Chapter Eighteen
Taylor opened his eyes. Even
the soft light from the candles beside the bed hurt them.
Slowly, he brought his hand up to his face, wiping the blood that had run
from his nose away, then placed it to his forehead, wincing as the pounding in
his head continued. He felt as
though he’d been hit by a truck, and yet, he knew in his human form, the fall
from the tree alone would have easily killed him. Looking around the room, he realized he didn’t recognize it
at all. The bed he lay in and the
covers over his body were all obviously down filled, enveloping him in silky
softness. His clothes were gone and
his aching leg was propped up on a pillow.
His mind began to work as he wondered if he might be able to escape.
There were heavy, velvety looking drapes on one wall, so he assumed there
would be a window as well. But,
before he could attempt anything, the door to the room opened and Beatriz,
dressed in a black, slinky sweater and pants entered soundlessly.
“Don’t even think about it.” She
said, stepping up beside the bed. “You
wouldn’t get far. You may be a
vampire, but your leg is broken, and though it will heal in probably a tenth of
the time it would take a human, tonight, you will be staying put.” Her voice was smooth and she had a Spanish accent.
Though Taylor thought her beautiful, she also frightened him immensely.
She sat a bowl of water down on the table, pushing the candles out of the
way. Taking a cloth from it, she
squeezed most of the water out, then reached towards his face.
Jerking backwards, he tried to keep her from touching him, but the pain
in his skull stopped him very quickly. “I’m
not going to hurt you.” She said
soothingly. She then began to wipe
his face gently and to run her fingers across his forehead, all the while
humming the tune to “Amazing Grace”—a song he associated with his mother.
The pain subsided a bit. He closed
his eyes tightly, wishing away the tears that threatened as he thought to
himself that he would probably never see his family again.
Beatriz watched him closely. His
anger seemed to have left him, but it was replaced with a deep despair.
As she let her mind listen in on his thoughts, she could feel his sadness
as he thought of his mother and father, and brothers and sisters.
“How many are there at home?” she
asked gently. He rolled over, away
from her and let loose the emotions he was unable to hold in any longer. She sighed, and dropped the cloth back down into the water.
Standing, she walked over and pulled the drapes back.
The sky was turning a golden color at the horizon.
“The sun will be up soon, you sleep.
That is when your body will do most of it’s healing.”
She said. Then she walked
and went out the door, glancing back one last time to see him, still with his
back to her. With a click of the
lock, he was alone again.
------------------------------------------
As Sonya, Melanie, and Camille came back that morning, they didn’t see
Beatriz. “Thank God for small
blessings.” Melanie said.
Sonya sighed, “Yeah, I don’t think she’s too happy with me right
now, so I think I’m gonna retreat while I still can.
See ya later.” She said
and she went down the hall to her room. Melanie
looked over at Camille, who stood gazing down the other direction.
“Uh, I think you’re down this way.”
She stated.
Camille looked back at her, “You go on—I’ll be there in a few.”
Melanie shook her head, “Alright, don’t do anything stupid. I’ll just get blamed for it if you do.” Then she left the girl standing in the huge room.
Looking all around her and finding herself alone, she made her way down
the hallway where she saw Kirk take Taylor.
All the doors stood open except one and the lock had been turned on it.
Carefully, she turned the lock and opened the door.
Inside she saw a large bed and the god of her idolatry.
Smiling, she reached back and turned the lock.
It wouldn’t do for him to get away again. She feared if he did, they would kill him in a most
unmerciful way and she knew she couldn’t take that.
The only light in the room was from candles on the bedside table.
She walked over to the bed and looked at Taylor sleeping.
Kneeling beside the bed, she reached over and touched his lips.
Still beautiful, even bruised and bloodied she thought.
She carefully pulled the covers back and winced looking at his battered
body, but she knew how quickly he would heal. She stood and went around to the
other side of the bed, not wanting to be on the side with his sore leg, and
climbed in beside him after taking off her shoes. She slid as close to him as
she could get, reveling in his warmth. She
hadn’t fed that evening, wanting to get back to him as quickly as possible.
She never liked to rush through that, it was too enjoyable.
Reaching up and pushing his hair away from his face, she leaned in toward
his lips, “I really do love you,” she
said, knowing he was sleeping soundly. Already,
she was feeling the effects of the sunrise, so she knew he was long gone. “I’d die for you, Taylor.
I would.” She said, then
she scooted back down and lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes draping
her arm over his body.
When Mr. Jones returned a few hours later to check on Taylor, that was
how he found both of them. Smiling,
he wondered what the Lady Beatriz would think of that.
He even considered taking her back to her own room, but the girl looked
so content there, he decided against it. It
amazed him how these incredible creatures slept so soundly.
They literally seemed to go into hibernation.
He had waited ‘til the sleep had come on the boy to set the broken
bone, and while he did flinch, it didn’t wake him from his slumber.
They really were very vulnerable then.
Though, the old ones didn’t sleep nearly as soundly as the young.
Beatriz was very easily awakened, and Sonya as well.
Lifting the covers, he was relieved to see some of the bruising going
away already. He had always
wondered if there were a way to market vampire’s blood.
And would it even work for a human anyway?
He shook his head, guessing he’d never know.
With one last glance at the sleeping couple, he pulled the door shut
behind him, and locked it. He knew
Beatriz would have his head if he didn’t and considering how much she paid
him, he couldn’t afford not to.
------------------------------------------
Diana got up and went to the kitchen.
She had set her alarm for eight, not thinking she’d need it. One of her children always got her up before the alarm did.
But, she supposed, the tension of the past weeks had taken a toll on all of
them, especially the last few days and so all seven of them had slept in.
Although, it occurred to her, Taylor would sleep late forever now.
It was a bizarre thought. She
turned on the coffee maker then reached into the cupboard for juice glasses.
It was actually nice to stay at the hotel—no child clutter.
At least only what they could each carry in a backpack, which wasn’t
much. She looked up to see Walker coming in and sitting at the
stool at the breakfast bar. “Good
morning.” He said sleepily,
“Can you believe we’re the first ones up?”
She smiled at him, “No, I can’t believe there’s no RugRats or
CatDog on yet.”
He smiled back, taking the cup of coffee she offered him, “Thank
God.”
“And, I see there’s no vampires on the couch either.” She said. She
closed her eyes and tilted her head back for a moment before facing him again,
“Can you believe I just said that? I
mean, did I dream that whole thing? Or
is our son a nocturnal, undead, blood drinking……..whatever?”
“Di, I don’t believe it either, but it seems to be true. I saw a girl come out of the studio yesterday after him.
And, she leaned back against the wall, and I knew he had……..bit her.
And she looked the same way he did.
Remember how tired he looked? You
know, I was thinking of asking you if you thought he was on drugs or something.
He just always seemed, out of it or something.
And always tired. For weeks.
But I didn’t want to worry you if I didn’t really have anything to go
on. I was hoping it was just the
tour taking it’s toll on him…..if only.”
He said quietly.
“Walk, do you think it’s ok for him to be around the kids? I mean, I know Taylor would never ever have hurt one of them,
but is this the same Taylor? Do you
know what I mean?” she whispered.
“I pray it is the same Taylor. I
just don’t know what to think. I’d
never forgive myself if something happened and we let it. But, God—I love him so much, Di.
After losing him…well, I just can’t believe we got him back again.
I thought we’d lost him and I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to
deal with that. I never let myself
think about it…….but I know you did.”
He said.
Diana looked into her coffee cup, “Never, ever do I want to go through
anything like that again. Ever.”
She looked up at him and blinked back tears, “So—what are we gonna do
today? The boys don’t have to do
anything that I know of ‘til the day after Thanksgiving in Chicago, right?”
she asked. He knew she was
changing the subject and he couldn’t blame her.
Before he answered, Jessica walked in and went straight for the cabinet
with cereal in it. Behind her came
Avery. “Morning girls.” Diana said to her daughters, “You slept late today, did you
stay up late gossiping?”
“No, just felt like sleepin’.”
Jessica mumbled as she sat and poured Lucky Charms into a bowl.
“I don’t know about her, though.
She had some kinda…episode again.”
She said, rolling her eyes.
“I did not!” Avery spat.
“I just had a weird dream or something.”
And she too sat down at the table. Diana
handed Walker two glasses of juice for them and he sat them down in front of
them.
“Was it a bad dream?” he
asked Avery.
She shot a look at Jessica before answering, “No.
All I know is, it woke me up. It
was just…weird.” She said,
taking a bite of her cereal.
“Hmmm, well, you probably need to stop reading scary stuff before you
go to sleep.” Jessica commented.
“I don’t read scary stuff. It’s
fantasy.” Avery retorted.
“Whatever.” Her sister
said back.
Walker and Diana looked at one another and shook their heads.
At half past eight,
Mackenzie and Zoe joined them and at 8:47, Isaac finally made an appearance.
“Hey guys,” he said
sleepily as he poured himself a cup of coffee, “what’s up?”
“Nothin’.” Jessica
said back. “Just watching smellivision.”
Pouring sugar into the cup, he came and sat down beside her.
“Where’s Tay?” he asked, as he took his first sip.
Avery looked up from the chair she was lounging in.
“I don’t know.” Jessica
replied, “I figured he was holed up in there with you guys.”
“Not unless he’s under the bed or somethin’.”
Isaac said, furrowing his brow.
“Didn’t he come home last night?”
Avery asked, sitting up. “You
said he’d come home, Ike.” She
said, her voice becoming shrill.
“Don’t freak.” He said
standing up, “He’s probably in Mom and Dad’s room or someplace like
that.” He sat the mug down on the
table and went into his parents’ room. Knocking
on the door, he waited ‘til his father told him to come in. “Dad? Uh, is
Tay in here with you guys?” he
asked, looking over at the empty bed.
“No. Isn’t he in your
all’s room?” Walker asked.
“Well, no, actually.” Isaac
said, and he turned and went into he and Zac’s room.
With the blinds drawn, the room was still very dark.
Flipping on the light, he only saw Zac’s large figure in one bed and
his own was empty. He walked over
to his brother, “Zac. Hey, Zac.”
He said, getting nothing in response.
Grabbing the covers, he yanked them off.
“Hey!!! Wake up—we
don’t know where Taylor is—did you hear him come in this morning?”
Zac rolled over and pushed his long hair out of his face, then shook his
head. “Crap.”
Isaac said, pulling the blinds back and flooding the room with bright
sunshine.
Squinting, Zac said, “Are you sure he’s not like, on the couch?”
“I’m sure Zac. He
wasn’t there or in the girls room or Mom and Dad’s.
He’s just not here. Do you
think he stayed somewhere…like with Sonya or somebody like that?” he whispered.
Zac raised his eyebrow, “He was so glad to be home last night, I
can’t imagine he would, but, who knows? Maybe
they stayed out too late and had to get out of the sun.” He looked at the window, “What if he didn’t get out of
the sun, Ike? He could like, burn
up or something.” Now, he sat up
and pulled on a pair of wrinkled pants from the floor.
“Don’t panic. I’m sure
he’s alright.” Isaac said.
“Well, how do we know that? What’re
we supposed to do, just wait?” Zac
asked.
“What else are we gonna do, Zac?”
he answered. “You know with all that sun out there, he is dead to the
world right now.”
“I know. And don’t use
that phrase anymore—it’s too…creepy.”
Zac said, looking back at his brother.
“Sorry.” Isaac said, and
the two of them went out to join the rest of their family and wait to hear from
Taylor.
------------------------------------------------
As the sunlight became soft and purple, the rooms of the Lady Beatriz
began to come alive again. Being
the oldest, she was always the first to awaken.
She pulled her long, wavy hair back in a tight ponytail and dressed in a
very plain fashion. She knew she
would be laying down the law to Taylor that evening, and it wouldn’t do for
him to be paying more attention to her breasts than the words coming out of her
mouth. Vampire or not, he was a man
and they couldn’t always be counted on to keep their minds where they
belonged. She smiled, thinking he
probably couldn’t actually be called a man.
Close, but not quite. “Time
to grow up my lovely boy.” She
said out loud to her reflection, then she slipped her feet into her shoes and
went out to prepare for, and greet her guests for that evening.
Sonya’s eyes opened and she sighed.
She wasn’t looking forward to what the night would bring.
She respected Beatriz and understood exactly where she was coming from.
But she knew she also had a soft spot for Taylor.
She didn’t know how it had happened or why, but she found herself
wanting to protect him from anything that could harm him mentally as well as
physically, and she knew when he was told he couldn’t go back to his family
that it would be a bad scene. She
sat up slowly, then made her way to the shower.
The water had a cleansing effect on her mind as well as her body and she
resigned herself to supporting Beatriz in every way.
For her own good as well as Taylor’s.
When Sonya came out into the large central room, Beatriz was already
there. She put down her pen and
closed the book she was writing in as Sonya approached.
“Good evening, Sonya.” She
said. “Were you successful last
night?” she asked her.
“Yes. Nothing out of the
ordinary.” She said, looking out
the window as the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the sky a dark azure
color.
Beatriz walked over to her, “Sonya, I know you are angry with me—“
“I’m not angry with you! I’m
angry with myself!” she surprised
herself when she interrupted her, but she was relieved when she looked up to see
a smile on Beatriz’ face.
“And why is that?” Beatriz
asked, raising her eyebrows.
Sonya turned to face her. “Because.
I should have known he was changing before I took him.
For that matter, as soon as I found out who Camille was after, I should
have taken her away from there right then.
But I didn’t. And I
don’t know why.” She reached up
and put her hair behind her ears, “I’m sorry to have caused you trouble,
Lady.” She said, softly.
“Sometimes, people affect us. It
can’t be helped. I suppose we are
all allowed a mistake every hundred years or so.”
Sonya looked up to see her smiling again. “I just hope we can get things under control now.”
She said, turning and sitting on the couch.
Sonya watched as a servant came in and started a fire in the fireplace,
immediately giving the cold looking room some needed warmth.
“Mr. Jones said he will recover quickly.
He just needs to feed, and I will make sure something is brought to him
this evening.”
Sonya crossed her arms over her chest, “Good luck.”
She said. Beatriz raised her
eyebrows, questioning the statement. Sonya
walked over and joined her, “He won’t do it.”
“What?” Beatriz was
puzzled.
“Feed.” Sonya replied.
“Of course he will. The
blood he drank last night sickened him. He
will want to feed quickly I would imagine.
And he needs it to heal.” Beatriz
stated.
“Yes, ma’am.” Sonya
said, the tiniest smile coming over her face.
In the room down the hall, Camille stretched like a cat before opening
her eyes. The candles had gone out
and the only light came from under the door.
She stepped out of the bed and pulled back the drapes, allowing the
lights of the city to illuminate the room a bit. She sat back down on the bed, looking at Taylor.
She put her hand to his cheek. It
was now as cold as her own. His
bottom lip was still a bit rough looking, but nothing like the night before.
She reached down and kissed it gently, then backed away, watching as his
eyes fluttered open. His eyebrows
came together and he looked around the room a moment before bringing them back
to her. “What are you doing here?
Are you in prison too?” he
asked, his voice sounding a bit scratchy.
“I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”
She said.
“Hmph.” He snorted,
“I’m fantastic, Camille.” He
said, then he looked away from her.
“Oh, Taylor. Don’t be
mad at me, please. You know I
couldn’t stand it when they hurt you. I’m
so sorry they hurt you.” She said
sadly.
Now, he looked back at her. Her
blue eyes were looking at him lovingly and she had wrapped her hand around his
wrist and she pulled it up and kissed his hand.
“Whatever.” He said.
Then, he looked into her eyes again, “You can get me out of here,
right?” He sat up, wincing a
little at the pain in his abdomen. “C’mon Camille, you can do it.
We can get out of here, both of us.”
He said, using all the charm he could muster, considering his head was
throbbing still and he knew he looked like he’d been dragged through a briar
patch.
“Taylor, we’re locked in. I
can’t even get out.” She said.
“Why’d they lock you in? You’re
one of them!” he said,
incredulously.
She looked embarrassed for a moment, “They didn’t.
I locked myself in. I
couldn’t have come in if I hadn’t. They’d
have noticed.” She said, looking
down at his hand and running her finger over the knuckles.
He closed his eyes for a moment. Then,
he opened them and shook his head, “Why did you do that?”
he asked.
“I didn’t want you to be scared.
I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”
She said gently.
“I have to get out of here, Camille.
My family doesn’t know where I am—they’re gonna be so worried.”
He told her.
“Beatriz isn’t going to let you leave, Taylor.”
She said seriously.
He threw back the covers and swung his legs over the bed, “Gimme your
pants.” He ordered.
“Taylor, you’re hurt. You
need to stay in bed.” She said.
“Besides, I have on a skirt.” She
said, smiling.
At once, he became angry. “Fine.”
He said and he pushed her away and stood up, wrapping the sheet around
him. The pain was enough to make
him feel dizzy and she saw the look on his face.
“Taylor, no!” she said,
but again he pushed his way past her, and limping badly, he made his way over to
the window, ripping the drapes down violently.
But, the windows were not made to be opened.
His frustration was mounting and he began to pound his fists against the
glass. But even his superhuman
strength was not enough to break the thick glass.
Camille moved toward the door, knowing they would hear and come soon.
And, just as she predicted, the door opened and there stood Beatriz and
Sonya. Flipping on the light, Sonya
ran to him.
“Please, don’t do this. Please.”
She pleaded. “You’re just making it worse, Taylor.”
She said moving to pull his hands away from the window.
He turned to her.
“Sonya, I gotta go home. They’ll
be looking for me. It’s almost
supper time.” He said, tears
running down his cheeks.
“Taylor, you’re going to hurt yourself.
They’ll understand. They’ll
want you to get better.” She was
trying to reason with him, and for a moment, it appeared to be working as his
eyes softened, and he turned away from the window.
Sniffing, he looked into her eyes, breaking her heart.
“My Mom…” he started,
“she’s…” but he couldn’t
finish the sentence and he sunk to the floor, the sheet still wrapped around
him. The three of them watched as
he put both hands up to his head and cried on the cold, marble floor.
He looked up at Beatriz, “Please, let me go home.
I’m not gonna tell anybody, I’ll be more careful.”
He pleaded.
“That’s not possible. Your
home is here now. With us. We are your family now.”
She said. But before she
could finish, he put his hands over his ears like a small child having a
tantrum.
“NO!!!” he shouted.
Sonya backed up to stand beside Camille who was crying as well.
Putting her arm around the girl, she whispered comforting words to her.
Beatriz walked over and stood directly over him.
“Yes.” She said coldly.
“You are not to go back there—“
“FUCK YOU!” he cried,
and Sonya’s hand flew to her mouth and Camille buried her face in her
shoulder.
Beatriz looked at him and their eyes met in a fiery gaze. “You are one of us now.
Accept it, or don’t, but if you decide not to—you won’t make it out
of this building alive. It’s your
choice.” She then turned and
headed for the door. Sonya and
Camille watched. Taylor sat up and
then painfully pulled himself up to stand, reaching over to grab a small statue
from the table by the window. He
flung it at the mantle where it shattered, the tiny shards clinking as they hit
the floor.
Before she went out of the room, she turned to Sonya, “I’m going to
have Kirk bring him something to feed on.”
She said, and then she walked through the tall doorway and down the hall
to her own room, rubbing her temples. The
boy had been worse to deal with than she had imagined and she wanted to gather
her thoughts alone for a few moments before all the other problems came to her
as well as this one. She sat on the
tiny chair in front of a mirror. Looking
at her reflection, she pulled the tie from her hair and let it fall, then she
ran her fingers through it, easing her stress.
She closed her eyes for a moment until a sound in the hall made her open
them again to see Taylor pulling himself into her room, holding the sheet up
with one hand, holding onto the wall with the other. “You know, I’m just about to put you over my knee—“
she started.
“I’m sorry.” He said
softly. “I just…I need to be
with them. Please.
I know you’re like, a Queen or something. If you say I can, then nobody will be able to say anything.
Please.” He said, inching
slowly toward her.
She sighed and stood up, walking to his side.
“I’m not a queen and I didn’t make this law.” She said gently, “It has always been this way.
I have no power to change it. There
are reasons for all of this.” She
said, taking his arm, and allowing him to put his weight on her.
“You must realize, you are not human anymore.
You will never be human again, Taylor.
There is no cure for this, but death.
You react differently to situations now, you are stronger, more physical.
Humans and vampires cannot live together.
It always ends badly. I know
you think you would never hurt one of them, but you would.
Your family will learn to live without you.
And they will be better off for it.”
She said, her eyes searching his for understanding.
For a moment, he looked at her, then he looked down at the floor, saying
nothing. Suddenly, she felt him
pull away from her. Leaning against the wall, he slid down onto the floor,
silently.
Beatriz looked up to see Sonya and Camille standing in the hallway,
watching. She stooped down to look
at the boy, “Taylor, you’re going to get used to it all.
You’ll see.” She said,
putting her hand on his shoulder. He
continued to stare at the floor. Standing
up, she stepped past him and went to the others.
Both of them looked distraught as well.
“He’s going to be fine. He’ll
get hungry before you know it, he’ll feed, he’ll feel better.”
Sonya looked at her, then turned and walked back into the large living
room. The fire was blazing and she
held her hands out, needing to feel the warmth.
Beatriz soon walked in as well. She
picked up a phone and began calling whoever’s services she needed.
As people began to come and go, Sonya still watched. Beatriz had many responsibilities and she felt bad for adding
to them—but she knew Beatriz wasn’t seeing the big picture.
Taylor had not been a predictable person in life, and certainly not now.
Sonya knew he was going to give her fits and she just hoped he’d
survive it.
Camille walked in and stood next to her, both of them looking into the
flames. “He’s way out of it,
Sonya.” She whispered. “I’m serious—he’s like, catatonic or whatever you
call it. Remember how he was at his
house? I think this is gonna be
worse. What’re we gonna do?”
she asked.
“There’s nothing we can do.
He just has to accept it.” Sonya
said.
Camille smirked, “Yeah, right. You
know that’s not gonna happen. He’s
gonna end up getting killed and it’ll be my fault.”
She sniffed.
Sonya looked over at her and put her hand on her shoulder, “Don’t
count him out yet. Beatriz is not
as cold as she seems. I’ve seen
her look at him.” Sonya said,
gazing over at her. She was
speaking to Kirk who had just been brought in.
Sonya narrowed her eyes at him, remembering his rough treatment of
Taylor. But, then she sighed, realizing, he had probably gone easy on
him if the truth be known.
He saw her and a smile came on his face.
When Beatriz was finished talking to him, he walked over to the two.
“So, what’s the story? What’s
the problem with Speedy?” he
grinned.
Sonya gave him a look, “If you’re referring to Taylor, he’s upset
and he seems to have been hurt pretty badly this morning.
If you remember.”
Raising an eyebrow at her, he backed up, “Oooh, I keep forgetting
he’s got you guys wrapped. So, in
order for him to have you all in his pocket like he does, he must still be a
good lay—who had him first? I’m
just so intrigued by it all.”
Camille stared at him, her eyes going cold, “Kirk, if you have the hots
for him, you probably should treat him a little nicer.
I don’t think he was into the rough stuff you tried last night.”
Kirk laughed, “Well, he is a looker, I’ll give him that. But, I have better things on my plate tonight.
Now then, I hate to leave sexy company, but, the Lady asked me for a
favor, and I can’t disappoint her. I’m
off to drag your boy back to the nursery.”
And with that, he turned and headed down the hallway.
As they watched him walk away, they turned to each other, silently
cursing him. Just then, Melanie
walked into the room dressed to the nines.
She wore fishnet hose, a short black skirt and black lace-up boots.
Her blouse was a see-through lace with spider webs worked into the
design. “What’s with the
outfit?” Camille asked.
“I got a date. May as well
look the part.” She said.
“A date?! Who with?”
Sonya gasped.
“Who do you think? I had
to get him to help me some way.” Melanie
stated.
“Ah, I wondered how he got involved.”
Sonya said, nodding her head.
“I guess he earned it.” Melanie
smiled.
“He earned a kick in the balls.”
Camille complained.
“Oh Camille, just because you’re in love…doesn’t mean ya can’t
have fun. I mean, Taylor’s a
basket case. We blew his mind or
something. You’re gonna have to
pick somebody else. Somebody
that’s not such a goody goody.” Melanie
said, sitting back on the couch and twirling her hair around her fingers.
Sonya smiled, thinking of Taylor’s kiss.
Still waters run deep, she thought.
But soon, her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Kirk.
“Your boy looks like he’s hurting, Camille.
What’s up with that?” He
asked.
Camille sighed, “He wants to go home and Beatriz says he can’t.
They sort of got into it.”
“Yeah? She didn’t zap
him again, did she? She mighta
turned his brain to mush—“ he
said, his eyes wide.
“No, no. Nothing like
that.” Sonya said.
“She just laid down the law and he didn’t like it.
That’s all.”
“Oh. Well, that’s cool. He’ll get over it. Hey,
Mel.” He said, turning to the
girl on the couch, “Ready? We
gotta bring home a doggie bag for the little dude, ok?”
Melanie stood and pulled down her skirt, “Sure thing.
It’ll be fun. See you guys
later.” She said, and she and
Kirk sauntered out the door leaving Camille and Sonya watching after them.
-----------------------------------------
“Avie.” Avery sat
up. It was eight o’clock and still, the family waited.
“Avie, can you hear me? If
you can, I miss you so much. I
can’t come home right now. But I
will. Ok?
I love you guys, tell everybody. Tell
Mom and Dad I’m ok, I just…can’t come home right now.”
Looking around, Avery saw that she was the only one who had heard her
brother’s voice.
------------------------------------------
Camille walked down the street, the wind whipping leaves around her feet.
She’d fed on a young man, probably 17 or 18, his senior ring telling
that he would graduate the following spring.
Looking up at the hotel, she counted up to the 38th floor.
It was 2 am according to the clock on the bank across the street. Finally, she watched as the light went out in the window of
the room she knew Taylor’s family had sat in all night. She walked faster now, knowing it would take a bit of work on
her part to get past the bodyguards and gain entrance to the suite.
----------------------------------------------
As Isaac and Zac made their way back to their room, they talked quietly.
“Do you think Avie really heard him, Ike?”
Zac asked.
“Well, she sure thinks she did. And
she stopped freaking out so bad afterwards.
So, yeah, I think so. I just
want to know why he’s not coming home tonight, y’know?
Is he just, tired of us now—are we not as exciting as his undead
friends?” Isaac pondered.
As they walked into the room and closed the door behind them, Zac
answered, “I hope it’s something like that.
‘Cause, really, I’d rather think he was leaving us, than that
something happened to him.” Sitting
on the bed, he flipped on the light, “I mean, those—OH GOD!!”
he said, his eyes wide.
“What!??” Isaac asked. And then he saw her. Camille
stood behind the door. “Zac, get
over here.” Isaac said quietly.
Zac rushed over and stood behind his older brother.
“What do you want? Where’s
Taylor?” he asked.
“Settle down. I’m not
here for a meal, alright?” she
said, stepping out into the light. She’d
worn a simple blue blouse, and blue jeans.
Once again, Isaac found himself thinking she was very pretty, but he also
knew she was a cold blooded killer. She
watched as the boys backed up a little, Zac almost falling over a small table
between the two beds. “I just
want to pick up a few things for Taylor.”
She said, looking around the room.
“Do you know where he is?” Isaac
asked, forgetting momentarily that she wasn’t human as he walked closer to her
again.
“He’s alright. I know
where he is. You don’t have to
worry about him.” She said sadly.
“Well, where is he, then?” Zac
asked. “Why didn’t he come home
this morning?”
“Zac,” she said,
“actually, he got hurt a little last night—“
“What did you do to him?!” Zac
exclaimed, stepping away from Isaac.
“I didn’t do anything to him. It’s
actually kinda funny…” she smiled, “Um, he fell out of a tree.”
She said, feeling a little better knowing she was at least halfway
telling the truth.
“Do what?!” Isaac asked,
his older brother instincts kicking in, “What was he doing in a tree? And I thought you guys couldn’t get hurt anyway.”
He said, crossing his arms across his chest.
She shook her head, “Of course we can.”
She said, “He just hurt his leg and he needs to stay off it for a
little while, that’s all. And I
just thought he might like to have some clean clothes and stuff.
Make him feel more at home, y’know?”
she said, looking at their backpacks in a pile in front of the window.
“How about if I just take that to him?”
Zac and Isaac looked at each other.
“How bad is it?” Isaac
asked. Zac sat down on the bed
again, trying to take it all in.
“Don’t worry, he’s being taken care of.
I promise. I won’t let
anything happen to him, alright?” She
said, trying to reassure them both.
“How about if we go with you, and we’ll give it to him.” Isaac stated as Zac’s eyes widened.
“No can do. You wouldn’t
make it out alive.” She said,
walking over to the backpacks. “Which
one is his?” she asked.
Zac walked over to stand next to her, “Um, it’s this one.”
He said, picking up the bag. As
he handed it to her, he looked into her blue eyes, “Look, I know you care
about him and stuff, take care of him, ok?”
She looked up into his dark eyes, shining with emotion, “I will.”
She said. Turning to Isaac,
she said “Is this all you think he’ll need?”
she asked.
Ignoring the question, he asked her one instead, “Is he in pain?
Is somebody able—“
“Yes, there’s a doctor. He’s
fine. I promise.”
She said.
Zac reached into Isaac’s suitcase and pulled out an old bear that had
belonged to Mackenzie and then Zoe. It
had almost been forgotten in the rush to get out of St. Louis and had been
stuffed into Isaac’s bag at the last moment, “Here, this’ll keep him
company. Tell him we’re gonna
wait here ‘til he gets back.” He
said, letting her know they wouldn’t just go away.
She looked from Zac’s eyes, to Isaac’s seeing fear and distrust, but
also strength. She understood why
Taylor wanted to come back. His
family’s love for him was incredible. But,
sadly, she knew it wouldn’t happen. “Ok,
I’ll tell him. Well, gotta
jet!” she said smiling, “The
sun waits for no one.” She tried to lighten the mood, but they just looked at
her.
She put the bear in the backpack and put it on, then walked out the door, leaving the two boys watching after her.