by T. M. Mendes
“I learned beforehand though that only three people were ever able to wear it. Her, myself and My Beloved… you. It works differently when you wear it though. You see, when she wore it, it controlled my actions. But when you wear it, you can influence my feelings, but ultimately I decide what is best.”
Wendy cocked her head to the side as she tried to process all the new information. “Why does it work like that?” she asked as she played with the fringe of her overly used blanket. She was feeling more and more tired but refused to go to sleep.
“Well, because the necklace was made for you. Serafine knew this, but intercepted the spell and created a new one. A hybrid one, if you will. It’s why she was able to wear it, and even why I could wear it without it burning me.”
Wendy shook her head and looked at her lap. With her glasses threatening to slip off her nose, she pushed them back up. ‘I need to get contacts,’ she thought with a small frown.
Vincent’s finger came under her chin to lift up her face to his. “Such a terrible frown to be gracing such a beautiful face.” His comment made her blush ten times over and her heart fluttered.
She snorted to hide her blush. “That was cheesy,” she joked but had to really laugh at his bewildered face.
“Cheesy? How can words be any substance of cheese?” he asked innocently, and that just made Wendy laugh louder. She had to grab her pillow so her dad wouldn’t hear and laughed into it, and his face just made it all worse. He waited patiently though, silently enjoying her laugh.
When Wendy had finally got over her giggling fit, she sighed and wiped away a stray tear, still smiling. “Cheesy is a term now. It means… kind of a rendition of clichéd,” she said with a shrug.
“Well, even if it is ‘cheesy,’ as you called it, it was nevertheless true. Any more questions?” he said with a lazy smile.
Wendy thought about it for a moment and again, shrugged. “Tell me about yourself. Anything and everything. Your favorite color, what you like to do, that kind of thing.” She spoke just above a whisper, like she was suddenly self-conscious again. He nodded and surprised her when he suddenly had his back to the headboard of her bed and she was leaning back against him. “If you keep doing things like that, then I’m going to throw up all over you,” she warned him once the room stopped spinning. He simply chuckled and Wendy shivered when she could feel the vibration of his chest rumble into her back.
“Let’s see. I was born on January 16th, 1437, roughly 576 years ago. You have it so much easier than then… and it’s so much cleaner now as well. I was born into a wealthy family. My parents were a Lord and Lady of that time. I won’t go into specifics, but there were many bugs and people hardly bathed. A rich family would bathe maybe twice a year while the peasants would bathe twice in their lifetime!”
Wendy’s face screwed up at the thought. ‘Gross,’ she thought with a small snicker. Vincent lightly tapped her thigh to get her to listen again.
“My favorite color was gold, but I have to say it is now a sea blue, much like your eyes.” Wendy flushed and had to settle her heart from the indirect compliment. “I had a dog growing up named Archer, and he was a basset hound. I miss the old mutt. One time, he got into the chicken coop and killed two of them by simply barking loudly! My mother was so angry while my father was too busy laughing. I had twelve brothers and sisters. Six of them died before they were a year, which was quite common back then.” He paused to kiss Wendy at the top of her head. “I was twenty-three when I died, and came back as this.”
Wendy interrupted him. “How and who turned you?” she asked, feeling her curiosity peak.
He was quiet for a moment and Wendy wondered if she overstepped her bounds until he spoke. “I was walking along the path back to my home from the market. The sun had just set so I hurried along, knowing there were bandits and thieves in the area. I was a skilled swordsman, but knew they tended to come in packs, so I would be unmatched. I heard some rustling in the bush, making me start to run. I was foolish to think I could ever outrun him.”
Wendy’s heart picked up as the story began to unfold, only knowing too well how scared he must have been.
“Suddenly he was there, right in front of me. I quickly pulled out my sword to defend myself, but he just laughed. I was confused to see it was only him when I expected a band of thieves! When he grinned, I then thought I was dealing with a demon when his fangs flashed. I remember thinking, ‘This is it, I’m going to die.’ It was terrifying yet strangely exhilarating at the same time. I wouldn’t go down without a fight however and began to swipe at him, all of which he easily deflected. I was growing tired as it looked he was growing bored. He yawned at my attempts but I used that distraction and cut his arm. It was a shallow cut, but I nicked him. He was impressed and I’ll never forget what he said. ‘Maybe you’re more than a meal after all.’ It was then he lunged and turned me. I later learned from him that it was fighting skills that impressed him. He saw potential in me, which was the reason he turned me.”
Wendy was stunned and slowly turned around to face him, only then realizing just how close they were.
“Just like that?” she whispered and had to fight the urge to look down at his lips.
He gazed at her mouth though without trepidation and leaned in. “Just like that,” he answered and pressed his lips more firmly against hers. Would she ever get used to this? The fire that curled through her veins at break-neck speeds was alarming but so exhilarating. When he kissed her, she forgot all that was the cons to this twisted relationship, whatever you wanted to call it. All she could think about was how to get closer. She let out a startled squeak against his lips when he abruptly turned them over so he was above her. They broke apart with slightly labored breathing.
“Tell me about you. I want to know everything, Firefly.”
She would never tell him but she secretly liked his nickname for her. At least, a lot better than ‘Little One.’ She was dumbfounded by the serious look in his eyes though. No one had really asked about her, so it was a little unnerving. It was hard for her to concentrate with him pressing against her so intimately, yet so casually. “Uh… my favorite color is royal purple,” she blurted and wanted to face palm at how random it was. She closed her eyes tightly, reprimanding herself. It seems compared to Vincent, she was always clumsy, even in her words.
His silky chuckle met her ears as she peeked an eye open. He was smiling down at her. “Go on,” he urged as she slipped out a nervous laugh.
“Uh, my favorite animal is a horse, and I lived in this town and house since I was born. My birthday is December twelfth, I’m seventeen years old. Uh… I only have an older brother, whom I am close to.” With that last statement, it brought back the reality that she’d have to leave her family behind. Sighing, she looked to the side and closed her eyes so tears wouldn’t escape. Vincent captured a stray one that managed.
“I wish there was a way for you to stay safe and still be in contact with them, Firefly,” he murmured. Wendy could detect the slight note of regret in his voice, making her turn back to face him. “I hate that I am the cause of your sadness.” His voice was quiet and anguished, causing her to place her hand on his cheek.
“It’s going to be a while for me to get over any of this, but if I had to leave with anyone, then I’m glad it’s you.” Her words touched him as he placed a soft gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Go to sleep, Love. We have the rest of our lives to get to know more of the little things.” His voice lulled her to sleep even though she knew she would need to be up in a few short hours for school.
“Where are you going to go in the morning?” she asked through a yawn.
She was barely awake when he answered, “Never worry for me, Love. Go to sleep.”
She shut her eyes and let sleep claim her, knowing she was safe, even if it was in a vampire’s arms.
*****
“Wendy, wake up- What in the world? Why did you cover your windows?”
Wendy woke up
with a start. The light from her ceiling fan hurt her eyes as sleep left her disoriented. “What?” she asked with a husky voice still thick from waking up. Her dad gestured to the side of her, making her look. She gasped softly to herself when she saw one of the blankets was nailed over the window, not a hint of light shining through. ‘Vincent!’ she thought with a brief scan of her room to see he wasn’t there. But she could feel him, he was close.
“I-I, uh… the light hurt my eyes. I had a headache yesterday.”
Her dad gave her a dubious look. “It was dark when we came home,” he stated as he crossed his arms.
“Uh… the moon was bright?” She thought she heard a snort but quickly dismissed it, only focusing on her father.
“Right… the moon was bright, when it was overcast. Okay, don’t tell me the truth. Get ready for school, I need to go.”
Wendy gave him a wide smile, too big of a smile that had him suspicious again, but he dismissed it and left. When her doors closed, she let out a big breath, then Vincent came out of the closet laughing. She threw a pillow at him in response. “Shut it! I’m not good at thinking when I first wake up. Plus I’m still extremely tired from lack of sleep.” She then gestured to the large, covered window. “Care to explain how you did that without waking me up?” Wendy asked but quickly got out of her bed and ran to the bathroom, leaving Vincent feeling confused.
“Firefly? Are you alright?” he asked through the door just outside her room.
“I-I needed to brush my teeth. Bad morning breath,” was her mumbled response, making Vincent want to laugh, but he held it in.
“To answer your question, and to put it lightly, you sleep like the dead.” Hearing her snort through the door, he chuckled and waited patiently for her.
“I need a shower so you better stay away!” she warned him as she started the water and took off her pajamas and glasses. Wendy took the quickest shower in her life seeing as there was a vampire waiting for her just outside the door. She growled at herself when she forgot her clothes and quickly wrapped herself up in a towel. “No peeking!” she said with clear warning. She didn’t hear a response when she opened the door. He was nowhere to be found. She all but sprinted to her room and saw he was lying on her bed with his eyes closed.
“I would leave you in peace but this is the only room that has no natural light.”
She could hear the smile in his voice, making her huff. “Fine, then I’ll leave. No good perverted vampire,” she muttered grumpily under her breath. She made him laugh as she slammed the bathroom door closed once she got her clothes.
She chose a white long-sleeved top that had a blue floral pattern on it and fit snugly, but not overly so. She matched it with a pair of dark-wash jeans. After throwing her hair up in a half-hazard bun, since her hair was still wet, she deemed herself ready for school. She was beyond irritated thanks to the lack of sleep.
“I’ll be waiting here for you when you get back. Please call out to me if anything happens. Darcy is working on getting someone in the school for you.” Vincent quickly kissed her goodbye as she walked her way to school.
Her messenger bag lightly tapped her thigh with each step she took. The cold morning air made her wish she had dried her hair better, but no matter. She was at the school within ten minutes. Jamie was there to greet her by the front doors.
“Hey, long time no see! How’s Mark?” Jamie asked, tucking a stray fiery curl behind her ear.
Wendy grunted in response. “Good,” was her only answer. She hated to be a grouch but sleep was her vice. She loved it and when she didn’t get enough, she turned into a Moody Mary.
“Wow, someone didn’t get enough sleep,” Jamie muttered and knew to stay cautious around Wendy today. It wasn’t often Wendy was like this, but when she was, Jamie knew to look out. Denise, the school ‘it’ girl, popped up in front of them, and Jamie sent a silent prayer that Wendy didn’t kill the girl.
“So like, we were wondering, like, why you never really like, talk to anyone else? Are you stupid?” she asked with a cackling sneer.
Wendy growled to herself and pushed past Denise and her ‘friends.’ When she reached the door to open it. she turned back. “Because I fucking hate you all.”
Jamie busted up laughing, only rarely heard the ‘pure’ Wendy curse. Leaving all of them behind, Wendy walked to her first period and hoped she didn’t fall asleep.
Chapter 14
Wendy
“It’s not that funny! I can’t believe I said the F word,” Wendy muttered at the end, causing Jamie to go into another round of laughter. They were both sitting by themselves in the lunch room, poking at the questionable lunch meat.
Jamie hit the table with her hand picturing the entire scene over again. “Man, I love it when you don’t get enough sleep! We should pull an all-nighter tonight so you can punch Denise in the face tomorrow!” Jamie’s ideas were always rash and not well thought out, but that’s what made her so entertaining. Wendy grumbled to herself and set her head on the table.
“Stupid Vincent, making me stay up half the night,” she said into the table, half asleep. She heard a loud screech, causing her to look up and see Jamie had the biggest grin on her face. Wendy realized she had said that a little too loud.
“You were with a guy all night?!” Jamie shouted but calmed down when she saw people staring.
Wendy’s face turned an unsavory shade of red as she ducked down further in her seat. “I didn’t!” she denied quickly. Her eyes looked around to make sure no one really heard and her eyes connected with Denise. The girl glowered at Wendy with a nasty sneer, making her turn around in her seat quickly. Now that the fifth cup of coffee had kicked in, she had more sense.
“Yeah, okay, that’s not what I heard. C’mon, you can tell me,” Jamie said as she pouted. Wendy rolled her eyes and knew if she told her anything, it would have to be severely edited. Wendy bit her lip knowing she was going to have to lie to her best friend. Somehow that hurt worse than lying to her parents. Her fingers touched the necklace around her neck for comfort.
Jamie’s eyes looked to see it and smiled. “Whoa, cool! When did you get that?” her orange-haired friend asked, leaning closer across the table to get a better look.
Wendy quickly put it under her shirt, making Jamie frown in question. “Oh, I found it in the backyard along with everything else.”
Jamie nodded. “I can’t believe you found all that stuff in your backyard! How cool is that? Especially since we were reading a story about treasure! Are you going to answer about this ‘Vincent’ character?”
Wendy racked her brain for a plausible answer. “It’s nothing! Just reading one of my books and in it was a main character named Vincent.” There, that was believable. Wendy does read a lot of books.
Jamie cocked her head to the side. “Really? Oh! It was one of those dirty books you like to read, like ones by Nora Roberts and all that!”
Wendy was now red from the roots of her hair to the soles of her feet. Yes, she liked reading those books. They were her guilty pleasure. Only Jamie knew she read those kinds of romance novels. Playing with a stray piece of hair that fell out of her bun, she nodded shyly. She couldn’t believe she resorted to admitting to reading THOSE kinds of books, just so Jamie wouldn’t find out. Wendy gasped loudly when she remembered all of her books were in her room, where Vincent was currently at.
“What?” Jamie asked, concerned.
Wendy shook her head, feeling embarrassment flood through her. “Uh… I left a couple of them out. I’m afraid my dad is going to see them.”
Jamie snorted at that. “You have nothing to worry about! You said he’s going to be at the hospital with your brother. Oh man, can you imagine his face though if he did see any of the covers?! I’d be laughing for a week!”
Wendy had to shake her head at the thought. The covers always featured a strong man holding a poor damsel in distress. Her tongue burned with wanting to just tell her best friend everything but knew that wasn’t possible.
Tears started to pool in her eyes at the thought that she can’t even really say goodbye.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong, Wendy Bird?” Jamie asked and quickly switched to sit next to her.
Wendy laughed through her nose and sniffled at the nickname her brother made up, but it stuck since she was little. Wendy shook her head and tried to play off like she was fine. “I’m fine, just Aunt Flow is visiting soon…” Wendy again wanted to slap herself. Was today just put her foot in her mouth day or what?
Jamie hissed through her teeth and nodded in sympathy. “Yeah, I had mine just last week. Being a girl sucks sometimes, huh? Let’s head off to class. I heard we got a new teacher.”
Wendy’s ears perked up at this new information. It wasn’t often this town got anyone new. “Really? Who would want to teach History in some boring town like this?” Wendy asked with a bemused look. This was a distraction she needed and welcomed.
Jamie shrugged and threw her food away before grabbing one of the many hair bands around her wrists and throwing her hair up in her usual messy bun. Jamie always had a tomboy, laid back type of look for her, but it suited her personality, even if she was more in your face. Pulling a face at the jellied meat that was left on her plate, Wendy followed suit and both were soon taking their usual spot in the back of the History class. “I wonder if the new teacher is a guy or girl?” Jamie asked out loud, but her question was soon answered once the class settled when a slightly older male stepped into the room. Wendy had to admit even to herself, he was good looking in a rugged sort of way. Wendy immediately pictured the six-foot something, tan man with a cowboy hat on and some used up pair of jeans. His lighter brown hair was falling into his dark brown eyes and even though most girls in the class probably developed an immediate crush or infatuation, for some reason, Wendy was unfazed. Her mind kept picturing Vincent.