Forevermore

Bleeding For the First Time (Vale)

V A L E

          I woke up from the most relaxing sleep I'd had in a long time. I yawned and looked out the window. It was still dark, but there was a little hint of light as the sun tried to light up the world. I stumbled out of bed and walked out of the room that Reagan had graciously allowed me to use. Aleta was in the room next to me, not making a sound. She could be dead for all I knew. I walked down the hallway and knocked on Reagan's door. There was no answer. "Reagan?" I asked as I eased the door open. She wasn't in her bed. I closed the door, wonding where she was. I walked into the main room and looked around. "Reagan?" I whispered into the darkness. No answer. Where was she? Wouldn't she tell me before she left? Did something happen to her? Calm down, I told myself. She's probably out hunting. I opened the front door and saw her walking towards the house. I met her half way. "Where were you?" I asked. She shrugged.

          "I couldn't sleep, so I just walked around out here for a while." She gave me a look as if to say, 'poblem?'. I frowned and took a step towards her.

          "You could have woken me up." I said. Suddenly there was a crack and then a tree branch fell to the ground. It was broken in the middle, as if someone had almost snapped it in half. I was about to look up in the tree when Reagan poked my arm.

          "Let's go inside." She said a little hastily. I nodded and walked back inside. Reagan shut the door and I turned to face her. 

          "That could have been an Ashwalker." I said, frowning. Reagan shrugged.

          "They don't know where I live. Besides, if that is one, I could just go out... and strangle it." She said in a growl, looking out the window and glaring at the tree. I was about to say something when I noticed what she was wearing.

          "You're... you're not wearing a dress! Or white!" I said, taking her in. She was wearing skin tight black jeans that made me want to moan and a sweatshirt that covered both her arms.Her tall black boots just added to how hot she looked. Before, in her dress, she looked innocent and cute. Now she looked dangerous and sexy. I let out a moan and she looked down at herself.

          "Oh. Yeah. Well I can't go outside in the dark wearing white now can I? There's too much black and I would stick out." She said. "Besides, this covers all my skin so..." She said holding her arms out. I took a step forward and grabbed her arms. She looked up at me as I leaned in close to her.

          "Reagan..."

          "We can't do this Vale." She said apologetically, pushing me gently. I didn't budge. She sighed and ran her hand through her beautiful black hair. "I don't..." She took a breath and looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes. "I don't want to hurt you again." I looked down at her and scolded myself for wanting to kiss her again. But I couldn't help it.

          "We have Aleta now." I said, leaning in closer to her. She shook her head and pushed me back.

          "But if we kiss, Aleta will have to heal you, and that would hurt her." I stared at her, not following. She looked at me as if I was an idiot. "She loves you Vale. Having to heal you every time we kiss will make her go crazy. She already hates me anyway." She said, pushing me off and sitting on the couch. I went to sit next to her and she scooted away from me. I touched her arm and she flinched.

          "Aleta doens't..." I said, stopping when Reagan stiffened. She was about to say something, but I cut her off. "Aleta doesn't mean anything to me. I don't love her. I love you." I said. There, I said it. Reagan froze even more and I heard a small gasp. I slowly looked in the direction of the hallway where the bedrooms were. Aleta was standing there, half hidden by the wall. her head was down, but from the noise she was making, I knew she was crying. I stood up. "Aleta." She ran out of the room and I stared at the spot where she had stood. After making a split-second decision, I ran after her. Reagan didn't move, and I silently wished that she would come with me. Aleta was known for her fierce temper, and I didn't want to get into a fight with her.