Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind

by J. L. M. Visada

  Penny moved towards me like a hungry wolf. “When!” It wasn’t a question. It was an order, and something inside me was responding before I’d really processed the request. I started rattling off the argument Grim had with Katy. As soon as I finished Penny stuck her head back out the door and screamed, “Joseph Reaper you bring your ass here now!”

  I heard Grimmy’s voice. It was muffled, and I couldn’t make out the words but it must have been something smart-alecky because Penny started muttering something about reminding herself she loved him and not to smother him in his sleep.

  The big lug lumbered into the room, “What?”

  “Did you really say you were done with Katy?” Penny asked. She was practically vibrating in anticipation.

  “Yeah, I tried being patient while you two worked things out between yourselves. From what I can tell, that plan pretty much went down the toilet. Frankly I can only handle so much crazy, and honey…you fill that quota on your own.” Grim teased.

  “When were you planning on telling me?”

  “Well, half the time you want me to tell her to get lost, and the other half the time you keep trying to get us all to get together for some touchy-feely improvised counseling. You two are both driving me crazy. The difference between you and her is that I love you. I just like her as a friend, but right now even that’s debatable.” Grim grumbled.

  “So she’s no longer acceptable as a pet?” Penny’s eyes had a new life in them.

  “Honestly, I would rather just have you to myself.”

  “Don’t change the subject! You’re saying that Katy is an unacceptable pet?”

  Grim took a deep breath, “Sometimes I think we’re speaking different languages altogether. No she’s not acceptable. I don’t need a third wheel in order to show you how much I love you.”

  Penny hissed, “That is unacceptable. I will not risk my kind thinking you are my blood whore.”

  “Blood whore?” I questioned.

  “A Blood whore is a human we vampires use for sex and food. To a vampire a blood whore is fair game, but if there is a Pet involved it announces that you are more important to the vampire keeping you. That the vampire would be well within their right to fight or kill over anything done that interferes with you or our pet, but none of my kind respects blood whores.” Penny’s words were final.

  Grim grumbled, “I…am not kept.” There was a dangerous glint in his eyes. I think even Penny realized she might have pushed too hard too fast.

  “I’m…sorry. I just want you to be safe, and you can’t be safe amongst my kind without a pet to prove our love.” Penny’s words weren’t much more than a whisper.

  “I wasn’t aware that you were planning on rejoining them.” Grim’s voice was turning dangerous. There was an anger boiling under his words. If I knew it, surely Penny could recognize it as well.

  “I’m not, but I have to keep my options open.” Penny’s voice was barely audible.

  Grim laughed, but it was a cold laughter, and it never reached his eyes. “No, what you are doing is sitting on the fence waiting for something to knock you over. You don’t want to rejoin the vampires, but you don’t want to lower yourself to be like us lowly humans either, and you’re too afraid to make your own path. I’ll tell you what. You figure out what you want to do. You know what my feelings are, and you made it pretty clear that isn’t going to happen.”

  “I didn’t say it wouldn’t happen. I said it can’t happen unless…” Penny just stopped.

  “No. I told you what I wanted. I’ve accepted you…even all your crazy bag of vampire bullshit. I love you just being yourself. Of course, I’m seeing a lot less of the vampy woman I love nowadays, and I’ve been seeing a lot more of the made up, pretend vampire in public that you try to hide behind like a mask. I’m sick and tired of seeing you pretend to be a manipulative bitch. You’ve even started hiding from me. I’m done with Katy, but keep it up and you’re next. I don’t want to be without you. I love you, but I can’t watch you ruining yourself anymore.” Grim growled.

  “You don’t really know me.” Penny cried.

  “I don’t? Well that’s news to me. I know you love skunks, and squirrels, and pretty much anything fluffy and cute. I know you love Bela Lugosi so much that you have all his movies downloaded onto your computer, and I know that you have all his lines memorized. I know watching scary movies make you afraid to go to bed with the light off. I know you love to make your own clothes, but are so afraid that people might find out, that you make the clothes look identical to the name brands. Hell, you even steal the tags off of the clothes and sew them onto your handmade clothes so that no one will ever know you made them. I know you’d love nothing more than to have a bunch of pets, but you can’t because they know you’re a vampire and most of them freak out around you. I know that for all your efforts at being the vampiest vampire in vampiredom, you’re at your happiest when you forget the fangs and just hang out with DD and the others. You love it when you are just hanging out being one of the girls, and how long has it been since you did that?” Grim’s jaw was set. His eyes were two angry daggers staring down at her. He took a deep calming breath and said, “Figure out what you want, but I’m done. If you want to be with me then you know where to find me, in the meantime…stop jerking me around.”

  “But…” Penny sobbed as Grim turned and walked out. He never even gave her a second glance. Penny looked so lost. I put my arm around her to try and be supportive, but I didn’t expect her to wrap her arms around me and start bawling.

  “There there…it’s okay.” I tried to comfort her. Penny just gripped me tighter and started crying harder. It’s still very weird when someone is crying but there are no tears. I tried to ignore it, but the lack of actual crying made Penny seem kind of alien.

  “I’m just trying to keep him safe. Why can’t he understand that?” Penny sobbed.

  I was in full panic mode. I’ve never really been the type of person that willingly meets the problem head on. I’m more of the stick my head in the sand and pretend it’ll go away type. Sure, I took care of Mom when she got sick, but it wasn’t like I had a lot of options. It was either let Mom waste away painfully, or do what I had to so that her time would be as pleasant as possible. I did everything I could, but some days I still feel like a failure.

  “Penny? Do you think maybe you might be trying a little too hard?” I asked nervously.

  Penny froze. The crying stopped immediately, and she looked up at me hopefully, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you are trying to make your relationship into some kind of ideal vampire romance right?”

  “Grim deserves the best I can give.” Penny’s voice was faint and sounded breakable.

  “Penny, what does Grim want?” I watched as Penny searched my face. I could tell she was hoping I’d give her the answer.

  Finally, a flicker of recognition, “He says he wants me, but…”

  “Penny, there are no buts. Grim wants you. Now, is all this 'I am queen vampire and you people will bow down to me' really you?” I was nervous. The last thing I wanted to do was make her angry. As hungry as she is, she is really on edge.

  “I never said I was the vampire queen, but amongst my people…”

  “Penny, you aren’t amongst your people, and to be honest you never seemed to want to be, as far as I can remember. You don’t even talk about your family.”

  Her eyes flashed angrily, and I sucked in my breath. Oh great, upset the starving vampire…that will end well.

  Then Penny started crying again, “I’ve really made a mess of things haven’t I?”

  “Yeah, but in fairness I think some of it is that you’re hungry and it’s messing with your head. Some of it is Katy. A lot of it is that you’re trying to be something you’re not.”

  “What do you mean?” Penny’s eyes became little slits. “I am a vampire. If I’m not in charge of my house, then what am I? Who would want a vampire that sleeps with stuffed animals, plays video games
, and wants to just enjoy life?”

  “Grimmy does.”

  Penny’s shoulders sagged in defeat, “Damn.” She pulled away from me and looked guilty. “I just wanted him safe. I love him.”

  “And he loves you.” Penny gave a weak smile as my words sunk in.

  “So what do I do?” Penny was almost begging for help.

  “I think you go find him and apologize. Then maybe you two talk. You might want him safe, but I think if Grim wanted safe, he would have a different girlfriend. He really loves you, and maybe all your attempts at controlling the situation are making it impossible for him really enjoy being around you.”

  “You don’t understand. To you Grim is big, strong and tough, but to me…he’s just so…”

  “Human.” I tried not to sound offended. Penny had enough on her plate. She didn’t need my ego added to it.

  “I’m sorry, but yes. Danika is the closest to me physically, but she wouldn’t last very long against a vampire. I mean. I’m so much stronger than any of you that I could kill Grim by accident. I can’t keep you all away from my kind forever. Someday we’ll run into another vampire, and if my house isn’t in order, that vampire will take it as weakness, and they’ll try to take everything I have. They’ll take Grim just because he’s mine.”

  I started laughing. “It’s not funny!” Penny hissed. I tried to be sympathetic, but the more I tried to fight back the laughter, the worse it got.

  Penny started getting really angry, but all I could do was double over laughing. Finally, I got enough control to speak. “So you think someone could just take Grim? Our Grimmy? Like he’s just a stray penny that one of your kind might pick up and stick in their pocket? C’mon! It’s Grimmy. If he survived the jinn, he can survive whatever some vampire tosses his way. Maybe you’ve forgotten, but so far he’s been the one saving you, and not the other way around.”

  Penny gave me a sour expression, but as my words sunk in she started laughing. “You’re right. That big hunk of goofball is so crazy, no vampire would stand a chance. Oh man…I’m really going to have to eat some crow on this, won’t I?”

  “Oh I don’t think eating crow is the best way to apologize to that hornball. I’m sure you can think of something better to stick in your mouth as a way to say you’re sorry.” I couldn’t believe the words slipped out of my mouth. I blushed, and Penny just laughed, and then she kissed me on the mouth. When her soft lips finally pulled away I just stood there. I was too stunned to form a coherent thought.

  “Thank you DD. You really are the best.” Penny smiled.

  I’m pretty sure I mumbled something, but I don’t know what. It must have been pretty funny though because Penny laughed and kissed me again. This time on the cheek, “Thanks again.” My head shook up and down like a manic bobble-head doll. I still felt her lips on my cheek. Immediately I started trying to figure out how to get her to kiss me again, but then my conscience reared its ugly head, and I remembered that she’s in love with Grim…sigh. Oh well, it’s not like she has any real interest in me anyway.

  “So maybe what you two need is a night on the town? Make things right with Grimmy, and then talk him into going out to dinner with you tonight or something.”

  “But what about the convention?” Penny was actually eager to go.

  “It’s just a meet and greet tonight. The dance is tomorrow night.”

  “But the cambion?” Penny whined.

  “You really just want to see if she’s still wearing the skunk outfit don’t you?” I joked.

  Penny’s eyes narrowed briefly, and then she hung her head in shame, “Yeah…you caught me. Am I really that obvious?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Damn.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. A lot of the tension that Penny’s been walking around with seemed to evaporate. Then Penny looked over my shoulder and seemed about to cry again, “Oh God. I look terrible. I can’t go out in public like this. I’m peeling, and even bloating a little. Why would Grim want to go out with me looking like this?”

  “I think it’s mostly because that big goofball loves you, but if you get some food into you then you should be back to your normal beautifully sexy self.” I slapped my hand over my mouth. Great, really smooth there DD.

  Penny actually looked a little shy, “You think I’m beautiful?”

  “You know you’re beautiful. You walk into a room and people can’t help but stare.” I really was uncomfortable discussing this.

  “I know that, but I didn’t know you thought I was beautiful. I always thought you were scared of me.”

  Penny looked so hopeful that I spoke before I thought about what to say, “Well yeah, I’m scared of you.” It was like I’d slapped her. Penny winced and looked completely deflated.

  I panicked and started rambling, “I don’t mean you scare me like you're evil. It’s not like you are Darth Penny. I mean you scare me because I feel things when you’re around…oh shit.” Great, not only was I suffering from verbal diarrhea, I just cursed, and I was doing so well up until now.

  “What do you mean, you feel things?” Penny was careful to put on a real honest to goodness poker face as she spoke.

  Fuck-Fucketty-Fuck-Fuck-Fuck! Great, I spend all this time trying to watch my language, and after two minutes around Penny I’m mentally cursing. Well, I’ve already stepped on this landmine, might as well let it explode and get it over with. “I mean…well…I…oh hell…it’s just that you and Grim…when you’re together…I…well you know…don’t you?” Wow, that really sounded a lot more eloquent in my head.

  “Know what?” Penny’s eyes were wide. She was actually nervous. Well, that made two of us.

  “Um, can we just pretend the last two minutes never happened?” I said hopefully. Penny crossed her arms and gave a gentle shake of her head. “Damn. Maybe…this is not the conversation you are looking for?” I said hopefully, and did my best Jedi mind trick wave. Maybe if I’m really lucky she’ll get confused by the reference and let it go.

  “Daphne Dinkly, you spit it out right now!” Penny stomped her foot for punctuation.

  “Okay, I think you and Grim, and sometimes it’s more Grim, but a lot of times its more you, and sometimes it’s both of you, but maybe it’s just because it’s been so long that I…DD sandwich!”

  “Dammit DD, focus.” Penny growled.

  “I think you’re both hot and sometimes I fantasize about being with both of you.” I closed my eyes and braced for her to beat me, or scream at me.

  Instead all I got was a surprised “oh” from Penny. She didn’t sound like she was about to shove her arm up my backside and work me like a puppet, so I slowly opened one eye. Penny was just smiling. If she wasn’t decaying right in front of me then it would have been much more pleasant, but she’d started looking a little bit like a rotting corpse.

  “I mean you had to know…right?” I said nervously.

  “Actually no. I had no idea.”

  “But you kept rubbing up on Grim and looking at me. I thought you were trying to tease me about it, and when you were working his willy like a puppet under the dinner table.”

  Penny smiled, “I was just having some fun with you at dinner. I couldn’t help myself. It was just the perfect opportunity to screw with someone, and you happened to be the winner winner chicken dinner at the time.”

  “Oh.” I tried not to sound disappointed.

  Penny sputtered nervously, “But the other stuff, the rubbing up on Grim and looking at you. I guess I owe you an apology for that. It’s just that you’re so pretty and…”

  “Yeah, right.” I interrupted.

  “DD, I’m from a very different time. In my day a curvy woman like you was the standard of beauty. In my day, you’d have had your pick of any man, and the envy of every woman.”

  “Great…so now all I need to do is work on a time machine.”

  Penny snorted, “Stop that, you’re beautiful. Some people just aren’t smart enough to realize it though.” />
  “Well I notice you and Grim went after Katy.” I tried not to sound like I was making an accusation, but I guess a little of the pent up frustration squeaked out.

  “Katy was…a horrible mistake. I was in such a hurry to build my relationship with Grim that I jumped at the first opportunity to take a pet. Danika was already hooked on Niki, Janine can’t feed me, and you…well at the time I wasn’t really sure that you were going to be around. You were on the side of the bad guys, and I wasn’t sure they weren’t going to lock you up.”

  “I wasn’t aware you’d even considered me.” I sputtered.

  “I just wish I’d have waited a little longer. Now things are all screwed up. Katy’s mad at me, Grim’s mad at me, and with as bad as things went with Katy, I’ll have a hard time convincing anyone to take her place.” Penny slumped against the wall.

  “Well, let’s fix what we can first. You go out with Grimmy tonight, and you can worry about all the other stuff later.” I was really trying to get back to a much more comfortable subject. The last thing I needed to hear was the reasons why I wasn’t good enough to be with them, and I’m sure we were just about to go there.

  “I can’t go like this. I look terrible. How am I going to get enough blood to heal up for a night out?” Penny looked like she was ready to start crying again. For once it was DD to the rescue.

  “Wait right here!” I said and ran down to Niki and Danika’s room. After beating on the door for what seemed like forever, Niki came out. She was barely dressed. It was like she’d just tossed something on. She was also sweating.

  “This is becoming a habit with you.” Niki said. She was pretty irritated, and I tried not to think too much about what they were doing before I interrupted them. I gave a quick explanation, and soon Danika and Niki were dressed and following me back to Penny.

  “Okay, the cavalry is here.” I laughed as we surrounded our resident neck biter.

  “What are you all planning?” Penny sounded nervous.

  “You need blood, and we can each spare a little. Between us three you should be able to heal up enough to get back to looking more normal.” Niki was bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. She was nervous, but willing to take one for the team.