Down On My Knees

Hi, everyone! I know! I know! You're probably all ready to kill me for not finishing the story by now! I am so sorry! I've been having a lot of personal problems that made it hard for me to continue writing. I know it must have been really frustrating having to wait so long for the next chapter, but all that waiting has paid off. I promise that I continue writing and finish this story as soon as possible. Thank you for being so patient and for continuing to love my story after all this time.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Drake Chronicles or any of its characters. I wish I did.

RECAP

"Welcome, Quinn Drake."

He turned to look at us. We were speechless. We went slowly entered the farmhouse. Everyone could tell there was something off about the house. Everything was the same. The only thing that was off was the lack of dust. Marcus turned on the flashlight he got from his truck.

Logan and Nicholas headed toward the stairs. Marcus threw them flashlights as we continued to scan the house. I decided to go with them and trailed behind them up the stairs. As we got to the top, we split up so I went with Logan to search the attic as Nicholas scanned this level.

Chapter 6

Solange

Saturday, Midnight

I followed carefully behind Logan as we continued to make our way up to the attic. Suddenly, the lights went out and I slammed right into Logan.

"What the hell, Logan! Why'd you stop?" I hissed at him as I rubbed my aching nose.

"The flashlight died. Let's just wait for Nicholas to come up." Logan replied as he turned to go back downstairs.

"Why can't we grab another flashlight?" I asked as I followed him down.

"Marcus doesn't have that many flashlights, Princess! If you haven't noticed, nobody would have thought that we would have to sneak into our own house." He quipped sharply.

"No need to get your panties in a bunch! I was just asking." I mumbled under my breath as we spotted Nicholas coming from back from his inspection.

He looked at us questioningly. Logan just lifts the flashlight in his left hand to give Nicholas a hint. Nicholas just nods and keeps a blank expression.

"You guys go report to the rest that second floor is clear, while I head up to the attic." Nicholas says heading for the stairs without giving us much as a glance.

"I'll go with you," Logan interjects as he heads for the stairs too.

I stop him, grabbing his arm.

"Don't. Let's just do what he says. He's got it." I say quietly as I lead Logan downstairs to the main floor.

Nicholas looks like he needs some time alone. Although I know it isn't a good idea because there could be someone in the house, but I know Nicholas can handle it. Maybe a little fight could help Nicholas get his anger out. I have never seen him like this before. He has been avoiding everyone since we left Lucy here a year ago. He cut himself off from everyone ever since Lucy was kidnapped. He never once mentioned his concern for her even after the incident. I just hope that Lucy will forgive him for everything he did.

Nicholas

Saturday, Midnight

I walk quietly up the stairs to the attic, as my stealth would let me. The main floor and the second floor are clear so the person who broke into the house is either here or in the basement. I turn off the flashlight as I reach the top of the staircase. My trained eyes are already searching and taking in the appearance of the attic. The attic looks like we had never left. Suddenly, a pleasant yet unforgettable scent enters my nose.

Lemon and Cherry Bubble gum.

…

Lucy.

It's her scent. I would recognize it anywhere. My mind began to wander off to Lucy and how much I loved her. Images and memories flooded my mind as her smile, her recklessness, and her smart remarks all flashed by like a film. I smiled gently as the fond memories continued on. I snapped out of it when I remembered that someone broke in the house and shook the feeling off.

Lucy moved on already. What are you doing?

I continued searching the attic and slowly walked down the hallway connected our bedrooms. When I reach the bathroom at the end of the hall, I realize that there is no one up here. I shrug and turn around to go back downstairs when I hear a thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

It was the sound of a beating heart.

I try to find where it is coming from as slowly inch closer to the sound. I find myself in front of the door to my room. My eyes harden as I grab a stake from my back pocket. I leave the flashlight on the floor as my left hand grasps the doorknob. I grip the stake in my hand while, I try to figure out what I should do if someone is in there. They'd have a greater advantage because I wouldn't be able to defend myself so quickly after opening the door.

I'm about to push the door open when I see Sebastian at the stairs. He gives me a confused look when he sees that I am gripping the doorknob. My eyes flicker to his as I glare at my door and give him a hard stare. He catches on and hurries over with stakes in his own hands.

I signal him that I'll open the door on the count of three and he nods, keeping his eyes on the door.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" I whisper harshly as we busted into the room.

Surprisingly, there were no flying stakes or weapons coming right at us. However, my eyes freeze at the sight of a big lump on my bed. Confused, I look at Sebastian and he gives me a similar look that is on my own face. I cautiously take small steps towards my bed as my brother follows closely behind. The lump is moving up and down. It's breathing. The white covers are covering the person and I reach out to pull the covers back.

I give Sebastian a look as he nods once again, understanding the signal. I pull the covers back and freeze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sebastian freeze as his eyes widened. Under the white blanket was a petite girl with long brown hair.

She was Lucy Hamilton.

Never would I have thought I would ever see her again. I didn't want her to ever find me and I wasn't ever going to seek her out. Not now, not ever. Everything we would have done for her would have amounted to nothing if I ever went looking for her. Still frozen in my spot, Sebastian pats my shoulder as he leaves the room and closes the door behind him.

I take small steps towards my bed and observe the girl in sleeping peacefully in my bed. Lucy's hair had grown longer and now had curls that flowed down to her shoulders. Her stature is now slimmer than when I last saw her. It looked like I could break her into two with just my fingertips. Her face lost all its baby fat, leaving only a sharp and defined jaw line in its wake. Her delighted face looked worn and tired yet peaceful as she continued to sleep.

Before I could control myself, I found myself caressing her cheek softly. I stiffened as I felt her move, but relaxed when she didn't wake up. Instead, she leaned into the warmth of my hand and reached up to hold my hand with her own. She sighed in contentment as a small smile appeared on her pretty face. I felt myself becoming lost in the moment and decided to take my hand back. As I moved to do so, she woke up in panic.

"Nicholas!" She gasped as she jolted up from the bed.

"Lucy." I spoke softly as I stared at her dishevelled state.

"I thought I would never see you again. I'm so thankful that I can still see you here." Lucy whispered as her hand reached up to caress my cheek.

She froze at the contact. Her eyes widened as she continued to stare at me. Then she quickly withdrew her hand and water started forming in her eyes.

"No, it can't be!" She exclaimed in disbelief as her hands came up to cover her face.

Seeing her so panicked, I grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from her face. Her eyes had a frenzied look in them that frightened me. Lucy was never like this. Not even when Solange was on the verge of death.

"Lucy! What's wrong?" I questioned anxiously.

"It's not real! It's just a dream! He won't come back for you! You're dreaming again! You're hallucinating!" She told herself as tears streamed down her face.

"Lucy, tell me what's the matter!" I demanded as I stared at her worriedly.

"You, Nicholas, that's what's wrong!" She exclaimed with urgency.

Lucy

He couldn't come back. No, he wouldn't come back for me. Lucy, you're such a stupid girl. How many times are you going to do this to yourself? Why can't you stop dreaming of him? He's not coming back! He's never going to! So you shouldn't wait for his ass to come back. No more wishful thinking!

I felt myself on the brink of insanity. It was already twice this week that I had recurring dreams about Nicholas coming back and apologizing for leaving. He hasn't come home since he left. There's no reason for him to come back. He doesn't love you anymore… Remember?

I lifted my head to look at him once again. I could see worry etched into those gray misty eyes that I loved so much. This is probably a dream, but he felt so real. It has to be a dream. He wouldn't come back for me. I felt tears rush down my face as I continued to stare at the angel before me.

"Lucy, tell me what's the matter!" He demanded as he stared into my eyes.

I felt myself losing control.

"You, Nicholas, that's what's wrong!" I exclaimed harshly as I continued to weep.

"What's wrong with me?" He questioned me, confused.

"You're not real! I'm always dreaming about you and it hurts! It hurts so much that I can't breathe." I choked out between sobs.

Suddenly, I was pulled into a tight embrace. Strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me towards him. My head immediately found its place in the crook of his neck. It seemed like my body knew where it belonged after all this time. My hands turned into fists as I gripped onto the front of his shirt.

"I'm real! I'm here!" He whispered softly in my ear.

He felt so real. Everything about him came rushing into my head. Everything from his crooked smile to the way his eyes softened. The things I loved most about him that I kept locked so tightly in my memories were filling my mind. In the midst of my disbelief, I still hoped that this dream would continue for just a little longer.

Nicholas pulled back to watch my face as he started wiping away my tears. I sniffled before pulling away from his embrace. The fact that he was here started to seep in as we sat in silence. He was observing me with curious eyes and I doing the same.

"Why are you here? Why did you come back? Why now?" I asked softly, looking down and fidgeting with my fingers.

"Solange… She wanted to come back. She wanted to see you."

I bit back the words that were screaming to spill from my lips. Did he not want to see me? If it weren't for Solange, would I ever see him again? I quickly pushed the thought away. I didn't want to look like a crybaby for the first time I've seen him in months.

"When are you-" I stopped myself from asking the inevitable question, "How long are you staying?"

"We're not sure yet. At least a month or two from my guess." He answered absently.

"Oh, I see…"

There was one question that threatened to come out.

"In all the time you were gone, did you ever think of me?" I asked quietly, staring at the floor.

When he didn't answer me, I looked up at his face. His expression was unreadable and it told me everything I needed to know. His handsome face became blurry as my eyes filled with tears. He then looked shocked to see my reaction.

"Lucy, I-"

"Nicholas! Thank god, you're all right! You had me worried, you stupid head!"

The voice that had cut him off was a melodic and sweet voice. One with gentleness yet, it was full of confidence. It was also one that I didn't know. A beautiful girl was at the door and peering into the room. She had long brown hair that reached just below her shoulder blades, bright green eyes and curves that had filled out in the right places.

She then took steps towards the bed.

"Nick, who is this lovely girl? Introduce us." She laughed at the dumbfound expression on his face.

"Uh, this is Lucy." He started as he gestured a hand to me.

"You were never any good at this, Nicholas. So much for being a prince." I joked, "Lucy Hamilton. Solange's best friend."

"Annabelle Levaincois. Nicholas' girlfriend. Nice to meet you."

My eyes widened as I tried to understand what she said. Nicholas has a girlfriend? So everything was a lie. He never missed me like I missed him. He didn't need me… He didn't love me. Once it clicked, I found myself dashing out of the room and out the front door. I ran as fast as I could without looking back. I could hear Nicholas calling me, but I kept going. Tears rushed down my face, blurring what limited vision I had without my glasses. I tripped over the tree roots and crashed into the ground.

"Ouch. So much for being a vampire hunter. I'm so smooth. To top it off, I don't even have shoes on." I muttered to myself.

That was when it hit me. The smell of rotten mushrooms and dirt was overwhelming my nose. As I lifted my head up, I came face to face with a Helblar. Well, crap.

It reached its hands out to grab me and I rushed to my feet. I grabbed the knife I strapped to my thigh and slashed at its arm. Who would've thought being so paranoid about everything would've come in handy? It hissed out in pain and lunged at me. I dodged, but my wrist got caught on its fingernails. The cut became a huge gash at my wrist and I began to panic. I cut off its hand and ran for my life. I prayed that I would get back to the farmhouse before the Helblar catch up. The blood dripping from my arm wasn't doing me any favours.

"LOGAN! LOGAN!" I screamed on top of my lungs as the farmhouse was in my sight.

Logan came running out onto the lawn.

"Lucy! What's wrong? What happened to your hand?" He shouted.

"Hel-blar. Behind. Stakes now." I yelled, out of breathe.

He ran into the house calling for back up. The Drakes ran outside only to be met with a mob of Hel-Blar. All the Drake brothers were prepared to fight. In fact, they looked eager. The last fight must've been a while ago for them to be so excited for this. The Hel-Blar lunged at the Drakes as they started to fight.

"Well, this takes the stakes for a nice welcome back party, Lucy." Quinn commented, "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Quinn, I swear if I hear another word from you. I'll shoot you. With my bow." I added as I rushed onto the front porch.

"Running away, Lucy? The fight is out here! Damn, you became pretty smart, eh? Running from a fight you can't win?" Quinn teased, knocking one Hel-blar out.

"I'm not. Unlike you, I don't sleep with my stakes at night for comfort." I quipped as I ripped up the floorboard of the porch.

"What are you doing?" Nicholas asked as he took a step closer to look.

I ignored him and pulled out a black duffel bag. I pulled the zipper open and emptied out the bag. There were bundles of stakes, stun gun, knives and a whole lot of sharp weapons. I strapped on my cross bow while, tossing the stakes to the Drake brothers.

"Woah, Lucy. Where'd you get all this? This is some high tech stuff. What happened?" Conner asked fascinated by my preparedness.

"Work. I get them from work." I replied as I started towards the crowd of Hel-Blar.

Nicholas stepped in front of me and stopped me.

"What work?" He asked with his nose flaring.

"I'm a Vampire Hunter."

This is all for now. Thank you to all my readers for being so supportive and patient. I hope you all will continue to read and enjoy this story. Thank you for all of your love!

x soreaway x