When Darkness Falls

T W E N T Y - S I X

After I finished eating, Justin helped me back up the stairs and by help I mean he carried me all the way up the stairs and laid me in bed.

Justin slipped off his dirty, stained up t-shirt and slipped into bed beside me. He wrapped his muscular arms around me and I left a quick kiss on his bare chest.

"You need to rest. Tomorrow is going to a big day." Justin whispered out and blew out a breath.

"Goodnight Justin." I said as I fluttered my eyes closed.

He kissed my forehead." Goodnight, my love."

And that's when it all faded away.

The next morning, I stretched out my limbs as I let out a yawn. I opened my eyes to find that I was alone. I pouted for a moment before casually slipping out of bed.

I felt better than the day before but I still felt like my head was heavy. I could walk a bit better though.

I made my way to the bathroom and switched on the shower knobs. I stripped of my clothing and stepped into the steaming shower. I washed my body of dirt and grime and probably dried blood.

I washed my hair with whatever Justin's shower had and breathed in the shower steam, my lungs becoming heavy and the air becoming thick. My head filled with a happy sensation.

I squeezed my hair out to drain the excess water. I grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around my body before stepping out of the shower.

The tiled floor was slippery from the steam. I wiped away the moisture from the mirror and got a good look at what a mess I was.

I shook my head and walked back into the bedroom to find something clean to wear.

I found one of Justin's t-shirts and a pair of grey sweatpants. I rolled the waist so they would fit better and brushed out my wet hair with my fingers.

Justin appeared with a plate of food and I sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned down and pecked my lips before handing me the food. My stomach growled and I grabbed the fork to dig in.

"Thank you." I moaned out as I ate a piece of the four cheese omelet.

He gave me a smile.

"When you're done I need you downstairs. There's a couple of things we need to go over." Justin said and I nodded.

He disappeared again and I was basically left alone to lick the plate clean. Whoever cooked that breakfast had to be a world class chef.

I carried the plate with me down the stairs and handed it to one of the maids after they offered to bring it to the kitchen and wash it for me.

I found Justin in a room I hadn't seen before. It had a sunk it living space so I had to step down to get to the couches in the middle of the room. I spotted Justin sitting opposite of two others.

I gave Justin a smile and scurried over to him and sat beside him. He wrapped his arm around me.

My eyes traveled to the couple on the other couch and my heart dropped. I felt like I was going to throw up.

I met eyes with my parents.

"Justin? W-What's going on?" I stuttered out. I thought they were dead.

"Caroline brought them back. I'm not sure how. They're vampires. I'm sorry. I didn't want this but I didn't have a choice." Justin explained but I shook my head.

My mother and father sat quietly on the couch as I was having some sort of mental breakdown.

"I-I need some air." I spoke and ran out of the room. I hurried to the front doors and rushed outside.

The breeze washed past me, my hair flying everywhere. I let my eyes gaze towards the guards standing at the fences in the distance. My thoughts raced.

"Don't be mad. Not at me at least." I heard from behind me.

I turned to find Justin staring at me with sad eyes. I bit my lip and began playing with the ring on my finger.

"I'm not mad. I'm hurt. It's overwhelming finding out that my parents are alive right now." I explained.

Justin nodded and came forewords to embrace me into a tight hug.

"What am I supposed to do?" I wondered as I breathed in his scent.

He pulled away from me and looked into my eyes."Talk to them. They're still your parents nonetheless."

I nodded." I guess you're right and... I hate it." I whispered out the end of my sentence.

Justin chuckled and pecked my lips before grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him to go back inside.

When we made it back to the living space that I had previously left, we sat on the couch across from the couple once more and I kept my fingers interlaced with Justin's. I squeezed his hand and we looked at each other before someone finally spoke up.

"How've you been, sweetheart?" My mother said. She sounded different. Her voice made my heart stop for a moment.

I've missed it.

"I've missed you guys more than anything but I've managed to move on with life and continue on." I stated truthfully.

"We can see that..." My father muttered out as he stared at Justin's hand in mine. My fathers eyes flashed red.

Justin noticed this and narrowed his eyes, growling.

My mother however, remained calm and gave me a small smile." We've missed you too, Ana."

My mother and I rose from our seats and we quickly flung each other into one another's arms.

"We didn't want to leave you. I'm so sorry." My mother whispered into my ear. Tears fell from my eyes.

I couldn't help but notice that as my mother and I were in the middle of a heartfelt moment, my father sat back on the couch with a stone cold glare evident on his face. His fists clenched and un-clenched as he stared at Justin.

I didn't know what was going on but the next thing I knew, my father flew out of his seat and attacked Justin.

I gasped and quickly tried rushing over to them but my mother held me back.

"Sweetie, this is for your own good." She spoke and suddenly the blood in my veins froze and my stomach twisted.