Hidden In The Dark (IN EDITING)

Excuse Me Gramps

"I am a watcher who was assigned to watch over you until your 18th birthday." That was all he said, it made me do a double take to make sure I had heard him correctly.

That was also the weirdest, creepiest, most cliché sentence I have ever heard.

"Can I ask a question?" My voice squeaked out, I was 100 percent sure that I would be highly disappointed in myself later at how afraid I was of someone I couldn't even see.

"No." I cleared my throat ready to deliver a clap back at how he completely shut down my request.

"My name is Vali, no I can't tell you why I have to look after you, watchers are real, and I am deadly serious about everything that leaves my tongue so take it seriously and don't question it." Well he did answer every quest I had ready for him.

Except for one.

"How old are you?" I know it sounds like a dumb question but it really has me stumped, his voice is deep and he's extremely tall but he doesn't really have on the attire that screams 'I just turned 35'.

We sit in the silence for what feels like minutes until his voice breaks it.

"2000."

I swear if I had water in my mouth it would be covering the ground right now. I reach into my back pocket and grab my phone to turn the flashlight on. I raise it towards him in hopes of matching a face to the voice but his hood covers the upper portion of his face, leaving his sharp jawline and full lips exposed.

"Take of your hood."

He throws his head back in a graceful swift motion, making the hood fall and rest on his back. His head is pointed to the sky so all I could see was his jaw and neck, his Adam's apple moves before he lowers his head.

A striking pair of gray eyes meet mine, making my breathing stop. They almost don't look real.

His eyes look as though he's looking into me while I'm just looking at him. The powerful feeling that surges through me as he continues to look makes me shift my weight from one foot to the other.

The bone structure of his face is unreal and the raven hair that is in contrast to his bright eyes seems dangerous. His long eyelashes cast a shadow right below his brow bones, caused by the angle I point the light at him.

It was odd, thinking of him as attractive when the words to describe him are on totally different levels. None of the words that come to my head do him justice, it's almost too painful to stare at him, like if you stared at the beautiful sun for too long you would go blind.

In amazement I say nothing, I just continue to wonder how this is possible. His eyes aren't even bothered by the light and it's pointed directly at him, even mine are burning.

They weren't watering, squinting, or moving. Even after sitting in the dark for so long. I look down to his neck and notice a black curvy line that starts on the left side of his neck and disappears behind it.

"What's the thing on your neck?" My eyes start to burn badly so I turn the light off and put it back in my pocket.

"None of your business."

"Well excuse me gramps, no need to get your cane in a twist." I put my hands up in surrender. The silence that follows my statement make me internally grateful that turned off my light and can't see the look Vali is giving me.

When the silence gets to be too much I look behind me at the exit of the alley before looking back, only to realize that Vali had vanished.

I turn and continue walking as if nothing ever happened.

When I get home my mother is nowhere to be seen, probably working another shift or it was just a late one.

I feed Fio and walk up to my room where I sling my sunglasses and back pack onto the floor while I lean against the door. My head is tilted towards the ceiling with my eyes closed when I let out a huff of breath.

The difference between the darkness of my sunglasses and the darkness of my room became evident as I opened my eyes to be met with choppy darkness, like watching a low quality dark video on your tv. I saunter over to my bed and fall face first against the plush comforter that sits atop my mattress. Somehow during all of this I manage to remove my shoes and socks.

I sit there, unmoving and listen to the loud silence around me. The sounds of cars passing and leaves rustling beyond my window are absent at the moment. The only sound was the slight buzzing in my ear, of which I wasn't sure what it was caused by.

The smell of fresh laundry detergent filled my nostrils and made me relax further into the fabric, until I couldn't go any further down. The silence and darkness that surrounds me reminds me of being underwater for what feels like hours but is only for a few seconds.

My arms lay idle by my side until I push myself up from the bed and make my way to my bathroom. Cold tile meets the bottom of my feet, sending a feeling throughout my body that makes my shoulders jerk.

My phone vibrates in my back pocket but I pay no mind to it and just stare at myself in the mirror, the one thing I hated the was fact that you couldn't tell if I was a fragile and innocent young girl that never does anything wrong or if I was a rebellious young woman that runs her own life and knows what she wants.

I tie my hair back and wash my face, just in case I fall asleep so I won't have to worry about skipping it. I pull off my clothes and slip into a tank top and a pair of half black half white joggers.

Before I lay down I grab my headphones and pair them so I can listen to music. I feel myself relax once I'm under the covers but my brain feels restless, considering that I can't get Vali out of my head.

Does it make me crazy that I barely questioned anything he said? He literally said he is 2000 years old and I believe him. Whelp Dr. Phil I guess it's time to take me to the ranch.

What am I going to tell Gray?