I look up into the sky and see the orange moon peeking out from behind the clouds. I look down, and turn into my neighborhood. The wind blows, making my black hair fly in my face.
I walk up the porch steps to my house and dig in my jacket pockets for my house key. I find it, shove it in the key hole, and turn it before opening the door.
“Hey.”
I jump at the sound of a guy’s voice. I turn on the light, ready to kill whoever is in my house!
“Just me,” the man says, unalarmed by the pocket knife in my hand.
It’s Ash! We used to date, but he disappeared. I had no idea where he was, all records of him were gone. He couldn’t have been more erased from life if he fell off the edge of the earth! And I haven’t seen him in two years! “What are you doing? You’re so lucky my parents are gone! How’d you get in my house?”
A long stream of questions are ready to pour out my mouth when he says, “The spare key, under the rock on the side of your house, I can’t believe you still keep it there.” He smiles, running his fingers through his short black hair, which has been cut since I last seen him.
“Where did you go?!” I scream, but I can’t help realizing that he’s... buff–not that he wasn’t before, but… wow.
“It’s… a confusing, long story and I…” He looks at the floor. “I can’t explain.” He looks back up at me, trapping me in his piercing green eyes. He looks away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come in here like I did. I–”
I drop the knife and throw my arms around him, no longer needing an explanation. I’ve forgiven him for everything. I kiss him and any questions I wanted answered, any hatred I had left for him, any sadness that had been balled up inside me, melts away.
He wraps both his arms around my waist and kisses me.
Then, pain surges through me and blood drips down my cheek. I glance up at Ash, he looks horrified by what he’s seeing but he doesn’t seem surprised. And that’s the last thing I see before everything goes black.













~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“I didn’t mean to!” Ash screams. “I’m sorry, I can’t control it.”
My eyes start to open, and I see his face. His expression shows worry and regret and sadness… “What–” I want to ask him what’s going on, what he did, but I can’t force the words out.
He stands up to leave.
“No. Stay.”
“I can’t!” he growls. “There’s something wrong with me!”
I pull him towards me and kiss him but when I do the same pain burns inside me. The pain gets worse before everything–