The Vampire's Favorite

by V. R. Cumming

  “What’s wrong with pale face?” Di asked.

  Eric carefully placed his fork onto his untouched plate. “My wife is sick.”

  “Oh, boohoo. What’s that got to do with us?”

  Ma elbowed Di. “Be respectful.”

  Di threw her napkin down on the table beside her plate. “Well, honestly, it’s been like a wake around here all day. I don’t see why we have to mourn just because he knocked his whore wife up and she’s not handling it well.”

  Eric shoved his chair back and stood, and I wheeled away from the table. We rounded on her from two directions, him around Charity and Pop, me behind Ma.

  Pop tucked his napkin under his plate and scooted back. “I’ve got her, boys.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t, Pop,” I said. “She’s gone too far this time.”

  I grabbed one arm, Eric the other, and we dragged her out of her chair, ignoring the scrapes of Ma and Pop’s chairs as they stood and shooed Charity and Anna Grace onto the porch with their supper. Diana stumbled along between us into the living room. As soon as we were across the threshold, I let go. Eric threw her onto the couch and held her against it with one hand. He smiled, and for once, I didn’t curse the cold man’s coming.

  “Keep your family back,” he said. “Diana and I are going to have a little chat.”

  She recoiled into the couch’s cushy upholstery, as far away from him as she could get. “Pop won’t let you hurt me.”

  “I’m not going to hurt you, little girl. I’m going to show you what I’ll do to you if you ever dare speak of my wife like that again.”

  I dutifully positioned myself in front of Ma and Pop. “You don’t want to watch this.”

  Ma’s lips thinned into a slash across her face. “I can’t stand by while he hurts her.”

  “He won’t, I swear. He’s just having a chat with her.” But it wouldn’t be pretty, and Di wouldn’t come away unscathed. “Let’s go out on the porch with Char and Anna Grace.”

  Pop wrapped a large hand around Ma’s upper arm. “She deserves what she gets, Kath. I won’t have her talking like that under our roof, especially not around the girls.”

  “Then we should be the ones to discipline her,” Ma said.

  “Not this time.”

  I went out with them to the sounds of Diana’s increasingly frantic breaths and the certain knowledge that when Eric was through with her, she would never utter another word about Gianna again.

  I didn’t bother carrying my plate outside, and neither did Pop. Charity and Anna Grace had sat down on the steps joining the back porch to the yard and were tittering about Di in low whispers. Pop held Ma’s plate while she scooted a rocking chair over next to them, then leaned a casual shoulder against the backdoor.

  I got the feeling he was waiting for something, though who knew what.

  The first scream erupted out of Di about five minutes later. Anna Grace jerked around and bobbled her plate, and her lower lip trembled.

  “It’s ok, munchkin,” I said. “She’s probably just yelling because Eric made her mad. You know how she is.”

  Charity’s shoulders hunched around her ears. “That doesn’t sound like a mad scream.”

  Another scream ripped through the air, and Ma shifted forward on the rocking chair. “That’s it, Henry. I don’t care what she did. She’s still my daughter.”

  Pop held a hand up to her, palm out. “I’ve got it, Kath. You stay here with the girls while Jason and I check on her.”

  Christ. Now we were in for it.

  I followed Pop’s ground-eating strides back through the house into the living room and rolled to a stop in the doorway. Eric was sitting on the coffee table, forearms braced on his thighs, hands dangling between his legs. He was a good two feet away from Di’s position on the couch.

  She was staring at something only she could see. Her mouth opened and closed, and a low gurgle issued from her throat, like she was underwater and lacked the strength to kick her way to the surface for a fresh breath of air. Sweat dripped down her face, ruining her carefully applied makeup, and her nails dug into her bare thighs below the hem of her shorts, cutting out half-moon circles of blood. Its coppery scent burnt my nostrils, the first time the smell of blood had turned my stomach since Eric had shared his with me and inducted me into the Vampyr.

  Pop’s progress halted abruptly. “You’re really not hurting her.”

  That sly smile played around Eric’s mouth. “Not physically.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’m showing her what will happen if she ever so much as thinks about my wife again.”

  “What are you?”

  “Nothing, Pop,” I said. “He’s just your average, ordinary genius Physics geek.”

  Pop finished crossing the room and sank into his recliner. “What kind of a fool do you take me for, son? I’ve got two eyes and a sound brain, no matter what your ma thinks.”

  “Nobody said you didn’t.”

  Di’s gurgle became a whimper. “Please stop, please. I’ll do anything, just make it stop.”

  Eric tilted his head to the side. “There’s no remorse within you, Diana Faith, none at all, only your own stubborn willfulness and…”

  “What?” I asked.

  “She’s up to something.” He extended a single finger toward her and hovered it six inches away from her heaving chest. “Someone has shown her how to block certain parts of her life from my view. Interesting.”

  “Is he psychic?” Pop asked.

  “Er, not exactly.” I opened myself to Eric and the cold man, adding my strength to theirs. To Eric, I said, “Can you break through?”

  “No, it’s…not of the Vampyr.”

  I jerked my gaze to Pop. He was watching Eric, his granite eyes flat, but I wasn’t fooled. The wheels were turning in his mind. Sooner or later, he’d figure it out. Maybe Eric was right. Maybe it would be better if we sat him and Ma down and just laid it all out for them. They hadn’t freaked out about the polyamorous threesome thing. Being a vampire’s pet couldn’t be so bad compared to that.

  Could it?

  “It’s time to pull out, Eric,” I said. “She’s had enough.”

  “Not yet. I’m almost there, almost…” He sat back, and the strength I’d lent him rebounded and rushed back into me. “I lost it.”

  Di lifted a trembling hand to her mouth, smearing the remnants of her lip gloss. “Oh, my God. You’re a monster.”

  “Yes,” he said. “Remember that, Diana Faith.”

  She swung her gaze around to Pop. “And you just let him do that to me. How could you? You’re my father. You’re supposed to protect me.”

  “He didn’t lay a hand on you, and whatever he did do, I reckon you deserved. I told you what would happen if you ever said that word again in my house.”

  “Yes, but he was—”

  “Not doing a thing to you. He’s endured your jibes and snide attitude for weeks now without raising a contrary hand to you or doing anything to defend himself, and since he hasn’t, it’s up to me.” He smacked his hands on his thighs, and in the thinning evening light, he appeared old and fragile. “Truth is, you deserve to have your hide whooped good. Seeing as how you’re nearly a grown woman, I’ll settle for taking away your privileges. Until school starts up again, you’re either here or at work. No more computer, no more phone except when you’re working, and you can only use it to contact me and your ma.”

  Di burst off the couch and curled her hands into fists at her sides. “That’s not fair! I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “And that attitude is exactly why you’re being punished. Double chores from now until the fall. No dates, no parties, and if I catch you sneaking out of the house, I might have to change my mind about that whooping.”

  Di glared at each of us in turn through the tears filling her eyes, then pushed past Eric and stomped up to her room.

  Pop ruffled one hand through his thinning hair. “Don’t know what’s gotten into her lately.”
/>
  “She’s afraid of losing your heart,” Eric said.

  “What?” Pop asked. At the same time, I scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous, Eric.”

  “It’s true,” he said. “She’s got this crazy notion that I’m her replacement.”

  I gaped at him. “That’s…irrational.”

  “When did love ever make sense?” He stood slowly and gazed down on Pop, an odd mixture of compassion mingling with the cold man’s brutality in Eric’s fine-boned features. “Both of your children were right, Mr. Bellmont. I am an ordinary Physics geek. I’m also a monster. If you want me to leave, I will.”

  Pop considered him for a long time, and the way he was looking at Eric, as if he knew exactly what Eric was and wasn’t, did not a thing to steady my nerves. At last, he said, “You’re a lot of things, Eric Logan, but you’re not a monster.”

  Eric stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, and for a minute, I could’ve sworn something like relief flashed through our bond.

  “Yes, sir,” he said.

  Pop slid off the recliner and smacked a hand against Eric’s shoulder. “I know you’re worried about your wife, son, but you’ll not do her a lick of good if you’re weak from hunger. Go finish your supper. You, too, Jason.”

  Eric wound around the table and placed a hand on my shoulder, and together we reentered the kitchen and returned to our cold meals.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Eric took Ma aside after supper and had a long chat with her. I don’t know what he said. He spoke too low for me to hear, but when he was finished, she brushed her hand over his unruly hair and kissed his forehead, and all was right between them again.

  Ma reheated Di’s plate and disappeared up the stairs with it. Eric and I decided to turn in early without a word, thought, or feeling passing between us. He slipped out of the living room, a mute shadow unnoticed by the rest of my family.

  As Charity and I were exchanging goodnights, she said, “Is it true? Is he really what Di says?”

  I tugged her into my lap and tucked her against my chest. She was so big now, nearly as tall as Eric. Her legs dangled over the arm of my chair and her bare heels bumped against the wheel, and I was struck by the feeling that I’d missed too much of her life, the way I’d missed too much of Anna Grace’s.

  The single decision to attend college in Georgia had rippled outward like a stone thrown into a the still waters of a pond, affecting everything around me in ways I hadn’t anticipated when I’d left. Then, I hadn’t given a single thought to how much I loved my sisters, to how much they needed me, or how much I needed them. Now, it was so obvious my absence had left holes in their lives. I didn’t know how to bridge those gaps. I did know how to keep any more from forming.

  “What did she tell you?” I asked.

  “She said he’s evil and we should stay away from him. I don’t believe her. Neither does Anna Grace.”

  “Good for you.”

  “He’s just too sweet, you know? And she’s been so ugly to him.” Char shuddered and her voice dropped to a rough whisper. “It sounded like he was hurting her, but I don’t care. I’m so tired of her acting the way she does, like she’s better than everybody when she’s not.”

  “She’ll grow out of it.” Maybe, someday, in the distant future. It worried me that she wasn’t sorry for what she’d said about Gigi, though, and that she didn’t believe she’d done anything wrong by saying it. “I’m going to bed now. It’s been a rough day and we still have to figure out how to get home.”

  Charity’s voice turned sly. “Are you gonna kiss him?”

  “That’s none of your business, shorty. Go on, get out of my lap, and keep your mind where it belongs.”

  She snickered and slid off my lap, and a minute later, she and Anna Grace pounded up the stairs to their rooms. Ma was still up there coddling Di, so I said goodnight to Pop and joined Eric in our bedroom. He was sitting on the bed staring up at the ceiling, already ready for bed.

  I shut the door and locked it against nosey sisters. “You ok?”

  “Fine. Just thinking.” He eased off the bed and stretched, and every muscle in his lean abdomen rippled under his smooth skin. “You need help?”

  “Maybe a little.” I wheeled into the bathroom and plucked my toothbrush from the holder. “We’re going to have to meet with Remy, aren’t we?”

  Eric settled behind me, both hands on my shoulders. “Yes.”

  “When you have a plan, I’ll contact him.”

  “Jase—”

  “I’m the favorite, Eric. It’s my job to pave the way.”

  I gobbed toothpaste onto my toothbrush and stuck it in my mouth on the slim hope he’d take the hint and drop it.

  “It’s my job to take care of our family,” he said.

  So much for hints. “Not by yourself. You’re not King Eric.”

  “I’m not even a prince.” He dug his thumbs into my shoulders and rubbed. “I’m sorry for getting out of control this evening with Di.”

  I spat toothpaste into the sink, not fooled for one minute by the subject change, but I let it slide. “You weren’t out of control.”

  “I was close. She really pissed me off.”

  “You’re not the only one.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Definitely. She’s turning into a complete bitch.”

  His hands stilled on my shoulders. “She’s just insecure. Don’t tell me you weren’t when you were a teenager.”

  I snorted out a laugh. “I was too busy earning my stripes on the court and feeling up every girl I could find.”

  “You’re such a jock.”

  “Come on, Eric. You can find a better insult than that.”

  “Not tonight. Here, toothpaste mouth. Let’s get you ready for bed.”

  Fifteen minutes later, we were snuggled under the sheet together, me flat on my back, him with his head on my shoulder and one hand rubbing irregular circles along my torso.

  “I miss her,” he said, the words filled with the quiet heartache he’d carried since Selena’s attack.

  “Me, too.”

  “I wish we’d never left Georgia.”

  “We needed to get away, just for a while. And there was nothing we could do for her.”

  “I don’t think we can do anything for her now. I still want to be there.” His fingers skidded to a stop over my heart’s steady thud. “I wish I could fix her. I wish I could fix you.”

  “Hey, now. Don’t even go there. We both know you can’t help her, not until she comes back to herself.”

  “I know,” he said, and his voice was thin and desperate and coated with an aching despair. “I just feel so helpless. Why can’t I help the people I love the most, Jase? Why do I have to sit on the sidelines and watch both of you suffer? I have these gifts, these abilities, and I can’t use them the way I should. All I can do is hurt people.”

  I pulled him on top of me and cradled him the way I had Charity, comforting him the only way I knew how. “That’s not true, baby. Listen to me. You’ve helped a lot of people here, Trillium and Mike, even Ma.”

  “Jason, about that. Let me explain.”

  “No, I don’t want to know. Whatever the two of you are up to, that’s between you guys. She can tell the rest of us when she’s ready. Until then, I trust you to do right by her, the way you’ve done right by everybody else in your life.”

  “I couldn’t save her.”

  His quiet words hammered into me, one syllable at a time, reviving the memory of Gianna’s fall, and with it, the heartache clinging to both of us in shadowed recesses we probed only gingerly. “I couldn’t either. That doesn’t mean we’re to blame.”

  “I was the one who exposed her to Selena. If I hadn’t asked her for a date that first time, she would’ve fallen in love with you and y’all could’ve lived your lives without me, without…”

  His voice broke on a quiet sob. I tightened my arms around him and kissed the top of his head, wishing like hell I could save him f
rom this hurt, save us both from it. “If there’s anything I know about Gigi, it’s that she doesn’t regret meeting you. I don’t either, not one fucking bit. I love you.”

  “I know.”

  “So does she. Maybe she doesn’t remember it right now. Maybe it’ll take her a long time after she comes back to us to understand what we are to each other, but she will.”

  “Such resolute faith.”

  “That’s not faith, baby. It’s determination.”

  “In you, I think it’s the same thing.” He pressed a soft kiss to my chest, and another right beside it. “I wish you could feel me. That’s what I keep thinking. I need to heal you so you can feel me again.”

  I drew back and met his gaze. “I feel you every single time you touch me.”

  “I want you to feel me without my having to tickle your nerves.”

  “Tickle my…” I swallowed and banged my head into the pillow. “I knew it wasn’t right that I could feel you when I couldn’t feel anything else. I just thought it was because of our bond, because I love you and my body was making an exception.”

  “No, Jase. You’ve shut all of us out, have since that night. The only reason you can feel me is because I’m forcing your body to.”

  “Christ, Eric. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I wanted you to come to it on your own. I wanted you to learn how to feel again, to feel me, and I didn’t know what else to do. Nothing worked. It’s like you’re punishing yourself for what happened, and I can’t change that.” He knelt above me, one knee on either side of my waist, and cupped my face between his elegant hands. “I can’t change what’s wrong with you, just like I can’t change what’s wrong with the woman we love. She’s beyond our reach right now, maybe she always will be, but you, you’re not. All you have to do is open yourself back up to me, to be with me the way you used to.”

  My eyes flew open and I glared at him in the room’s fragile light. “Don’t you think I’ve been trying to? Christ, Eric, I’ve done everything I can. I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to.”