Rock n Roll Promises (YAE) (Rock n Roll Paraphantasy Series)

by Ambear Shellea

  She felt his warm hand upon her face when he reached over and rubbed her forehead. Her head felt light and dizzy, and she slowly closed her eyes as he moved in close and kissed her. Heat building once more, it webbed its way through her, just under the skin, leaving it sensitive to the slightest touch. She placed one hand on his face and the other on his back as she let him lower her onto the couch.

  “Let’s Get It On” By Marvin Gaye boomed from the speakers. She couldn’t help but laugh.

  How fitting…and corny.

  She felt him pull away, and she knew she would have to explain when she saw the confused look upon his face.

  “It’s not you, I swear. Listen to what’s playing.”

  She watched his face. His eyes closed and he shook his head slightly and laughed a bit as it sank in. Her heart dropped just a little at the prospect of ruining the evening. She followed his movements and sat up, placing her feet on the floor.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “No, you didn’t hurt my feelings. You just surprised me, that’s all. In a good way, I guess. I have never met anyone like you.”

  “What do you mean, in a good way?”

  “Most women think that song plays when they are ready to…. Well, they think it’s romantic or a sign for marriage and family, but you laughed.”

  “I’m just different, I guess. I’m twenty-one years old and not ready to do the wife and family thing. I just thought given what we were doing when that song played…I just thought it was a bit funny.”

  “I agree. It is almost like someone was standing in the room pointing out the obvious.”

  “Yes, exactly. Now playing before…maybe while you were dancing or something…”

  “How about a drink while we are up for air?”

  “Far out, sounds great.”

  She looked over at him as he pulled a small tin from his pocket.

  “Shall we get this party going?” ****

  She lay on her back, body sprawled on the couch, as she enjoyed the sensation. Her skin felt sensitive and the fine hairs along her body seemed to sway back and forth. The slightest touch sent tingling vibrations racing through her. Her body twitched as he lightly ran a feather along her skin, stimulating all of her. Body heat rising and her excitement almost through the roof, she grabbed him and pulled him down to her.

  Moans vibrated her throat as his teeth gently scraped down her neck. His hands, smooth and caressing, ran the length of her chest and down.

  With her frame wrapped tight in his grip, he carried her through the house to a bedroom. She bounced a few times when he dropped her onto the bed. Weight on her elbows, she teasingly crawled backward and giggled. He followed along and stalked her across the large bed. With her back against the headboard, she stopped.

  Trapped.

  She hurriedly scrambled under the covers. Playful laughter escaped her and filled the room.

  The blankets flew off in an instant and landed somewhere on the floor. Her back against the wall she covered herself in mock horror.

  He started at her toes and snaked his way up her body. She crumpled onto the bed in a frenzied heap. Her neck in the grip of his mouth, he sucked at the skin, and her neck burned as when sank his fangs. Chapter 6

  Her head lolled from side to side and her eyes fluttered as she tried to awaken. Slowly she entered back into reality. Her senses returned one by one. She opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings as she lay on a bed in a darkened room. Small amounts of light penetrated the area around the curtains.

  Who is yelling?

  Her head a little fuzzy, she wondered about the conversation she overheard in the other room. Listening intently, she tried to make sense of it.

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I can’t believe you let this happen. She doesn’t deserve this, and you know it. I warned you about her before. I told you to leave her alone.”

  “I know! I should have listened, but she just fascinates me.”

  “They all fascinate you!”

  Is that jack from the bar Sebastian is arguing with? Are they talking about me? Oh no, he must have told him about last night.

  She threw the covers back and softly slid off the bed.

  There has to be a light in here somewhere.

  She crept across the carpet, arms out, zombie style, in search of the closest wall and a light switch. Her fingers ran along the wall until she felt a smooth surface under her hand.

  Aha!

  As she flipped the switch, light erupted throughout the room and temporarily blinded her. With her arm shielding her eyes, she peeked passed her eyelids and searched for her clothes. She hazily noticed the dark walls and the dark furniture, but it was the scene on the bed that sent her into panic mode. The cream satin sheets were splashed with crimson.

  What happened in here? Oh my God, whose blood is that?

  Her heart starring in a drum line, rapidly beat in her chest as she frantically searched herself for injuries. She noted her body ached, but she found nothing. There were no cuts, no broken bones, and certainly no holes or gashes to equal that amount of blood loss. Her head popped up, she crossed the room to the vanity and stared into the mirror. Her hair was matted to her head, her eyes were still puffy from sleep, and her skin looked a bit pale.

  She found it a second later. Her heart and her breath stuck in her throat, choking the life from her, as fear held her in a tight grip. She leaned closer to her reflection to inspect the blood on her neck and right shoulder. Her hands pulled and tugged at the skin, but no marks showed. She broke out in a cold sweat.

  No evidence of a cause.

  She licked her fingers and ran it across the stain upon her neck. It wiped clean away showing perfect undamaged skin. She was afraid and confused. Her mind went into a tailspin as she tried to figure it out.

  She recounted her evening, searching for a clue. Piece by piece, the picture formed.

  The bar…Sebastian…limo…drinks…bedroom… no it can’t be. There has to be another explanation.

  Her eyes darted around the room searching for her dress to no avail. She ran to the closet and yanked it open. Rummaging through the clothes, she found a long, white button-up shirt. She snatched it off the hanger. As she worked the buttons and covered her nudity, she listened for the voices outside the door.

  They are still there and still arguing. I don’t want to get in the middle of what they are yelling about, but I have to know what happened. Obviously that’s not my blood all over the bed, but it belongs to someone. I have heard of people doing and seeing some weird things, but this…this is just crazy.

  Running on pure adrenaline, she walked to the door and prepared herself. She took three deep breaths and tried to keep her breathing even. Unsure of its cause, be it fear, the rush of adrenaline, or both, her body shook and she couldn’t stop it. Her eyes closed and she tried to focus on the need for answers. She failed.

  With her back to the wall, she slid to the floor. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her head hung as she cried. The flood gates opened and tears streamed down her face as she shook from her uncontrollable sobs. She couldn’t get a firm grip on her emotions. The blood on the bed scared her, but the thought of whom it belonged to and how it got there terrified her.

  What did we do? He seemed so nice. Who else joined us in that bed? Why is there so little blood on me and so much on the sheets? Was I just there and not really a part of it? Did something happen while I slept?

  She jumped and crawled away when Sebastian flung open the door. Her back hit the dresser and she had nowhere else to go. His towering frame advanced. She felt her heart burst to life wildly in her neck. Her eyes searched the room, frantically looking for an escape route.

  Cornered.

  His reaction caught her attention and confusion struck her mind. He dropped to his knee and his face wore a look of concern and regret. One hand s
lowly stretched out as one would do with a strange animal to let it know no harm was meant.

  “Anna, it’s OK, I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “What happened? Whose blood is on my neck and dried in my hair?”

  Her head jerked to the side as someone else burst into the room. Jack looked ticked off when he looked at the man on the floor but concerned and hurt when his eyes met hers. She glanced back to Sebastian. His attention turned to the man behind him. Survival instincts pushed her into high gear. She jumped to her feet as fast as a bullet and ran out the bedroom door, taking them both by surprise. She spied the front door, two feet away.

  I hope I never see him again.

  Hope had reached the surface only to be shattered like glass as Sebastian sped past her and blocked the door. She stopped her advance and glared at him. Her chest heaved and her body shook even more.

  Netted again. Dang, I’m starting to feel like a caged animal here.

  She smelled Jack standing near the fountain behind her. Sebastian spoke first.

  “Anna, let me explain, please. I promise you are not in danger.”

  “Don’t lie to the poor girl.”

  She watched his eyes glance from her to Jack and back before he continued.

  “Fine! You are not in danger from me.”

  “Now she’s not.”

  “Jack, will you shut up? You are not helping. Anna, please, have a seat on the couch and I will explain everything. Would you like some coffee?”

  In a huff, she stormed to the sofa and dropped down. “Looks like I don’t have a choice. If I say yes to the coffee, are you going to spike it with anything?”

  “Only French Vanilla, unless you want something stronger.”

  “No, that’s fine.” She pulled the small pillow in her lap.

  “Jack, for heaven’s sake, sit down! She is nervous enough.”

  “And why is that? She’s scared to death and that’s your fault.”

  She turned her head his direction “Jack, I would feel better if you weren’t hovering like a ghost over there.”

  She looked back at Sebastian as he stomped to the kitchenette in a huff of his own. Scared and nervous, she watched them both suspiciously. Her eyes rolled to Jack as he got close and sat in the chair across from her. Tension crawled across her skin as if ants on parade. Paranoia seemed to stalk her as the unknown stretched on. Jack’s voice, soft and tender, grabbed her attention.

  “Are you OK? I mean physically? I know you are terrified.”

  “I didn’t find any injuries, if that’s what you mean.”

  Sebastian rounded the couch with three mugs of coffee and sat next to her. She grabbed the hot mug when he offered it to her. She cautiously scooted to the end of the couch, away from Sebastian. She noticed the hurt expression on his face when she did, but acted as if she hadn’t seen it.

  I don’t want to be that close to him right now.

  She worked at sipping the coffee as he spoke.

  “First, let me say I’m very sorry for what I did. I never meant for it to happen. It wasn’t planned.”

  She looked him in the eye and spoke harshly. “Just tell me what happened so I can go home.”

  Jack’s quick movement caught her attention and she glanced in his direction. He buried his face in his hands and shook his head. A second later, he ran his hands down his face, and threw his hair, clearly disturbed.

  Oh God, this is bad.

  Her attention shot back to Sebastian. He watched his friend a moment and then looked back at her.

  “Unfortunately, you can never go back there. I have stolen that life from you.”

  She was confused and angry.

  “What do you mean, stolen that life from me?”

  “Exactly what it sounds like. For you that life is over. In my excitement, I gave you a new life.”

  “And against her will!”

  “You are confusing me. Please just get on with it.”

  Her mind and body seemed frozen in place. Anticipation, and not the good kind, overrode her fear. She wanted answers. As her heart pounded in her chest sweat beads covered her skin and nausea tightened her stomach.

  “I have turned you, Anna.”

  “Turn…ed?” Flashes of images from books and old movies played behind her opened eyes. They mixed, twisted, and jumbled up into a mass confusion she couldn’t work through. There was too much information, and yet at the same time, not enough. She looked at him, furrowing her brow.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I bit you. You turned. Anna, you are a vampire.”

  Her breath caught, her eyes bulged, and her heart seemed to race right out of her chest. Confusion at his words mixed with the truth and realization.

  This can’t be. That’s horror movie stuff. Shaking her head no, her chest heaved and she felt as if she might pass out due to her

  hyperventilating.

  No! No! No! This is some kind of sick joke.

  She continued to mumble incoherently to herself. “Not true…not real…not me…”

  Her head bobbed back and forth forcefully when Sebastian grabbed her and tried to shake some sense into her. She glared at him and pulled away as she refocused her eyes. Completely numb, she moved on auto- pilot.

  “Don’t touch me.” She tried to pull away.

  “Listen to me, I know you don’t want to believe it, but what I’m telling you is real and is the truth. Look.”

  She watched as he opened his mouth and flashed his pearly white fangs. She gasped and cowered farther into the corner of the couch. He retracted his teeth. All the muscles in her body trembled as the truth sank in. Her eyes glossed over and she sat and stared at nothing, lost in her own troubled mind.

  “I think she is in shock, Sebastian.”

  She fought the soft touch and tender voice begging her to rejoin reality. She felt safer locked in her subconscious; no one could touch her there, or so she thought. She gulped air repeatedly, coming back to the living, when cold water crashed across her face splashing her back into reality. Shaking her head, she rubbed the liquid from her eyes and sprang at the man in front of her. Quicker than a heartbeat, her clawed hands wrapped around his throat, and she pinned him to the furniture. Her ragged breathing and rapid heartbeat seemed to fuel her inner beast. She felt saliva drip from her fangs as a snarl ripped from her throat. Intent on the kill, she stopped when he did the last thing she expected. He pulled her close and kissed her. She yanked her head back and slashed out at him. She succeeded at breaking his hold, but not gracefully. She fell backward and landed on her butt, flat on the floor. Taking a deep breath, her senses returned and she glared at him.

  “I would like to say I’m sorry for my reaction, but you deserved it.”

  “Are you going to listen now? There is a lot you need to know.”

  “Whatever! Start talking.” She got off the floor and resumed her spot on the sofa. “What did I do with my coffee?”

  “Well, as you can see, I am wearing most of it, but the mug survived the attack.”

  Her eyes darted to Jack. His shirt, pants, and jacket were splattered with coffee. The mug dangled slightly from his thumb.

  “I’m so sorry. Are you hurt? I know that coffee was hot.”

  “No need to worry about me. Watching you attack him was worth every splash of pain.”

  She picked up the mug, slammed it on the table and scowled at Sebastian. “You were saying?”

  “You can’t go back to your old life. Today starts your new life, and until I find out what kind of vampire you are, you can’t leave this apartment without me. It is—“

  “What exactly do you mean about what kind of vampire? A vampire is a vampire, and I’m so not staying here with you.”

  “That is wrong. Not all vampires are the same.” “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. Do I have vampire strength?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will I heal f
rom my injuries?”

  “Well, sort of.”

  “It’s either yes or no.”

  “You are different. The fang marks healed, but it took some time. I can heal instantly, as can most vampires, but you go at a slower rate.”

  “How long did it take for the fang marks to heal?”

  “Two hours, and that is extremely slow for vampires, but hey, it’s way faster than humans.”

  “What happened to my body?”

  “What do you mean? You are perfect. Not a scratch. For some reason, you even retained most of your skin color. You are only a tad bit lighter than you were before I turned you.”

  “What I mean is…where is my model perfect body?” She stood and pointed out body parts to emphasize her point as she spoke. “I am still a size eight, and just slightly toned, just as I was yesterday.”

  “That, I am afraid, is all fairy tale stuff. Whatever you looked like before you were turned is what you will look like after you are turned with the exception of skin tone, which varies, but mainly just very pale, and to clarify, you were out for three days.”

  “Three days? Is that normal?”

  “For the most part, yes.”

  “May I butt in, please? Anna, you are beautiful. You don’t need, as you say, a model perfect body. The one you have is wonderfully alluring.”

  She smiled at the man across from her. The truth seemed to sparkle in his eyes. “Thank you, Jack.” She turned back to Sebastian. “Am I fast?”

  “I think the incident a few moments ago proved that.”

  “So, I basically look like the average Jane, but I have the benefits of a vampire, such as strength, speed and faster than human healing.”

  “I would not say anything about you is average, but I see your point, so yes. To the naked eye you could pass as human.”

  Maybe this won’t be so bad after all. I mean…

  Her heart stopped, her lungs refused her air, and her eyes filled with tears. Horror overwhelmed her as the realization slapped her hard, at what she would really become: A killer.

  “You have to lock me up.” She paced back and forth, shaking. “I can’t…I won’t kill people. I refuse to drink blood, it is gross and the thought of taking someone’s life or turning them into this is