Night's Promise

by Sandy Lynn

  “I’m sorry you were in so much pain.” His playful manner was gone instantly.

  “I don’t remember that.” Looking into his eyes she smiled, tracing his lips with her forefinger. “What I will always remember about tonight is how the man I loved was patient and gentle, and bit the hell out of his tongue just to make sure it was special for me.”

  “Oh, Angel, you deserved more. You deserved roses and candlelight and chocolate, and all that romantic shit I suck at.”

  “If I had the choice to do it all over again, the night you described or what we did, there’s no contest. Duncan, I would gladly suffer any amount of pain to be able to feel what I felt with you.”

  “Why do you have such faith in me? Gods know I’ve never done anything in my entire life to deserve it. I’m not a good man. I’m a killer. Mel, you deserve someone who—”

  She stopped him. “My trust is not easily given, Duncan. It’s the most precious thing I have. I don’t care who you are around anyone else. I know in my heart that you will never hurt me. And quite honestly, that’s all that matters. I won’t listen to you trying to convince me that you’re a bad man. I’ll never believe that you would ever hurt me.”

  “Angel…”

  “I know we may not be forever, Duncan. I’m okay with that,” she lied, praying he wasn’t inside her mind at that moment. “But while we are together, I want you to know one very important thing.”

  “And what’s that?” He smiled.

  “If you ever badmouth yourself to me again, I will get out of this bed, go upstairs, get a knife and stab you.”

  He laughed, pulling her close. “Quite the violent little thing, aren’t you?”

  “I have a lot of pent up aggression. Want to help me work some off?” she flirted.

  “Aren’t you sore?”

  “A little. But if you’re not interested…” Melissa began to rise from the bed but Duncan pulled her back down to him.

  Lounging half on top of him, she laughed as he tickled her sides. All playfulness left when she stared in his eyes, her heart filled with love. Their kiss was frantic, as though neither could get enough of the other.

  Chapter Ten

  “Mel?”

  Melissa had just stepped out of the shower when she heard her brother calling. Quickly wrapping her body in a bathrobe, and winding a towel around her hair, she went to the door to answer him.

  “Coming,” she called back. Taking a look in the mirror to assure herself that she didn’t look any different, she prepared herself to see him. Walking out of the bathroom, she slowly walked down the stairs, following her brother’s voice. “What’s up?” she asked casually. “Why aren’t you at La’s? You two didn’t fight did you?”

  “I’m meeting her at the club. I haven’t seen you at CS lately.”

  “I’ve only been gone a few nights.” She shrugged, walking past him to get water from the fridge.

  “Four.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Not counting the night you disappeared, you’ve been gone four nights. This isn’t like you. You’re not still worried about him are you?”

  “No, Gareth. Honestly I haven’t thought about him in days. I’ve just been a little, preoccupied…”

  His eyes narrowed as she shifted, her fingers playing with the bottle cap.

  “Mel, I’m gonna find out what happened. You can tell me or…” Gareth shrugged.

  Oh dear gods no. “You wouldn’t.”

  “You know I will.”

  “You’re a big bully.”

  “I’m looking out for my little sister. Tell me what’s been going on.”

  “Now, Gareth, calm down,” she said, trying to make her voice soothing as she backed slowly from him. She would never be afraid of him, but the last thing she needed was him inside her head. “I’ve been seeing this guy I met—”

  Gareth roared. “Who is he? I want to know who the fuck he is right now.”

  “Gareth…” She tried to placate him.

  “I want to meet him, Mel. I want to meet him and let him know that if he lays a finger on you, my face is the last thing he’ll see in this life.”

  She sighed, her fingers pressing against her temple. “I’m not a child,” she told him softly.

  “I know you’re not a child,” her brother yelled. “How serious are things between you two?”

  Melissa looked away from him, her head tilting slightly to cover the side of her neck that still held Duncan’s mark. She didn’t want Gareth to know what they had been doing, but she wouldn’t lie to him either.

  A second later she felt a hand turning her head and pulling the bathrobe from her neck.

  “I’ll kill him. Who is he? He’s a dead man. What’s his name Melissa?”

  “You think I’ll tell you now? I won’t let you go bully him,” she screamed back.

  “You’re my sister,” Gareth yelled. “I don’t want some guy treating you like you’re a—” He froze mid-sentence.

  “Oh no, please, finish that thought. You don’t want some guy treating me like I’m what? A woman? A whore? What?”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” His head bowed slightly, he left the room.

  Setting the bottle down on the counter, she left the kitchen. She found him easily, sitting in the living room on the couch, head still lowered in defeat. Melissa sat down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder, the way she had done so often when she was younger.

  “When did you grow up? I look at you and I can’t believe the woman you’ve turned into. When did this happen? Why didn’t anyone tell me? When did you stop being fourteen?”

  “Gareth, I’m always going to be your little sister. I’m always going to love you and you will always be my hero. But I’m not a little girl anymore.”

  “Does he treat you right?” Gareth’s voice was soft.

  “I wouldn’t be with him if he didn’t.” Her brother’s arm circled her shoulders.

  “Will I ever get to meet him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I still kill him if he hurts you?”

  She chuckled. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe.” He looked at her and Melissa could feel the love and concern radiating off him. “Is he… Is he vampire?”

  She looked at him skeptically. “Do you really want to know?”

  “No. But tell me anyway.”

  “He is. And yes, I’ve let him drink from me,” she told him before he could ask what she knew would be his next question.

  “Gods, I did not need to know that. So you really trust him, huh?”

  “Yes, Gareth, I do.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “With all my heart. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more wonderful man. He listens to me, really listens. He doesn’t pressure me to do anything I don’t want. He’s a great guy. The second greatest man I’ve had the honor of meeting.”

  “Second?” he asked in a quiet voice. To others he was the ultimate alpha male. But around Melissa, he was simply her brother. They couldn’t have been more related if they’d had the same parents. And just as he’d reassured her about his love for her so recently, she was more than willing to do the same for him.

  “Yes, the second. Gareth, you will always be the first man I’ve ever met who gave me any hope that all men weren’t like my stepfather. You are the greatest man I know, but there is room in my heart for both of you.”

  “I know, Mel. I’m just not used to the idea of sharing you. I don’t think I like it.”

  She laughed. “You don’t have to like it.”

  “But I have to accept it,” he finished the familiar phrase. “Can we do something tonight? Just you and me, like we used to do in the old days, before you were all grown up?”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Are you too old for dinner, a movie, and miniature golf?”

  “Not if you throw in a couple of laps around the Go-Kart track.”

  “Deal.”

&n
bsp; Melissa climbed off the couch and headed to change.

  “Gareth?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t think just by buying me supper you can get out of buying me a large popcorn and candy.”

  She heard him chuckle. “You never let me get away with it before, I wouldn’t expect you to start now.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Mel.”

  *

  Melissa looked at her reflection in the mirror. Had she ever looked happy? Her gaze moved down to her cheek. The bruise was finally gone. She’d been careful not to do anything that would provoke her stepfather, given him no reason to slap her for the last week.

  Her gaze traveled to the bags under her eyes. Pulling out the makeup her former best friend had given her for her birthday, she began to conceal the shadows on her face. Sleep had become a luxury she couldn’t afford since her stepfather had begun to come to her room at night. She wouldn’t hear him approach, she’d only look up, stretching as she was about to prepare for bed and see him there, staring at her from the doorway—always staring at her.

  Instead of getting much needed sleep, she would simply open a different textbook, as though she’d only just finished with the one subject. At some point he would stop staring at her and go to his room. Only when she heard his snores would she allow herself a mere three hours of sleep, always careful to wake up early enough to take a shower before his alarm sounded. She even made sure to have breakfast on the table. When he left for work, she would finally repack her backpack and apply the camouflaging makeup before going to school.

  She was beginning to look much older than her age. She wondered if she would ever again feel carefree? Should she ask for help at school? Not from the staff—never from them. They’d already proven whose side they were on. She thought about the guy in her English class, Ben. When she’d first begun to look tired, he approached her, asking if she wanted something to help her stay awake.

  At the time she had declined. Her mom would never understand if she turned to drugs. Her eyes welled with familiar tears. Quickly blinking them back, Melissa shook her head. She couldn’t go down that road, couldn’t think of her mother. There wasn’t enough time to reapply her makeup.

  Looking at her reflection she wondered if she should take Ben up on his offer. Surely becoming an addict was better than this. It had to be better than this constant fear of what would happen if she fell asleep and her stepfather walked into her room. It had to be better than the pain inside her all the time, better than aching to see her mother again, than feeling she couldn’t talk to anyone. Sweet oblivion would be better than feeling as though she were a shadow walking through the world. Something that no one noticed anymore, that no one cared about, and, more importantly, that no one would miss.

  Her gaze lowered to the razor her stepfather used to shave. It would be so easy to give up. So easy to run a nice hot bath. By the time the school would be able to get in touch with her stepfather to report her absence, it would be too late. She’d be free of him, free of people who swore they cared about her, then turned their backs. Free of people who looked through her…

  Picking up the old-fashioned razor, she carefully removed the dull blade. Concentrating on how easy it would be, how nice it would be, how happy she’d be to see her mother, she placed the edge against the flesh of her wrist, where the blue vein began. Applying a slight pressure, Melissa fought back a cry as it dug into her flesh.

  No. Something inside of her screamed as the first pregnant drop of blood appeared.

  Dropping the blade as though it had grown red-hot in her grip, she quickly grabbed her backpack and ran out of the house to the bus stop. All day she avoided looking anyone in the face. Her former best friend, Kate, approached her at lunch, but Melissa couldn’t even look her in the eyes, she refused to speak to the other girl. She was just so tired of hurting. And she would never, ever take the chance of her stepfather approaching Kate. She cared about her friend too much to risk that happening. She’d rather lose the best friend she’d ever had than see pity in her eyes when she looked at her. And pity would be there once Kate learned what was truly happening when Melissa got home from school everyday.

  Besides, she tried to comfort herself. What could Kate do? She’d just tell her parents, they’d call the cops, and they would all believe Travis.

  Maybe Melissa would be able to escape for a short time to a hospital, but more likely she would only become drugged. Then what chance would she have against him? They’d dismiss her fears as irrational since he never acted like anything but a caring guardian around witnesses.

  “What proof do you have that he plans to hurt you?” they would ask.

  Her only proof was his stares. Stares that told her he did not see her as a child. Stares that told her he was only waiting for the chance to corner her…

  “Have you reconsidered?” The question jerked her back to the lunch-room.

  “Ben, I don’t…I can’t…I can’t afford them,” she admitted quietly. She might not be able to commit suicide, but perhaps she could kill herself indirectly.

  He sat down beside her. “Here, this one’s on me.” He pressed something into her hand, her fist closed automatically around it. “And next time, I’m sure we can work something out.” His hand rested on her knee.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Ben’s hand moved up her thigh. “You are a beautiful girl, Melissa. If you and I were together, I’d make sure you had what you need, anything you wanted.” He leaned in and kissed her lips. Though he was a handsome guy, she felt nothing.

  “Think about it,” he told her, pulling back. “You take those, and think about what I said. I’ll make sure I’m in English class all week, if you want to take me up on my offer.”

  Waiting until he left the table, Melissa put the drugs into her backpack. She didn’t try to find out what he’d handed her. She didn’t care. She finally had another option, something that would hopefully dull the pain she felt constantly.

  The school day passed quickly. When she got home, she was surprised to see her stepfather sitting on the couch waiting for her.

  “Sit down, we need to talk.”

  Hesitantly, moving against her better judgment, she followed his orders, not wanting to give him a reason to hit her.

  “You’ve been spending too much time studying.”

  “I-I want to make sure I get into a good college.”

  “That’s fine, but it’s been interfering with things that are a little more important right now. You haven’t been sleeping. Don’t think I don’t know this. And don’t think your teachers haven’t called me about the sudden change in attitude from you. They think you’re on drugs. Are you, Melissa? Are you doing drugs?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t lie to me.” He lifted his hand as though he were about to slap her. Without thought, Melissa cowered, trying to shield her face.

  “No. I haven’t, I swear.”

  “Good.” He smirked. She wasn’t sure if he was pleased she wasn’t doing drugs or by her instant cowering. Though she suspected it was the latter.

  “Now. Things are going to change around here. This is what’s going to happen. From now on, you have from the time you get home from school until I get home to study. I still expect to come home to a clean house, and supper waiting on the table. I’ll go to the bar, and you can watch TV, or study, after you finish cleaning up. When I get home you will be in bed.” His hand moved from its position on the back of the couch, to her thigh. “Do not make me come for you tonight, or you will regret it.”

  Fighting back the bile that rose in her throat, she nodded her understanding. She felt an immediate need for a shower to clean away his touch, the taint he had placed on her soul with his suggestion.

  “Good girl. I always knew you were smart. I’ll be back in about an hour. When I get back, you better be ready.”

  Acknowledging his words once again, Melissa stood, grabbing her backpack from the
floor. Tears of horror filled her eyes as he slapped her butt. She practically ran to her bedroom where she put her bag down beside her bed, in its usual spot. Waiting until she heard the front door shut, she opened her closet. She felt around until she found the loose floorboard she used for a hiding place. Ignoring the diary she used to write in, before her life became a giant nightmare she continued searching the secret spot.

  Picking up an old wallet of her mothers, she glanced inside. She had been saving up to buy her mother something nice for Christmas. But now, she had a different purpose for it. Melissa tucked the wallet safely in her back pocket.

  Finished gathering up the few things she planned to take with her, she headed for the kitchen to fix herself a sandwich. Quickly choking it down she tried to casually walk out of the house. She forced herself to keep her pace slow and easy as she walked down the street and waited for the bus. When it arrived, she got on, like she was only going to run an errand or two, knowing that none of the neighbors would see anything unusual about this. Heck, they thought it was great that she “pitched in” so much to help Travis out.

  Instead she went downtown and walked around, as though she didn’t have a care in the world. When she got hungry she walked into a fast food place and bought something to eat. When she grew tired she looked for a place that would hide her from onlookers.

  Her money lasted almost a week. When she didn’t have any left she considered going home. Maybe she could go to Kate’s house? Maybe Kate would protect her? No, her parents would send her home insisting that Travis was worried sick. Ben? She didn’t know where or how to find him.

  Thinking about it most of the day, she decided she had three options. She could go home—where she knew Travis would be beyond pissed, she could make some money, or she could show up at school and pray she could find Ben before the teachers reported her sudden reappearance.

  Every choice would involve some man using her body. Looking around, she knew she’d prefer to sell her body than her soul. And going to either Travis or Ben she’d lose both.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked through the streets, trying to gather enough courage to follow her plan through. If she couldn’t follow her plan that night, she’d go for plan b—Ben.