Garrett / Reader - Part 9
It was mid-afternoon when you finally woke up. Garrett had been awake for a couple of hours already but he had not wanted to wake you up since you had been sleeping so peacefully, using his chest as your pillow and embracing him quite tightly. Garrett noticed that your breathing changed a little as you slowly returned from sleep to the state of full awareness. He rolled you to bed and stayed close, admiring the gorgeous sight like it was one of the precious wonders of the world. He ran his fingers up and down on your arm, continued to your shoulder and traced your collarbones but just like last night, he did not let his fingers wander off to any of your private areas. He slid his fingers from your collarbones lower, between your breasts and to your stomach where he drew random shapes on your skin, sometimes feeling your hips with his entire hand, massaging gently and then returning to lure you back to reality with featherlike brushes.
You enjoyed this very much and therefore you did not open your eyes; you were still too tired to speak and you did not want him to stop. You shifted your hand to lay against the pillow above your head, subtly offering your breasts for him to touch since he had not touched them yet. Sure your chests had been pressed tightly together but it was completely different than to be deliberately touched and aroused. However Garrett did not let his hand wander off and he kept his caresses relaxing instead of trying to arouse you. He massaged your muscles with the palm of his hand with firm yet gentle motions, sometimes using his fingertips to release any remaining tension and then rolled you to lay on your stomach to massage your back.
Garrett stayed close and brushed your hair to expose your neck. He reached to kiss the spot just below your ear and nibbled your earlobe a couple of times while his hand found all tensed muscles as well as aching nerves of your lower back, slowly getting higher along your spine. He spent a generous amount of time on your shoulders as well as your neck and moved to massage your sides and waist, finding few ticklish spots here and there. Garrett knew that you were awake although you were doing your very best to pretend to be asleep, so he turned you around again to lay on your back and focused on your thighs, your inner thighs to be more exact. He spread your legs a little and got a bit higher, to tease you and to test you how well you could contain yourself. He however was careful not to touch your private regions even by an accident.
A strong blush appeared on your face as well as on your décolleté and your breathing changed from relaxed to slightly heavier although you still tried to remain calm like you had been sleeping. It was getting harder by every passing second that Garrett used to massage as well as to brush your inner thighs, sometimes getting so close to your womanhood that you would have just wanted to press your thighs tightly together and trap his hand right there. Sure his body had touched pretty much every part of your body during the make out session but like stated before, it was completely different to have his body against you than being deliberately touched and aroused, which was something that he had not done last night... and now this teasing was driving you insane. It had been the same when he had massaged your pectoral muscles; you had wanted him to slide his hand a little bit lower and to change his touched from therapeutic and relaxing to arousing and sexual... but he had not done so.
After a tortuously long time he moved his hand to your lower stomach and slowly slid it higher, between your breasts, using a generous amount of time brushing the sensitive skin up and down with his fingertips and finally pressed his palm against your heart that was pounding beneath your rib cage fast, basically drumming now. Garrett leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss on your slightly parted lips, sucked your lower lip gently and hummed against your mouth as your heartbeat slowed down and returned to normal. You tangled your fingers into his hair and captured his lips into a passionate kiss, teased him with your tongue and finally slid it into his mouth when he granted you an access. The kiss, which you dominated, made your head feel light, it stirred something dormant inside you, waking it up and making you hungry for more; you wanted take Garrett and you wanted him to take you and this wanting was growing into a physical need that had to be satisfied.
You felt Garrett's arms, shoulders and sides, sometimes reached to massage his lower back, demanding him to move from beside you on top of you but instead of obeying your demands, he found your hand, grabbed your wrist and locked it against the pillow and then repeated the same with your other hand. Garrett took control of the kiss as well; he pulled back for a moment and smirked at you when an involuntary groan of frustration escaped your lips. He brushed his nose against yours few times and then returned to kiss you, softly and sweetly this time, allowing you to catch your breath and making sure that your heartbeat remained nice and calm during the kiss. He brushed your lips with his, nibbled your lower lip and used his tongue only modestly to make sure that the kiss didn't grow too deep and passionate this time. He kissed you like this, entwined his fingers with yours and stayed close without putting his weight on you but allowing his chest hug yours, but not as tightly as last night. Finally he let your hands go so you cupped his face and caressed his cheeks with your thumbs until he drew back, returned to lay beside you and continued brushing your arm slowly up and down.
- Your hand is warm. you sighed with a smile on your face. Your lips were still tingling from the kiss and your need for intimacy was just barely satisfied. You rolled on your side to face him, nested very close and slid your arm across his broad chest to hug him.
- You held me the entire night and warmed me up. Garrett spoke with a deep, loving tone. Yes, your body heat had warmed up his body that usually was as cool as the temperature in the room. He liked this feeling and it reminded him of the time when he had been alive. He didn’t particularly miss the time when he had been merely a weak, okay, quite strong but weak if compared to vampires, human, mostly because he enjoyed the physical strength of being a vampire, but the truth was that he secretly and occasionally missed having a beating heart and being warm. Especially after meeting you he had missed those two things even more… well, more frequently at least.
- I bet your hand is not the only part of your body that is warm. you smirked and slid your hand from his chest down to his stomach, slowly lower towards his manhood.
- Oh, it certainly is not, woman. Garrett spoke, grabbed your hand gently and stopped your ventures. "But-" he said, crossed his fingers with yours and pulled your hand higher. He pressed a kiss on your knuckles and then locked your hand tightly against his chest.
- But what? you asked with a slightly confused tone. You took a deep breath and continued "Last night was-"
- Perfect. Garrett stated immediately and interrupted you.
- Yeah it was wonderful. you spoke lovingly but it was quite apparent that even though you agreed with Garrett, you did not agree with him completely. You hesitated for a moment and then added with a flirtatious tone "However I think we could make it perfect if we continued where we left it."
- That is a tempting idea. Garrett spoke, his voice deep and soft like velvet, enveloping you with warmth and intriguing mystery and making your insides tingle with excitement. "But I don't want to take it there, yet" he stated after taking a moment to rearrange his thoughts into proper sentence.
This puzzled you; there had been a mutual understanding last night that the cuddling, rolling and kissing wouldn't escalate into anything sexual and more intimate. However you loved Garrett, you trusted him and especially after last night you knew that he would never hurt you or do anything that you did not want him to do and this was exactly why you wanted him to explore the most hidden and private places of your body, heart as well as your mind. You wanted to experience pleasures, surrender yourself to them without any fear and you also wanted to be consumed by passion so intense that it could possibly use you up or be the end of you if you suddenly lost the man you loved. However based on last night you had assumed that Garrett wanted the same thing... that he wanted you and suddenly he just... didn't.
- Don't you... want me? you asked nervously, sat up and hugged a large pillow to cover yourself at least a little bit. You were nervous because all of a sudden you felt even more naked than you had ever imagined being possible; you had been rejected for some strange reason and it made you feel ridiculous and exposed. You had felt good and comfortable about your body, entirely accepted and deeply loved and in a way both of you being naked had been a way to build trust and to get closer to Garrett on a deeper emotional level, however now that you had put yourself into a very vulnerable position by expressing your need to take this further, taken a risk of being rejected and then gotten rejected, you didn't only feel disappointed and confused but also pathetic and humiliated.
- I do! Garrett exclaimed and sat up. "It has required a massive amount of self restraint not to touch you sexually" he spoke and placed his hand under your chin. He guided you to look at him and then added "However I think we should wait." This sudden statement baffled you even more because according to what you had read and heard about vampires they were supposed to be these lustful, almost animalistic beings that followed their desires and needs and cared only about their hedonistic goals. Of course you had already witnessed Garrett and Carlisle acting in the opposite way, being very altruistic actually, but despite everything that you had seen and experienced yourself you had expected Garrett to seize the opportunity when you so willingly offered yourself to him.
- You want it, I want it. you stated. You felt slightly betrayed, almost like you had been promised great things and then you had suddenly found out that you were allowed only look but not touch. "Why wait?" you asked and folded your arms as an involuntary reaction. You knew that your response was childish and did not give a very adult-like impression of you, but you were just too upset and baffled to care.
- Because I want to do this right. Garrett spoke with a calm, soft tone. He did not want to upset you and silently he scolded himself for doing so, but he didn’t want to give up his noble reasons and intentions either.
- Come on, Garrett. Surely I am not your first... you scoffed and added "...Conquest" with a barely audible tone.
- First of all, you're not a conquest. Garrett spoke and smiled a little. "Yes, I have had lovers before" he admitted, paused and then continued with a serious tone "But I have never made love with my soul mate."
- Does it make a difference? Isn't sex just sex? you asked with a tone that sounded slightly bitter but that was most likely due to disappointment and confusion.
- It could be. Garrett replied, brushed a lock of your hair behind your ear and continued "But I believe it can be more."
- Because I'm your soul mate? you asked with a sarcastic tone and then admitted "I don't really believe in soul mates." It was a beautiful thought; two people being destined to find each other, being meant for each other, but the bottom line was that you had abandoned such childish beliefs a long time ago. It was a heartwarming dream but your life had been such a heart-chilling reality for so many years that you just couldn’t allow yourself to dream anymore, just to avoid disappointments basically. Yes, you had grown to be very cynical and therefore it had been quite challenging for you to accept that Garrett wasn’t like any of the guys you had met before meeting him, actually the events of the past twenty four hours had finally convinced you; the way Garrett had been willing to come look for you even though you had broken the deal and left him and how he had held you the entire evening as well as the night without any further demands or expectations.
- I have searched for you over two centuries, woman. Garrett spoke, leaned closer and murmured into your ear "The day when you were born, a new star was lit up on my night sky." He moved to stare into your eyes from a close distance, engaging you into a hypnotizing stare and continued. "I have come to realize that our very first meeting was no accident" he said, paused and added "Everything that has happened has brought us closer to this moment." You listened to his deep, soft voice with your full focus and dissected the tone as well as the meaning of the words with great detail; what he said was both romantic and cheesy… but also slightly upsetting and therefore you had very conflicted feelings about the entire thing.
- Are you saying that even the death of my family... you mumbled, turned your head away, breaking the intense gaze and added bitterly "...Was predestined?" You did not like the idea at all because it made you feel even guiltier and that was the reason why you were not quite ready to accept the concept of fate and destiny or whatever Garrett thought that this was. It felt outrageous that Garrett was claiming that the event which had screwed up your life, witnessing Garrett killing your English teacher when you had been just a little girl, had not been just a misfortunate incident but actually the first step in someone’s divine plan. You were not ready to accept it, oh no, the grief was too near and it was too unfair towards your family as well!
- I don't know. Garrett spoke and cupped your face to make sure that you did not hide from him. Your eyes had filled with tears again and it was obvious that you were not emotionally stable yet, not even close. "But I do know that if it had not happened, I would have found you anyway" he spoke after engaging your eyes with his. "Sooner or later" he added and pressed a soft kiss on your shaky lips. You gasped for air, not able to kiss him back, but Garrett stayed close, keeping his lips on yours and wrapped his arms around you.
You held your eyes tightly closed as you tried to escape the embarrassment of getting so emotional once again. You had cried many hours during the previous evening and you had hoped that it had been enough but it clearly wasn’t since it only took few mentions of your family to make your calmness fail you and here you were, crying silently and not being able to stop it. Your lips shivered against Garrett’s who pressed soft kisses all over your face and spoke comforting words into your ear, trying to make you feel at least slightly better.
- You have just started to process the death of your family. he spoke against your lips. You reacted to the statement by shaking your head a little because you did not want accept the fact that you didn’t handle everything as well as you had hoped, at least you had not wanted him to see you crumble once more because of the same reason. Garrett pressed one more kiss on your lips and drew back, stared deep into your soul and said "Listen to me, this is important. The grief-"
- Making love with you would be great distraction. you commented and smirked, although the smirk was just a shadow of a smirk. Your eyes were slightly red and your cheeks were smeared with tears, even though Garrett had kissed some of them away, however they had just kept pouring out from your eyes and left visible traces on your skin.
- Exactly! Distraction. he said, guided you to press your cheek against his chest. He pulled the blanket on your shoulders and shielded your head, your entire upper body with his strong arms.
- So... you want me to feel miserable? you asked, not really getting the point.
- No, of course not. Garrett stated. "But I want you to heal both mentally as well as emotionally first" he spoke, pressed a kiss on your forehead and continued with an affectionate yet firm tone "You need to face those feelings, to feel them even though it hurts."
- But it is in the past. you scoffed, trying to bottle up your emotions and be brave.
- Yes, but you have been running and hiding from grief for a long time. Garrett stated and continued with a smile on his face "I know that when we'll make love, it will be a deeply emotional experience." He paused and made a deep, sultry "mmm" sound against your forehead as he squeezed you slightly tighter. "It will be incredible and passionate" he mumbled softly and then added with a slightly concerned tone "...But also consuming."
You listened to him silently as you tried to imagine sex being such a profound thing when you had basically always considered it to be everything but; you had never felt a deep connection with anyone and during your few awkward relationships sex had never been anything special. It had not felt particularly amazing and it had not meant anything and therefore you had assumed that there was nothing more to it, no fireworks... and no emotional connection. To be honest your previous partners had not really cared about your desires and needs and because of that your expectations towards having sex with Garrett weren't that high either, although you were pretty sure that it would be better in the physical sense due to the fact that Garrett had surely had sex many times and since his senses were inhumanly sharp, he would surely notice every change in your breathing as well as your heartbeat and you were most certain that he would use his abilities and experience to his advantage.
However an emotional connection was a totally different thing. Sure having Garrett close to caress your skin had been unbelievably pleasant, beautiful actually, but it had happened few times before that the guy, whoever you had been seeing at the time, had been very gentle and patient... until the point when the clothes had come off. Then he had basically just cared about himself and used you as a replacement for his hand. After the guy had finished, he had pulled out, rolled over and thanked for great time on his way out from your apartment, leaving you all by yourself to wonder if that was it… and since this had been a reoccurring thing you had eventually silently accepted that it was enough and therefore you had never demanded more.
- Two bodies and two souls becoming one, uniting us for this life and all the lives to come. Garrett spoke and smiled against your forehead. “And that is why I do not want it to be just distraction for you” he stated lovingly.
- It wouldn't be just distraction. you replied, still slightly upset because of the rejection. “I think you forget that I love you and I want to express it, also physically” you spoke, took a deep breath and continued nervously “I want to satisfy you, to be the one that you desire-“
- And that is exactly who you are! Garrett exclaimed, took away the pillow that you had been hugging and lay you down, placing himself on top of you. Garrett stayed close, brushed your lips with his and drew back to look you’re your eyes. “Don't worry (Y/N), I will seduce you soon and when I do…” he spoke with a sultry voice and continued with great confidence and anticipation “…We will stay the entire day in bed...” The statement combined with his tone made your cheeks turn red because you could basically imagine everything so vividly and this mental image of Garrett giving in to his desires was making your stomach fill with butterflies. Garrett noticed the blush on your cheeks and continued mischievously “…And you will be so exhausted afterwards that your legs won't carry you.”
- Those are pretty bold claims. you stated, chuckled nervously and asked “Do you think you will deliver?”
- Oh, you're pushing my buttons, woman. Garrett murmured and locked his lips with yours into a passionate kiss.
It was late afternoon when you and Garrett finally got up from the nest that you had built together and put some clothes on. You cooked together and after the sun had set you went out for a walk. The storm had passed few hours ago and the sky had cleared leaving the world with blue twilight and snow covered trees. You got dressed in warm winter-clothes and followed Garrett into the forest that was bathing in the magical blue glow. Garrett took your hand, guided you forward as the surrounding nature got darker, finally leaving you no light, but you did not care since you trusted Garrett to keep you safe.
Garrett led you to a foot of a mountain, stopped suddenly and lifted you into his arms. He ran along the steep mountainside, carrying you, until he reached the top. There he put you back to the ground, stepped behind you and wrapped his arms around you. After five minutes you noticed a pale moon in the horizon, almost entirely hidden behind the forest but slowly getting higher and higher to the sky. It was a gorgeous night; the bright stars covering the sky, the fresh, untouched snow glowing ethereally all around you and the tall, handsome man squeezing you tightly and resting his chin on your head.
The night was silent and peaceful. It felt like you and Garrett had been the only people alive on the planet, however this feeling did not make you sad or lonely, quite opposite actually. As the hours passed and the moon traveled across the sky, you started to accept the idea that perhaps some things were meant to be and maybe your life’s path, no matter how shitty, difficult and filled with sorrow it had been, had meant to arrive here. You were ready to consider the possibility that there were soul mates and Garrett had been waiting for his for a long time, which made you cherish this moment even more.
Eventually the sky filled with clouds again and big snowflakes started to fall down very slowly. Garrett had kept asking you constantly if you were cold but you had felt pretty fine and slight chilliness had not bothered you even one bit. Now however the weather was changing a little from calm to windy and therefore Garrett decided that it was time to take you back to the cottage. He carried you down to the foot of the mountain but this time he did not put you down to the ground. He enjoyed having you close and therefore he carried you all the way to the cottage, helped you to get undressed, took a long, warm shower with you and then snuggled close to you in bed.
It wasn’t easy to allow yourself to feel the grief after bottling it inside you for so long. In fact you didn’t really feel that it was that necessary to expose yourself to the unpleasant feelings but after few weeks of mourning openly you started to feel better, slightly at first and then in a more profound way. The winter passed, the snow melted away and the spring took a hold of the surrounding world and just like the sun warmed up the forest, you felt it warming up your heart, making it easier for you to talk about your past without getting upset or having a strong negative response to the subject. You shared your memories with Garrett, told him about your family and welcomed him into your personal space both mentally and physically.
Garrett told you about his life before and after being turned into a vampire and the more he told, the better you understood him, even his attitude towards the British people started to make sense even though in the beginning it had not made sense to you at all. When the temperatures had soared to plus ten degrees Celsius during the day and above zero during even the coldest nights Garrett finally invited you to his “man cave” where he very rarely slept anymore because you had invited him to share the bed with you in the bedroom. However sleeping in the attic was almost like camping because the space was cooler and you could hear the sounds of the surrounding nature much louder than in the bedroom, unless you had the window open, however it had been too cold for that yet.
The spring changed into early summer and the surrounding forest filled with small flowers that covered the forest floor. The birds were singing almost all the time, sometimes so loud that they were keeping you awake during the early hours of the morning. You were happy, truly so and for the first time in your life you felt that you belonged somewhere and you knew that Garrett felt the same way. You and Garrett shared long walks in the forest, midnight picnics by the sea and stared the sky turning pale green and yellow and the clouds being painted with orange and pink… the sunrise, although you always had to abandon the mountaintop before the sun actually rose above the horizon. Life was beautiful and you had already forgotten the creatures or if not completely forgotten, you weren’t actively thinking about them, which was almost the same thing.
However you had heard Garrett and Carlisle talking about the creatures a couple of times, a conversation that they had not wanted to share with you and therefore you pretended that you didn’t know anything about it. Carlisle had heard rumors that the creatures were holding a grudge towards you and Garrett and therefore they were still looking for you two. They had been moving swiftly from town to another the entire winter and now they were getting dangerously close… which had brought Carlisle to another matter.
The other thing was that there was a new vampire hunter in town; a slayer called Faith, a rebel running from the authorities that were after her because she had accidentally killed a man, thinking that he was a vampire. This had screwed her up mentally and therefore she had escaped the town of Sunnydale and gotten slowly towards north, killing vampires as she moved from town to town, partying and slaying wherever she went. Now she had arrived to Forks and posed a possible threat to Garrett as well as to Carlisle and his wife.
Faith had been born to do what you had been trying to do; she was a real slayer with a proper training and special physical abilities and therefore she was potentially a powerful ally if the creatures came to Forks. You didn’t really want to fight anymore but you knew that if the different kind of vampires came to Forks, it was mostly your and Garrett’s fault and therefore it was your responsibility to make sure that the innocent people were safe. This meant that you had to fight and therefore you felt that it was your responsibility to befriend with Faith. The other reason to do so was to make sure that she wouldn’t pose a threat to Carlisle and his wife; they had not hurt anyone in decades and they even paid their taxes, but you were afraid that a real slayer wouldn’t see it that way.
Yes, that. You knew that it was possible or probable, hell, most likely even, that Faith would think like you had thought before; a vampire is a vampire and every vampire is an enemy. The truth was that before meeting Garrett your view of the matter had been just as black and white and it had required being saved by “the enemy” to change your mind. This was why you felt that it was your responsibility to make this slayer-person understand that there were good vampires, bad vampires… and also even worse vampires… the ones that were after you and Garrett. However when you talked about your concerns with Garrett, he told you that he had decided with Carlisle that it was better if you didn’t get involved with Faith because she was mentally unstable and therefore she was a dangerous person. You promised Garrett not to contact her for now just to make sure that you wouldn’t get your new friends in trouble.
It was midsummer’s eve, about half past seven in the evening when there was a knock on the front door of the cottage. You were just preparing dinner while Garrett slept up in the attic to avoid getting into daylight. There had been a couple of close calls during the sunny days and therefore he had decided that it was safer for him to spend the mornings as well as the afternoons in the safety of his dark man cave, today however he was sleeping later than usual. You washed your hands, walked to the door and when you opened it, you were greeted by a woman in her mid-or-late twenties, dressed in a long black leather coat, tight black top and black leather pants. She was holding a crossbow and her dark brown hair was covering her face partially. Without saying a word the woman walked in and took a good look around the house. “Fuck! This must be Faith” you thought silently and closed the door after her.
- So… she said, brushed her long hair aside and focused her brown eyes to you. “This is where you waste your life” she mumbled with deep mockery in her voice. She had strong makeup, dark red lipstick and black eyeliner with a thick layer of mascara and this made her appear rather strong and dangerous, especially combined with her black clothes.
- Who… who are you? you asked with a nervous tone, hoping that she wouldn’t notice the hatch on the ceiling. You also hoped that Garrett wouldn’t wake up and if he did, he wouldn’t come down from his hiding place.
- Oh, you know damn well who I am! the woman scoffed, stated “Bigger question is…” and finally asked “…Why the hell are you here?”
Yes, Faith had heard about you and the reason why she had come to Forks was that she had somehow found out that this was where you were. She had been tracking the creatures down and after reaching a conclusion that she couldn’t possibly take them down on her own, she had decided to make some new friends to help her to finish the creatures off before the summer turned into autumn. Faith had read about your family and she had been somewhat impressed about the way you had abandoned your suburban life and ran away even though it had meant that you had been forced to steal to survive. It was what she had been doing after leaving Sunnydale and therefore she had thought that she would have a “sisters in arms” –kind of thing with you. Two rebels slaying vampires and partying hard like there was no tomorrow.
- I… uhm… I live here. you replied, keeping your eyes fixed on the woman who was clearly sizing you up. You were currently wearing a light summer dress with no makeup whatsoever, making you look tamed in Faith’s opinion. She was clearly disappointed and almost disgusted about the way you had turned out; a pretty little housewife when you should have been slaying vampires and living life dangerously.
- Yeah, I’m not an idiot. she scoffed and then asked demandingly “Why?”
- I got injured. you replied shakily. “Almost died” you stated and added with a barely audible tone “It was… a close call.”
- You look alright to me. Faith stated, clearly suspecting that you weren’t telling her the truth, the whole truth at least. “Five by five actually” she scoffed, sat by the dining table and placed her crossbow on it, however she pointed it at you when you got back into the kitchen and continued preparing the dinner. You swallowed once, trying to appear calm although the truth was that you felt threatened. You took a deep breath, took few necessary ingredients out from the fridge and answered
- Well, I’ve been here many months, recovering-
- Alone? she asked casually but only seemingly so. She sounded like she had known the answer already or perhaps you were only imagining it.
- Yes. you replied instantly and cut your finger accidentally as you were cutting vegetables for the salad. You sighed, took a kitchen towel and cursed silently, hoping that Garrett wouldn’t smell your blood and hop down from his lair to ask if everything was alright.
- You see, that is not what I have heard. she commented and slid her finger across the wooden handle of the crossbow.
- Oh? you asked and turned to look at the woman playing with the trigger of the loaded weapon. It had become quite clear during these a couple of short minutes why Garrett and Carlisle had thought that it wasn’t a good idea for you to meet Faith.
- Yeah. she said and continued with a smirk “I heard that you are living here with a vampire.” You went as pale as a ghost, cleared your throat and turned around to finish your salad.
- You know, I had a friend once who was also in love with a vampire. Faith spoke, paused and commented casually “I tried to kill him.” You squeezed the small vegetable knife tightly as you tried to decide what to do next. “And almost succeeded” she added like it was just a game for her. “I never fail twice” she stated, still gliding her fingers on the crossbow.
- Why are you here? you asked, facing away from the woman dressed in black.
- I’m not sure yet. she answered and then continued “I wanted to meet you but now…” she said and added with a deep sigh “…But now, to be honest, I am quite disappointed.”
- A-ha. you sighed as you dissected Faith’s tone, trying to find clues what she was thinking and planning. However after that there was a silence which was not broken by either of you. You kept glancing out from the window and cursing that the sun was setting so damn late during midsummer, which meant that Garrett couldn’t leave the cottage if Faith, the mentally disturbed rogue slayer, figured out where he was hiding.
- Where is he? she asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had lasted over thirty minutes now. It was eight PM and the sun was going to set half past nine, although in the middle of the forest, near the mountain, the sun always set earlier as it disappeared behind the mountain that casted a shadow over the cottage.
- Who? you asked, trying to sound as surprised and confused as possible.
- Oh, don’t play that game with me! Faith scoffed and then added “I already took care of the blonde doctor and her precious wife.”
- What! you exclaimed and turned around to stare at Faith with a shocked look on your face.
- Oh, he begged me to spare the wife’s life. the woman described and chuckled. “He said that they do not feed on human blood and I was like, where have I heard that before!” she spoke and then slammed her hands against the surface of the dinner table. The loud bang made you jump and you knew that if Garrett was not awake yet, that had surely woken him up. You felt your eyes filling with tears as you processed what you had just been told and tried to find a large kitchen knife that was in the sink filled with soapy water. “I shot him and forced her into the sunlight” Faith spoke with a proud smile on her face. She noticed what you were doing and said “Not so fast” with a smirk.
- So I ask you again. Faith said, took the crossbow, aimed it at you and asked calmly “Where is he?”
Garrett had woken up almost instantly when there had been the knock on the door. He had heard the entire conversation and tried to come up with a plan to distract Faith so you would be able to escape into the forest. During the months that you had lived in the cottage, you had become quite familiar with the surroundings and you and Garrett had found a fairly safe place to hide in case of an emergency. Garrett heard you pleading “Don’t do this” to which Faith replied with a mocking laughter. In Garrett’s opinion she had sounded jealous during the conversation that you had shared with her and after a moment the manic laughter changed into sounds of things being smashed. He heard you whimpering every time Faith broke something but at least she was not targeting you… for now.
You noticed that the sun had now set behind the mountain and you had managed to buy yourselves some time by staying calm while Faith had wrecked the cottage as her attempt to scare you to reveal Garrett’s hiding place. She had broken vases and many other decorative items, smashed a window and now she was trying to set the long curtains on fire while keeping her crossbow constantly aimed at you even when she was not actively looking at you. Finally the curtain caught fire and the flames started to eat away the fabric without resistance. You stared at the flames, frozen in shock and then finally snapped out from it when another curtain flared into flames.
- Garrett! you screamed, grabbed the car keys from the kitchen counter and shouted “We must get out!” as you threw a frying pan at Faith, the first thing that you had managed to grab from the sink, hitting her at the left side of her head which caused her to fall down to the thick rug in front of the fireplace. Garrett opened the hatch, cursed when he saw the flames reaching from top to bottom of one side of the living room and jumped down before the flames started to consume the ceiling. He took your hand, led you out from the cottage, into the surrounding forest. It was still somewhat dangerous for him to move outside because there were places where the golden rays of the setting sun penetrated through the thick forest but at the current moment there was no other choice.
You took a glance at the burning cottage and saw Faith walking out with the crossbow. She fired it but missed just barely and then she started to run after you and Garrett but fortunately Garrett knew the forest better than even you did and therefore it did not take long for you to lose the tail. You had inhaled a little bit of smoke and therefore you had to stop to catch your breath after escaping from the rogue slayer. You coughed into your hands, trying to muffle the sound while Garrett kept an eye of surroundings. Finally you caught your breath and signaled Garrett that you were alright. He nodded, smiled and leaned to press a kiss on your lips because he believed that the danger was now over; there was no way that Faith would find you and Garrett in the forest because she did not know it like you two did.
Your lips shivered against Garrett’s as he held you close, trying to calm you down and to tell you without words that it was going to be alright. You both kept guard the entire night, hiding in the twilight hoping that the woman had given up. After some hours there was a sound of fire truck speeding to the cottage because someone had seen the smoke and the silence was replaced with the different noises; the alarm, people shouting and finally water being shot into the flames. It was almost morning when it got silent again. You and Garrett got out from the hiding place because it was too dangerous to spend the day in the forest during summer and therefore you had to get to the car and drive somewhere, anywhere and find an actual building to hide from the sun.
Garrett took your hand and led you back to the cottage. You got to the front yard of the cottage and for your surprise found the car unharmed, gave the keys to Garrett and then you saw Faith smirking from the tree line as she aimed her crossbow at Garrett and fired. It all happened so fast but somehow at the same time it felt almost like time had slowed down. You screamed, pushed Garrett away and suddenly you felt an impact on your chest, throwing you against the side of the car and sending a terrible wave of pain all over your body. You gasped, shifted your eyes from Garrett to the long wooden arrow sticking out from your chest.
Your feet gave in and you fell to the ground, just beside the car. Garrett looked at you with deep shock and horror in his eyes and collapsed beside you on his knees. He lifted you on his lap, pulled the arrow away and pressed the wound with his hand, trying to stop the bleeding. However he knew that the arrow had most likely punctured your lung and you would drown into your own blood slowly. “Why, woman?” he asked while staring into your eyes. You coughed blood which made your body shake violently and gasped for air as you fought to stay awake for a moment more despite the terrible pain that was with you as long as you were conscious. You saw Garrett’s eyes filling with tears so you reached to touch Garrett’s face, smiled as affectionately as you possibly could and then passed out.
- Just finish me off. Garrett demanded as the rogue slayer walked closer with victorious steps. The sky was turning orange and the clouds were painted with glorious pastel colors, the most beautiful sunrise Garrett had ever seen… and also the saddest. However time was running out if he wanted to escape the approaching day and save himself.
- I think… not. Faith stated and laughed. “I think you’ll suffer more if I’ll just let you live” she added casually, put the crossbow away and headed to the direction of the road that led out from the forest. Garrett was no threat to her.
- I’ll stay with you. Garrett spoke, lifted you up and carried you to the small clearing near the cottage. It was filled with flowers and soft hay so he lay you down and pressed a kiss on your lips that were smeared deep red with your blood. He lay down next to you, lowered his head on your chest and listened to your heartbeat getting weaker by every passing minute.
The first golden rays of the morning sun kissed the treetops of the surrounding forest and slowly the edge where the shadow turned into sunlight got nearer as the sun got higher on the sky. Garrett kept speaking to you as long as your heart kept beating and hugged you tightly until your chest stopped rising and falling and the last sigh escaped your lips. You were gone. Garrett knew that it was too late to turn you into a vampire, besides he also knew that you would have probably hated him if he had done so and therefore it had not even crossed his mind this morning; he respected you far too much to betray you like that.
Garrett lifted himself a bit higher and stared at you; you looked like you had been sleeping with the difference that your face was paler and you were too still and silent, not snuffling or mumbling in your sleep like you often did, no snuggling closer and holding him tight in order to share your body heat with him and make him warm like you had many times during the past months. Your summer dress had turned deep red, almost black from the front, most likely back as well and your there was a thin line of blood coming out from your mouth. You had taken the arrow for the man you loved knowing that it would most likely kill you. You had given Garrett a chance to live his life differently… to be a better person and to protect people like you had. However Garrett did not want to go on without his soul mate and therefore just waited until the sunlight swallowed him and turned him into ashes.
Just like that… you were both gone.