This was not the way I wanted him to find that out.
I pulled the bloodstained sheet closer and sat with my legs crossed under me. “Yes, Em—the same Jason.”
“You knew? All this time.” She stared at me, caging the heartache behind her tear-filled eyes. “You knew who it was, and you never told me?” She looked at David then. “What happened to him? What made him hurt so bad that he’d do that?”
“Em?” Mike tried to turn her around.
“No!” She shoved him off. “You don’t know him. He’s not capable of that. He would never—”
“He did, Em.” David nodded, his voice flooding with sympathy.
“But… no. No, you got it wrong, he isn’t like that.”
“I know, Emily. Okay, I know it’s hard to understand, but he did, and that’s all there is to it,” David said.
“But, I—” She touched her cheek with the very tips of her fingers. “I can see his face so clearly still; see how he looked at me, held me. He’d never never do something as horrific as what was done to Ara.”
I felt David cringe beside me.
“He snapped.” I shook my head to myself, going a little numb as I struggled to understand the two versions I knew of this guy. “When he did that to me, Emily, it wasn’t the Jason you knew.”
“Then what did he do to him?” She stood up, pointing at David. “He must have done something, Ara, because, for Jason to go after you like that, it must have—”
“It was an unprovoked attack,” I said. “David’s not to blame.”
“How can you say that? How can you sit there, next to him, and excuse the fact that, if he wasn’t a vampire, you would never have been attacked by one? No matter who that vampire was.” She shook her head repeatedly, as if the answers to our problems swum through her all at once. “He needs to leave. He needs to go and never come back.”
“Emily, stop it, okay.”
“No! You can’t just forgive him, Ara. He let you get hurt. Don’t you see? Am I the only one that sees?”
I looked at Mike, sitting there with his arms crossed, lips thin over a tight jaw. The last time I saw him look that mad was the night I showed up drunk at his house when I was seventeen.
“It is what it is,” I said with finality, aiming that at both of them. “I love David, and you don’t have to want him here.”
“Fine,” she said through her teeth. “Then don’t ever talk to me again. You’re sick and twisted. All of you!”
Mike stood as Emily fled my room. “Ara. How could you keep this from me?”
“I didn’t keep it from you, Mike. I just couldn’t tell you.”
“How does that make any sense? How does any of this—” He paused when a shadow flashed past my door and bright white light filled the entranceway. “Emily, wait?”
She didn’t, and an internal battle raged within Mike, his steps edging between the two choices: scold his best friend, or chase after the girl he loves. He breathed out hard and bolted from the room, slamming the front door behind him.
David and I looked at each other.
“She’s just in shock. Mike will bring her back.”
“Why didn’t you stop me? You must’ve known it was going to slip out—about Jason?”
“Yes. But she needed to know.”
“Why?”
“She’s had Jason on her mind all night.”
“What? Why?”
David hesitated, then slid closer to me. “She can’t understand why I came back, but Jason never did.”
“Aw, poor Em.” I looked at my door then back at David. “Are you mad at Mike—for telling her the truth about you?”
“No.”
“Why? He broke the rules, and look what’s happened because of it.”
“Technically, Ara, we broke the rules by being careless.” He smirked at our bloody movie set. “Mike told her the truth because, in his mind, secrets nearly destroyed you. He won’t let that happen again.”
I rubbed my face, releasing all the tension with a quick huff. “I can’t believe she walked in on us.”
David laughed and, sliding one hand around my back and the other under my legs, swept me back into his arms. “Well, it could have been worse.”
“How? How can it possibly have been worse?”
“She could have seen me naked.”
I rolled my eyes, and as I looked up into David’s, caught a new glint of mischief flooding them. “What?” I asked, my cheeks turning hot with the thought of what might be behind that smile.
“I just can’t believe how beautiful you are. I’m so lucky that you love me.”
I took a shaky breath, blowing away the embarrassment of my wake-up-call. “I enjoyed last night.”
“Yeah? You didn’t last long after, though.”
“I know.” I sat up and stuck my leg out from under the sheet, rolling my thigh to look at the bite. “But look, I’m healing fast.”
“I know.” David sat up too and gently prodded my small bruise. “And your teeth, they—”
“Broke the skin.”
“How did it feel?”
“Magical.”
“Told ya vampirism isn’t all bad.” The sideways smirk he gave made me want to bite him again.
“Yeah, I kinda see what you mean now.”
“I’ve never been bitten by a human before,” he said, thoughtful. “Never been interested in that kind of sport, really.”
“Sport.”
“Yes.” He laid back. “It’s like how humans have BDSM; we have Banetryst. Vampires starve themselves for a few weeks, then allow their victims to bite and feed off them. Word has it, there’s actually a trophy for he who holds the longest record.”
“Longest record for what—letting the human feed?”
“No. Keeping it alive.”
I covered my mouth.
“I hear the record is ten minutes.”
“Is that all?”
He scoffed. “Ever survived in a desert for a few days then sat in a room with a goblet of water and a plate of ham?”
“No,” I said humbly. “But I see your point. And I still think it’s disturbing.”
He smiled at that. “It’s not for everyone.”
“Do you like it?” I asked, kind of hopeful.
“No.”
“Not even now? After we—”
“What we did can not be classed as Banetryst.” He sat up a little, his voice stern.
“It can’t?”
“No. It was an act of love. Not a test to see how strong I am.”
“Oh. So… did you enjoy what we did?”
“Yes.” He smiled, rubbing his neck. “But nobody ever told me how much it hurts.”
“Hurts?”
“Yeah.” He stopped rubbing and cupped his palm over his neck. “You may have a soft, sexy little bite, but boy does it sting.”
“So, you won’t let me do it again?”
David’s hand dropped with his smile. “No, my love. It’s not safe for me to be that hungry around you.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Uh, I kill you.”
I nearly burst out laughing at the sarcasm in his tone. “You’d be doing me a favor.”
“Stop saying things like that.”
“Why? Look at my life, David.” I motioned an open palm to the end of my bed where, minutes ago, I destroyed my two best friends. “Mike’s moved on, Emily hates me.”
“Emily doesn’t hate you, and I thought you wanted Mike to move on.”
I swallowed my own stupidity, shrugging in response. He wouldn’t understand the truth.
“So my being here changes nothing in your heart for Mike?”
“Maybe it would if you were actually back.” I folded my arms across my body to hold the sheet in place. “You’re leaving again, David. You can’t expect me to just change my heart overnight because you fly in for a few days. I love Mike. I’ve always loved him.”
“I know.” David’s soul seemed to slip
out the proverbial back door of his heart. His face actually even went a little white. “I’ve always known how you feel about him.”
“I’m sorry.” I looked away. “I know you didn’t want to hear that.”
Silence hovered between us for a while.
“But you do love me, right?” he said.
I scoffed loudly. “Of course I do. But I’m not going to give my heart to you fully just so you can snap it in two again when you leave.”
“What do you mean you’re not going to give your heart to me?”
I held back the knowing smile—the one that acknowledged my careful thinking while he slept, unaware of my thoughts. “You’re here now, but my life has to keep going either way. If Eric calls me or Mike wants to break up with Emily and take me on a date, I’m going.”
He sat forward, leaning right around to study my face. “Are you saying I don’t get exclusive rights to you?”
My smile kept trying to escape, but I made myself look serious. “Yes.”
“Ara.” David’s brow pulled at the center. “Please don’t be like that.”
“Like what, David?” I pulled my hand away as he reached for it. “I have to protect my heart. Don’t you know what will happen to me when you leave?”
“So, you’re protecting yourself by hurting me.”
“Guess I’m taking a leaf out of your book.” The spite in my tone was cringe-worthy, even for me.
“I don’t agree with this.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Ara-Rose, I will be damned if I’m going to sit here and watch you go out on a date with De la Rose, or any other man, for that matter.”
“You don’t own me. I can do whatever I want.”
He huffed. “You’re right. You can. Doesn’t mean I have to agree.”
“Then stay for the rest of my life, and I’ll be with you, and only you.”
“So, that’s what this is really about.” He nodded, folding his arms. “You’re trying to punish me into staying with you.”
I shrugged.
“It won’t work.”
I smiled conceitedly. “Then you’ll just have to watch me go on dates with De la Rose.”
“I’ll threaten him if he does.”
“Then that would make you one of those controlling types.”
He sat back against the bed-head, thinking. I could see the thoughts wash over his face through the reflection across the room. There was no way around this. He couldn’t be all noble and get the girl, unless he promised to stay with me, he knew that. “Fine. Date Eric then.”
“I will,” I said, hurt by the opposite reaction I sought.
“Fine.”
* * *
“Coffee’s nearly ready, David. You out of the shower?”
No answer.
“David?” I listened carefully, calming only once I heard the pipes humming through the wall.
With the coffee tray in hand, I stopped by the biscuit barrel and added a few choc tarts to the plate of cake. David would have no real appreciation for such deliciousness, since his dietary preferences were in those who could hold a conversation, so I added few extras, just in case he needed help to eat his share, and then headed for the lounge room.
The front door opened as I reached the hall-stand, and Mike’s shadow blocked the stream of white light from outside, shadowing the room completely again as he closed the door.
“Everything okay with Emily?” I asked.
“It’s been a long day, Ar.” He sauntered past and slumped on the couch. “Just don’t ask.”
“That good, huh?” I asked anyway, placing the tray on the coffee table.
“Uh!” he groaned aloud. “No. She’s gone to her mom’s. She doesn’t wanna see me.”
“Really? But… why? It’s not your fault.”
The way he looked at me as I sat next to the tray kind of said what he was thinking.
“I’m sorry, Mike. I shouldn’t have told her about Jason.”
“No, but you should have told me,” he said through softly clenched teeth.
“I know.” I looked down.
“How long?” He sat up a little. “When did you know it was David’s brother?”
“The moment he took me.”
“So you lied to me?” He closed himself off again, shaking his head as he rested it back against the couch. “All this time—you lied.”
“I had my own grief to deal with, Mike. I didn’t want to tell you,” I said, feeling his anger infect me. “You know, I came home to tell you last night, and—”
“Oh, how convenient.” He sat up, glaring at me. “Last night, huh?”
“Yes. That’s why I opened your door. I never, in a million years, expected to see you and Em playing nudie Twister.”
“So now it’s my fault that you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t say that, Mike. It’s just—”
“It’s just that you didn’t wanna see me happy, that’s why you chose now to destroy us all with the truth.”
“No. Mike, that’s a horrid thing to say.”
“Then what, Ara? What possessed you to confess now?”
I looked at the ground.
“Nothing, huh?” he challenged. “That’s it? You have no answer. For all your ta—”
“Because I saw him!” I yelled. “Last night.” I took a breath and closed my eyes. Mike went quiet. “I saw Jason last night.”
Mike’s hands glided along the sides of my face, holding it gently in place. “Ara, what did he want, did he—”
“He didn’t hurt me, Mike. Okay.” I jerked my chin from his grip. “He saved me.”
“Saved you?”
“Yes. I… got a little lost at Karnivale.” My shoulder’s lifted as I realized I’d need to lie to Mike to save Eric’s ass. David, hovering by my bedroom door, listened on—the silent protector in the shadows, ready to come if needed. “And found myself in a bit of danger,” I continued. “Jason brought me home. I was coming inside to tell you what he said to me when—”
“When you found me in bed with your best friend.” He looked at me for a second, then lopped his forearm across his eyes, laying back on the couch.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“So, what did he say to you?”
“He…” Hmm, what to tell Mike? “He said he was under the influence of the monster when he kidnapped me, and that he regrets what he did.”
“And you actually listened to that?” Mike’s voice rose with his straightening spine.
“No!” I shrugged back a little. “No, I told him to leave.”
“Hu!” he scoffed. “I would’ve said a lot worse than that.”
“I know you would.” I half smiled, noticing David melt back into my room from the corner of my eye, giving a gentle nod before closing my door.
“I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me, Ara.” Mike’s clasped hands rested between his knees, his forearms on his thighs. “I hate it when you keep things from me. You should’ve let me help you deal with this.”
“Well, I didn’t, so…” I shrugged.
“So what?”
“So get used to it. I’m not yours anymore.”
The flesh over his cheek pulsed. “And what’s going to happen when he goes away again?”
I knocked his arm down from its point at my room. “I don’t know. I’m not thinking that far ahead.”
“What, twenty-four-hours?”
“Stay out of it, Mike. As if you’re any different! You were kissing me two days ago, now, all of a sudden, you’re in love with Emily.”
He clicked his tongue. “It wasn’t like that, Ar.”
“Wasn’t it?” I said sarcastically.
“No. Come here.” He patted the spot next to him, and as if moved by the habits of the past, I launched off the table and he swept me into his warm, human embrace. I just wanted to steal a time machine and go back to yesterday, back before Karnivale, and stop it. Stop it all from happening.
But
that’d mean I wouldn’t have David.
“You know,” he said, “I always liked Emily, ever since I shook her at school that day. We just… we get along really well; we have more in common than even you and I do, Ara. I just… I dunno. I get her. And she gets me.”
“More than I do?”
He squeezed me a little tighter. “It’s not like with you and me, and I’ve been thinking that for too long now. I was just too stupid or maybe too scared to admit it to myself.”
“Is that so?”
“I know it’s sudden, baby. It’s sudden for me. But, when you said she’d been sulking over some guy she likes, I knew”—he smiled, scratching above his eye—“I knew it was me. I’m the only guy she’s been hanging out with.”
“How come I didn’t catch on to that?”
“You’ve had other things on your mind.” He brushed his thumb over my temple. “When you went out with Eric, I sat at the table thinking about it for ages, running it all through: Emily, liking me. I mean, she lights up my world, Ara. She’s gorgeous and funny and so bubbly—”
“So unlike me.”
“Don’t be like that, baby. You and Emily are two very different people.”
“And that’s the point, isn’t it?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. But, you know me, Ara, I’ve never gone for girls like Emily before.”
“I know. That’s why I felt safe that she’d never steal you.”
“She didn’t steal me. You didn’t want me,” he said gently. “Look, it wasn’t planned or deliberate. I just… I sat thinking for so long, thinking about you and what we had or would ever have again; thought about the kiss, the way you left with Eric. Ara, even if David hadn’t come back, there’s no way you’d come back to me. We both know that.”
“No, we don’t. No one can predict the future, Mike.”
“When it comes to you, baby girl, I can.”
“So, what, you just… you just knocked on her door and said hey let’s get it on?”
“No.”
“Then how did you end up in bed with her?”
He paused. “I kissed her. She came out wearing that emerald green sweater I love on her. I smiled, and I could tell from the way she smiled back that it was true—that the guy she’d been sulking over was me. So I walked over, grabbed her face and kissed her.”
“And the rest is history.” I sighed.
Dark Secrets Box Set Page 92