I was proud of Christina then.
“Next, the three clubs I own will cede to Vanessa Darling.” Trevor smiled into the camera. “Vanessa, I expect these clubs to be run in the same fashion I have managed them in the past. If you have any problems with the clubs on your own, contact Abraham Maxwell to see about finding a prospective buyer.”
Vanessa sniffled, as though she were actually upset he was gone and she had three of his clubs.
“Now, I have several items in a safe. They are very old, and I would like them to return from whence they came. Dahlia, the jewels inside my safe are those that were stolen from your crown several hundred years ago. I have no more use for them. I apologize for our past conflict. I took the jewels to make your people hate you. It was that or kill you… and I couldn’t bring myself to kill you… not you… I regret our troubles in the past, but I am honored to have known you.
“Finally, there is a matter of my bank accounts. I have an account for each of the clubs that will be turned over to Vanessa, but my personal accounts shall be payable to Alice Matthews. This shall be an easy transition to Alice and… Alice, you will never go back to where I found you. Make something great of yourself.”
Oh, holy hell! He pretty much gave her everything. I looked over at her and saw her clutching her hands together. Sarah Jane had her arms around her, trying to provide some sort of comfort.
Trevor had one last message for us.
“I have no regrets for the life I lived, for the things I did during my existence, and I hope that every single one of you treat your lives in the same way.
"One last note: Chloe, if you have survived me and are in attendance to see this, remember that you are my daughter, my blood flows through you. If you have survived, then I am still immortal, in a sense… make yourself extraordinary.”
What a load of crap! Ugh.
Trevor faded away and the lights came back on. There was silence in the room except for Alice’s sobs.
Reluctantly, I pulled out of Drew’s arms and looked up at him.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He nodded and went back into door guard mode.
“Well,” Maxwell said, drawing the word out. He shuffled some paperwork. “There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be filled out. Alice, we need identification and signatures from you for the bank and title transfers. There are three homes in the United States and one in Greece.”
“I don’t want anything.”
I had sat down next to her again and put my hand on her leg.
“Alice, you have earned this. You gave him your heart and soul; you earned it with your blood. Don’t make that into nothing.”
“At least keep the house in Greece,” Sarah Jane suggested, “and the money.”
Vanessa made a choking sound. “How crass to be discussing this here. Some of us are distraught.”
I’d had it with that hag. “Shut up, Vanessa!” I flexed my hands and prepped to blow her away.
“Chloe!” Luke scolded me. “Not here.”
“Luke, you told me this would stay under control.” Maxwell stood, quick on the defense.
Vanessa also stood. “Our game is not yet over, young one.”
Dahlia stood. “Perhaps it would be beneficial to everyone if the hunters leave and the papers are signed another day.”
“No,” Alice said. She stood on shaky legs. “I’ll sign them now.”
She moved from the couch to the desk where Maxwell had the papers. “Mr. Maxwell, would you be so kind as to help me find buyers for all the homes except the home in Greece? I don’t care to live in any of his homes here.”
Maxwell smiled kindly at her. “I would be happy to do that for you, Ms. Matthews. Please, just sign each of these papers here, here, here, and here.” He marked an X everywhere she needed to sign. I felt uncomfortable with us not reading anything she signed, but we were all more than ready to leave.
Alice signed while Vanessa and I glared at each other. She knew absolutely that I would burn her beautiful brown hair right off her head if she made the slightest move toward me, or any of us, for that matter.
“There, all done.” Alice clicked the pen and set it down in front of Maxwell.
“Thank you, Ms. Matthews. I will send your information by courier and call you to let you know when the transactions are completed.”
Alice sniffled. “Thank you so much, Mr. Maxwell.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the entire group stood and made for the door. We didn’t run or anything, but it was evident that none of the parties involved were happy about being there.
On the way out, Luke shook hands with Maxwell again. “Thank you for your time.”
And then we exited the office and quickly walked to the elevators.
Back at home, Oscar sat at the kitchen table anxiously awaiting our arrival.
“What happened? How did it go?” He stood. “Alice, why are you crying?”
Luke patted Alice on the back. “Honey, why don’t you go on up and get some rest. We can explain everything to Oscar.”
She sniffled, nodded, and then headed up the stairs.
I pulled out a chair and sat down, while Drew made his way to the fridge.
Oscar looked back and forth amongst all of us and threw his hands up. “Well?”
Luke opened a bag of carrots and started to chop them up. “Well, nothing. It was procedure. Alice got pretty much everything he owned except the night clubs and some jewels.”
“What was with that anyway?” I asked. “Was Dahlia some kind of royalty?”
Luke had his back to us and continued to chop. “I’m assuming that was the case.”
I leaned on my elbows on the table. “I’m just glad that’s over.”
“Me too.” Drew set a glass of water next to me on the table and sat beside me. “I didn’t trust any of those vampires at all. I was on edge the whole time.”
I yawned. I was super tired, and it was late. I wasn’t used to staying up late because I had woken so early in the morning.
“I think I’m going to go to bed,” I announced. “Are you running with me in the morning?” I directed my question at Drew.
He took a swig of his water. “Yup. Just remember I’m up when you come down here in the morning.”
“Very funny,” I told him, pushing out my chair.
“What’s funny about that?” Oscar asked.
“Chloe punched me in the nose the other day when she came downstairs and ran into me.” He touched his nose. “Pretty good hit, too.”
“Ugh, you didn’t have to tell everyone,” I complained.
He laughed. “It doesn’t matter. We know to avoid you in the mornings.”
“Ha ha, you’re so funny,” I muttered and left the room. “Good night everyone,” I called out.
I left the guys laughing in the kitchen and went to my room where I changed into my nightclothes and fell into bed beside Alice.
It was my birthday.
Not that there were going to be any huge celebrations, but it felt good that the day I turned sixteen had finally come. With Trevor dead, I didn’t have to worry so much about being an ingredient in a vampire day-walker recipe. In less than twenty-four hours, I wouldn’t have to worry at all. It felt almost like I had been freed from some sort of prison.
I peeled back my purple comforter and tried to get out of bed as quietly as I could. I didn’t want to wake Alice, although, I was about ready to make her start running with me. It would be good for her. I knew exercise produced endorphins, and endorphins made people happy. She could use that.
Pretty soon, I was going to have to get back to my regular training. I was keeping up with the exercise and stuff, but not the butt-kicking part. I threw on my black yoga pants and a shirt with matching black hoodie. I twisted my hair into two braids and put a stocking cap on. It hadn’t snowed yet, but it was getting chilly outside.
Slowly and quietly I tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs. Thank god
I didn’t run smack into Drew. He sat on the living room floor doing stretches.
“Good morning,” I greeted him and joined him on the floor to do my own stretching.
“Morning,” he answered.
We stretched our muscles while the news played on low volume in the background. Neither of us said anything until we were outside. It was still dark, but you could see that daylight was coming.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I started off before he had a chance to get ahead of me and headed toward the trails. The leaves crunched underneath my running shoes with every step. He caught up to me, and we kept pace together, running for about twenty minutes on the trails, then down into town. We stayed on the sidewalks until Drew veered off onto another trail I’d never been up.
“Where are we going?” I called out.
He stopped and waited for me, because I’d lagged behind a little bit.
“It’s a surprise. I want to show you something.”
I shrugged. “Okay. Should we keep running, or should we walk?”
He took his hood off his head. “We could walk, if you want. It does eventually end up being kind of a hike.”
After a while, I noticed the trail sloped uphill.
“How come you won’t tell me where we’re going?” I complained.
“Quit asking. We’ll be there soon.”
“Fine.” I huffed back at him. I just wanted to know where we were going. It was a nice walk. The trees and bushes hadn’t completely died yet, and the air was crisp but not freezing. The trail continued to slope upward, but it was rockier than the lower trails. We had to make sure our footing was just right or we'd fall. It wasn’t much longer, maybe about ten minutes of rocky trails, and I heard the sound of a river.
“I hear water. I didn’t know there was a river out here. How come you never told me?”
He stopped in front of me and turned around.
“Just stop asking questions and go with it, all right?”
He took his pack off and extracted a water bottle, took a big swig and handed it to me.
I took a long drink, too. I don’t know why I hadn’t brought my own water. Then again, I didn’t know we would hike all this way. We moved on, and about twenty minutes later, Drew pushed through a particularly rough trail with tree branches that blocked the pathway. We emerged in front the most beautiful waterfall I’d ever seen. It was so tall I couldn’t even guess how high it stood. The water came over the side of the cliff and pummeled into the pool below where it churned and sprayed droplets of water everywhere.
It was utterly amazing.
Drew stood beside me, taking in the beauty of this sacred place.
“This is where the community got its name. Arcadia Falls.”
He took my hand and led me to a large rock beside the water’s edge.
“It's amazing.” I sat on the rock and pulled my knees up in front of me. “Does Arcadia mean anything?”
Drew nodded and climbed up onto the rock beside me. “Of course it does. It means a place of simple pleasure and quiet.”
“Well, this is definitely that.” I nodded in agreement.
“Also, in history, Arcadia was a part of Ancient Greece, in the Peloponnesus. This region of Greece was known for its isolation and mountainous beauty.”
I laughed and slapped at him. “Sometimes I think you know everything.”
He smiled and looked away. “Yeah, right. Believe me, it’s far from everything. There are a few things I wouldn’t mind knowing right now.”
I stared out at the waterfall. “Like what?”
My question was met with silence.
“Come on, like what? Maybe I can help.” I adjusted my hat on my head. “I know a few things.”
“Then tell me what you and I are going to do.”
That was a question I hadn’t expected. I felt blood rush into my cheeks and my whole body heated up a little bit. “Um…”
Because of my slight hesitation, he shook his head. “You don’t have to answer.”
“But…” I swallowed and decided to just go for it. Nervously, I reached out and touched his shoulder. “But I do have to answer. I’ve been waiting to talk to Gavin.”
He scoffed at the mention of Gavin.
“No wait,” I told him. “Hear me out. I’ve been waiting until Gavin got better to talk to him, because… well, I wanted to tell him that he and I should continue to be friends only. That’s it.”
There was more silence. Oh, man, I should have never said a word. I shifted, wanting to get up and run away. Drew must have sensed the fight or flight in me and put a hand on my leg.
“Don’t.”
My cheeks burned even more, and then I blurted out, “And just for the record, we never really had a relationship or anything. We just went out twice.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“And you said that you wouldn’t be second to anyone, so I didn’t want you to be second to anyone. The moment I saw you running toward me after I fell, I knew it was you. That was when my decision was made. It was even before you kissed me, not that that wasn’t a deal breaker or anything.”
Oh, my god, I was babbling like a crazy woman.
“Stop. You don’t need to explain.”
“But I do need to explain. I need you to understand that you are the one who came to rescue me. You knew what my heart wanted, not what my lips said. I need you to understand that I chose you. That I do choose you, and you are not and never will be my second choice… ever.”
Good gracious, it was time to find out what had I done.
Drew took his hand off my leg and got up off the rock. I watched in horror as he walked away from me and stood with his hands on his hips. The tears were threatening to break free. I don’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t for him to just walk away.
“Drew?”
I crawled carefully off the rock and crept toward him.
“Drew?”
Suddenly, he spun around to face me. “You waited all this time to tell me that?”
Shocked, I threw my hands out to the side. “I didn’t know you wanted to know. I thought you would have wanted me to talk to Gavin first.”
Again, he didn’t say anything. I met his eyes, though, and I saw the answer I wanted to see.
“So… are we okay?”
He moved forward a couple of steps, closing the gap between us. “I think we are more than just okay.”
He reached out and took my freezing cold hands in his and pulled me close. I closed my eyes, hoping he would kiss me again.
I was not disappointed. I felt his lips touch mine, and my body literally sizzled. My hands were no longer cold, and my cheeks were warmed by my own fire, not by embarrassment. The waterfall coursed and crashed behind us while we kissed longer than ever before.
Happy birthday to me!
Drew was the first to pull out of the kiss. He still hugged me to him.
“Do you like it here?”
I leaned my head on his chest.
“Of course, I like it here. And now, this place has a special meaning for me, too.”
“Oh, yeah, and what would that be?”
“The place you and I ended up together for real?” It was a question, directed at him. I needed confirmation we were on the same page.
“It will be that for me too, from now on,” he told me softly.
I knew I shouldn’t say anything. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I had to ask. “So, did you still want me to talk to Gavin?”
He shook his head. “Not right away. He is still recovering. Eventually, he will figure it out and you can talk to him, or we can. Whatever you want.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He laughed and pulled away. “Why in the world are you thanking me?”
“Because, you saved me, you train me, you want me for… um, your girlfriend? I just wouldn’t be who I am without you. I can thank you for that if I want to.”
&
nbsp; He puffed up his chest and gave my hand a squeeze.
“Well, you’re welcome, then.” He looked at his watch. “We had better go. Luke will be wondering why we’re so late.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but I’d rather stay here.”
“We can come back soon. That is another thing… Luke is going to bust his top when he finds out about this.”
I stopped in my tracks. “You mean, he didn’t tell you?”
Drew knitted his eyebrows together. “What do you mean? Didn’t tell me what?”
I laughed. “Oh, he already knows. And he gave me some long lecture about how I was supposed to be careful with you. You know, like a dad warning the boyfriend. Only way different than that.”
Drew burst out laughing. “He did not!”
“Oh, yes, he did. It was when I was still in the hospital.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. I don’t know what I would do without that guy.”
I took his hand again, and we walked away from the beautiful waterfall, toward the trail.
“I feel the same way.”
Back at home, we found Luke, Oscar and Alice sitting at the kitchen table eating bowls of cereal and talking about what the future held for them.
“You are both welcome to stay here as long as you need to,” Luke offered as Drew and I entered the kitchen and made for the fridge and cold water bottles.
We both cracked one open and guzzled half our water down.
“Hard work out?” Alice asked, raising her eyebrows.
I raised mine back at her but didn’t answer her sarcastic question. She directed her attention back at Luke.
“Well, I’d like to stay longer, if you’ll have me. Of course, now I can help pay rent or something. I just need to figure out exactly what I want to do.”
Luke swallowed a bite of his cereal. “Of course, that sort of decision takes time. And there is no need to help with anything but groceries.”
Oscar nodded. “I hate to admit this, because it’s not very manly, but I’m actually afraid to go home. I’m afraid there might be vampires waiting there to kill me.” He rolled his eyes. “God, that sounds so pathetic.”
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