A/N:
Date 7-10-17

Hey everyone! For this chapter, I did something different.

After reading this chapter to edit it, I was inspired to make the picture myself. So I did!

The picture above was made by me with a bit of editing. I made Zane and Alicia's names based off of their contrasting eye colors :)

Word Count: 2390

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Chapter 42: Unveiling Names

I went down the hall and stopped in front of his door, which was identical to mine. I knocked lightly on the door, knowing he'd hear it loud and clear, but there was no answer. I knocked again. Still no answer. Fearing the worst, I barged in and found Ash sitting on his bed with his back to me. "Ash?" He didn't move or say anything. I took a few steps forward. "Ash." I said, louder this time. "What?" Ash finally said. I breathed a sigh of relief, then walked over so I stood in front of him. "I wanted to talk to you. I want you to know that what happened wasn't your fault."

"Of course it was my fault! I hurt you!" Ash yelled. I flinched, but didn't move. "It wasn't you, and I knew that the whole time! I promise that I don't blame you at all!" I told Ash honestly. "Unless you're going to tell me how horrible I am, I want you to go away. Leave and don't talk to me anymore. In fact, find somewhere else to stay because I'm dangerous!" Ash said miserably. I sat on my knees on the floor so I could see his face. "I know you don't mean that." I said gently, trying to get him to listen. "Yes I do! Go away! Leave me alone!"

"No! I won't until you stop this! I'm fine! Zane is fine! No one's hurt, Ash. Everyone is fine." Ash only shook his head. "Fine then." I said firmly, standing up. "If you decide you want to talk, come get me." Then I walked away. I could tell when I wasn't wanted. But I knew Ash would come around. He had to. I found Zane leaning against the wall in the hallway outside of Ash's room. Without me having to say anything, Zane took my hand and pulled me away. As we entered the kitchen my stomach grumbled.

I hadn't known I was hungry before, but Zane had. I smiled tiredly at him, trying to show my appreciation even though I felt down. I wished Ash wouldn't blame himself. Zane guided me over to the kitchen table and told me to sit. I tried to protest but he just shook his head. "I'll make my lunch specialty." Zane told me with a mischievous smile. It was good that Zane knew how to cook, because I certainly didn't. I'd always lived off sandwiches and my mom's cooking. I felt a pang in my heart and realized I missed her.

Maybe I should've ignored the secrets instead of ignoring her. I only felt slightly better thinking that I'd been closer to my mom than I'd been to my dad. I actually spoke to my mom. If you could believe it, my dad was more distant than I'd ever been. I watched Zane get out his ingredients. There was bread, cheese slices, and butter. Zane set a couple of paper plates, a pan and a butter knife on the counter. "You're making grilled cheese sandwiches?" I asked Zane, surprised at his choice. He'd made it sound like he was making something fancier than that.

Zane gave me an incredulous look. "Of course! That's my lunch specialty." I guessed my expression wasn't awed enough for him, so Zane went on defending his food. "Don't hate it till you've ate it." I laughed at that, thinking it was ironic that he'd use such a stupid sounding expression. He just didn't feel like that type of guy to me. But I was learning more about him every day. When Zane finished cooking, he sat down with me to eat his creations. I took a bite as he watched expectantly.

I chewed my bite of bread and gooey cheese self consciously with him staring so intently at me. "So...?" Zane said questioningly. I had just swallowed. "It's good." I said with a smile. "Of course it is." Zane replied confidently. And it actually was. Zane managed to cook the sandwiches perfectly so that the bread had a slight crunch but wasn't burnt. And the cheese was melted at the right point so it hadn't turned into liquid. We finished our perfect lunch in silence. It was a nice quiet.

I helped Zane wipe off the kitchen counter so it was clean again. When we finished, Zane turned to me with a serious expression. He leaned on the counter with his right hand and I stood in front of him. "Do you want to go out with me tonight for dinner?" Zane asked me. I was shocked, wondering what he was really asking. "Like as a date?" "Yeah, a date. Just you and me." Zane said with a happy smile, like I'd already said yes. I hesitated for a moment, trying to think about what a first date would be like.

"Yes, I'd love that." I told Zane with a confident grin, though I wasn't sure. I was actually getting nervous. "Great. I saw a restaurant that I wanted to try out." "Okay." I replied. "Did you want to sit in the living room and watch a movie together?" Zane asked after pausing for a second. "Actually, I think I should be alone in my room for a little while." "Okay. So dinner at 6pm?" Zane asked me. "Sounds good." I told him before leaving to go to my room. I was supposed to talk to my family, but I didn't feel like it after everything that's happened.

When I entered my room, I immediately turned into the bathroom to see how bad I looked. My hair was messy and my clothes were filthy. Why did I kiss Zane looking like this? After taking a shower in my bathroom and putting new clothes on, I didn't know what to do. I looked at the clock, which said it was 1:53pm. I had a lot of time to spare. I spent some of my time staring at my phone. I was lucky that I hadn't brought it on our trip to get our hair cut, because it would've most likely been broken.

I contemplated the pros and cons of talking to my family. I didn't have to talk to all of them, but I didn't know who to choose. I could talk to Lucy any time, which I hadn't. But I missed everyone from my family. In the end I decided not to talk to anyone. I just wasn't ready, not that I thought I ever would be. I didn't know what to do after that. There wasn't a TV in my room, and I didn't want to play games by myself. I sat on my bed and messed with my phone. There wasn't much to do on it though. I didn't have internet so I couldn't get games.

All I had was my contacts list. I saw Ash's name in the list, so Ash must've entered his number when we got the phones and I asked for help setting mine up. I also saw Zane's number, which made me smile because Ash had been considerate enough to put it on my phone. I put in a couple of phone numbers that I knew. I decided not to put my dad's number in because I didn't want to talk to him. But I put my mom's and Jake's numbers in. Lucy didn't have a phone yet, but I still made a contact profile for her.

That made me feel better as I leaned against the wooden headboard on my bed. I closed my eyes and listened to my surroundings. At first I only heard breathing in the house. Then I mentally stretched my senses, and I heard things outside of the cabin. Birds chirped, leaves crunched, and the wind blew. It was peaceful outside. I sighed and closed my eyes, wanting to slow my jumbled thoughts. I found I was tired, even though I'd slept for almost a whole day. I opened my eyes and made a decision. I could sleep until my date, as long as I got up in time. With an alarm set on my phone, I lay down and drifted off to sleep.

Images flashed underneath my closed eyelids as I slept. I was dreaming for the first time in weeks that I could remember. I was woken up not by my alarm, but by my mother yelling my name. I sat up in bed to very familiar surroundings. I was in my bedroom at home, the house I lived in with my family. "Alicia, I said dinner's ready!" "I'm not hungry!" I replied immediately. It was true, I wasn't hungry. But my throat burned with thirst and I knew I shouldn't go anywhere near my very human mom.

Suddenly my mom was in front of me, leaning against the doorway. She looked worn out. "I need you to come downstairs and eat a meal with your family." As I stared at her I couldn't possibly say no. The scene changed and I was eating dinner at the kitchen table, fighting off a migraine unsuccessfully. Images suddenly blurred together in pain. I was on the floor, faces swirling around my head. The last thing I saw was a hospital bed, then blood. I jerked up with a yell as I realized someone was in my room in the cabin.

They grabbed my arms and pulled me towards them. That's when I realized tears were streaming down my face. I forced myself to calm down. It was only a dream. A crazy dream. "It's okay. You're okay now." Zane told me. I relaxed in his embrace and pretended like everything was normal. It's much easier that way. Zane broke my "normal" when he asked the obvious questions. "What happened? What's wrong?" I shook my head, feeling guilty for worrying him. "It was just a dream. I'm fine, like you said." I pulled back slightly and smiled up at Zane.

"I'm fine, Zane." I told him fervently. "What did you dream about?" Zane asked me. I sighed and moved away, running my fingers through my hair. It wasn't too tangled from sleep, so I was at least happy about that. "I was back at my house, and I was really thirsty. I was sitting eating dinner with my family, when this pain started in my head. Suddenly it wasn't just my head, there was pain everywhere. I saw a hospital and blood, then I woke up to you." Zane looked thoughtful as I watched him.

"So... Are you going to say something?" I asked him. Zane laughed, clearly amused. "I have no idea what to say. It could've been a prophetic dream, but I'm not sure. You can't go back to your house, so it must've been an ordinary dream." I nodded in agreement. "Wait! What time is it?" I looked around for my phone, but Zane answered me first. "Relax, it's only 4:58pm right now. In case you were worrying you'd missed our date." Zane said with a wild grin. "I wouldn't miss it! I had an alarm." I told him while being mockingly defensive.

Zane laughed at my efficiency and I smiled happily. "Since I'm already awake, can I ask you a question?" "You just did." Zane told me pointedly. I smacked his arm playfully and said, "You know what I mean!" His smile widened and he replied, "Go ahead." "Okay, I was wondering if you knew Ash's real name. I thought I heard you yell it, but I want to make sure I got it right." Zane's smile dropped away and he looked down. He's definitely angry at Ash. "I snooped around the cabin the day you were at the store."

"And I found his birth certificate. His full name is Ashton Nelson Wilton." "Wow, that's a mouthful." I said teasingly. It made Zane smile again, which made me feel better. "So that's what snapped Ash out of it?" Zane nodded and said, "Yeah, you were right. But why would his name bring him back?" "Because it connects Ash to his humanity. It helps him fight off the monstrous side of him." I explained to Zane. "Yeah, well it didn't work fast enough." Zane said bitterly. "Hey, it wasn't his fault." I said defensively.

"But it'll be hard to let it go." Zane admitted to me. I wrapped my arms around Zane and stared into his eyes. It was easy to be calm and happy around him. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. Zane immediately rested his hands on my hips and reflected my grin. Emotions churned like ocean waves in his dark blue eyes, and I loved seeing the variety of his feelings. Zane always kept his locked away, but in moments like this with me, he lets his walls down. I hope we will have a lot of time together to get to know each other better.

Zane leaned over and kissed me, pulling both of us onto our knees. My hands were resting on his back, and I felt the ridges of his spine through his shirt. I couldn't help thinking about Ash snapping Zane's spine in the woods. I could've lost Zane and Ash if Zane wasn't strong enough to stop Ash. I needed to get stronger and better at telepathy. That reminded me that I still had a few more question to ask Zane. I pulled away from him and sat back down on the bed. He sat next to me patiently until I spoke. "What's your full name?" I asked Zane.

He looked into my light blue eyes that so contrasted his and said, "Zane Elias Byne." I smiled tentatively at Zane, loving that I finally knew his full name. "That has a nice ring to it." I told Zane. He just replied, "What about you? What's your full name?" "Alicia Marie Chase." I told Zane. A lot of people knew my first and middle name, that's why the vampires I've met have called me Alicia Marie. But I wanted Zane to know my entire name, to have no secrets, no matter how small. But I knew it would take much more than a couple of questions to know everything about each other.