“Where are you from?” I ask, figuring that question is safe enough.
“Illinois, but I used to go to the University of Maine.”
“In Orono?”
“Yeah—that’s where it happened.”
“Oh.”
It turns quiet between us again. I can feel him staring at me, dissecting me but I keep my eyes on the tabletop. This is deliberate of course, because I can feel it too. This strange connection. I never thought I’d meet someone as hapless as me.
“Your parents are still in Illinois?” I ask.
“Yeah. My whole family, mom, dad, two sisters…”
“Do they know what happened to you?”
He gently shakes his head. “No.”
“You can’t tell them?”
“Why should I?”
I think about that.
“Well,” I begin, and I can’t believe I’m about to disclose this. I’m not the kind of person who reveals pieces of my soul to strangers, but I feel compelled to do so in this matter. “I told my mother about me being strong and fast, and how it scared me.” I look off, remembering how un-shocked she was by that. “But she told me she understood and to not be scared of it.”
He sniffs cynically. “Is that all? You’re fast and can fight?” he asks, wearing a lopsided grin.
He doesn’t even have to say it. I get his tone. I get what he’s thinking. “I know,” I say. “It’s not the same thing, but the moral of the story is, sometimes parents can help. They’re supposed to, right?”
“Ever been to the Bible Belt?” He’s still wearing that lopsided grin, it’s cynical.
I shake my head.
“I have no soul. No heartbeat. I crave blood, and I can’t kill a human being unless they let me. At least that’s what I heard.”
He’s searching my eyes, looking to see if I’m able to elaborate more on the subject, but I can’t, so I shrug at him.
“I’ve been around trying to figure out what’s happening to me. And I heard some call it being parched. I guess that’s the best explanation for it.”
“Parched,” I ask, hoping to lead him to explain further.
“Yeah, my throat’s been dry and hot. It always felt like it was going to crack open.”
“But you said you hadn’t been thirsty since that night.”
“I haven’t. Not since you touched me. And you don’t know what that means to me. I’m starting to believe there’s a God again.”
“Can I ask you something?” I look into his face, assessing if he’s stable enough to answer this question. I can tell he’s still shocked by his predicament and seems a little depressed by it too.
The way he’s staring into my eyes lets me know he’s giving me permission to ask.
“I was told that those guys were trying to drink you. Is that true?”
His entire face frowns. I think he’s remembering the experience. “Yeah, they were. I don’t know how I got away. They were quicker and stronger than me. But I managed to fight them off until I got to the school. Once I got there it was like I got faster and I was stronger, but I’d already evaded them a couple of times, so…”
He looks afar off, staring towards the hallway that leads to the living room.
“You ever watch those shows on Animal Planet where the gazelle is trying to get away from a pack of lions?”
I nod. I actually watch those programs all the time, whenever I decide to turn on the TV.
“I was the gazelle. They kept biting at me. And each time they struck me I got weaker.”
“Crazy,” I whisper.
I want to hug him or something, make all the bad memories go away. I want to reverse this unfortunate state he’s found himself in, but I know I can’t.
“So what are you going to do now?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
It falls silent between us again.
“But I’m sleepy now,” he says. “I haven’t been able to sleep since before I became this.”
“Are you not able to sleep?”
“I’ve been too parched.”
I look over my shoulder. We have a lot of empty bedrooms, all fully furnished by Rose, Deanna’s interior designer from Hartford, Connecticut.
“You can stay here tonight,” I offer.
“Can I stay with you?”
“You mean sleep with me?”
“Please.”
I’m confused and don’t know how to answer that. Sleep with me in my bed? I know Derek and even Mr. Lux wouldn’t like that. Heck, they wouldn’t like the fact that he’s actually here, at my table, alone with me. Supposedly I have the “Life Blood”. I’m thinking Vayle is too new to the world of vampires to understand what that means.
If my touch makes him feel better, I want to help him.
“Sure,” I say. “Why not?”
My feet are heavy as I lead him down the dark halls. What am I doing? Have I lost my mind? I’m actually about to go lie down in bed with a boy. A cute one at that. He’s so fragile, so broken. How can I be worried about the rule that says boys sleep separate from girls?
When we get to my room, I climb under the blankets as he stands in the doorway watching me. I think he feels a little hesitant too. I pat the empty space beside me.
“Come on,” I say. “Let’s get this over with.” I muster up an encouraging grin.
He moves so fast that I can hardly see it, but right now, he’s sliding into bed beside me.
We’re both lying on our backs, but he’s taken my hand. So now we’re, holding hands and the sides of our bodies are touching.
This is how I feel—genuinely warm. This explanation seems too simple for the complexity of what’s happening between us. Warmth is filling me up, and it’s strange as heck. I’m a little squeamish about it until he asks, “Do you feel that?”
“I do,” I quickly reply, glad all of this isn’t in my head.
“So I’m a vampire, but what are you?” he asks.
“I have no idea, but I heard I’m something.” I turn on my side to face him, and he turns to face me too. We grab hands again. “I guess we’re both new to this.”
He closes his eyes. “I guess so,” he whispers. I watch as he drifts off to sleep, still holding my hand.
There’s a loud buzzing sound filling the air. I flick my eyes open to see that Vayle and I are no longer facing each other. He’s cradling me tightly in his arms, but I’m able to wiggle free enough to reach over and fumble the alarm off.
What’s strange is he doesn’t even budge. He’s like truly dead to the world. I mean really dead. Today’s a school day and I think I finally have an excuse to stay home, but then I remember, Derek is supposed to come over. I can’t let him see Vayle here.
I get up to go dig that cell phone Deanna bought me two Christmases ago out of a shoebox I keep in the bottom of my closet. The battery needs to be charged of course, so I use the charger to power it up. I have Deanna’s cell number plugged into it. I only use it to call her, which I rarely do because she’s always calling to check in on me. I need to make sure she’s not showing up today.
Once I get all plugged in, I pull her number on the contact list and push the button to call. I hear two buzzes before she picks up.
“Z-cup, is everything okay?” is the first thing she says, alarmed, figuring it must be serious since it’s me doing the calling.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Mom. I just want to know when you’re coming home.”
“Soon, honey. Is there fog this morning?”
“No, but…” I stop myself. If Vayle wasn’t here, I probably would’ve tried to shame her into showing up like she promised two days ago. I can’t stop myself from being torn. I want her here at home, like a mother should be on one hand, and on the other, I’m harboring who I’m sure will be an unwelcomed guest in the house. “Just when will you be here? I need to know when.”
“Look, I got pulled into this merger. It’s going to take some time, but you’re safe, that’s all that matters.�
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I shake my head and pull my mouth tight. I’m aware that I’m angry with her at the moment. “Whatever,” I bark. I want to hang up in her face, but I’ll never disrespect her like that.
“Are you upset? Don’t be upset.”
I roll my eyes. I want to say I’m not, but I am, so I don’t say anything. “Just when will you be home?”
“Next week I believe, maybe. But I’ll call you every day.”
“Okay,” I barely say. I want to cry, like actually break out into the cry of a heartbroken eight year old who misses her absentee mommy, who’s out traveling somewhere on business. She’s been doing it all of my life, and I’m tired of it.
When she hangs up, I drag myself to the bathroom to wash my face, thinking, maybe I should’ve begged her to at least be home by tomorrow. That’ll give me time to deal with Vayle, as I’m sure he has to eventually go off to where vampires live.
When the ice cold water finally warms up, I make a cup with my hands and splash it over my face. That’s when I really start to cry. More than missing her, I’m just so lonely.
“Are you okay?” I hear from behind me, and I jump startled and whip around. There’s Vayle.
We’re standing face to face.
“Yeah,” I say, sniffing.
He slides a finger down my cheek. “But you’re crying.”
“Oh.” I’m lost for words, wondering how he could distinguish the faucet water from the tears. Plus, I’m embarrassed too. I’m a little too old to be crying for my mommy.
I take one last sniff to clog up the water works. “So what do vampires do all day?” I say and put on a genuine smile.
He still shows some residual distress on his face. “Avoid the sun,” he says.
I point upwards. This bathroom has the same glass top sunroof that’s over the patio.
“But you’re standing in the sun now.”
We’re both are looking up. Though it’s not directly above, sunlight is flooding in because the clouds are breaking up.
He holds up his bare arms and studies them. “I’m not burning,” he whispers with wonderment.
“Have you burned before?” I ask. Although I know nothing about his experiences with being a vampire, I find myself being pulled in to this miracle.
“Yeah, a lot.”
Now we’re staring at each other. He studies his arms again as if he’s waiting for them to burn at any moment.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” I say.
He smiles at me. It’s the first time I’ve seen him do that, smile.
“I don’t think so either,” he says, still beaming.
“So now what are you going to do with your day?”
Wearing a crooked smile, he lifts his eyebrows at me and says, “I don’t know, but the sky’s the limit, isn’t it?”
I almost feel jealous of him. I wish the sky were the limit for my day as well. I’m ill-equipped to go running off in a vampire’s world. Then I remember, Derek will be here soon.
“I have to get ready for school,” I finally say.
“Can I go with you?”
“No way!”
He narrows his eyes at me, but he’s grinning too.
“Okay,” he calmly says and then walks out of the bathroom with his hands behind his back like a little boy who’s decided to be naughty. I’m a little suspicious of his intentions, but I let it go.
Vayle goes out on the patio to sit under the sun while I throw on a pair of carpenter styled white jeans and a red V-neck sweater with a white tee-shirt underneath. I slip on my brown lace up workers boots and I’m ready to go.
After grabbing my book bag, I step onto the sliding glass doorway to the patio.
“Heading to school,” I call out to Vayle. “Are you going to be okay here by yourself?”
He looks me up and down from head to toe and says, “Oh, one of those.”
I frown incredulously. “One of what?”
“One of those super-hot girls who try not to be hot, but it never works because they’re way too beautiful.”
Both sides of my mouth are still turned down as I look down at my attire.
“That’s not it,” I rebut.
“Is that what you tell yourself?”
“It’s not what I tell myself, it’s what I know.”
“I got to tell you. It just makes girls hate you more. Just because you don’t have to try and they do. And guys just think you’re that much hotter for the same reason. So it’s not working.”
I’m frowning at him, still speechless.
He stands. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says, and he looks earnest about it.
After a long moment, I try to display the most unaffected look I can conjure up. “That’s okay.” I dip the top of my head towards the path to the front door. “I’m leaving now.”
“Okay,” he says quietly.
“Okay,” I say just as quietly.
When I get outside the cold engulfs me. Our entire property is covered with snow. When I get home today, I’ll have to shovel the driveway and walkway, which takes me only a couple of minutes to complete.
I glance over my shoulder at the door. I want to go back inside and forget school today. I almost convince myself to do just that when I look down by the edge of the property and there’s Derek standing there, waving at me.
The next thing I know he’s standing right in front of me. That’s how swift he moved. It’s seems like everybody I’m meeting lately can move fast—even myself.
“Hey,” he says, wearing that lopsided smile.
“I could’ve come down there,” I say.
I’m working hard at being my usual self; I don’t want him to suspect that I have a guest in the house. The last time they met, he wanted to kill Vayle and Mr. Lux would’ve if he hadn’t gotten away.
“It’s no problem. Are you ready?” he asks.
“Yes.” I say that too fast and try to loosen up a little more.
“Are you okay, Zill?”
“Yeah, I’m just, um…” I’m thinking trying to come up with a valid excuse. “I called my mother this morning and she’s not coming home yet, so…”
What’s strange is that when I look to him for a response, his expression remains blank. He’s withholding what he knows, and he knows something about Deanna’s trip. Because of it, I no longer feel guilty about withholding my secret from him.
“Anyway, let’s go, Wek, before we’re late.” I smile at him and he smiles back.
We’re walking up the road, moving quick but not as fast as he moved to my door earlier. I live pretty far from school and am definitely the only person that walks there who lives in this widespread neighborhood. The other good thing is there are only a handful of students who live in Main Valley, a vast stretch of land where a bunch of people from big cities decided to build their rural palaces upon and only live in them during the summer and some weekends in the spring. Absolutely all of their kids attend boarding school somewhere or are lucky enough to remain in the city and go to school. Usually, this is what I sulk about every morning while taking this walk but not today.
Derek’s quiet this morning. I take a quick glance at him. Like usual he smells really good and looks good too. We’re such a paradox. I’m back wearing what Deanna has termed as “hobo gear.” He’s wearing a fresh pair of blue jeans, a soft cream colored preppy styled high V-neck sweater under a brown leather coat and brown loafers. Those strange dark emerald green eyes of his are bright this morning, and his beautiful face is radiant.
“What?” he asks grinning at me.
That’s when I realize I too am grinning from ear to ear. “Nothing,” I say at first, but then decide it doesn’t hurt to ask him what I’m thinking. “Well, yeah something.”
“What?” His interest is definitely piqued.
“Do you look like this and smell like this because you’re a Wek?”
“Like what?”
I shrug because I feel self-conscious at the moment. It�
�s like I’m revealing what I want to keep secret. “Attractive, I guess,” I look down at the snow to say.
“You think I’m attractive?”
I take a peek at him, and it’s clear by the sly grin he’s wearing that he knows how uncomfortable I am at the moment.
“No,” I answer. Now we’re both grinning.
He just nods. “She thinks I’m good looking and smells good.”
I sigh hard. “Okay, yes, I do and so is it because you’re a Wek?”
“Isn’t attraction subjective?”
“What do you mean by subjective?”
“To some I may be attractive but to others I’m not. It’s all about what the attracted finds attractive.”
I sniff a cynical chuckle. “Was that a riddle?”
“Did you not understand it?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “I understood it, but did you have to say it that way?”
His loud laugh fills the cold air around us. I’m smiling at how genuine it sounded. I think he finds me amusing on levels that are baffling to me, which I do indeed find interesting. I never thought of myself as an amusing person, a cranky one—yes.
When he stops laughing I just stare at him without shame. I can do that now. I want to tell him about the vampire named Vayle who’s hiding out in my house. But I don’t. I would never betray Vayle that way.
He’s looking at me too. We’re actually sharing a moment. I feel it.
“How about we get candy apples for lunch today?” he asks.
“Now that’s the perfect idea,” I answer still smiling giddily.
Then a loud series of honks sound off, and we both look towards the road. A red tiny compact car with chains on the tires is rolling past us. I take a closer look at the driver. It’s Riley Sims glaring at us with narrowed eyes.
“You know, you really have to…” I start as I touch Derek on the shoulder. I feel a rush of energy shoot through me, and I snatch my hand back.
He’s watching me with wide eyes, so I know he felt it too. What do these physical reactions mean? The vampire fills me with warmth, but the Wek makes my soul flutter.
“I have to what?” he says, breathing heavily.
I’m attempting to settle my rapid breaths too. “Talk to her.”
“Okay,” he says.
“Okay,” I say.
The Seventh Sister, A Paranormal Romance Page 7
