Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 8

Drei dropped his paper on the coffee table, turning his gaze to me. “How was your meeting today?”

I turned my head from where it rested on his shoulder to return his gaze. “Well, I’m her secretary now.”

“That is quite the promotion.”

“Yes, it is. Apparently, it means I’m privileged to more organizing information.”

Pressing his forehead to mine, he asked, “How do you want to celebrate your success?”

For a moment I didn’t say anything, loving the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. I tried to think of something he might enjoy as well, but all I could think about was kissing him. It was such a strong urge, I thought I understood how she must have felt before pushing her out of my thoughts.

“Kiss me,” I murmured. “Like you did a couple nights ago.”

A devilish grin spread across his lips and I realized he had been hoping I would demand as much. “I cannot recall how it went,” he teased.

“Well, this hand was here;” I placed his right hand on my back. “And this hand was here;” I set his other hand over my shoulder in my hair. “My hands were here, and—”

Our lips met, tender and lovingly. It seemed to infused with the adoration and amazement we shared for each other. I felt enveloped by him—protected, trusted, desired. In his arms, his lips to mine, the emotions washing over me were a reminder of how far I had come in the five years we had known each other, and how far we had come together. I would do anything in the world for Drei—including working with Caroline—if it meant these emotions would never fade.

Then there was music. Unexpected, but the soft piano tune fit the moment so perfectly, it took me a moment to realize it wasn’t supposed to be accompaniment; it was Caroline.

“What is it, Abriel?” Drei asked, sounding dazed.

I motioned to him to wait a moment as I flipped open the phone. “Yes?”

“I need to see you,” Caroline’s voice demanded. I was glad she was back to being bossy, despite how pleasant it had been to see a different side of her. “Where are you?”

“At home;” I started to regret agreeing to this, considering what it had interrupted.

“Your apartment, great. Ian will be there in a little bit. Wait outside.”

The line clicked dead before I could argue. I dropped the phone back into my new purse.

“What is it?” Drei appeared behind me, making me jump.

Turning around, I smiled, hoping it was convincing enough. “Caroline,” I said, though I knew that explained nothing at all. “Part of being secretary is when she calls, I go.”

“I see…” His disappointment was far too apparent, considering he usually didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. It was tearing me apart to leave him; I didn’t want to, but he’d told me to go back to working for her, and that’s what I’d done. We would have to take whatever came because of it.

“I wish I could stay—”

“Then stay,” he said, following me to the door. There was an edge to his voice that I hadn’t heard him use towards me in a long while.

I stopped, midway slipping on my flats, and faced him. “I can’t.” I managed to say though the words felt like bricks on my tongue. Why couldn’t he understand? I needed him to understand, to make this easier.

“Then leave already.”

I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I love you.”

Drei turned away from me, sulking back to the couch. I hated more than anything to leave him like this, but what choice did I have? If I didn’t leave, I was pretty sure that meant I was fired. Without waiting for him to act his usual self and say something to make everything all right—for the time being, at least—I left the apartment, stepping outside just in time to see Ian pull up to the curb.

“Interrupt anything?” he asked, speeding down the half-empty street.

I thought about lying and saying nothing, but I found myself saying, “Yes,” a little more bitterly than I had intended.

He chuckled at me, saying, “You’ll get used to it.”

Even though he’d been doing this a lot longer and ought to know, I doubted him. I couldn’t see how I could ever be accustomed to leaving Drei the way I had. It didn’t seem like a good habit to develop.

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 7

“So I take it your project is going better,” I stated, gazing steadily at her.

“Why do you ask that?”

“Because now you're referring to it as working for you instead of helping you.”

She bobbed her head, saying “You have an exceptional memory. You are so right for this job. And to answer your question, yes. You wouldn't believe how many blogs there are on us.”

“That's great!”

Caroline stared into the lid of her latte. “Why aren't you saying anything about it?”

“About what?” I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly what she was talking about.

“The kiss…from the last time I saw you;” her voice was soft and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“I don't…have anything to say,” I said, watching her. So it had happened. Hearing her bring it up now, I realized I had been silly to try to believe otherwise, but it was easier to deal with it believing it hadn’t occurred. “Except I don't understand why. It doesn't make sense to me.”

“I'm in the same boat;” she chuckled wryly. I think she was hoping to ease some of the tension the subject had brought with it. “I've never liked someone like you. All my exes were the tough, never let you in kind. They were hard and expected the same of me, so long as I was prettier.”

“C—Caroline, I mean—”

“I don't know what it is about you, Abs,” she said, quickly cutting me off; there was a note of aggravation mixing with confusion in her voice. “I think it started when I first met you, because you weren't afraid of me. Maybe it's because I think you might be braver than I am, or you’re not afraid to be seen as vulnerable…I don't know; but—I wanted to kiss you.”

Grabbing her hand—even though I wasn't sure it was the smartest thing to do—I said, “Caroline, I'm flattered, but there's someone already in my life. And I've loved him since I've met him.”

She gazed up at me, her eyes watery and red at the edges. “He’s a lucky guy,” she whispered, a slight curve to her lips though she looked pained. “I’m sorry…I should have known.”

“It’s all right. You were impulsive—you are impulsive,” I teased, hoping to cheer her up. No matter what our differences were, I didn’t like to see anyone hurt, especially if it was because of me.

Laughing, she said, “You’re right. My parents couldn’t stand it. But…can we still be friends?”

I squeezed her hand in reassurance; “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“So is this guy you like Drei?” she said, sitting back and appearing, for the most part, to be her usual self. The redness in her eyes was already fading. Though she was smiling, it didn’t quite reach her eyes and her breathing was still deep and slow.

Nodding, I added, “It’s complicated, though.”

“He’s got a few secrets of his own, I’m guessing;” she finished her mocha chai.

“Yeah,” I conceded, hating how she knew he had secrets, even from me. “But he’s pretty good about sharing when he needs to.”

“Careful, though;” she held my gaze and her tone reminded me of Valetta. “He seems like the type to let something build up and explode rather than get it off his chest when he can.”

Finishing my own chai latte, I assured her we were good. “For now at least.”

“Just be careful. He’s the biggest guy I have, and I don’t think the others would stand a chance against him.”

We laughed at that. Though it was still awkward between us, it was refreshing. I hadn’t had a friend like her before. She was something totally different, but it wasn’t such a bad thing anymore—now that she had proven she could be something other than pushy and curt. And Drei was right. We needed each other, even if it wasn’t exactly how he’d meant it.

Stepping into the sunlit street, we turned to each other. “This is a good sign,” she said, staring skyward for a moment. “The sun’s shining, so good things should be ahead for us.”

“Yeah.” I hoped it was true. I could really do with some more good things in my life, though I knew there was something not so good still to come. I was really beginning to hate that the sinking feeling in my stomach hadn’t gone away completely. For the moment, though, it was slightly more dormant that it had been, so I could be grateful for that. “I guess I’ll be seeing you soon, then?”

“Of course. I like being surrounded by people I like,” Caroline said, a joking tone to her voice. “Why do you think I have Ian?”

“Because he’s like your brother?” I didn’t understand the relationship between the two but vaguely remembered her comment a couple of months prior.

“Yeah;” she laughed, probably recalling she had told me that already. “He’s my best friend. We just really get each other.” Sighing—not in a depressed way though, more in a content, reminiscent way—she added, “He’s always been there for me. Whatever I needed, he tried his best to get; whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on, he’d remember the poncho.”

Laughing, I remarked, “That sounds like a great relationship to have.”

“It is;” she smiled to herself. “Didn’t you say you needed to get a purse?” she asked suddenly, returning her gaze to me, her eyes wide with the question. “You might want to hurry; I think I might have to call you soon.” She winked a bronze gem at me.

“I’m on my way now,” I assured her, smiling despite myself.

Bidding our farewells, we headed in different directions, disappearing into the crowds walking past. Caroline was a goof; who would have guessed? It seemed almost too crazy to be true. Thinking back on the past half year of my life, I realized everything had been that way. Just bordering on too insane to be believable, and yet it was all very much so.

I half-heartedly laughed to myself. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 6

 “You beat me here?” Caroline stopped at the table I had chosen in the café; she was dressed in her usual black skinny jeans paired with a bright red kimono-esque blouse.

The cafe was a small, popular place, always full of people. If you asked me, it was overpriced but the atmosphere managed to feel rustic and down-to-earth. The natural wood furniture was accented with the soothing greens and blues of the walls. A few throw rugs in earthy tones and some low table lamps finished off the space, creating an ideal place for anyone in need of creativity or, in our case, a casual business locale.

“I didn't have anything else to do.” I sipped my cinnamon chai latte. I didn’t have a job and was mostly confined to the apartment—by her recommendation.

“Then you won't mind while I get something?” She motioned towards the counter.

“Mocha chai?” I asked, nodding to the other mug on the table.

She smiled, sitting down across from me. “Two percent?”

“I didn't think you'd go for skim.”

“How'd you know?” She grinned.

“Remember that first time we met?” She nodded, sipping her drink. “I just remembered from then.”

“But I don't remember telling you what I had? Did I?” Her brow furrowed slightly.

“You didn't.  But if you remember, you didn't need to.”

“Right,” she said, suddenly perking up. “Air. I almost forgot.”

“So what's this promotion?” My hands wrapped around the mug. Despite it being well into the upper 90's outside, inside the cafe was freezing. I was grateful I had opted to wear a white half jacket with my otherwise seasonally appropriate attire. That was mostly to hide the scars, though.

Caroline reached into her handbag, sliding a flip phone across the table. I cocked an eyebrow at her.

“I know it’s practically archaic, but it’s a burner and it’s more durable than a lot of what is available anymore.”

I nodded, still a touch skeptical. It seemed more like the cheap choice than the logical one, but I also wasn’t the one bankrolling her endeavor. “So why do I need this?”

“Since you're coming back, I'm giving you a new job. A better one. Relatively safer,” she said, sitting up straighter as her tone became more authoritative. “Drei says you were the one who tipped him off on Conan. You'll be glad to know you were right. He wasn't on our side.”

“He's the reason they found us the second time.” I remembered that night vividly. Conan’s dismissal was somewhat of a relief. He had been a shady character and altogether too comfortable, especially with me.

“And he's the reason we didn't have an untraceable line. They looked at it later on and someone had reprogrammed it.”

“So Conan did that, too?”

“The night before. Anyway, since then I've been short a secretary. A few people tried it out and weren't up for it. They wanted days off, had kids to worry about, another job, so on and so forth;” Caroline rolled her eyes. “The last few months, Ian's been doubled up as driver and secretary but he hates the job. I know this, but there's no one else. But now there's you.”

“And this is for…?” I brandished the cell phone.

“The reason everyone else failed,” she said simply. “As secretary, you're on call. When I need you, you drop whatever it is you're doing and high tail it to where I need you. Even if it's at two in the morning. No questions, and there's no compromise. It's the toughest job anyone gets. The plus side is, there's more work, and there's more pay for it, especially if you do it well.” She drank more of her latte. “But the big thing is, when you're called, you’re there.”

“I don't have a car.” Maybe she didn’t see that as a problem, but it looked like a pretty huge one from where I was sitting.

“No worries. Ian can pick you up;” she shrugged. “I'll call you first; you tell me where you are, and then Ian will pick you up on his way.”

“Won't he hate that after a while?” I didn’t want to put him out. He seemed like a fairly laid back person, but who, other than Caroline, really knew?

“You'll see how silly that question is after you get to know Ian.” She raised her cup to me and took a swallow. I took a drink from mine also, waiting for whatever she planned to say next. “And you'll get to know him, too. He's always there. Aside from myself, he's the only one who knows everything. That's another perk,” she added. “Being secretary, you know more of the big picture than everyone else.”

“That's not so bad, I guess;” I stared down at the phone. More of the plan meant knowing more about how everything worked and that really was what I needed in the long run. Knowing how to keep most somewhat in the dark was good to know, but actually running the show was another business.

My concern was if I could handle this. Being on call was a lot of responsibility, especially since it meant keeping a cell phone on me at all times when I hadn’t had one in what felt like ages.

I started laughing, unintentionally.

Caroline’s face sunk. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” I said, waving it off, trying not to start laughing at her concern. “I just thought I might have to start carrying a purse again.” A smile cracked her lips as I admitted, “I haven't carried a purse in years.”

“It's not so bad,” she admitted, half laughing.

Thinking on it, I realized the last time I had taken a purse anywhere was when I had lost control—that was also the last time I had carried a cell phone with me anywhere. It seemed strange that so many things pivoted around that one event. Then again, it did change my entire life. If it had never happened, I wouldn't be sitting across from Caroline receiving a promotion in her project. I wouldn't have kissed Drei, ever. And, neglecting the negative, I never would have met my mom. Who would have thought one event would have had such a powerful domino effect? And don’t even pretend you did.

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 5

Two months crept by. When Drei was out, time seemed to stop altogether. It was even worse than my imprisonment, but perhaps that was because I was alone at those times. Even when it had felt like Mom wasn't there mentally, at least someone else had been around. Now, I mostly spread out on the sofa under the window, staring past the ceiling to nothingness. That's when I did most of my thinking as well. Not about Drei, Nick, Lily, Mom, or anyone else. Just thinking about whatever came next. Whether that included working for Caroline again, or telling Drei that was it. I couldn't do it anymore. As easy as that would have been for me to say, I knew the easy way wasn’t always the right way. I had to pick whichever path felt more promising, that threatened fewer regrets afterward.

When Drei was around, he was typically reading the newspaper or some magazine and I was curled up next to him. Though this kind of closeness we had avoided previously, he didn't complain, or argue about it. From the way his entire body seemed to relax and melt into the couch at my touch, I could tell he had missed me and he was relieved to have me back. I hoped he could tell the feeling was mutual.

About a week after my return, Ian stopped by, fully equipped to take a blood donation. In ten minutes’ time he was out the door ready to set everything up, gone before Drei returned from wherever he had gone. A few weeks later, my supposed death was on page two of the newspaper. It seemed the plan had worked after all.

“Drei?” I asked one night about two months since my return.

“Yes?” He continued reading as I twirled bit of his shaggy hair around my finger.

“Should I continue working for Caroline?”

His shoulder tensed beneath my hand; he had avoided any mention of her since that day. I took it to mean something had happened in my absence he hadn’t agreed with, but I didn’t want to pry. However, to decide what to do, I needed to figure out what was best and I valued Drei’s opinion on the topic.

“I have to tell her something.” I wished he’d relax again but we had to discuss it sometime. “I just don't know. If I go back, there's the chance of a repeat. And if I don't, I could miss something that might help me.”

Sighing, he faced me. I could see the inner war behind his eyes, even though I couldn't understand why it was there. Whatever he had against Caroline warred with what he knew was the right answer. “Go back,” he said at long last. “The circumstances have not changed; you still need her. The only difference now is she needs you as well.”

“Well, I can't help her needing me;” I shrugged.

“You could have been really bad at your job,” he said, a teasing smile on his lips.

I kissed his cheek; “Then I would never be able to do that.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, grinning like a fool. “Touché.”

When he returned to reading his paper, I thought the moment had passed. My eyes closed and I rested my head on his shoulder, content with being near him. I had hoped that wouldn’t be all, but I had learned to accept the limitations of our relationship.

His paper rustled as it fell onto the coffee table. I felt his hand lift my chin, and his soft lips engaging mine. The hand on my chin quickly tangled itself in my hair while his other wound around my waist, pulling me closer. The fingers of one hand were buried in his hair, my other hand on his shoulder.

Our kisses were so different from our first kiss, more confident in their familiarity but also tinged with something akin to desperation in their desire. The strange warmth he emitted from time to time seeped into my skin as he held me tighter.

Both of us were breathless when we pulled apart. He still held me close, the hand in my hair twisting a curl.

“I love you,” I whispered, my heart racing. It had felt like forever since I had said those words to him; they felt exhilarated to be leaving my lips again to find his ears.

A smile cracked his features as he replied, “And I love you, Abriel.”

The moment seemed too perfect to end but, as they say, all good things must end.

While Drei was out the next day, Caroline called to arrange a meeting with me. Drei had informed her of my decision, and all she would say was that I was being promoted. After clicking the phone off, I went back to staring past the ceiling. This time, though, it wasn't to think about the future. It was to replay that kiss, relishing that feeling of being loved.

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 4

“We are close to our destination,” Drei said.

Opening my eyes, I felt mildly refreshed, surprised to find I had slept some on the car ride. Rain tapped on the car windows and the swish of the windshield wipers seemed to want its own part in the melody. Caroline sat behind Drei, her crimson hair pulled into a French twist, a few strands held in place by a black lily pin. She had curled some of her hair to the side to give the illusion of wispy bangs. A set of pearls dangled from her neck, accentuating the cut of her little black dress. She had even donned a set of stockings and pearl hued slingback heels. There was no doubt she could pull off the uptown look. Better than some of the people I used to know, even.

“You look nice.” I wrapped my arms around my knees.

Her bronze eyes swiveled to me. “I do what I can,” she shrugged, allowing a small smile. “Uh, how long?”

“Five minutes if traffic stays the way it is;” Drei glanced in the rearview.

Whether it was the rain or something else, I felt sleepy. If we were that close, though, I needed to stay awake.

“So what else do you have to tell us?” I asked, needing some distraction to focus on.

“Well, Drei will take you upstairs, and when he goes in, Ian will come out to drive me back. But we need you to stay home for a couple of months, Abs,” she stated, staring out the window. “Drei, Ian will stop by some time to get some blood from Abs. I'd ask you, but Ian's doing all the work anyway, so it's best if he has his hands on it when he needs it.”

She likely couldn’t appreciate the intelligence in that decision. Not that I didn’t trust Drei, but, who knew what could happen? We were already pressing our luck; we didn’t need something else to press it further.

“What does he need her blood for?” His shoulders tensed; there was an edge to Drei’s voice, and a touch of something else I couldn't describe. I would have said protective, but I had heard him protective before and that wasn’t it.

“He's setting up an accident scene. It comes down to this: Abs, we need you. You're probably the third most important person in this project. I need you working with me, but you can't with everyone looking for you. So hang low, Ian will set up a scene by the docks. Bodies disappear there all the time, but the blood will ID you. Once they determine you're dead, and after a few weeks of dragging the bay, you'll be free. You can work.” She gazed at me again, her hands twisted around each other in her lap. “That's if you want to. I can't force you; but the least I can do is free you from the wanted pages.”

Caroline was asking a lot of me and we both knew it. Returning to work for her would mean risking a repeat. I gazed up at what I could see of Drei. My initial involvement was largely due to him, so my continuation would be also. “Can I get back to you?”

“Of course;” she nodded slightly, a hint of relief lacing her voice. “Take your time.”

“It sounds like quite the plan,” I said, wanting a subject that would make her act more the way I was used to. “Thanks for caring so much.”

Caroline waved it off, staring out the window again. “As I said, you're the third most important person. I need you; that and I can't even begin repaying you for taking the fall.”

Part of me wanted to tell her she didn't need to repay me, but the part missing Mom wouldn't hear it. If I had never gone, nothing concerning her would have changed. Since I had, it felt like everything I did had to be done just as much for her as for myself.

The car stopped, then. As Drei turned off the ignition and climbed out, Caroline reached to the front passenger seat, holding a floppy black sun hat as she sat back, motioning for me to sit next to her.

“Hold the blanket closed like this,” she instructed, wrapping the material around my shoulders, twisting it at my bosom and placing the gathered material in my hand. “And Drei's going to lead you in, so you can just keep this down far enough people will assume you're ill.” She combed my hair with her fingers in an attempt to make it unkempt. As she placed the hat on my head, her lips pressed against mine briefly.

I pulled away from her, trying to convince myself it was a mistake; she hadn't really just kissed me.

Drei opened the passenger door then, and Caroline smiled vaguely at him, as if lost in a universe of her own. It made me wonder if it hadn’t been a mistake, but I still wasn’t even sure if it had really happened.

“Ian borrowed some of your clothes so he could look like you. He promised to wash and return them,” she said as if she had just remembered.

“Come,” he directed, ignoring her, pulling me out of the car to follow. I pulled the front of the hat down over my face, still trying to figure out what had happened. It didn't make sense that she would kiss me. Neither did it make sense that Drei was so perturbed currently. Then again, he'd been a little snippy when Caroline first told him to drive.

Ian passed us on the way out, tipping his hat to us. Once he was past, I kept my head down, deciding nothing had happened in the car. It was easier to ignore it and write it off as a trick of the mind than admit anything had occurred, because that would lead to asking why it had. There was an answer I wasn’t sure I wanted.

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 3

“Then why do you let—”

“Ian?” she interrupted me, shrugging her shoulders. She counted off the reasons on her fingers as she explained, “He's like my brother, I'm busy most of the time, he wants to, he likes to, because I can—that's my favorite reason—and I think that's all of them.”

“I did not expect you to come personally,” Drei said, not quite hiding the disdain in his voice at this development.

“This is special,” she said as if that explained everything. “I thought I'd do it personally. You drive, right?” Caroline waited for Drei to answer.

“When I must.”

“Great;” she tossed him the keys. “Since you're so wanted, we're going to sneak back in. Drei will drive, and I've got this great dress with me I'll change into later on.” Her emphasis dripped with sarcasm.

“What's the dress for?” Was it just me, or did a dress not fit into the equation well? I was pretty sure it wasn’t exhaustion inhibiting my ability to make the connection.

“When we get to the city, I'll pretend to be some uptown miss being driven around. Ian suggested you sit on the floor in the back—something about less visibility…but I agreed to pass it on. I'll even do up my hair to make it believable,” she added, smiling—which was strange in addition to her unusual chattiness.

The full plan made sense, though I didn't see how it would work. That probably was the exhaustion speaking.

“There's more to it, but I'll let you in on that later.”

“As is typically you,” Drei remarked, sliding into the driver's seat.

“Come on, Abs. I put some pillows down to make it more comfy.” As I made my way over, she added, “And the passenger seat is all the way forward so you have some moving space.”

“What's with the blanket and extra pillow?” I asked as I tried to settle onto the floor of the car. It was definitely more comfortable than the cell, but I wasn’t sure how long I could sit there without my butt or legs falling asleep.

“Drei told me you needed more sleep still, that he didn't even want you making this trip yet. So I took the hint and made it so you could—you know—sleep if you wanted to?” She kept smiling as if that made the situation less strange. Her uncharacteristic nervousness was so startling I just stared at her—I mean, since when was she not appearing fully confident about anything? It wasn't until she asked if she did something wrong that I realized I hadn't stopped staring.

“Are you all right, Abriel?” Drei asked from the front seat, gazing down at me.

“Fine,” I replied, shaking my head. “And no, Caroline, you didn't do anything wrong, I’m just tired. Thank you.”

“Shall we leave, now?” Drei asked.

With no objections, he turned the car around to head back down the drive as I opened the blanket over me, tucking the pillow beneath my head. Caroline slid over to the passenger side, kicking her feet up.

“Don't fall asleep,” she told Drei unnecessarily. “I'm going to try to catch some shuteye, too. It was quite the drive up here.”

I closed my eyes. Although I still felt tired, part of me wondered if it was because I still needed sleep to heal or if it was because I had ventured into oversleeping now. It didn’t matter much then as I couldn't seem to stop thinking, so I mapped the car. Drei was focused on driving, checking his rear and side views every few moments. Caroline leaned against the car door, her head rolled to one side, her hands resting in her lap, appearing passed out. Then one of her hands reached out to my head. I could feel her fingers in my hair, tendrils of curl wrapped around her appendages. It wasn't offensive, and there was a certain hesitancy to the gesture. Something about it, actually, was comforting. Maybe it was the fact, for the first time since I'd met her, Caroline was actually showing she could be more than a hothead. That she could care.

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 2

Lily saw us off the next evening after wrapping my arms in bandages. She had cleaned them when we first arrived, she informed me, but was wrapping them so I wouldn't have to look at them. She hadn't changed at all from how I remembered her. Still smiley and bubbly with bobbed, curly blond hair.

“Thank you for everything,” I said, embracing her.

“Aw, sweetie, it really is nothing to thank me about;” she hugged me back before holding me at arm’s length. Even if it was dangerous, looking at her, she really was good for Nick. He needed her, and she needed him. Who knew for how long? But did that really matter?

“It is. Nick's lucky to have you.” Taking her hands in mine, holding them between us, I stared into her topaz eyes. “Really.”

A smile broke across her lips as she said, “Thank you for that. You really are unique, Abriel.” Shaking her head, she added, “Stop thanking me. If you can pull it off, it will all be worth it.” She squeezed my hands before letting go. Sashaying to where Drei waited a few yards away, she poked a finger at his chest. “Take care of her. Nick and I can’t always be around to help you find her.”

Drei nodded, a bemused smile curling his lips and crinkling his eyes. “I would have figured it out eventually.”

She burst out laughing. “Of course. Before she was old and wrinkled or after?”

“Thank you, Lily,” Drei said, still smiling. “You saved me a few years.”

“And saved her in time to do her part, in case you forgot.”

“I'm right here;” I was a little embarrassed they were talking so openly about me but disappointed they still managed not to reveal anything I wanted to know.

“Your ride should be here shortly,” Lily reminded Drei, turning to face me. She hugged me again, whispering, “Take care, now.” Glancing over her shoulder at Drei, she added, “Of both of you.”

He held a hand out to me, then, saying, “Yes, our ride should arrive shortly.”

Outside, the last rays of sun were still fading behind the horizon, casting long shadows across the earth.

“It's so beautiful out here,” I whispered, taking in the view. Lily's home was on a hillside, surrounded by trees and a fabulous view of the hills falling away in the distance. Everything was cast into varying degrees of gold and black; everything seemed to shimmer in the dying light.

“It is.”

“So who's our ride?” I asked, tearing my gaze away from the landscape to face him again. Since waking up, I was considerably calmer—still torn from the news of my mom, but holding together well enough.

“Caroline said she would send someone, so I presume it would be Ian or another of her drivers,” he said, trying not to seem obvious about craning his neck to see further down the road.

“There's a car on its way up, so you can relax a little.”

“You are improving,” he said distantly, slipping his hand from mine and tucking it into his coat pocket.

“What do you think I was doing the whole time? Goofing off?” I questioned playfully, hoping I was doing a decent job of hiding the sudden jab of pain in my heart.

“You?” he teased in his awkward way. “I would never assume such a position.”

“Sure you wouldn't.”

Our burgeoning banter was interrupted at the sight of the black car rolling up the drive. We walked towards it, prepared to see Ian hop out wearing some crazy cap but were treated, instead, to the sight of Caroline slipping from the driver's seat. She was dressed down in a pair of blue skinny jeans, a black band tee, and black flats with hardware accents.

“What, didn't know I could drive?” Caroline questioned, a huge smile lighting up her face.

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 1

Chapter Seven: Shattered

Drei was by my side when I awoke. We were in a small, colorful room. Posters were tacked haphazardly on the walls and the quilt I was curled under was faded and worn soft. There was a single lamp lit with a square of pink chiffon thrown over it. Around the lamp, on the night table, necklaces and bracelets were strewn as decoration.

“Where are we?”

He smoothed damp hair from my face, his eyes scanning over me. “I presume you have suffered nightmares the past day,” he said.

Day? It felt like I had just fallen asleep. That horrible room and those ghastly people still seemed to be lurking behind some curtain of shadows. The room was comforting, though, as it didn’t seem likely such dangers could lurk beyond pink light.

“You have been sleeping for the past two days or so,” Drei informed me, wrapping a hand around mine. “Lily was kind enough to allow you to rest here. We are at her home.”

“Days?” I bolted upright and immediately regretted it. My head throbbed and dizziness overtook me. Cradling my head in one hand, steadying myself with the other, I asked, “Why haven't we left? It's dangerous here being so close to that place.”

Instead of answering, Drei put a hand over mine and rubbed my arm with the other, the gesture calming. “You needed rest. That, and you need to be awake when we return. Caroline tells me you are on the news as an escaped convict.”

Though that should have been startling news, it wasn’t. Not because I wasn't concerned about it, but more so because, through the headache and receding dizziness, it felt like I was forgetting something…or someone.

“Nick?”

“He should be at work, helping with the investigation of the security breech,” Drei responded, a slight twist to his lips. It was unusual to see him enjoying something like this so much. I swear, ever since he admitted he loved me, he reveled in breaking the rules. To my benefit, at least.

I realized that wasn't it. At least I was certain it was a someone and not a something. Why couldn’t I remember?

“What is it?” The glint of his wry smile dissipated.

Shaking my head—a vain hope of knocking loose whatever I was forgetting—I said, “I'm forgetting someone…but I can't remember—Mom! Where is she?” I asked, the dizziness gone and my headache a dull throb at the base of my skull. I wrapped my hands around his, holding them between us, steadying my eyes on his pale amethyst ones. He wasn't sidestepping my question. When he looked away, I read him, needing to know where she was, if she was okay.

“Why didn't she come?” I demanded, dropping his hands. I felt betrayed, but couldn't figure out why or by whom. It was either Drei, because he had to know what having her meant to me—despite how annoying she could be in her current state—or Mom, because she had finally had her chance. Granted it wasn't Dad, but it was still an unlocked door waiting to be opened. The possibility of it being Nick crossed my mind for not telling Drei in the first place Mom was there, too, or where to find her. But the moment they crossed my mind—reasons attached—I knew they were all wrong. It wasn't any of them.

“She chose to stay,” Drei said softly. “I offered to bring her along, but she said she needed to wait longer. Her time was yet to come.”

“Why did you listen to her?” I argued, anger boiling in my chest. The second he answered me, I knew by whom I felt betrayed. Myself. I had been stupid enough to think it might last. “She's crazy;” I felt tears press at my eyes.

Drei grabbed my shoulders firmly, trying to catch my gaze. I kept boring holes into the posters tacked to the walls, trying to find some answer in them and hoping someone could tell me why I had thought this wouldn’t be the case.

“Abriel;” my eyes finally met his again. “She was perfectly lucid when I asked her. She knows what she is doing is right, even if it means she must hurt you.” The memory floated above Drei's head and I snatched it away, wanting to see for myself.

She had cried as she told Drei that she had to stay behind, that she would only be in the way if she didn't. As awful as it may be, I felt some small amount of relief in seeing her cry. It at least meant she had an idea of what she was doing abandoning me again. No matter how annoying she had been, she was still my mom and I felt emptier having lost her than when I had never met her.

“You need more sleep,” he said after a moment when I didn't say anything else. As I laid back down, Drei sank to his knees, his free hand rubbing mine. “We shall leave tomorrow. I can understand your fear of staying too close for too long.” As he said this, I felt his fingers lightly brush along one of my wounds. They had started to scar.

“Are we walking?” I asked, my eyelids heavy already. I still hadn't been able to wrap my mind around why, whenever Drei was nearby, I could fall asleep so quickly.

“Not back to the city.” His amethyst eyes sparkled; “Especially not when you are in such desperate need of rest.”

“Then what?” I yawned, unable to help myself.

“You shall see when you wake tomorrow.”