R+J Sucks

by Ann Hunter

  He took Juliet’s free hand and kissed it so lightly, she wasn’t sure he’d done it at all. “I’ve waited so long to meet you, Juliet. Paris has been very excited.”

  She glanced between them, only to feel guilty as Paris’s chest swelled with pride, obviously pleased to finally have her by his side.

  “Did you know Paris is natural-born as well?” Escalus asked.

  Juliet wondered where Paris’s mother was if he was natural-born. Why wasn’t she there? Had Escalus raised him from infancy?

  “Sadly, his mother died in childbirth.”

  Juliet tensed. Can he read my thoughts? Does he know what Romeo and I are doing?

  “My poor Cordelia.” Escalus’s expression fell in sadness, before seemingly shaking it off. The time made Juliet realize there was no spidering of her brain as she felt when Tybalt read her thoughts.

  She glanced over her shoulder to Romeo, who only stared at her longingly. How long until they could escape this? Not just the party, but all of it. She still didn’t want to marry Paris, and Escalus wasn’t helping much with the young Count’s sad past.

  Her attention returned when Escalus proclaimed, “Let us raise a glass to their union! To Lady Juliet and Count Paris, may you find happiness and vitality together.”

  HOTBLOODED

  Lio paced the few short steps of the living room hotly. “Listen, Mama, listen. Nobody threatens mia familia. I don’t care what he is. He ain’t gonna get away wit’it.”

  “Lio, calm down,” Mercutio said from the kitchen table.

  “We are going to find him, and we are gonna end his days,” Lio ranted. “Ro belongs with us, not no stinkin’ buncha sanguijuelas.”

  “We’ll get Ro back,” Mercutio reassured, sounding bizarro calm. “But we have to think this through. It’s too dangerous to do this alone.”

  Lio stopped in his tracks. “Didju see how Mama put the fear of God into him? We bring her and her zombie pan. Boom.”

  His brother sighed. “I don’t know if God can help.” He shook his head. “It’s not like he can strike them all down with lightning.”

  “No, pero Dios y Jesu Cristo is on our side.” Mama rubbed her face, still looking wired from the near miss with death. “We have faith. He saw that. It scared him.”

  Lio was quick to follow up, crossing to them in the kitchen. He took a seat, acting like he might settle down. “Then we get a bunch of brothers and sisters from our iglesia, and Padre Laurence. Go in all Hollywood style with torches’n’pitchforks, man.”

  “We don’t need to drag others into this, Lio. This is between Montagues and Capulets,” Mercutio countered.

  Lio slammed his fist against the table, and kicked back his chair. “We are getting nowhere.”

  “Espera ‘mano, just listen,” Mercutio urged. “We can see Padre Laurence. It’s a good start. We just can’t rush into this all bullheaded.”

  “Si,” Mama agreed. “We go to Padre Laurence.”

  After the party, Juliet managed to sneak Romeo out to the greenhouse. “I’m afraid you’ll have to sleep here tonight.”

  He shrugged. He’d prefer to be out of the house anyway. “If I stay here, how weird of a Thrall will your parents think I am?”

  Juliet laid out a bedroll for him. “They’ll think you’re an idiot.”

  He grimaced.

  “But that’s to be expected,” Juliet added. “More my fault than yours.” She winked at him. “I haven’t trained you yet.”

  Romeo crouched down on the bedroll, and arranged the blankets.

  Juliet giggled. “You’re like a widdle baaaaby.”

  He glanced up at her, tucking himself in. “Thank you, Mami.”

  She nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll be back for you in the morning. We’ll figure out something then.”

  “Leave the lights on?”

  He couldn’t fight the little lightning bugs flitting in his belly when she smirked back at him.

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark,” she said.

  He crossed his arms behind his head, watching the tiny lights above slowly come on. “After tonight, I don’t think I can fear anything. This was probably the worst ever. Pretty sure anything that goes bump in the night around here will eat me.”

  Romeo smiled at her chuckle.

  “Goodnight.”

  After she left, he tried to go to sleep, but Romeo only tossed and turned. The heat, and the lumpy mat, reminded him too much of home. Where did he and Juliet go from here? Could he even go home?

  Romeo chewed his lip, worrying for his family after the way Tybalt had left. He was on to them. Romeo closed his eyes and prayed for their safety. He crossed himself, then rolled over, hoping sleep would find him.

  In the middle of the night, he woke to shouting approaching the greenhouse.

  “Where is he?”

  “Tybalt, wait.”

  The door flung open, and Tybalt stormed inside. He grabbed Romeo and roughly pulled him to his feet.

  “How much did she say she’ll pay you, huh? What will it take to make you to go away? A thousand? Two thousand? Name your price. We have billions.”

  Romeo’s heart set to racing, it took him a second to process what was being said to him. Two nights ago, all he wanted was money to help his family. Did it matter anymore? “All the money in Verona couldn’t take me away from Juliet.”

  Tybalt twisted Romeo’s shirt in his fists, tugging him closer and tucking his lip. His fangs hung out like a viper’s. “I could make a very nice life for you and your family somewhere, or wipe the lot of you out. Don’t make me choose.”

  Romeo glanced to Juliet, standing helplessly in the doorway. Tybalt followed his gaze.

  “Fine, I’ll even protect you. For Juliet’s sake.”

  Romeo locked eyes with him and languidly shook his head.

  Tybalt shoved him back. “A life of your choosing, and my protection, what more do you want?”

  “Juliet.” Romeo stretched his hand out to her, and she came to him.

  Tybalt ran his hand through his hair. “That’s not how this works. You can never be together. We don’t associate with your kind.”

  “My kind?” Romeo shot back offensively, like it was some sort of racial slur.

  “We bite. We leave. End of story.”

  “That’s not true. What about your thralls? What about Jules’ parents?”

  Tybalt’s eyes narrowed, the golden rings around his pupils looked like they were on fire. “They have always been vampires.”

  “Liar,” Romeo snapped. “Juliet is special, because she’s natural-born. Which means her parents weren’t. One of them had to have taken the other.”

  “How am I to know?”

  “Because they turned you. And speaking of turning, don’t turn against Juliet just because I’m in the picture now.”

  “Please stop. Both of you,” Juliet begged.

  “You have to fix this Jules.” Tybalt stepped to her, jabbing a finger into her collarbone. He slammed his palm into Romeo’s face before he could say anything.

  Romeo bit him hard.

  Tybalt’s hand whipped away, he grasped his wrist staring at the cruor oozing forth.

  “Looks like you do bleed.” Romeo grinned. “Que interesante. I guess we’re not so different after all.”

  Tybalt glared at him with murder in his eyes. He pivoted and stormed from the greenhouse.

  Juliet looked at Romeo incredulously. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “Maybe I do belong.”

  With only a few hours of night left, Tybalt had enough time to blow off some steam. He knew a good run would help while he tried to mentally sort this all out.

  He scrambled to the rooftops and picked a direction. Freerunning was one of his favorite things to do. He remembered before this life he loved to climb, walk fences, even hang from trees. Villiana had saved him from mortality, and given him the strength to jump between buildings, and outrace animals. Why couldn’t Juliet se
e that her life was a blessing, not a curse?

  Tybalt reveled in his power and grace, sure that Juliet had the same qualities in her if she would just embrace them. She had to, if she had any amount of her mother in her like he did.

  And why wouldn’t Romeo take the damn money? Tybalt had seen how his family lived. How could anyone live like that? How did they even survive? No matter. They’d figure out how to get Romeo far away from Verona.

  Obviously Tybalt couldn’t do it alone, he realized. Who would Romeo listen to? Who would he see reason with? Tybalt paused on the edge of the city, gazing across a glittering landscape of traffic lights and buildings. He crouched, listening to the pulse of the world, inhaling the life flowing toward him.

  There was that familiar scent again. Pungent and spicy— chipotles. He opened his eyes, seeking out what he knew was there. Tybalt sent his hearing far away into the distance. Montagues.

  What business were they on at this time of night, so far from the Slums? He raced toward them, shifting through shadows and steam rising from the buildings, until he halted across from a cathedral where the Montagues entered. Damn.

  He couldn’t go in there.

  Even this close, he felt vulnerable. Tybalt paced the edge of the roof, trying to figure out what to do. Why had he followed them here? He leaned against a metal vent cover, but quickly drew his hand away, biting his lip. The wound Romeo had given him opened up again. He rubbed his palm against the denim shorts he had changed into, trying to push the discomfort away.

  Tybalt descended the building. Even though he felt weaker on the ground, it was a risk he was willing to take. Something primal drove him to confront the brothers again. Maybe he had been wrong to assail them before. Perhaps they could come for Romeo themselves. Take him by force if necessary.

  The second the two brothers walked out, they locked on to Tybalt.

  “It’s him.”

  They launched themselves toward Tybalt. All at once, it was a mangled confusion of kicks, punches, and blows. Tybalt wasn’t sure whose blood was who’s, only that he felt weaker by the second. How could he feel so drained? Losing himself in the fight, he sank his teeth into skin. The largest brother let out a stifled cry, his head tilting back as Tybalt drank him up. But soon he was overcome with an overpowering taste of metallic. His mouth lit on fire, and he started choking. He leapt away as the brother fell from his knees to the ground.

  Tybalt wiped his lip, staggering to the side. He’d never felt weaker, and yet whenever he’d bitten in the night, it had always made him stronger. Why was this so backwards? He coughed and hacked as though he’d been sucker punched in the gut. And then the metallic taste grew stronger.

  The big brother’s arms reached into lamplight as the rest of him lay lifelessly in shadow. Parts of his skin glittered… silver.

  “Mercutio!” the younger brother screamed, racing toward his body. “No.”

  He ranted in Spanish, as Tybalt stumbled away.

  A BITTER DRAUGHT

  Lio wept over his brother, pulling him onto his lap. “Ay ‘mano, no, no, no, no. Levántate. C’mon, man. You’re the strong one.” Lio tilted his head. “I can’t do this alone. Mercutio!” Why wasn’t anyone stopping? Cars raced by, and no one stopped. His brother was dead, and the world didn’t care. Mercutio was the good one, and now Lio was alone.

  He stared into his brother’s open eyes. How could a life be taken so fast? There one second, gone the next, like the flick of a light switch. He closed his brother’s eyes so he didn’t have to look at him staring back like that. Like Lio had failed him.

  Lio got to his feet and sprinted into the cathedral. “Help! Somebody, please… ayúdame!”

  Father Laurence peeked out from his office where he had been talking with Mama, Mercutio, and Lio before the young men headed out for a breather. Lio careened toward him, his English couldn’t even keep up with him. “Padre, Padre, es Mercutio. Ven comigo, por favor. Ven conmigo.”

  He caught a glimpse of Mama through a blur of tears as he hurried back outside with Father Laurence in tow. The second they stepped out of the old church, and saw Mercutio’s body on the pavement, Father Laurence gasped. Mama broke into wails, racing toward her eldest son. Her jumbled words were just as emphatic as Lio’s as they wept together.

  Father Laurence ran back inside to dial for help. It seemed like hours before the emergency team showed up. Then it was a swirl of blue and red flashing lights, blaring of sirens, and Mama desperately trying to cling to Mercutio as they took his body away.

  Lio, feeling so very raw inside, numbly registered Father Laurence’s hand on his shoulder.

  “I warned him,” Laurence said. “Nothing good would come of this. I told him not to pursue her.”

  Lio sniffed, wiping his wrist against his face. “A lot of good it did.”

  Laurence nodded. “Come with me.”

  He wrapped his arm around Lio’s shoulders and guided him into his office, urging him to take a seat across from him at his desk. Father Laurence reached into a drawer and pulled out a small vial of blue liquid. “It’s up to you to get your brother back. If you go to Juliet, and tell her it’s a sleeping potion, hopefully she’ll do the right thing.”

  Lio stared blankly, then glanced up at him. “What, are you on speaking terms with them or something?”

  “Nothing like that. It’s for your brother. Tranquilize him, and bring him home. I’ll arrange hostel for you and your mother. They can’t reach you in here.”

  Lio felt himself spiraling down into darkness inside. Was he, himself, worth saving? Why not just throw himself at Tybalt once more and finish him? He looked wounded, running away from the fight like that. What was stopping Lio?

  As though sensing his thoughts, Father Laurence leaned forward, and murmured, “We can’t lose you too. Each sheep is precious. Even the black ones.”

  Lio looked up to see Father Laurence smile at him.

  “It’s time you place your faith in your family, in the Lord…” Father Laurence pressed the vial into Lio’s hands. “And by your faith, you may be saved.”

  Lio stared at the vial… no, at fate.

  Tybalt wasn’t sure if he could make it back to Verona Heights. The silver leaking into his blood was surely poisoning him. He could feel his very cruor thinning in his veins. Collapsing beneath a willow in a local park, he sent out a mental plea as far as he could.

  Villiana, if you can hear me, please help.

  He leaned back against the trunk, trying to regain his breath. Tybalt squeezed his eyes closed. Mother… come to me.

  Ducks on a nearby pond paddled the water, rippling the moonlight. They quacked softly. A vague memory of Tybalt’s mother’s arms around him at a young age, feeding ducks near their homestead, kept a shiver from rattling his bones. The light was fading.

  Villiana! Villiana…. Where are you?

  “I knew you would not get far.”

  Tybalt opened his eyes to see the other Montague brother towering over him. Tybalt cracked a smile like life was some vile joke.

  “I am Benvolio Montague. You killed my brother.”

  “— Prepare to die,” Tybalt finished for him. “My favorite movie, compadre.”

  “Ay, he speaka-Spanish. Que Bueno. I am prepared to fight for Romeo, body and soul. Are you ready to stand for yours?”

  Tybalt, mind spinning and dreary with weakness, forced himself up, bracing against the tree. “I am nearly mortal. Your brother, how did he come by the silver?”

  “He slaved away in a silver mine.”

  Tybalt nodded. “His blood was full of it. This will be a fair battle. I’m no more stronger than you.”

  Lio flipped out a knife from his pocket, pointing it at Tybalt. “Now it’s fair.”

  “It is good to go down fighting.” Tybalt squared his shoulders, and jutted his chin. “There is honor. There is—”

  Lio jabbed at him. “Silencio cabrón!”

  Tybalt bucked away, dancing aside.

  Lio
swung at him again, the blade cutting through air. Tybalt stepped back, stumbling. The knife came hurdling down into his heart.

  “Vill—” Tybalt choked, “iana…”

  Lio rose, watching Tybalt fade away as he had watched Mercutio. “No one threatens my family and gets away with it.”

  A husky female voice murmured in his ear from behind, “I would say the same.”

  Lio cried out as teeth as cold as steel plunged into his jugular.

  BLACKEST NIGHT

  Juliet and Romeo made their way downstairs from her quarters. She had brought him back in when she realized how quiet the manor was. After the party, her family had made themselves sparse. Probably still full on the wine and good food. They were wealthy, but her father reveled in being frugal. The engagement feast last night was one of the nicest parties they’d had in a very, very long time. And by Juliet’s counting, that was really long. But it was for royalty, so they had to impress.

  Juliet stopped still when she saw her mother waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. To her side stood a tall, slender young man who bore a striking resemblance to Romeo. She heard Romeo’s breath catch too.

  “I didn’t expect to see you,” Juliet said. “I thought you might be resting with father.”

  “Unfortunately I was called away,” Villiana replied, not sounding the least bit tired. “I brought you a gift to replace an unexpected vacancy in our household.” She motioned to Lio beside her. Villiana’s mouth twisted into a smile. “Brothers shouldn’t be torn apart. They can be together forever.” She looked from one to the other, her eyes narrowing on Romeo. “We are one big happy family now.”

  Juliet stepped down the staircase. “Mother, what have you done?”

  “What have I done? I should be hailed a saint for showing mercy for what he did to Tybalt. Ask yourself what has he done.” She shoved Lio forward. He stumbled as though in a drunken stupor.