by Lillian Grey
“What if I didn’t care?”
“I’d care.”
“I can’t leave you of my own free will, Vanessa. You will have to tell me to go before I will.”
“Please don’t say that, I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.”
“Stay with me like this for however long you can.”
We sat there as the wind blew and I snuggled closer to him.
“It’s cold, you should go inside.”
"Vampire blood, remember? It feels rather warm. This is probably the last chance I will have to fall asleep in your arms for a while."
"Isn’t this the only time?" he asked.
"No, the second time I saw you, I might have been dying but your touch and your face were the last things I saw before I drifted off that night. It made everything easier."
We just lay there until I fell asleep somehow. I didn’t know if keeping Alik like this was the right choice, but I didn’t have to hurt him this way, at least I told myself that.
I woke up in my room with my mom calling my name from down the stairs to ‘Hurry up’. After all, Alik was supposed to be here soon to take me to pick up Sam. I got dressed quickly and went down to the waffles my mom had made stacked high on a plate. I grabbed a fork from the drawer and rewashed it; stupid enhanced taste buds had made eating horrible at times. I had gotten through two waffles and a little bacon before I heard a car stopping outside, but it wasn’t the normal sound of his car that I had grown accustomed to. Had he bought a new one? I put my food down and went to the door and opened it; Alik was sitting in a shiny white convertible car, then he was next to me.
"Do you like it?" he asked behind me, taking my hand and slipping the key into it.
"You’re not giving me that, are you?"
"No, of course not. I’ve spent a while tuning that car; no other like it exists in the world. You can drive to Sam's, although if you want a car, we can talk. Maybe something British?"
"No, I don’t need some expensive car. Is that a vampire thing: wanting expensive and fast cars?"
"You know, now that you mention it, maybe because my mother has a collection of classic super cars."
"Am I supposed to know what those are?" I asked like he had just spoken another language.
"You’re right, I forgot who I was talking to, sorry." he said mockingly.
"Oh, shut up," I said as I hit his arm.
I walked back into the kitchen with the key dangling from my finger as Alik followed behind me . My mom’s face always lit up when she saw me with him, and today was no different.
"Good morning, Mrs. Stanton."
"Good morning, Alik dear; would you like some breakfast?" she offered with a warm smile. She was always trying to feed him, although she didn’t know that he didn’t consider waffles breakfast.
"No thank you; I ate just before I came." I wondered if that was a lie.
"Mom, I’m going to go pick Sam up now."
"Okay, do you need my keys?" she asked, reaching for a set of keys on the wall.
"No, I’m going to take Alik's car." She gave him a worried look.
"I hope your insurance premium is paid up, dear."
"I double-checked it this morning," he replied with a smirk and they both laughed.
"Okay, enough humor at my expense," I said, pushing Alik out of the kitchen. He walked me to the car and opened the door for me. "Behave yourself, and don’t find yourself alone with my mom for too long; it’s for your own good."
"I think I can handle two humans."
"Behave," I said as I glared at him.
"I promise. Like I said, I’ve eaten already," he said, flashing his teeth in a wider smile. I started the car and it roared to life. "Oh, a quick word of warning, this car is a bit powerful so it requires a light touch," he informed me as he stood back. I placed my foot on the gas pedal and the car leapt forward, spinning its tires as I flew down the street. I could hear him laughing a block away. Amazingly, I made it to Sam's house in this monster car without crashing it and when she came out, she screamed.
"Hey!" I shouted, waving from the driver’s seat.
"This is Alik's, isn’t it?" she asked, nearly jumping up and down.
"What are you so excited about? Your brother has a convertible and you’ve been in one before."
"He has an ugly old Celica, but this is a Aston Martin DB9 Convertible!"
"Seriously?!" I was shocked, all I knew about cars came from Sam's constant babbling about them, and she mentioned this one once or twice.
"He didn’t tell you?"
"No wonder it took me ten minutes to stop the tires from spinning." She laughed. "Are your parents ready?"
"Yeah, they are in the garage now; everything is packed away," she told me as she hopped over the door and into the passenger seat. We sat there for about ten minutes as Sam ranted about the figures and numbers on the car until the garage door opened. Her parents followed us back to my house where Alik and my dad were pulling a rope tight on the back hatch to my dad’s car.
"You let her drive that?" he asked Alik while I was still half a block away.
"Yeah, I thought she would look good in it."
"Brave man," he said, clapping Alik on the shoulder with a grin as he went to get mom.
Alik walked over as we pulled up to the curb and Sam got out and hugged him. Her parents pulled in behind me, getting out of the car.
"So you’re the elusive Alik," Sam's father Hector started, walking over to shake his hand.
He was a short, but strong man. He had given Sam her bright brown eyes. His shirt sleeves were rolled up around his thick arms covered in what he called “manly hair”. Sam was glad she didn’t get that as well. Sam’s mother was basically an older Sam; she was beautiful and walked with elegance that nearly rivaled Lilith.
"You must be Mr. Castillo; nice to meet you."
"Call me Hector, It’s good to finally meet you as well. This yours?" he asked, pointing at the car.
"Yeah."
"Nice choice; you must do well."
“Dear, you shouldn’t ask that,” Sam’s mother rebuked.
"It’s okay, Mrs. Castillo,” Alik said, lightly shaking the hand she held out. “You could say that I do fairly well."
"Oh dear, please call me Elen," said Sam's mother.
“Little Ness over there got lucky finding you,” laughed Hector.
“Oh, we aren’t…” Alik started.
“Yeah, sure you aren’t,” said Hector with a wink, cutting him off. “She will come around,” he whispered. “She may not be with you, but seeing how you look at her, you are with her.”
Elen came over to stand with Sam and me while Alik and Sam’s father talked about cars with Sam slowly drifting over to them. What is with that family and cars, I thought.
“Give either of them something shiny with four wheels and they have to discuss it,” Elen pointed out, next to me.
“I don’t know how you stand it.”
“Years of practice blocking it out. Looks like I might need to give you a few tips.”
“Yeah, a few years of car talk and I will lose it.”
“So you’re thinking about a future with this boy?” she asked slyly.
“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way,” I didn't know why I was getting embarrassed.
“Dear, I can see he has thought way ahead; you shouldn’t pass up on someone like him. He’s gorgeous, too. If only I was a few years younger…” she trailed off with a smile.
“You have a way like my mother to ruin the thoughtfulness in your statements at times,” I said.
“I’m just saying, dear. Sam may not go after him, but I hold no such loyalties.” She smiled
“You’re married!”
“I can’t want a nice pool boy on the side? Just be careful no one else takes him from you.”
She walked over to her husband as my father came down the walkway.
"Everyone ready?" asked my
dad as my mom locked the front door.
"Yeah Joe; we’re all set," Hector said, clapping Alik’s shoulder.
I held out the key to Alik when he hopped into the back seat of the car. "To Ithaca, driver," he said, looking at me, the picture of ease as he was stretched over the two seats. I glared back at him.
"I’m not driving this thing all the way to Ithaca."
"I'll do it then,” Sam offered, holding out her hand while I gave her the key.
"Well, at least we will make it there before the parents now," he teased.
My dad had now backed out of the driveway and we followed him first to the gas station, then onto the freeway. It was right after rush hour and the freeway was clear, but my dad refused to go over fifty five.
"You know, if you hit that little button there on the Sat Nav, I programmed the route to Cornell into it," Alik said.
Sam pushed the little button and a woman’s voice spoke: "Keep southwest on the highway for the next 70 miles." Sam smiled, signaled, and shot off past my dad with the wind rushing through our hair.
We got to Cornell well ahead of our parents and everyone turned to watch us as we parked the car in the dorm parking lot and got out. Sam and I went to check in with the RA's outside the dorm and got our keys, but our parents still hadn’t gotten here. We walked around and had lunch in a Burger King that was off campus. Our order number had been called and Sam went to get the food.
"Has it changed since you were last here?"
"I never told you I went to this college," he said, looking shocked.
"I could tell you were remembering something here when you were walking."
"I forget that you can read me like a book. It does look the same; I even considered coming back."
"You could have done that?"
"Would you have liked that?"
"No, you sticking around would ruin any dating opportunities," I joked.
"Yeah, you around all the time would ruin the dining opportunities."
"Oh ha ha."
Sam got back with the food and just as we were finishing, my phone rang. Somehow Alik got away with not sipping the soda and still making it disappear. My dad told me they had just arrived outside of the dorms and were waiting for us, so we finished up and got back to the dorms and in a relatively short time, everything was moved in and set up. Tomorrow was the opening ceremony and our parents were going to spend the night in a nearby hotel to watch, but Alik would be heading back to the city. He managed to get me alone for a moment even when surrounded by five other people.
"I have something to ask you," he said.
"What?"
"Right after your first semester ends, on December 31st, there is a gathering; the Elders and all vampire of power will be there. Will you come with me?"
"You want to take me to another vampire party?"
"Yeah, it’s something like that. I’d really like you to go with me. My mother has expressed something along the same lines as well. If I’ve read her overwhelming hints accurately, that is."
"Where will it be at?"
"Tanzania, Africa. It’s near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro."
"Are you serious?" I was shocked.
"Very."
"What’s the party for?"
"It’s more of a ritual; the Elders believe that Aaliyah's prison is beneath Kilimanjaro and every year, they make a trip to it on December 31st. It translates to the day Aaliyah was betrayed by Lucifer on the modern calendar. There will be other humans there as well."
"Other humans?"
"A diplomat or two, some political figures, and some businessmen: the pets of some vampire."
"Am I going to be your pet?"
"No, you will be my date. Kind of like taking your cousin to the prom." He smiled.
"Alright, I will get my passport from my mom when I get back."
"Thank you," he said in a low voice, as we had slowly been getting closer together unconsciously. I found my lips against his, I’m not sure who kissed who but I didn’t care. I told myself that I wasn’t going to let this happen; I’m not supposed to get attached to him like this. Although, I also told myself that I didn’t want to become a vampire as well, but I had found myself considering it an option after school ended. We broke apart and he looked into my eyes. "Sorry," he apologized.
"Don’t be, I didn’t stop you."
"I will behave myself from now on, I promise. Do you still have your phone?" he asked and I pulled the crystal square out of my pocket.
"I never go anywhere without it."
"Call me when you want to see me and I will be here."
"I will."
"I’m going to say goodbye to everyone. Will you walk me to the car?"
"Yeah."
We found everyone and Alik said his goodbyes and we walked out to the parking lot where a group of kids were standing around his car. He got in and lowered the roof and gave me one more look before starting the engine. "Remember, call me and I will be here." A moment later, he was speeding down the street. I looked down at the phone Lilith had given me and had to stop myself from calling him back.
Vanessa Stanton
Chapter 23.0
I always had a problem falling asleep in a bed other than my own so I ended up needing Alik more often than I would have liked in the first few weeks. On my call, he would be here in under an hour to let me fall asleep and wake up in his arms without Sam ever knowing he had come. I didn’t seem able to leave the newfound comfort Alik seemed to create in me. Our talks allowed me to tell myself that this was harmless, that he wished to be with me this way. With some effort, I slowly began to call him less and less, till I made it a full week without him about two months into the semester. Without Alik here every night, I began to let my new life at school take over.
I thought back to that speech Jenny the valedictorian gave, about our new beginnings after high school and thought maybe the teachers who wrote those speeches were right in some ways. I could feel the start of a new life here in this place, but they said "leaving for college was the start", so was that leaving home? Or walking out the doors of the school for the last time as a student? When I walked out of those doors in that gown, it was free reign from that point on for anything to walk into my life and for me to seize it if I desired. Alik had walked into my life, was I going to let him slip away? It took a long conversation with myself not to call him that moment, and I drowned myself in thoughts of my classes.
My design studio professor assigned a group project the next day. We were to develop a small, secluded section of land to a very open and flowing home for a family with two with children, and that was the day I met Phil formally. Phil was a very nice guy with bold ideas on new age design; he was very passionate about his work. He might even have seemed a little overbearing to anyone outside of the Architecture major. He had long black hair and green eyes with tanned skin. His smile would make you smile back even when you didn’t feel like it. When the professor finished handing out the project he immediately came over to me to see if I would work with him I'm assuming because in our first assignment he really took a liking to my work. We had to do quick sketches on a place for teens to hang out, he seemed the most intent during my presentation and gave the most comments and asked the most questions.
"It's Vanessa, right?" he asked me, walking over as I pulled my computer from my bag.
"Yeah, and you are..." I tried not to blush as he reached a hand out. I totally forgot his name.
"Phil, I’ve been watching your work. I know we are only on our third project, but I really admire what you do."
"Thank you."
"How about we get a cup of coffee and work out a few ideas for this family."
"Is this your way of asking me to be your partner or on a date?"
"A little of both, I suppose," he smiled sheepishly.
"I'd like that."
I put my things back in my bag and we left heading to a starbucks just off campus. He bought my drink and I found a seat out
of the way and he brought everything over.
“So if we are going to be partners maybe I could get to know you a little better?”
“What would you want to know?”
“Whats your favorite color?” I laughed when he asked that, “Is there I joke I’m not getting?”