• "On a cliff stood a castle made of all stone and glass. Ivy crept up walls and around the turrets. The windows, however, are the most frightening of all. They give off a feeling of torment, malice, and pain. It is said that once you step inside, you never step out the same. When you do step out and down the crumbling steps of the porch, you will be insane. The walls bleed; the house moans and the screams are never forgotten. The screams of the souls that had been tortured there."

    "Stop," I finally murmured, and wrapped my arms around myself to stop from trembling.

    "Mmm, I'm sorry love. I didn't mean to scare you," But my boyfriend was grinning as he walked closer to me.

    I glared at him and the grin fell off his face.

    "What's wrong?" he asked softly, looking away.

    "Nothing," I said softly, feeling bad now.

    He tilted his head, his dark, shaggy hair falling over his right eye. I sighed reaching up to brush it away, but he caught my hand in his. I looked at them, studying the difference between his chocolaty color and my pale, nearly translucent shade of skin. I smiled a little then looked down at my red pants.

    "Babe?" he said now, as I slowly extracted my hand from his.

    "James," I finally whispered, looking back up into his face.

    "Yeah, baby?" he asked, his brown eyes wide and innocent looking.

    I couldn't believe what I was about to say, but it couldn't be helped.

    He frowned softly, I assumed studying my expression.

    I looked away again, struggling to choke the words out.

    "I don't think we should be together anymore..." I finally said as I stood up and walked towards my door.

    "Oh, Veronica, please don't do this..."he murmured, looking over at me.
    I only shook my head and opened the door.

    "I thought it could work long distance," he muttered and started to walk past me.

    "James... I'm thinking of our future," I pleaded.

    "Save it, " he whispered and looked away. But I still saw the pain in his eyes and I sighed unhappily.

    I laid a hand on his shoulder and he looked at me hopefully. But I stepped backwards and he sighed, shaking his head. "Veronica, I love you," he said lightly and turned, walking down the stairs.

    I bit my lip, sighing heavily then backed into my room and shut the door before sinking onto my bed and staring at the ceiling until I fell asleep.


    ** * Two weeks later***

    "Veronica!" my mother shouted up the stairs.

    "I'm coming!" I shouted back down and sighed lightly. I took one last look around my room before I left it for good. I had been lost in the memories this room brought to me, most of which were shared with James. But ever since that night I hadn't seen or heard from him. I sighed softly again and finally went downstairs. Mom was already in the car waiting for me so I hurried out. I looked around as she drove, trying not to cry as we left behind the only place I had ever known. We paused once for gas and a quick bite to eat and then kept driving on to the new house.

    "Veronica," my mother said suddenly. "You're so quiet. Are you alright?" She looked at out of the corner of her eye as she asked. I knew she was worried, but I couldn't help it.

    "I'm sorry mom," I said softly, not wanting to get into any arguments.

    "What's wrong honey?" she asked persistently. She had a way of doing it though, so that I always gave in to her.

    "Nothing" I replied monotonously and looked out the window again, attempting to not give in this time.

    She shook her head and went back to concentrating on the road. Finally after a couple of hours, we pulled into the driveway of the new house. I looked up at it and shuddered softly. It was enormous and I couldn't help but to think of the story that James had told. The windows were looking down at me like giant eyes and the paint was peeling from the sides. It really needed to be fixed up. As I looked around the other side of the house, I saw that there were vines growing up over some of the windows.

    I sighed and slipped out of the car before, ready to start unloading everything from the car before mom laid a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

    "Honey, worry about that tomorrow. You need your rest and so do I," she said as she looked at me. Studying me I supposed.

    I only shook my head before I said, "I'm wide awake. I need something to do to help me go to sleep," then smiled lightly and grabbed a box before she could say anything more.

    "Alright, but just take the boxes in then. No unpacking them. I'll do that tomorrow." The worry came back into her face as she spoke, and I suppose I knew why. I had circles under my eyes and my skin was paler then normal. I also wasn't talking the way I normally did.

    When she spoke, I nodded and hefted the box higher up in my arms, nearly dropping it as my mother rushed ahead to unlock the door for me.

    "Thanks," I mumbled as I put the heavy box down.

    She nodded and went to retrieve our pillows and blankets in order to make our beds, since we would be sleeping on the floor for the first night. The beds and our other heavier belongings would not be here until tomorrow.

    I went outside, the wind seeming to have picked up, making me pull my coat even tighter around me. Then I grabbed another box, went back inside the house and stacked it on top of the first. After I did the same with the rest of the other boxes, almost two hours later I finally slid under the covers of the makeshift bed and fell into an uneasy slumber.

    The next morning when my mother and I woke, we went to start unpacking the boxes. Our only problem was that the boxes were already unpacked, with our possessions strewn all over the floor. It looked as if someone had been looking for something, and in the process they destroyed most of our belongings.

    I looked over at my mother and winced at the shock and horror that was on her face, realizing that this was my fault. I was the one who had left the door unlocked last night.

    I prodded her a couple of times, and she moved, shaking her head as if disoriented. She threw out what was broke and I followed her lead until I heard a rap on the door. I went to answer it, and when I opened the door, I saw the most handsome guy I had ever laid eyes on.

    "Hello," I murmured shyly, unable to stop gazing at his face.

    "Hello," he replied, smirking slightly. I guess at the way I was staring at his face. I could feel my face heating up in embarrassment and I quickly looked down as I spoke.

    "Is there something I can help you with?"

    He held out a bowl. "My mother thought you might want this, since you will be so busy unpacking," he said, rolling his eyes. They were a striking bluish purple and almost hypnotic. He seemed to notice and quickly looked away, to over my shoulder, and slid a pair of sunglasses over his face.

    "Well, thank you," I said softly as I took the bowl.

    He shoved his hands into his pockets and then I noticed how unutterably pale he was. His skin almost glimmered in the sunlight, until I realized that it was a chain around his hips and going halfway down the leg of his tight, black jeans.
    "Well, I shall take my leave now," he said softly. "See you around."

    I nodded, suddenly on the verge of crying. I hated good-byes, even if this was maybe only temporary and I didn't know the first thing about the strangely attractive man in front of me. Now he was staring at me, concern evident in his abnormal eyes, and it made me flush with color again.

    "Is something wrong?" he asked the new girl. He was concerned about her now, and he really hoped that the sudden sad glint in her eye was not because of him. It had looked like she wanted to cry.

    "Uh, n-no," she stuttered.

    He smiled lightly. "If you say so."

    She just looked at him, and then turned rather abruptly. "Well, I better go put this in the fridge."

    "That might be a good idea," he said, though it didn't necessarily have to be refrigerated right away. He took a step backward.

    She nodded again and stepped back inside. "See you."

    He nodded as well and brought his hand up in a half wave, forgetting she could not see it. Then sighed as she disappeared from sight.

    Way to put your foot in your mouth. Make the pretty new girl cry and you don't even know her name. What's wrong with you? The voice in his head said.

    "Ah shut up," he muttered irritably and shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he walked to his house. Truth is, he actually lied to her too. His mother did not tell him to bring the bowl over, because he didn't have a mother. He saw the girl, and thought it was the perfect excuse to talk to her. But then he forgot to ask her name, and that made him feel incredibly stupid. He didn't like to feel that way; it irritated him to no end.

    He walked into his house, past his drunken snoring father and up into his room where he turned on some heavy music and laid down.

    I put the bowl in the refrigerator before I walked back into the living room.

    "Who was that?" my mother asked, reaching up to put an ornament on the shelf behind me.

    "Just a neighbor bringing food over," I told her quietly.

    "Ah," she said, the shock from earlier seeming to have worn off.

    I smiled, methodically putting what was left of out belongings to where they were supposed to be. I wasn't ready to tell her it was a guy, much less the most gorgeous guy I had ever laid eyes upon. Especially since I didn't even know his name, though I was hoping very much to find out. I was sure he went to the school that I would be starting at the next day. He didn't look old enough to have graduated yet.

    We continued to unpack, and a while later there was another knock on the door. I answered it again, and this time it was the movers with our furniture and dressers. They put the objects in their specified places and left. I went upstairs, turned on the radio and started unpacking the boxes in my room, singing along to the music.
    Later that night, mom and I ate dinner in silence, each lost in our own thoughts.

    After eating, I went back upstairs and into the bathroom, going to the mirror and peering at the girl reflected back at me. I saw a girl with long, wavy black hair, taller than most with bright green eyes. I smiled to watch the dimples appear on my cheeks when a pair of blue eyes looked over my shoulder. I gasped and spun around; only to find no one there. I shrugged to myself, eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

    Maybe it was my imagination I thought to myself before walking out of the bathroom, into my room and flopped on my bed. I fell asleep a few hours later, dreaming about school the next day.