James

Roslyn has been badgering me with questions ever since I told her I can read minds. I don't even have to read her mind right now to wonder what she is thinking about me. She has been vocalizing it every step of the walk home.

"Have you ever killed someone?"

"Do you eat humans?"

"How often do you feed on innocent people?"

"How do I know you won't kill me or my family?"

"What's it like being thousands of years old?"

"What else should I know about your kind?"

Her incessant questions mean I have no time to answer them. If she would take a second to pause and let me speak, she would know the answers because I would have no problem telling her. She deserves to know. She's scared. I don't blame her. All of this is new to her.

I have violated her trust and I will do anything to get it back. I will tell her everything she wants to know if it means the slightest chance that she may trust me again.

Of course I have killed someone. It wasn't necessarily on purpose though. Desperate times call for desperate measures unfortunately. I still feel bad about it'd espies it happening hundreds of years ago.

No I don't eat humans. Not for hundreds of years at least. Me and my family stopped because we found a better source of nutrients: deer. That also means I don't feed on said 'innocent humans' like she suggested.

I feed on deer about once a week or so or whenever I get the urge to eat. However, if I go long enough without eating, I could potentially have the desire to attack a human and use their blood as my meal.

I won't kill her or her family. She is special to me. I feel a connection to her. I would never hurt her. I will only try to protect her from harm.

Being thousands of years old isn't as bad as it may seem. Though, from time to time, it gets lonely. Anyone I make friends with will soon die and I will be the only thing left. Then, I move on to a new town and find new friends, repeating it over and over.

"Go to bed Roslyn. We can talk about this tomorrow." I stop in front of her house. Roslyn's jaw drops after I speak. She is mad at me. I can tell without even having to read her thoughts.

"How am I supposed to sleep when I have a killer living next to me? What else don't I know about you? Are you and your family secretly plotting to kill the entire human race or something?" She asks, her rage building with every word she speaks. She wants an explanation to all of this.

"I'm not secretly planning to kill the human race. Neither are they." I reply. "I'm secretly planning on taking over the world. I am going to enslave the humans, not necessarily kill them." I smile, hoping she will enjoy the joke. Roslyn jaw drops even further. I laugh and grab onto her. "I'm completely kidding Roslyn."

Roslyn pulls away from me. "This isn't funny. I can't tell if you are joking or not." She turns away and faces her house. I stop laughing. I didn't realize she doesn't get my sense of humor.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm finished with the jokes." I step closer to make sure she can tell I am being sincere.

Roslyn walks up her driveway without replying to my last comment. I guess I really upset her. "Tomorrow, you tell me everything I want to know." She says, not bothering to look back to see if I am still standing where she left me.

"Of course." I nod and watch her walk up the driveway to her house. She holds her hand on the knob, waiting to turn it for some unknown reason. She turns around to face me.

"Are you scared to die?" She asks, dropping her hands to her side. I rush to the porch to be with her. There has to be a reason she asked me that question. Something is wrong. I can see a tear forming in her eyes.

"Why do you ask that? What's wrong?" I ask, examining her body and face to see if there is something visibly wrong with her. Roslyn shrugs.

"Never mind." She says, turning and opening her front door. "See you tomorrow."

"Roslyn," I grab her wrist and pull her back outside with me. "I'll never let anything happen to you. I'm not the bad guy. Now tell me, why did you ask that?"

"Well, Julie died. And I almost died." Roslyn begins, closing the door and leaning against it. "I'm terrified of dying. That wolf is still out there and-" I grab onto Roslyn.

"There isn't going to be a time that a wolf appears and I won't be there ready to defend you. That's just not going to happen." I rub her arms. "If he ever comes back, it'll be the last time he ever comes around here. I'll make sure of it."

She nods, temporarily content with the situation she finds herself in. "Goodnight James."

Roslyn enters the house and shuts her door behind her. I can feel the heat of her body pressing on the other side of the door as I rest my hand on the wood outside.

I enter my house and retreat to my room. I sit by the window and stare at her house through the glass, watching for any suspicious activity.

Though I promised Roslyn I wouldn't read her thoughts without her permission anymore, I want to check in on her. I need to make sure she is okay by herself right now.

I quickly become aware that I shouldn't have said all of that about Anthony. That is all she can think about now. I shouldn't have brought up his abusive actions towards her or the end of their relationship. It was wrong of me.

AN: what do you guys think of this story so far? I'm working on a great plot twist for you guys.