She smelled like smoke.
But not any kind that could be inhaled willingly from pipes or rolled up sheets of paper. It was the kind that came from barbecue pits and campfires. Her mascara was streaking down her cheeks like demonic claw marks, and her dark hair was a wild mess of curls tied back and slung over her shoulder. She was wearing a long, red, sleeveless blouse, and black, shiny leggings pasted to her legs.
She wasn’t wearing shoes.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
He thought about asking where she came from, what she was doing here on his porch at four o’clock in the morning, or perhaps even her name, but he didn’t. He simply rubbed his eyes, and opened the door a little wider to let her in, as if strange girls showed up on his doorstep all the time.
“Water?” he asked her, though he was already walking toward the kitchen to get a glass for himself.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, following him. He handed her a water. “You’re very kind.”
He didn’t say anything. He drank his water, and put his glass in the sink.
“I didn’t mean to intrude. I just…” she said, and then she started crying.
He stayed awkwardly rooted in place, watching her cry. Comforting girls while they cried had never been a strength of his. He never knew the right things to say or how to say them. And he was much too grossed out by bodily fluids to offer up his shoulder. He didn’t even know this girl. Who knew what diseases she could be carrying?
“I’m so sorry,” she said, sniffling.
She finished her water, and held out her glass. He took it, and immediately washed it, scrubbing vigorously. Then, so she wouldn’t think he was rude, he washed his glass too. When he was finished, he noticed she had left the kitchen. Panicked, he rushed to his bedroom where she was curled up atop his bed, clutching a pillow the way one might clutch a small child.
He considered asking her to leave or to please refrain from crying on his sheets, but he supposed it was already too late for that. So instead, he sighed as he grabbed a blanket from the bed, and prepared to sleep on the couch.
“Please stay with me,” she said as he was walking out the door.
He paused, considering the implications of staying in his bed with a stranger. A crying stranger. She looked harmless enough, but how did he know? Still, it was his bed, and since she was asking him to stay it would probably be rude of him to ignore her.
He made sure a whole foot of space was between them when he got into bed, giving her a majority of the covers, but taking the blanket for himself. He could hear her crying beside him while he stared up at the ceiling and wondered how he ended up in this situation. He’d never had a girl in his bedroom before. Girls often exhausted him with all their emotions and endless chatter about meaningless subjects. And they seemed to always want to be touching.
Sure enough, after a few moments of ceaseless crying, the girl rolled over and curled herself against his side, hugging his bicep like she’d been hugging the pillow. He froze, debating whether he should roll over and shrug her off or leave the room entirely. He didn’t know her. She was crying. This wasn’t happening.
But it was.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m so cold, and I don’t want to be alone. It’s better when I’m not alone.”
He didn’t respond, and after several agonizing minutes he could tell she had fallen asleep. Her breathing slowed, and her grip on him relaxed. Knowing she was asleep relaxed him, and soon enough he was asleep as well.
In the morning, she was gone.
The car has been parked outside her house since Tuesday.
As far as she can tell, it doesn’t belong to anyone. She hasn’t seen anyone come in or out of it since it randomly appeared on the curbside outside her red-brick house. The lights had woken her, shining directly through her bedroom window, flickering once, twice, just like her late husband, Frank, used to when he would pick her up past curfew. By the time she had gotten to the window to see what was going on, the car lights had turned off, and the mysterious owner had already disappeared. If the car is still there by tomorrow evening, she’ll have to call her son, Eddie, who works for the police department. He’ll know what to do about the car.
It isn’t a bad car. Frank used to have one just like it. They had their first kiss in that old car. She remembers her thighs sticking to the new-leather seats, and the plush dice swinging from the rearview mirror as he made a turn.
“My sweet, sweet Christina,” Frank had told her, his eyes as grey as a storm cloud when he looked at her.
Her hair had been short then, and very blonde. Her skin had been smooth and her lips painted a perpetual shade of red. When was the last time her lips and hair had color? She can’t remember. Now, her hair as grey as her husband’s eyes falls in thin, wispy strands along her spine, her skin no longer smooth, and her lips no longer painted with color. Though with Frank gone and buried, there isn’t anyone to impress.
She falls asleep that night, and dreams of the car, of her short, blonde hair, red lips, tight dress, her husband before they said their vows, when it was just his hands on her waist as they kissed in the backseat of his black Cadillac. Their breath fogged up the glass, and the car would become their own little world where nothing else mattered or existed. Their heaven.
The strange car is still there when she wakes in the morning, the windows fogged from the humidity of the night. Who does it belong to? Why is it there, taunting her?
She calls Eddie.
“Mom?” Eddie says. “Are you okay?”
“Hello? Eddie? Can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can hear you mother. Are you okay?”
“Yes, dear, I’m fine. There’s just this car that’s bothering me.”
“What car?”
“It looks just like your father’s, and it’s just sitting here in front of the house. It’s been here since Tuesday, and I don’t know who it belongs to.”
“Mom, today is Tuesday.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe it was Thursday. I can’t be sure.”
“So, there’s been a car parked in front of your house since Thursday?”
“Yes, and I don’t know who it belongs to.”
“Right. Okay, Mom. I’ll try to stop by around lunch time, and I’ll run the plates for you, okay?”
“Yes, thank you Eddie.”
“Of course, Mom.”
After they say goodbye, she makes herself a cup of tea. She wonders whether she should make Eddie something to eat for lunch. She used to make Frank something to eat when he would come home for lunch, still dressed in his police uniform. She smiles at the memory, and sets aside a plate of leftovers for her son.
Eddie comes by just after two. She hears his car pull into the driveway, and she goes to stand by the door to wait for him. She watches as he walks to the sidewalk, gazes at the car, and scratches his head.
Then, he walks up to her door, gives her a quick kiss on the cheek, and says, “When did the car leave?”
“What? The car didn’t leave, Eddie. You were just looking at it!”
He turns around, and looks at the car again. Then, he turns back to her and sighs, running a hand through his thinning blonde hair, his father’s grey eyes expressing his concern.
“Mom, there’s no car.”
“Eddie, this is not time for your games. I know I’m getting old, but I know a car when I see one, and that car has been there far too long. I want it gone.”
“Mom, I’m being serious. There’s no car parked in front of your house.”
She sighs, and swats Eddie’s chest.
“Just check the plates, will you? I’m going to heat up your lunch.”
Eddie sighs, runs his hands through his hair again, shakes his head, and agrees.
“Okay, Mom. I’ll be right back.”
She heats up his plate in the microwave, and sets his plate at the table.
“Well?” she asks when he takes his seat.
“It’s taken care of, Mom. Thank you for lunch,” he says without looking at her.
He finishes his plate quickly, thanks her again for lunch, and gives her a kiss goodbye after promising the car will be gone tomorrow morning. She watches him leave in his patrol car, the black Cadillac still parked on her curbside.
She remembers the man she sold her husband’s car to after he passed. She remembers the way his eyes lit up like Christmas when she handed him the keys. He called the car a classic, and himself a collector. Did he bring it back? Change his mind? Perhaps she should have asked Eddie about it. Another time, she thinks.
A wave of exhaustion hits her. She’ll go to bed early tonight, and hopefully the car will be gone when she wakes. She gets ready for bed, and as she closes her eyes and drifts away, she dreams.
She dreams of Frank coming to scoop her out of her bed. He carries her to the car parked outside their red-brick house, and places her in the passenger seat before taking the driver’s seat.
“My sweet, sweet Christina,” he tells her, “I’ve missed you.”
He starts the car, and together they drive away into the night.
For some reason, Emmalee expected they’d be going back to New York.
So when the plane lands on unfamiliar territory, Emmalee’s nervousness increases.
“Where are we going?” she asks Colin.
He still hasn’t guaranteed her safety. He spend the entire plane ride looking just as nervous as she felt, gripping the armrest and clenching his jaw tightly.
“Work,” Colin says.
“Work?”
He doesn’t answer. He simply ushers her into the black car that is waiting outside the plane. The drive is silent. Emmalee tries to gauge their location from the view outside, but it’s too dark to see anything. She sighs and rests her head against the seat. She’s ready for all this uncertainty to be in her control again. She wants her life back. Is that really too much to ask for? She’s spent all this time without any trouble, and now…
The car lurches to a stop, and the car doors are yanked open as a bag is thrown over Emmalee’s head. She opens her mouth to scream when she hears Colin sigh beside her.
“Is this really necessary? You’re going to scare the newbie. I haven’t prepped her for this,” Colin says. “Stay calm, Emmalee. This is just standard protocol.”
Emmalee takes deep breaths to steady herself as her hands are handcuffed and she is pulled from the car, and carried into another one. She can’t see anything. The bag is pressing close to her face, too close, making it hard to breathe. She tries to wriggle her hands in the cuffs, but they don’t budge. She sinks into her new seat, and tries not to cry.
“What’s going on?” Emmalee asks.
“We’re being taken to headquarters. Everything is fine,” Colin answers.
He sounds close, and that comforts her slightly. But what if Colin is wrong? What if these aren’t the people he thinks they are? What if this is another trick of her father’s?
Emmalee doesn’t think she can wait to find out.
But she doesn’t have a choice.
Every mile further another part of me slips away.
She said she was sorry with mascara-stained tears running down her cheeks. Swore it didn’t mean anything as the water from the shower was still going, his clothes still lying on the floor by our bed…did she really expect me to stay?
I grabbed my keys, and decided to drive.
***
When I was a little boy and my parents would fight, my mother would take me for a drive.
I remember the streetlights illuminating her tears in flashes, the music turned all the way up, and the wind from the open sunroof cool and comforting.
As soon as I got my first car, driving became my escape too.
***
It might actually be a good thing that I found out when I did.
I was going to propose to her next week. I thought I was ready for better or for worse, but this is the worst. And even if she spent the rest of her life begging for me back on her knees, she couldn’t make me stay.
Funny how quickly everything can change.
***
The city disappears in my rearview, but I’m not stopping any time soon.
I’m not sure where I’m going, but I’ll be driving all night.
The plane drops so suddenly, Colin barely has time to react before the pilot regains control and they’re flying up and safely again.
“Sorry about that,” the pilot says over the speakers.
Colin recognizes the voice, and grits his teeth. Lydia is piloting the plane? Since when? He gets up and storms into the pulpit. Lydia turns around and grins at him.
“Miss me?” she asks.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asks.
“I’m your pilot this evening. It’s my promotion.”
“Promotion for what? Disappearing?”
She shrugs.
“You call it disappearing. I call it being a hero and doing my job. We can’t see eye-to-eye on everything, I suppose,” she says.
“Right. And what job was that?”
“Oh, Colin. You know better than to ask me questions with classified answers.”
Colin rolls his eyes. “Just try not to kill us, okay?”
“I can’t make any promises.”
She winks at him, and Colin turns around and goes back to his seat.
“Is something wrong?” Emmalee asks.
“You could say that.”
“Are we going to be okay? Are we safe?”
Colin doesn’t answer.
He hasn’t quite figured that answer out himself.
A fictional interpretation of a song by Bill Withers
A bad day is not a bad life.
I keep trying to convince myself of this, but it’s getting harder. This morning has not been going at all as planned. My alarm didn’t go off, so I woke up too late, and I had to stay up past three am trying to piece together the finishing touches of my presentation which I am now struggling to carry while walking in heels much too high for my feet and a dress much too stiff to move in.
A bad day is not a bad life.
Why oh why did I insist on doing everything myself?
***
I value my independence.
Perhaps too much. I always have. My mother worked endless shifts at the hospital to pay off the gambling debt my unemployed father never ceased to incur. I learned from an early age how to take care of myself.
I never learned how to depend on others, so I don’t.
But sometimes, I could really use someone to lean on.
***
A bad day is not a bad life.
But now I’m falling flat on my face. My dress rips and the skin on my knees is bleeding. The pieces of my presentation scatter around me, nearly becoming trampled by the hoard of fellow students who giggle as they pass by.
“Sucks to be you,” someone says.
I’m too busy trying not to cry to respond.
I slowly pick myself up, gather the pieces of my presentation, put them back in order. I can’t do anything about my dress, but I’ll manage. I wipe the blood from my knees and begin walking, slower this time, to my classroom.
When I reach the stairs, I look up and sigh. I consider briefly not going to class today. I can afford the failing grade. Or perhaps I can make it up. My professor loves me. Surely…
“Hey, I got your text. I’m here to help,” my best friend, Johanna says.
She grabs my presentation from my hands.
“My text?” I ask because I don’t remember asking her for help.
“Yeah, you woke up late, and you’ve been stressing about this presentation for weeks. I figured you could use some help.”
I smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem. What happened to your knees?”
“I fell.”
“Oh my. Okay, well, lean on me, and let’s get up these stairs.”
And together, we bear the load.
Emmalee isn’t sure why she’s crying.
Perhaps it’s because the wall she put up to hold herself together has finally broken under the total mess that has become her life. First, she’s found by Colin when she’s spent her entire life in hiding. Then, she’s recruited by the agency, and swiftly kidnapped by her father, the man she’s been hiding from. How did this happen?
For fifteen years, she’s been able to live her life undisturbed. Yes, her life in general is disturbing, but she had grown rather comfortable with her lifestyle and choices. Now what?
“Are you crying?” Colin asks.
Emmalee looks out the window. They’re pulling into the private airport now. In a few minutes, they’ll be flying to who-knows-where. She won’t be able to escape.
“Over your father?” Colin says.
Emmalee doesn’t look at him, and she doesn’t speak. She doesn’t owe him an explanation, especially one she can’t even figure out herself.
“Well?” Colin says. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Suit yourself.”
The car stops, and they both walk onto the plane in silence. Colin takes a seat across from Emmalee, and she can feel him staring at her as she gazes out the window, trying her hardest to stop the tears from falling. But her tearducts have a mind of their own, and she only succeeds in making her throat hurt from choking back sobs.
Colin sighs, and gets up to take the seat next to her. He puts his arm around her, and suddenly, she’s sobbing into his chest, curling into him like a child. He strokes her hair, face, and back until whatever broken dam inside her has been completely released. She sits up straight, wipes her face, and fixes her hair. She wonders how long she’s been crying. The plane has already taken off, and she didn’t even notice.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“Are you done?” Colin asks.
Emmalee nods. “I’m fine.”
“Good. What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. I just…it’s just—”
“Please don’t start crying again.”
“Everything. My entire life is changing. I don’t know how to stop it and go back to how everything used to be. Or if it’s even possible.”
“It isn’t.”
“Well, thanks. That’s comforting.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“I know.”
Emmalee rolls her eyes, and Colin gets up to go back to his seat. She looks out the window again, but everything is pitch black. She can’t even see the stars.
And that’s when there’s a sudden lurch, and the plane begins to fall from the sky.
A fictional interpretation of song by Christina Aguilera. (also an excerpt from my novel Blood Rose)
This wasn’t normal.
This kind of event didn’t happen. Vampires didn’t exist. Evil didn’t exist. My family was still alive. This was just a long, incredibly alive dream that I was going to wake up from anytime now. Adam wasn’t trying to turn me into an evil beast. No way. Adam would never do such a thing. I wasn’t being carried to safety by the most attractive guy I had ever met who happened to be a vampire who claimed he was in love with me, and Derek wasn’t being carried by a vampire girl who could readily be his classmate at school who also brought me back to life when I died. I was just going to open my eyes now, and be back to normal.
One. Two...
I didn’t make it to three. A huge bump in the road rose from the fountain in front of the Eiffel Tower. Jay tried his best to jump over it, but it rose again somehow, and he wound up tripping over it, dropping me and sending me flying as he fell to the ground. So there I was, thinking for sure I was going to die again, and how odd that it would kind of be the same way too.
I closed my eyes, and smiled. I was going back to Grandpa’s house.
I didn’t get that lucky, though. Instead of falling to my
death, I was caught up in the arms of none other than Adam. I
gasped when I saw him smiling down at me. He looked so evil.
His eyes were a darker brown than I remembered, almost black,
his skin was an ashen pale, and his normally, kissably pink lips
were red with blood. There was even bloodstains on his teeth! He
had killed someone for sure.
“Hello, beautiful. You belong to me now, isn’t that great? We’ll be together again,” Adam asked me with an evil grin on his face.
I kicked and thrashed around, but he was too strong. Nothing I did even phased him in the slightest sense. I couldn’t tell if he was running or not, but I didn’t want to know.
“I’d rather die than be with you, Adam. You’ve changed. You’ve killed,” I spat at him, and he just smirked.
“I know you don’t mean that, Gracie. Soon you’ll see that killing isn’t as bad as we thought. Human blood tastes better than any dessert we could ever imagine.”
Suddenly, Adam lurched forward, and let go of me as he stopped running. He cried out in pain, and bent over, right as Jay caught me in his arms again. As Jay began running away, slower than he usually does, I turned around to see what was wrong with him, trying my hardest to get my vision straight, and that was when I noticed the bunches of icicles stuck on his back like a group of needles. I instantly knew who had done that to him, but I didn’t want to believe she would. It had to have been Iris. She was the only one who could do something like that using water. Sure enough, Iris suddenly appeared behind Adam who was just getting up from the ground. The icicles falling off his back one at a time.
“Hello, beautiful. You belong to me now, isn’t that great? We’ll be together again,” Adam asked me with an evil grin on his face.
I kicked and thrashed around, but he was too strong. Nothing I did even phased him in the slightest sense. I couldn’t tell if he was running or not, but I didn’t want to know.
“I’d rather die than be with you, Adam. You’ve changed. You’ve killed,” I spat at him, and he just smirked.
“I know you don’t mean that, Gracie. Soon you’ll see that killing isn’t as bad as we thought. Human blood tastes better than any dessert we could ever imagine.”
Suddenly, Adam lurched forward, and let go of me as he stopped running. He cried out in pain, and bent over, right as Jay caught me in his arms again. As Jay began running away, slower than he usually does, I turned around to see what was wrong with him, trying my hardest to get my vision straight, and that was when I noticed the bunches of icicles stuck on his back like a group of needles. I instantly knew who had done that to him, but I didn’t want to believe she would. It had to have been Iris. She was the only one who could do something like that using water. Sure enough, Iris suddenly appeared behind Adam who was just getting up from the ground. The icicles falling off his back one at a time.
“Did Iris really just save me?” I asked Jay.
“Yes, love. She’s not as heartless as she seems. She’s just a very jealous girl when someone else gets my attention,” Jay answered.
“Is she...going to kill him?”
As much as I knew Adam was evil and probably should die, I couldn’t stand the thought of him not being alive. I had been with him for three years, I had cared about and loved him for three years, and I had always been there for him for three years. I didn’t think he deserved to die, no matter how many humans he had killed. A part of me still loved and cared about him. A part of me was still excited by the fact that he was still alive. A part of me wanted him to hold me and kiss me just like he used to. A part of me wanted to speak French with him at random moments, and then giggle and laugh because he would always wind up saying something sweet to me.
The other part of me, though, knew that those days were over, and they could never come back. The Adam I had known was gone, and there was no possible way to bring him back.
“Yes, love. She’s not as heartless as she seems. She’s just a very jealous girl when someone else gets my attention,” Jay answered.
“Is she...going to kill him?”
As much as I knew Adam was evil and probably should die, I couldn’t stand the thought of him not being alive. I had been with him for three years, I had cared about and loved him for three years, and I had always been there for him for three years. I didn’t think he deserved to die, no matter how many humans he had killed. A part of me still loved and cared about him. A part of me was still excited by the fact that he was still alive. A part of me wanted him to hold me and kiss me just like he used to. A part of me wanted to speak French with him at random moments, and then giggle and laugh because he would always wind up saying something sweet to me.
The other part of me, though, knew that those days were over, and they could never come back. The Adam I had known was gone, and there was no possible way to bring him back.
“Do you still love him, Grace, even though he’s evil?” Jay
questioned.
“I still love who he used to be, but I think that’s more because that was when everything was normal, and everyone was still alive. So no, I don’t technically still love him.”
He didn’t get the chance to answer because, suddenly, Jay stopped running, dropped to the ground, and covered me with himself. Our faces were so close together. It made me want to kiss him so bad. I didn’t understand why he was doing this, but it became clear when balls of flame came darting past us. How had Jay known that would happen?
“You’re only going to hurt her, Adam! If I’m covered in flames, she will be too! Just calm down, and let us talk this over!” Jay yelled.
I couldn’t see Adam, but then he suddenly appeared in front of us. Jay stood up, keeping me close against his chest. I wasn’t sure if it was to keep him safe or me, but I didn’t care. It felt good being there. It always did.
“What is there to talk about? You stole my girl. The girl that belongs with me. Now I want her back. It’s only right, and I suggest you don’t fight it,” Adam threatened calmly.
“I still love who he used to be, but I think that’s more because that was when everything was normal, and everyone was still alive. So no, I don’t technically still love him.”
He didn’t get the chance to answer because, suddenly, Jay stopped running, dropped to the ground, and covered me with himself. Our faces were so close together. It made me want to kiss him so bad. I didn’t understand why he was doing this, but it became clear when balls of flame came darting past us. How had Jay known that would happen?
“You’re only going to hurt her, Adam! If I’m covered in flames, she will be too! Just calm down, and let us talk this over!” Jay yelled.
I couldn’t see Adam, but then he suddenly appeared in front of us. Jay stood up, keeping me close against his chest. I wasn’t sure if it was to keep him safe or me, but I didn’t care. It felt good being there. It always did.
“What is there to talk about? You stole my girl. The girl that belongs with me. Now I want her back. It’s only right, and I suggest you don’t fight it,” Adam threatened calmly.
“Why don’t we let her decide who she wants to go with?
Neither of us should force her into doing something she doesn’t
want to do. It may be your kind to think that’s how things should
be, but if you ever loved her once, you would know that she
deserves the right to choose,” Jay bargained.
I grasped onto Jay’s shirt when Adam set his gaze on me. His expression was so deadly. This wasn’t the Adam I knew at all. Something else had possessed him, and made him this horrible creature. I couldn’t believe what he had become. How could I walk away with him, knowing that I would become just like him? I couldn’t. I couldn’t become a monster. It just wasn’t in me.
“Grace, remember how long we were together? Remember all those times we spent at your Grandpa’s house, swimming in the lake and kissing? Remember how you told me not to worry about any other guy because I would always be the one you want? Remember how happy I made you feel every day? Remember how great I made you feel in bed? Remember how much your family loved me, and how much Derek looked up to me? I was his idol, and your family wanted you to be with me forever. I know your family is gone now, but they would want you to be with me. They always wanted you to be with me. Why don’t you make them proud, and choose me because I’m what’s right for you? I love you, Gracie. You know I do,” Adam crooned.
I grasped onto Jay’s shirt when Adam set his gaze on me. His expression was so deadly. This wasn’t the Adam I knew at all. Something else had possessed him, and made him this horrible creature. I couldn’t believe what he had become. How could I walk away with him, knowing that I would become just like him? I couldn’t. I couldn’t become a monster. It just wasn’t in me.
“Grace, remember how long we were together? Remember all those times we spent at your Grandpa’s house, swimming in the lake and kissing? Remember how you told me not to worry about any other guy because I would always be the one you want? Remember how happy I made you feel every day? Remember how great I made you feel in bed? Remember how much your family loved me, and how much Derek looked up to me? I was his idol, and your family wanted you to be with me forever. I know your family is gone now, but they would want you to be with me. They always wanted you to be with me. Why don’t you make them proud, and choose me because I’m what’s right for you? I love you, Gracie. You know I do,” Adam crooned.
For a fraction of a second, I almost decided to go with
him. His words made him seem almost human, and they almost
made me believe they were true. My family loved the old him,
but they would be appalled by who he is now. They wouldn’t
want me to spend my life feeding off humans and devastating
other families. They would want me to save the humans, and
bring peace and happiness to the world. Therefore, I couldn’t fall
for his lies. I couldn’t choose him.
“Tell me, Adam, how many humans have you killed?” I questioned him, trying my hardest not to break down in tears.
It was so hard knowing that he was still alive, but I couldn’t be with him. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t either. It was also that I didn’t want to, and that was heartbreaking.
“Enough to keep me alive. Why does that matter? If you come with me, you’ll see that it’s perfectly normal, and I’m sure you won’t mind at all. Sometimes, humans just deserve to die. How many times have you wished Brooke would die? Or Finn and Griffin annoyed you? Or your parents made you mad? Now they can’t upset you anymore, and when you kill someone else, you can just think of it as doing their family members a favor. Besides, blood tastes better than you think it does.”
“Tell me, Adam, how many humans have you killed?” I questioned him, trying my hardest not to break down in tears.
It was so hard knowing that he was still alive, but I couldn’t be with him. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t either. It was also that I didn’t want to, and that was heartbreaking.
“Enough to keep me alive. Why does that matter? If you come with me, you’ll see that it’s perfectly normal, and I’m sure you won’t mind at all. Sometimes, humans just deserve to die. How many times have you wished Brooke would die? Or Finn and Griffin annoyed you? Or your parents made you mad? Now they can’t upset you anymore, and when you kill someone else, you can just think of it as doing their family members a favor. Besides, blood tastes better than you think it does.”
Adam’s words made me begin to seethe with rage. I
would have gone up to him, and slapped him, but Jay stopped me
by pulling me closer against him.
“How dare you make my family dying seem like a good thing! I can’t believe I was actually considering going with you! Thank God I realized what a mistake that would have been! I wouldn’t go with you to save my life, Adam! I don’t even know who you are anymore!” I screamed. “Maybe I meant all those things I said to you at one point, or loved all those times we spent together, but this is me taking it all back right now. I hate you, Adam, and I don’t ever want to see you again!”
“That can be arranged.” Adam said with a smirk.
He spun around, and then threw fire at me. Right before it could hit me, though, a gust of air blew it right back toward him. I turned my head to see Leah in a battle pose, ready for any attack Adam might throw at us next. Beside Leah was Keira, also ready for an attack, and standing closer to the fountain was Iris floating an orb of water between her hands.
“You’re outnumbered, Adam. You may be able to use all four of the elements, but you can’t use them all at the same time. Since you’re a new vampire, you don’t even know how to use some of the attacks at all. Give up now, and we’ll spare your life, but if this happens again don’t think we’ll be as merciful,” Jay pointed out.
“How dare you make my family dying seem like a good thing! I can’t believe I was actually considering going with you! Thank God I realized what a mistake that would have been! I wouldn’t go with you to save my life, Adam! I don’t even know who you are anymore!” I screamed. “Maybe I meant all those things I said to you at one point, or loved all those times we spent together, but this is me taking it all back right now. I hate you, Adam, and I don’t ever want to see you again!”
“That can be arranged.” Adam said with a smirk.
He spun around, and then threw fire at me. Right before it could hit me, though, a gust of air blew it right back toward him. I turned my head to see Leah in a battle pose, ready for any attack Adam might throw at us next. Beside Leah was Keira, also ready for an attack, and standing closer to the fountain was Iris floating an orb of water between her hands.
“You’re outnumbered, Adam. You may be able to use all four of the elements, but you can’t use them all at the same time. Since you’re a new vampire, you don’t even know how to use some of the attacks at all. Give up now, and we’ll spare your life, but if this happens again don’t think we’ll be as merciful,” Jay pointed out.
Adam looked at Leah, then Keira, then Iris, and then at
me and Jay. His stare was so intense that I cowered in Jay’s arms.
Jay wrapped his arms around me, and brought me even closer to
him, using his powers to soothe me.
“I’ll get you one day, Grace. Even if you’re one of them, I’ll get you and I’ll kill you. You just made your greatest mistake,” Adam threatened. “You know what, I think I’ll kill all of you. Each one of you who dared to threaten me. I’ll have fun killing you, though, Grace, and your boyfriend too. You just wait.”
Before anyone could even blink, Adam had left, and I was left standing there in Jay’s arms, shivering from both the cold and the evil threat from Adam. I couldn’t believe he would say such a thing to me, and the look in his eyes had been absolutely dreadful.
“Let’s get back home, love.” Jay said as he lifted me off the ground. Turning to the girls he added. “Thank you for your help. It’s greatly appreciated.”
“No problem, boss,” Leah grinned.
“We just had a little realization,” Iris informed with a sigh.
“Yeah, we just realized how important she is to you,” Keira shared.
“I’ll get you one day, Grace. Even if you’re one of them, I’ll get you and I’ll kill you. You just made your greatest mistake,” Adam threatened. “You know what, I think I’ll kill all of you. Each one of you who dared to threaten me. I’ll have fun killing you, though, Grace, and your boyfriend too. You just wait.”
Before anyone could even blink, Adam had left, and I was left standing there in Jay’s arms, shivering from both the cold and the evil threat from Adam. I couldn’t believe he would say such a thing to me, and the look in his eyes had been absolutely dreadful.
“Let’s get back home, love.” Jay said as he lifted me off the ground. Turning to the girls he added. “Thank you for your help. It’s greatly appreciated.”
“No problem, boss,” Leah grinned.
“We just had a little realization,” Iris informed with a sigh.
“Yeah, we just realized how important she is to you,” Keira shared.
“We figured that if she’s really so important, and you
really love her that much, then we should probably try our
hardest to keep her safe,” Leah shrugged.
“Doesn’t mean we’ll be friends with her, though,” Iris finished, glaring at me.
I smiled. It would only be a matter of time before they decided to give up their jealousy and be friends with me. I was also smiling because they had mentioned that Jay loved me. This nightmare was turning into a dream again. I was starting to wonder when it would stop wavering between dream and nightmare and just pick one already. I was also wondering where Derek and Maddy had gone.
“Jay, where’s my brother?” I asked him worriedly.
“Safe at home, love. Maddy is there too, and since the sun will be rising in only a few minutes, she’ll probably have to stay there,” Jay answered, and I looked up at the sky.
It was an ordinary sunrise. The sun was an orb of yellow- orange light against a sky that was a mixed beauty of pink and blood red. I sighed, knowing I would probably never get to see this sight again. This in turn made me think of home. I wondered if the vampires were attacking the US yet. I vowed I would find out.
I wanted to go home.
“Doesn’t mean we’ll be friends with her, though,” Iris finished, glaring at me.
I smiled. It would only be a matter of time before they decided to give up their jealousy and be friends with me. I was also smiling because they had mentioned that Jay loved me. This nightmare was turning into a dream again. I was starting to wonder when it would stop wavering between dream and nightmare and just pick one already. I was also wondering where Derek and Maddy had gone.
“Jay, where’s my brother?” I asked him worriedly.
“Safe at home, love. Maddy is there too, and since the sun will be rising in only a few minutes, she’ll probably have to stay there,” Jay answered, and I looked up at the sky.
It was an ordinary sunrise. The sun was an orb of yellow- orange light against a sky that was a mixed beauty of pink and blood red. I sighed, knowing I would probably never get to see this sight again. This in turn made me think of home. I wondered if the vampires were attacking the US yet. I vowed I would find out.
I wanted to go home.