by Anna Santos
I widened my eyes. Summing up, she had lied to him. I didn’t know if I should be happy or cry. I didn’t like lying. But it seemed to be a common thing to do lately.
“Oh, loosen up! We had fun last night. You’re really funny after a few drinks. And you should thank Philippe. He had to be your babysitter for the night. You were acting crazy.” She prolonged the y at the end of the adjective. I could have died right then. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to hide under the comforter.
“Oh, my head is killing me,” I complained, trying to ignore Philippe. Then I realized something disconcerting. I was sleeping in Philippe’s comfy bed. I inwardly cursed in frustration.
“I can find you an aspirin,” Philippe said with a sweet and concerned voice.
I sighed deeply and opened my eyes. Gabby was next to me in her pajamas, staring at me with her big green eyes in expectation.
Philippe, his lips pursed, was on the other side of the bed, his hands in his pockets, his big brown eyes also staring at me. I was the center of attention.
“Do you have strong black coffee instead?” I asked Philippe, a bit ashamed but relieved by the fact that I was fully dressed and he was safely outside the bed.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, disappearing in super speed mode.
“You two were extremely friendly last night,” Gabby said, leaning closer to speak in my ear. “I think he has a thing for you. I’m actually pretty sure about it. When you came upstairs to the bedroom, I thought that, well, you were going to do it.”
“Do what?” I asked, horrified by her words.
“You were pretty wasted. He had to take care of you and stop you from falling and…you kind of forced him to dance with you.”
“I did?”
“It was cute. You make a cute couple. Even if you say you have a boyfriend. But Philippe is a catch. He’s hot and rich and–”
“Stop talking please,” I demanded. Everything was moving around and her words were making me feel extremely bad about what I had done under the influence of alcohol. Cedric wouldn’t like one bit that I had been friendly with the bad vampire jerk.
Gabby pouted at my request.
“You know he’s a vampire, don’t you?” I asked, curious because he had just super-sped in front of her, and she hadn’t even blinked.
“Yes and Sean is, too. Sean is cool. As for Philippe, he used to act like a jerk, but he’s being a bit friendlier these days.”
“Do you know what happened to me?”
“When?”
“When I disappeared.”
She nodded. “You fell in the river and some dude saved you. Now, you’re living with him and you don’t want anyone to know about it,” she summed up.
It was not as simple as that, but I could work with that.
“When did they tell you?” I probed further.
“When we were in the restaurant at the opera. I was pretty upset, and Sean had to tell me the truth. He also told me that he had enthralled me. It’s a thing that vampires do to make us forget or overlook some things.”
“Then you have to understand that Philippe and I aren’t going to have a thing and that he isn’t my type. Besides, I have a boyfriend.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Keep telling yourself that.”
I rolled my eyes at her smart-alecky comment.
She smirked at me. “My words wouldn’t bother you so much if you didn’t feel something for him.”
“Aren’t you afraid that they might do something evil to you, that Sean might hurt you?”
“We love each other,” she said. “He would never hurt me. He treats me better than many of my previous human boyfriends. Besides, being bitten can be sexy.”
I gave up on trying to talk some sense into her. Plus, Sean actually kissed the ground she walked on, so I had nothing to worry about. He was so whipped that it was painful to watch sometimes. Yes, I’d found out what “whipped” meant.
Sighing, I said, “Fine. Now, why did you have my phone?”
“You left it in my purse. And I had to use it to call my dad. Mine was low on battery. I hope you don’t mind.”
“That’s cool. Now we have to get dressed and go meet my parents at the Louvre. But the thing is… I don’t have any clothes to change into.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have plenty of new clothes in Sean’s room. I can’t take them home because my parents would find them odd, but I bet there’s something there for you to wear.”
I nodded, noticing that Philippe was at the door with a cup in his hand. I wondered how long he’d been there listening to the conversation.
Gabby looked back, following my gaze. “Oh, Phil, can we use your bathroom to take a bath and get dressed? Sean is still sleeping like a baby, and I don’t want to disturb him.”
“Sure, make yourselves at home. Here’s your coffee, Aria,” he said, moving closer and giving me the cup.
I followed his movements and looked at his face when he handed me the cup. “Mom and Dad also invited you to come. They’re waiting for us under the pyramid,” I mumbled, unsure why I was telling him. I was suddenly feeling extremely shy. “Yesterday, you said you would come,” I reminded him. I could have almost bitten my tongue for wanting him to go back with me there. In my defense, it was cool to have him around to explain the historical facts and answer my questions.
His eyes seemed to light up at my words, and he lost his gloomy expression. Then, his brows drew together. “I can’t stay under the pyramid. There’s too much direct sunlight and it’ll burn me.”
“Oh right!” I remembered that detail. He had just shown me the galleries that were away from direct sunlight before. He‘d navigated around the beams of light that peeked in through the windows.
“You can join us in the cave. I’m sure Aria would love if you showed her the Egyptian Collection. She wouldn’t shut up about it last night at the club. She didn’t even want to sleep because of it.”
I snapped my head towards Gabby, flustered by her words. Couldn’t she be less obvious about the fact that she was trying to hook me up with Philippe?
Noticing my glare, she asked, “What? It’s always fun to have a guide telling us about the things we’re seeing. We had lots of fun yesterday.”
“Yes, it was fun,” I agreed but regretted it immediately when Philippe smiled. I didn’t want him to know that I’d enjoyed his company. I sighed and sulked for a bit. He probably knew it already because I’d let my guard down. Still, that didn’t mean we were friends or anything else for that matter.
I brought the cup to my lips. I needed a distraction from Philippe and his gorgeous smile. The hot drink burned me, but I endured the pain stoically.
“I’ll get us some clothes and your driver can take us to the Louvre,” Gabby said to Philippe.
I looked at her, shocked by her nerve. She liked to boss people around.
My cousin jumped happily off the bed and went to Sean’s room to get the clothes we needed to look presentable to my parents. Then I realized I was left alone with Philippe in the room. I peeked over the cup at him.
“What?” I asked him. He didn’t take his eyes off me. “Did we do something I may regret?”
“No, nothing happened,” he said. His words reassured me.
“Thank you for letting me sleep in your bed,” I said. It was the polite thing to say. “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked, putting the cup on the nightstand.
“On your right,” he said. “You’ll find fresh towels under the sink, and I’m going to leave you alone. I’m in the study if you need anything.”
I pushed back the comforter to get out of the bed and go to the bathroom to get clean.
“You truly don’t mind if I join you and your parents at the Louvre?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Don’t you remember what happened last night?”
I shook my head again. Folding my arms, I asked, “Is there anything important I should remember?”
“No,
it was just that we had fun together.”
“Okay,” I said, shrugging my shoulders, so he didn’t think I was giving too much importance to it. I didn’t remember everything that happened after I got drunk, but I remembered enough to know that we’d had fun. I just didn’t want to let him think that it meant anything.
“Okay…there are some rules you need to follow here. Don’t open the curtains; turn on the lights instead,” he instructed, flipping the switch on in the bedroom. “You need to wait for a while before you step into the shower because the water tends to take a long time to get warm. Just let it run for a bit with the tap open.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, getting up but sitting back down again once everything started to swirl. “How much did I drink?”
“A lot,” he answered, rushing to help me. His hands touched my hand and back, and I froze, staring at him. I could still get startled by his proximity. My angel also got nervous inside my head.
“I can do it,” I said, getting up, even if his hands continued touching me, and he was worried that I might fall. Even so, he helped me get to the bathroom, opening the door for me.
“You can lock the door if that makes you feel safer,” he said.
I stared at the lock. Yes, I’ll probably do that.
He let me go after making sure I wasn’t going to fall.
“Here’s the towel and here,” he said, opening a drawer and taking out a new toothbrush. “You can use this one. And Aria,” he called to me before he exited, making me stare at his face. “Truce, okay? I’m not going to hurt you, pixie angel. I promise.”
I gulped because he spoke so sweetly that my skin became covered in goose bumps. Plus, I believed him. There was no sign of the evil monster lurking in his chocolate brown eyes. I felt my heart shrinking in my chest as my hands trembled. But I knew better than to let myself get fooled by his enticing eyes and smooth talk. My angel wasn’t happy either. I didn’t know why she had been so quiet when I’d been drunk or even when I was around Philippe, but she was sensing danger, and she wanted me to snap out of it and stop believing the words of the monster who’d rejected me.
Philippe looked at me for a few moments until he left me to my blurry memories of what had happened the previous night. The embarrassment was too much to bear. I would never touch alcohol again.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ARIA
I’d messed up. I knew I had the moment I hung up the phone. I’d called Cedric to tell him where I was and what I was going to do next. I wanted him to meet us at the Louvre, so he could spend time with my parents. I’d planned to ask Philippe not to come and tell him that we shouldn’t see each other again. He needed to let me go and stay away from me and my family.
It had been a big mistake to call Cedric and try to explain what was happening and what I’d wanted us to do. He didn’t let me talk. He didn’t even let me tell him how I’d ended up at Philippe’s home. No. He’d simply freaked out and told me to stay put, that he’d come to get me and take me home. It didn’t help when I told him that I didn’t want to go home—I wanted to go to the Louvre. I wanted to show my parents how Cedric could be sweet and amazing.
I dialed my dad’s number before warning Philippe about Cedric’s arrival. My dad wasn’t pleased that I was missing our date. He wasn’t satisfied when I told him that it was because of Cedric. Actually, I think I messed it up even more because I’d started to cry on the phone. Cedric was jealous of Philippe, especially since I’d ended up at Philippe’s house. My dad didn’t know what was going on between Philippe, Cedric, and me. He didn’t understand why Cedric had gotten so mad about it.
I had a huge problem to fix and I was running out of time. Cedric would barge in at any minute to take me away and probably hurt Philippe in the process. I went to look for Philippe and got lost in that big house of his. He said he would be in his study, but I had no idea where that could be.
At the end of the corridor, I heard voices. I made my way there, hearing Philippe talking with some guy. I timidly knocked on the door and waited.
“Yes?” a tall and dark-haired guy with a serious face asked me as he looked me over from head to toe.
I didn’t like the way he stared at me, nor the sneer on his face.
“I’m sorry, love, but we’re busy. If you’re short on money for the cab, ask the butler in the kitchen to call you one, and he’ll pay for it.”
I didn’t like what his words implied one bit. I guessed it was a recurring thing in that house. It made me want to puke.
“I need to talk to Philippe. I don’t want any money for a cab. I have my own money, thank you very much,” I said, folding my arms and clenching my jaw.
He narrowed his eyes and, before he could say anything else, he was shoved aside.
“Aria,” Philippe said, breathless, aiming his big brown eyes at me. “What’s the problem?”
I unfolded my arms with a sigh. “You got that right. We have a problem. Cedric’s coming here to get me, and he isn’t pleased at all. I thought I should warn you.”
“Okay,” he said, not even flinching at my words.
I clutched the material of my dress. “Did you hear what I said? He’s coming here.”
“So?”
“He’s mad.”
“And?”
“Are you banging angels now?” the previous guy asked Philippe. Opening the door wider, he stared at me with black eyes and bore his fangs. He looked aggravated.
“Nobody is banging anyone here,” I said, outraged by his words. My angel stirred inside my mind. She didn’t like that vampire. We both agreed on that.
“Don’t talk like that to Aria or to me.” Philippe turned around and shoved the man, who shut up and recoiled. “Aria is a guest in this house.”
“And I’m leaving,” I informed him, spinning around and going back to his bedroom to get my stuff and prepare myself to leave once Cedric rang at the door. I didn’t want him to make a scene. I knew he would be mad, but facing him would beat staying there and being insulted by a stupid vampire.
“Do you need my help?” Philippe asked, walking beside me to the bedroom.
“For what?” I stopped and looked at him. He was wearing an untucked blue striped shirt and black pants.
His fingers combed through his soft hair. “To explain to Cedric what happened. I don’t want him to get mad at you.”
“I can handle Cedric.”
“So why did you come to warn me?”
I bit my lip as I observed my feet. “Well, he’s furious. He’ll probably try to kill you.”
“He can try, but he won’t be able to,” he said, rather calm to my exasperation.
Philippe was rather cocky. Cedric was strong, and he was the angels’ prince. Why isn’t Philippe afraid of him?
I brushed the fabric of my dress as I lifted my head to look at Philippe and mused about the implications of what I’d done.
Philippe put his hands in his pockets. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m faster than him, and he’s too reckless. I have no intention of making him mad, nor do I want him to get angry with you. Nothing happened. You are my guest, and I can explain everything to him.”
Heading to the bedroom, I said, “I don’t think he wants to listen to your explanations or mine.”
I entered the bedroom and grabbed my clothes, which I’d folded over the bed. Then I grabbed my phone, seeing two missed calls from my dad. I puckered my lips, unsure if I should call him back or not. I was in no mood to have two people whom I loved yelling at me on the phone.
Philippe put his hand on my shoulder as he leaned down to watch me. “What’s wrong?”
I hugged my phone against my chest and stepped back to evade this touch. “Dad’s also mad.”
“With me?”
“No, with Cedric. I can’t go to the Louvre.”
“Why not?”
Sighing with impatience, I indulged his curiosity. “Because Cedric doesn’t trust me, that’s why.”
“Oh!”
Philippe stared at me with guilt and sadness displayed on his face. “I didn’t want to get you in trouble. But…nothing happened. He should trust you and let you explain.”
“Yes, he should. But I think he’s feeling as if I’ve betrayed him. I shouldn’t have slept here. I don’t understand how…this happened.” I gestured around, annoyed at myself.
“You had too much to drink. You were…sad.”
“I should have been more responsible.”
Philippe frowned. “You’re extremely responsible, Aria. You shouldn’t feel guilty for wanting to have fun with your parents and cousin.”
“You don’t understand…” I massaged my temples with closed eyes.
His voice came out stern. “I understand perfectly. He doesn’t trust you and he’s mad because you spent time with me. However, nothing happened. And if Cedric had met you at the disco, you wouldn’t have ended up drunk, and I wouldn’t have had to take you to my place.”
Opening my eyes, I blinked several times as his reasoning echoed inside my tired mind. Then, I said, “He was busy. He told me that.”
Philippe’s face tensed as his eyes narrowed. “Why are you defending him?”
I paused. “Why shouldn’t I defend him? I was the one who messed up.”
He shook his head. “You weren’t. Since nothing happened, he should trust you if you’re supposed to be his girlfriend.”
“You know nothing about Cedric,” I said. He didn’t have the right to talk about Cedric like that.
“I know enough, and I understand that Cedric is acting impulsively because he hates me. However, Aria, it isn’t your fault that he doesn’t like vampires. He shouldn’t be mad at you.”
“Well, I shouldn’t have ended up here in your home. Not after what you’ve done to me.”
“He should thank me for that then, since I was the one who made it possible for him to be with you.”
I stared at him, speechless and troubled by his words. I felt my hands trembling as my breath slowed down. My eyes burned from a sudden urge to cry that tugged at my chest. I had nightmares about that to this day. Yet I had no idea what had been real and what my mind was making up.
