Bloods Gem

by Gloria Conway

  I tugging on her arm, to go. “It was nice seeing you Darla” Chris said, seeing I was impatient.

  She smiled. “Hey why don’t you come back with us and watch a movie? Wouldn’t that be nice Faith?” I glared and she ignored it. before I had time to make up an excuse he agreed to come.

  I yelled at her on the way home. “Calm down Faith. You need to hang out with other people. You know you can’t cut others out of your life just because your in love. It’s just not fair.”

  “You know what’s not fair, is not asking me first, before inviting my ex-boyfriend over, who is probably still in love with me and who my current boyfriend currently hates!”

  “Oh… Come on now. Daniel couldn’t hate anyone.” I laughed at her comment. She had no clue how much Daniel wanted to rip Chris apart. I kept my mouth shut and decided to just go with it. There was nothing more I could say at this point.

  Watching the movie I picked out, mom turned in early to leave me and Chris alone. I was already upset at her. What did she think? I would just to be all over him like nothing happened? There was no way she was going to try to force him on me. I knew it wouldn’t work. Romantic feelings for him were gone. When the movie ended, I walked him outside. We talked about our next project in English and I agreed to be his partner as long as I didn’t have to do all the work this time.

  “Well I better get to bed”

  “Yeah, but Faith… text me if you ever need to talk or anything. Or, call. I don’t mind.”

  “Thanks. You too,” I said smiling at him. After he left I thought about what he said about staying in contact. Being around him wasn’t as bad as I imagined. It felt good talking to him as a friend. I thought this little get together was probably what I needed. I needed friends again and I knew if I ever needed Chris, he would always be there for me.

  I laid down and checked my phone to see if Daniel had text. That’s weird… I thought. He was usually blowing up my phone constantly, but he probably knew I needed space.

  I sat my phone back down and picked up my book. Started reading and my phone buzzed. A text from Chris.

  Hey thanks for tonight. I was feeling down and you helped me come out of my funk. Thank you for letting me be your friend again. I will be here forever if you need me.

  I text back.“You too Chris. You know how to make me feel better and you're welcome. We need to do it more often!

  Yes! We do… uh wanna ditch tomorrow?!

  Ha-ha. Well doesn’t sound too bad actually. What ya wanna do?

  We can go to our old spot or just chill and watch movies at my house if you wanna?

  Lets have breakfast in the morning and watch movies all day. Sound fun? HELL yea!

  He picked me up the next morning. I told Mom our plans and she was seemed happy about it kissing my head telling me to have fun. Hopping in his truck, the smell of his same cologne overwhelmed me. “Damn, you bathe in that cologne or something?” I asked.

  He laughed. “Nah it’s the air freshener remember?”

  “Oh I forgot!” I said smiling. We went to a diner in Siloam Springs, called Back Forty. They had awesome breakfast. We ate quickly and chatted about Kate and Mike. He told me Mike was going to propose on the anniversary of their first date. “That’s so sweet,” I said smiling. “Yeah, I planned how I would do it when you got back,But it was too late…”

  “You planned?” I was shocked.

  “Yeah. I bought the ring and everything. No biggy. That's the past.”

  I couldn’t believe he was going to ask me to marry him when I got back. I didn't think we were on that level at the time. I was flattered and sad at the same time. I knew how bad I hurt him if he was that involved. I would have rejected his proposal anyway.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled under my breath.

  He put his hand on mine, “Don’t be… you’re happy. That’s all that matters. And it’s all I’ve ever wanted.” I smiled and shook my head. “What?” he asked. “I just don’t see why you’re so nice to me after all I’ve done to you. Why would you want the best for me when I was so selfish?” “When you love someone, that’s what you do. You have to let them go if it’s what they want. I can’t force you to love me and I knew you never would.” “Thank you for being so…. Understanding,” I said.

  “No. Thank you for being you.”

  I laughed. I knew I would always have a good friend in him, for as long as I needed him and was grateful for that.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  “Yeah let’s get out of this joint,” he said standing.

  He paid the ticket and we set off toward home. After we picked up the movies, we decided to just go back to my place.

  We watched movies all day. Mom called and I told her Chris and I were sitting at the house. She told me not to wait up, that she was going on a date and might be late. I told her to be 'safe', she laughed and hung up. I told Chris about it and he laughed his ass off. Looking at my phone to see the time, “SHIT!” I said, texting Daniel to tell him a story so he wouldn’t come looking for me.

  “What?” Chris asked.

  “Well I think Daniel was supposed to pick me up for school today. I just text him telling him I was sick.

  “Ah,” he said unamused.

  “So, what do you want me to cook you for dinner?” I asked, smiling at him.

  “Really? You’re going to cook for me?”

  “Yeah. why not?”

  He shrugged, “What’s your specialty?” he asked.

  “I can cook anything. What are you in the mood for?”

  “Hmm… How about some Chinese food? Can you cook that?”

  “Yep. Let’s go to the store and get the stuff.”

  We went to the local grocery store. I bought some chicken and vegetables and some rice. Back at the house, he unloaded the groceries. It felt good having him around like this. It was actually fun. I showed him how to cook chicken and rice with steamed veggies. It was nice teaching someone something for a change. I was used to being instructed by Daniel instead of me doing the instructing. It made me feel useful again.

  He played rock music on the radio as we cooked and we foolishly danced around.

  After dinner we went outside to enjoy the evening. Sitting on the porch, I decided to mention the argument Chris and I had about London.

  "I have to ask you, and sorry to bring this up again but are you sure that day you weren't going to hit me?"

  "Faith, I've told you already, I would never physically harm you. You should know me by now. I'm not that type of person. I promise."

  I told him about my bad dreams and he put his arm around me trying to comfort me. My stomach knotted up and soon after I was in pain. The pain I get when Daniel was close. I held my stomach and he asked me what was wrong. I told him it was nothing and we continued to talk.

  Daniel sent me a text, saying have fun with Chris.

  Upset that he was spying on me again, I text back, Chris looked worried. “It’s fine. Just having some issues,” I told him.

  He got up and told me he better go. I knew he probably knew something was up from my expression. I told him I’d call later and he took off.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Daniel

  I dropped her off at school wishing I was going to class with her. I hate leaving her alone like this, but I was sure she was safe and she would want a little breathing room. I felt as if I was suffocating her at times. Maybe I was pushing her into the living situation with me too soon, even though it was for the best of intentions.

  Earlier she was distant. I figured it was because of the bad dreams she was having. But the vibes I picked up from her were different. It was almost as if she was repulsed by me. I could have been reading her wrong, but the thought hurt.

  She turned her cheek to me, when I tried kissing her and hurried from the car when I dropped her off. I hoped later I would be able to convince her to go to London, but I’m unsure the timing is right. I sat inside our empty home thinking all day. I was anxious to g
o help find my brother but didn’t want to leave Faith unprotected. Different ideas ran through my mind but none seemed right. There was an option I considered that she might agree with. Persuading Celeste to come here and watching over Faith at the house when I left for London.

  I waited for her in the schools parking lot on Friday, but she never came out. I went inside to look for her. As I looked in the empty classrooms my phone beeped. I opened it and there was a text from her.

  Daniel sorry I left school early today. I was feeling sick and had my mom pick me up. I’m okay, so don’t worry. I’m going to go to bed early. I don’t feel so good. Ill call you tomorrow.

  I knew something was up. She doesn’t normally do this sort of thing. I wondered why she didn't want to be around me. I figured I would give her time to come around and not ask anything of her just yet.

  Okay Love, I hope you feel better. If you need anything please let me know. I love you… Sweet dreams Love.

  It was hard being away from her. But I took this time we had apart to hunt, something to waste time and help sate my thirst. I went a few miles from our house where it was mainly a deer population scattered about. After taking one down I was done. I decided to sleep outside that night. I needed to get away from everything. Closing my eyes I meditated listening to nature and let myself go into spirit form.

  I wanted to run by her house before I went to talk to my sister in London. I approached the side of the house and heard her talking. She was talking with someone. I drew closer to listen and heard a man’s voice. Approaching from around the corner, I saw two people sitting on the porch. As I drew nearer, I saw it was Chris with his arm around Faith. I was hurt and began shouting asking her he was here after I beat him down. I knew she couldn’t hear me, so decided to just listen to what they were talking about.

  “I’m confused Chris and I keep having these nightmares that wont go away. Sometimes wish I was never born!”

  He was comforting her. “I know how you feel. There have been many times I wanted to off myself, but I had my friends and family there to help. Faith, I'll always be here for you. No matter what happens between us. I hope you know it was never my intention to hurt you. I would never hurt you like that and I cant believe you thought I would.”

  “He’s lying Faith! Don’t listen to this bullshit!” I yelled.

  “I hope your right Chris. I don’t want to think you’re capable of something like that and I like having you around. You make me feel better.” I couldn’t listen to this anymore. She took what I told her and tossed it out the window. Like I’d been wrong the whole time about this schmuck. If she needed her time, fine! I’d give it to her. I ran back to the house to pack my stuff and go home to help with the search.

  Chris can keep her company since that’s who she wanted to be around. I was so angry I wanted to go and kill him where he stood. I was also angry that she wouldn’t let me in the way she did with Chris. She was letting him take my place, and comfort her and I wasn’t going to interfere with the choice she made.

  Making arrangements by phone I called Celeste telling her I was on my way home. She asked about Faith and I told her she’d be fine. Adrian was not in this area, and I would check in to make sure she was safe in spirit form.

  Celeste didn’t like the idea, but there was nothing she could say to stop me. I had my mind made up and I didn’t want to stay there any longer watching Faith and him “hang out”. If I did, I would end up hurting him badly and enjoy every minute.

  I text Faith telling her my decision to leave.

  Faith, sorry to bother you and Chris, but I wanted to let you know I wont be around for awhile. I have to help my family look for my brother. I'll be back in a few months, just do me a favor, if anything happens and you need me call. I'll check up on you to make sure you're safe, but I think some distance is needed. On both our parts. Talk soon, bye Faith.

  She responded…

  You’re spying on me again? Is this why you’re leaving? Look, I just needed some time but that doesn’t mean I’m choosing Chris over you. I just needed a friend and he’s been apologizing to me a lot lately. Yes, I forgave him and I believe what he’s telling me. I don’t want you to leave because of this.

  Too late… Call if you need something. Have fun.

  She continued to text but I wasn’t in the mood to get into this with her. I turned my phone off and waited for my plane to arrive.

  I was glad to be home because it was easier to think with a clear head. I found Celeste with other vampires and ill-suens in the south wing. They had a map up and the spots my father and others had already looked were marked with tacks. I entered as they were discussing places Adrian might be.

  They were tracking the gang they thought Adrian was hanging with. I stepped in. “They’re not in Africa. They wouldn’t go into territory already claimed.”

  I Pointed to a place on the map I thought they might be. “I would check central Asia to tell you the truth. I know that area well and knowing the majority of that area hasn’t been claimed, that would be the most logical choice for them to settle.”

  They looked at me listening to what I had to say.

  “You’ve got a good point Daniel,” Nick said.

  “How about we gather up two groups of four and spread out among these areas,” I said, pointing to the map. “We’ll know quickly if they’ve passed through the area, and just track their scent from that point.”

  My sister moved closer putting her hand on my shoulder. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “What I came here to do. I’m here to help find him.” My voice was hard. She griped at me mentally, but I tuned her out and got my group together.

  Nick, Ryan, Sabrina, and Cesar tracked with me. They were all vampires who’ve had a lot of training in not only tracking but fighting their kind. They knew a lot of weak points and strategy involved with these types of gangs. We were part of a “state watch”. Enforcing a law that stated whoever trespassed into our territory would have to leave or surrender to us unless they wanted a fight.

  Usually trespassers just turned around, but on occasion we had a good fight on our hands. My adrenaline kicked in as we begun the search. We flew part of the way, and conducted some on foot, when we wanted to hunt.

  We made sure to fly around areas already claimed. Flying was effortless, and it was calming to me. The wind hitting my face at such intense speeds.

  We were also faster in the air than on the ground. And we knew that our scent would fade quicker if we flew.

  We’d finally made it to the location I suggested. We found Adrian’s scent, as we were passing a location on foot. There were at least ten others with him. “There is no way we could do this on our own. We need the other group to join us,” I said. I dropped into spirit form as they guarded my lifeless body. Flying to the West where the other group was tracking. They had another ill-suen with them named Jeremiah so I got his attention. He dropped and began speaking with me.

  “Jeremiah, we’ve found Adrian's scent but there’s at least ten others with him. We're going to need you guys to help us with this.”

  “Alright Dan, but we also located some on this side too. There’s are about six or seven heading north.”

  “As long as they're headed a different way we wont have any problems. Our sights are on this group, but it wont be an easy task. If we could get Adrian to come willingly, it would make our jobs easier.” He agreed, and leaped back to his body. I told him to follow my scent all the way back to where the group was.

  We set up a strategy as we saw where Adrian and his gang were occupying. I was going to try to reason with him first before the others jumped in. Jeremiah stayed back in spirit form so I could communicate with him if things went bad, then he could leap back and tell the others. I knew my brother would be able to sense me and hear my thoughts as I approached. I would have him follow me away from the others so we could talk.

  I walked around one of the tents they had set up and got close enough s
o he could hear me.

  Adrian, it’s me Dan. Listen, I don’t want any trouble. I would just like to talk with you alone in spirit form. I'll tell you where to go so we can be alone.

  Alright Dan, I'll let you say what you came to say, than you and father and everyone else need to leave me be. Deal?

  Sounds fair.

  I directed him five miles away to the east to a location where no one would interfere. He let his body drop and was in front of me glaring.

  What do you want?

  Everyone’s worried about you. It's not like you to just disappear like this, and these vampires you're with are human hunters. Why are you doing this? It’s killing Mom, Dude. Just come home.

  I’ve been listening to everyone else for how long now Daniel? I’m told what to do, what to eat ,what to say and what not to say. I want out. I want my own life, on my own terms. I’m sick of not being good enough for anyone! Aside from mother I don’t consider any of you family anymore. You're nothing more than enemies now. I want nothing to do with you or them. Can you see that? You have managed to track me, but for what?

  Well, because you threatened one of our kind. That’s why. Threats aren’t treated lightly, especially when it could interfere with the process.

  Screw the process and screw you! You mean nothing to me. Yeah, I said I wanted you dead. So what? Do you understand how easily I could kill you or your precious gem if I wanted? And you’ve always took father's attention away. You’ve always got what you wanted. You always obeyed and were a good little boy and I was the defiant one. Nothing I did was ever good enough in his eyes and the mess ups you’ve done were overlooked. Yeah father knew about the people you killed, but never interfered! How is this fair? My first kill, he locked me away. Second kill, I was beaten and held down… And so on. You were always the prize child and I will always hate you for it!