by B. N. Toler
Whit walks over to me and pulls me from behind Rhett, who moves slightly as if to protest, but doesn’t dare try. Even Rhett can understand the protective instincts of a brother. He turns back to Rhett and Sarah. Rhett has crossed his arms, and he eyes me while Sarah stands still as a statue. The room is silent for a moment with the exception of my coughs, while Whit fumes.
“I appreciate everything you have done for us, both of you. We obviously owe you our lives, but maybe it’s time for you to go.” Whit’s tone is one I’ve never heard before. Whit is always so easy going, the jokester, but this is new. This is Whit being protective, and I never knew he had it in him.
“Whit,” Sarah and I gasp in unison.
“Whit, I know this is very upsetting, but I would never let anything happen to Aldo,” Rhett tries to reassure him.
“You are very protective of Aldo, Rhett, and I appreciate that, but you are also protective of Sarah. She’s your sister, you should be, but my sister has no way of defending herself against a blood healer.” Sarah snorts and Rhett cuts his eyes at her. What’s that about?
Whit touches the back of my neck where wet blood is still slicked on my neck. “You made her bleed, Sarah.” Whit holds his hand out, my blood covering his fingers as he speaks, disappointment in his voice.
Both Rhett and Sarah take in a sharp breath, their fangs still out and Whit pushes me behind him. I had no idea that Rhett could become so blood crazed.
Looking at Sarah, her eyes plead with me and I see something that I have never seen in her before. Regret. It’s an unspoken request, but I hear her, and I nod letting her know it will be okay. I know all too well Sarah is broken in a way where a person says hurtful things because they themselves are hurting. She would never admit that, but it’s what I’ve concluded. I have developed iron skin to guard me from her constant insults, but today my armor has failed me. Her words have left a permanent chink that will forever leave me vulnerable to attack. Still, I know she didn’t mean it, at least I tell myself she didn’t.
“We’re leaving now.” Whit pulls my arm and I follow, looking back to Rhett, not wanting to upset Whit more by refusing.
“Whit, let’s not—”
“Rhett, this is my sister! You need to deal with yours!” Whit whips around and interrupts Rhett, anger in his voice.
I shake my head at Rhett, warning him not to press on. Whit is visibly upset and needs some time to calm down. As we exit the kitchen, I notice the look Rhett shoots to Sarah, and for the first time since I met the polar opposite siblings, Sarah looks ashamed.
After taking energy from Whit to heal myself, we leave the house, stopping at a gas station so I can try to clean the blood out of my hair and off my neck. Whit insisted we leave immediately in spite of my pleading to let me wash up first. We don’t speak about what happened until we reach a park about five miles from our house. Finally, I can’t bare the silence anymore.
“Whit, Sarah is a complicated person,” I begin gently.
“It’s not an excuse for her to put her hands on you,” Whit growls.
“No, it’s not, and I’m sure Rhett will make sure it never happens again,” I try to comfort him.
“And what if it happens again and Rhett isn’t there?”
I sigh heavily. That’s not something I can answer. If you had told me yesterday Sarah would have attacked me that way, I would have said you were crazy. “It won’t Whit,” I answer, lacking any conviction in my voice.
“What are we doing with them Aldo?”
His question takes me by complete surprise. “They’re our friends Whit. They saved our lives and brought me out of my self-induced coma.” I shake my head embarrassed; I have come to call my yearlong dream world which I hid in, a coma.
“And I’m grateful for all of that, but how far can this go?” He shakes his head as if this thought has plagued him for some time.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, they’re blood healers,” he kicks at the rocks covering the path we’re walking on.
“So,” I shrug, still not following his train of thought.
“What future could we have with them?”
His words seize me, and I have to stop to fully grasp the revelation he has just presented to me. He halts and watches me a moment, biting his lip, realizing I had never thought about it this way.
“I know you love Rhett. I can see he cares deeply for you too.”
“Yes.” The one word is all I can manage.
“Aldo, he’ll never age and you will. Don’t you want children?” Whit looks at me, and it occurs to me he has been worried about this since I’ve woken up, and maybe never had the chance to discuss it with me. I ignore his question about wanting kids.
“I suppose I’ll have to change, or Rhett will watch me wither away and die.” I snort as if I’m joking, but my heart sinks at the thought. Neither are really ideal choices in my mind, but I suppose I’ll have to choose at some point if Rhett and I are to be together.
“You would change for him?” Whit gasps.
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“So it’s that serious?”
I smile awkwardly. “I think so.”
“I like him, I do, but I’m worried that the two of you will butt heads at some point.” He bumps his fists together.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re something bigger. I don’t know what it is, but Lucy knew it too.”
His words shock me and I stumble a bit.
“She was always so particular with you, grooming you almost.”
“That’s because I’m a strong healer. She said I’m one of the strongest she had ever known.”
“All I’m saying is I’ve never imagined you just sitting around with your thumb up your ass while some guy takes care of you.”
“Where is this coming from, Whit?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs as if he’s annoyed. “Just saying I’d hate to see you settle for less than you want.”
“And you think being with Rhett means I’m settling for less?”
“No, I think it means you’re signing over your will. He watches you like a hawk. You move, he moves, too. I know it comes from a good place, but…” He pauses and shakes his head as if he’s trying to find the right words. “Listen, I know he cares about you and he’s a great guy, but love can only take you so far.”
“He’s just protective,” I reply defensively.
“Yes, and as your brother, I appreciate that, but again—I’m your brother. I know better than to believe you could live happily ever after, hiding away from the world—from what we are.”
I am literally stunned by this conversation. Rhett is protective, but I had no idea Whit had noticed or for that matter, was bothered by it.
“I’m not changing, or anything, Whit. I have plenty of time to decide if I want to be a blood healer or not.” I place a hand on his shoulder trying to reassure him.
“At least you have that choice,” he grumbles.
“What do you—” His meaning hits me. Whit doesn’t have that choice. He’s never really had a choice. Hudson’s existence is fueled only by Whit’s existence. If Whit were to change, Hudson would most likely die.
“Oh Whit—” I whisper.
“I want you to be happy. I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.” He quickly changes the subject and I know by him doing so that he, too, has thought about changing for Sarah, only to realize it’s impossible.
“Do you know?” I question looking him in his eyes. “I can see you care for Sarah. You know you could never change to be with her.”
“Lucky for me, it’s not unusual for older men to have younger women.” His mouth curves at the sides, fighting a smile.
“Do you think you’ll continue to date her?”
He makes a thoughtful expression. “I do, but I’m not sure it will go anywhere.”
“Because she can’t die or have children?”
“No, because
she’s so…” he stares into the sky, searching for the right word.
“Complicated,” I offer.
“That’s putting it mildly.” I smile at his reply because it was exactly what I was thinking.
“She cares for you, Whit, and she’s been through a lot. Sarah isn’t some delicate creature. She’s complicated because she’s been through unimaginable things,” I say to him, but I also use my words to remind myself of the same thing. “I can’t tell you what. It’s her story to share, Whit, but if you really think about it, I’m sure you can put a bit of it together yourself.”
He looks off for a minute. “Did they do to her what they did to our mother?” he asks.
I don’t respond and he knows this is a yes. “Just ask her, Whit, and if she isn’t ready to tell you, give her time. It’s not an easy story to tell.” I squeeze his arm.
“Will you think about what I said?” he grabs my arm, forcing me to look at him.
“Whit,” I pause. “We don’t always get to choose who we love, sometimes they choose us.
“And sometimes we have to make hard choices.”
“Do you not care for Rhett?”
“No. He’s great, but you’re my little sister Aldo. It’s my job to look out for you.”
“You seriously didn’t just say that.” I roll my eyes at him.
“According to Sarah, I’m four minutes older than you.”
“Yet years behind me in maturity and general knowledge,” I smirk.
“Only because I got all the good looks. Something had to balance the scales.” He bumps me with his shoulder as we begin walking again.
“So what did Hudson get then?” I challenge.
“Good question,” he snorts.
We continue walking, dropping the awkward and unpleasant subject of dating an immortal. We get back to the car and as we slide in Whit stifles a laugh.
“What?” I question.
“Heart.”
“What?”
“Hudson got the biggest heart,” Whit smiles softly as he starts the car.
“True.” I nod in agreement. Hudson is the kindest and most gentle person I know.
After we leave the park, we decide to stop at a local retirement home. We fake being relatives of a patient there and make our way into a few rooms. Whit shares his energy with me and I heal as many as I can. These are older folks, so I really just ease aches and pains like arthritis. It feels good to do something with my gift, even if it’s only a balm to those I heal.
When we return home, Whit and Sarah go out for a walk to talk things over. Hudson and Lila are in the living room, watching a movie while Beau is napping, and since Rhett isn’t home, I decide to take a shower to wash all of the dried blood out of my hair. When I finish, I put on pajamas and sit at the desk in my room, pressing the silver rectangle on my necklace in my hand.
Lucy’s words play in my head. There are answers here. I have found myself reading the inscription over and over since I woke up and wondering how I will get to the Bank of Richmond. I wasn’t even able to think about leaving at first because I was so weak.
It took a few days, but eventually I got my voice back completely, along with my sea legs. Walking was even a struggle at first. Rhett stayed by my side every minute of it, encouraging me and soothing me whenever I got frustrated. Once I started getting back to my old self, I had hoped to make a move on finding out what Lucy had left me in the safe deposit box, but I wasn’t strong enough yet, and I wanted to spend some time with my family. Picking up and running off right out of the gate was not an option. They needed me. So in the meantime, Rhett helped me to master control of my subconscious and showed me how to tell if someone was really there, or if I brought them there. Focus is what it boils down to.
I eye the rectangle once more, wondering how to put my plans in motion. The first step will be locking Rhett out of my subconscious. Rhett would never let me go track down the nest of vampires responsible for killing my mother or his, so leaving him behind is my only option. I know this will hurt him deeply, but I have to do this, and the first place I have to go is to Virginia to see what’s in Lucy’s safe deposit box. She said I would find answers there. I hope answers on how I will bring down a nest of vampires.
I close my eyes and press the silver rectangle to my mouth. “Lucy, help me figure this out.” I hear the floor creak in my room, and snap up, realizing Rhett is staring at me.
“Uh, hi,” I say awkwardly as I shove my necklace under my shirt.
“Hi, yourself,” he says staring at my chest.
Ever since Rhett saw me staring at my necklace in the bathroom the day I woke up, it’s been the elephant in the room or better yet the elephant around my neck. I know he knows the necklace is relevant in some way, but he hasn’t asked, and I haven’t brought it up. Instead, we dance around it, a silent tango of unspoken words, ignoring its existence. But there are moments when I feel he’s on the brink of asking about it.
I decided to never mention I overheard the conversation between Sarah and Rhett the night I came back. His secret makes me feel better about keeping mine. Perhaps it’s childish to think of it as, we’re even, but technically—we are.
I saunter over to him, staring into his green eyes, wanting nothing more than to kiss him, but I wait, wondering if this is the moment he will ask about my necklace. The awkwardness fades after a beat and he pulls me in his embrace. I relish his touch, his smell, and the cool, smooth vibrations that tingle on my lips as he kisses me.
“Where were you?” I ask, gazing into his gorgeous eyes.
“Just needed some time away from Sarah,” he shakes his head and rests his hand on the back of mine. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll live,” I smile slightly. I’m still a little shaken up by what happened with Sarah earlier, and the thought of what might have happened if Rhett hadn’t been there scares me more.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers.
“For what? You didn’t do anything.”
“She hurt you. Whit was right. I didn’t protect you from her.”
“Well, in her defense, I kind of pushed her to it.” I might be overdoing it here, playing it off, but in an attempt to ease Rhett’s worry, I’ll lie. I did push Sarah, but I would never have thought she’d attack me.
“She shouldn’t have put her hands on you.”
“No, she shouldn’t have,” I agree, shutting my bedroom door behind him.
“I’m sorry, she is so….”
“Complicated?” I finish.
This word of the day is brought to you by the letter C and the number seven.
“Yes,” he nods. He leads me to my bed and we sit on the edge together.
“I just want to know what she knows.”
“Why, Aldo?”
Because I should be allowed a natural curiosity about my biological father, but the real reason is because I want to hunt him down and kill him.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I turn the question back on him.
“I just mean, what use is it to know?”
“It just is,” I snap.
“Okay,” Rhett sighs, running a hand through his hair.
“Is there a reason you and Sarah don’t think I should know about him?” I question innocently, hoping his reaction to my question might tell me something.
Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. Figures.
Rhett jumps up, avoiding my question, and calls, “Come in.”
Sarah pokes her head in, wearing a look of remorse and shame. “Can I speak with you outside?” she asks looking at me.
“Sure,” I reply, surprised, as I stand.
Rhett moves as if he’s going to follow, but Sarah stops him.
“I’d like to speak to her alone, Rhett.” Sarah holds her hand up.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he says disapprovingly and the awkwardness in the room becomes so thick you could cut it with a knife.
“I’m not going to hurt her,” Sarah insists, narrowing h
er eyes at him.
“I think you’ve proven yourself untrustworthy in that regard.” Rhett grabs my hand and squeezes it. Even though they are talking about me, I can’t help wishing I wasn’t present for this exchange between them.
“I swear,” she groans. “Aldo, please,” Sarah looks at the floor, and I can see how ashamed of herself she is.
“It’s okay Rhett,” I squeeze his hand, but he pulls me back towards him.
He speaks to her through clenched teeth. “Sarah, if you ever put your hands on her again—”
“I know,” she interrupts him. My heart is in my stomach at this point. Rhett has never acted like this to Sarah, and even though she’s in the wrong, I can’t help but feel guilty that I’m creating discord between them.
“Okay,” Rhett takes my hand and kisses it gently.
Following Sarah out onto the front porch, I take a seat beside her on the top step.
“I’m sorry. I know I’m a real bitch sometimes,” she sighs staring at her hands that are knotted together.
That’s putting it mildly. You’re a bitch on your good days. I don’t respond, as I can’t really argue with her.
“Aldo, I didn’t want to tell you because I know how horrible it is. You are tortured by not knowing, but knowing will torment you just the same.”
I nod, understanding what she means. “I’m sorry, too, Sarah.”
“You haven’t even discovered what you are. There is so much more to you than this girl who hides from hard times,” she smiles slightly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Finding out who your father is will only add to the insurmountable pile of bullshit you are already coping with. No offense, you’re not the best at handling difficult news.”
“I still want to know, Sarah.”
She sighs heavily as if still contemplating whether to tell me everything or not. “Women were gathered, and by the time your mother was brought in, they had established a method where they used one male donor to impregnate one group of women. The males and females born from different fathers would be matched for future breeding. Bruce Whitlow, your father, was maybe in his thirties, tall, good looking, and I think maybe he was Italian because he had a dark complexion. I only saw him a handful of times. You and your brothers favor him a lot, but when you smile, I see Lisa.” Her eyes take on a softness as she says my mother’s name.
