If you don't wanna read the A.N. Skip the bold part.

A/N: Hey guys thought I drop a small note. Thanks for everyone who's still reading this. You guys rock. I always love to hear opinions and discussions so feel free to pass them through.

This story became one of my fastest read-garnering books compared to how my other books did when they were at the same phase as this one. And by whopping miles so I'm proud and I'm thankful to all of you giving it a chance. It only gets more intense from here and there's no backing out so read on!

Sitting in the back seat of a car- no. Hiding in the back seat of a car was a bit overwhelming. Especially when it's dad who was driving. He always drives his car alone and I don't know why. He had bodyguards and chauffeurs but he always drove alone.

Also it was dark as hell. And perhaps that I was 14 something old didn't help.

I mean yes I was bright for my age, and yes I was taught how to drive, and how to handle a gun for that matter. I knew all those. But that's not what I wanted to know.

What I really wanted to know was a question that I never got an answer to back then.

Why?

Why was I taught driving at this early age?

Why was I trained to use a gun when kids my age where trained to use a bicycle without the extra wheels?

Why do we have secret rooms in our house?

Why was our house bigger than any house I've ever seen?

A lot of questions swirled in my mind for along time, and they went on much more than that.

I knew we were out of town. It felt different. You can tell you're no longer home even if you can't see outside.

When the cars halted to a stop- yes, cars. Because even though dad was driving a car, he was accompanied by at least 2 others.

I was too scared to reveal myself.

Not scared of dad, on the contrary. But scared of the eerie situation I got myself into. I heard a lot of shuffling outside and my heart beat was rising exponentially.

The first time my heart beat this fast since I learnt of Rose's death a few months ago. I was still devastated over it.

It didn't leave my mind not one second.

A few minutes later, and I couldn't hear any sounds or voices. They faded out as they moved away and into the buildings.

Then I was all alone. At least that's what I thought at first.

I unlocked the car door from the inside and got down slowly and warily. I didn't want dad or any of his people to see me. I would've been in so much trouble.

A few looks around, and a bit of wandering, I learned that I was in a place that I deeply feared.

The Devil's Alley.

Hastily wanting to get back to the car, I started walking towards it until a scream for help shot through the night, slicing the silence filling the atmosphere.

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It was around the break of dawn. I eventually fell asleep, knackered by the events of the day. I was adamant on staying up all night, not to be a creepy vampire or a rich sadist, but to be sure that he was all right and needed nothing. He wasn't good. A shell of a person, and I had no idea what would happen if he woke up in the middle of the night, not in his bed, different room, and have a panic attack right here.

But eventually I fell asleep on my bedroom couch, the one by the window. Not counting Raiden, it was my favourite thing in this room- even though Raiden was not a thing.

I read a lot of poetry by this window. It has a direct view of my garden, and if I go to the right side of it, I can see the front yard of Mags and Dell's cottage.

I saw Raiden here for the first time through this window. Though it wasn't the first time I see him. Just the first time here.

His mutters woke me up. I was a light sleeper either way, but he was muttering and mumbling. I was by his side in two quick strides.

Shifting left and right as if he was being tortured. His head was restless as the rest of his body.

"Please don't do it" he begged in his sleep. My heart wrenched. He was dreaming of that day.

"Raiden" I whispered. I didn't want to wake him up harshly for that might make things worse.

"Someone please help" he cried softly while I felt my tears slowly coming up.

"Raiden please wake up" his face was glistening with beads of sweat, despite the cold weather.

"I don't wanna lose it this way. Please let me go"

"Raiden. Please. Wake. Up." I started shaking him softly. His legs were kicking and I wanted to ease his pain so badly.

"Hey it's okay. Hold my hand Raiden" I said and slipped my hand through his. His hand squeezed while his other was in a fist.

Not much time passed as his breath relaxed and his movements slowed.

And then his eyes flipped open, and he shockingly sprung his body upwards.

"T-Thomas?" he asked. Confused as to why I was holding his hand and over his head.

"You were having a nightmare" I explained. Then he noticed our hands and he looked at them, then at me.

"You know when I said you can hold my hand anytime, I didn't mean twenty four seven." he joked, and God I was so relieved.

I coyly started retreating my hand back but he gripped it and let himself sink back into the pillow. He dragged me with him. Bold move, Raiden.

"I want you to sleep with me" he demanded like a small scared child asking to sleep in his parents' bed.

"I can do that" I said.

I slipped under the covers as I was cold. I was lying on my back, and so was he. My bed big enough to fit an elephant or two.

He turned and snaked his hand across my stomach. I scooted closer to him as he tightened his arm around me.

A couple more movements and adjustments and he was sleeping with his head on my chest and my arms blanketing him. He felt warm and rigid. His clothes were damp and soon mine were going to be too. But I didn't care.

Raiden was in my arms and you expect me to care about anything else?

His breath was soft but I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not.

"I missed this" he said. Not asleep.

"I bet you did"

"Thomas" he said, and I could feel it. I could legit feel it. He was about to talk about something that only Raiden would talk about. Something that was going to get me in tears despite the fact that I rarely cry because I'm not that much of an emotional person.

"I had always wondered about how would it have been if I didn't pass through all of this. That my life would've been different and everything would've been different. I would've lived somewhere else and had friends maybe and maybe even a pet."

"I'm sorry. I can't do much about the past, though I wish I could"

"No. I don't want anything to ulter the past not one bit." it was weird and for a second I thought he was sleep talking.

He went through hell and he didn't want it to change.

"Because," he stopped taking for a while after that then continued; falling in and out of sleep. "any change in the paths of our lives could.... Alter our whole.... Future.... And in the probability of things.... There is a future.... Without you in it...."

Sometime through the final bits of night I fell asleep again, and then woke up at the later stages of mornings, and went to my couch again. Looking at my flowers from the height of my bedroom made them look so... Flowy.

I did not feel Raiden get up or hear him say anything if he did. But I did see him eventually when he got up and sat opposite of me on the couch. My legs were bent and so were his, forming an 'M' shape with our feets slightly touching.

He looked down where I was looking.

"They look so peaceful" I said.

"Something I wish my mind was" Raiden added.

More soon x