The Truth in Lies: A TALE OF MANN

by Amelia Wilson

  She hid a pocket knife in her waist. She did not want to hurt him but if he did not listen then she would have to sort to violence to defend herself.

  As expected, Gavin was quick to take the opportunity and he trapped her between his arms.

  “Gavin stop!”

  She exhaled when he halted at her words.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  He scoffed. “I told you. I want you, Madison.”

  “You know I can’t be with you.”

  “You can. If you choose to, you can.”

  “I don’t understand. You don’t like me.” She stalled for time but she was looking for a way out. Gavin was completely out of his mind. He was far from the Gavin she knew and speaking to him was a bad idea. He seemed to have slipped from reality.

  “Oh, but I do like you.” He came closer and stopped, his mouth close to her ears. “I like you so much. Do you know how much I wanted to taste you again? You’re alluring, Madison. I was a fool not to notice it soon enough.” He flicked his tongue against her earlobe and she winced in disgust.

  “But now I do. So come with me. You won’t regret choosing me.”

  There was a rustle and suddenly, Gavin was nowhere near her.

  “What the fuck is happening here?” Easton was seething. His hands were clenched into fists and he was fuming in anger.

  “Madison?!” He turned to her and she cried when she saw how hurt he was.

  “What is happening here?” He repeated, enunciating every word. “Please tell me I’m wrong with assuming that you two are chea--”

  “Madison wants me.” Gavin said casually.

  “You liar!” Madison grasped at the collar of his shirt. “Take that back!” She screamed.

  “Is that true?” Easton asked.

  Madison let go of Gavin’s shirt and walked near Easton, who held his hand up to stop her.

  The action made her heart clench.

  “No, Easton. God no. I…,” she gulped. She wanted to tell the truth. It was either Gavin will tell the real story or he turns the tables and makes her the bad guy.

  “Gavin was--” She stammered, struggling to get the words out of her mouth.

  Not having any choice, she pulled down her hoodie and revealed the mark, which was still reddened.

  Easton’s eyes widened and he strode to Gavin and pulled him up to his feet. “What did you do to her?”

  Instead of being affronted, Gavin just smiled.

  He must be insane. He must be really insane. Madison saw his smirk and how he seemed to have expected Easton’s reaction. Gavin was taunting Easton and it was making her blood boil.

  “You never told me about how delicious she is.” Gavin poked out his tongue to emphasize his point and Easton, losing the last string of his control, punched his brother and knocked him down.

  Gavin was quick to retaliate and kicked Easton on the stomach and the chest. Madison screamed for them to stop. This was what she was fearing. They are brothers and they should not be fighting, especially not because of her.

  Their movements were quick and Madison could not keep up. She screamed and tried to pull them away from each other but she was pushed off to the side, watching helplessly as they try to outdo the other.

  Easton straddled Gavin and locked him in place, punching his face repeatedly until it was beaten blue. Easton reached for his neck, his body still overtaken with anger, when Madison screamed.

  “Don’t kill him, please!”

  And that was when he regained control of his emotions.

  He was on the verge of snapping Gavin’s neck. Gavin, who was his only family. Gavin, his brother who took care of him and who was with him all the way.

  He scrambled to get off his brother and looked at his hands, which was bruised with the force he used.

  Gavin sneered. “Why didn’t you kill me? I deserve it don’t I?”

  “Just go! Please.” Madison pushed him away and she did not take her eyes off him until he was a good distance from them.

  She rushed to Easton’s side, dreading his expression.

  “I almost killed my brother.” He sat there, staring at his hands. Madison hugged him and rested his head on her shoulders as his entire body shuddered.

  This was her fault. It was all her fault.

  Chapter-5

  We are the Mirror of Our Past

  Easton refused to say anything. She carded her fingers through his hair and he hummed in appreciation.

  He still could not believe that his brother did that. He told Gavin how important Madison was to him. Of all people, he knew best that Madison was precious; that he would go crazy if anything bad happened to her.

  That was why he was still shell-shocked that Gavin was the one who inflicted harm against her.

  He balled his hands into fists and Madison, noticing the gesture, reached for his hand and unclenched them.

  “Anger would get you nowhere.” She kissed his temple and he finally faced her after much prodding.

  They went straight to Madison’s house and they were lying on her bed. He refused her help when she tried to cure his wounds. The bruises were not that deep, he assumed. It would only take three days at most for them to be gone.

  “I’m angry at myself.” He confessed. He was suffering from conflicting emotions. At one hand, he was furious at Gavin for hurting Madison. At the other, he was furious at himself because he almost killed his brother and that he was not able to protect Madison. It was a tormenting cycle that only brought self-hatred.

  “You shouldn’t be.”

  She brushed the hair away from his eyes. His forlorn expression made her worry.

  “It was not anyone’s fault. No one wanted this to happen.”

  “But I almost killed him.” He whispered.

  Madison kept silent. She did not know what to reply because he really almost killed Gavin with his own hands, if not for her stopping him. It was probably anger taking control of his body and his actions were purely triggered by his emotions. Seeing how sad he is now, he must be regretting what he had done.

  Easton slid closer. “Where else did he hurt you?”

  Madison pecked him on the lips, relishing the softness of the flesh. “Nowhere else. I made sure of it.”

  She could feel the tension leave his body. He was probably dreading to hear her answer. At least she was glad she did not have to lie for that one.

  “Has this been going on for long?”

  “A week.” She murmured, not meeting his gaze.

  “Since you started wearing those clothes?”

  She nodded.

  “You should’ve told me.” There was no accusation and she felt glad to be assured that he was not angry with her.

  “I didn’t know how. Besides, I didn’t want you to fight…”

  Easton sighed. “But we still did. This would have not stopped if I didn’t follow you earlier. You looked like you were about to do something stupid so I decided to follow you.”

  Madison wrinkled her nose. “Was I that obvious?”

  Easton chuckled at the action. “A bit. But it was more because I know you so well.”

  She flicked his nose and they shared a laugh. It lightened their mood immensely.

  He sighed again. She brought up a hand and pressed her wrist against his lips. He needed a distraction and she was willing to give it to him.

  When they got together, she could not stop asking Easton why he found her blood delectable. It started from honest curiosity until they started to experiment. From time to time, he sucks a few drops of blood from her wrist. The wounds were small enough not to inflict any pain or cause serious bleeding. Sometimes, she even offered herself to him, knowing that even the few drops will help him gain energy.

  “Go on.” She coaxed and Easton conceded. He brought his lips against her wrist and used one of his canines to puncture a small wound. Madison barely winced and paid attention to him as he sucked gently.

  Madison never admitted it but seeing him in
that state made her euphoric. For her, the action creates a stronger bond between them and it made her more eager to offer herself as much as she could.

  Her eyes fluttered and she licked her dry lips.

  They ogled at each other and Easton swept his tongue against the wounds, never breaking their eye contact. It caused a shiver to run down her spine.

  The door opened and the connection was broken and they froze as Courtney gaped at them, looking terrified at the sight of him holding Madison’s wrist, which looked a bit red.

  “What is happening? Madison?” She was in hysterics and she walked to the bed only to pull her off of Easton.

  “Aunt Courtney, we were just--”

  “What?” She gazed at her sharply. “Just playing games? Just experimenting? Exploring how much a bloodsucker can restrain himself before he sucks the life out of you? Is that what this is? Because it certainly looked like that to me.”

  “It wasn’t--”

  Enraged, she pointed at Easton. “No, shut up. Let her talk.”

  Madison stood there, flabbergasted. She was still shaken with how rapid her emotions were changing. A while ago, she was basking in Easton’s attention. Now, her aunt is fuming to get the truth out of her.

  Not finding a way out, she confessed. “It was something we do often. There’s no need to be worried. Easton has full control of himself.” She rambled. She did not see the slap coming and she brought a hand to her cheek as she gaped at her aunt.

  “You consider sucking blood out of each other normal? Can you hear yourself Madison?”

  Easton remained on the bed, not wanting to interfere with them though he wanted to shield Madison. If Courtney hits her one more time, he would not be able to restrain himself.

  “You are both crazy. Whatever made you think that you could be in a relationship was bullshit.”

  The statement made her blood boil. “What we feel for each other is real, Aunt Courtney. Please, stop thinking that we couldn’t make it work because we can.”

  “You can’t! Or else you’ll be the cause of each other’s death!”

  The outburst was expected but Madison and Easton exchanged puzzled looks.

  Courtney heaved deep breaths and exhaled slowly, still not letting go of her hold on Madison’s arm.

  “Madison, your grandmother was also bitten once by a vampire.”

  Chapter-6

  Our Lives are Intertwined

  All her life, Madison could only remember being with her aunt. She was told that her parents died when she was young and as she grew up, she learned that the only remaining family she had was her Aunt Courtney.

  Her aunt was never the type to narrate stories about their family and Madison got the impression that it was a topic to be evaded. Until now.

  Courtney was conflicted but decided to tell them the truth. “Take a seat.” She gestured for Madison to sit on the edge of the bed while she dragged the chair from Madison’s desk. Easton scrambled to settle beside Madison. For a minute, he contemplated of leaving them to talk in private but seeing how wary Courtney eyed him, he knew what she was about to say concerned him too.

  She faced them with a dreadful expression.

  “Your grandmother was bitten by a vampire before.”

  Madison nibbled with her lip. “Did she die?”

  Courtney shook her head. “No, she didn’t. But the vampire who bit her did.”

  “I--” Courtney was still hesitant. It was a tale she long buried in her mind.

  “Your grandmother used to be with a vampire, just like the two of you. They tried to defy the odds because they were in love. Then, your grandmother decided that she wanted to be turned into a bloodsucker so she could be with Atticus.” Courtney fiddled with her fingers. “And they did try despite all the warnings not to. Not surprisingly, everyone who knew about their relationship told them to part ways but they were persistent and met behind the others’ backs.

  “When the day came that Atticus tried to turn your grandmother, he went missing. Turning someone is a long process and after they did the first phase, Atticus was nowhere to be found until one day, they got the news that he was dead.”

  “Did you say his name was Atticus?”

  Courtney was adamant to not recognize Easton’s presence but knowing she had to, she nodded hesitantly.

  “And this happened in the first few years of the ‘90s?”

  “How did you know?”

  Madison looked at Easton questioningly.

  “I think it was the same man who turned us.”

  Both women gasped at the information.

  “So he’s technically your father?” Madison reached for his hand and squeezed it. She was still trying to comprehend everything.

  “He is. But when he turned us, he was already weak. I can still remember him and how he told us that he wouldn’t be lasting for long until we can’t find him anymore.”

  “That explains it.” Courtney muttered.

  “Explains what?” Madison looked at her aunt desperately.

  “The first time you saw each other, was the attraction immediate?” She questioned, trying to piece everything together. If her hunch was right, then it would be useless to try to stop them being together. All her efforts would be futile because they would surely find a way through it.

  “It was.” Easton admitted.

  “Are you implying that the attraction between Atticus and my grandmother had an effect on us?” Madison treaded on the detail. It was a brave assumption to make.

  “It might have. Madison, it would not be impossible that you have vampire blood running through your veins. Your grandmother was infected and you might have inherited what little of vampire blood she had.”

  Madison dragged a hand over her face. This conversation was draining much of her energy.

  “When Atticus went missing, your grandmother was heartbroken. But your grandfather came and everyone hoped that he would replace Atticus in your grandmother’s heart. Your mother was born and they were certain that she had traces of vampire blood in her. When you were born, it was hard to say whether you also did. But during that fight…” Courtney winced at the memory.

  “So me suddenly acting like I was a vampire was purely on instinct?” She remembered how she shielded Easton and bared her canines like she had long fangs that could suck blood.

  “That was the first time you showed any indication. When you were younger, it never showed so I was sure you were normal. I was shocked when I saw you like that but deep in my mind, I think I’ve been expecting it.”

  Silence rang in the room and Courtney decided to leave them on their own, with a warning that there would be no more sucking of blood inside her room.

  “This is insane.” Easton dropped back to lie on the bed. “Maybe that’s why you smelled different.”

  Madison jumped at the thought and copied Easton.

  “And why I suddenly brandish my teeth to people like I had the longest fangs.” They both chuckled but the surprise was yet to be worn off. They never expected something like this. They always thought that Courtney’s opposition against their relationship was mainly because they were different. Turned out, they have similarities far more than they could imagine.

  “But was that really possible? That when Atticus turned you, he also transferred his emotions unknowingly?”

  “It’s probable. It’s the only logical explanation why there was a pull between us. They must have loved each other so greatly.” Easton sighed, now understanding that Atticus was brokenhearted more than sick. He probably felt hopeless and had to die wondering if they could have been together forever like they wanted.

  “But why did Atticus suddenly die?”

  Easton pursed his lips. “I had no idea. He just grew weaker and then he went off to somewhere and didn’t return. News just circulated that he was gone. We never had a strong bond with him so we weren’t inclined to see him. Just knowing that he’s gone was enough for us back then.”

  They both
fell into the depth of their thoughts. Easton pondered on the fact that Madison is partly vampire. He had never heard of such case before. He was not aware as to what her particular characteristics were. It was another mystery that added hundred to his list of unanswered questions.

  He faced Madison and cupped her cheek.

  “It’s been years but fate was still doing its best to make us together.”