“I see. I’ll wait for you downstairs, then.”
His footsteps filled my ears. As I regained solitude in my chamber, I thought of Peyton’s pretty face and sweet smile.
I stood up and raced downstairs with a renewed enthusiasm and inspiration. As I met my father in the dining hall, I smiled at him while he sipped from his cup of coffee.
“I guess breakfast can wait. I’ll be back soon, father.”
His grin was the answer I was waiting for. He tipped his head shortly, after which he went on with his sumptuous first meal of the day.
I was storming the forest as I ran at full speed, my vampire skills rekindled by a powerful desire to see Peyton once again. As I passed through the tall, shady trees, I recalled the days we ventured together the mysteries of the woods. I could not wait to see her again.
I checked my wristwatch and realized that it was still early. She must be preparing for work in her house. As fast as I could, I directed my way towards her residential lot, readying myself to face her again after weeks of disappearing for good.
I was standing on her neatly trimmed lawn as I spotted her walking past a window from her kitchen. She was still the same old Peyton, the one that sparkled brightly among the crowd. It was a quick glimpse of her, but it was sufficient to make my heart leap in high spirits. She was the strength I sought during the tough days of my life, and yet I was so stupid to avoid my source of courage when I needed it the most.
As she settled near the window to eat her breakfast, I patiently waited for her to look in my direction. I did not want to bother her with a ring from the doorbell. The sight of her was truly majestic that I could not take my eyes off of her pretty face for a second.
Despite her beautiful face, there was something missing. Her eyes looked troubled as if there was a thought bugging her confident, composed nature. She was a smart woman that could overcome anything that came on her way, but she looked defeated. The fire in her eyes seemed to cool down into a pile of woods.
Although I enjoyed watching her, I could not contain my concern for her unwell state. I walked in the door and clicked the doorbell. I listened to her footsteps before she opened the door. Her lips were parted while her pupils were dilated as if she saw me as a corpse.
“Peyton, I’m sorry.” I looked at her with all candor, but my words seemed to wake her from her sleep. Her surprised expression turned into consternation as if I was the person she least wanted to deal with. She was studying my eyes as if I was a culprit, the familiar charm she had exhibited around me was replaced by discomfort and disgust.
I pushed the door as I anticipated her next move. She was shutting me away without hearing me out. Peyton seemed to have hated me, but I was not willing to lose her too easily.
“Peyton, please talk to me.”
“There’s nothing much to talk about, Jorge.” She was avoiding my eyes. I knew something was up with her, although she was trying hard to suppress it inside of her chest.
“Please.”
Finally, she gave up and let go of the knob. “Come in.”
I walked into her house for the first time. Everything was in disorder as if there was a mad hurricane that ruined her shelter. As I followed her towards the living room, I noticed that she was still in her sleepwear. She was not rushing to prepare for work as well, as her legs walked in a sluggish manner.
“There.” After she cleared the papers scattered on the couch, she motioned her hand towards the cleared space. I sat on the spot while she remained standing with arms crossed beneath her chest.
“So, now what? Speak up.” Her brows were contorted in anger, but her eyes kept looking away from mine. I could feel her trembling, but she was covering all her worries with an agitated front.
“I know I messed up, Peyton. I’m really sorry.”
Silence filled the air. Peyton stood frozen, but her eyes were on the floor. She was finding ways to ignore me, and I needed to get her attention.
“Peyton?”
Seeing her unaffected by my apologies, I stood up and worked my way to close the gap between us. She seemed to be wary of my motives, shooting me sharp glares with her hands raised before her. As if I was a threat, she took some steps backward away from me.
“Step back, step back!”
“Peyton, I’m not going to hurt you.” I tried to calm her down, but her frantic stares seemed to evolve more distressed and menaced.
“Don’t come near me, Jorge! Step back!”
“Peyton, calm down.”
“You’re the killer!”
Her words beat me hard. My body tensed as she took more steps away from me. It was as if things had turned upside down, and my stomach was very much upset about it. And then I came to realizations why she was acting strangely. Something must have triggered the fear in her, she must have known who I really was.
“How can you say those things, Peyton?” I tried to keep my tone down, but deep inside I was dying to squeeze the information out of her. She looked pressured by my question, but she kept on distancing herself away from me.
“I know! Don’t you dare come near me!” She grabbed the nearest thing of reach, which happened to be a small, porcelain doll. I was undaunted by her assault, so I took more steps towards her. My hands were reaching for her, wanting her to come in my arms and tell me that this was a bad joke. Instead, I felt the hard thing hitting my head. The fragile fragments of the ornament fell before me, and I could feel the blood trickling down from my forehead.
I felt nothing, but there was an injury inflicted on my face. This intense scenario seemed to be Peyton’s wake up call. She ran towards me, returning to her senses. I felt her warm touch on my skin as she examined the wound. Her eyes which were capped by icicles of anxiousness and fright melted away.
“Oh, Jorge. This looks bad. I’m sorry.” Tears began to fall from her eyes. I was to wipe her tears, but she flinched to my motive.
“Peyton, I’m not going to harm you or even anyone. I am not a killer.”
Unconvinced by my sincere intentions, Peyton stormed out of the living room. I followed her as she walked into her room. She was kneeling before her bed, taking something under the furniture. As she pulled a huge box that was decorated in black and red colors, I was keenly observing what she was unboxing.
“Then explain this to me!” Peyton’s hands were shaking as she lifted a bunch of news clippings with torn edges. I was staring at them with a curious viewpoint, intrigued by what she meant. As she reached them over for me to see, I realized what she was prying about.
She wiped the remainder of tears from her flushed cheeks. “Tell me, who really are you, Jorge Savage?”
As I flipped the dreaded news printed on the old, yellow papers, I was enlightened by her appalled reaction towards my return. I could not fathom the meaning of this message, but whatever the anonymous sender’s goals were, he was dying to smear my image with blood and flip the story around to jeopardize me.
Behind the news clippings that reported the mysterious murders and gruesome deaths of people throughout the ages were fragments of a portrait carefully stroked in precise lines to illustrate my face in utmost perfection.
And then, Peyton’s voice came echoing in my ears. She was grasping a lighter which I had not noticed where she got. “Tell me the truth or I’ll burn you to death.”
Chapter 16: Peyton Hunt
Waking up today made me realize that this nightmare had learned to penetrate the realm of reality. No matter how hard I block the barrier between the truth and make-believe, everything just had to come back to this.
Jorge Savage. This new, enigmatic lad that moved in the small town of Kingsville changed my life in a snap of his finger. I had fallen deep into his trap, and whatever that he was plotting seemed to have fit the puzzle he was trying to complete.
That’s why as soon as he rang my doorbell and appeared before my house as if nothing happened, I felt offended and terrified at the same time. His coy smile seemed to melt a par
t of me that used to be delicately affected by him, but I psyched myself to fight whatever sympathy I felt for him.
“Spit it out!”
I was holding the lighter with unsteady hands, trembling in horror as I devoted my full attention to him. He was harmful and deadly, and I needed to keep my guards up around him. It was a silly decision to let him in, but for some reason, I felt it was the right thing to do.
My guts told me that I needed to give him a chance, or so I thought.
His eyes were still all over the pieces of paper that were on the floor, arranged to decipher his own beautiful features. He looked shocked as if he did not expect things to unfold at this instant, but fate’s jokes seemed to knock on people’s doors when they least anticipated it to come.
“Peyton, I don’t know who’s giving you these things, but I’m not the one responsible for any of these deaths.” His eyes were still in the photo, studying every bit of line as if he could get something out from the tiniest detail.
By the tone of his voice and the way he looked at the clues, he looked puzzled himself. I did not want to become biased by the way he reacted on his own sketch, but he might be speaking of the truth.
“Don’t fool me again, Jorge. I barely know anything about you. How can I trust a stranger?” I kept my eyes on his face. It had been the face carved by the angels from above, and his charm never dwindled despite his intense emotions. I was dying to see him again, and now that he was before me, I felt joyous despite the distress of the situation.
“Peyton, trust me. I don’t know anything about these things.” His eyes finally met mine. I was awestruck by the luster of his tantalizing, expressive eyes. I found it hard to divert my attention from something other than his stares, but keeping my gaze on his eyes would only drown me in obsession.
I was out of breath when I felt him come near me, his fingers touching my chin gently. He tipped my face towards his direction. While I was seated on the cold ground of my room, my body warmed comfortably with his touch.
“I know I’m unfair. I have kept a lot of things from you. You deserve to know everything. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Peyton.” He stood up and held out a hand, offering me help to rise up from my pitiful state. It would be a stupid choice to believe him with everything that’s confronted before me, but giving him the privilege was not wrong either.
I seized his hand, feeling a little worried about the possibilities waiting for me. Again, I decided to follow my intuition without thinking much of the rationale of things. I would not be surprised if people would criticize my poor analytical skills.
“You better start now before I change my mind.” I released his hand immediately after I was able to stand. Jorge looked unsure about his decision, but he committed with his promise.
"Showing evidence of the truth will be better than explaining them through words.” He pulled my hand out of my house, and I came willingly to his lead. As soon as we were out of my lot, he was squatting down and posing to carry me like a newly wedded bride.
“What do you think are you doing?” I stepped away from him as soon as I uncovered his motives. He kept a concentrated expression with passionate eyes. My weak link was taken advantage again by the opponent, washing away all the fire burning in my heart.
I let out a sigh before I nodded. After my affirmative signal, Jorge swung me in his arms, carrying me in a heartbeat without any struggle. His mighty arms were like that of a valiant warrior, rescuing me from the dangers of the world. I was so mesmerized by the scene that I forgot about the people around me, and what they would think we were doing in the streets.
Just when I was imagining the shame I was to experience, Jorge started running effortlessly along the pavement. The romantic aura that emitted from the experience turned into an embarrassing one as if we looked like a mad couple mortifying ourselves to try new, exciting things. But then again, Jorge never failed to unlock surprises whenever we were together.
My jaw dropped as I felt the cool wind hitting my skin, covering my entire body. Everything around us turned into a blur, deduced into nothing but sheer opaqueness. I wanted to address my queries to Jorge, but the supernatural experience of entering a portal leading me to somewhere I did not know ended in a speed of light.
Jorge and I were standing before a tall castle that looked abandoned and haunted as if it was an ancient establishment which was home to the first monarch of the world. I looked around and realized that it was at the edge of the forest as if it was kept hidden by the thickest, tallest, and sturdiest trees of the woods. No doubt it was left unseen by mostly all folks from Kingsville.
Jorge put me down slowly to ensure I was able to stably stand. He let out a shy smile as he motioned me to enter the house with him. “Welcome to my home, Peyton.”
I was still nauseous from the disorienting trip to his home, but I followed his lead. As we stood before the huge, towering front door of the grand castle, it suddenly opened by itself. Together, Jorge and I explored his abode side by side. The interior design was sort of beautiful yet dark as if it was a gloomy place to live in. Everything looked expensive and precious, but the loneliness in the environment seemed to decrease the overall appeal of the place.
“You have returned, son.” I heard a deep, warm voice from behind us. I turned around in horror, searching for the man who just spoke to us. Along the alley of the castle ascended a man that resembled Jorge, but he was different in some aspects compared to that of his child.
He was a good-looking man like his son. The smile on his face was comforting as if he was there to help me unravel the things that were kept as a pool of mysteries.
“Yes, father. I’m with Peyton.”
“I see. Come, let’s continue the introduction in the living room.”
He led the way and as we walked past the alley of their house, I saw several portraits that hang on the walls. They were eerie paintings that looked like thousand years old, as well as most of the fixtures that decorated the entire house.
“Don’t worry, Peyton. My father will help me tell you all about this.” Jorge let out a brief smile.
“Here we are.”
Jorge’s father opened another grandiose door that was made from a fine, polished wood. The three of us entered the glamorous area where we would lounge and sit near the furnace. It was another room that featured fancy fixtures and decorations. Jorge signaled for me to sit on one of the royal chairs near the warm fire, while the father and son sat on nearby seats.
“I suppose you’re ready, Jorge?” Jorge’s father looked at him with a smirk on his face, reminding his son that he would initiate the discussion. Jorge exhaled heavily before he nodded to his father. He diverted his attention on me.
“Peyton, my father and I have lived thousands of years here in on Earth. We don’t get sick. We’re stronger than humans, and we possess abilities a normal person can never own. We are not mortals.” I watched as the flames reflected on his eyes burned more furiously. I was tongue-tied for a few seconds, but I knew somehow that there was something special about the extraordinary capabilities he had shown minutes ago on our way here.
I swallowed my heart, which was already fighting its way out of my chest. “Then, what are you?”
Jorge’s father was pleased by my curiosity, taking the chance to answer my straightforward question. “We’re vampires, dear. In fact, we’re the last ones on earth.”
Chapter 17: Jorge Savage
“This is impossible.”
Peyton’s eyes were like balls of fire, ignited upon the charcoal’s influence. I could hear her heartbeats clearly amidst our distance apart. Her hands were shaky and trembling no matter how she disguised her nerves with closed fists.
“I wanted to tell you about this, but I always felt that it was not yet the right time for you to know.” I watched her expression change into worry, but she still looked afraid and vulnerable to the fact that two vampires could pounce on her neck at any moment.
“This is rid
iculous. I don’t know why I’m still here.” I could see the bafflement in her eyes, but she did not bother to show any signs of fleeing away with our secrets unfolded before her.
“That’s because you trust Jorge.”
I shifted my sight to my father, who was sitting in his reclining chair as he enjoyed the warmth of the furnace. He was smiling genuinely at the burning flames, his gentle eyes sparkling along the beauty of the red and orange colors dancing in symphonic sequences.
“I had never seen this for years, but I know perfectly what it means.” Peyton diverted her attention on him, trying to decipher his deep words. My father did not bother to explain further, but he uttered his joy through his words. “I can feel it, and if your mother’s around, she knows what I mean too.”
He stood up and tapped my shoulder, determined to leave us and give us some space. “Peyton, I apologize for leaving you to Jorge, but he can answer any of your questions now.”
Peyton managed to nod before my father left us alone in the room. Peyton was still tough on me, avoiding my longing stares and honest apologies. Nonetheless, she decided to address her thoughts and I was more than willing to make it up to her.
“You’re unfair.”
I was stunned as I anticipated queries rolling along, but instead, I was accused of something I was undeniably guilty of. Remorse flushed evident on my cheeks as my pallid complexion was showered by a scarlet hue on the face.
“I know, and I admit it. I had been so unfair.” I scooted near her, but she moved towards the opposite direction. The light of the fire gave me a clear view of her saddened expression, which had melted my heart until I was unable to deny the damage I inflicted on her.
“I’m sorry, Peyton. I was afraid. I just wanted to keep you safe.” Her eyes were on the flames, but she seemed to listen to my sincere words. “But we are not the ones who killed those people, believe me. We can never do that.”
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