Bloodstone Heart

by T. Lynne Tolles

  "Eventually I was released and lived with my mother's sister's family until I went to UC Santa Cruz to get a degree in Art. I've not been back since leaving college and they've not called or tried to contact me since I left. Guess I spooked them too much with my stint in the psych ward. Guess they thought I'd get up one night and kill them all like Michael Myers in Halloween. They were happy to see me leave."

  "Wow. Here I was moaning and groaning about my life and you have no one. You must think I'm an ass."

  "Not at all, Josh. It's not a competition. When you touched me that first night, I knew we had a lot in common. I saw the isolation you had surrounded yourself in to keep out the voices, but I didn't want to say anything, because that's the kind of thing that sends people running from me."

  "I wouldn't have run from you, Lanie."

  "You don't know that. No one can ever say how they would react until faced with the situation head on."

  "Maybe, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have run. You are the only one I find any peace with."

  "What do you mean?"

  "You're like a buffer to all the voices. When I’m with you I feel like I am encased in a bubble and the outside world is not wreaking havoc with my mind. I'm comfortable with you like I've never been with anyone else, including my parents. Everything about you is comforting to me; your eyes, your smile, your art, and even your apartment. I guess that's why I fell asleep there. I hadn't really slept in a week and twenty minutes with you and I'm passed out like a hibernating grizzly bear."

  "That's awful sweet of you to say, but . . ."

  "But nothing. I'm not saying this to make you feel better; I'm saying this because it's the absolute truth. There's nothing about you that makes me want to run away. In fact I can't really even explain how glad I am you are here, on the run with me. I feel bad about drawing you in, but I'm glad just the same. I'm pretty sure I'd be dead by now if it weren't for you."

  "Please don't say that, I couldn't stand the thought of you being dead. We're not going to let that happen. We'll figure a way out of this, somehow. But I'm glad you know about my ...condition.”

  "I also wanted to tell you that while you were packing I touched the back door knob. The glass was broken and I figure that is how the man got into your house."

  "And, were you able to get anything from it?"

  "Not much. He has a great ability to control his mind and he cloaks it well. He is looking for something, the same something that the dead vampire was looking for. I got the sense that the item had been stolen from him or that he strongly felt it was his. He is definitely a vampire and the words black orchid jumped out at me. Does that mean anything to you?"

  "No. I haven't a clue."

  "Hmmm. I guess we will figure it out. So you are okay with my ability?"

  "I'm more than okay with it. You're a really good friend for helping me like you have and I appreciate everything you've done."

  “A friend...good...I'm, I guess...that's great," she said and smiled at him, but something told Josh he’d said something wrong, although he wasn't sure what. "So Josh, since I don't have any clothes and I'm beat, do you think I could borrow a t-shirt or something to sleep in?"

  "Yeah, no problem. I promise tomorrow morning we'll get you anything you need. In the meantime, you're welcome to use my toothbrush."

  "No, that's okay. That's pretty personal, but if I could have some toothpaste, though, that would be great."

  "Sure.” He went over to the duffle bag and pulled out a clean flannel shirt and a beat up tube of toothpaste that looked like it had been squeezed to death. “Sorry about the toothpaste. I left my groceries at your place and toothpaste was among the items."

  "No problem. Thanks for everything, Josh. You've been a good friend to me too." She smiled sweetly at him as she took the items and retreated to the bathroom. After about five minutes, she came back out looking incredibly sexy. Josh was astonished to find her looking so incredible in his crummy old shirt, but she did. The shirttails came down almost to her knees and the sleeves were rolled up to her forearms. Her hair hung loosely all around her angelic face and her heavenly blue eyes sparkled in the lamplight. He'd never seen anything more beautiful as she turned away from him and set her clothes down on the chair.

  "Do you have a preference of sides?" she asked.

  "A preference of sides?"

  "Which side of the bed do you prefer?”

  "Oh! I guess I never thought about it. Any side is fine."

  "Okay then, I guess I'll take this side." She pulled the bedspread off and got the extra blanket that was in the closet and put it on the bed. While she did this, Josh went in the bathroom to brush his teeth. He noticed a small pair of white cotton panties drying on the towel rack. Dear Lord, she doesn't have any panties on under my shirt. How am I ever going to get to sleep tonight? he thought.

  When he came back into the room, the only light on was the one lamp on his side of the bed. He went to the door and made sure it was locked and came back to the bed. He stood there, his back to her, and took off his shirt, then turned halfway towards her and said, "I usually sleep in my boxers, is that all right with you? Otherwise I could..."

  "Of course it's all right. Geez, Josh. Get comfortable."

  "Yeah, okay." He unbuttoned his jeans and let them drop to the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed taking his shoes off and slipping the pants the rest of the way off. Thankfully his back was to her as he was a bit excited and was a little embarrassed by the evidence. He was able to slip under the covers without her noticing. He turned off the light and lay on his back in the pitch darkness with his eyes wide open. It wasn't that he wasn't tired, he was, he just couldn't get the sexy mental image out of his head of her coming out of the bathroom in his shirt looking so beautiful, and then finding her panties in the bathroom. It would be a while before he could relax enough to sleep.

  He couldn't see her in the darkness of the room, but by the direction of her voice he knew she was turned facing him when she said, "Goodnight, Josh. Sweet dreams." She ran the back of her gloved hand lovingly along what now was a full out beard.

  "You too, Lanie."

  Chapter 6

  Josh woke early that morning while Melanie slept deeply. He watched her sleep for a long while. Her face in the dim light of the room was beautiful and serene. He wanted so badly to touch her, no, hold her, but he couldn't. He longed, almost painfully, to stroke her face, to touch her perfect lips, to kiss her and never let her out of his arms, but he was terrified she'd reject him and he couldn't handle that, especially that. Her rejection would mortally wound him, more so than any pain a vampire could inflict upon him.

  It became too painful to look at her any more, so he quietly got out of bed, grabbed some clothes from his bag, and took a very long shower. Standing there in the shower, with the hot water pounding on his neck and back, he thought about how much had changed in such a short time.

  These feelings of longing for Lanie were so new that the sensation was raw. It was like an open wound, sensitive to touch and pressure. Sure, he had been with other women, but not like her. He never wanted to protect the others, or yearned for the titillation of their gentle touch. Lanie was different. He couldn't even picture himself without her near him anymore, with her gentle comforting ways and soothing voice. He didn't know what to do. All these confusing thoughts and feelings, not to mention the danger they were in, made everything a mess in his head.

  He dried himself off, got dressed, grabbed his leather jacket and the giant hunk of wood with the room key, and quietly slipped out of the room. He thought maybe the cool fresh air of the morning would clear his head or make sense of the jumble of feelings that attacked him from all sides. Maybe this would be an opportune time to stop by the drug store and get some things for her. Like old times, he put his iPod on full blast and ear buds in and headed down the block to the drugstore.

  Slipping into his old ways, he ignored everything around him and pushed the world away. Like a pai
r of old jeans that fit exactly the way you expected them to, this was comfortable. But Lanie was amazingly comfortable too. A totally different kind of comfortable, like being a normal person. He'd always thought that's what he wanted, to be a normal guy, with nobody else’s thoughts running through his mind. He had always thought he wanted a normal life with a beautiful woman and maybe a family of his own one day. Now he wasn't sure what he wanted.

  He hadn't realized how scared he was until just then. This would be a totally different life, nothing like he was used to. The leap of faith to initiate it, to expose himself and his vulnerabilities to another person with the possibility of being rejected, that scared him more than anything.

  Lanie had been a great friend to help him with this situation, but it didn't mean she had any feelings for him. How arrogant of him to think that he even had a chance with her. They'd really only known each other for a few days. He was probably getting all worked up about things when there wasn't anything to worry about. Normally that would have made him feel better, but somehow it only made his chest hurt and confused him more.

  He was at the store now and went up and down the aisles realizing he really didn't know what she needed. What if she needs some girl stuff? I don't know what she would want or need. He walked down the feminine products aisle. It was overwhelming. There were tampons and pads and from there they had sizes. There were even some with wings. What the heck are wings? There was light, super light, medium, overnight, super, heavy, scented, unscented. Geez, how could a woman decide? Next to the pads were a gazillion kind of condoms, lotions, and jellies. Dear God, he thought and blushed as he exited the aisle for something a little less embarrassing.

  Toothbrushes and toothpaste, that I can handle – he thought. Aw geez. There were soft through hard bristle brushes, bent brushes, straight brushes, small through large headed brushes and at least six different colors to choose from of each kind. Not to mention, there were about a million different kinds of floss and toothpastes. Next to the toothpastes were the deodorants. There too, were a million different choices. How do women do it? I should have brought her. This was a stupid idea. He grabbed a straight toothbrush, small head, with medium hardness. He grabbed some basic Crest toothpaste, normal mint flavored, and Lady Speed Stick in a flowery scent he thought Lanie might like. He figured if he was wrong, they could go later and get the right things, but this would at least get her by. He also grabbed a hair brush and comb and headed for the register before he was bombarded with any more choices.

  When he got back to room number six he found Melanie was up, showered, and waiting for him with a bright smile. He melted. All the confusion of his earlier thoughts faded away and he couldn't help but smile back.

  "Is everything okay, Josh? You snuck out of here pretty early."

  "Did I wake you? I'm sorry."

  "I heard you leave. I figured you might need some alone time. You've been stuck with me for quite a while now and you're pretty used to being alone. I suppose that if we were dating, now would have been the time that you would have left me sleeping in the bed alone while you went home."

  It was true, that's what he usually did. Once the girl fell asleep, he'd slink out grabbing his clothes and head home and may or may not call again. It seemed incredibly cold and callous when she said it, but he'd never really thought about how that might make the girl feel.

  "I guess it's a good thing we're not dating, huh?" Melanie said. Somehow she seemed to be on the verge of tears, but she smiled at him. He didn't know what to say. She had nailed it right on the head. Instead of saying anything, he handed her the bag of items he’d picked up for her.

  Melanie took the bag from him and looked inside. "Thanks, Josh. That was very sweet."

  "If I got the wrong things we can certainly go and get the right ones later when we get closer to Santa Cruz."

  "Not at all. It's perfect. I think I will use my new toothbrush right now. It's even my favorite color, blue. Don't want to scare anybody with my breath." She stood up just as he sat down on the bed, turned towards him with the bag in hand, and leaned down and kissed him on his bearded cheek. "I missed you," she said, and then continued to the bathroom.

  She missed me? I was only gone an hour. Even as he said this to himself, he realized he had missed her too and he wished he had turned his head to meet her kiss so that he could have felt her lips on his. He felt like he was moving in slow motion, one step behind what he should be doing.

  She finished in the bathroom and said, "That feels a hundred times better. Thanks again. Are you hungry or did you already get something while you were out?"

  "No, I haven't eaten."

  "Do you want your wife to go get her ailing husband breakfast?"

  "No, we can both go. I'm fine."

  "Well, if you need to turn your iPod on, don't hesitate. I understand."

  Josh held the door open for her as she put her jacket on and they walked across the parking lot and into the tiny diner.

  There weren’t quite as many people in the diner as there had been the previous evening and that made Josh sigh with relief. A young pretty waitress was working and she came to their booth with menus and water as soon as they sat down. Josh smiled at her as she asked if he would like some coffee. "Yes, please," he paused looking at her name badge and then continued, "Judith."

  "You can call me Judy." She poured him a cup of coffee and walked away as if Melanie wasn't even there. Melanie flipped her coffee cup over in its saucer to imply that she would like some. A minute later Judy came back and asked Josh, "So what can I get you?"

  Josh answered, "Um, I think I'll have the breakfast special."

  "How would you like your eggs?"

  "Scrambled."

  "What kind of toast?"

  "Wheat."

  "Bacon or ham?"

  "Bacon."

  "And would you like anything else to drink?"

  "Yeah, a large milk."

  "Great, coming right up," she said and turned to leave, when Melanie said, "Excuse me. I'd like a coffee, a small tomato juice, and an English muffin."

  "Sure," Judy said, but she never turned around.

  Melanie asked Josh, "How are you doing?"

  "Fine. I must have just been tired last night. It's just like a low hum of noise, like having the TV on in the background."

  "I'm glad."

  "I'm not sure what it is about you that does that."

  "What? Blocks the voices? Maybe it’s not me, maybe you're doing it."

  "It's never been that way before I met you."

  "No, but before you didn't know it was possible, so you never even tried. Now that you know it is, you could be doing it without thinking."

  "Hmmm. Maybe, but I don’t think so."

  Their food came soon after that and they ate in silence. Judy came to check on Josh several times during the course of their meal. When they were done, and Judy brought the bill, Lanie noticed that the perforated section on it had a phone number with a heart next to it. When they got up to pay at the register, Judy handed him the long skinny section with her number on it with his change.

  Melanie shook her head at the audacity of the woman as she went out the door first. She waited in the cool air for Josh to emerge and when he met up with her she said, "Thanks for breakfast. I'll get it tomorrow."

  "No need," Josh said and they walked across the parking lot. Melanie couldn't figure Josh out. Had she groped him in his sleep? Had she said something out of line? He was cold and distant. Maybe she didn't really know him at all. He was like a different person this morning. As they emerged from behind an island of low trees and tall bushes, probably to block freeway noise from the hotel, Josh grabbed Melanie by the waist, pulling her down into a crouch behind the last bush. Somehow he ended up with one hand on her head holding it to his chest. When she pulled her head away from his chest, he put his index finger to his lips. She whispered in his ear, "What is it?"

  "It's him, he's here."

  "Who? The vampi
re?"

  "Yes. He's just about to go into the office. How did he find us so quickly?"

  "Oh no! Your iPhone."

  "My iPhone?"

  "We used it last night to map out how we were going to Santa Cruz. iPhones and most cell phones now have a GPS. He was at your house. He probably found your account number and got on the Internet with the number. It will tell you exactly where the phone is, like say you lost it, or it got stolen."

  Josh grabbed the iPhone out of his jacket pocket, raised it over his head, and was about to smash it to the ground.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Getting rid of my iPhone."

  "You could just turn it off."

  "Um, right. Guess I got caught up in the moment."

  "It's understandable. What are we going to do?"

  Josh turned off his iPhone and put it back in his pocket. "When he goes into the office, you run to the room and grab the duffle bag, helmets, and the other leather jacket. Leave the key on the bed and meet me in the back parking lot around the corner. I'll take the bike back there and we'll go out the back driveway so they won't hear the bike or see us leaving." He handed her the huge key. He kissed her on the top of her head and said, "Okay, now go," and they were both off on their separate ways.

  He wasn't sure why he kissed her like he did. It puzzled him as he threw the kickstand back and started moving the bike through the parking lot and around the corner.

  Like a flash, Melanie was in the room and shoving everything into the duffle bag. She put the big leather coat on, slung the bag on her back, and grabbed the helmets. She took one last look around the room and slowly opened the door to see if anyone was coming. When she saw the coast was clear, she darted for the back parking lot, pulling her helmet on as she ran. When she got to the bike, Josh already had his gloves on and the bike running. She jumped on the back and they were on the freeway heading south in less than a minute.