Verified Attraction

I wake up instantaneously sweating from my dream. When my eyes focus on the room around me, I notice that I am not at Adam's house anymore.

'How in the world did I get to be here at my parents' place?'

I get up from my bed and check to make sure I am still dressed before walking out the bedroom door into the hallway. No one is in the hallway or the dining room as I make my way around looking for anyone. I decide to give up and head back to my room when I run right into Charles in the hallway upstairs.

"I am sorry Charles. Where is everyone?"

"Your parents went out for a ride on the horses Miss Dragomir."

"Oh okay, can you tell me how I ended up here back at home?"

"Yes, actually Mr. Sangre carried you back here. He said he found you at some stranger's house and wanted to bring you somewhere he knew you would be safe."

'Are you kidding me? Why would Alexander do that? What is wrong with him?'

"Do you happen to know where he is right now?"

"He is in his room. You can follow this hallway behind you down to the very end and take a left, it should lead to another set of grand staircases. Go up the stairs and it will be the room with the double doors."

"Thank you very much Charles."

I watch as he takes his leave and heads to the dining room before I turn to walk down the hallway behind me. I finally arrive at the other grand staircase that leads to the top floor.

'How in the world am I supposed to know which double doored room is Alexander's?'

When I get to the top of the stairs, I laugh. You have got to be kidding me. I scan the doors around me to notice that they are all single except for one room that is double doored right in the middle.

'Can you say privileged much? All these rooms and he has to pick the biggest one of course.'

I walk right up to the door and knock, hoping he is still here.

"Come in."

'Thank goodness, now I do not have to walk around and try to find him.'

I pull open the door slightly to step inside before shutting it once again behind me. My eyes scan the room admiring the silver and gold intricate patterns on the wall, the same ones around the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alexander suddenly walk in from his balcony.

"Can I help you," he ask while he looks down at the ground, seeming to be preoccupied.

When he finally looks up, his eyes connect with mine and a teasing smile plays on his lips.

"Well, what brings you here into my room?"

I cross my arms over my chest.

"Why am I here Alexander?"

"This is my room, so I have no idea why you are here unless you have finally come to your senses and want me just as much as I want you."

I try to ignore the smirk on his face as I groan at his playfulness.

"No, why did you bring me here instead of leaving me at Adam's house."

"I do not know what you are talking about."

He turns around as he ignores my question and walks back onto the balcony connected to his room. I take a deep breath and follow after him. He is going to talk to me about this whether he wants to or not.

"Is this because of what happened between Damon and I last night? Are you mad because I like Damon? I liked the kiss and Damon so you need to just get over it."

He turns around to look at me.

"That kiss was nothing. You do not love him, I know you do not. Are you completely sure he was the one that kissed you last night?"

"Of course I am sure it was him. He was so sweet and gentle, who else would it have been? I have never felt anything like it. When he kissed me, I felt this burst of energy flow through me."

He slowly starts walking toward me, making me back up into the wall until he is an inch away from me.

"Are you positive he was the one you kissed? It was very dark so it could have been anyone. You like Damon but only because of what you felt from that kiss. If you found out it was not Damon and was someone else, would you still like that person?"

"Why are we even talking about this? Of course it was Damon and even if it was not, yes I would still like that person. That kiss was the most realest thing I have ever felt in my life between me and someone else."

"That is all I needed to hear."

He closes the space between us and caresses my face.

"What are you doing," I whisper.

I can feel my heart beating faster as every second goes by. Instead of answering my question, he presses his lips to mine. This burst of energy flows through my body and I feel like I will collapse at any moment. His arms wrap around my waist to pull me closer to him. When we finally part from each other, I look up at his face. Looking into his eyes, I notice something there that was not there before; kindness. I withdraw from his grasp and make my way back inside to the door.

"You said you would still like the person no matter who they are," he yells after me.

"Yes I did say that and I would except for the fact that you lied to me. I asked if you were Damon and you shook my head yes in response. I was stupid to just believe you at the time but I can tell you that I do not trust or date liars."

I slam Alexander's bedroom door behind me as I walk away in anger.

'It was so stupid of him to kiss me. I know I said I would still like the person who kissed me but it is Alexander. Why did he even kiss me in the first place anyways? One minute he acts like he likes me and the next he doesn't. What is going on with him?'

Walking in the halls back toward my room, I hear a sudden noise coming from outside. I walk out onto the balcony connected to my bedroom to see my parents. They are just coming back from their riding trip.

'I want to go say hi but with everything I have just learned, I do not really feel like talking to anyone right now.'

Instead, I walk back inside my room and through the door leading to my other home.

* * * *

My cell phone has three text messages all from Lauren asking where I am at, when I get back. I text her back telling her I am sorry about disappearing suddenly but I needed to go talk to my parents about something. She texted me back right away, asking if I could meet up with her and the others at Adam's house. I send her one last text before I grab my car keys and head out. On my way to Adam's house, I start thinking about everything that has happened to me lately.

'First there is Damon, then my parents come back into my life and now Alexander comes into the picture. It is hard to believe that I like him in such a short time and now I can hardly stand to be in the same room as him. Maybe the problem is just me and not him.'

I find Stephanie and Lauren already waiting for me on the porch.

"Good thing you are here now. Damon almost had a fit when no one knew where you were."

"How is he though?"

"He is sitting on the couch waiting for when you get here."

We all turn to walk inside. I catch Damon's eyes as he turns around on the couch to look at us. He immediately walks over and puts his arms around me in a tight hug.

"I was so worried when no one knew where you went off to."

"I am so sorry. My father called this morning and I had to go see what he needed from me. It was a waste of time though because they were gone by the time I got home."

"I am just glad that you are okay."

"Yeah, um Damon, can we talk alone?"

He looks around at the faces of our friends, confused as to why we cannot talk in front of everyone.

"Yeah that is fine, we can go upstairs if you want," he says with nervousness.

I look over at Adam, silently asking for his permission. He silently shakes his head and gestures toward the stairs. Damon reaches out to take my hand in his before leading me up the stairs to the balcony in Adam's room. I lean on the railing away from Damon and close my eyes, trying to find the courage for what I have to do.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"You know I like you right?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"You know I like you, but only as a friend right?"

"Audrey, where are you going with this?"

I sigh, "did you go into this very room at all last night?"

"No, I was going to come in and check it out for trash but the door was locked."

"That is what I thought."

"Audrey, what is this about?"

"Look Damon, I really like you but we should stay friends. I am not really looking for a boyfriend but I do like spending time with you and do not want to stop. You should know that my parents are very strict though and are set in their ways. They will not let me see anyone romantically unless they approve first. The main problem is they have these traditions that they believe in and one of them is having an arranged marriage with someone they have already picked out for me. I do not really approve of his behavior but I am not sure that I can completely go against my parents wishes. I am trying everything I can do to get out of it but I am not so sure how it will all end. I am really sorry."

"Why are they planning an arranged marriage for you? No one has those anymore."

I frown, "it is very complicated but like I said my parents have these weird traditions for our family. I guess you can say they are old fashioned."

"Well we can still be friends but I should warn you that I am not going to give up on you that easily just yet."

I smile, "that is actually okay with me and thank you for understanding Damon."

He wraps his arms around me once more in a hug. I lay my head on his chest in comfort that I still have him as a friend.

'Even though I do not have to worry about Damon anymore, I unfortunately still have to figure out what to do with Alexander. I do not want to have feelings for him but I do not have a say in what my heart feels. It is too hard to keep my feelings in check when he is always around.'

Damon and I separate from one another to walk back down the stairs. The others are all in deep conversation on what plans they want to do for the rest of the day.

"So what do you guys want to do tonight?"

"We should rent movies and have another sleepover," Lauren suggested.

"No, we should go swimming," Adam says.

"No way, it is too cold today, "Stephanie complains.

While they all continue to argue about what to do, I walk out the front door to get some fresh air in the now illuminated darkness of night. As soon as I make it all the way to the center of the driveway, I can sense that something is off and not right. I look over to my left and second laters, Alexander steps out into the moonlight.

"I can see that you sense my presence now when I am near. That is a good sign, it means that you are becoming attached to me," he says with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Ugh, you can believe me when I say that is the last thing I am doing."

"Are you sure about that?"

He takes a couple steps closer to me.

"What are you doing here anyway," I ask, trying to put more distance between us.

"I wanted to watch you dump Damon."

"Congrats, I hope you enjoyed the show. Now why are you still here?"

"Celeste come on, I like you. Why can you not accept that?"

"No, you do not and my name is Audrey."

"Celeste is the name your parents gave you so it is what I am going to call you."

He suddenly closes the space between us and grabs my arm to yank me against his hard chest.

"We are meant to be together and will be no matter what you think right now. It is foretold and cannot be changed."

I push hard against his chest to get away from his hold.

"We will never be together. You are a jerk and only care about yourself. You need to just leave me alone and get out of my life."

I turn around and dart to my car. Quickly turning the key in the ignition, I hit the gas and dash out of the driveway to go home. As soon as I get home, I climb in bed and try to fall asleep, not wanting to see or talk to anyone at this time. Moments later, exhaustion hits from the stress and I am met with a darkness and a dreamless sleep.