“I’ll have to get it.” He said simply. I shuddered at the thought of Jonathon going through my things. Ewww.
“Won’t your family be unhappy with me staying at your house? Won’t the smell get to them?” I asked hoping he would say yes and I’d have to stay somewhere else. I was really scared about meeting his family. Not because I thought they might swoop down and suck my blood. That weirdly didn’t frighten me. I didn’t know why. But I was scared they might not like me.
“They don’t mind. And the smell well . . . they’ve had a good many years to learn not to kill humans,” he said in giving a smile at the end trying to lighten me up.
My heart dropped to my stomach. I would have to face my fear and meet Jonathon’s family. I hoped this went well. But what if it ended in disaster? Then what?
“When will I be able to go home?”
“It all depends on how your mom adjusts to being a vampire. It could be weeks, months, or even years before she can control her thirst and be around humans.”
I silently cringed to myself. Years before I could go home again? By then I wouldn’t have to. I would be able to afford a home of my own or I might be married. Suddenly my stomach clenched. I knew with all my being that I was sitting next to the man I would marry.
Jonathon seemed to notice.
“I’m sure it won’t take that long, your mom is a strong woman, principessa.”
“I hope it doesn’t take that long. But I’ll be eighteen in less than a year. So, I guess it’s not that big of a deal.” I tried to sound positive but it was a huge struggle especially trying not to cry yet again. It was October sixteenth. I’d be eighteen on March seventh.
He didn’t buy my positive outlook. I knew he wouldn’t.
He wrapped me up in his strong arms. He buried his head in my hair and I buried my face in his strong solid chest.
“It’ll be fine, love. I won’t let you be unhappy. Your mom will be just fine. I promessa.” He said trying to reassure me.
“I know,” Is all I could say and it sounded false even to my own ears.
But Jonathon had it all wrong. I wasn’t worried about my mom. I knew she would be fine. I had a gut feeling about it. I was just worried about meeting Jonathon’s family which seemed such an irrational fear when I was surrounded by all sorts of things that should scare me. Patrick had seemed nice I had no reason to doubt the rest of his family. But it’s not every day that your vampire soul mate takes you home to meet his vampire family. He may not be able to smell my blood but they sure can. I hoped they weren’t hungry.
I couldn’t control my shiver at the thought.
“Are you cold, darling? We should probably get going,” He asked noticing the movement.
I nodded. Even though I wasn’t cold and definitely didn’t want to leave. But it would probably better to get this whole ordeal over with. The sooner the better. I may back out otherwise.
“Okay, let’s go.” I said standing up.
“Alright.” He said standing up too.
I stretched my long legs. They’d been scrunched up on the bench far too long.
The sky was darkening more by the minute. Stars shone brightly in the sky. One seemed to wink down at me. Assuring me everything would be okay.
I felt Jonathon’s cool hand on my arm. I looked up into his silver eyes. Trying to hide how scared I was.
“I’m going to call my uncle.” He said.
“Okay,” I said, still unable to speak beyond three word sentences. He pulled out a silver blackberry.
I tried to listen to his conversation to see if anything was said about my mom. I soon realized he was speaking Italian. Great.
I stood awkwardly. I heard the phone click off. I turned to look at Jonathon, my arms crossed over my chest.
“Patrick is still with your mom. Amelia will be with her next. Her shift will start at midnight. Then Patrick will take over again tomorrow afternoon. I’m supposed to stay with your mom after school tomorrow.”
“Oh, How is she?” I had now crossed over to four word sentences. I sounded brilliant.
“He said she’s doing okay. As well as can be expected. Joseph dropped off some blood not too long ago.”
“Will she ever be the same?” I croaked.
“Yes sweet heart, as far as her personality, that is. Only she’ll drink blood, her eyes will be a different color; she’ll be pale, strong, and beautiful,” He said kissing my fore head. I wrapped my arms around his strong, cold, stone body. He responded by wrapping me up like a young child in his arms.
“It’s okay, love. Just cry, don’t hold it in. You’ve been through a lot in one day. Let alone the past couple of hours.” I let the tears come for the thousandth time that day.
So many reasons I had to cry.
My dad doesn’t love us. My mom is crazy not to mention a vampire now. My brothers are an ocean away Ivy League college. And my boyfriend is a vampire who just so happens to be almost seven hundred years old but still looks eighteen of course, and he’s my soul mate. Yep, doesn’t get weirder or more emotional than that. Am I crazy? Nope, definitely not that. If I was crazy I wouldn’t question myself, right?
I wiped away the last of my tears.
My eyes were dry and itchy. I rubbed them.
“I’m ready to go.” I said. “Okay.” Jonathon said. We detangled ourselves and he took my hand.
Chapter Nine: Attack
We exited the way we came. The water fountain slowed to a stop as we passed. I inhaled the scents as much as I could. It filled me with a serene calm like quality. I closed my eyes as we walked. Jonathon was guiding me forward.
We came to the vespa. Jonathon put mine and his helmets on, not saying a word. I guess he thought I needed time to think about all I’d heard. The truth about the world we live in. If vampires exist what else might? Luckily, the silence between us wasn’t awkward; it was just peaceful and felt normal.
I climbed on behind Jonathon moving mechanically. I was so tired. The vespa purred to life. We sped down the dirt road leaving a cloud of dust behind us.
We got back on the main road and I let my eyes drift closed. I soon fell asleep leaning my head against Jonathon’s back.
I felt a nudge against my arm.
I lifted my head and wiped my mouth. Good, no drool. That would have been embarrassing.
“Darling, you need to get off.” I looked around at my surroundings. We were at my house. Why would I be here? Can’t my mom eat me? Maybe it was a dream? His next words confirmed that it wasn’t.
Seeming to read my mind Jonathon said, “I called my uncle he’s restraining her.”
“Are you going in or am I?” I asked already expecting to stay outside.
“We both are. I was going to drop you off at my house but I figured you wouldn’t want to meet my family by yourself. Patrick said he’d hold her back. He’s really strong , so you’ll be able to go in, but just in case we have to wait until Joseph gets here . He’ll keep her away from you.” I was stunned into silence.
My mom could really kill me. Snap me into pieces like I was a piece of paper.
“I’m scared.” I said.
Ever since hearing about my mom being a vampire I hadn’t worried. But now my stomach turned and twisted into knots. My mom could be a killer. It wasn’t her I was worried about. It was me and other humans I was worried about.
Lights framed across Jonathon and me.
“Joseph’s here.” He said.
I got off the vespa and rubbed my legs trying to get some feeling to come back into them.
A gorgeous guy a little shorter than Jonathon got out of a navy blue corvette. He looked older than Jonathon which was what Jonathon had said, Joseph was forever twenty. His arms were big and bulky, filled with well defined muscle. He would have been frightening had it not been for his boyish, yet somehow manly face, and head of blond curls. Of course his eyes were a bright silver. His hair was almost the same color of Jonathon’s but had more blond in it. He was beaming a
t the two of us. I looked down and saw Jonathon’s hand entwined in mine. I hadn’t even realized he’d grabbed my hand. Or maybe I’d grabbed his? I didn’t know. But it seemed to be becoming a natural habit to be touching him.
Joseph reached us and extended his hand to me.
“I’m Joseph but you can call me Seph if you want. Jonathon refuses to call me Seph,” He added.
I took his large cold stone hand in my small one. “I’m Kylie. It’s nice to finally meet you.” I said.
“Nice to meet you too Kylie. I can’t believe my little brother here met his soul mate before me!” Joseph (Seph) said jokingly. I laughed and that seemed to please him. I could tell Joseph would be easy to get along with. I hoped the rest of the family was as easy to get along with as he was.
“Alright here’s the plan,” Joseph began. “I’m going to go inside and help Patrick restrain your mom.” Joseph said to me. “Then you and Jonathon will come in. I’ll conjure up an illusion so it looks like you’re not there. The problem is I can’t hide the smell of your blood. So, you’re going to have to hurry. You got that?” asked Joseph.
“Yep.” I said, but really his words had been a blur.
“Okay, I’m going in.” As fast as lightening he was in the house.
Jonathon turned to me.
“Just ignore the way your mom acts in there. She’ll go back to normal. It’s just the blood lust is hard for her to handle. It might frighten you.” He said.
“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get this over with.”
He led me into the house.
My mom, Patrick, and Joseph were in the living room. They both had a tight grip on her. Her teeth were barred and her lips had folded back away from the teeth exposing two very sharp teeth. She looked like an animal. A growl escaped her throat. Her short hair was sticking up all over her head.
“I smell blood. Where is she? Why can’t I see her?” She growled through her teeth. She tried to pull away from them. But Joseph and Patrick’s hold was unbreakable.
We made it to my room. Jonathon closed my door and stood against it, I looked at him like he was killing a puppy.
“Just in case she gets loose of their hold.” He explained.
“Oh.” I said stupidly.
“Hurry!” He exclaimed like the house was on fire.
I grabbed a suit case and began throwing random stuff into it. Clothes, tooth brush, tooth paste, hair brush, make up, perfume, anything I could get my hands on. I zipped up my suit case, grabbed my pillow, and my raggedy teddy bear I had had since I was born.
“I’m ready.” I said.
We walked out. Jonathon had taken my suit case from me. I kept hold on my pillow and bear. It would be weird to see him carrying my teddy bear around.
Something cold and hard slammed into me. I let a scream escape my lips. I brought my pillow up to block the blow my head would have received when it hit the floor, quick thinking on my part. I guess that was the reason I had been obsessing over the stupid pillow.
“Damn it,” screamed Joseph.
“Kylie,” yelled Jonathon, so much love and worry swam in my name when it came from his lips. The weight was lifted from my body.
I heard the licking of lips and my throat burned. I couldn’t tell whether I was screaming. There was so much pain.
“I need more,” said my mom’s hard scary voice.
I reached up and touched the left side throat. My hand came away red.
“Get her out of here,” yelled Patrick. Jonathon apparently had been too frozen to move and had needed prompting. Familiar, comforting arms wrapped around me.
A cool night breeze hit my face.
“My stuff,” I mumbled.
“I’ll go back and get it. We’re taking Joseph’s car. There’s no way you can ride the vespa.”
“It’s not a car. It’s a corvette. It’s a work of art it deserves to be called by its name.” I whispered. He laughed clearly relieved I was talking about a car and not what had just happened.
He placed me in the passenger seat and closed the door. I laid my head against the cold glass.
I heard the trunk close. Jonathon got in and handed me a towel.
“Here press this against your neck; it’ll stop the blood flow. The cut isn’t that bad. The blood should stop flowing soon since there was no direct contact with our saliva, which holds the venom. The venom in our saliva makes the blood come faster and smoother.” He explained.
I held the towel to my wound. I could already feel the blood flow slowing beneath my fingers.
“I’m sorry, Kylie.”
“It’s okay.” I moaned.
“Does it hurt to terribly bad?”
“No, it just burns.” I said. I could tell his temper was flaring. After all I could have been killed.
“I can’t believe this happened. I shouldn’t have let them talk me into letting you go in. I knew it was dangerous but I always listen to them even when it goes against my better judgment.”
“How did it happen?” I asked.
“Your mom managed to wriggle free and slammed you down. Thank the lord, you managed to get that pillow to your head before you hit the floor. The force at which she hit you with could have killed you once your head smacked against the floor.”
We sat there a couple more minutes in silence.
“Has it stopped? I can’t smell it so, I’m not sure.”
“I don’t know. Can you look?”
“Yeah,” he replied in a wary voice.
I removed the towel.
“It’s stopped. We’ll go back to my house and get you bandaged up.” He said starting the corvette. It purred to life and I loved the sound of it. I’d have to remember to ask Joseph if I could test drive his car. I had always wanted to drive a corvette.
We pulled out of my driveway and went back up to Jonathon’s house. The house was so pretty and timeless. He parked the car in the driveway.
“Stay here I’ll be right back to bandage that. I don’t want you to go into the house bleeding, just in case.” He added. I nodded my agreement. I watched him disappear into the darkness.
Oh gosh what would his family think? My own mother attacked me. I leaned my head back against the red leather head rest. What a day it has been. I’m so exhausted and now I have to meet his family. My clothes are stained with blood. My make-up is smeared. I looked like I had been through hell and back.
Jonathon knocked on the passenger door.
“Get out.” He mouthed, holding gauze, a black shirt or maybe it was blue, and a wet cloth. I noticed he had changed his clothes.
I opened the door and got out.
I put the blood soaked towel on the drive way Jonathon tossed the shirt across his right shoulder. He was left handed.
“Let me see it.” He said kindly. But I could tell the situation with my mom, her trying to kill me, had shaken him.
I turned my head to the right, to give him a clear look at the left side of my throat. I winced when I moved my neck.
“I’m so sorry, principessa.” His cold fingers prodded my neck. The whole left side of my body hurt from the impact.
I tried to move my fingers on my left hand and it hurt like crap.
Jonathon wiped my wound with the warm, wet, wash cloth.
After he decided it was clean enough he began wrapping it with gauze. He worked like a doctor with skill and precision.
“There.” He said. My throat felt better where his fingers had been.
“Put this shirt on, for now, it’s one of mine; I’ll burn that one.”
“Okay.” I said taking the shirt from him.
“I’ll turn around.” He said gentlemanly.
I took off my other shirt successfully. But putting on Jonathon’s, I struggled using my left arm and hand.
“Ow.” I said when my arm slightly brushed my rib, trying to put on the shirt.
“What?” asked Jonathon still turned around.
“My whole left side is sore, especially my, ribs.�
�
“Can, I turn around, I can determine whether they’re broken or not?”
“Okay.” I said even though the thought scared me. He was apparently my soul mate so I shouldn’t have been so scared for him to see me in my bra but I was.
He turned and his throat seemed to catch at the sight of me. I panicked.
“Oh no! It’s really bad! Is my side turning purple?”
“Well, it is indeed turning purple but you are so beautiful.” I was flattered but still panicked at the same time.
“Thanks.” I said shyly.
He pressed his cold fingers to my bare skin. Where he pressed it hurt like hell. I winced, but his gentle, clod fingers made it feel better.
“Your ribs aren’t broken but they are bruised. You are going to be quite sore for a while.”
“Great.” I said sarcastically.
I attempted to put the shirt on again. I was unsuccessful.
“Um . . . Jonathon can you help me I can’t seem to get your shirt on.”
“Yes,” He said noticing my pathetic attempt. I hoped my arm would be better tomorrow but it probably wouldn’t be.
“Thanks.” I said.
He slid the soft fabric over my head. He made it look so easy. But then again he could use two arms.
He picked up my ruined shirt from the ground. His hand suddenly blazed with blue and purple fire and the shirt disintegrated into dust.
I looked down at my arm. It had turned a sickish purple.
“I’ll have to wear a sweat shirt tomorrow. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.”
“No, we don’t want that.”
“I don’t think my mom just turned into a vampire and she can’t control her bloodlust is a very good excuse for my bruises,” I said trying to get him to laugh.
“No, I suppose not. If you say that you might land in a mental institution.” He laughed.
Looking up at the house reminded me I’d been out here in my bra. I hoped his family didn’t see that. Talk about embarrassing.
Jonathon took my hand.
Fallen (Fallen Series Book 1) Page 8
