Bella Notte (7 page)

I stepped in front
of him, placed my hands on either side of his face and made him make
eye contact. “We can come back during the day, okay? You said
yourself that we should both be heading home.” I wanted to cry,
but then I saw the focus come back into his eyes.
Thank
God.

“
Okay, Em.
We'll come back some other day.” He smiled and turned. “Oh,
by the way...” He grabbed me and kissed me fiercely and hard.
“I owed you one.” He walked back to his bike and waited
for me to get back to my car.

“
Okay, I guess
I'll see you later, Mike,” I mumbled and I got into my black
beauty.

We both drove
together until my turn off where Mike waved bye to me and kept
driving. I pulled into the garage and realized that the house was
ablaze with lights- both inside and out.
Great,
now I have to deal with all the family.

I sighed and walked
toward the kitchen door.
Why
do I even have to have a big party?

I walked into the
living room and my mouth dropped open. The entire room was
transformed into the room from my dream.
This
is crazy!

“
Honey, I'm
glad you're home, I was getting worried,” my mother cooed at
me.

“
Eh, sorry I'm
late. I wanted to hang out with Mike since I won't see him tomorrow.”
I shrugged.
God
I hate it when she tries the everyday parent thing.

“
Oh, I'm sorry
your friend can't make it. But don't worry; you'll have plenty of
company.” She smiled and I could see the relief on her face.

“
Mom, I know
we've not talked about any of the details of this whole thing. But I
was thinking I'd wear my black satin dress.” I wanted to get
her mind off of Mike.

“
That reminds
me. Your grandmother and I got you the most wonderful present. And
your grandfather got you something as well,” she said as she
crossed the living room over to our ancient Chinese cabinet. That's
when she opened the cabinet and pulled out a lusciously wrapped
present in sage green and a small black velvet box. She handed both
items to me.

“
The black one
is from your grandfather and the other is from your grandmother and
me.” She smiled and waited for me to open them.

I opened Grandpa's
gift first. The soft black velvet felt wonderful in my hands.
Maybe
this is why Mom and Grandma always buy jewelry?
The
lid clicked open and I moved a soft beige cloth to see the trinket
inside. That's when I saw the sparkle of emeralds.

Within this tiny
box, I found a pair of small studs, a small pendant, a studded
bracelet, and a medium-sized hairpin. It was the hairpin that caught
my attention. It wasn't large or gaudy, it was shaped like a bat and
it was meant to hold up my hair.
The
bat must be Grandpa trying to make it more 'me'. But I know that
hairpin, I've seen it before. But where have I seen it? Oh my God ...
it was from my dream!

That's when I tore
the paper off the other present. I didn't care about the beautifully
textured sage green paper or the fact that I sliced my pinky open in
my haste. The smell of blood assaulted my olfactory nerves, but I
ignored it. I pulled the box apart, pushed the pale pink tissue paper
aside, and saw the shiny golden satin. My hands trembled as I lifted
the dress out of the box. The empire cut was the same as my dream as
well as the slight train that flowed down the back.
I
think I'm losing my mind.

My mother mistook my
shear shock for excitement. “I'm so glad that you like it,
honey. Well, I have things to take care of before everyone starts to
arrive.” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and walked out
of the room.

I sat on the floor
and only stared.
What
does it all mean?

I really wanted to
call Mike, but I knew he had people coming over. Instead, I decided
to go up to the widow's walk and write in the journal.

The walk through the
house was surreal. We had a staff on for the weekend. Everyone and
everything seemed to be moving around me as I moved in slow-motion. I
walked up the stairs and into my room. I switched the journal for the
dress on my bed and climbed up the ladder in the top right corner of
my room that lead up to the attic. The attic and its widow's walk
were my places to be alone.

I walked through the
double-glass doors and the cool night air felt good on my warm face.
I could tell my cheeks were flushed. I took the old lantern I kept up
there, struck a match and lit it. The glow it gave off was a gentle
warm orange. I was starting to feel better.
I
don't know what is happening to me.

My mind blanked and
then I remembered the conversation that I'd overheard. My father's
voice echoed in my head, “The change has started in them- even
if they've not noticed the signs yet.”

“
What change?”
I shouted into the air. All I knew was that I was seeing things
before they happened- I could smell and hear blood, and that I must
be going nuts.
Who
the Hell can smell and hear blood? I've officially lost my mind.

That's when I
remembered why I went up there. I looked at the journal I had set
down on the small table that held the lantern and I knew I had to
write to Mike. I opened the book to the first cream colored page and
smiled. Mike's words jumped out at me.

Dear Emma.

I thought this
would be the best present I could give you. We never really talked
about it. But I know I knew you before we ever met.

You see, I've
been having dreams about you for the last fourteen years! I know it
sounds crazy, but I'm pretty sure you've had something similar. I
know this because the day we met, we dream fasted the first time that
our eyes met. That dream was much more pleasant than any dream I've
ever had, unlike the one I'm going to tell you about now. Yes, it has
only been one- one that has grown in intensity since I met you in
real life. It is always the same though. There's a full moon that's
slightly obscured by the rolling clouds. I'm walking through the
forest and I can hear the winter grass crunching under my feet. I am
warm in the cool night air. My hearing, sight, and sense of smell are
heightened. I hear other footsteps and can smell another person- a
female. Her scent comforts me and I move to meet her in the center of
the clearing that is just ahead of me. I move to her side and a
slight breeze kicks up. Her long black hair whips behind her and she
moves closer to me- I can feel the chill of her.

Her skin is
cooler than the night air. We take a few steps and the wind catches a
new scent and sends it toward us. I inhale as I hear the cry of a
lone forest wolf. The sound is familiar and comforting. I smell the
wolf and something else- my enemy.

The hairs on my
neck stand and I snarl defensively to protect this female. That's
when I hear its call to her- it calls to her in a tender caring tone.
She doesn't seem to hear it- only the wolf- and she's scared. I lean
toward her and whisper “run” in her ear, then I shove her
toward the cover of the forest. I can hear her heart speed up and her
freeze up. I hear her start to run. I scream in defiance of whatever
is out there. “You can't have her!” I say into the night.
The air grows cold around me, I know it's near. Then, it is as though
the wind itself is talking, the words swirl around me, “Too
late, she's ours.” I run as fast as I can toward the sound and
where she ran to- panic floods my body.

That's where I
usually wake up, panting, with a tear always running down my cheek.

You see, the girl
is you. It has always been and, now that I know you, all the
sensations from my dream are a hundred-fold. I just wanted you to
know about the dream.

There is
something else as well- you see, every time I see the girl in my
dream, I know that I love her and, when I met you, I fell in love
with the real one. In short, what I'm trying to say is that I love
you.

Happy Birthday,
Emma Mary Hutchinson.

I
stared
at the page, and at those words.
He
loves me?
It
all seemed too surreal to me. I love him but I never expected him to
say it or even think it.
He
loves me!

The words danced in
my head like little sugar plum fairies. I had discovered what a
natural high felt like and I loved it. I reached for my phone to call
and talk to him, but then I remembered why I hadn't called him in the
first place. I also remembered why I was up there. I turned the page
in the book and stared at it for a minute.
How
do I begin?

Dear Mike.

Thank you for the
best present ever! Today has been filled with interesting happenings-
this awesome journal, our kiss, the clearing, your entry, a dress,
and some jewelry. I suppose it's my turn to tell you about my dream.
Yes, it's been one dream for me as well.The dream is identical to
yours only from my side. In the end, it is fear that always drives me
back toward your screams- ones I feel are of pain and terror.

Besides the utter
fear and tears that the dream brings on, it also tells me that I'm in
love with that boy- or you, I should say. Besides that dream, I had
one the day when I fainted while we were dancing, but this dream was
almost as though it was my birthday party. It was in the ballroom,
there were lots of people I didn't know. As I looked around the room,
I realized they all had fangs! When I looked in the mirror – my
hair was up with an emerald pin, I was wearing a golden satin dress
and I had fangs as well! I freaked out and I went outside and then
you appeared and shied away because of the fangs but said you'd never
leave me. You also told me that we'd never be able to be together
because we were too different and you told me to think about what
couldn't be with a vampire. Then I woke up. The weird part is today
when I got home, the ballroom looked exactly like my dream and my mom
and grandmother gave me a dress just like the one in my dream. Not to
mention the emerald jewelry, including a hairpin, Grandpa gave me. Am
I losing my mind or something? Can I see the future or something? I
feel crazy. I would've called but ... you have family there. I hope
you call soon.

Now that the words
were on paper, I felt better, even though it all read crazy.
I
know it all means something- I don't know what.

I could hear car
doors being closed. I blew out my lantern and I headed back
downstairs. I didn't want to deal with the invaders of my house- but
it was what was expected of me. I listened to the murmur of voices
mix with the creak of the ladder as I climbed down into my room. I
checked my appearance in the mirror behind the door. I noticed that
the cool night air had given a slight pink tint to my cheeks.
Well,
at least I look alive.
I
placed my best show smile on and headed downstairs.

The brightness of
all the lights bothered me and I damn-near tripped walking down the
stairs. It didn't matter since everyone was gathered in the foyer and
study. The front door was left open and the night breeze was gently
blowing in. I could hear numerous conversations happening as I walked
closer to the ever growing crowds.

The majority of the
words that buzzed around the room were greetings and catch-ups. I
walked into the foyer and found my grandpa greeting folks as they
came through the door.

“
Hi, Grandpa.”
I smiled at him.

“
Oh, Emma. I'm
glad you came down. Now you can help me welcome our guests.” He
seemed to be full of pride that night.

“
Of course,
Grandpa,” I said, “but where are all these people going
to sleep?” I whispered as I realized that there must be at
least fifty people here and more seemed to be coming.

“
Well, dear,
some are staying here and the rest are staying in town. Everyone
wanted to come by and say hello before they went to bed and such.”
His eyes were kind as he whispered back to me.

The rest of my
evening was spent talking and smiling to people I had never met
before. By the time I got upstairs and into my room, I was exhausted.
I grabbed my cell to check the time and saw it had a text message.

“
Goodnight
Emma & Happy Birthday, love. Get some sleep.”