Forever Here

by Harold Wall

  cursing Dorian and his surprisingly hard biceps.

  Thierry looked uncomfortable for a moment and told them, "We'll discuss this later."

  After dinner, Mari decided to talk to Dorian in her room. To her annoyance, her fellow daybreakers gave a suggestive "ooooh" as they left the room and giggled like children when

  she slammed the door.

  "I think you have an ulterior motive," she announced as soon as the door was shut. Mari knew nobody would dare to listen at her bed room door; she didn't believe the residents

  were that suicidal.

  Dorian regarded her with alarm. "Well, why don't you tell me how you really feel?"

  "Isn't it unusual, Dorian, that you suddenly show up after I go to 'wrong' side?" She quoted with her fingers to emphasize. "And the fact you bought the drink at the Donut Hut is

  irrelevant because you could have tainted it with something afterwards."

  "But I gave you the drink after you started coughing. ' After' being the key word there."

  Mari paced the room, rubbing her chin while she thought. "True, therefore you couldn't have drugged me, but you could have inserted thoughts of thirst into my mind to make me

  drink it. Do you deny it?" she drilled. If I wasn't a wild power, I'd be a lawyer, she thought.

  "I do not deny that the directing thoughts is a possible plan, but I do deny that I ever did so with you. How could you say that? I couldn't have even thought of that on my own." He

  said plopping face down on her bed.

  Mari hated it when his voice became equal to a spoiled three year old's. "You weren't the brightest one in the crayon box," she confessed. "But why are you here now? When I was

  in the castle, you didn't come to save me. Maybe because you were a back up plan, just in case the first one back fired?"

  "You expected me to come rescue you? Me and my one man army, yeah that would be smart."

  "You could have infiltrated the castle by pretending to be one of the guards, saying you were sent after your former was getting too soft on me. Then when you gain their trust, you

  would call for back up and become the hero. But you didn't. Did you even think about a plan?" Dorian was still face down on her pillow and his voice was muffled.

  Angry, Mari pulled him off the pillow and hit him in the head with it. "Now I'll have to burn this."

  "Mari," he sighed. "I swear to you, I am not under cover for the Night World. And as for that Mission Impossible daydream, did you really expect me to come up with that when I'm

  lying in bed? Bruised and battered, incapable of feeding myself, much less sweeping you off of your feet to safety?" There was fatigue, disbelief, and mock self pity in his voice.

  Mari hesitated in her questioning. "What, you don't believe me?" he asked, but knew the answer.

  "Look," he ordered. He took off his shirt. Mari was about to fire protests but stopped. His chest, his flat stomach…covered in scars. Black or dark red, some the length of her hand,

  another slashing across his chest. Mari moved closer and saw that the large, dried gash started from the top from the right shoulder and ended at his left hip, two inches wide. His

  left shoulder was covered with one large bruise, the outer portion a vibrant blue and the inside splotched with violet. It was, to say the least, a bad booboo. Under the map of

  colors, his bones were at an odd angle.

  Dorian wasn't over and put up both hands, and pressed palm to palm. Mari saw that the all the left fingers were a just a few centimeters shorter than the right, the tips strangely

  flat. "Bastards cut them off. Good thing I'm a righty, huh?"

  Mari did not say anything. No words came to mind as her features contorted with shame. And to think! She had been accusing him of betraying her when he had been undergoing

  tremendous torture!

  "Is there anything else?" The miserable words were distorted by the hands still on his face.

  She drew her name on the carpet with her foot. There was a knot in her throat and she swallowed. "You know there are witches here to fix those, better than the your natural way."

  she said in a semi sorry voice. Maybe not the best apology in the world, but by the smile she saw through his fingers, she could tell he accepted that that was all he was going to

  get.

  August 20 through September 8 1999 (picnic being on September 8)

  After having his mind inspected by all the vampires in the mansion, Dorian continued his pursuit of Mari, who in turn continued to politely ignore him. Each time he asked her out,

  wherever "out" would be, she gave a little smile and remind him of their friendship and the consequences of a tryst. But each time he felt like he gained a little ground, winning her

  heart little by little. He finally took her on a date, without informing her of course. Dorian slyly, or so he thought, told her that there was a coyote prowling Thierry's grounds and he

  wanted to show her where he usually slept at night. And under the silver moon, he led her to a picnic for two, complete with cold chicken sandwiches, champagne jello, and two

  root beers.

  Mari didn't want to tell him that Lupe reported the missing items and that "the retarded, resurrected, Ken doll's been sneaking off into the backyard." But she did tell him that he

  was amazingly thoughtful and that he made her happy. It wasn't much, but again that was all he was going to get. That and a long kiss good night.

  September 10, 1999

  "Hey, how about a little time off for good behavior?" he pleaded, sitting on the edge of the chair. Mari was sitting next to him and hid her smile by drinking her coffee. They were

  sitting with Hannah and Thierry in the study during the early morning hours.

  "I told you that you could go outside, but in Las Vegas? Dorian, that's like hanging a mouse over a tiger. Any body could get her." Hannah sounded like a mother. Mari closed and

  then rolled her eyes, ensuring that the Old Soul would not be offended.

  "I must admit, Dorian, you have been good. I've even heard Mari singing sometimes," Thierry said, smiling at her. Mari knew she hadn't done anything of the sort, but she blushed

  any way. In fact there was no apparent change in Mari; she was still the illtempered, sharp tongued girl, never pausing to give insults. Thierry was the only one observant enough

  to spy that Mari was happy now. She had a somebody, like her room mates.

  "Yeah, I've been an angel. Let me out, and I don't mean on missions, I mean shopping at malls with my girl. I'm tired of this mansion," Dorian whined. Mari pulled and bent her

  knees into her shirt and laid her head on them. She decided to stay out of this until Dorian was done.

  "We won't go to Las Vegas. We'll go past Las Vegas to another little town mall," he offered brightly. Mari scooted closer to him. It was considerate of him, to try to bust her out of

  the bird cage like this. She hadn't even asked it of him.

  "We'll discuss this and then tell you later today," Thierry said sternly. Mari jumped up.

  "Can I have some money? I mean we are going today aren't we?" She returned Thierry's smile. He nodded and she left the room with Dorian.

  As soon as they were out, she pulled Dorian close and kissed him. It felt so good to have a friend again, except this with pleasant benefits. He pressed her back against the wall and

  slid his hands down her back. Mari sighed against his mouth, sometimes he was too close, presuming too much. Weeks earlier, she would have never thought she was going to end

  up kissing Dorian. But ever since he came, he had been like her own personal cheerleading squad, backing her up in fights and applauding her every move. But he had held his own

  when it came to their own little squabbles. Dorian had more than charm, he had stubbornness, ignorant thoughts, and a black and white point of view, almost everything that

  had, with the exception of lack of knowledge.

  "Mari and Dorian
kissing in the hall and she has no pants on. Now what could this mean?" Mari broke away from Dorian and scowled at the intruders.

  "Hello," Thea said. The couple had arrived last week and Mari forgot that their room was on this floor.

  "We'll be leaving now, Eric," Dorian said affably and drew an arm around Mari's waist, drawing her away.

  She resisted. "I do to have pants on. Well, shorts." She pulled up her shirt high enough to show them. "It's just a big shirt." Eric smiled, with mock suspicion. She let Dorian tug her

  to her room.

  "I have to change." He shrugged.

  "It's about four am. You got plenty of time." She nodded but rummaged through her closet any way. He settled on her bed. "Hey Mari?"

  "Huh?"

  "How come you don't like to be called Maria? I think it's a nice name." He picked up a note pad from her night stand and began to doodle.

  "Just because," she responded lightly. She crawled across the bed and wrapped his arm around her waist. Mari saw that he was trying to draw a puppy, but it was turning out like a

  rabid mouse.

  "What do you mean, just because? You hate it when people call you Maria. You hate that name with a passion."

  Mari played absently with his pajama sleeve. She hadn't known it would be possible for somebody with purple puppy covered pajamas to look sexy, but Dorian managed quite well.

  "I don't hate it," she retorted.

  "Come on," he whined. "Wait, does this have anything to do with family? Cuz I know how you hate to talk about that." Oh, she thought girlishly, he sounds so sensitive

  "It's okay," she assured him. "Um, well it's like Carol…"

  "Who's Carol?"

  "The mother figure," she answered coldly. Then she continued. "She claimed I had an awful attitude when I was a child. Carol told me I had three main personalities; Mari, Maria,

  and Princess. Mari when I was lethargic and malevolent, Maria was when I was everything a naughty little girl would be, and I became Princess when I worked my childish charm,

  equivalent to that of the soap opera evil twins, to get what I wanted. She would say that I always got what I wanted, always. And well after the funeral, everybody kept calling me Mari. I didn't see a need to correct them."

  Dorian was silent for a minute, still drawing. "How do you know she's not your mother?"

  Mari sighed dramatically. "Dorian, honey, have you ever seen my so called family pictures? Have you seen my aunt? They're all blonde, pale skinned, and sky blue eyes. It's been

  like that for generations and then they supposedly had me. Tell me, do I bear any resemblance to anybody? I didn't think so."

  "You need to stop being bitter." He patted her belly like one petted a cat. She sighed again and leaned against him. If that was possible, she thought wistfully.

  "Did you know that Tybal means princess? Coincidental, huh?" he asked, trying to draw a car.

  "How did you know?" she asked, taking the pad away from him and correcting the "puppy" and the bunny.

  "I was going to look up the Romeo and Juliet characters for a quick and desperate attempt of last minute studying on line and then accidentally went to a baby names site. It was

  one of the search results."

  "You're funny," she smiled.

  "And you're smart," he replied.

  "You're smart too. I don't see why you underestimate yourself like that. You have untried potential." There, now the bunny was actually cute.

  He laughed softly and Mari felt his breath ruffle her hair. "You're so sweet, Mari, even if you won't admit it." Mari felt him shift so he could stretch out his legs. "You know I'm

  really, really, really happy that I'm with you, Mari." Mari turned to face him, but Dorian was looking down at his hands.

  "Yes, I believe you," she said slowly. His strange behavior made her some what reluctant to encourage him.

  "I'm really happy," he repeated, his voice hoarse. "And…I don't know what else. Did you know that I had a crush on you since I met you?" Mari squirmed uncomfortably. The days

  before were not normally discussed, and for good reason.

  "Well, you always said silly stuff, but then again you always had a girlfriend in hand."

  Dorian was twisting his hands now and stammered, "Yeah, but…but, they didn't matter. You're this person to me. I mean, not just a person, you know, not just anybody, but you're

  like…I don't know. I like you a lot, Mari. A whole lot. It's weird you know? Well, I just thought that I'd say that, um..."

  Mari stopped the frantic motion of his hands, and held one. He looked up and smiled. "I love you." Mari felt her reassuring smile freeze into shock, unable to stop it. Love? Good

  Lord, love? Mari thought, panicked. She was just now getting used to the fact that they kissed and he already loved her?

  "I know that it's strange for you, I mean I've been loving you since the eighth grade, and you just started liking me, or lusting whatever verb you prefer," Mari gave a tiny smile;

  Dorian was trying to be his old self again.

  "You know this is a huge bomb to drop on me," Mari said gently. On the atomic level! Her mind screamed. She wasn't sure whether to believe him. Of course she had no doubt that

  he truthful, for trust was one of the most important things in a relationship. She just wasn't sure if he knew if it was real love.

  "I know," he said, giving a face of regret. "I shouldn't have said anything. This was the wrong time, and I did it so stupidly. I wasn't even remotely romantic, was I?"

  "That's okay," she said, easing off him. She felt cold without Dorian's warm body cushioning her, but a shower would fix that.

  "You know it's going to take a while for me to get perfect for our little date today. You're going to have to go," she said, shooing him away from her bed.

  "You're already perfect," he whispered before he kissed her and walked down the hall. Mari leaned against the wall and watched him retreat, still staring even as he went up a floor

  to his room. Well, the "friends with benefits" label just flew out the window. The sun was beginning to peek through the window at the end of the hall when a voice interrupted her

  peaceful moment.

  "Yup, those walls get more interesting by the day." Ugh, Quinn. Talk about ruining perfect Kodak moments. Before he could say more, Mari went in her room and slammed the door

  in his face. Time to get dressed.

  Mari thought about Dorian while she showered. She thought about when she first met him during the first day of school assembly, and when she dressed she thought of how many

  girlfriends he dumped. Right away she knew that Dorian wasn't her soul mate. Not by her acquaintances accounts any way. There wasn't any electrifying connections, silver threads,

  no involuntary visits to the mind, no pink hazes, nothing really. But there were times when she would feel a flutter in her stomach when she saw him, and her heart beat faster than

  thought possible. There was only a minuscule percentage of the world's population that actually found their soul mates and, lucky for her, that percentage lived in Thierry's mansion.

  That was fine, because Dorian was enough.

  Mari thought about her resolution, the one she created after Carn. Don't let anyone get close so they wouldn't hurt you. Try as she might, she couldn't think of any exceptions this

  case had. She was breaking what she swore to herself, and this was another risk. But didn't everybody say that love was full of risks? Mari disregarded her oath. If she didn't risk

  everything now, she'd never forgive herself for the rest of her life. She would end up always thinking What if?

  Later on that day…

  Valerian Stillman was having trouble looking out for potential kidnappers when Mari walked in her deliciously snug jeans. He had even more trouble when Dorian's hand threatened

  to block his view of her…back pockets. Not wanting to repeat the faux pas committed months ago, there were thirty daybreakers sc
attered around the mall and thirty outside. Val

  sighed, for he hadn't expected to be working the minute he stepped off the plane to see Jez. It was going to be a rotten vacation. He tried to get comfortable in the food court chair.

  Sometimes, things were just too small and he felt he was too big. He wished Thistle was here, so she could balance things; Val was too big and she was too small. Val shook

  himself and returned his attention to the girl.

  Mari was blissfully unaware that they were being monitored by thirty people. Dorian knew it wasn't just the regular four and didn't want to ruin her fun. Personally, Val the whole mission was stupid. An amazingly stupid mission. Here the gorgeous brat risks the safety of her life, of the world, for an outing with Mr. Perfect. She was just so…selfish. Maybe

  that was kind compared to what Warren was saying about her.

  Dorian was now hugging the girl from behind and leaning against a pillar. He whispered something that Val could have listened to if he wanted to, but that would be wrong. It was

  their date and nobody should intrude. Mari laughed. Now he listened.

  "And then your aunt hung up on me and the next thing I knew, she was at my house, shouting accusations and checking the closets and bathrooms for you. If you had seen how

  scared the maids were, you would have just died. And your aunt was trying to hit me, but I kept dodging her until I fell over laughing." By this time they were both cracking up.

  Val didn't find it funny. He remembered when Jez left so suddenly like that and how everybody was worried. Her aunt must have been desperately panicked when she heard Mari

  had moved without a word. Nineteen was old enough, but it was still so sudden. He'd have to check how she was doing whenever he had free time. Then he stopped himself.

  Sometimes Val thought this whole Daybreak business was changing him too much.

  He withdrew his senses and scanned the area. There were a few Night World people, but they puzzled why there were so many of their kind at the small town mall on a Wednesday. Maybe there was more in the parking lot. He listened again.

  "He keeps on staring," he whispered, and Mari jerked her head away because his breath was tickling her.

  "Hello, it's his job." Yeah, it's my job, he thought indignantly.