Astoria: Secrets, Lies and Vampires

by Theiler, Donna

  As we walked towards the kitchen the music got louder. I could smell the wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. As we reached the doorway Evan turned to me and smiled and leaned down to kiss me. “Just be yourself baby.” He said. I looked at him as we walked in, his mother was busy cooking and dicing vegetables. She turned as we walked in. She was just as stunning in the kitchen as she was the day I first met her at the school. “Emma, I am so glad you could make it.” Her blond hair pulled back into a bun with a single strand of hair falling towards her face. Her golden brown eyes seemed to glow bright today. “I hope you’re hungry, I am making you something special” she said as she went to the oven and took out a covered dish.

  “My mother is a pro in the kitchen.” Evan said in a sweet tone. I could see the love he had for his mother when he spoke. Almost like the love I held for my mother.

  “When you don’t sleep at all, and you have three hungry teenagers, you learn to be the best.” Doctor Blake said as she hugged Evan tightly. Just then the back door open, a tall medium build man came walking in, his hair was an auburn color, his eyes were golden brown. He had on a pair of blue scrubs under his white doctor’s coat. He looked very young, maybe in his late thirties, but I knew from Evan’s stories he was a lot older. His features were just as striking as the rest of his families. “Hello, you must be Emma.” it was more of a statement than a question as he held his hand out to shake mine. “It is so nice to meet you, finally.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” My voice was shaky as I held my hand out to meet his. His touch was a lot colder than Evan’s and I flinched a bit when our hands touched. He smiled and then went over to kiss Evan’s mother. “How was your day dear?” he asked her as he kissed her on the cheek. “It was fine.” She replied. “Could you help me?” she asked him as she pointed towards the garlic she was chopping. I watched them in amazement as they looked to be a normal family. “So Emma, How do you like Astoria so far?” Evan’s father asked. “It’s okay here, Doctor Blake. Should I chop that for you” All of a sudden Evan and his parent’s let out a loud chuckle. I looked around the room to see if I had missed some sort of joke. “Emma, you don’t have to be so polite. Please, call me Neville.”

  “And you can call me Grace.” Evan’s mother said as she walked over and put her arm around Evan.

  “O-okay.” I replied. I was still feeling a little uneasy being here. Beside Evan, I wasn’t sure how much the others really wanted me here.

  “We have about another hour before dinner, Evan why don’t you show Emma around?” Grace said to Evan as she walked back towards the counter and began to chop the garlic again.

  As we walked up to the third floor of the Blake home the furnishings were just has beautiful as they were on the floor before this one. Each floor held at-least one family photo hanging on the wall. I’d assume to show any human guest that they were just as normal as any human looking at this beautiful family. Once we reached the third floor there were only two doors on the floor. Evan took my hand and led me to his room. He pointed to the other door and told me it was Everett’s and Payton’s. “You mean...they share?” my voice came out in a shocking tone. “Yeah, things in my world are a lot different than in your world Emma.” His voice seemed to be calm and amused.

  He opened the door and instantly my eyes scan his room and to my surprise his room had all the modern day technology. I wasn’t sure what I expected, maybe dark walls with a coffin for a bed, I wasn’t sure. But this wasn’t it. It was floor to ceiling glass. You could see the landscape around the house. I could even see a large stream that ran in behind the house that you couldn’t see from ground level. He had the state of the art computer. Flat screen television, that hung on the wall. It looked to be every bit of sixty inches long. His bed was huge. He had a long desk in the corner with colored pencils on it. And as I looked more closely I could see papers strewn about. I walked closer to it, something caught my curiosity. There was a picture of a girl. As I got closer I could see that that girl was me. It was a picture of me wearing my grey and red jersey tee I worn on my first day of school to Astoria High. I hadn’t worn it since then. I looked over at Evan in amazement. “Did- how?” I couldn’t get the words out. Did he take this photo when I wasn’t looking sitting next to him that day? When he glared at me with those hateful eyes before he ran out of the room?

  “I drew that.” his voice was calm, as he walked over and started showing me other drawings. There were some that were pencil sketch drawings. All were of me. I thumbed back to the first one of me in the grey and red jersey. It looked as though it was a professional photo you would have made at a photography studio, but only on a piece of sketch paper. “You drew this?” I asked with amazement in my voice. “How do you remember the detail so well?” I asked him. Everything down to how I wore my hair and the buttons on my shirt was perfect.

  “Photogenic memory, all us Vampires has it.” He said as he walking over to window as if he was a shy artist that was unsure of himself. “Some are from real life and some are from my dreams.” He said as he showed me other pictures.

  “Evan, these are amazing.” as I continued to look through his drawings Evan looked out at the wooded surroundings and then excused himself to go check on dinner. I continued to look through the sketch book. I quickly noticed each photo of myself and from what day he may have possibly drew them. The one that I think got me the most was the day at the beach from our first kiss. His eye view of it saw me sitting on the large rock, the sun was setting and his colored pencils had caught the perfect moment of the skyline in red. The tint of the sun glisten my hair with a red tint I never saw before. The green in my eyes stood out as never before. My hair was blowing in the wind as I stared off towards the ocean at the Lighthouse, that one day soon would be “our special hideout’’. A smile spread across my lips. Even then, when I thought he hated me, he really loved me. Another drawing was only in a pencil sketch, it was of me in long gown, walking under an archway with flowers. My hands started to shake with excitement or fear one. I wasn’t sure. Did this mean Evan and I would be married some day? He said these drawings were from real life or his dreams. Since I was certain I hadn’t worn a gown in front of him before I figured it was from a dream he had of our future. As I closed the sketch book of the drawing of me Evan had drew, I set it on the edge of the desk, missing it completely. The book fell, knocking it to the ground. The book flew open and knocked some of the pages lose. As I started to pick up the loose pages I picked one up that was folded over, looking around to see if Evan was coming I unfolded it. Curiosity got the best of me. The other drawings were open and in plain view, I wanted to see why this one was hidden and folded out of site. Relief flushed over me when I saw it was only of an animal, a beautiful lone white wolf with bright green eyes. Evan walked in and I hurried to put the sketch back where it was. And back on the desk before I turned to face him. “Dinner is ready, you hungry?” he asked.

  “Starved!” I answered as I tucked the book back in place and walked towards Evan with a smile.

  Chapter 14

  The long oak dining room table took up half of the room. The white leather chairs were as comfortable as they looked. There was colorful art that filled the walls and the centerpiece on the table was made up of fresh flowers. I couldn’t get over how beautiful Evan’s home was, or how nice the Blake’s were being to me, making me feel at home. I started to relax some during dinner. Although Cameron still made me feel a bit uneasy, the rest of the family seemed to be just as nice as Evan. Grace made Filet Mignon with a rich balsamic glaze, steamed asparagus with red baby potatoes and a garden salad on the side. Evan, Payton, Everett and I were the only ones who ate human food of course so the others just sat at the table and talked with us. After we ate, Evan and Everett eating thirds, it was time for desert. A piece of fudge with a scope of vanilla ice cream on top with chocolate syrup, I was so full from the main course I wasn’t sure I could get the delicious desert down. But I had never turned down chocolate
before, and I wasn’t going to start now. All the Blake’s at the table, either eating, or not, sat and talked. Laughing and enjoying their family time together. I was listening to every word trying to learn everything I could about this interesting and strange family. I could see Evan watching me with curious eyes as he sit beside me. “Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked in a low tone. I nodded my head and smiled at him before I turned my attention back to the conversation at the table. Payton and Everett were going on about some nonsense about who is stronger. I was more curious about other things, like how Cameron came into the family. And before I could even stop myself I blurted out the question. “How did you become a Vampire Cameron?” everyone suddenly became quite. Cameron turned to me with a look as if he could kill me right then and there. I started to sink down in my seat slowly. Grace looked at me as if she wanted to say I shouldn’t have asked that question. Evan reached over and took my hand and leaned over and whispered “C’mon, let’s go.” in a tone that made a chill run down my spine. I stood up slowly and looked at everyone at the table looking at me with those eyes, some blue, some were golden brown, but all frighten me.

  “I- I’m sorry. I-I shouldn’t have asked that. It was very rude-” and before I could say anymore Cameron cut me off. “No, she should know.” When I heard his voice my heart started to race. I could feel the blood racing through my veins and the throbbing in my ears. I waited for the insults from him to start. And when his story began, I sat back down in my seat.

  “I had a normal life like any other teenager. I had a good family. I was in love with a girl named Holly. She was native Indian like you Emma.” he said as he nodded my way and smiled. “She was beautiful, smart and funny. I loved her with all of my being. I courted her in secret, said her father wouldn’t approve of her dating a white man. We had planned to run away together and get married when we turned eighteen. It was only a few months away.” He paused a moment like he was nervous to speak what came next. “One day during our secret dates her brother had found our hiding place where we spending time together at. In an old abandon barn outside of town. He came at me with vengeance. Right before my eyes I watched this man turn into a wolf.” Cameron stopped speaking for a moment. I turned to look at Evan. His expression told me I shouldn’t have asked. I wished now I hadn’t. Cameron stood up and started pacing around and started telling his story again. “The wolf’s claw tore into my flesh with ease, slicing through my skin from my neck down to my legs. I could hear Holly’s screams and pleading with her brother to stop. But he just kept coming at me. Holly jumped in between us, her brother attacked her too. I tried to fight the wolf off of Holly, but it only attacked me more, that’s when I saw Neville. At first I just assumed it was more of my attackers coming to finish me off. I was losing a lot of blood and was in and out of consciousness. Holly’s screams were fading. Then this man was over me, biting me. I was numb from the pain at first. Then the venom went through my body. It was excruciating. Then all I remember was being carried. It was nighttime. And a voice kept saying to me you are going to be okay. I was seventeen when I was turned into a Vampire. The love of my love was killed by her brother because she tried to defend me.” Cameron tone was low and sad.

  “Why couldn’t Neville save her too?” I asked cautiously.

  “Holly’s people were Shape shifters, a werewolf. A bite from a Vampire wouldn’t have helped her. We don’t know if it would have been dangerous for her. A bite from a Vampire could have caused a mutation of her wolf gene. We had no way to know what would have become of her” Neville replied. The room fell silent. Cameron stared at me with his golden brown eyes for a long moment and then walked out of the room. I looked at Evan “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Grace stood up from across the table and came over to me and sat down beside me. “It’s okay Emma, you didn’t know.” She stated as she looked at the others. The others never looked at me. I felt guilty for even asking now. The pain in Cameron’s eyes as he left the room broke my heart. He lost his only love due to hatred. She was viciously torn apart in front of his eyes due to the color of his skin. He loved her and she loved him. But her heritage kept them apart. I guess I can understand now why he is hesitant when it comes to me, since I am Native Indian, like her…Holly.

  “Evan, you should take Emma outside and show her the grounds.” Grace had mentioned to Evan as everyone else exited the dining room. I looked up and noticed it was still somewhat light outside and then looked over to Evan. “Do you want to take a walk?” he asked in a low tone. “Sure” I responded. He put his hand on the small of my back as he led me over to the back door. As we walked out on the back deck it was just as beautiful as the inside of the house. The deck was furnished with expensive patio furniture. And décor of fresh flowers was the center piece of the table. It even had an expensive stainless steel grill, which I am sure they barely use, since they prefer a different sort of buffet dinner that doesn’t require the grill. As we walked off the deck onto the soft grass Evan took my hand in his. I wasn’t really sure where we were going I just walked along beside him and followed his lead. “You know, you really can’t see too much from ground level. We need to be higher.” As he said this he grabbed a hold of my arms with his hands and slung me on to his back wrapping my arms around his neck. My legs were wrapped around his waist. And he started to climb the highest tree he could find. He went from limb to limb with ease. When we went as high as we could go he stopped. I couldn’t move. I was frozen with fear. “It’s okay. I would never let you fall Emma.” he said with a serious tone. My hands were tight around his neck, I was afraid to move them afraid if I did I would fall to my death. I was even afraid to breath. “Emma.” he laughed. “It’s okay, I promise.” I slowly un-wrapped my legs from around his waist and gathered my balance on the small limb. Still not letting go of Evan’s, once I felt I had my balance I let go one hand at a time and gripped the branch in front of me. As we both stared out at the skyline in front of us I could finally see most the Astoria. Evan’s entire property, their house was on a huge piece of land that included a stream that ran behind their house. Evan pointed out the fence line that outlined their property that I hadn’t noticed before. They owned at least hundred acres. “This is amazing Evan. This is breath taking.” Looking around at every angel of the advantage point, I couldn’t believe I was here in this very moment. This sort of thing doesn’t happen. “This is my life.” Evan said as plainly as he could, as though it was a normal day for him, which of course it was, for someone like him…a Vampire.

  As we sat talking in the top of the tall tree my mind kept drifting back to Evan’s drawings, one in particular, the one with me in the wedding dress. I wanted to ask him about it but how? So I thought I would start out subtle. “I really loved your drawings.” I stated.

  “Thank you.”

  “They are amazing Evan. Really.” I was working up to the question about the one of me in the dress. I could feel my heart beating faster, and I guessed Evan could sense it too.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” I smiled at him as he looked at me with concern. My hands were shaking. Evan could tell I was nervous and he tried to comfort me.

  “Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

  “I saw the picture Evan, the one that changes our future between us forever.” His face fell slack. And his eyes looked away from me. I didn’t know what to say. My worst fear came true. Evan’s dream, our future was of us getting married. But that wasn’t what he wanted. “It’s okay Evan. We don’t have to get married if you don’t’ want to. If that’s not how you-” Evan busted out laughing. I looked at him in confused as if I missed some silly joke. The more confused I looked the harder he laughed. “I don’t see what is so funny.” I barked.

  “Emma, it wasn’t a wedding dress.” He said as he was still laughing.

  “It wasn’t?” I asked.

  “No.” he said still laughing hysterical.

  “Then
what was it?”

  “That was you in a prom dress. I brought you up here tonight because I wanted to ask you in private if you would go to the prom with me?” he wasn’t laughing now. Now he was asking me to the prom in a serious romantic tone.