Watching Amelia

Chapter 1

a/n: Caleb to the side

The morning came crashing through the window. It set upon my eye-lids while I tried my hardest to get sufficient sleep.

It had been a year since Carmen, my beloved fiancé, had been murdered. She died trying to protect me.

I allowed tears to slip my eyes while I opened and closed them. All I ever wanted to do was sleep now.

When Carmen died, I felt like my own happiness died along with her. It was like the sun didn't shine as bright anymore and the colors of the world faded into boring hues.

Not able to push myself back into the world of unconsciousness, I slid my legs from the bed and stood.
My legs were shaky at first. I hadn't stood out of bed for a few days. Since Carmen's brother, Caleb, had come to stay in their family's home, I had locked myself into this bedroom to avoid him. Seeing him walking through the dark hallway made the house feel as if it were unstable. I hated that feeling.

I had been doing a little better. After Carmen's death, I couldn't eat, sleep, or get out of bed. I just cried. Jake, Carmen's oldest brother, would come around the apartment to make sure I was doing well, but he had witnessed first hand what a broken heart had in store for me. I was losing weight like crazy- in both my wolf and human form. Jake brought me to his parent's house after two weeks of watching me basically fade away into a sad lump of nothing.

I groaned, trying to get a good feeling through my legs. When I could feel something other than jelly, I started walking around.

Carmen's family had let me stay in her old bedroom. They were willing to let me stay with them- more than willing, really. Carmen's family had treated me as their own from the very beginning. When Jake brought me to their home, his mother basically tackled me with a bear hug. We all missed Carmen.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead gently. A headache had formed from all the thoughts circulating through my mind.
I walked over to the door and turned the knob slowly. Jake had left a plate of food in front the door.

Jake.

He had been treating me so kind. It was like he was my brother as much as he was Carmen's and Caleb's brother. Jake's girlfriend, Nena, had been really careful about the situation as well. When Carmen died, Jake lost it. I had never seen him cry before, not in the five months I had known him while being a wolf, and not through the extra three months before I was turned to a wolf. I hated seeing how everyone just broke down. Each of us had changed a bit.

Carmen's mother wasn't as lively as she used to be. She spent many days in her bedroom, much like I did to Carmen's.
When she wasn't in her bedroom, she was in the kitchen making herself busy with cooking.

Carmen's father barely showed any emotion. He stood strong for the rest of us. He gave his wife many gentle hugs, and meaningful looks. He would place a strong hand on Jake's shoulder. But every day for the past year, Mr. Arthur would visit Carmen's grave and place a bundle of bright red roses. He and Jake were much a like; they both tried to be strong for everyone else. When I studied them both at the same time, I even found the same features shared between them. Their eyes were both the same shade of brown and dullness. Their faces both shared a thin line of facial hair that hadn't been shaved for a week or so.

Jake was still taking it pretty hard. I felt bad. He spent most his days trying to coax me from the bed I allowed myself to be indulged in. He tried to save me from the despair I felt, and I wasn't showing any signs of improvement.

Caleb didn't care. It was like a wall just walking around the house to torment me.

When I first saw Caleb in the hallway, I stopped walking completely. The walls seemed to be shaking as he walked past me. He didn't look at me. He didn't stop to tell me anything. There was no expression over his face. Blank. He was a wall not able to be penetrated. I was not.