Chapter 17

"What time is it?" I asked them

"It's 3:30 am. Time for us to head in" Sophia said.

"Whoa! Time went fast" I giggled.

We turned everything off, locked up and headed back to the house. Sophia was talking about what she planned for me and she was so excited. She began doing cartwheels in the grass. She gave me one of those "beat that" looks so I followed but did a cartwheel then a round off.

"Oh yeah" I laughed.

"Not bad. Cheerleader?" Sophia asked as she did a few cartwheels than a few round offs. I followed with a cartwheel, round off and two backflips.

"Nope, gymnastics" I said with my arms over my head.

"Ohh little miss leotards"

"Shush" I rolled my eyes.

In spite of the fact that I was in a strange place, away form those I loved and fighting for my life, I was surprisingly happy. We got inside and said our goodnights. Erik walked me up to his room.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower" I said.

"It won't wake anyone so you're okay. How was today?" He asked.

"It was a great learning experience and I'm ready for more" just then my stomach growled super loud.

"I'll get you something to eat while you shower" He laughed.

"Are you sure? I can when I'm done so you can get to sleep"

"It's fine. I will grab it" he said as he went downstairs.

I took a quick shower to get the sweat off of me and realized I had no clothes in the bathroom. I tip toed out into the room looking for the pajamas I had on the day before. The door opened and I was frozen. Erik stared and quickly looked away.

"Um....your food" it looked like he blushed as he looked away.

"Thanks. Uh..where are those pajamas I was in?" My face was burning.

"Getting washed, there's more in the bottom left drawer and shirts in the middle right drawer" he said putting the plate on the bed and moving to the dresser.

"I can..." I started but he was fast and handed me the top and bottoms. "Thank you" I said as I took them and went into the bathroom. When I was dressed I cam out and he was sitting on the bed.

"Here" he held up the plate of food. It was a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Oh thank you!" I smiled and took it. I sat on the bed and ate it. Shocked at how delicious it was.

"You're welcome" he smiled.

"So.... what kind of music do you like?" I asked and he started to laugh.

"What kid of music?"

"Yeah, why's that so funny?" I was confused.

"You're here to stay alive and you asked me what kind of music I like" his laugh dies down a little.

"Yes, I figured since I'm here I should get to know all of you" I shrugged.

"Oh well. I see. Anything really" he said realizing I was serious.

We talked about music for a little while. He relaxed and played on his back with his hands behind his head. I leaned back on the pillows. We talked about our favorite bands, favorite songs, music over time and got lost init. We were silent for a few minutes and that's all it took for me to fall asleep. He covered me up and watched me for a bit.

I had another nightmare about my friends being attacked and I couldn't save them. I tried and tried but they were killed in front of me. I heard them screaming, calling my name but I was chained back. I screamed and tried to get free but the chains cut into me. Blood flowing from the wounds. I woke up, my heart about to burst from my chest. I sat up and focused on my breathing to calm down.

Then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, Erik was asleep on the floor. I looked at him closely, realizing how handsome he was, wondering about where he came from and how someone so handsome was so rude at times. I sat there and stared at him for a while.

It was only one in the afternoon but I couldn't sleep anymore. So I grabbed my iPod and went downstairs. I made some coffee and poured some cereal. Eating and drinking my coffee while listening to my music.

When I was finished I did a little snooping. Erik had shown me around but there was one room that I wanted to look through on my own, their library. I made sure no one was in the room and I opened the drapes to let in the daylight. I looked through the books and was amazed at the selection there were so many, so I grabbed one. It was Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire". It made me giggle. I sat down in one of the lounge chairs and started reading. After I finished that one I put it back where I got it and grabbed "The Vampire Lestat". When I was halfway through that one I dozed off.

I woke up later and it was dark outside. I rubbed my eyes and I heard yelling. Suddenly the doors flew open and I was wide awake.

"I found her!" Drake yelled out.

"What do you mean?" I asked yawning.

"They've been freaking out since you weren't in bed when we woke up" he shrugged.

"Sorry, I've...." I started but was cut off.

"Oh my gosh! You're okay!" Sophia ran in.

"What the hell!" Erik was pissed.

"What's going on?" I was confused.

"We thought something happened to you since you weren't in the room when Erik woke up. We were so scared" Sophia almost cried. Erik was glaring at me.

"Don't ever do that again" he spat in anger.

"Sorry, I woke up in the middle of the day from another nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. I remembered this room when you showed me around and was just reading. Next time I'll leave a note and keep the door open" I said.

"Another nightmare?" Sophia looked at me with curiosity in her eyes. I told her about the nightmares I've had.

"Oh... lets' go train and get you stronger" she said guiding me upstairs to change. I quickly changed and sat on the bed. They were worried about me. So they do care. I thought to myself. Then there was a knock at the door and it opened.

"All ready?" Sophia poked her head in.

"Yes I am" I got up and followed her out.