Southern Exposure

by Lari Smythe

  Chapter 6

  I reached Melanie and Nathan's cabin by late afternoon and knocked out of respect—they would have heard me coming.

  "Come on in," Melanie answered, her tone warm and inviting.

  "Hey," I said as I opened the door. I couldn't help but smile as Nathan's brow rose.

  Melanie playfully slapped his shoulder. "Mind your manners, sir." she joked, then folded her arms across her chest and stared at me. "My, my, aren't you just the prettiest thing I've ever seen. Maybe I should be jealous."

  "Melanie," I droned.

  She winked. "I put some things out on the bed, but you're welcome to anything in the closet. Just help yourself."

  There were two frilly 'southern belle' dresses laid across the foot of the bed, with all the required undergarments. The materials were course, hand woven, and if they weren't as old as Melanie then they were at least made in the traditional manner. It was just like Melanie to try to get me into one, she and Elizabeth were always trying, but I settled for a more contemporary cotton long-sleeve shirt and jeans from the closet. I heard Nathan's voice rise from the other room as I turned toward the bedroom door.

  "According to Tolliver, it's been three days. Did you get a good look at her eyes? I could not see them, I think she was intentionally avoiding eye contact with me. She's still very young and unpredictable."

  "Keep your voice down. Besides, I don't care what she's done."

  I stared into the mirror on the far wall. Beyond the honey gold, there was a slight hue of red around my iris. Had I killed a human, Jason?

  "Did you hear what she said?" Nathan continued more quietly, "Jess."

  "Hush!" Melanie scolded, "She had no idea what she was saying. She was quite delirious."

  I reached for the door knob.

  "She's coming." There was a whoosh of air as one of them moved away.

  When I opened the door, Nathan was sitting in his chair on the far side of the room.

  "Better?" I posed.

  He smiled warmly and nodded.

  I'd been so wrapped up in my own clothes—or lack thereof—when I arrived, that I hadn't noticed Melanie was wearing a bright yellow southern belle dress. She pouted at my choice, twirled and headed for the sofa.

  "You really should try one of these, you'd be stunning."

  "Yeah, it's not really me."

  "It could be."

  "Right."

  "Come, sit," Melanie said, patting the sofa next to her.

  I eased onto the closest end of the sofa.

  She frowned, "Afraid I'm going to bite?"

  I forced a laugh, but couldn't hide my uneasiness. That had never happened around Melanie before, she was like a sister. They both seemed to be waiting for me, so I matter-of-factly said, "Do we have to move?"

  "What on earth for?" Melanie gawked.

  "You don't remember, do you?" Nathan accused. He got up and stood behind Melanie at the far end of the sofa.

  "If we don't have to move, then I must not have killed anyone." I shot back. "That's what you're implying, isn't it?"

  Nathan's brow narrowed. "But you don't know, do you? You were running on instinct alone."

  Melanie slapped his arm with the frilly, lace handkerchief she was holding. "Now listen to the two of you, I'll have none of that." She got up and turned to Nathan. "Why don't you go get some firewood?"

  "Firewood?" Nathan looked past Melanie to me. "We don't need a—"

  "Oh, go on you big oaf, leave us women folk to talk."

  "Mind yourself young one," he said, pointing a condemning finger my way before leaving in a huff.

  Melanie sat back down on the sofa, this time a little closer to me. "Men, what's a girl to do?"

  I shrugged. "I didn't do anything I'll regret, did I?"

  "No, no, nothing like that. Why don't you tell me what you remember?"

  It suddenly felt all wrong. Maybe Melanie didn't know anything, Nathan didn't seem to. Had she lied about Elizabeth and Tink? The skin on the back of my neck began to prickle. Was Nathan standing guard out front, waiting for the others so they could destroy me? Given my situation, would that be so bad? I looked up defensively as Melanie slid closer.

  "You didn't hurt anyone."

  The scene from the cafeteria raced though my mind. "But I embarrassed him."

  Melanie shifted uneasily. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

  I looked at her incredulously, it was probably worse, but I didn't want to think about it.

  "Maybe school isn't the best idea," she said after a strained silence.

  "Did Elizabeth tell you to say that?"

  "She—"

  "I know, I know, she's only trying to protect me," I groaned, annoyed that the conversation had taken this track.

  Melanie slid closer and rested her hand on my thigh. "She really does want what's best for you."

  I pulled away and crossed my legs, a well practiced human habit I'd grown accustom to.

  "She thinks of you as a daughter and wants you to be part of our family more than anything. Maybe if you wore the dresses you would feel closer—"

  "You mean the costume," I huffed, before realizing this was the perfect chance to make my point. "Why do you all wear the dresses?"

  "You know—"

  "No, tell me exactly why you wear the old, southern costumes?"

  "They're not costumes, they're what we know, what we remember, before—"

  "Exactly," I interrupted, "before you were changed."

  "That's right, and if you would just give them a try—"

  "Don't you see? I just want what you have, to remember what I was when I was human."

  "Well, I never really thought about it like that." She thought for a moment. "This is why you want to attend school so badly?"

  "Yes. I must be what, sixteen or seventeen, so I had to be in high school."

  "Seventeen."

  "How do you know that?"

  She looked flustered, anxious. "I don't. It was just a guess."

  Despite her ruse of an answer, this was the first time anyone had slipped, and it confirmed my suspicion that everyone in the coven knew more than they pretended. I decided to press it. "I want to know what you think about something."

  Melanie looked relieved by what she apparently perceived as a change in the conversation. "Alright." She grew anxious as I fixed my eyes on hers. "Really, Izzy, that's quite rude."

  "Jess."

  Had I not been staring directly into her eyes, I would have never noticed the tiny flecks of color momentarily flinch as though she'd broken some sacred vow. We both recoiled as the front door slammed against the wall. A dripping wet Nathan stomped across the room, his arms full of firewood. He set the wood on the hearth and then turned to face us. His glance toward Melanie was warm and sympathetic, but hardened when he turned to me.

  "It's raining," he said, stating the obvious. "Do you want me to start a fire?"

  "Would you be so kind?" Melanie replied, slipping off the sofa—escaping—to help him.

  While they busied themselves with the fire, I reflected on the dream. I was there—wherever there was—and at least two others, definitely women, Jess and the mysteriously beautiful woman.

  "I'll be on the porch," Nathan said deliberately.

  As the door closed behind him, Melanie fluffed her dress and settled back down on the sofa. "So, tell me about Jason."

  I grimaced, totally unprepared for her inquiry. I would have blushed if I could have.

  "There must be a lot to tell." She smiled devilishly.

  I shrugged indifferently. "Not really." This was a conversation I did—and didn't—want to have.

  Melanie giggled and pulled an overstuffed pillow to her chest, which accentuated her cleavage. She was so much more mature than me. "I assume Jason is one of the boys at school?"

  "Ya think?" I replied, trying to lighten the mood.

  "Yes," she said innocently.

  "It's just an expression, like it was obvious."

&nb
sp; "Strange, I don't think I'll ever get used to all the language changes, it was so much simpler when words just meant what they were supposed to. So, what is it about Jason?"

  "His scent, it goes beyond thirst. It penetrates every part of me. I'm helpless against it," I added in despair.

  "But not the others?"

  "It's weird, as long as I keep their scents jumbled up together I can tolerate them. I know it's not supposed to work that way, but mingled together they're nondescript. There's nothing to zero in on. The trick is to keep them that way, not isolate any one scent."

  "Interesting. Maybe I'll have to try it one day. Honestly though, I'd really rather just stay away from them. They're just too tempting."

  "I really wish you'd try."

  "Truthfully, their world is not mine. Mine was lost long, long ago." She sighed. "But you can't do that with Jason?" She jumped back to the original topic of conversation.

  "No, I'm totally helpless against it. He's ruined everything, everything I've planned for, hoped for."

  "It's that important to you?"

  "Yes."

  She glanced at the door and lowered her voice. "What have you tried?"

  I matched her quiet voice assuming Nathan was close. "Not breathing—and almost feeding on him."

  "That's certainly not one of the better options." She thought for a moment and then a strange epiphany seemed to occur to her. Her lips grew hard, her eyes narrowed for just an instant and then she was her normal caring self. "If I remember, small doses help."

  "Small doses?"

  "Nathan had to get used to it," she whispered.

  "Nathan?" I puzzled. There was a noise out on the front porch.

  Melanie leaned closer. "Yes, he had to get used to me." Her gaze became distant. "The war was all but over, the South crawling with Yankees, taking what they wanted like ants at a picnic. I remember seeing Nathan at the edge of the field—it had been years since he went off to join the war, but when I ran toward him, he vanished into the trees. I didn't understand—whirling around expecting to see Yankees—but I was alone. I waited the entire day for him to return." She shivered, her face tightening with anger. "The Yankees found me that night, alone. Those vile creatures thought they owned everyone then and well—" She looked away for a moment. "I don't remember much about the details—strange to forget something like that, I know, but I was near death—at least I wished I was—when I heard the Yankee soldiers' shrill screams. They were screams of terror that one-by-one disappeared until it was quiet. I thought I was dreaming when Nathan's face first appeared over me, but it was him well the new Nathan."

  "He was a vampire."

  Melanie sighed. "He had trouble staying with me. He told me later it was almost unbearable, but he couldn't leave me. He did the best he could to care for my wounds, but there wasn't much that could be done—we didn't have medicines like they do now. By staying with me a little at a time, he was able to suppress his instincts longer and longer. He was able to stay with me my entire last human day and then, he saved me." She sat up abruptly. "The point is, you can anaesthetize yourself to Jason's scent a little at a time."

  This was interesting. "So what you're saying is that if I can take him in small doses, I can kind of build up a tolerance."

  "I don't see why not." Melanie smiled, moving closer to me as she did so. Her eyes flickered toward the door and then back to me. "This boy, Jason, it is here," she murmured, reaching slowly toward my throat.

  I nodded.

  "And here?" Her hand drifted to my abdomen.

  I nodded again. "And here," I said, moving her hand to my chest.

  She recoiled, drawing her hand back quickly with a gasp.

  "Is that bad?" I pondered, surprised by her reaction.

  She hesitated. "It can be, you're so young, just a baby to our way. You are aware that the change enhances our physical and emotional capacity?"

  I nodded although I didn't remember much about my human capacities.

  "Emotionally, we feel things much more intensely, emotions like anger, hate, love. Because of our enhanced physical condition our reactions to those emotions can be quite powerful."

  "But my reaction was physical, right? I don't know him so it's just thirst, right?"

  Melanie shook her head. "Your throat, yes, but not the rest."

  "Does that mean there is something wrong with me?"

  She thought for a moment, obviously choosing her next words carefully. "Yes, and no."

  "That's it! Are you saying I'm going to kill him?"

  "Do you want to?"

  "More than anything, but I can't. So, yes and no." I spat back at her. This wasn't a game. I stood abruptly.

  The front door flew open and Nathan stepped into the room, his expression hard, protective. "Is everything alright?"

  Melanie stood and took my hand. "Yes, just girl talk."

  Nathan grunted an uneasy acceptance.

  Melanie edged closer to me and whispered so only I could hear. "Small doses." She turned to Nathan. "We should hunt, before Izzy returns home."

  "I couldn't, I—"

  "Please," Melanie pouted.

  "Alright, maybe something small."

  Melanie glanced down at her dress. "This is my favorite. I'll be just a minute." And she darted into the bedroom.

  I was nervous in the room alone with Nathan. Truth is, he scared me. He was so enormous and powerful, always seeming to be on the edge of control. I wondered what day it was as I tried to formulate some kind of plan. It was Tuesday when I—well ditched school. Nathan said I'd been in the woods for three days, so that would make it Friday. That meant I had the weekend and if I remembered right, Monday was a holiday, so that left me three days. Were three days enough? And what the heck was Melanie talking about, was there something wrong with me?

  "Ready?" Melanie asked.

  "Sure."

  After a short run we came across the scent of several deer. I have to admit I really wasn't interested, but as we closed on them, instinct took over. Melanie and Nathan stayed close seemingly still concerned about my mood. When we were finished, we walked slowly back toward the cabin. I stopped when we crossed the creek.

  "You okay?" Melanie asked.

  "Yeah, I think I'd like to visit the pool before I head home."

  "You like it there?" Melanie inquired.

  "Yes, in some ways it's more calming than a hunt."

  Nathan grunted in disbelief.

  "It's a very tranquil place," Melanie replied. "Consider it yours."

  "Mine?"

  "Sure, whenever you need to refocus, it'll be here, just for you." She thought for a moment before continuing. "Do you want me to stay?"

  "Kind'a deja vu, don't you think?"

  "If you'd like, I'll have Nathan take you home."

  "No, that's not necessary. I'll be fine."

  Melanie paused as Nathan continued on toward the cabin. "Don't worry about Elizabeth, just talk to her. She's on your side. Do you have a plan?"

  I nodded. "It's the weekend and we have Monday off so I have three days."

  Melanie grimaced.

  "Not enough?"

  "Don't try to force it, more is not better and very dangerous. Could you live with yourself if you killed him?"

  "No," I gasped.

  "Be patient, give it time." She glanced after Nathan. "I'll be here if you need me. We're family."

  "Bye."

  Melanie vanished through the underbrush in a blur, and I was alone again. The name Jess flitted though my thoughts, but was immediately replaced by Jason's. Twilight muted the already soft colors of the pool making it even more soothing—if that was possible. I could have stayed all night, but the clock was ticking.

  I was surprised by the degree of destruction my delirious run had caused and wondered if a hunting party might imagine a meteor crashing through the forest. I'd unconsciously slowed by the time I reached Lambs Knoll, a few miles from home. Should I face Elizabeth now, was there time? As much as I
wanted to avoid it, I decided to take my medicine. Hopefully, I could make this brief.

  Elizabeth, Benjamin and Tink were standing on the front porch when I slipped through the trees onto the front lawn. Their faces showed no emotion as I apprehensively approached. Elizabeth and Benjamin were locked arm-in-arm, Elizabeth's deep red gown flowing around both their legs. Tink was wearing tan slacks held up by red suspenders over a white cotton shirt. The scene was reminiscent of an old photograph from the 1800s.

  "I'm sorry," Tink said as I reached the steps, "can you ever forgive me?"

  Elizabeth and Benjamin turned to go inside.

  "Wait," I said. "It's me who should apologize. I'm so sorry for running off, but—" My voice trailed off. "I shouldn't have put you through that."

  Elizabeth turned back, not lowering her head to look at me. "It seems it was necessary."

  "Yes," I said, grasping at what seemed like understanding.

  "I warned you about school," she continued.

  I wilted against the railing.

  Benjamin opened the screened door for her, glancing my way. "Welcome back Izzy." He winked and then followed her inside. Tink bounded down the stairs as the door closed.

  "Wahoo!" Tink hollered as he locked me in a crushing embrace. "I thought we'd lost you until I talked to Nathan. You gave us quite a scare."

  "I'm really sorry," I said in almost a wheeze.

  Tink set me down and kissed my forehead. "I should have been there, like you asked."

  I was taken back by his uncharacteristic show of affection. "I should have waited."

  "It's school. They have a schedule. I should have been ready. I'll do better next time."

  "Thanks." I nodded toward the door. "She's going to let me try again?"

  "Can't put the Jeannie back in the bottle as they say," Tink said, leaning back against the railing.

  I sank down on the lower step. "Yeah, about that." I tested.

  "Anything I can help with?"

  "Not really. I kind of need to do this on my own, and honestly, I don't want to expose you."

  "Interesting choice of words," he mused.

  "You'll cover for me then?"

  "Sure, not a problem."

  I got up from the step and looked toward the woods.

  "Izzy, I'll be within ear-shot. If you need me, don't hesitate."