates protected the whole property and a grey, cement pathway, lined with cherry blossoms made its way to the front doors. I have wanted to walk down that path forever. In the summer, the cherry blossoms fell and coated the entire path in little buds and all I could do was sigh in longing as I stared at it from my 2 story house that I shared with my parents and older brother.

But all that changed when one morning, I woke up to see the big iron gates open to let in a moving van. I dressed really quickly, ran a brush though my coal black hair and ran downstairs.

“Hey guys, someone is moving into the Winchester house!” I said to my family who was sitting around the table. Aiden looked up at me and rolled his eyes. He was my older brother and a super jock at that. He was on the basketball, football and soccer team. Not to mention a super over protective annoyance. I couldn’t do anything because he just had to know who I was with, why I was with them. I bet he was just super paranoid. Since my brother was this big jock, he was uber popular and he was always going out. I was never allowed to question him and when I asked why, he told me it was because I was a junior and he was a senior so I had to respect authority. That was a load of bullshit. I was taking mostly senior level courses and I shared a few with him.

“You need to get over your little obsession with that house, honey cakes.” My brother said teasingly as he set the plate in the sink. “Now, let’s go, Autumn. We are late enough as it is. Mr. McDonald will kill me if I’m late.” He said. Did I mention my brother was a super nerd too? It was like he had it all. He was smart, a jock, popular and all the girls had a crush on him. He was about 6’3 with broad shoulders like my dad and black hair that he wore in a messy, shaggy style that fell over his forehead. His eyes were bluish green like mine and he had perfect teeth like me from the 2 years of braces he wore in the 6th grade. But to me, it was all done before. I was so used to him and his annoyingly father like behaviour that I gagged when I saw him with girls.

“Let her eat something, Aiden. She just got here.” My Dad said and gave him a stern look. Aiden groaned and scratched his head.

“Okay, Fall, get a bagel or something. We need to go.” He said, using my nickname. He thought he was so funny when he came up with it when he was 7. Since my name was Autumn, it wasn’t a far off jump to call me Fall. I sighed, grabbed a granola bar, a bagel with cream cheese, yogurt, an apple and a juice box on my way out.

“You are still the only girl I know who eats like a pig.” He said as he got into the car. His varsity jacket was rested on the head of the seat. He pulled it on as I buckled myself in.

“Yea, yea, whatever.” I replied and started eating.

“So, do you know who moved in?” he asked, failing to keep the curiosity out of his voice. I smirked. The house interested everyone in the town there were rumours that it was owned by vampires or it was haunted or something. But nobody was as interested in the house as I was.

“No but it’s owned by the Winchester family so either one of the descendants are moving in or they sold the place.” I said as I took a bite of the apple. It was the last thing I had left. I had done a lot of research on the family and I found that their family was very powerful. They had information about ancestors who dated back to before the renaissance period. I felt a bit like a stalker when I was researching but it was just so interesting. The family had members who were accused of being a witch and were burned alive during the Salem witch trials. They had lords and ladies who were working for King Henry VI.

“Stalker much?” he asked with a smirk and I glared at him.

“Shut up, Aiden.” I said and resisted the urge to punch him since he was driving and I didn’t want to end up wrapped around a tree.

“Hey, I call em’ as I see em’” he said and shrugged his shoulders. I rolled my eyes as he parked the car. We both got out and went off to each of our own individual groups. We had a pretty good relationship other than the paranoid, protective part. If we ever saw each other in the hallway, he’d wave or ruffle my hair. Because of his popularity, I’ve had girls try to be my best friends to get to him but I knew who my friends were.

“FAAALLLL!” Seth called from our usual spot under the big willow tree. Anna looked up from the book she was reading and grinned as she waved.

“Hey guys!” I said as I met up with them.

“Did you see the new kid? He is yummy.” Seth said and fluttered his eyes. He was one flamboyant, gay boy but I loved that about him.  

“What new kid?” I asked and my thoughts flashed to the moving van at the Winchester mansion.

“You know, the new kid! He is so hot! I heard he is a senior! Oh, he better be in one of our classes!” Seth said as he jumped up and down. Seth, Anna and I met in kindergarten and we have been friends since then. We have been through everything and I couldn’t imagine life without them. We were all in the same classes and I liked that.    

“Have you seen him?” I asked and Seth shook his head shyly.

“Not really but I saw the back of him and his back is fine! I mean, unf! He is so tall and sexy with pure black hair and that butt? God, take me now.”  He said and put a hand over his heart as I laughed.

“Who are you guys talking about?” Anna asked at he looked up at us. She was sitting with her back rested against the tree while we were standing.

“Oh, no. Now, I’m not telling you, Ms. I never listen.” He mocked and Anna frowned. She placed a bookmark in her book and stood up.

“Sorry, okay? I was getting to a good part! Now, please explain.” She said in a scared tone. Seth rolled his eyes and started to tell her what he told me.

“And yea, that its.” He said turn his head a bit and suddenly froze “Wait…that’s him.” He said and I turned. I saw who he was talking about but only the back. He was wearing a tight, white long sleeved shirt that stretched over his broad shoulders and a pair of grey jeans. He looked to be about the same height as my brother. He had hair as black as night that fell to the nape of his neck. He was standing a few feet away with his head tilted over a piece of paper. I felt something weird in me and I felt my knees start to wobble. I wanted to go to him but I didn’t know who he was. My stomach started to churn and my vision started to blur a bit. As if he had sensed something, he turned to our direction and locked eyes with me. My mouth wanted to drop but I refused to let it. He was beyond gorgeous. He had pale, clear skin that looked smooth to the touch and his lips looked soft and red. The thing that caught me off guard was his eyes. Even from where I was, I could see them clearly. They were the most vibrant shade of purple I had ever seen.  He was staring at me with an expressionless face but he looked like he was in a trance. My legs were telling me walk to him and so was my brain. In fact, ever part of me was drawn to him. Pretty soon, I couldn't help myself and walked towards him. I heard Seth ask me where I was going but for some reason, I didn't answer. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Seth was now just background noise. My being and soul focused on him and only him. Everything else was just a dark blur and he was the light at the end of the tunnel. When I reached him, I just stopped and stared. He was staring back just as intently, his purple eyes glittering with an emotion I couldn't read.

“Adam.” I whispered at the same time he said “Autumn.” His voice was pure beauty; A thousand songs and more. It was deep and rounded that sent shivers up my spine. It was a playful and romantic sound and I wanted to hear more of.  There was an accent. I assumed it was British but I couldn’t tell since he had said only one word; my name. I reeled back in shock but he stayed the same. Not moving, nothing.

“How did you know my name?” I asked in shock. “Wait…wh-why did I call you Adam? Is that your name?”

He was still staring at me with that expressionless face. Finally, he turned and walked away.

“Fall, what was that?” Seth said as he and Anna came running.

“I-I don’t know.” I replied as he walked away.