A/N:
Date 9-24-17

Hey everyone! This chapter ended up really long, but not exactly long enough to split it into two, so I am leaving it like this.

I made the pic above for the main characters and to represent who Alicia cares for the most. I just felt like doing that the other day :)

Word Count: 3235

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Chapter 6: A Difficult Promise

I stood from my hospital bed silently, listening to the footsteps of my family as they headed towards the elevator. When they got to the hall I decided it was safe. "You can come out now, Zane."

I heard Zane took in a deep breath, that was unnecessary but instinctual, before wriggling his way out from under the hospital bed that I was just sitting on.

I held out a hand to pull him upright so he stood at his full height. Zane proceeded to brush off his clothes of any dirt that may have accumulated while he lay on the floor.

Then he moved on to running a hand through his sandy blonde hair to rid it of the bed head look he'd acquired. Although I'd never known anyone to get that particular hairstyle by being underneath a bed.

"I'm not leaving my family. I need to find my brother Jake, and I'd like it if you stayed and helped me." I told Zane honestly, praying that he'd agree to stay.

Zane gazed at me with mischievous dark blue eyes, his chin tilted down a bit so he looked devilishly handsome, a shadow playing across his face. "I guess I have to stay, just to make sure you don't run out on me again."

"I won't." I promised Zane, diminishing the space between us and kissing him lightly on the lips, sealing the deal.

I stepped back so that I could talk to Zane before we had to leave. "Where will I be staying though? I don't have a lot of money with me. I've got maybe $20, which isn't enough for a hotel. I could probably rob a bank if I had to." Zane teased with a smirk.

"No bank robbing!" I whispered to Zane, holding back the smile that was pulling at my lips. "You can stay at my house. My parents won't be okay with it, so we'll have to hide you. But that won't be too hard with our super hearing."

"Alright. Now we need to go get some blood so that incident you had the other day doesn't happen again." Zane told me, walking towards the door but coming to a halt when I went to follow him, causing me to run right into him.

Zane grabs my arm to steady me, then whispers urgently, "Someone's coming."

I listened and smelled the air, immediately able to tell that it wasn't anyone from my family. "It's the doctor." I informed Zane, relaxing slightly because I didn't have to rush to find a place for Zane to hide.

But Zane had the opposite reaction, pushing me backwards as he backed up until we were at the far side of the room, across from the door. It opened and there was Dr. Taylor with a bag in his left hand and a clipboard in his right hand.

He saw Zane's defensive position, but he only turned calmly and shut the door. "I brought blood for you, Alicia. Once you change, you can put your dirty clothes in this bag to hide the blood." Dr. Taylor instructs.

I moved to go collect the bag, but Zane stepped forward and cautiously looked inside. Apparently satisfied, Zane picked up the bag and handed it to me.

"Now you need to go. Your parents are waiting for you." Dr. Taylor told me. I nodded, grabbing my bag and going into the small bathroom to change quickly.

Feeling slightly refreshed in clean clothes and wanting to get out of the hospital, I exited the bathroom to find Dr. Taylor gone. Good. I still was unsure if I could trust that guy.

"I'll text you my address so you can meet me at my house. I'll open the upstairs window when I get there so you can get inside." I told Zane, already sending him the text as I finished telling him.

"See you there." Zane said with a warm smile as I rushed out of the room, hurrying to the elevator to get to my parents and Lucy, who had been waiting for me for a few minutes.

~*~

The car ride home was more than awkward with my mom trying to make small talk. My dad refused to say more than a few words and Lucy remained silent, just staring at me as I gazed out the window to avoid her imploring eyes.

I held on to the fact that I had Zane back, which kept my brain happily occupied until we got to the house.

As soon as we got home, I made up an excuse to be left alone so that I could speak with Zane for awhile longer without much fear of being caught. "I'm pretty tired. I'm going to bed."

My mom caught me up in a hug before I could make it to the stairs. "I'm glad you're okay. And I hope you feel better when you wake up." My mom wished me well, finally letting me go so I could go to my bedroom.

I hurried upstairs and opened the only window to my room, the one that I had instructed Zane to use to get inside.

I backed up a few steps, putting the bag containing blood bags down and waiting for Zane to jump up to the window. After thirty seconds I started to get impatient, but I kept standing there waiting for him.

A little bit after a minute had passed, there was a light thump on the window, not loud enough to be heard from downstairs, and Zane was standing on the ledge of the window.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" He whispered to me. I gave Zane a confused look, but invited him in anyway. "Please, come inside." I said in a joking matter.

Zane climbed into my room, somehow not looking like a complete fool, and stared at me for a moment. "Did you not know that vampires have to be invited into a human's home?" Zane inquired, tilting his head to the side.

"No. I thought that was a myth." I replied, frowning in thought. I hadn't thought about that since I was turned. "Why haven't I had to be invited in anywhere?" I asked him, trying to reveal whether or not he was joking.

"The only houses you've been in since you were turned were Ash's house and this house. And since you don't have to be invited into a vampire's house, Ash's doesn't count. Did someone invite you in when you got here?" Zane asked me, but I couldn't remember. That was a week ago.

"I'm not sure. It's been awhile." I replied, already knowing what Zane was going to say.

"Someone had to invite you inside." Zane mused before falling silent, sliding his hands into his jean pockets and looking around my bedroom curiously.

I suddenly felt self conscious, wondering what Zane thought of the space I called my room. I glanced around quickly, mentally searching for anything that I had forgotten to put away.

My room was as clean as it was going to get with a few things on my dresser, an unmade bed, and nothing on the floor except for my shoes.

"So you live in the attic?" Zane questioned, his tone of voice conveying sympathy like expected.

"Yeah, but I like it up here. It was made to be a bedroom anyway. There's a closet and a bathroom." I said, pointing to the different areas of my room.

"What's that door lead to?" Zane asked, nodding towards the extra door.

"That's the storage area. Half of the attic is mine and the other half is for storage." I explained to Zane. The attic was the whole upstairs area, so my bedroom was a fair space.

"What do we do if someone comes up here to talk to you?" Zane asked me, wisely thinking ahead.

"Um... you can hide in the storage room. No one ever goes in there." I suggested.

I knew the next thing to be asked would be where will Zane sleep, but I didn't want to discuss it then. It would be awful for Zane if he slept in the storage room that doesn't have air conditioning.

Then the perfect question popped into my head to change the subject completely. "So how's Ash doing?" I asked Zane, not being able to help worrying about if he's forgiven himself yet.

"Same as when you saw him last." Zane answered, presumably speaking with double meaning because he knew what I really wanted to ask. Has Ash forgiven himself for attacking me and Zane?

"I left his house after I figured out that you left. Ash texts me every day to see how things are going. He hasn't texted yet today, so he doesn't know that I found you." Zane told me, making my heart ache at the pain I caused within two people I cared a lot about.

I kept a straight face as realization dawned on me. "Do you think Ash will answer if you called him?"

"Maybe. Why?" Zane posed the question innocently, unsure of what I was getting at.

I knew he wasn't going to like it, but I needed to try to make something better. "Could I use your phone to call Ash? He won't answer if I use my phone."

"Alicia, I don't think that's a good idea." Zane cautioned softly, stepping towards me to probably comfort me. I casted my eyes to the ground, standing firm and unmoving.

"He's still extremely upset over what happened." Zane told me carefully. "But then, who can blame him? I'd be upset if I hurt you. I'd be devastated, actually. Even if it was out of my control." Zane confessed, but I wasn't about to give up. I needed to talk to Ash.

"He doesn't deserve to be miserable, Zane. Yes, Ash should've told us ahead of time about his bipolar tendencies. Mistakes were made, but everyone's still here. The only thing wrong now is that we split up. If I could've, I would have stayed with Ash at least until he forgave himself." I said fiercely but not aggressively, believing every word while also wishing things were different.

"I know." Zane whispered clearly conflicted on what to do or say. I could tell that Zane didn't like Ash and he hated what happened to me.

Technically, I died that night by Ash's hand for the second time when he snapped my neck. But I healed and awoke not too long afterwards. Everything turned out okay, so I wished we could put the past behind us.

"Please, Zane. Let me talk to him." I pleaded, hating that I had to have his permission to help my hurting friend.

I gazed at Zane imploringly, watching carefully as his hand twitched at his side. It was the sort of nervous twitch that I noticed about Zane during my time in captivity.

"Fine. But promise me something first." Zane requested, confusing me to the point of frustration. I held that back and kept my voice soft, the way it had been for the whole conversation in an attempt to not be heard by my family.

I told them I was going to bed so they'd leave me alone, but if they heard me they might come check to make sure I was alright.

"Sure, Zane. What is it?" I said, feeling a bit uneasy but at the same time trusting Zane. Besides, how can you have a good relationship without trust and honesty?

Zane closed the rest of the distance between us, gazing at me so seriously that it almost caught me off guard. "Promise me that if you are with Ash and something happens, even if I'm there, you'll run the other way." Zane spoke with conviction while searching my face with his dark blue eyes, determining what I was thinking by my expression.

So I glanced down with uncertainty, knowing only that I wouldn't leave Zane if he was in danger. "I'm not sure if I can promise that, Zane. Not if you or anyone else I care about is in trouble." I whispered to the floor, not daring to look up in case I saw anger in his eyes.

Zane rested his fingers underneath my chin, gently lifting my gaze up to meet his. "Alicia, you're all I care about. I don't have anyone else. So if we're in trouble and I tell you to run, please do it."

The world slowed down at Zane's raw voice, only focused on that and the warmth of his light touch against my face. I could hardly believe what Zane just said, that he has no one. Everyone should have someone. I had Zane, Ash, and my family, at least for the most part. That's when I remembered what Zane had revealed about his family.

I'd love to talk to Zane about whether or not he was going to visit his mom soon and ask what happened to his dad, but I couldn't be sidetracked just then. Not that it wasn't important, I just needed to talk to Ash first.

"Alright, Zane." I whispered, watching as he visibly relaxed, only to cause him to stress more because of the words I uttered next. "I can promise to run, but not to run away. I can run for help, or to pretend like I'm leaving to trick an enemy, but I won't leave you."

Zane sighed, his fingers leaving my chin as his hand fell to his side. He should've known I wouldn't concede to that. I didn't leave Ash when Zane was pretending to be evil and had Ash captive. I had been escaping before I was informed that Zane had Ash. Then I turned around and came back to save Ash.

"I guess I can live with that." Zane announced, breaking me out of the past. So much had changed since that wretched day.

I grinned at Zane, suddenly wondering when I'd become so emotional. What happened to the cold exterior girl that I'd been just a few weeks ago? Would I become an emotional wreck because I had a boyfriend that makes me happier than I'd been before? Is this some sort of sick game where my happiness unlocked the rest of my emotions?

I somehow managed to keep the smile on my face and shoved the panicked thoughts away. Then I grabbed Zane's hands and leaned forward to kiss him joyfully, wanting to enjoy his company as long as I had it.

When I pulled away, Zane kept our hands linked, staring down at them with a hint of a smile. He's usually not good with sharing emotions either. We both used to have cold exteriors. Now, not so much.

"So can I use your phone?" I repeated my questions for the last time. This was it. Now or never. Yes or no.

Zane reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "I guess one phone call won't hurt. But don't be disappointed if he doesn't want to talk to you." Zane cautioned as he slowly handed me his cell.

I snatched it away with a playful scowl. "Of course I won't be. He'll talk to me." Then I went to contacts and hit Ash's name without hesitation.

"Is that so? Then why do you have to use my phone?" Zane teased.

"Shhh!" I responded quickly when the phone began to ring as I waited for Ash to pick up and turned away from Zane, even though he could hear every word either of us said.

"Zane." Ash said in a neutral tone. "Did you find her?" Ash added almost as an afterthought, his voice the same bland that he answered with.

"Yes, he did." I replied, glancing over my shoulder to check on Zane. I knew without a doubt that he'd be listening. Zane had wandered over to my desk and sat in my office chair.

"Alicia?" Ash exclaimed in a shocked voice.

I turned away from Zane to focus on the conversation at hand, resisting the urge to clear my throat before speaking. I realized then that I hadn't thought of what to say.

"Yeah. Zane arrived a little bit ago." I decided to leave out the part about the hospital visit.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone that made me worry. I listened closely, finding that I could hear what Ash was doing. A steady beat was playing, but I knew it couldn't be Ash's heart. No vampire has a heartbeat.

"Is he there with you now?" Ash asked loudly, almost causing me to jump because I'd been so focused on the noise. It was Ash's footsteps.

"Yes, I am." Zane replied from across the room. It amazed me how well they could hear. I was only a beginner so I had to focus to hear what's near Ash.

"Of course. You can't even speak to me without him hovering, can you Alicia?" Ash snapped angrily.

"No. I mean, that's not it. We're at my house and my parents don't know he's here. He can't leave." I tried explaining but it only made Ash angrier.

"Is that the excuse he told you?" Ash retorted. I shook my head, refusing to let this go on. "That's not what I called for. I want to know how you are and what you've been up to."

Ash did as I hoped he would and calmed down a bit. "I'm walking to the store for groceries. Zane ate all of my food."

Zane growled, "No I didn't." I sighed as the tension rose in the room. Why couldn't they get along? I could almost touch the polluted air that's a result of their fighting. Then I realized I could actually feel it prickling against my skin, getting stronger by the second.

My eyes widened as I understood, shame rushing through me because of the stupidity of my unawareness. "Alicia, what's wrong?" Zane asked me in concern, standing from his seat and coming over to me.

"There's a vampire." I whispered, glancing around in a panic with the phone held up to my ear. I could hear the pounding of Ash's footsteps as he went silent.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked for elaboration. "I don't hear any." Zane told me, taking my hand in his. There had to be vampires near. My head was screaming "danger" at me, but I was more worried about Ash who's alone outside. "I can sense dangerous vampires. It's a telepathy thing. Just trust me."

But why would I worry more about Ash over me and Zane? Ash was hours away, nowhere near us.

"Zane." I said slowly, my brain being shocked into action. "Do you think I could be sensing it over the phone?" I asked, not really sure why I was asking him.

"Maybe." Zane replied, squeezing my hand and looking extremely confused.

"Ash." I started to say, but I was interrupted by someone speaking to Ash.

"Excuse me, sir. We have a few questions we'd like to ask you." I faintly heard someone, the source of my bad feeling, say to Ash.

"I gotta go." Ash said before hanging up on me.

"Zane, Ash is in trouble. Those were vampires working for Storm. I know it."