First Impressions

Jesse realizes Amber does need him even if she doesn't quite know it yet.

"Mm mm," Jesse heard a moaning voice beside him. He was shocked because he hadn't been aware someone was with him. "Mm mm," the voice said again and he began to recognize the voice. He saw her head in the toilet with her hair all ratted up. Jesse moved her hair aside.

            "Amy," he said as realization of the familiar brunettes face came to his mind. She didn't look so well at the moment. Her face was all pink and smudged. She smelled like vomit and Jesse could see some in strands of her hair and on her clothing. Now, most people would have been grossed out or felt incredibly sorry for her. He felt neither; to him she was a pathetic human. He stood there staring at her imagining the ridiculous choices she made to put her in this situation. Then he thought of the choices he made that put him here as well. He thought of the choices Amber was making and how he needed to interfere.

            Jesse's eyes lit up at the thought of her. He swore never to leave her side then as she could disappear, and he would never find her again. He didn't have the power to let himself walk away from her this time. He left Amy where he found her; head in the toilet. Jesse went back out to the living room. He saw the two women who had been with Amber all night, dancing without her. Amber was nowhere in sight. Jesse immediately thought that somehow he missed her so much he'd imagined her being there. No, he told himself, it was real. She was real and she was there.

            Jesse circled the inside of the house as well as the upstairs bedrooms in less than thirty seconds. The people occupying the rooms were too busy with each other to notice him there. He went outside to look for her, but he didn't find her there either. A full moon lit up the night sky and earth below. A lot of the party goers were out in front of the house. They were being obnoxious and noisy. He was surprised the police hadn't been called. Where was she? He felt like dragging her friends out and demanding they tell him where she had gone. Jesse knew he was still a stranger to them and that it would all be hopeless as they'd never tell him Amber's whereabouts. He leaned up against a small tree sulking in his disappointment of losing sight of her. He felt strange somehow he could still feel her and he felt that she was weak and afraid. He turned around expecting her to be near him, but all he saw were people just making fools of themselves while drinking and dancing. He tuned them all out so he could focus on her. It was almost as if she'd let him see through her eyes.

            He had never done anything like it before. He saw her lying in a vehicle. Then he saw as she saw. Jesse, as Amber, he could see the curly red head guy pushing her into a vehicle. He could hear her pleas; feel her trying to fight even though her body wouldn't move. She lay paralyzed in the backseat. Jesse had never experienced anything before like what was happening to him. He didn't understand any of it, but he was willing to do what it took to find her. He decided to take full advantage of this gift he had. He used her eyes to check for signs the car passed along the road. Jesse was able to pinpoint exactly where the male would be taking her.

            Jesse opened his eyes to find himself still leaning against the tree. He wasn't there for long. He began racing down the street. He had seen through her eyes that the creep was taking her to the rest stop off of highway 96 just before exit 73B. Amber must've known the highway because Jesse had no clue. It would take him several minutes to catch up to the car. Jesse just hoped he wouldn't touch her before then. If he did Jesse would surely blame himself for failure to protect her.

            Jesse arrived to the rest stop as soon as he could. He expected a few trucks to be present, but found none. This time of night it seemed like the place was desolate. The wind was picking up, not that he could feel the breeze against his skin. Temperatures didn't affect vampires the way they did humans. He walked around and nearly panicked since he didn't see any cars. Then he saw the car that was shown to him in his vision. He nearly missed it because of the dark black shade combined with being parked in an area with little light. Jesse got to the vehicle in seconds only to find the red head getting on top of Amber. Jesse ripped the door off of the hinges and threw it behind him. He didn't care if he drew attention to himself with the loud thunder. He grabbed the guy off Amber and nearly snapped his neck. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Amber's clothing hadn't been disturbed. He connected with her the way he did at the party and was able to tell that she was drowsy and terrified, but the guy hadn't touched her, that along with the evidence of the unopened condom wrapper lying on her chest. Jesse turned the guy around to face him. He held his neck tightly.

            "You like drugging women; making them helpless to fight you."Jesse said while he changed into his true self.

            The redheaded guy appeared petrified. He struggled with Jesse's hand even though it was of no use.

            "How about," Jesse looked around thinking for a moment. He noticed a stick on the ground behind him. He dragged the guy with him a few feet from the vehicle and flung him to the ground. "How about I skip on the drugs and just rape you with this the way you were planning to rape her?" He showed the man a thick stick.

            The red heads face changed into pure horror. He tried to get up and run away, but Jesse leaped onto his back causing the young man to scream out in agony.

            "How does it feel to be helpless? How does it feel to know what is going to happen to you and have no power to stop it?" Jesse whispered into his ear in a calm voice.

            "Please, I'm sorry," the guy screamed out in pain as he cried.

            "I'm sorry too," Jesse told him getting off the guys back. He could hear a sigh of relief escape the young man's mouth. He walked to his feet and grabbed one of his legs and pulled and twisted until it snapped. The man screamed in pain and Jesse could've cared less.

            He walked back over to the car to find Amber in a seated position struggling to stay conscious. He reached to help her so she could get home safely. She jerked away from his touch and he wasn't expecting her too. "I only want to help you." He softly spoke to her. She took him at his words because she relaxed enough for him to get her from the vehicle and hold her in his arms.

            "Take me home please. I just want to go home." Her words trailed off as her body finally gave in. Jesse figured she must've known she was safe now and she didn't have to fight anymore. He felt a small twinge of happiness inside.

            Jesse found her address in her purse. Before he left he found the guys keys in the front seat and broke the car key in the ignition then locked the doors and through the rest of them separately across the parking lot. Jesse then flew into the air taking his time to fly her home. He paused every so often to make sure that she was okay. He loved the fact that she held him tight as she slept.

            Jesse came to her house. It was a lot like the one she lived in before. He stopped himself there as he opened her front door and let himself inside. He walked straight up the carpeted stairs located on the left. He didn't' want to start comparing that would bring up old memories of her family and his role in their deaths. Her room was the first on e on the right. He didn't really know it was, he just guessed. He walked in and was surprised at the amount of pink he was surrounded in. From her bedspread to the rugs and curtains, he was in a pink paradise. Jesse didn't like it at all, but she did so he could learn to deal with it. He half held her with one hand while he pulled back her bed sheets so she could lie down. It wasn't hard because her hands still held him tightly around his neck. He gently laid her down almost as if she were a newborn baby. He went to release her hands from his neck when her eyes popped open and she saw him. Jesse didn't' know whether to run or stay, not that it mattered much he was paralyzed by her eyes.

            "You," she said releasing her arms from around him. "I remember you from the cabin." She said staring at him as he tried to figure out what she was thinking and what he was going to do about it.

            "I told you I'd always protect you." Jesse said leaning away from her.

            "Don't go," she said grabbing his hand. He hadn't expected that. "Stay with me, Sean." She said in a mere whisper, but he heard.

            While at first he was disappointed he understood she was still under the influence of alcohol and drugs. He laid there on the bed with her and she leaned on him locking him in place. It was fine by Jesse he hadn't planned on leaving anyhow. He stayed there all night just to make sure she'd be alright. Jesse eyed her auburn strands as she slept in his arms. Her grip around him didn't loosen for hours. Jesse thought it was great except it would have been better if she knew it was him and wanted him there.

 

            I woke up to the sound of my alarm blaring. It was hard to rise up from the comfort of my mattress. My head rang like I'd been hit with a baseball bat. I leaned over to find I couldn't locate my phone to shut it off. I quickly jumped out of the bed surprised that I was still wearing clothes from the night before. They were all wrinkled up and my skirt had a small tear. I was puzzled for a moment, but my phone was still blaring. I found it in the hallway just outside of my room. I picked it up and realized it was an incoming text message that was making the entire ruckus. As I clicked view I saw it was from Tiffany. I read her frantic message. "Wat the hell happened last nite. U left w/o us." I stumbled backward onto my bed piecing together the events of last night. I tried to remember as a migraine began to grow.

            I shut my eyes tightly. I remembered us arriving to the party. We all had some drinks. We danced a few times. We were having fun. I remembered our actions; I saw them clearly depicted in my mind. The next thing I remembered was Sean. I was having a conversation with him and then it all went fuzzy. I lay down on my bed trying to remember what happened after Sean, but it was all blank. Then I saw myself lying in the backseat of a car. My eyes snapped opened when I saw the picture. I stared at the small tear on my skirt and thought the worst.

            "No," I said aloud to myself.

            I didn't want to remember anymore. The only thing I wanted was a very hot shower. I took off out of my room and into the bathroom across the hall. I turned on the shower as I avoided looking at my reflection in the mirror. I stripped off my clothing until I was nude. I almost went inside of the shower, but I froze. A part of me inside had to know if I was victimized. I finally looked at my naked reflection. I turned all around several times and found no bruising. I gently touched my thighs as I tried to stay very still. My consensus was indifferent I didn't understand what had happened. I had no bruises and felt no pain.

            All of a sudden I flashed back to the backseat of the car. Regardless of what I could see or feel, I could sense that something took place. I jumped into the shower and started scrubbing every inch of my flesh. I kept seeing the backseat over and over again. I could remember the smell of old food as I laid there. I could feel my body and I remembered being terrified. Not knowing what had occurred scared me even now. I scrubbed harder until I collapsed on the shower floor. The water pounded onto my skin like icicles falling in winter. I buried my face in my hands and cried. Then I heard a faint voice in my mind. I closed my eyes and saw a man coming to rescue me. He seemed so familiar to me; I couldn't tell how I knew him. I stopped crying as my mind searched for more answers, more memories to recall. The shower cascaded onto my frame hitting my body like a rock skipping in the pond. I heard a loud bang and at first I thought it was side until I realized it was another memory from last night. I let my mind take me to the noise so I could see what I needed to know.

            Last night I was driven away from the party. A guy with red hair and whose face I didn't know appeared on top of me. I could remember him kissing my neck which I had to force myself not to vomit to. The next thing I heard was a loud crash and the guy disappearing. I could hear voices that I couldn't make out. I feared someone else was coming for me. I tried to make my body move, but nothing worked right. The only thing I truly felt was exhaustion and I was losing the battle. Then a man appeared who I knew from somewhere, but now I couldn't place. He reached for me and instinctively I pulled away from his grasp. He spoke to me. I heard his voice loud and clear.

            "I'm here to protect you," his voice made me shiver as if I'd heard it before.

            I believed him and it was him who brought me home. I opened my eyes and looked around. I felt as if I were on display for a moment. I don't think I was raped. I turned off the shower mostly because the water was getting cold. I did the basics of getting ready with brushing my teeth and throwing my hair in a ponytail. I wrapped a towel around me to help with drying as I went back to my room.

            I stopped as soon as I opened my bedroom door. My mind was giving me another memory of last night. I could see the man with me. I remembered asking to stay with me. I must have felt safe with him to do that. I remembered calling him by the name of Sean, but this guy was clearly not Sean. I still couldn't place where I knew him. It's like trying to remember something that you know, but for some reason it's on the tip of your tongue and no matter what you do, you can't get it out. His face I knew very well. I finished getting ready by throwing on an old tee shirt and some grey sweats. I had signed up for the fitness center at LCC. I needed to go there and work out because working out always helped to reduce my stress level and I was stressing out big time. I was glad for this man's interruption in last night. My life could've been altered for good. I was still freaked out with good reason though. I grabbed my cell off my bed and threw it in my purse. I finished getting ready and then left the house. I jumped in my car and backed away from the house. Right now I just need a treadmill. That way I could just stop thinking about what ifs and not so mysterious stranger from last night. I sighed as I braked for an upcoming red light; if only it could've all been a distant dream.

           

            Jesse had been in his room since Amber woke up this morning. He stayed with her until she opened her eyes. He came home and had been in his room ever since. He couldn't believe his luck that she was still in his life. He heard Max walking around. He couldn't wait to tell him the good news.

            "Hey, where'd you go last night, huh?" Max asked Jesse as he came walking into kitchen.

            Jesse got quiet as he grabbed a blood beverage from Max's hand since he was carrying two glasses. "I saw her."

            "You saw who?" Max asked questioningly while grabbing some more blood from the fridge. Jesse gave him a look without saying a word. Max put the cup in the microwave. "Her," he said turning around to Jesse with eyes wide open.

            "She was at the party with friends. I tried to stay away, but this prick drugged her and I had to save her." Jesse's fist clenched as he thought of the guy who tried to hurt her.

            The microwave beeped and Max retrieved his cup and set it on the counter. "And," he said taking a seat.

            "I took her home and she didn't even recognize me." Jesse said and Max could sense his anger about it.

            "So, what happens now? What're you going to do?" Max asked as he gulped down his cup.

            "I'm going to go over there." Jesse stated after finishing his blood. He got up and replaced his chair under the table.

            Max stood up from the chair. "What are you expecting? I mean don't get me wrong bro, but the last time she saw you her whole family was killed."

            Jesse walked out of the kitchen to the hallway. He didn't want to think about what Max said. "You're not helping," he said and continued toward the front door.

            Max rushed up in front of him. "Look, just don't expect love at first sight. Deny it all you want, but I see the way you look when we talk about her."

            Jesse opened the door as Max stepped out of the way. He had to get out of there. He knew Max was right, but he couldn't listen to reason. The only thing that mattered now was Amber McNae. He has to know more about her life now. He'd missed so much in the time he spent away from her. There was no going back only forward so they could be together. Jesse wasn't unrealistic he knew that she would need time and he would wait an eternity for her. He is a vampire after all.

            He went to her home. He listened to make sure no one was home before he entered. He entered through a window in the back part of the house. As he entered the door he wasn't sure where to look first. The window opened up the computer room. He tried to start it up, but knew he wasn't going to get far. The computer asked for a password as he tried to log on. He decided to go upstairs to scope out her bedroom. The stairs were conveniently located to the right of the front door. Jesse rounded the stairs and began climbing up the cream carpeted curved staircase. Amber's room was to the right just past the linen closet.

            Jesse hesitated at the door. He had just realized that maybe he shouldn't have broken into her home, but the regret wasn't strong enough to get him to leave. He had to know her. He twisted the knob slowly as if expecting her to somehow be behind the door. The door opened slowly as Jesse crept inside. Her room looked much differently in the sunlight. Last night he wanted to look around, but was afraid he would wake her. Now, he was back inside her room that he'd only remembered seeing shadows of. The floor held the same cream colored carpet as the rest of the house. He could see her bed was a queen size with layers of pink comforters and sheets covering ever inch. She had a tall five drawer dresser; Jesse nearly went into and decided against. He walked over to a three drawer clear plastic storage unit sitting directly underneath a small window. The window had a view of the next door neighbors' yard. Jesse went through the drawers to find nothing of interest that told him about her. It only had hair accessories, word finds, utensils, and paper.

            He sat on the bed still feeling as he felt when he came through the door. He was at a complete loss and wanting more. Jesse felt as if he was on drugs willing to do anything to score his next hit. Amber was his drug and he was completely addicted; there could never be any substitute to her. Little did he realize he was going to get what every addict dreams of as his drug of choice came right through the front door. Jesse was too busy thinking about her and was shocked that he didn't hear her car pull into the driveway. He heard her keys fiddle with the knob. He knew that if he left now she would never have noticed he was there. He couldn't' make his feet move and now it was too late. He heard the door shut and footsteps begin to climb the stairs. Jesse ran and hid in her closet near the bedroom door.

            The closet wasn't very big. If she opened the door she would surely notice him. She didn't have many clothes hanging on the hanger that would conceal him. He heard jazz music from a phone as he crouched in the closet. He almost emerged thinking it was someone other than Amber in the house then he heard her sweet voice.

            "Hello," he heard her say on the phone. He made sure to keep the closet door partially open so he would see her. "I know, sorry about last night. I got a ride from someone. I wasn't feeling good. I didn't want to ruin your night." Her footsteps kept getting closer to the door. "No, yea I'm fine." Amber said and Jesse was able to finally get a glimpse of her weathered face and messy ponytail. He still couldn't get over how beautiful she still was. "Well, I just got out the gym. What are you doing later tonight?" She said and Jesse adjusted the closet door to see her plop on the bed. Good thing her door was opened because it partially concealed him. "Yes, that'll work for me. Call me when you're on your way and we'll plan my birthday party. I can't believe I'm having one." Jesse could see her begin to kick off her shoes and pull off her socks. She laughed, Jesse thought it was beautiful, he even smiled. "Oh whatever, call me bye." She dropped the phone on the bed. Jesse watched as she began to remove her shirt. He didn't wish to disrespect her further so he decided to give up hiding.

            "Please don't be afraid," he said calmly as he emerged from the closet.

            Amber quickly jumped up from her bed. She looked ready to scream so Jesse rushed in front of her. "You," she said to him.

Reviews

[K.G]

this. . .was amazeing!!!!!(srry for the late reply XD completely forgot i was reading this haha) So far my favorite chapter! you have done a brilliant job.wished you had put a little more details in the action but thats just me hahah XD i love what ur doing so far!

[K.G]

yes! i can see my comment this time!

[Missy]

thanks so much. I'll take a look at the action in other parts

[K.G]

okay :3! and ur wellcome love :3