by Anna Santos
“But…hmm, did Sean propose?” I asked, taken aback by the news of the engagement ring.
“He will—when he has the perfect ring.”
I couldn’t help but stare at Sean to check if he agreed with that. He nodded rather convincingly, and I stared at Philippe, who shrugged. Okay, talk about indulging girlfriends; Sean was way too nice and submissive!
“I’m sorry, but…do you even realize that you’re nineteen?” I asked her. Then, the stupidity of my question hit me. “Never mind. Carry on.”
I could no longer disagree with marriage at a young age since I was currently on my way to stay married-slashed-bonded—forever, I might add—to an angel. I just didn’t have a ring to prove it. But I had a bunch of pretty tattoos on my right arm.
At the end of Gabby’s explanation, all I understood was that she couldn’t wait to get away from her parents’ house and away from their rules. I hoped she wouldn’t regret it and that Sean’s proposal wasn’t attached to a direct ticket to a vampire’s life. She had a lot of living to do before being kept away from the sun.
I glanced at Philippe, imagining how long he hadn’t walked in the sunlight and how long it had been since he’d seen Paris during daylight. Even if he looked young, I knew he was older. Much older than my dad and my mom, probably older than their ages combined. I tried not to feel sorry for him, but I knew he’d had a miserable human existence and perhaps a worse vampire life.
“What’s wrong, Aria?” he asked, leaning his face closer to mine.
“Nothing,” I lied, trying to stay immune to the sweetness of his voice and the sparkling light in his chocolate-brown eyes.
He didn’t buy my answer because he waited for me to tell him the truth.
Since I couldn’t, I said something close to it. “So…you can’t show me the Tuileries Garden.”
“Only at night. It’s also magnificent at night. And the pyramid is gorgeous with the lights on. It’s called the city of light for a reason,” he said, smiling.
I smiled back at him. “Camille could fix that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your problem with the sun,” I whispered, quieter so he would be the only one to hear. “She’s a shield. I’m sure she could also shield you against the sun. It’s an idea. Trying it would be interesting. I wonder if…maybe…tomorrow we could try it,” I mumbled, talking to him but mostly for myself.
He leaned back in his chair. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it.”
“Wouldn’t you like to try if you could?”
He pondered for a moment and nodded.
“Unless you’re trying to get rid of me,” he added.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I’m not wicked like you.”
“No, you’re not. You’re extremely nice.”
“Too nice, I guess.” I looked at my phone. Still no answer.
“See, they’re totally ignoring us,” Gabby complained.
Looking at them, I noticed that they were staring at Philippe and me. I guess I had, in fact, ignored her.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, feeling guilty.
“You keep flirting with each other,” she complained.
“Gabby, don’t be rude to your cousin and stop embarrassing her.”
One would think that that would be something my parents would tell her, but it was Philippe who’d reprimanded her and made her shut up.
Gabby pouted for a while. Seconds later, she smirked with a gleam in her eyes. It seemed that Sean also knew her well as he whispered something in her ear, and she divulged her wicked plans.
“Philippe,” she called for him softly with her cute, girly voice.
That put a slightly suspicious look on his face that made me smirk. Who would guess that a helpless female like my cousin could get on his nerves?
“What do you want this time?” he asked, not beating around the bush.
“Can we have dinner with you and Aria?”
“Aria’s parents are also coming.”
“So, can we?”
“Of course, as long as you don’t behave like a child. Aria and I are friends. At least acquaintances. So, stop making things awkward for us.”
“Okay, as long as you let me eat at your restaurant and get dessert.”
“Why do I think you have some hidden agenda?”
“I don’t. I mean, not much of one. I want my parents to meet Sean, so I was wondering if maybe you could let Sean arrange a dinner like that for them—on some other night, of course.”
“Nothing more?”
I had to admire Philippe’s patience. He was being rather nice to her.
She shook her head. “And you have to be Sean’s groomsman.”
“Whatever, Gabby, just don’t try my patience before the wedding.”
She clapped happily, not finding Philippe’s bad mood menacing enough to tamper with her joy. He looked rather harmless, but he was not. He had a dark side, an evil side that enjoyed hurting people.
This was not the time to think about it. Not far away, my parents were waving for us to join them. I touched Philippe’s arm, so he would look at them.
Time was running out, and we had a lot more to visit before going to dinner.
“So, shall we go?” Gabby asked, getting up to join my parents. “Aria, did your boyfriend answer you?”
“Not yet,” I said. “Could you all go over there and wait for a bit? I want to call someone.”
They left me alone.
I dialed Cedric’s number. It rang, but no one picked up. Then I called Camille’s number. At least she answered me.
“Hi, Aria! Are you having fun with your parents?”
“Yes. This is amazing!”
“I know! I love the Louvre a lot. Jacob showed it to me during those first few days after I’d arrived in Paris. It was so cool to see everything. And he took me at night when there was no one besides the guards, and we… I’m sure you have better things to do than listen to my ramblings. What’s the problem?”
“I was wondering if Cedric was there with you.”
“I haven’t seen him around since he went with you to the mall to meet your parents.”
“Oh, that’s odd. He said he had to meet Jacob. I thought it had something to do with the angels and the vampires. Some important meeting.”
“No, meetings like those are normally held at night because vampires aren’t so keen on getting out during the daylight. Besides, William is cursed during the day, so he can only research at night. And there isn’t any progression with the drug. Actually, I thought he was there with you. You texted me a pic of you in the Louvre and, well, I thought that he had come with you and your parents.”
“No. And where’s Jacob?”
“He’s in the office writing some reports.”
“So where in the hell is Cedric and why isn’t he picking up his phone?” I breathed out, more exasperated than I intended to be.
“Do you want me to tell him to call you when I see him?”
“If you don’t mind. I hope he’s okay. I’m getting worried.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably in the other realm.”
“Hmm. Talk to you later then. I’m holding everybody up. I miss you and I wish you were here with me.”
“I miss you too, darling.”
“I hope you’re feeling better,” I whispered, biting my lip, a bit nervous as I didn’t want to make her sad again.
“All is fine. I’ll have to keep trying. It’s not that bad—the trying, I mean,” she said with a mischievous undertone.
I giggled.
“I have to go. Have fun!”
Camille hung up the phone, and I stared at the screen to check for incoming messages while I was talking with her, but none whatsoever had come in. I decided to send him another message: I hope everything is okay with you. I’m getting worried. What are you doing?
Afterwards, I walked towards where the others were waiting for me. My phone vibrated with a new message: I�
�m good. I’m a bit busy. Talk to you later. About the nightclub, I’m going to be busy in a meeting, and I would like it if you to go home after dinner. It’s not safe.
I sighed at the message and wondered when it would be safe.
“So, are we going or not?” Gabby asked, excited, when I arrived beside her.
“We’re going,” I replied, keeping my phone in my pocket.
I almost fell backward when Gabby jumped with happiness and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“It’ll be so fun! And we’ll keep you safe. I promise,” she said with a serious expression. “Won’t we, Sean?”
“Of course. Your parents are coming, too, anyway,” Sean said.
I glanced at them. They were not far from us, finishing eating.
“Where?” Philippe asked.
“Nightclubbing!” Gabby squealed.
“You are not taking Aria out after dark through the streets,” Philippe declared rather authoritatively.
I frowned. That was all I needed, another overprotective and paranoid guy saying what I could and could not do.
“We aren’t going anywhere dangerous. We’re going to the Velours Rouge,” Gabby explained.
“What’s that?” I asked, noticing that Philippe’s eyes got softer at her words, and he lost the upset expression on his face.
“My nightclub,” he clarified.
Gabby nodded.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked Gabby.
“Of course, it’s safe. I’m going to be there,” Philippe declared.
I endured his gaze to show him that I didn’t feel safe next to him.
He added, “No one would dare touch you with me there.”
“I can take care of myself,” I mumbled, bothered by the cockiness in his statement. “I really don’t need your protection.” I made sure to imply sarcasm at the word “protection”.
“Tough luck. You’re getting it anyway,” he said, close to my face.
I glowered at him.
“I’m not scared of you,” he claimed.
“This isn’t my scary face!” I protested.
Smirking, he moved away and waved at my parents, who were coming our way.
Philippe could be insufferable.
Gabby seemed to be amused at our little quarrel. She placed her arm around my shoulders and asked, “When’s your boyfriend joining us? Do you want to text him the address? He must know it already. It’s the most famous place to party in Paris. It’s also difficult to get into. They have a guest list. Philippe can put his name on the guest list—that’s if you stop pissing him off.”
“Don’t worry about it. He’s too busy to come,” I hissed.
I folded my arms and followed my parents inside the Sully Wing. I was in a bad mood. First because of Cedric, and second because Philippe was acting friendly and protective. Too damn friendly for my taste.
“Maybe I should give up and go home after dinner,” I said to Gabby, who was standing next to me. Knowing perfectly well that Philippe was in front of us listening.
“Don’t be silly. Your mom and dad will be there. My dad will come to take us home when you want to leave. We’ll have fun together. Not to mention,” she said, coming near my ear to talk in a lower voice, “Philippe never comes out of his office. He stays in there taking care of the bills and talking to the distributors. He won’t spoil our fun.”
I reconsidered, thinking about how much I wanted to go out with my cousin and my parents to see things, so I could experience new adventures. I didn’t have anything to do at home. Cedric wouldn’t be there anyway.
“I’ll think about it,” I whispered, noticing that Philippe had stopped walking. I halted behind him. “What?” I demanded with my hair covering my cheeks.
“Your parents want to see the Greek ceramics.”
“I go wherever they want.”
“But I want to show you something else,” he said, grabbing my hand and taking me away with him. My parents didn’t even look back to ask where we were going.
“What the hell?” I complained, trying to free my hand.
“Stop pouting, Aria. We’re going to the second floor to see the paintings. I want to show you the French painters. You’ll like them,” he replied, taking me to an elevator. “Besides, if I wanted to do any harm to you, I would have done it already. You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m perfectly harmless. At least, to you. I’m not going to try to convince you to leave Cedric, kidnap you, or take you away from your family. Whatever crazy and evil things Cedric said that I would do to you won’t happen. I’m here to apologize and to tell you that I regret my actions and I want you to be happy.”
“I don’t understand.” I stopped him from moving anymore. “What are you saying?”
“I…know that the only way for you to go to heaven is to be with Cedric,” he whispered, getting near me.
My heart raced. I wanted to step back, but he grabbed both my hands, and I found myself looking up at his face and gulping. I focused on his lips moving. It was easier than looking into his eyes.
“I wish I could be someone else. But I’m not. You deserve a better life than the one I could give you. I was too quick to judge, too quick to want you out of my life. But in my defense, I was afraid, and I was not in a good place when we met. That’s not an excuse,” he said, looking at our hands.
I was caught up in his words and was too nervous to move.
He continued, “I wanted to see you one last time so that I could tell you that…I’m going to stop pursuing you and let you be happy with Cedric. I wanted to make sure that being an angel was what you wanted.”
“I don’t want to be a vampire,” I whispered promptly.
He looked straight into my eyes, and I could see the conflict on his face. He had a rather gorgeous face for an evil demon.
“You don’t need to be a vampire or an angel. You can be yourself. You can be human and stay away from all this mess. But if you love Cedric, I’m not going to be the one to stand in your way.”
“You’re not?” I asked, troubled by the sweetness of his voice and the grief.
I could almost touch the sadness. I had to fight back that feeling and think straight. Was he trying to trick me or convince me by playing the sad and unselfish vampire-slash-psychopath who one moment didn’t want me and the next tried to get me to his bed to rape me? I didn’t even know how else to describe his twisted past actions. Now he was playing the kind and brooding vampire. This was extremely confusing! I would rather have him be evil all the time, so I had a reason to keep hating his guts. Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let his words reach my heart. He had rejected me and said the foulest and most hurtful things to me.
“You’re not in my way. I love Cedric, and I sure don’t want anything to do with you,” I told him, so he would get it once and for all. “I don’t care about you,” I added to make him understand that I was not moved by his words or the sadness in his gorgeous chocolate eyes.
“Good then,” he said in a husky voice, causing me to gulp again.
He looked at the elevator as the door opened. “Let’s go upstairs,” he said, leading me inside.
We were almost crushed by the other people and stood close together. My arms crossed over my chest and my body leaned against him. He smelled nice for a walking corpse. He didn’t even feel inhuman. He was trying to act cool about my words, but I could sense that he was even sadder than before. I wished I couldn’t detect that. I wished I couldn’t care less about it. Yet, my stupid heart felt sorry for him. I hoped that he could be happy. That he could find someone else. In reality, what I was thinking was that he was warm, and he smelled like heaven in a crowded place with smelly, sunburned tourists.
“Do vampires’ hearts beat?” I asked low enough, so he would be the only one who could hear me.
He nodded.
“Are you serious about leaving me alone?”
He nodded again.
“Then stop acting like the world is going to end tomorro
w. You’re annoying me!”
He offered me a sad smile that didn’t help to make me feel better about his depressed state of mind. I shouldn’t have cared about his feelings, about the sadness that I knew lived inside of him. He was a murderer and a psychopath. But psychopaths didn’t have feelings. And he had them even when he’d rejected me. Analytical thinking should have an “off” button.
“If I hadn’t been ugly, you wouldn’t have rejected me,” I affirmed.
We were surrounded by other tourists speaking in foreign languages that I was able to understand because of my angelic abilities. Some of them were lost, others were excited by the museum, and others were complaining about the time they’d had to wait for the elevator. I was breathless and uncomfortable against Philippe.
Philippe put his hand under my chin and made me look at his face. “Do you want to know the truth?”
I blinked, unsure of the answer I should give him. I knew the truth. Why is he asking me about it?
“I know what the truth is; you said it to me when you rejected me.”
“Aria,” he whispered, placing his hands on my cheeks.
I felt my temperature rising and my breathing became rapid. My heart was racing in my chest; I wanted him to let me go and stop this nonsense. What the hell is he going to do when cradling my face like that and staring at me with eyes that held so much heat, they could melt ice? The air was getting heavy around us. I was beginning to panic.
“I swear to you if you try to kiss me, I’ll kick you right here in this elevator, and I won’t care if everybody sees me do it,” I mumbled, annoyed by his actions and his prolonged silence.
He smirked, apparently immune to my threat.
The doors opened, and we were rushed out by the other tourists, almost run over by the ones wanting to get in.
He let me go but held tight to my hand, so I wouldn’t get separated from him.
“I’m not going to make that mistake,” Philippe said, guiding me to the left of the corridor.
I followed him, feeling like a small, lost girl.
“I’m not going to kiss you, harm you, or try to make you mad. We’re going to see the paintings and we’re going to forget all about our little talk in the elevator. And if you tell me once more that you were ugly, then I’m going to kiss you.”