by K M Smith
“Did that really happen?” Sarah ran her hand across her forehead.
“Mom?” Alice’s voice startled her. “Did what really happen? What are you talking about?”
Sarah turned and smiled softly. Rubbing her hand down her neck and over her collarbone she said, “Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
“Mom. Did what really happen? What were you just thinking about?”
With an unfocused stare, Sarah was miles away. A tremor snaked its way through Sarah’s body and the color drained from her face.
“Mom, come here, you need to sit down.” Alice jumped up, took her mother by the elbow, and led her back to her seat at the table. “I’ll make you some tea.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
“Mom. You have no color in your face. I’m making tea.”
“Sure, okay. That’s fine.” Sliding into her seat, she rested her elbows on the table. Gazing at the floor, she clasped her hands in front of her lips and pushed out a heavy breath. A moment later, Alice brought a steaming cup of tea over to her mother.
“Here you go. This should put a flush in your cheeks.”
Sarah smiled at the familiar saying. “Nana used to say that.”
“I know.” Alice smiled and squeezed Sarah’s hand.
Sarah sipped her tea. Alice watched her intently, but Sarah wasn’t sure how much to share. She wasn’t even certain if she had just experienced a memory or a dream. She certainly didn’t want to add fuel to her daughter’s vampire theory. Alice was right about something though—who did call 911 that night? And the doctors had called it a miracle that she hadn’t bled to death. Still, vampire intervention was not the most logical—or possible—explanation.
“You know what, honey? Mom’s not feeling great all of a sudden.” Sarah gave Alice a strained smile. “Would you mind if we talked more about this later? I think I need to go lie down.” The table creaked under the weight from Sarah’s hands as she stood to go.
“Oh, okay, sure, Mom. Of course. We can talk about this stuff any time.” Alice got up to steady her mother. “Why don’t you go lay down? I’ll bring your tea into your room for you.”
“Thank you, honey, I’ve got it.” Sarah patted Alice on the hand and squeezed her shoulders before giving her a kiss goodbye and guiding her out the door. She needed to be left alone, and the sooner the better.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Alice
Alice and her friends had plans to pre-party at the Keller. It was the best place on campus to meet for a stomach-lining meal before the real partying began later in the evening. They were making their way toward the door when the hairs on the back of Alice’s hand stood up. Grimacing, she rubbed her hand to warm it up. The defiant hairs held their upright position prompting Alice to look up. It didn’t take long to discover the real reason they were standing on end.
Adam.
From the bench on the far side of the door, his eyes bored into her, obviously trying to forge a connection. Her skin crawled at his effort. Following her friends, she glared at him without meeting his eyes. Turns out she had been following too closely. Her group stopped to gather at the Keller’s crowded front door, and distracted by Adam’s presence, she bumped into Lacy.
Lacy giggled and nudged Alice, “Ooooh, who’re you staring at, girl? Is it the guy with the dark hair and crazy bright green eyes! Mmmm, he looks good enough to eat!” She draped her arms over her Alice’s shoulders and giggled in her ear. The others followed Alice’s and Lacy’s eyes, trying not to look like they were staring at Adam, but the combination of his jet-black hair, sleek black leather jacket and seemingly uninterested affectation made it hard to look away.
Alice shook her head to come out of her stupor. “Oh, uh, ha. Yeah, no. Definitely not him,” she said, with a little too much venom, quickly looking away. Lacy’s eyes widened, and she shrugged at her friends.
Oblivious to the vibe Alice was sending out, Theresa stepped up and fussed with her hair and purred, “Too bad. He’s easy on the eyes. I know what I’d like to let him do to me. Watch and learn, ladies.”
“No!” Alice grabbed Theresa’s wrist. All the girls reeled back from Alice.
Embarrassment flushed Alice’s cheeks. “Sorry, Resa,” she began and released her friend’s wrist. “I just… I just meant that it’s a girls’ night! We all need to hang out and blow off some steam… no boys allowed!” She looked pleadingly at Theresa.
“Sure, Al, no probs. Let’s go blow off some steam,” Theresa said with a tight smile. The air among the women turned tense as they resumed their journey toward the Keller.
This was crazy. Grabbing her friend, especially Theresa? Shouting? She was losing it. This was so unlike her. It must have something to do with the vampire. Could he really be a vampire? After not seeing him for so long she had been certain she’d made it up, or somehow manufactured the memories. Maybe he is real, she thought. What if he is, what if everything happened exactly as he says it did? What can I possibly do with that information? It was too much to think about right then. This night was supposed to be carefree. Graduation and the real world loomed. Fraternity parties and trips to the Keller would soon be replaced with jobs, responsibilities, maybe even children. Alice shuddered at the thought.
She looked toward the bench as they were about to enter the Keller. Adam hadn’t moved. She assumed he’d be waiting in the same spot when they left. She didn’t need that weighing on her head all night, so she made the first move. “Hey, I’ll be right there,” she said to her friends. Lacy gave her a look, Alice knew the look but didn’t want her friend to worry, so she added, “I saw Janice and Amber heading to the frat houses, and I thought I’d grab them and see if they wanted to join us instead.” She kept eye contact with Lacy the whole time, willing her friend to believe the lie and let it go.
“Oh yeah, I saw them, too.” Lips pressed together, Lacy shot Alice another look, this one serious and not one Alice could ignore. “Good call. I’ll see you inside.”
Nodding more than necessary, Alice closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Lacy grabbed Alice’s fingers and Alice looked at her best friend with eyes open wide. Squeezing their hands, Lacy gave her a tight smile and mouthed, “Be safe,” before turning to go inside with the others.
Alice exhaled and waited for them to disappear before confronting Adam.
◆◆◆
Through narrowed eyes, Alice stared icily at Adam as she stormed toward him, metaphorical steam billowing from her ears. Adam sat up straighter as she approached and drew back as though recoiling from some unseen force. Even the casual observer would’ve been able to tell that something wasn’t quite right with this situation.
Alice didn’t know how to speak telepathically, but she remembered the vampire holding her gaze as he spoke to her in her head, so she did the same, ‘My friends are expecting me back in five minutes. They’ll call the cops if I’m even a little late, so don’t try anything.’ Alice put as much bravado into her internal voice as she could, hoping the message and intent would shine through.
‘Understood,’ Adam thought to her in return. He kept his eyes trained on her as she walked. ‘You should try to walk more naturally; people have already started to notice your strange gait.’
Affronted by his comment, she looked around and noticed that people were looking at her. ‘Maybe that’s just what you want me to think, so that you can befuddle me and take me somewhere and drain me of all my blood!’
Adam’s face broke into a wide grin. Alice felt the mocking sting of it from where she stood. Blushing, she looked away.
‘Alice, I told you. I’m not going to hurt you. I can’t hurt you. You actually don’t smell all that great to me, so the last thing I want to do is rip open your jugular and feast on your blood.’ His eyebrows softened a bit, and he held his hands out, palms up, while his eyes pleaded with her to relax.
Alice received the message, and she squinted her eyes before loosening up a little and replying to h
im, ‘Yeah, well, you don’t smell great to me, either, bat boy!’
Adam genuinely laughed at that and sat back on the bench.
‘You stay where you are on the bench, and I’ll sit on the far end,’ she thought at him. ‘You make one move to come near me, and this is over.’
‘Got it,’ he mentally replied and turned away from her on the bench. To those milling around he appeared to be a guy waiting for his friends. ‘I’m glad you chose to come see me. I need to talk to you. There are things you need to know.’
‘I knew you would still be here when we left the Keller. I figured I’d rather deal with you now while there are still sober people around.’ She paused and looked at him, then admitted with a wince, ‘Just in case.’
‘Smart,’ he said. ‘Can we walk?’
“That’s not a good idea. Let’s just talk here,” Alice replied aloud.
“I’d like to show you something,” he said turning toward her.
Alice hesitated, “My friends’ll wonder where I’ve gone.”
“Probably,” Adam said. He stood and held out his hand. “But if we move at my speed, they’ll never even know we left.” He gave her a small smile as invitation to join him.
“Your speed. Is that what happened the other night after you so graciously threw me over your shoulder and dumped me on the bleachers?” She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “Vampire warp speed?” Eyebrows raised, a small smile played on her lips as she stood. Her body hummed with excitement as her heart beat faster. Smart or not, she nodded and offered her hand to him.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Adam
Adam didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her around the waist and whisked her away. People milling about outside the Keller would’ve felt a strong breeze, but he left a sense of confusion in his wake, so they’d never figure out why, nor would they be inclined to wonder.
Seconds later he deposited her graciously, for real this time, on the sidewalk outside the admin building. Her mother’s accident had happened here, and Alice’s body tensed as though this place meant her harm. “Why did you bring me here?” she asked, her voice strained.
Adam could see the hurt on her face. He hadn’t intended to hurt her by bringing her to this spot. He wanted to show her where it all happened, and he wanted to explain about her mother and her father. He had this picture in his mind that bringing her here would make everything okay, make her understand that he’d made the best choices he could back then. The way she wrapped her arms around her midsection and gazed only at her shoes told him that was a mistake. If he kept going like this with her, she’d never hear his side of the story. Never understand what he went through for her. “Alice, I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you. It never has been. I—”
“She thinks I’m a lunatic, you know. Talking about vampires.”
“You talked to her about me?” Adam’s ears perked up at that revelation and his un-beating heart did a little flip in his chest.
“I talk to her about everything. Well, I used to. Now she just thinks I’m losing it. I doubt she’ll be able to take me seriously anymore.”
“She’s your mother, of course she’ll take you seriously.”
“Would you? If someone you love came to you raving about vampires and crazy theories about something they couldn’t possibly have any idea about because they weren’t even born yet!” Alice had raised her voice and slowed her speech, emphasizing the last few words. Adam heard her heart hammering in her chest and sensed the wave of panic flowing through her. As he sensed her fear, he moved closer to her to comfort her.
Alice let out a scream, misreading his intentions. “No! Get away from me! Help! Someone help me, please!”
Forced to close the gap between them, Adam covered her mouth with his hand and embraced her. At vampire speed, he carried her to the far side of the building where they couldn’t be seen if someone came to investigate the sounds.
Alice pounded on his chest and tried to escape his grasp, but he was far too strong.
‘Stop hitting me. I’m not going to hurt you!’
Alice’s eyes grew wide as his thought penetrated. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal, and her body relaxed. Not trusting that she was completely ready to stay with him, he kept his arms around her but loosened his grip.
‘Please. Take me back to my friends. Coming here was a mistake,’ she pleaded with him.
Reluctantly, he nodded his consent. There was so much he wanted to tell her, about all the times he visited her as she grew up, about his love for Sarah, and he needed to confess about her father. But that would have to wait.
“Alice,” he said out loud. “I’ve told you I won’t hurt you, and I won’t. I hope that you’ll trust me enough someday to let me share my story with you. It’s one you need to know.”
“Maybe someday, but tonight I need to be with my girlfriends. I can’t take on anything more to do with you. Not now.” A tear welled up in the corner of her eye. She dabbed at it with the back of her finger and fidgeted in her space, silently begging him to whisk her back to her friends.
“Okay, but I won’t give up, Alice. It’s important you understand that.”
“I get it. But it’s cold. My friends are waiting. Can we just go? Please?”
Adam dipped his eyes, and in an instant, they were back on the bench outside the Keller with only the slightest disturbance in the air to mark their presence.
Alice got up from the bench, gave him an awkward wave, and strode into the Keller to meet her friends.
One day, he would have to confess, tell her about his role in her father’s death. All the years he’d watched over her, but kept himself secret. All the late-night visits she never remembered. All that had ended. Things were changing, power was shifting, and Adam didn’t know if he’d survive the fallout.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Alice
Alice caught up with her friends at the Keller, determined to forget about Adam and revel in the messiness of a big night out. Lacy acknowledged her arrival but didn’t ask her about Janice or Amber. Alice blinked slowly and nodded at her bestie. They couldn’t actually speak telepathically, but they knew each other well enough to know that, for now, things were fine. They’d figure the rest out later. Tonight was for letting loose. They needed the break. This last semester of their undergraduate experience was proving to be their most difficult. Each of the women was buried in dissertation research and formulation, so carefree nights out were fewer and further between.
“Should we go to ’Relli’s after this?” Theresa asked.
“We could get into some serious trouble there!” Lacy added, bouncing on the balls of her feet and propping her elbow on top of Alice’s shoulder.
“I’m exhausted. I think I’m just going to call it a night,” Alice yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Oh no you don’t, Alice!” Lacy said. “You’ve been hiding out for the last month—tonight you’re coming out to play, and I’m not taking no for an answer!”
“She’s right, Al,” Jennifer chimed in. “You haven’t been around lately—we miss you.” She poked Alice in the soft flesh of her arm. “We need you to get us into—and out of—trouble around here!”
Alice missed her friends, too. With a conspiratorial twinkle in her eye, she sighed. “Okay, fine. Tonight, we make trouble at ’Relli’s!”
They laughed, put their coats on, and made their way out the door.
◆◆◆
“It’s packed in here tonight!” Theresa shouted as they squeezed their way through the front door at Cascarelli’s.
“What is going on?” Lacy asked, side-stepping her way to the bar.
The noisy crowd surrounded Alice, cramming her into their mass and jostling her as she waited near the entrance. Her palms slick with sweat and her heart rate sky high, she shook her head, lamenting her decision to join her friends. I need to get out of here. She forced herself to slow down her breathing and stood on her ti
ptoes to watch as her friends flirted their way to a place at the bar. Blocking out the chaos around her, Alice focused all her attention on Lacy, practically willing her to turn around. She actually did, and Alice made eye contact with her and gave her a weak wave before turning around and zig zagging her way to the door.
Just before she reached the door, her hair stood on end. This time she recognized the forewarning for what it was. ‘Adam?’ she directed her thoughts outward. ‘You’re not supposed to be here!’
‘He’s not here,’ said an unfamiliar voice in her head.
Alice stopped and scanned the crowd to determine who had invaded her mind. “Show yourself,” she said out loud.
“I like a girl who’s forward,” replied a drunk frat guy with a backward baseball cap and a beer.
“Ugh, not you, slugger,” she said and pushed him back in the direction of other drunker girls.
“Your loss,” he said as he stumbled off.
“I’ll get over it,” Alice said, crossing her arms and continuing to scan the crowd.
‘Turn toward the juke box,’ the voice commanded.
She jerked her head in the direction of the juke box and saw a short, stocky pale man wearing all black, with a baseball cap worn low to cover his eyes.
‘You look ridiculous,’ she thought at the stranger, filtering out everything else around her.
He flashed his fangs at her. Alice held her ground. ‘Am I supposed to be scared or impressed?’ she thought in reply, hoping he couldn’t hear the false bravado in her internal voice.
‘Come outside with me. Do it on your own and nobody gets hurt. If you don’t, I’ll use these—’ he flashed his fangs again— ‘on every human in here. Then you can tell me if you’re scared or impressed.’