She just stood there, her whole body shivering. She was now soaked to the bone. Tears and rain streaming down her face. She was no longer afraid or confused. She wasn't anything. She was numb. There was so much for her to take in that she emotionally shut down. The door swung open and a lady stood in front of her. She pulled Winnie inside and tried to dry her off and warm her up. She just stood there allowing this stranger to fret over her.
The lady spoke to her but she didn't hear a word. The lady left the room leaving her alone. She just sat down on the floor where she had been standing in the foyer. She could hear talking from the next room over. She heard a voice that she thought sounded familiar but could not place it with a face. Nothing fit right anymore, things looked funny, sounds were inaudible, and even smells were different. She hugged her knees and tears started streaming down her face again. Everything seemed to fall away. She took in a deep breath and her eyes flew open.
"Reed?"
He cradled her in his arms and held her tight to his chest.
"I didn't know where.."
"Winifred it's ok!"
She buried her face into his chest and cried. He did not know what to say so he just let her cry. He sat down in a chair, stroked her hair and held her close. Then he leaned forward and kissed her on the head.
"How long has she been here?"
Winnie looked up and saw the lady who had let her inside.
"She arrived just before you did. Is there anything I can get you guys?"
"No thank you May, I think we'll be fine."
The lady gave Winnie an understanding smile and left the room again. Reed looked back at Winnie and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry I ran out like that."
"Please, you don't have to apologize. I know this is a lot to take in. I hate that I caused you this pain."
"Their faces...I don't understand?"
Reed knew exactly what she meant. When she had run out he had followed her. She had gone home, but after seeing her family through the window, was unable to go inside.
"What happened?"
"They think you're dead."
"But why?"
"You couldn't go back. So everyone believes we were in a car accident Wednesday."
Deep down she had already come to this conclusion and just took it in. She was no longer crying but she was still cuddled in his arms.
"I'm glad you came back."
"I didn't know where else to go. Who was the lady who let me in?"
"Oh May? She was so worried when she heard you run out."
She thought this was odd since she had never met May.
"Who is she? She's too young to be your mom. Is she a...a vampire?"
"Yes she is a vampire and she is older than she looks. She is kind of like my mother."
"Kind of?"
"Well none of us are biologically related but we have come together as a family."
"How many of you are there?"
"In my family? There are nine of us."
"Well not anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Well I'm one of you now aren't I?"
Reed smiled at this.
"Yes, I guess you're right."
He kissed her on the forehead.
"Can I meet them?"
"Are you sure you're ready for that? You've been through a lot already today."
She got up and stood in front of him. She held out her hand. He hesitated but grabbed her hand and stood up.
"As long as you never leave me alone I'll be ok."
He leaned in and kissed her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She had kissed him before but nothing like this. He wasn't holding back anymore, when she was human he was afraid of what might happen if he had let himself go, but now there was nothing to worry about. It was at this moment that she realized something wasn't right, she had no speeding heartbeat. She quickly drew back. He took her hand and placed it on his chest. She noticed for the first time he didn't have a heart beat either.
"You get used to it."
She looked up into his eyes and smiled as he stood there with his little smirk. After a moment, never letting go of her hand, he walked her into the dining room. She was shocked to find eight other people sitting there, staring back at them. They were all gorgeous. All of them were pale, with stunning eyes, and flawless features.
"It's nice to see you are feeling better."
May was the first to break the awkward silence.
"Yes, thank you so much for taking care of me."
"It's nice to see you again Winifred."
She turned to see Love. With everything going on she had forgotten that Reed had said she was his sister.
"Thank you, you too. And please call me Winnie."
"So are you going to introduce all of us?"
"Winifred, this is my brother Landon. He is very impatient."
Reed scolded Landon for being so rude.
"Let me guess, you were the one in the car the other night. The one knocking on the window for us to hurry."
"Yes, that would be him. So you already met Love, there's Gabe, Marcus, Conner, Grace, you met May, and Addison."
Reed slowly went around the table pointing out everyone.
"It's nice to meet you all."
Reed and Winnie made their leave and he showed her back to the bedroom so she could recuperate. They both took their same places on the bed. She was still holding on to his hand. She pulled on his arm and he laid down next to her. He pushed the hair out of her face and gazed into her eyes. She closed her eyes and he watched her as she rested.
"I'll never leave you alone again!"
YOU ARE READING
Reed & Winifred (Completed)
Vampire"So now I've answered your question. Are you going to answer mine?" When she said this he stopped smiling and fought to not look away. She was smiling at herself but when she saw his reaction she instantly wished she hadn't brought it back up. She g...
