A Kiss in the Rain

Chapter 6

   A/N: Please excuse any mistakes or typos. I think I got it all pretty much cleaned up but if you notice anything that doesn't make sense, let me know! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I enjoyed writing it. Much more to come.

Photo: Skye (Actor: Alex Pettyfer) ((I only like this photo for him though, not the actor in general.))

   Gabriella waited for Kali to leave before heading to the bathroom to shower. Her muscles ached and nothing would be more satisfying than a stream of hot water beating down on her skin. She had been preparing for this day, when everything would unfold. She knew the facade she had thrown up wouldn't last as long as she'd hoped. Now that her daughter was more curious than ever, the truth was about to come out.

  Steam filled the small cream colored room as Gabriella untied her robe, dropping it to the floor and exposing her bare body underneath. She stepped into the shower, reaching behind her to massage her shoulder as the water bore down onto her back. A peaceful moment before the chaos ensued and engulfed their lives; a calm before a storm. Gabriella closed her eyes.

----Flashback----

 The clouds were thick with overcast across the skies. It was unusually cold, as if it would turn to winter in the middle of July. Gabriella's brown fur boots crunched against the rough terrain, pushing branches aside with her bare hands as she made her way to the private location.  Twigs and thorned bushes caught her hair, tugging at the golden ringlets ever so slightly. Goose bumps prickled her soft skin as she approached the dark metal doors.

"Hello," she said softly to the man guarding the iron bars. He looked at her and smiled, flashing ugly yellow stained teeth. His skin was scaly and his hair was coarse and thin. Like a field of dead grass.

"Hello again, human," he snorted tauntingly.

Gabriella's eyebrows furrowed, her lip quivering angrily. "Soon I wo-..!" But her sentence was broken.

"You returned," a smoother voice spoke beyond the gate. The guard simmered and stepped out of the way.

"You're here!" Gabriella squealed as she peered over seeing the familiar face. She ran passed the guard and toward the man, making the iron doors creak as she pushed them aside. His arms were open and ready.

"You know it's dangerous to come here on your own." He growled softly into her ear as she wrapped her upper limbs around him. His wild flaxen hair tickled her face. She pulled back to take in his features; glacier blue eyes, sharp cut jaw, contoured cheekbones. He was years older than her but his skin still held onto it's youth. A light shadow settled under his eyes, yet he still looked wide awake. He was perfect and Gabriella was giddy to be near him.

"It's more dangerous where I'm from," she laughed softly. Her breath escaped visibly into the chilly air. "I brought this to protect me."

Slowly, she reached into her deep coat pocket and pulled out a dragon print dagger, it's edge smooth and sharp. "Beautiful, isn't it?" She pointed the dagger up into the air, letting any light that passed through the clouds gleam across its blade.

The man tightened his lips into a thin line, unamused. He grabbed the dagger away from her, the blade cutting into his hand. "Is this a joke?"

Gabriella gasped as a small trickle of blood ran down his pale wrist. "Stop it!"

"This isn't going to protect you here, it's only going to provoke them. You're a silly girl." The man slammed the dagger against the cold ground, shattering the steel into tiny pieces. His strength amazed Gabriella, still she flinched and looked away.

"I'm not a girl anymore.. I'm eighteen now.." She sputtered bitterly, punishing him for his cruel words. The man reached to put a hand on her shoulder.