The Soul of a Vampire #1

by Rachel E Rice

  Pushing against Sebastian’s chest, he never moved. “Can I take this shower without you around? I just want to be alone with my thoughts and you’re making that very difficult.”

  “I have to go.” He opened the shower door and I stepped inside, and he stood looking at me in the shower with cold water reigning down on me.

  “I have to sleep. And I would hope you do the same because tonight you have to accompany me to the hospital.”

  “What if I don’t want to go?”

  “I would have to insist. Until you understand what you and I are up against, I have to keep you near. You can’t be trusted to not bring witches into our house.”

  “Our house? What the fuck are you talking about,” I yelled, “she is your friend not mine. If she is a witch. And they don’t exist either,” I said pouting.

  And he closed the door to the bath room. As soon as the door shut, I rushed out of the shower and into my room and locked my door. Who am I kidding? Who was I locking out? But if he is who he said, then I would know for sure. He would be able to come in here with the door locked. At that moment the logic set in. He had come in on me in the bathroom and that door was locked.

  Preparing to sleep, I dropped my towel and scurried under the covers, it was dark in here but the sun was rising. My body clock will be totally confused. Turning back and forth in the bed I said, “There are no such thing as vampires,” I said that over and over. “There are no such things as a vampire.”

  “Don’t be so sure of that.” I shook when I heard his voice and pulled the covers over my head. I could feel Sebastian standing over me.

  “Can’t you leave me alone?” I shouted at him.

  “Only when you admit that I am who I am.”

  “You are Sebastian my lover and my tormentor. Now get out and leave me alone.”

  “I’m going to bed now and don’t disturb me until the sun is down,” he said. And he disappeared. Maybe being in a coma had affected my mind more than I imagined.

  Chapter Twelve-Zoey

  I slept through the day and woke when the sun set and the entire house was dark when I opened my eyes. Stumbling around to find the lights I flicked on the light switch. Sebastian said don’t disturb him until the sun had gone down. Well the sun was down. I threw on some clothes, a pair of tight jeans I found in my closet. Obviously he had clothing for him but not me. What did he expect me to do, walk around naked all day? Or was that his way of keeping me in. I opened the door to his room.

  Looking around, there was nothing I hadn’t seen before. He wasn’t there. I crept to the large closet afraid to turn the lights on. My hand came across a switch and I flicked it and nothing happened. He had removed all the bulbs from the light fixtures.

  “Did you find what you’re looking for,” I heard a deep serious voice behind me. I jumped and swivel around on my heels. There he stood close behind me looking more handsome if that were possible. He wore a black turtle neck sweater something from the seventies and a pair of jeans I had overlooked.

  “Kept those as your time as a hippie in Berkley? I asked with a smirk, slanting my head to the side, waiting for an answer that would come.

  He looked down at me and said, “As a matter of fact I did.” He looked me over. “I will be ready to leave as soon as you’re dressed.”

  “I’m already dressed. What’s wrong with my jeans and sweatshirt?”

  “They’re too tight.”

  “What do you expect when you bring me here and I didn’t have a chance to pick up something? I got this shirt from my father. Threw it into my purse. Obviously you weren’t preparing for me.”

  “I just didn’t expect you to wake up so soon. This place was supposed to be the last place that my family would have thought to look. But you must have done something to bring Samantha here.”

  “Me? She’s your girlfriend.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend and I wish you wouldn’t entertain that idea. Now if you would be so good as to change into something else.”

  “I have nothing else.” I put my hands on my hips. “Now you are telling me how to dress. I listened to my father, and you’re not my father Mr. five hundred year old vampire and Mr. Seventies. Times have changed and I was born in the new millennium. You can’t dictated to a woman how she should dress, and why do you think my jeans are too tight?” I said turning around and watching as Sebastian’s eyes shot to my ass. The sparkle in his eyes were obvious.

  “Because the young men who work with me will be paying more attention to your assets than to their work. I don’t want you leading them on. It’s bad for men to work around a woman that takes their attention from what is important.”

  “Well I guess that leaves you out, Mr. Freeze.” I taunted him with my snarky remarks because I didn’t like being told what I should and should not do. He had years to live without anyone controlling him. Because he’s running from his family proves he doesn’t want anyone to dictate to him what he should and should not do. I should at least have that same respect.

  And I craved the same amount of freedom he was trying to take from me. He had passed the word around that we were married. That alone made men think I was off the table. And here it is when I’m finally becoming confident that men are attracted to me.

  “Make sure you change into the blue uniforms we have for our nurses. You’ll find them in a locker.”

  “I had planned on doing just that.” I rolled my eyes and smacked my lips in defiance. “Anything else lord protector I should be aware of?”

  “You are my wife and you should conduct yourself as my wife.”

  “And what does that mean?” Another reason why I should get the hell away from him.

  “Don’t accept any dates from these humans. They know I’m at the hospital all night and for some reason they may try to date you.”

  “You don’t have much confidence in your staff. Or me.”

  “No. I don’t have much confidence in humans. Especially the men. They function with their hearts and you know the rest.”

  “What are you, too cold, or not human enough to understand?” I watched at his face and realized that I had hurt him. I didn’t know he had a feelings to hurt. But apparently he does especially since I was the recipient of that heart in more ways than I cared to admit.

  I didn’t want to acknowledge that Sebastian was a vampire. He had been so warm in bed when we made love, but he was creating this rebellion within me and my feelings where I didn’t want to surrender and admit that he was indeed a vampire. I didn’t think I could handle the idea. He didn’t behave like I had read about. But everything else fell in line with the traditional vampire legend. No mirrors. Cold to the touch. A creature of the night.

  He wasn’t a creature but a marvelous looking man. Maybe that’s why I can’t be certain of what he says he is.

  “I’ll wait for you downstairs.” And before I could blink he was gone.

  As I stepped down the stairs, I could see the car through the panoramic glass which surrounded the home. He waited for me in the car in the cold snowy night. The snow falling made it bright and cheery as if I was a child waiting for the snow and rush out to create snow angels.

  As a child I had been happy when I forgot that I was never to go home. But I did go home and somehow I missed the family I thought I had and can no longer remember. It was that feeling inside me that longed for that snow and that family Sebastian belonged to.

  Why can’t I remember my relationship with Sebastian? I get these shattered pictures sometimes where he’s holding me and singing to me. I would look up at him and smile and he would tickle me and I would laugh.

  But there wasn’t much to be cheerful about any more. Now that family I lived with is trying to kill me for some reason. If only I could remember why. My feelings were conflicted about Sebastian and the family who raised me until I turned into a teen.

  I thought my mind was confusing me and now I didn’t know what was real from fantasy. I felt none of the unhappiness with S
ebastian’s family. I felt returning to my mother and father was the worst thing that could happen to me. Was it him I didn’t want to leave which made returning to Seattle so painful?

  Every few minutes I would glance at Sebastian and he would look back at me, but the silence between us drifted over and between both of us. Neither one of us wanted to admit that we were wrong and therefore that heavy silence would remain there until we arrived at the hospital.

  The Land Rover came to a stop at the emergency ward. I glanced around, “You’re working in the emergency ward on a Saturday night. That’s just great.” I had an idea of Seattle’s emergency ward but later discovered that it wasn’t like that. But worse.

  Sitting looking out, I hoped he would forget about me, but he came around to open the door. Stepping out, I walked ahead of him, but I wanted to run and not have to face anyone. I didn’t know how to behave like a married woman simply because I wasn’t one. I had just been made love to for the first time in my life, and before I could get over that, I had to face the idea that he was a vampire and some witch wanted to kill me because of him.

  “Hello, Dr. Sebastian. We have a lot of clients waiting.” The woman who greeted him spoke in a small nasal voice, as if he had walked into a law office. These weren’t clients I wanted to say, they are patients, and if you can’t tell the difference then you shouldn’t work here. But these were just thoughts. I was probably reacting to the way she looked at Sebastian. All doe eyes looking at him as if he’s a God.

  He’s a fucking blood sucker I wanted to say. Give him half the chance and he’ll drain you of all your blood. Why else was he claiming to be a doctor? The blood. I had an, ah-ha, moment. He was hanging around blood like a drunk hangs around a liquor store.

  Sebastian grabbed my hand and stopped me from walking. “This is my wife. Can you find her something to wear, and have her wash up because I’m going to need her in the emergency ward?”

  “Of course Dr. I know it’s difficult when we have so many wolf attacks lately and we can’t get a nurse to drive here.” We three started walking to the ward and the receptionist continued talking, “Our town is so small. Our population is mainly made up of the elderly so when you came here and agreed to man our small clinic we were grateful.”

  I looked at Sebastian. I bet she was. They probably didn’t check his credentials. Sebastian walked ahead of me and disappeared into the swinging doors.

  The receptionist walked around the corner with me following her. “You’re lucky to be married to a doctor and he’s so handsome. What does it feel like?” She asked as she showed me the area where I would change into the hospital’s uniform.

  “I never really thought about it, but it’s difficult being his wife.” She glanced at me not able to comprehend how that could be difficult. “The night work is killing,” I said as a joke for me as well as to satisfy her.

  “Sorry, but I didn’t introduce myself, Mrs. Sebastian,” the receptionist said.

  “Call me Zoey. Mrs. Sebastian is so formal.”

  “And call me Ann. We’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other since I work the night shift.”

  “Are you married?” I asked her.

  “No. But I live with my boyfriend, he’s such an animal,” she whispered and gave me a full tooth smile. “If you know what I mean. It helps in these cold months.” She left me wondering what she meant by animal.

  I had heard my friend, my now deceased friend Terry talk about men being animals and she was kind enough to elaborated on how they seem to be animals when it came to sex. I knew Sebastian wasn’t the kind of animal Terry had endless nights discussing.

  He had been very considerate with me although I felt as if he was holding back when we had sex. I hung up my clothes and walked outside in a blue cotton pant set.

  Following Ann’s instruction before I could enter the ward, I washed up and when I finally headed for the ward, I pushed the doors open. I saw Sebastian working from one patient to the next. I jumped in there and he directed me on how to take a pulse and temperature. I learned quickly and soon I could tell who was in need of intensive care and who wasn’t.

  How could he stand all that blood if he was a vampire? That proves it, he’s a doctor and not a vampire.

  It was a nonstop job for Sebastian and I didn’t know how he did it. When I looked up it was six am and we needed to get home. “Sebastian. It’s time for us to leave.” He had one patient left that he was placing bandages on.

  “I can’t leave until my replacement gets here.”

  “The sun is rising in an hour and it may take that long to get home if the roads are unpassable. You can’t push it that close.” I couldn’t believe I had accepted the shit about him being a vampire.

  “Just listen to me you stubborn man.” I had bought into what I had just thought was crazy, insane, and stupid. To believe there was such a thing as vampires, maybe I had something unwired in my brain from that knock on the head.

  “Look around Sebastian. It’s empty in here. Go. I’ll stay here. It appears all the action is at night. I’ll get someone to take me home.”

  “I don’t want to leave you alone.”

  “I’m not alone. Ann and the people who clean-up are here with me.”

  “I’m worried about you. Samantha is still waiting somewhere.”

  “I can handle her. She’s just a woman like me.”

  “How I wished that were so, Zoey.” We were standing in front of Ann’s desk and although she was busy talking to someone, her eyes were on me and Sebastian.

  I thought that I should give her something to talk about so I gave Sebastian a warm kiss. “See you in the morning, darling,” I said.

  When I pulled away from his wonderful embrace, it didn’t feel like a staged kiss. It had the emotion and warmth of two people who loved each other and were hot for each other and were enjoying the best sex of their lives. Which we had just hours ago until it turned cold by the mention of witches, werewolves, and vampires.

  Sebastian walked out reluctantly holding on to the tips of my fingers and then letting go. As he ambled out with a worried look on his face, he constantly looked back at me, and then he disappeared out of sight.

  Chapter Thirteen-Zoey

  After Sebastian left the corridor on his way to the emergency room where the SUV was parked, there stood just me and Ann in the small clinic looking at each other. I thought it appropriate to start the conversation seeing that I was the doctor’s wife and ask for a ride home. She probably wouldn’t refuse me under those circumstances.

  “Do you think you can drop me home when that doctor gets in to relieve Sebastian, and how long do you think he will take?” I shot her a half smile. She looked pleasant and I felt comfortable with her. I had no deadlines to meet but I asked because I was dog tired staying up all night.

  Conveniently I had lied to Sebastian. I wanted him to think I was like him. At the time I thought he was just a night person and I wanted to fit in. I liked him a lot, but I had this feeling of love more, but that vampire stuff was so weird, and I just didn’t know how to react.

  “Oh David’s always late,” she said looking at a paper. “I heard Dr. Sebastian telling him not to be late because he needed to get his rest, and he could only work at night. I know because I’m a night person too. I love sleeping all day and I come alive at night. My boyfriend is a day person.” It appeared unnecessary for her to add that, but since we were bonding, I thought nothing of it.

  “So how do you make it like that?” She glanced at me as if it was a stupid question. I asked because I needed pointers. This could be a long relationship I’ve entered into with this vampire. I guess I was getting used to the idea of him being a vampire because the thoughts of this was getting easier to accept, and it didn’t scare me half as much as before.

  “You have to work together,” she said sharpening pencils and arranging pens in a coffee cup. “You have to complement each other. You do things during the day that he can’t do. I do all the shop
ping and he does the housework.” She glanced up at me. “You seem to be working together. Dr. Sebastian said that the only way he could work here was if he had to be out of here at no later than six am. I hope he doesn’t leave us because of David.”

  “That’s his name David. When he gets here...” When I glanced up waltzing through the door was a handsome young man in his late twenties who didn’t look like a patient and he didn’t look like a doctor. He looked more like someone going on a holiday or had just come from a tropical island.

  He was blond with a small nose and clear tanned skin. When he spotted me and Ann he gave us the warmest smile. “Two of the most beautiful young women I’ve seen in years,” he said gawking at me. He had a mysterious smile and his eyes beamed like two flashlights in the dark. He enjoyed delighting women and complimenting them.

  “That’s because we are the only ones you haven’t slept with in this town.” He kept staring at me. “Please don’t give that beautiful woman the wrong impression of me,” he said holding my hand and never taking his eyes off of me.

  “She’s Dr. Sebastian’s wife and he’s already pissed with you.”

  “No one can stay pissed with me. I’ll apologize and it will be over. And I feel truly sorry for you.”

  “What do you mean, David?” I said.

  “You know my name and I don’t know yours.”

  “It’s Zoey.”

  “What a beautiful name.”

  “Thanks, but why did you say you felt sorry for me.”

  “I mean to be married to a workaholic like Sebastian, when he has a lovely young wife where he can’t snuggled up with her at night in this cold weather.” His blue eyes locked on my eyes.

  Taking my hand from his, I said, “There are more important things to devote yourself to other than...”

  “Sex. As a doctor nothing can be more important than getting my daily dose of sex.”

  “As a doctor, do you think it’s appropriate to talk like that?”

  “You aren’t one of my patients...”