Blood Rose

Prologue

The sky was dark with clouds left over from the heavy rain. The air was frigid as the occasional unwelcome gust of wind blew across the dark forest, chilling to the bone. The trees moaned in protest to the strong winds and the pained cries of a beast echoed over the forest. A tall shadowy figure was hunched over a small frail body that lay crumpled on the ground. The creature cried loudly with great woe.

The beast was that of the night; blood trickled down from his mouth onto the collar of his white button up shirt, down his black vest, and settled on to his victim. The woman's dress, which was once a pure white elegant gown, was now stained red with her own blood. Her unblinking eyes stared in horror and agony as unshed tears glistened on her thick black lashes in the dim light of the moon.
The blood sucker stood slowly as the guilt crept in his eyes. He gazed up at the dark sky.
She was now dead, the woman that he once tired so hard to protect. He loved her and she him, but now he had killed her. He had not meant to. If only he had been strong enough to control himself, but no. He had been weak.
His heart broke as he kissed her now ice cold hand and reluctantly stood. It was hard to tear his eyes away from her beauty. Even in death, she was as lovely as when they had first met. Her long, thick, black eyelashes contrasted her porcelain complexion, two full pink lips sat perfectly under her delicate nose, long, silky, brown hair laid about her like a halo, and her eyes, oh her eyes were the most beautiful shade of golden brown.
He bent down, closed her eyes, and quietly walked away.

Chapter 1

I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes as the door to the train compartment slid open. My mind still set in the vastness of my thoughts, I slowly glanced up to the figure that now stood there. My golden brown eyes landed on a pair of emerald colored ones.

His black hair complimented his lightly tanned skin, he had strong manly features, and dressed very nicely in a red turtle neck sweater with a simple gray jacket over it. His medium blue colored jeans went well with his black dress shoes and in his hands he held a small bouquet of white roses. Immediately feeling rather shy, my fingers awkwardly shoved the chocolate brown hair from my face.
"May I sit here?" I tried to gasp for air, but couldn't seem to find it.
"O-of course…" was what I choked out when I replayed his words in my mind. He swiftly sat across from me, while I silently cursed myself for stuttering.

I chanced looking at him. He was studying my face as I had done so earlier. As our eyes met, a flicker of an unreadable emotion danced in his eyes, but as soon as I saw it, it disappeared.

Sometime had passed, and I had felt compelled to break this awkward silence. After struggling to come up with anything to say, I finally chose to stare out the rain-streaked window.

After a long silence I felt something light tickle my hands. I slowly lowered my absentminded stare to see a single white rose. I looked back to the stranger with a questioning gaze, but he was not there.

Jumping out of my seat, I frantically looked around for the man who had so recently shared my company. Coming to the conclusion that he had vanished, and I would probably never see him again, I sighed sadly, only having the rose and my memories of this awkward encounter to remember this strange man with.

I clutched the rose tightly in my hands and vowed that if I ever saw him again, I would certainly ask for his name. I glanced back out the window and frowned at the continuous downpour.

When the train finally came to a halt, I hurriedly gathered my things, and stepped onto the platform. Casting a quick glance around, I noticed that my sister was not yet here. I moaned, frustrated with my sister's lack of punctuality, and sat on one of the nearby benches.

It was rather noisy at the train station with teenagers laughing, kids crying, and lovers and families giving teary farewells or humbly embracing one another in greeting. I watched as a particular pair of parents hugged their daughter, once she had made her way to them, then smiled at her warmly.

As I watched the scene unfold a sad smile crossed my face. I leaned back on the bench and closed my eyes. I had remembered when my parents would always hug me when I had come home from anywhere. Mother was always happy to see me even when I had worried her to death by running away and then coming home soon after.

Father was the strict one; he always wanted to protect me from everything, but both were wonderful, and both were always there.

Although, that is just it, 'were'. They had died in a car crash just a few weeks ago; a drunk man had run a red light and hit them head on. They died on scene. I could remember their funeral clearly.

It was a rather cold day in April. The soft Chicago wind made it nippy even without the drizzle of rain. Black umbrellas were held by about three dozen people, all of which were wearing black clothes, which seemed to reflect the mood. Beautiful roses were placed on the coffins as each person told stories about my parents, but no matter how funny or how lovely the memories were, they didn't make me feel any better.

Kaylene had held my shoulder and stood in silence. It was the first time in a long time that I didn't feel anything. I was numb to everything and felt out of place as people cried. I don't remember much after that, except for all lies that I heard "It only hurts for awhile, but you will soon be happy again", "I know how you feel", and "I'm sorry".

A lump formed in my throat as my thoughts reopened the fresh wounds in my heart. My lip began to quiver.

Not having my parents around was hard yes, but what had made things worse was I had to now live far away from them as I was not yet old enough to live alone. "Aubrey. Aubrey, are you okay?" Startled, I quickly cleared my throat, and stood up to see my lovely sister Kaylene.

Kaylene had always been the pretty one with her long wavy black hair and amazing hazel eyes. She was fairly popular with the guys when she was in school. And she is so kind, smart, and confident; nothing like me.

"Kaylene, how are you?" I swiftly walked around the bench and welcomed her familiar embrace. We pulled back and just smiled at one another glad to see the other. Kaylene was just as lovely as I had remembered, but she seemed a little stiff, almost unresponsive. I could tell she was trying to look happy, but she could not hide her grief from me. I put on the best smile I could conjure and went back to the bench to grab my things. She quickly followed after and took a couple suitcases.

"The rest of my things should arrive in a few weeks or so." I said casually. Kaylene nodded and walked towards her car, and I followed in silence.

"So, Brey," Kaylene questioned once we reached her 2006 silver Hyundai Elantra, "how was the trip, did you have a nice ride here?" I smiled at her thankfully and mumbled a quick 'It was fine, thanks for asking'.

The scenery passed in a sort of a blur. I stared down at the rose that I was holding. Looking at it reminded me of all the times that Father would buy mother dozens of roses on special occasions; she would smile happily and give Father a passionate kiss.

Tears once again stung the corners of my eyes, my throat felt as if I had swallowed a baseball and my nose stung. I turned away from Kaylene's questioning eyes, and stared angrily at the beautiful flower.

"We're here." Kaylene announced, breaking the tense silence. I quickly faced the windshield to see my new home.

It was small in size, but lovely. The outside was a soft cream and the roof a Levi blue with white shutters and a large lawn of lush green grass. I allowed a small smile to filter across my face.

"It's beautiful Kay," I inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh cool air as I walked to the back of the car. Kaylene had just started to unload the luggage when I got to her.

"I'm glad you like it." She smiled genuinely at me, then proceeded to grab a couple of suitcases and walked up to the house. I grabbed the last few bags and hurried up the two step porch. The door was now wide open from Kaylene and I could see into the house.

The entrance was a large living area which was split with the kitchen and connected to the living room was a small powder room. The house was modern and had a very comfortable feel to it. The walls were a light tan color that worked with the natural walnut hardwood flooring, the couches were black with colorful green, light brown, and cream decorative pillows. The lighting made the room glow and reflected off of floral prints on the walls. Against the far wall was a large black entertainment center with modest carvings. A small entry table held a few pictures of our family and Kaylene's friends.

The powder room was simple with white tiles and walnut cabinets, the sink was set in the white with cream swirled marble top. The white toilet sat next to the sink with green mats under itself and the sink.

The kitchen was covered with dark walnut stained cabinets, the large walnut table matched the decor perfectly had also had carvings on it. All of the appliances were stainless-steel, and the french doors in the kitchen led to the backyard, which was rather small with a white picket-fence lining the property. Inside the house was a staircase that lead to the second floor which was covered in a cream carpet.

"Brey, I'm up here." Kaylene called from somewhere up the stairs. I swiftly closed the front door and walked up the stairs to large hallway with three doors on the right and two on the left. Kaylene poked her head out of the farthest room on the right and beckoned to me. I slowly walked to the doorway and peered inside. It was beautiful.

The bedroom was furnished with a queen-sized bed with branches and small white birds as the pattern on the deep blue comforter, a large black fabric headboard stood at the front of the bed and two nightstands sat on either side of the bed with white lamps on both of them. The floor was a deep mahogany wood with a plush white carpet; on the far side of the room were french doors covered with white lacy curtains that lead to a small balcony; the walls were a light brown color with black and white pictures that shone from the mini chandelier, small sconces, and recessed lighting; on the wall adjacent from the balcony was a large walk-in closet. I gazed about in shock; The room was amazing.

"This is your room, my room is right across from yours, the first door on the left is the office, the room next to yours is a bathroom and in case you need them, the door next to the bathroom is the linen closet." I squealed with real happiness and hugged my sister tightly. She laughed and ruffled my hair.

"Also, I've already registered you for the school you will be attending for the next two years. It's called London Central Secondary School. Doesn't it sound exciting?" She grinned at me as if expecting me to be just as happy. A new school? I had forgotten why I was here, but by her talking about the school I was going to attend, I fell back into melancholy.

"You already enrolled me into a new school?" I inquired, "Thanks I guess." Kaylene's face fell into a frown, disappointment apparent in her eyes. She sighed and soon left me to unpack what I had, telling me that she would be ordering pizza as she made her way down the stairs.

I placed the rose I had been holding on the nightstand, and opened the first of four suitcases. I carefully placed all my shirts and pants on hangers, and tucked my socks and underwear in a small dresser at the back of the closet.

The next two were the same as the first, but with some shoes stuffed in. I then unzipped the last suitcase. Inside were my sentimental items. There were a few pictures of my friends and parents; I sighed heavily as I pulled them out and carefully set them on the nightstands. I also pulled my favorite stuffed fox that I have had for years. It's age was obvious by the one missing eye, the scruffy fur, and the few sewed areas where it had ripped from too much love. I gently placed it between the pillows as if it was glass instead of fabric and cotton, and then grabbed the last thing from the case; my scrap-book.

I had been scrap-booking for a long time, and had gotten quite good at it. I leaned against the bed, and sat cross-legged on the carpet as I flipped open the pages. I could feel the tears burning at the corners of my eyes as I thumbed through each page. There in the book were pictures of the happy times, from birthdays and my sisters' wedding, to the Fourth of July and Christmas; everything was in here.

Little droplets of salt water fell on to the open pages making a small "plip" sound. Suddenly angry I slammed the book shut and threw it across the room.

Why did they have to die? Why didn't I try to stop them from going out that night? I hate what I did to them, this is all my fault! I buried my face on my knees and just cried.

I could hear my sister call to me from downstairs that the pizza was here, but I didn't care. I sat there and wept as Kaylene's foot steps could be heard coming up the stairs and down the hall. The smile that lit up her porcelain doll face dropped when she saw me. She rushed to my side, and attempted to comfort me by rubbing my back, and saying nothing as I shuddered and sobbed into her shoulder. My heart ached and I felt empty as Kaylene softly stroked my hair. The thought of my parents was just too much for me to bear alone and though I knew Kaylene was still in pain, I found no comfort in her empathy. It was almost as if I had become numb to the kind acts and comforting words of those around me. I just couldn't seem to care.

It was dark outside by the time my wailing had slowed to the occasional sniffle. I lifted my head to my sister, my eyes red and sore, giving her a pathetic attempt at a smile. Kaylene smiled back and embraced me in a warm hug, which I halfheartedly returned; the gesture felt stiff and awkward.

"Come on, time to eat." She whispered standing to her feet, and pulling me up along with her. It was then that I realized that I was truly thankfully towards my sister for allowing me to live here and for helping me out when I needed her the most. With out her, I truly would have been left with nothing. We headed down stairs, to watch cheesy movies and eat pizza, my heart still aching in my chest.

~Silver Sun