“Where are we?”
He shrugs. “Just a place I like to come to think.”
We stay in the truck, listening to his music. After a while, I lean my head back, close my eyes, and just try to relax. I can feel him watching me though.
I open my eyes and he looks away. With the uncomfortable silence, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Your sister said I should stay away from you.”
“Did she now?” he laughs.
“What’s funny?”
“I don’t know. I guess that she is the one trying to protect me when she needs protection.”
He sighs and something about his tone is tense when he speaks again.
“I thought of a way to help you,” he says.
“What is it?”
“We could pretend that we are dating. They should back-off then.”
“But, what about Megan? Besides, your sister—and my brothers—”
“Megan and I were over before we even started. I will handle things with her. What is the problem with my sister and your brothers?”
“They are going to kill us.”
He laughs. “I’ll take my chances.”
“I can’t accept this.”
“Please,” he begs.
“Why do you want to do this?”
He looks away. “I feel responsible for not being there to protect my sister before. Maybe helping you—maybe it will be a way to make up for that. I just need to do this.”
Every instinct I have is to refuse, but the pleading look in his green eyes… I can’t say no.
He gives me a crooked smile when I agree to this crazy plan. “Come with me,” he says as he opens the door to the truck. He jumps out and walks toward the front of the truck, and I follow him.
“I come here at least once a week.”
“What for?” I ask.
He smiles. “For that,” he says as he points to the side.
From the distance, I see a fence and on the other side of the fence, there is a horse.
I freeze in place. It’s been so long since I got caught in my memories, but my mind takes me straight back to London, at least a century back, and to memories of a caretaker who was pure evil. At the time, I was frozen at the age of nine. I had a horse back then. It was my caretaker’s, but I cared for it and I got attached. After all, that was the only interaction I had with a living being. One week, she had one of her episodes where she went insane. The blood of a vampire child is so pure that it does things to other vampires, so her insanity always got out of control once she had my blood. That night, she decided that my blood was tainted because of what I was eating. She told me I would be on a new diet from that point on. Right before dawn, I was looking for mine—her horse, and I found it dead and drained of blood. That was the first and last time I tried to run away from her. She kept me locked up after that.
Ian’s voice brings me back to reality. “Are you afraid of horses?” he asks.
I fight back the tears. “I—It’s a long story. I’d rather not talk about it.”
I stare at the horse from a distance, until I feel Ian’s fingers graze against my wrist and down to my hand. He intertwines his fingers in mine. I look down at my hand in his and realize the calming effect that he has on me. For a split second, I forget my past, and for the first time in centuries, I feel hope that there is something out there that could help me get over what happened to me.
“Trust me,” he says as we walk toward the fence.
I keep my eyes on the grass as we walk. Every once in a while, I nervously glance at his hand holding mine.
Once we get to the fence, he let’s go of my hand and yanks the gate open.
“That is Stormy,” he says, pointing at the brown horse. “Come on,” he waves me on and I follow him.
I stop a few feet away from Stormy.
Ian looks back at me. “Come on. He is calm. Just put your palm under his mouth and let him sniff you.”
I nervously approach him and do as he says.
“Good. Now gently stroke his neck, and try to relax.”
I close my eyes as I stroke his neck. I try to block memories of my past away, but I can’t. My mind floods with images of sticky blood around my horses’ neck. I drop my hands down and take a few steps back.
Ian smiles at me. He seems happy that I got this far. He pets Stormy and then walks back toward me.
“We should probably get back,” he says.
I nod and follow him back toward the truck. About half way there, he gets closer and reaches for my hand once again.
I’m left wondering what all of this means. It doesn’t matter how many reality TV shows I watched in order to adapt to this world… to him, something simple like holding hands may be part of pretending, but to me, it means much more.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
HARVEY
“I got a text from Sarah. She is getting a ride home from school,” I tell Nicholas who is standing by the window, staring outside.
“Funny,” he says. “The school called to say that she wasn’t there today.”
Harvey shakes his head. “I’m sure she’s been stressed. Maybe she needed time alone. Just let her explain before you go all psycho vamp.”
He ignores me and keeps looking outside.
“What exactly are you waiting for?” I ask.
“I want to see who drops her off.”
I end up sitting on the couch while he waits… and waits…
“She is walking toward the house,” he says, without looking away.
Once I hear the key in the door, he turns around and faces that direction.
“Hey. Sorry I’m late. I was asking my teacher a—”
Nicholas doesn’t even let her finish. “Really, Sarah? You’re going to lie to not one, but two vampires who not only can tell that you are lying, but also that you smell like you’ve been around a guy.”
“There are a lot of guys at school, Nicholas.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Don’t do the sarcastic, smartass thing with me. That is not you… I practically invented sarcasm. I would know.”
I shake my head. “The school called. They said you didn’t show up today.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah… oh!” says Nicholas, mocking her shaky tone. “So were there a lot of guys wherever you ended up today too?”
She looks down on the floor. “No,” she says shyly.
“Start explaining,” he orders her.
“I was with a friend at a farm.”
“Doing what?”
“Just talking,” she says, avoiding his gaze.
He looks at me. “I told you this going to school nonsense was a mistake.”
“And you”, he says, looking at Sarah. “Don’t even waste your time. Whatever hopes and dreams you have about this ‘friend’, it won’t last.”
She looks up now and there is a determination that I hadn’t seen in her before. “You are just a bitter old—vampire.”
“Was that supposed to be an insult, sis?”
“Ugh! I’m going upstairs.”
“Don’t bother. I’m going out,” Nicholas says.
“Where are you going?” she asks in a panicked tone. “You’re not going to track him, are you? We are just friends.”
“Now that you mention, that’s not a bad idea.”
“Nicholas!” I warn him.
“No, I’m not going to track him. Not yet anyway.”
I sigh. “Just tell her where you are going.”
“Out. This conversation is making me hungry.”
He is gone before either of us can get another word in.
Sarah stands there, unsure of what to do.
“Don’t worry. He’s not going after whoever you were with.”
She looks down as if she’s embarrassed.
“Is he ever going to get better?” she asks.
“I honestly don’t know. From what I’ve heard about Nicholas, he went centuries avoiding any kind of relationshi
p with anyone. That is why he never turned anyone besides Lexi, and even with her, he fought against his feelings. I’m not sure it’s possible for anyone to get over that kind of love. You meet people in life who you think you’re in love with, but then one day it’s over. And eventually, you move on by meeting someone you love even more. I have no doubt in my mind that Lexi was his soulmate. It’s not possible he will ever love anyone more than he loved her. She was it.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
NICHOLAS
I slam the door as I walk out and get in Harvey’s Aston Martin, driving off before he realizes that I took it.
I don’t think there is anything more annoying than high school relationships. I can’t even believe I was that stupid once.
I drive around knowing that finding someone to feed on at this time of the day won’t be easy. I don’t even know what I was thinking. I finally decide to drive to the college campus in a town nearby… it at least increases my chances of finding someone.
I’ve never been here before and I end up stopping at the first big building I see. I walk into the library, grab a book, and head toward the back, where I pretend to read until a young woman with brown eye and brown hair, like Lexi’s, walks in my direction. Honestly, I was looking for any resemblance of her that I could hold on to. I don’t care anymore and I just give in. I crave the memory of her more than I crave blood. I know that I have to find a way to be with her without actually being with her, or I’ll lose my mind.
I walk up to the woman, who is trying to reach for a book on the top shelf, and ask her which book she is trying to grab. I reach up, my shirt rising just enough to reveal some skin, and I can feel her staring at me. As I bring the book down, I turn to look into her eyes and glamour her. I don’t even bother asking her for her name.
“Your name is Lexi. You’re coming with me,” I say.
She follows me as I walk toward the back of the aisle and into the bathroom. Glad that this is a somewhat private bathroom, we walk in and I close and lock the door behind us.
Lexi leans against the sink and stares at me as if waiting for a command. I walk toward her, placing one hand on the small of her back and pulling her against me. My other hand is now on the back of her neck and I use my fingers to tilt her neck to the side. As she leans her head, I can see my reflection in the mirror. I don’t know what leads me to do this. I don’t even know if it can be done, but I focus on my reflection… on my eyes… and I say out loud, ‘for as long as she is with me, I will believe she is Lexi.’ At some point in between realizing that this was working and losing myself, I thought that glamouring myself was a genius idea.
I look from the mirror to her neck, and instead of biting her I pull her away. I look at her and get lost in her eyes until desire overtakes my every thought and I clash my body against hers as if I hadn’t seen her in centuries. My lips are on hers, my finger digging into her back. I kiss her like that is all I need to survive. When I stop, I trail small kisses down her neck and then up to her ear. “I missed you,” I say.
She doesn’t respond. When I look at her she seems confused, but she finally says, “I missed you too.”
My phone rings and I ignore it, kissing her again. My hand is just reaching for the hem of her shirt when someone starts to persistently knock on the door.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell her.
I step outside to take care of the annoying human knocking on the door, but as soon as I step outside of the bathroom, I get a stabbing pain in my chest. The glamour I put on myself is gone.
“Are you alright?” asks the annoying human.
Faster than I should have, vampire speed considered, I rush out of there without looking back.
CHAPTER TWENTY
SARAH
I’m surprised when I hear my phone ring. No one ever calls me besides Nicholas and Harvey, and they are both at the house. Harvey is in the living room, probably reading, since that is what he does with most of his time. Nicholas got home about an hour ago. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, but he refused to talk to anyone. He rushed to his room and locked himself in there.
Sometime throughout all the drama I forgot that Ian asked for my number and gave me his.
“Hello?”
“Noelle?” he asks.
“Yes.” I wonder how mad Nicholas and Harvey would be if I gave him my first name. It’s been years since we saw any signs of vampires hunting us down. I don’t see the harm; yet, I don’t want to take the risk of them wanting to move just because of this. I can deal with using my middle name.
Ian is quiet for a while and I even wonder if he regretted calling and hung up.
“I broke up with Megan,” he says.
I gasp. I don’t even know why. Maybe surprise that he would actually go through with it.
“I lied to you earlier,” he pauses. “I think it will be easier to tell you the truth over the phone.”
“Oh.” Of course he lied. Who in their right mind would want be a pretend date to help someone he doesn’t even know? “You don’t have to explain it. You don’t owe me anything.”
He goes quiet again.
“I lied about wanting to pretend date you.”
Something in me switches off. It’s like a self-defense mechanism. As a vampire for so many centuries, I learned to shut my feelings off to protect myself from certain emotions.
“I don’t want to complicate things for you,” he says. “If you want me to pretend to date you to keep you safe, I will, but—”
“You don’t have to pretend. You don’t even know me,” I say in a cold tone.
I’m about to hang up on him when I hear his pleading tone.
“Oh, no! I’m sorry. I think you misunderstood me. I want to take you out on a real date.”
I panic and hang up on him.
I cover my mouth with my hand as soon as the phone is off. I freaked out because I never really dated anyone.
I hear my phone go off and see a text from him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you away. I should’ve left things alone.”
It’s funny how people get a little braver when talking to someone without face-to-face interaction, or even without hearing the person’s voice on the phone. It’s easier to hide behind a text message.
“I’m the one who is sorry. I was a little surprised,” I text back.
“Is that a yes?”
“I don’t know… I don’t think my brothers will be okay with it.”
My phone rings again.
“I’ll ask them.”
“You? Talk to my brothers?
“Sure. I’ll be nervous as hell, but I will if that is what I need to do.”
I giggle. “You don’t even know me.”
“And you’re right, but I want to change that.”
“Why?”
He sighs. “There’s something different about you.”
Not knowing what to say, I stay silent.
“Can I come by tonight?” he asks.
“Tonight?” I ask in shock. I’m not prepared for it to be this soon, especially with Nicholas being so unstable, but then again, when is he ever stable?
“Yes,” he says. “I want to do this before I lose my nerve and before you change your mind.”
I sigh. “I don’t know. My brothers know I wasn’t in school and that I was with you.”
“You’re not in trouble, are you?”
“I—.”
I hear the doorbell ring and ask Ian to wait while I see who it is.
When I go downstairs, I see that Harvey already opened the door.
“Valerie,” he says with a nod and a warm smile. “I thought I was picking you up.”
Nicholas walks downstairs at the same time and he chuckles when he sees Harvey’s reaction to his presence.
“Can you wait for me outside?” Harvey asks Valerie.
Valerie nods and Harvey closes the door behind him.
“I knew you wanted to keep that one to yourself.” Nich
olas laughs. “Typical knight and shining armor move.”
“Nicholas, just let it go, man. Whatever you are going through… just—please, just leave this one alone okay?”
Something about his pleading tone makes Nicholas retract back to his room.
“You’re really going on a date?” I ask him.
He nods.
“I don’t want to stay home alone with Nicholas,” I say.
He shakes his head at the realization that I really shouldn’t be alone with Nicholas and I can see that he contemplates what to do.
“Do you have a friend you could spend a few hours with?”
I look down to the phone in my hand.
Harvey nods and somehow, he knows whom I’m talking to. “Ask if I can drop you off, but I want to meet him first.”
I smile and get back on the phone with Ian.
***
NICHOLAS
I see them leaving… starting new lives with new people. They end up getting in Valerie’s car and off they go. And I end up giving in more and more to needing her. I grab Sarah’s laptop and search for Lexi’s name. I’m not hoping to find where she is. I know that after her human life ended, like all of us, we do our best to disappear. Social media is the last place where we’d be stupid enough to go. But I know that once open a time she had a facebook page, so I look her up and find exactly what I’m looking for; pictures and things that while reading, I can almost hear the sound of her voice saying them. There are pictures of her with her school friends, her boyfriend at the time… the human she dated before she met Tyler, the dumb ass vampire I basically handed her off to.
I create a fake profile under Nick Montgomery, using her human last name. I don’t know why I do it, but then again, I don’t know why I do most of the idiotic things that I do. I know she hasn’t checked on this thing in decades, but I send her a private message. ‘I miss you more than you’ll ever know.’ – Nick.
I guess I do this hoping to get some kind of closure, and I feel better for a split second before I go back to looking at pictures and see her smile; the same smile that I saw during most days of the thirty years we spent together. I spend minutes looking at picture after picture, before deciding to close the computer to keep myself from making yet another idiotic decision.
Venom (The Reawakening Series Book 1) Page 6