“Okay.” Vanora relented to her sister’s wishes. The emotional storm was dying down inside her mind and her body was exhausted.
Alisha made a big deal out of tucking her in and kissing her goodnight. “I love you, Snow Pea. Tomorrow we’ll do something fun. You’re more important to me than anyone in the world. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Vanora whispered.
After the door shut behind her sister, Vanora turned on the lamp and slid the drawer of her bed stand open. Inside was a piece of paper that Vanora unfolded. It had taken her weeks to finally be satisfied with the image. After failing to capture a picture of Armando, she had finally drawn him. Studying sketch, she was pleased with how much she had captured his likeness. He really was handsome, and he was always so nice to her. Only when she was around him did she feel even remotely attractive.
With a sigh, she tucked it under her pillow, turned off the light, and closed her eyes to sleep.
February 2007
“So no more weekend dates, huh?” Sin scratched his underarm and stretched out his long, muscular body.
“Not for a while,” Alisha said, sighing. “Vanora is feeling ignored lately. She’s feeling the wrath of her teenage hormones.” Lounging nude on the bed in Sin’s art studio, she played with the edges of her blond hair.
“Being a teenager sucks balls. She probably needs to get laid.”
“Sin!”
“She’s a hot sixteen year old.”
“And about to turn seventeen.”
“Well, she’ll be technically legal in the state of Texas. She should be boning boys left and right. She’s a little hottie.”
Alisha rolled her eyes. “Perv.”
Sin grinned, his hands tucked behind his head. He had finally grown out his dreads and dyed his blond hair different shades of blue and green. Alisha thought he looked like a merman. “C’mon. You don’t think she’s not doing anything when she goes out with Rhonda? Rhonda has wild girl stamped all over her.”
Frowning, Alisha stared at a stray split end and made a mental note to get her hair trimmed. “Vanora doesn’t get asked out by guys. And the only one to like her is apparently stupid.”
“All men are stupid when it comes to women.” Sin rolled over and nudged her with his broad shoulder. “You honestly don’t think she’s having a crazy time behind your back?”
“God, I wish!” With an exasperated sigh, Alisha toppled onto her side and stroked his chin lightly. “Honestly, I hate to admit it, but I think her albinism really does hold her back. I’ve always stressed to her that her condition has no bearing on her as a person, but even I notice the weird looks she gets. I hear the shitty things people say to her.”
“Eh, I think she’s pretty. But then again, I think she resembles her older, hotter sister.”
Alisha smiled. “Flatterer.”
Sin gathered her up in his long, arms, his tattoos shifting over his hard muscles. Resting against the hardness of his chest, Alisha felt safe and warm. Sin always made her feel alive and human.
“I love you,” Sin whispered, kissing her lips.
“Love you,” she answered.
Snuggling her, Sin gently stroked her cheek, his blue eyes staring into hers. “I want to talk to you about something important.”
“That sounds…scary.”
With a slight shrug and a smile, he said, “Maybe. Depends on how you take it.”
“Okay.” Alisha eyed him warily.
“Let me talk and just listen. Don’t interrupt until I’m done. I’ve been practicing this for days and I’m nervous.”
The sincerity in his gaze and voice made Alisha even more curious and anxious about what he was about to say to her. “I’m listening.”
Taking a deep breath, Sin slowly exhaled. “Okay, we’ve been together for a while now. And it’s good. Really good. You’ve kept me in Houston for so long it kinda boggles my mind. I have serious wanderlust. I hate being in any place longer than a year max. But here I am! Because of you.”
That drew a smile out of Alisha, and she nestled into her pillow to listen to him ramble on.
“I know when we first got together you had some…qualms.” Sin hesitated, shifting onto his hip and resting his head on his hand so he could gaze down at her. With some obvious trepidation, he plunged on. “The whole thing about your brother Roman was a ruse. I know that now. I found out Roman’s dead a while back. I thought it was weird how Vanora never mentioned him and would avoid answering my questions about him. So I did a little investigating and found out how he died.”
Alisha tensed, her stomach clenching. What did he know?
“At first I couldn’t figure out why you would lie to me about your older brother not liking me until I realized it was your safety line. Your way out if you didn’t like me.”
Alisha started to open her mouth, but then quickly shut it.
Sin gave her a somewhat wistful smile before flopping back on his pillows. “I also know there is something wrong with you physically. I’m going to guess it’s something to do with thyroid since your skin is always so cool. And I also suspect you’re bulimic. I do hear you throwing up after you eat.” Sin rubbed his face vigorously, drew in a deep breath, and kept talking. “But I don’t care about any of it. All I know is that you make me so damn happy. I feel energized when I’m with you. My art is fucking amazing. I’m crazily in love with you and I know if you would just open up to me, we can handle whatever you’re dealing with.” Rolling over, Sin cupped her face with one hand. “I want us to be together. Really together. You and me, living together, none of this leaving right before dawn shit. I want to wake up with you at my side.”
“Sin,” Alisha breathed, her throat tight and mind unable to fashion any sort of response out of her muddled, terrified thoughts.
“I got a call from a friend in LA. He’s refurbishing this old warehouse into apartments and it has great light. He says he can hook me up with a studio. I think we should both pack it up and head out there. You can get out into the sunshine and get a tan. We can start off a new life.”
“I can’t,” Alisha whispered.
“Look, I know you’re worried about Vanora. But she’s almost seventeen! She’s nearly an adult. You’ve been telling me for the last year that your uncle and aunt want her to move to Austin. Let her do that. Let her go be with her cousins and hang out in a town that’s made for young people. You’ve been putting your life on hold for your sister and, honestly, Alisha, I think she’s doing the same for you. It’ll be good for both of you.”
Alisha closed her eyes, her heart breaking into a million pieces. Sin’s kisses covered her closed lids, her cheeks and her lips.
“C’mon, Alisha. Let go. Embrace life. Come with me to L.A.”
Opening her eyes, Alisha gently brushed her fingertips over his lips. A crazy piece of her wanted to say yes. It was as if a part of her was utterly insane and wanted to believe that all he said was possible. Yet, the growing, gnawing hunger inside her was the truth of the situation.
“I know you love me,” Sin said, grinning. “Admit it. You want to go with me.”
“More than anything,” she confessed.
“Then we’ll do it! We’ll move in June.”
Sitting up, she felt vulnerable in her nudity. The pleasant soreness of their lovemaking made her sigh.
Sin’s fingers were warm against her back as he slowly drew them up and down the length of her spin. Tangling them in her hair, he drew her into his arms, his lips soft and sensuous against hers.
Tears in her eyes, Alisha kissed him back, ignoring the growing hollow feeling inside of her.
Roman slouched further on the sofa, his brow furrowed, his hand tapping the armrest. He was watching the Astros on the DVR and he was annoyed by how the game was turning out. He was tempted to fast forward, or check the internet to see what the final score had been, but he only sank deeper into the leather sofa and grumbled.
Clad in his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt,
he looked nothing like the leader the local vampires virtually worshipped, but he didn’t appear exactly human either. His dark hair was mussed from him constantly running his hands through it as the Astros marched toward defeat. On the table was a wine glass that was a mixture of red wine and pig’s blood, a far departure from the beer and snack food he had once enjoyed. Since it was the weekend, he was determined to relax and enjoy the silence of the house. While Alisha had been out with Sin, he’d spent time with Vanora playing video games and watching cheesy horror movies. Now his youngest sister was asleep and he was growing increasingly concerned by his other sister’s absence.
It was an hour until dawn.
Sipping his wine, he sighed, cradling it against his lips.
The sound of the side door opening and closing brought his frayed nerves relief and he tilted his head so he could see over the back of the sofa. Alisha strode down the hallway, dragging her feet. Her boots left scuff marks that he knew would bring down the ire of Miss Robbins.
“You’re late,” he said.
Alisha tossed her purse onto the coffee table and collapsed onto the sofa with a loud sigh. “Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“No.” Shucking off her boots, she tucked her bare feet onto the leather cushions and stared over her knees at him.
“What happened?” Roman immediately paused the game and leaned toward her.
Grabbing his drink, Alisha swallowed it in one gulp. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she stared at the bottom of the glass. “Sin wants me to move to L.A. with him and start a life together.”
“I see.” Roman wasn’t exactly sure what the strange sound in her voice meant. He knew there was no way that Alisha could leave with Sin, but he wondered if she realized it.
“By the way, he thinks you’re dead and that I was pretending you didn’t like him so I could give myself an out of the relationship. Also, he’s pretty sure I have a thyroid issue and that I’m bulimic. But all that doesn’t matter because he loves me.”
Lifting his thick brows, Roman said, “He knows I’m dead?”
“Yep. So you should feel really relieved that I didn’t blow your cover.” Alisha’s voice rose, becoming increasingly strident. “So, Sin has no fuckin’ clue I’m a vampire who has to fight the urge to bite his luscious meaty neck every time I’m around him!”
Roman shifted on the sofa to take his sister’s hands. “Alisha, you know you can’t go with him.”
“I know!” Tears that Roman hadn’t realized were on the verge of spilling rolled along the curve of his sister’s cheeks. “I know that!”
“Alisha…”
“I broke up with him!” Alisha sobbed. “I broke up with him!”
Roman closed his eyes, unable to see the pain in hers. “I’m so sorry.”
“I love him, Roman. I do!”
“I know.”
“You might hate him, but I love him and I can’t be with him.”
To Roman’s surprise, his sister curled up beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. Gently, he embraced her, trying to comfort her. Their relationship was difficult. Not only were they siblings, but their age difference also imbued their relationship with a father/daughter dynamic. It had been a long time since his sister needed him a fatherly role, but it was obvious she did now.
“Alisha, I am sorry. It hurts me to know you’re in pain,” he said in a tender tone.
Sobbing, his sister pressed her hand to her lips.
“If I could find a way to spare you from this, I would.”
“I know! I know!” Alisha wailed. “I want to be mad at you because you told me this would happen, but I can’t be, you know, because you were right. It was stupid of me to get involved with a mortal.”
Roman sighed, not answering, his hand gently rubbing her arm.
“A part of me was dying to run off with him. I felt a little crazy. It was like a piece of my brain was still mortal and I could even imagine it all working out wonderfully. And then there was the other part of my brain that told me I was getting hungry and that Sin would be a great meal!” Alisha wiped at her face with the cuff of her long-sleeved t-shirt. “I was such a moron to think I could have a real life.”
“Alisha, don’t say that.”
“What hope is there, Roman? I mean, really?”
The question bothered Roman. It was one he had asked himself when he had made the choice to not contact Norma after his resurrection. Even though he was now surrounded by vampires, there was a part of him that yearned for love. He would do anything for his sisters and he had sacrificed a lot to raise both of them instead of establishing a family of his own. Now that he was faced with immortality, he yearned to connect with someone. He couldn’t fault Alisha for desiring the same.
“There’s hope because we’re not alone,” Roman said at last. “There are others like us and maybe one day we will both find someone among our own kind.”
Alisha sniffled loudly.
“Which is probably what you don’t want to hear.”
“Not really,” Alisha admitted. “If this hadn’t happened to us, he would have been my forever, Roman.”
Gently brushing her hair with his fingers, Roman sighed. “I know. I felt the same way about Norma.”
“And I had this insane idea, for just an instant, that I should turn him into what I am. But I can’t risk it. I know how much he loves his life. I used to love the way I could smell the sun on him after he’d been working all day on his artwork out on his patio.” She gestured toward the wine glass stained with the remains of the wine-blood mix. “I would never wish this on anyone.”
“You’re not a selfish person,” Roman agreed. “You have a giving heart. You always have.”
“Sometimes it’s so hard living this way. The hunger…the madness…it’s always there in the back of my head wanting out.”
“I know, Alisha.” Roman wished he could soothe her broken heart, but knew he couldn’t. A lecture lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it down. She didn’t need his advice on how to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart and focus on her career. She didn’t need him to tell her that she should concentrate on being a surrogate mother to Vanora during the last year of her childhood. He had learned long ago that his natural inclination to solve his sisters’ problems was not appreciated. It was best to just hold them and listen to their woes. Later, he could stealthily help them out without bringing down their ire.
“If I didn’t have you and Snow Pea,” Alisha said, “I would walk into the sun. You know that, right? I couldn’t do this alone. You’re what keeps me grounded and feeling safe. I’m just like the rest of your fan club.”
That brought a slow grin to Roman’s lips. “Does that mean you’ll listen to your dear older brother?”
Alisha snorted, her sobbing and laughter working against each other. “When it suits me.”
Roman wiped her tears away carefully with the edge of his shirt. With her blond hair in messy waves around her face and her eyes swollen, she looked quite pathetic. Frozen eternally at twenty-two, she still had a softness to her face that sometimes made her look like the annoying little sister he had used to pick on without mercy.
“Alisha, I’m here for you. I will always be here for you. I promise it.”
Rubbing her nose, Alisha nodded. “I know, Roman. As much as I sometimes resent your bossiness, in the end I know you’re the best big brother a girl could want.”
“We’ll make it through this. I promise.”
Alisha curled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m just going to miss him so much.”
“I know, Alisha,” Roman whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I know.”
March 2007
The banging on the door did not relent no matter how long he ignored the noise. Finally, Armando abandoned his desk to find Carlotta on his doorstep garbed in a short, sassy black and red outfit. It reminded him of a Flamenco dress.
“I’m wo
rking on my new novel,” he said shortly. “Lose yourself.”
Carlotta laughed and shoved the disheveled writer aside. “It is only three in the morning. The sun won’t be up for such a long time.” Singing to herself in Spanish, she sashayed across the floor toward Armando’s computer.
“I don’t think you want to--”
She bent over to peer at the screen. “A book about South America.” Carlotta curled her lip in disgust. “Why do you always waste yourself writing about the bastard children of Spain?”
“I’m writing about the Spanish colonization of South America and comparing its influence to that of other countries. People of South and Central America are just as diverse in their bloodlines as Americans,” Armando responded wearily. Taking hold of her arm, he pulled her away from his computer. He didn’t want her fouling up his hard work.
“Americans are the bastard children of the entire world. So what?” Carlotta responded. “Why don’t you write about the gypsies? My great people the gitanos!”
Armando smirked in response as he moved her away from his computer. “You know when I was mortal, the gitanos were considered trash.”
Carlotta’s face darkened with anger. “You high-brow Spanish aristocratic pig, whose genes are so inbred you’re lucky your genitals aren’t growing out of your forehead, how dare you attempt to put down my great family!”
“My genitals are in the right place, as you well know,” Armando responded with a sarcastic smile.
Carlotta yanked her arm out of his grasp and danced away from him. She purposely kicked off her high heels in his direction. Armando caught them and tossed them over his shoulder.
“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood,” Carlotta asserted
“You are?”
Carlotta picked up a vase and hurled it across the room at him. “Yes!”
Armando ducked. The vase exploded against the wall. He glanced over at the fragments, then at her. “Please forgive me for misreading my dear lady’s mood.”
Carlotta scoffed at him and began to yank hairpins from her chignon.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Armando asked as he wandered into his kitchen.
In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete First Season: Episodes 1-5 Page 17