2- Dream or Memory

I woke up in a cold sweat in my bed. I shook my head hard and reminded myself that it was the twenty-first century not the seventeenth. I slowly got up still trying to shake the dream away. When I got to my closest I grabbed my tight jeans and a tank top throwing a sweater on over it. Then I did my hair and makeup and headed downstairs.

“Hey what’s wrong, Cleo?” my twin, Edlyn, asked.

“Just had another dream,” I whispered shaking my head.

“Was that guy still in it?” she asked. It was always the same guy in every dream whether it took place in the cave men days or the seventeenth century. I always woke up before I got a name though.

“Yes.” I nodded as we got to Mom.

“Good morning girls you slept late again.” She said.

“When’s Dad going to be home?” Edlyn asked glaring at her they couldn’t ever get along.

“I don’t know Jane Edlyn so quite asking me.” Mom snapped.

“Come on Edlyn let’s just get to school.” I sighed before they could get into a full blown fight. We grabbed our morning cappuccinos and muffins and then got into our convertible.

“So did you get his name this time?” she asked as I put my head on the rest and closed my eyes.

“No.” I shook my head and we were silent.

“Wake up Cleo we’re here!” Edlyn laughed and I popped my eyes open.

“Sorry I was trying to get the name of that guy it’s killing me.”

“Well did you?”

“No the memories come at random times.” I shook my head as we walked through the halls of the school.

“Daphne Cleopatra Swift did you just say memories?” Edlyn accused.

“Jane Edlyn Swift it was a slip of the tongue.” I snapped.

“Who’s Jane and Daphne?” My best friend, Sarah, asked laughing.

“Edlyn’s first name.” I smiled mischievously.
“Cleo’s real name.” Edlyn glared at me but I wasn’t paying attention because we’d finally fought through the crowd’s to our locker and the hottest guy in the world was waiting for me.
“Hey beautiful,” He said in his sexy Italian voice. It was one of my favorite parts of dating a foreign exchange student.

“Hi.” I whispered hugging him tightly he pulled my face up and kissed me softly before just holding me.

“You had one of those dreams again. Didn’t you?” Damon asked as I held on tighter.

“Yes.” I whispered.

“Let me guess rich… beautiful… father’s famous…”

“Yeah,” I laughed, “Only this time it was the seventeenth century… Micajah and Edlyn were in it… and Dad was rich and an advisor to the King.”

“Unlike now where your father is rich and a famous actor.”

“Yes.” I laughed again.

“Maybe you should go see somebody about the dreams.” Edlyn suggested.

“No!” Micajah and Damon said together.

“Why not?!” Edlyn asked angry that even her boyfriend had turned the idea down so quickly.

“Because the press would get hold of the fact that Cleo was seeing somebody and they’d make it sound like she was crazy.” Damon explained.

“You’re always looking after me.” I smiled happily standing on my toes to kiss him again.

“That’s my job.” He smiled at me when he pulled away.

“I love you.” I promised as Micajah and Edlyn left us.

“I love you too.” He promised. I walked into the room with Sarah then and smiled happily as we sat down.

“Okay so today’s the Romeo and Juliet exam. This test is going to be extremely difficult and I don’t expect anyone to get an A…”

“He must not know that about your movie.” Sarah laughed as she whispered to me.

“I guess not. Or it could just be that hard.”

“If it’s hard enough that you can’t pass it after staring as Juliet in the new movie and having to memorize the entire play we are all in some deep doo doo.” I laughed a little too loud at that and she laughed with me.

“Ms. Swift? Ms. Lamoure? Do I need to move the two of you?” the teacher asked.

“No Mr. Henson we’re sorry.” We said together hiding giggles as he handed us our tests.

“That’s it Ms. Swift my desk please.” He said and I got up with the whole class laughing and sat at his desk. I finished the test in fifteen minutes with no problems like every other test I ever took. I tried to pretend like I was concentrating though. “Ms. Swift concentrate.” He said over my shoulder but then he saw the test done. I was glad he had waited at least thirty minutes into class to come and check up on me. “You won’t mind if I grade this now do you Ms. Swift?” he asked

“Of course not Mr. Henson it’s your class I just sit in it.” I shrugged and people giggled everybody positive he had no idea about my premier tonight. It would be my first and more than likely last movie. I wanted to be a lawyer it was Edlyn that couldn’t ever decide what to do with her life. I sat still ignoring his pen as he went through and graded the test.

“How in the… world… it’s impossible…” he whispered.

“Well what’s the verdict Mr. Henson?”

“Did you actually listen during some of my classes?”

“Why would you think I didn’t?”

“The fact that you talk to Sarah every second of class.”

“Come on Mr. Henson surely you don’t really live under a stone…” somebody said from the back.

“Yeah she starred in the new Romeo and Juliet movie.” Somebody else said and he looked at me.

“That’s how you got a hundred on my test?”

“I got a hundred because of your excellent teaching skills.” I argued with him but then the bell rang and I shot up running outside.

“How was your test?” Damon asked.

“I didn’t think I told you I had a test.”

“But I know so how did you do?”

“A hundred it was on Romeo and Juliet. I almost had Mr. Henson convinced I listened when people informed him about the movie.” I frowned.

“Speaking of the movie what time do you want me to pick you up for the premier?”

“Five that should give me enough time to get ready,” I smiled.

“Okay afterwards we’re going to go talk.”

“Are we?”

“Unless you don’t want to?” he asked. I sighed he knew better than to think I was going to pass up on any alone time.

“What type of talking are we going to do?” I asked smiling.

“Well we have to talk but afterwards if you aren’t too mad there might be some of the other kind.”

“Why would I be mad?”

“We’ll talk about it later.” He promised as class started. As the day went on he got increasingly quiet not even talking to me most of the day. He walked me to my car though and as Edlyn got into the passenger side I turned to him.

“Getting ready can wait… we’re talking now, Damon…” I whispered letting him know how much his mood had bothered me all day.

“Okay then let’s go in my car.” He nodded pulling me into his side and starting to walk.

“When should I tell Mom you’ll be home?” Edlyn called out to me.

“Later I’ll be home in time to get ready.” I told her then just wrapped my arm back around Damon and finished the walk to his car. I sat on the far side of the car on the way to our usual make out spot scared of whatever he was going to tell me that would make me mad. I never got mad and it was even more rare that it was at him.

“Cleo, I should have told you all of this earlier as soon as you started getting your memories.”

“Memories?” I asked and then remembered my slip this morning, “You mean dreams, Damon.” I nodded.

“No when you slip and say memories it’s you trying to tell yourself the truth. Those dreams are all of your memories from your past lives.”

“You were in all of my past lives.” I smiled,

“How’d we end up being born at the same time every time?”

“We weren’t, Edlyn… I don’t have past lives.” He shook his head.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not reincarnated, Edlyn, because I never die… I’m a vampire and this ring makes it where I can come out in the sun and not sparkle.” He pointed to the old high school ring from his high school in Spain.

“I don’t understand how your high school ring can do that.” I admitted.

“The stone inside it is pretty common but most vampires don’t know the secret. Only witches do.”

“So my dreams are memories of us together in all of my past lives?”

“Yes and since you have them this life… that means you are a witch.”

“Wait I’m a witch… you’re a vampire?” I asked confused.

“I know it’s confusing, Cleo, but it’s the only way you would have all of your memories and know when people are telling the truth and know the answers to every test.”

“Okay Damon I never told you any of that stuff.”

“I can read minds… not yours I would have told you long before now if I could invade your privacy like that.” He whispered.

“How do you know about me being able to know when people are telling the truth then?” I asked.

“It’s one of the first powers a witch gets and if you couldn’t you would be fighting me about this like you have every other life before now.”

“So…” I trailed off looking at him.

“That’s all of it.” He promised and I crawled over the seats to move into his lap. He picked me up halfway there and just placed me gently where I wanted to be.

“Can I ask another question before we drop all this talk?” I asked and he chuckled knowing exactly what I wanted to move onto.

“Of course you can.” He smiled kissing my forehead and I had to wait for my thoughts to reconnect reminding myself that after almost a year that was really getting old. He should be able to at least kiss my forehead and my thoughts stay on track.

“Your question?” he reminded me on my neck and I shivered next to his cold breath never having felt anything better and held myself closer.

“Is this… like… passed down?” I asked forcing my thoughts together even though he refused to help and move his lips away.

“Yes.” He nodded pulling away, “If you want to find out who the witch is in your family you’ll have to look on your dad’s side.”

“How am I supposed to do that nobody knows when he’s going to be finished filming?”

“I’ll help you if you really want to find them.”

“I do I’d like to learn how to use these powers since I have them.”

“Then we’ll have to start by looking for somebody that just went missing on your Dad’s side so they don’t have a death certificate.”

“Okay we can start tomorrow.” I smiled. He seemed to understand that I was ending the conversation now because he put his lips on mine gently. He pulled me closer to him as I leaned into the kiss eagerly.