by Helen Bright
Sally was all blush and fuss; she ruffled her hand through his hair saying, “Well, you will be looked after while you are here young man, that you can be sure of.”
Leonard just shook his head before he turned to me and said, “Will there be anything else Freya?”
“No Leonard. Just say thank you to Millie for the lovely breakfast would you, please. And we will see you later before we leave for Hornsea.”
Leonard nodded and then both he and Sally left us to our breakfast. I sat at the bottom of the bed and took the teapot and cups from Daniel’s tray, placing it on his bedside table. Then I took a plate of breakfast and toast from the tray before lifting the legs from underneath it, so it was raised enough for Daisy to eat her breakfast more comfortably. I glanced up to find Daniel watching me closely.
“Do you do this often when Keeley is here?” he gestured to the breakfast trays and plates spread out in front of us.
“At least once,” I said as I cut Daisy’s sausages and bacon into smaller pieces.
“You are really good with her,” he said before taking a drink from his tea.
“She’s a joy to look after, aren’t you Daisy?” I laughed as she dipped her toast in the runny egg yolk and tried in vain to catch it in her mouth before it spilled onto her chin.
“Didn’t you ever want your own kids?” he asked innocently. “You would make a really good mum.”
And just like that, my appetite had vanished. I placed my knife and fork down on the plate and I rose from the bed.
“I’m not as hungry as I thought I was,” I said, trying to hide my hurt. “I will go and get ready first; then I can get Daisy dressed when she’s finished her breakfast.”
“Freya, wait,” he said, confused yet concerned. But I didn’t stop moving until I was inside my room with the door closed.
Daniel had done nothing wrong. Obviously, Keeley had respected my privacy and hadn’t told Daniel how my children had lost their lives. But I couldn’t help the pinch in my heart as I thought of having my own children around me. Cutting up their food, getting them dressed, and all the silly mundane things that don’t seem important to you at the time, but yet add to the memories you keep locked in your head about good times long passed.
I would give absolutely anything to spend one more day with my daughter. To hold my baby son in my arms and feel his breath against my cheek. Something that I never once got to feel because he had never got the chance to breathe. The tears came like they always did, falling silently down my face as I washed them away with the spray from the shower.
But unlike most other days, I had to pull myself together. I had little Daisy to think about for a while, and Daniel, too. Their lives had been disrupted by someone taking Keeley’s choice away from her, forcing her into immortality just like I had been. I needed to help them make the best of a bad situation, and I couldn’t do that if I were alone in my room grieving.
I quickly dressed and tied my shoulder length blonde hair up in a high ponytail. My grey eyes hadn’t taken long for the puffy redness from crying to fade, courtesy of being a vampire. I dialled Leonard to bring me up a bag of blood. I didn’t want to leave my room and risk running into Daniel.
Going out during the day always made me tired, I was a vampire after all, although being a born immortal I was able to tolerate the sun. Poor Keeley wouldn’t have that option for another century at least.
When Leonard knocked at my door then walked in, he instantly knew I had been crying. I swear that man knew me better than I knew myself at times. He brought me the bag of blood but offered his wrist first.
“No Leonard, it’s okay. Bagged stuff will do today,” I told him with a smile. My staff let me drink from them if I ever needed to. Unlike at Night Movers where the staff donated blood in a clinical environment, my staff donated straight from the vein. They, in turn, were offered enough of my blood to replenish theirs, and this also kept them fit and well, and prevented them from ageing.
Unlike when a bonded couple donates during sex, there was no emotion or hormonal response from myself or my staff during the giving and taking of blood. And it wasn’t needed that often. Once a week was enough to keep these humans with me.
Leonard and Millie have been with me for over a hundred years, although Frank and Sally came later. I depended on them like you depend on family, and I loved them all dearly. Especially Leonard. If I could have chosen a father from anyone ever to grace this earth, it would have been him.
“What’s wrong Freya?” he asked, cupping my cheek before pulling me in for a hug.
I told him what had happened when Daniel asked about me having children. How I had become upset and left the room without explaining anything.
“Well Freya, maybe it wasn’t the right time to tell them, what with little Daisy being all ears, but you can talk about your children, even if you don’t speak about how they died. You could tell Daniel that they passed away in an accident many years ago, but it shouldn’t stop you talking about them.
“From what you have told me, your little Brisa was a lively young girl, who had much love for everyone in her heart. I have told you before it’s not good to keep your memories of her to yourself and Alex. Share them with others Freya, let them know how special she was. How you and your husband adored her, and how happy you were to be expecting again. I hate to see you unhappy my dear and I would love to see the day when you find that special someone who can share your life and your memories, and help you make new ones. I always thought that Gregor would be the one to capture your heart in that way, but maybe it will be a human male that will sweep you off your feet. Maybe someone not too far away,” he said as he raised his eyebrows and nodded towards the room where Daniel and Daisy ate their breakfast.
“Behave yourself, Leonard,” I groaned.
“Oh, I wasn’t implying anything Freya,” he said with a smirk. “I just found it very amusing how you and Sally seemed quite taken with a certain blond male this morning.”
“Out, shoo,” I gestured towards the door. “I bet you all had a good gossip in the kitchen this morning,” I said, pretending to be cross.
“I never gossip,” he said with mock outrage. He pecked me on the tip of my nose before leaving. I watched as he walked down the stairs. I wondered just how much meddling my staff were going to do over the next few days. God knows they did it often enough with Gregor. We both found their attempts at matchmaking pretty funny over the years, with Gregor playing up to their secret endeavours to see me fall in love. I suppose it was a shame that couldn’t happen. Gregor is a wonderful guy, but I could never fulfil some of his baser needs.
Gregor and women are a complicated equation. He’s kind, respectful, and endearing…outside of the bedroom, that is. I know how hard he tried to be the kind of man I wanted, but that was never going to happen. I was too strong a woman to submit to him and I never even wanted to try, he knew that. Yet still, to the outside world, he and I would have made a good couple.
Instead, he is my best friend. One who I share my past and present with, and one who has seen me cry but never made me feel vulnerable.
Daniel made me feel vulnerable.
A human male with all the weaknesses they possess made me feel vulnerable with an innocent question. Because answering truthfully would have brought me back to a time when I was human. Weak and vulnerable enough that my family was taken from me. That’s something I do not miss about my humanity. I like the fact that I am physically stronger and have the age and wisdom to see past things that can blind emotional humans to the danger that surrounds them.
But now here I was, caring for a human family in my home for less than twenty-four hours, and I had already shed tears. And I also had a strong feeling that things in my relatively uncomplicated life were about to change significantly, and for all the power I possessed, it wouldn’t be enough to stop it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Daniel
Daisy was exhausted. She had fallen asleep on the short journey back from the
beach at Mappleton and was still asleep as I carried her indoors. I had really enjoyed today, although I felt guilty that Keeley wasn’t with us. Freya was a little quieter than she normally was, though, and I think it was because of something I said this morning. Everything was going ok until I asked her about children and she just clammed up and said she wasn’t hungry anymore. I felt really bad, but with Daisy around us today I didn’t get a chance to ask her about it and apologise for upsetting her.
We went to an outlet place called Hornsea Freeport first of all as Freya wanted to buy some clothing for Daisy. I made her put her money away, because if there was something Daisy needed, then I was going to buy it for her. Freya seemed put out by that but didn’t argue too much.
I also bought some swim shorts and put them on in the fitting rooms after I bought them. I hadn’t brought any from home as I didn’t think it would be warm enough to be beach weather, but today was unusually hot and sunny.
We then went along to the beach. Near the car park were some shops where we were able to buy Daisy a bucket and spade and two small tennis racquets with a softball.
Freya’s housekeeper had brought a cool box to the car with lots of food so that we could have a picnic on the beach. I carried the box along with the huge blanket and towels while Freya carried the rest.
I suppose to most people we looked like a normal family, husband, wife, and child, and it gave me a bit of a thrill to think of us that way.
I wanted something like this now. I had been too long living the single life and felt that, at twenty-five, it was time to settle down. Of course, I would have to find someone to settle down with, because the woman walking with me now wouldn’t settle for someone like me.
She had a huge home with staff to help her run it, and a successful business. Freya could never settle for someone like me, working a permanent night shift at her brother’s company, and only just able to afford to pay for my flat and car.
We stopped at a spot on the beach that gave us enough room to lay the blanket down and play a few games. Freya stood up and took off her sundress. Holy shit…how on earth was I supposed to last the day looking at Freya in that little flowery bikini she wore underneath it? Fucking hell, she only had to smile at me and I had a hard on, so this was going to be pure torture. Suddenly swim shorts didn’t seem like such a good idea, because even with careful adjustments I couldn’t hide the stiffy I sported.
Daisy was asking me to go to the sea with her so she could fill up a bucket with sea water, but I couldn’t move until I got myself under control. Freya took her hand and led her down to the sea, and that gave me another great view, as Freya from behind was just as sexy as Freya from the front.
Just breathe Dan, and think about what today is all about; letting Daisy enjoy herself and not miss her mum too much, I told myself. And after a few deep breaths and thinking about work, I was able to finally stand up and get the towels ready for Freya and Daisy to come back to.
After taking Daisy to bring water another couple of times, I started to build a huge sand castle with her. I hadn’t built sand castles since a few years before my mother died. Keeley and I used to build huge ones with a moat around the outside, and we would also bury Dad’s feet in the sand. Mum used to walk us along the beach looking for interesting shells we could put on the outside of our sandcastle, and Dad would take us to rock pools and tell us about all the creatures we found in them. But now my mother was gone and my Dad was an alcoholic going through rehab.
I suddenly realised that Daisy wouldn’t get those kinds of memories anymore because Keeley couldn’t go out in the sun, and Josh had to limit the time he was out in it, too. So I vowed to make this week extra special for Daisy, and to take her on holiday every year to give her the things that made me happy as a child.
“Penny for your thoughts,” said Freya as she leaned her shoulder into mine.
“I just thought that I wanted to make Daisy some good memories today, because she won’t be able to do this with Keeley anymore.”
“I know, and I am so sorry that this has happened. For Keeley more than Daisy. She’s young yet, and children can be very resilient about some things. But Keeley will really suffer not being able to do the things most of us take for granted. Let’s make some videos and take pictures of this week; then we can send them to her so she can see that Daisy is okay and having a good time,” said Freya.
So that’s what we did. The video we sent was of Daisy making a sand castle, but we had to have three goes at it before we got one where the turret stayed on when she pulled the bucket away. Then Freya took one of Daisy and me attempting to play tennis, although, again, Daisy made us redo that video until she could finally hit the ball.
We got someone to take a photograph of us all having our picnic together. I had to put my arm around Freya so we all could fit in the photograph, and it felt really good to hold her against me. I noticed she shivered a little when I did that, so I told her we could head back to the car if she felt cold. Freya said she was okay, but would put on her sundress.
The dress didn’t have any sleeves on it, so I handed her my t-shirt to wear. When she put it on, the hard on I tried to keep in check since we arrived at the beach would not stay down. There was something about her wearing my clothes that made me feel like Freya was mine. That she belonged to me just as much as the t-shirt she wore, but that she would fit my body better than any clothing ever could.
After a few hours of being on the beach, we finally decided it was time to go.
On the way back Freya took us to the beach at Mappleton, which was the village next to where she lived. She pointed out all the huge rocks and boulders that have been brought in to slow down the rapid coastal erosion that was happening all over the east coast of England. Freya promised to take me on a walk on the cliffs near her home in Aldbrough later so I could see how they had been affected.
I looked forward to it, not just because I found it interesting, but because I would be with Freya. I enjoyed her as a person and the passion she had for things that she was interested in, not just because she was gorgeous.
On the way back to Freya’s car we each held one of Daisy’s hands in our own and swung her up in the air. Both Daisy and Freya were giggling away. I was also grinning from ear to ear. I thought that today may be awkward, or that I wouldn’t enjoy it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It was only last year that I went on two lad’s holidays, one to Ibiza and one in Magaluf, and I thought sun, sea, sand, booze, and sex made for the best holiday ever. But today, being on the beach with my niece and Freya had given me more pleasure than any lad’s holiday ever did.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Freya
We had to wake Daisy up for her bath. She was so tired that she was yawning the whole way through it. After a sandwich and a warm milky chocolate drink, she went off to bed so that Sally could read her a story. Sally and Frank were going to watch over her while I took Daniel for a walk around the cliffs and the village before it became too dark. I was a little nervous if I’m honest. For some reason, I wanted Daniel to be impressed with this little coastal village, and I wasn’t sure if it was really his thing.
I know he had spent his teenage and adult life in and around Barrowfield and the small town of Rothley. But Aldbrough village is tiny, with only a post office with a small general store attached, a fish and chip shop, two pubs, a guest house, and a church. Other than the small caravan park, that was it. I loved it, but other people may find it boring. I wanted Daniel to see its quaint beauty, and how friendly everyone was. I wanted him to love it as much as I did.
We walked along the cliff side around the caravan park first as we had only about an hour of daylight left by the time we had walked to the village. The sea was calm, and the sunset shone pink hues throughout the sky.
“It’s nice here Freya,” said Daniel as we made our way back to the village from the cliffs.
“It’s no wonder you don’t want to live in Barrowfield, even though
I know Keeley would love it,” Daniel said.
“I know Alex would like me to live there, too. Especially now with the new baby coming, and to be honest, that’s the only drawback of living an hour’s drive away. It’s not like I can just pop round, but it’s not like I live at the other end of the country either. So I will just have to make up lots of excuses to be in Barrowfield more, and then I can get my hands on the new baby and Daisy for lots of cuddles.”
“And you could always come and see me,” he said as he took my hand. “Then maybe I can show you a good night out around Rothley.”
“I would like that Daniel,” I said with a smile. I don’t know whether it was the invitation he gave me for the night out, or the fact he was still holding my hand that kept the smile on my face, but for some reason, I felt happy all of a sudden.
“Call me Dan, Freya. All my friends do, and Keeley.”
“Okay, Dan it is.”
“I think this morning I said something that upset you Freya, and I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to.”
And just like that, my happiness vanished. I tried to pull my hand away, but he held on to it tightly and pulled me towards him.
“I want to know what upset you Freya, so I don’t upset you again. You don’t have to tell me, but I swear that I’m a good listener and I’m not one to spill secrets, either.”
I looked around, at the rugged coastline and at the closing darkness edging its way into the sky. Could I do this? Could I tell one more soul about the day my human life ended? Daniel turned my face towards him and swore. He must have seen the glaze of tears forming in my eyes, because he said, “I’m sorry Freya, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I should never have brought it up.”
I leaned into him and he put his arms around me, holding me tight to his chest as he kissed the top of my head. My tears were silent, but there were many of them. I decided that Leonard was right. Maybe I should let more people into my life and not hide my past. I took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go and sit down on that bench. This may take a while.”
