The Undead Heart

by Tate Jackson

  “Yeah, I’m on it,” he said as he took out a cell phone, dialed a number and said, “You need to be at Beck’s, now.”

  “Where’s Richard?” she asked when he snapped the cell phone shut.

  Although she had never asked Jenny and Potter where he was, right now, she really needed to know.

  “We have found it easier to watch you if we take it in shifts. With his attraction to you, and my draw to your sister, we needed a break to stop us from coming to the two of you. Richard said you knew about me and your sister.” He paused for a moment before quietly asking, “You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No, I don’t mind at all. I’ve known for years. You have my full blessing, and on the upside of things, when she wakes up, you get to explain all this,” Beck told him teasingly.

  He looked startled. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “It’s a great idea. Relax, Bev is gonna love you. I’m glad the two of you will finally be…” she was saying as the door flew open and Richard, Jenny, and Potter stormed in.

  It had taken them all of seven minutes to run the distance it had taken her twenty minutes to drive. Richard was across the room in a flash, his hands flying over her body, checking her for wounds.

  “Oh, Beck! I’m so God damned sorry,” he said before turning on Leso. “What the hell happened? Where were you!?”

  “I was right here. He was just faster than I thought he would be.”’

  It was at that moment that Bev woke up. She sat up slowly and looked at everyone in the room, but it was Leso her eyes lingered on.

  “Bev, are you okay?” Beck asked, concerned.

  “That depends. Did I just see him kick a man’s head off?” she asked, pointing at Leso.

  “Yes, you did,” Beck answered.

  “Oh well, then I’m fine, I guess” she said before asking, “Vampyres?”

  “Yes,” Beck replied.

  Potter jumped up like a scalded dog, “Hey! I’m not a vampyre.”

  “Really? I read your book. I thought you were the vampyre,” Bev said calmly.

  “Nope, that would be Jenny,” he said.

  “But you’re not quite normal, are you?” Bev asked.

  “No… not quite,” he agreed. “How did you know that they’re vampyres?”

  “You told me,” Bev answered.“No I didn’t.”

  “Well, not directly, no, but when we talked about them you said you believe in them.”

  “I used to believe in Santa Clause, too,” Beck teased.“No you didn’t. Since we were little, you only believed in what you could see and what you could feel, and you’re rarely wrong. So, if you believe in something, then I believe in it, too.”

  Beck was touched almost beyond words.

  “Well, none of these vampyres will hurt you,” she said.

  Her focus was on Bev, glad that she wasn’t flipping out, but she was intensely aware of Richard staring at her.

  “Yeah, I kind of gleaned that for myself. Is that your blood all over you?”

  “Yeah, I took a bit of a tumble, but I’m fine.”

  “You are not fine.” Richard growled. “You’re hurt and bleeding.”

  “I’m fine, Richard, really I am.”

  He stepped up to her slowly and put his hand on her neck, turning her head up to meet his gaze.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said in a tortured voice.

  “OOOOOH!” Bev shouted, causing everyone in the room to jump. “You’re the reason she doesn’t date!”

  She was pointing her finger at Richard, catching on to what everyone else in the room already knew.

  “Yes, that would be my fault. I’ve encouraged Beck not to make me kill the men she meets, but it’s not been easy for me,” he said to Bev, but his gaze was burning on Beck’s face.

  Beck broke his gaze and tried to control the heat in her face.

  She focused back on Bev and said, “You know Potter and Jenny. This is Richard, and the man eating you with his eyes is Leso.” Leso had the grace to look a little embarrassed, but only a little, not enough to look away though. “I’m not sure what’s going on now, but I’m sure Leso would be happy to answer your questions.” Taking her cue, Leso pulled Bev to her feet like he thought he was going to break her. “Let’s get you something to drink. A coke, perhaps?” he said, shooting Beck a quick grin and led Bev towards the kitchen. When Bev glanced back, Beck gave her two thumbs up, knowing that Bev would catch her meaning. Bev looked back at Leso, her eyes wide with understanding, then they were out of sight.

  Richard looked to Jenny and Potter. “Would you two get rid of Leso’s mess, please?”

  “No problem,” Potter said, and he and Jenny went out the door leaving Beck and Richard alone.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said, leading her upstairs to the bathroom. Beck had assumed he meant to get a wash cloth, but she was wrong. He closed the door, stepped around her, and turned on the shower. He turned back to her and started undressing her as if they had just seen each other yesterday. She stood stock still until he was done, just smelling him. Then, he grabbed her and set her on her feet in the steaming hot spray of water. Before she could do more than register that she was in the shower, he was naked and in the water with her.

  He washed her face and hair. He checked her whole head carefully, looking for any wounds he may have missed. There were none. Then, he washed the rest of her body. She knew he was checking her over for any unseen damage. She had a couple of scrapes on her breast and a small cut on her knee, but other than that, she was fine. In fact, she was better than she had been in years. Which was bazaar considering that she’d just seen a man get his head kicked off.

  Richard had not spoken a word to her since they entered the bathroom. He’d turned her towards the spray and was rubbing her shoulders and neck with cool hands. he dropped her head down and saw blood running through the water between her feet. She wasn’t bleeding anymore. She turned quickly and saw blood pouring from his eyes, down his face, and splashing into the tub below.

  “Richard?” she asked, fear making her blood run cold.

  He put his shaking hands over his face, trying to wipe away the tears.

  “You could have died, and I wasn’t even here,” he said in a shaky voice.

  “I didn’t die. I’m right here,” she said, trying to pull his hands away from his face.

  He stepped around her and put his face in the cooling spray of water. When he turned back to her, the tears were gone. He cradled her face in his hands and just looked at her. She stared back at him, absorbing every detail of his face. He hadn’t changed a bit since the first day she saw him. It seemed unfair for one person to be so perfect.

  “You’re cold,” he said. She hadn’t noticed when the hot water ran out. He scooped her up and stepped out of the shower. He kicked their clothes out of the way and got two big towels out of the closet. He wiped down her body with one towel and tried his best to dry her hair with the other. While he did this, she couldn’t stop herself from touching him. She touched his face, his shoulders, his chest, his stomach, trying to reassure herself that he really was here. Her eyes raked up and down his body.

  Dressed, he was perfect. Naked, he was a god. He was flawless. There was not one thing about his body that wasn’t exquisitely perfect. It was hard to believe that he was hers. That if she did everything right, this was to be her prize.

  “Stop touching me,” he said quietly.

  “No.”

  He groaned. “You are driving me crazy.”

  “Good,” she smiled.

  He gave her a small hiss, threw her over his shoulder, and left the bathroom.

  “I’m naked!” she yelled at him. “Me, too. Don’t worry. Nobody’s coming up here,” he stated as if it were an undeniable fact.

  He opened her bedroom door, walked in, and flipped her onto the bed. He was on top of her without pause. The feeling of him on her was incredible. She had waited so long to see him again. She playfully licked and
bit his shoulder and something in him broke. All traces of gentleness were gone. He wrapped his arms under her shoulders and pulled her up to him as he thrust into her. His thrusts were so violent that the bed frame gave way beneath them, crashing with them to the floor, but he seemed not to notice. Nor did she.

  He was not hurting her, quite the opposite. For the first time in years, she felt complete. When their lovemaking was over, he collapsed on top of her. She lay there for the longest time feeling his heart pound against her chest until it slowed and finally stopped altogether. She waited for him to say something, to shift his weight off of her, but he didn’t move. She shook his shoulders but got no response. She wiggled out from underneath him, grabbed him and shook him harder.

  “Richard?” she said, but still got no response from him.

  In a panic, she rolled off of the mattress onto the floor and screamed, “Leso!”

  He was through the door before she could draw a breath to scream again.

  “What?” he asked, flipping on the light, his eyes quickly scanning the room.

  Bev came into the room at a more normal speed but with an edge of panic in her voice, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  She looked at Beck and snatched a robe off of the back of the door and wrapped it around her sister. Beck had completely forgotten she was naked.

  “Something’s wrong with him,” Beck said in a strained voice. Leso walked over to Richard and flipped him onto his back. He looked him over and put his ear to Richard’s chest.

  “Well Beck, you’ve killed him,” he said laughing.

  “That’s not funny!”

  “Calm down, he’s just sleeping. What did you do to him?” he asked still smiling as he looked at the trashed bed. He just couldn’t seem help himself. He continued laughing as he looked at Beck’s expression and said, “Is that a bite mark on his shoulder?”

  “Oh, shut up,” Beck growled suddenly embarrassed now that she knew nothing was wrong with Richard.

  “In a couple of hours, he’ll be good as new, and I’m going to enjoy teasing him about this in the morning,” he said in a gleeful voice. “Oh, you’re not really gonna tell him, are you?” Beck asked him, really embarrassed now.

  “Oh, you can bet on it. Goodnight Beck,” he said, darting across the room, grabbing Bev, and running out of the bedroom.

  “Leso!” she yelled. She heard his deep laugh from downstairs, but he didn’t return.

  She took a deep, steadying breath, flipped off the lights, and went to lay next to Richard on the mattress. She traced her fingers across his ribcage, still a bit warm from the heat of her body. ‘Just sleeping’ was her last thought as she fell asleep beside him.

  ***

  Richard’s eyes snapped open in the darkness. The digital clock across the room told him it was just after four-thirty in the morning. He sat up and looked around the room, a bit confused. Suddenly, it all came back to him in a rush. Had he really fallen asleep? He hadn’t slept in four days and had been exhausted.

  He knew they were getting close to the time that Beck would leave, and he was torn between letting her go or keeping her safe here with him? But last night’s events proved that she was not safe here. There were not that many vampyres in the United States, and he did not believe that it had been a coincidence that one had found its way to her. He needed to talk to Leso, but the noises he was hearing told him it would have to wait.

  He really wasn’t ready to get up yet, anyway. He laid back down and rolled over to face Beck. She was alright, but she might not have been, and where had he been? He had been off running, trying to control himself, his need to be with her. He had sensed another vampyre (Jenny, it had turned out) streaking through the night towards Beck’s house. They had met up in the yard.

  He’d only thrown a glance at the lifeless body lying there on the ground. When he got into the house and saw Beck’s face covered in blood, he’d wanted to throttle Leso. Keep her safe! That’s all he had to do, and he had very nearly failed. As he listened to Beck breathe in and out, he felt some of his anger with Leso slip away.

  He had to remember that Leso’s woman lived in this house as well. Leso would have died before he would have let that creature touch Bev, just as Richard would do for Beck. In the end, Leso had taken care of it. But what was going on? What was that creature even doing here? They had watched over Beck and Bev as a precaution. but they had never expected anything like this to actually happen.

  The room had started to lighten with the coming day. He could hear movement downstairs and knew Jenny and Potter were back. He should have sensed Jenny coming, but was distracted by the woman at his side. He needed to go and talk to his family, but he still couldn’t pull himself away.

  He brushed the back of his knuckles across Beck’s forehead, brushing the hair out of her face. A big bruise had bloomed on her cheek, and the bridge of her nose was a bit swollen but it could have been much worse. He didn’t even really know what had happened yet, but right now it was enough that she was still alive.

  He laid beside her for hours, breathing in her scent. He touched her beautiful red hair, so thick it was still wet from the shower. Finally, he got up, threw a towel around his waist, and went down the hall to retrieve his clothes from the bathroom. Once dressed, he came out of the bathroom just as Leso stepped out of the bedroom at the end of the hall.

  Leso looked at him, and a big grin split his face. “Beck looks really nice naked.”

  “Excuse me?” he sputtered, his anger already rising. “Yeah, and that little pink birthmark on her left breast just sets the whole thing off,” Leso said, and took off running.

  Richard gave chase, but knew he didn’t have a chance of catching him. He streaked after Leso through the front door, finally cornering him in the yard, and stalked him around one of the old trees.

  “How do you know about her birthmark?” he asked, trying to sound calm.

  Leso laughed again and launched himself up into the tree. “You shouldn’t fall asleep like that, brother,” he called down to him, the laughter clear in his voice.

  Richard jumped up into the tree and continued to stalk Leso through the old branches. They had spent a lot of time in these trees and knew them well.

  “You fell asleep on top of her, and she screamed for me. She thought you were dead. You were both still naked when I got to the room. Nice work on the bed, by the way,” he said, and laughed again. “I never knew Beck was a biter. How’s your shoulder?”

  “Shut up, Leso,” Richard growled, but he stopped stalking him and sat down on the big branch where he’d been standing. “I really feel asleep on top of her?”

  Leso sensing the danger was over, leapt over, and settled himself down next to his brother.

  “Yeah, you really did. I think she thought she’d really killed you,” he said still smiling. The laughter gone, he added seriously, “I am sorry about last night. I should have been quicker.”

  “No worries, mate. You took care of it.” They sat for a while in silence, until a bird landed on Richard’s leg.

  “You gonna eat that?” Leso asked jokingly.

  “Shut up,” Richard said, waving the bird away. Even when he was human, birds seemed to have a thing for him. He thought being a vampyre would have changed that, but it hadn’t. They had no fear of him, and he had never hurt them.

  “What happened last night?”

  Leso filled him in, and Richard learned how close to death Beck had come.

  “I should have been here,” he said sadly. “You couldn’t have known this was going to happen.”

  “Would you accept that as an excuse for yourself if it had been Bev thrown across the yard last night?”

  Leso said nothing, and Richard had his answer: No.

  “I’m not leaving Beck again,” he said softly. “Yeah, I’m not leaving Bev, either,” Leso replied as they watched Jenny walk across the yard towards them.

  “What are you two doing in a tree?” she asked, looking up at them. �
��Just enjoying the morning,” Leso called down. “Right...whatever. Beck and Bev are up if you two are interested,” she said and turned back toward the house.

  Richard and Leso looked at each other and smiled. They knew Jenny hadn’t missed a bit of their run through the yard. They jumped from the tree, landed silently and gracefully on the ground, and raced past Jenny into the house. Leso, of course, got there first. Richard was used to it by now. They each had things they were better at. Leso was better at sensing people’s intentions, just as Beck could. If allowed, Richard could see people’s memories.

  Leso was faster, but Richard was a better fighter. All of it came in handy from time to time. Now it was time for them to decide what to do next.

  ***

  Beck had woken up to the sound of Leso’s laughter echoing through the front yard. She got to the window just in time to see Leso, then Richard, jump twenty feet, straight up into the air, and land in a tree. Even after watching Leso fight last night, it still took her breath away. You could see that there was no effort in it for them. They chased each other around the branches like monkeys, swinging gracefully through the air. She was just happy Richard was still here. She’d expected him to be gone this morning.

  She grabbed some clothes, took another quick shower, dried her hair properly, and went downstairs to hunt down some aspirin. Her whole body was sore, whether from being tossed across the yard or the lovemaking later, she wasn’t certain. She had a pretty big bruise on her face, but at least her nose wasn’t broken like she had feared. When she got downstairs, she found Jenny watching her brothers from the living room window.

  “I swear, they act like they’re five years old. Leso goads Richard, and Richard tries to kill him. Well, maybe not kill him, but beat the crap out of him, at least,” she said before finally turning to look at Beck. “You look like hell.”

  “Well, good morning to you, too, Sunshine.”

  “Sorry,” Jenny said. “How do you feel this morning?”

  “Fine,” Beck lied.

  She knew Jenny felt jumpy but didn’t know why. Before she could ask, Bev came down the stairs.