by M. J. O'Shea
“They’d all want it.”
“And that would be unwise. Very unwise.”
Avery did understand. The repercussions could be horrendous if word got out about a mysterious immortality mineral that was real and not just part of a fantasy novel.
“You okay?” Tyson asked.
“Yeah, this is just kind of heavy. It’s a lot.” Avery gave him a rueful look. “I mean, I’m not even the one dealing with it. It has to be so stressful for you. I’m just a bit overwhelmed.”
“Do you want to take a few days?” Tyson asked. Avery saw his face sink a little, like he’d just opened himself up and he was waiting for rejection. The thing was, Avery could use a couple of days to chill. He wanted Tyson to know he could be trusted, but it was a lot to think about. His entire worldview had changed.
“I might.” He brought up his hand to Tyson’s chest. “But only because I need to sort out what I believe about just about everything I’ve ever learned, hell everything I’ve taught. And to know that you’re out there. And others like you? And all of this is real? I just need to process it.”
Tyson looked like he was in pain, but he nodded. “Take all the time you need. I know it’s a lot.”
“It’s pretty much flipped my world upside down.” Avery cringed. “All that shit I’ve been telling kids. I’m such an ass.”
“You’re not. You’re intelligent and exciting and the students love you. Besides, can you imagine how fast you’d be fired if you paraded onto campus talking about vampires and immortal scientists with special rocks?”
Avery sputtered out a laugh. “Faster than the dean could sprint to my classroom.”
“Okay. So, do I get to see you in a few days?” Tyson asked.
“Yeah. Just let me deal with this in my own time.”
He knew Tyson was hurt, even if he tried to look like everything was fine. Avery felt bad for hurting him, he did. But he needed time, like he’d said.
“I can’t ask anything more.”
AVERY biked home that night, aching to tell Macy, share it just a little bit so he didn’t feel quite so out of his depth, but at the same time he wanted to push it away and pretend Tyson had never told him all those things. He not only had spent his entire teaching career not believing all the myths and legends were true, he didn’t want to believe they were true. Who wanted to know that the things most people were terrified of were real and living right in the city, hell, socializing right down the street from his house? Who wanted to have their worldview tipped on its ass and spilled all over the remains of their professional pride? It kind of sucked. But it was fascinating too. Immensely so.
He would’ve had a hard time believing it if it hadn’t been for the men at the bar and things he’d noticed himself, like impossible sparkling drinks and people who were clearly so much more than normal. He believed it. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t want to see more proof eventually, but in his gut, he knew Tyson was telling the truth. It was tempting to turn around and go back to Tyson too. He wanted to, he did, but he was scared to delve into this new, possibly dangerous world that was hidden behind closed doors and in exclusive clubs.
Avery needed to talk to somebody. He needed Macy.
“HEY, babes, can we go grab coffee after class tonight? I’m buying.”
He’d been in his office all morning, trying to work, but it was understandably impossible. Especially when he was planning lectures he knew had mistakes and inconsistencies. It drove him nuts, and he wanted to scrap everything, but he had a job to do and students to teach—even if he was teaching them wrong information and driving himself up the wall. He had been far too relieved to see Macy when she came for one of her usual visits. It felt like he could finally breathe again with her familiar, comforting presence.
“Sure.” Macy sank down into the chair across from his desk. “Are you sure you don’t need that coffee to be bourbon on the rocks?”
Avery chuckled. “I sure wouldn’t mind if it was a bit spiked. I feel like being drunk could only help.”
“Yikes.”
Avery gave her a tired smile. He needed help. He couldn’t tell Macy everything, but she’d been there for those men in the bar. She had to know there were things going on that weren’t normal. He thought he’d start there and see how much he could say without telling Tyson’s secret and betraying his trust.
AFTER class, when the sun was setting and their campus looked like it had been bathed in a peachy glow, Avery waited outside his building for Macy. If he waited in his office, some kid would need something, and then another student would see that he was still in there, and it would just snowball into hours of him answering questions over and over. Not what he wanted. At all. So he stood in the gathering dusk, trying not to think about vampires and werewolves and whatever the hell Tyson was and the fact that they existed right under his nose.
They’re just like me. Only slightly different. They’re just people…. Right?
Somehow Avery wasn’t quite sure that was true.
He was relieved when he saw Macy walking up, weighted down with books and a heavy portfolio.
“Here. Let me take at least one of them.” Avery grabbed her bag full of work—none of them ever finished while they were actually on campus—and slung it over his shoulder on top of his own bag. Then he pushed his bike down the path to the side of campus that Macy’s house was on.
They chatted about light things, school assignments, campus politics, until they were at her apartment. Then Avery stored his bike in her place and they set out on foot for a café that wasn’t too far away. Avery wasn’t sure this conversation was right for a crowded café, but he could at least buy Macy coffee and bring it back to the privacy of her apartment, where he could talk freely.
By the time they got to the café, the place was clearing out for the night, even though they had another hour or two until closing. Avery bought them coffee and snacks and met Macy at the table they always managed to snag. It was the best one, with a view of the sidewalk and a fan right overhead. He’d decided the shop was empty enough that they’d be fine talking there, plus the fan helped drown out their conversation. Nobody was going to hear them. That was if Avery could ever manage to spit it out. Now he had Macy right in front of him, he was having a hard time phrasing his words in a way that didn’t sound like he’d completely lost his marbles and everything else as well.
“Okay, so what’s up?” she asked.
“This is so… hard to even bring up.”
“Are we going to talk about that shit last weekend? When thing one and thing two practically crashed into the bar and accosted Brooke and Dan?”
“Yeah. That. Has anything like that ever happened to Donovan?” he asked.
“Is that your way of asking me if I know what Donovan is? Because it’s pretty obvious he’s not a normal person.”
“Do you know what he is specifically?”
She shook her head. “Should I?”
It was crossing into the territory of information that wasn’t his to share, but Avery needed to say something. He needed someone else to know the things he’d just heard, or maybe have Macy bring him back down to earth and tell him that no matter what they’d seen, there was no way Tyson was immortal and Donovan was a vampire and there was a world he’d never even been aware of even though he’d spent his whole life researching it. So he told her.
Avery looked around, and other than one bored high school girl on her phone behind the register, they were the only people in there. Avery tapped his incisor and gave Macy a significant look. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
“Wait. What?”
“Vampire,” Avery whispered. “Donovan’s a vampire.”
Macy burst into laughter, just like Tyson had when Avery suggested that he was a vampire. He had to say he was getting tired of people laughing at him, even if on the surface he definitely deserved it.
“You can’t be serious.” She stopped laughing and looked at Avery. “Tyson’s not into dru
gs, is he? Has he been giving you weird stuff? Are you two into that?”
“No, he’s not into drugs. He barely even drinks. You know that.”
“Well, Ave, what am I supposed to think? You can’t just start saying that people we know are… vampires.” She hissed that last bit quietly, like it was a curse word.
“What do you think those two goons were the other night, then? You think they were humans?”
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that they weren’t. She wasn’t going to be able to deny that.
“No. I mean, I don’t know what the hell they are. Are you going to say they’re vampires as well?”
Avery shook his head. “Tyson said there are a lot of things that don’t have names in regular human culture. I don’t know what they were, but they weren’t human, and you and I both know it.”
“Oh, Tyson said, did he? Is he the one who told you Donovan was a vampire too? I’m kind of worried about you, babe.”
“I’m not making this up,” Avery said.
“Are you sure you’re not just in too deep with Tyson?”
What happened to her wanting them to be together?
“Listen. You already told me you noticed Donovan wasn’t like an average guy. Why do you think that is? What’s unusual about him?”
“He’s just really magnetic,” Macy said. “And he’s handsome, but even more than that, it’s like I can’t help wanting to be around him, and he smells amazing, and sometimes, even when he’s trying to hide it, he sounds really formal. Like he’s still practicing being a modern twenty-five-year-old.” Her eyes widened. “You can’t be serious?”
“I think Tyson’s telling the truth, Mace.”
“Is he a vampire too?”
Avery shook his head. “No.”
“That sounds kind of sketchy.”
“No. He explained it to me. I’ve actually seen… some proof when it comes to him. But he never tells anyone. Not even Donovan. I’m going to keep this one to myself.”
“You really don’t look like you’re lying. How is this even possible?” Macy’s eyes got all huge. “I mean, I’ve noticed some things but….”
“You just brushed them off? Didn’t want to seem irrational?” Avery asked.
“Exactly.”
“You’re not. You saw what I saw.”
“And Donovan’s a vampire….” She shivered. “It feels weird to even say it out loud. I can’t believe this shit.”
Avery nodded. “But according to Tyson he’s super cool and laid-back. Hasn’t ever done anything to hurt anyone.”
“And Tyson is something else.”
“Yes. That much I’m a hundred percent sure of.”
“Well, if it’s true and he’s still a nice guy, then I guess I don’t really care,” Macy said. She shrugged like the last ten minutes of tense conversation hadn’t happened. She believed him then, just like that. No problem.
Avery sputtered out a laugh—and got a bit of cherry almond latte up his nose at the same time. “Only a New Orleans native would shrug when she finds out her boyfriend is a vampire.” He whispered the last part.
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s fun. He’s hot. We see each other on weekends. I’m not looking for a boyfriend. Certainly not one who makes me look old when we’re standing next to each other. I’m not going to ask him to tell me for himself. I figure if he wants to, he will. I’m very curious and I guess shocked, but it doesn’t matter. Wait, are you still looking for a serious boyfriend?”
“I might already have one.”
They hadn’t said the words, but Avery was pretty sure that was where it was leading. Of course, the new wrench in the system might screw all that up. He needed to figure out what the hell he wanted and what he could handle.
“I know I didn’t say it, but you can’t tell anyone.”
Macy nearly choked on her coffee. “Who am I going to tell? The dean? Vaughn? I mean, I could probably tell my mama, or Auntie Violet. I think she’d believe me, though. Auntie has always believed there was more out there than we knew about. But I’m not going to. Don’t worry.”
Avery trusted her, of course. He just wished talking to her had helped him decide how he felt about all of it.
Chapter Eleven
AVERY had just gotten to campus the next day and was wheeling his bike past the biology building when he realized he hadn’t seen Vaughn or Karen in days, probably longer than that, since Vaughn hadn’t come to any of the subsequent trips to the bar—which was nameless as far as Avery knew. Too exclusive to need a name, he supposed. He’d since figured out that anyone who wasn’t a member would never know it was there. That there were both real life and other protections on it that kept it away from the public’s view.
But he missed his friends, even if Vaughn hadn’t gotten as invested as Macy had in the new life Avery was leading and Karen didn’t know about it at all. Avery didn’t want to be someone who ditched their friends because of an exciting new guy. Besides, he was still trying to decide what to do about Tyson. Or maybe distract himself from having to decide what to do about Tyson. Either way, it might be nice to hang out with them again some night soon. Of course it happened that right when he thought he missed Vaughn, he got a text.
Hey. You’ve been MIA lately. You okay?
Vaughn’s text made him smile.
Yeah. I’m good. Coffee at break? 2pm?
Vaughn replied in the affirmative but said Karen was busy with a lecture, and Avery locked his office to get ready for his own lectures he had that day. He was in the middle of his ritual of going over his notes when he got another text.
You trying to ice me out? I hear there’s a coffee date and I wasn’t invited.
He laughed out loud. As if he and Vaughn would ever ditch the best part of their group.
See you at 2. Jitterbugs.
She replied with the lips emoji, which Avery took to mean she’d be there.
HE walked into the shop at 2:00 p.m., only to find Macy and Vaughn there, as well as a coffee in front of his empty chair.
“This for me?” he asked.
“Nah. We figured we’d buy Tyson coffee since he’s always around when you are,” Vaughn said.
Macy cringed because she knew he hadn’t been speaking to Tyson, and Avery got a twinge. He hadn’t seen Tyson in a few days. He… felt bad. Wrong, kind of. He still didn’t know what to think about all the other-world stuff, but he knew exactly what he thought about Tyson. He missed the sound of his voice.
“So I was right. That’s where you’ve been?” Vaughn asked.
“Most of the time.” Avery blushed. “You were correct.”
“Tell me he’s at least over twenty-one.”
Avery chuckled. If only Vaughn knew. “He’s twenty-seven. Don’t worry.”
“Really?” Vaughn looked shocked.
“Yeah.”
“Cool. Then I’m not worried. Good on him, though, for looking like a college kid, I suppose. How are things?”
What could he say? Tyson was incredible, Avery was totally falling for him, he was terrified about the world Tyson might be in? He didn’t know which one was more important. Or he did and just wasn’t ready to admit it?
“He’s… amazing.” It was easier to stick to one word than vomit all of them over his friend.
“That’s all I’m going to get?” Vaughn asked. “I literally haven’t had a conversation with you since the day you met him, and you’ve gone full-on sex haze. I’m going to need more than ‘amazing,’ thanks.”
“You want to hear about the sex haze?” Avery said with a snort.
“Well, not really, but I’m guessing that part is A-OK. It’s the rest I want to hear about.”
“A-plus,” Avery muttered into his coffee. He knew he was blushing. He didn’t care.
“I said I didn’t want to hear about that part. You’re like my brother. But I suppose congrats on the sex? What else?”
“He’s really smart? And it seems like he’s been everywhere. I
feel kind of, like, uncultured compared to him, and he’s sweet, and he’s super attentive. He read to me from a poetry book the other night. I’m not even kidding.”
That was after the night at the club but before their conversation. It had been so sweet it had managed to distract Avery from the shit for the entire night.
“Jesus.” Vaughn shook his head. “That’s like something out of a Jane Austen novel.”
“I know.” He didn’t know how to even conceptualize the fact that Tyson might have been alive for the Jane Austen days. Or at least for sure decades Avery had never seen anywhere but movies. Knowing it was true and wrapping his head around the concept were two different things.
“I’m going to want to meet this guy again. Once wasn’t enough. I get veto power.”
“Like hell.” Avery laughed. Then he realized again that Vaughn might not need it. What if Tyson was sick of waiting for him to think things through? All of a sudden the confusion, the back-and-forth, went away. Yeah, Tyson wasn’t like him. Yes, he lived in a world Avery had researched for years and knew very little about. Yes, it was scary. No, he didn’t want to let Tyson go and walk away. Not even a little bit. Avery didn’t know why he’d bothered kidding himself.
He had to fix it. Now. Then he remembered he had to teach later, and he technically had office hours until six.
He cursed his afternoon lecture. Maybe he’d cancel it. For sure he was canceling office hours. The kids would have to manage without him for one day.
IT was late by the time Avery finished on campus. Despite his determination to skip office hours, there were students waiting for him when he got back from his lecture. A couple of them just wanted to talk about the paranormal, things they’d read, experiences they’d had. It was the kind of thing Avery usually lived for—students connecting to his material and wanting to know more. Any other day he’d have been ecstatic to sit there and debate the finer points of werewolves and lycans, the possibility for a biological-based origin of the vampire myths, and even water spirits of the bayou, but that day he was dying to get out.
