Dark Love

by Olivia M. Howe

  "Can my day get any worse?" I ask.

  "I'm afraid so," Julian says from the corner of the kitchen.

  "What do you mean, Julian?" Andrew asks as he's holding the towel on my nose. I'm trying to look at Julian, but I can't see him because my head is tilted back too far. It's actually kind of funny. I would laugh out loud, but it just doesn't seem like the appropriate moment and I'm in way too much pain.

  "It's Lucian and his brothers." Julian lets out a sigh. "He's bound to find Nina immediately." My head pops up so fast that I'm surprised I didn't get light headed or whiplash. Andrew's facial expression is emotionless.

  "What?" I say.

  Julian ignores my response and focuses on Andrew. "We need to get her to a safe place, right now." Andrew still stands there with his mouth closed. I know his thoughts are racing a million miles per hour, literally because vampires must be fully capable of doing so. "Andrew, we have to move now!" Julian exclaims.

  "I'm thinking! Give me a moment!" Andrew growls. He begins to pace back and fourth through the kitchen. I don't know what to think right now. My nose is still hurting, but at least the bleeding has stopped.

  Lilah and Ella walk into the kitchen to see all of us in complete silence. The only noise is Andrew's shoes walking across the floor while he paces. "What happened to you two?" Lilah points at Andrew and I.

  "It looks like you two got into an altercation," Ella adds. I can fully understand why she assumes that. Andrew has blood all over his shirt and a little on his mouth. My nose is filled with blood along with my neck and shirt. Towels of blood lie on the kitchen counter.

  "I walked in on Andrew slurping down blood from a shirtless woman and Abel slammed the front door into my nose," I confirm.

  Lilah and Ella's eyes open up wide like they can't believe what I had just said. "We were only gone for a few hours," Ella replies. I just shrug my shoulders and stare at the ground.

  "Nina, we're going to bring you home," Lilah says.

  "No! She can't be by herself!" Andrew yells.

  "The safest place she can be is at her home. The Sulivic Brothers can't get to her there," Lilah tells Andrew.

  I clear my voice and everyone looks at me. Just what I wanted. "That's your best hiding place for me? That's the first place he's going to go to."

  "Vampires can't enter your home unless they're welcomed in by the resident. When you invite them in then there's no turning back. They're always allowed in your house after that, no matter what," Abel explains.

  "Let's have a sleepover?" Ella asks me.

  "Sure," I say.

  "Would your mother be OK with that?" Lilah asks.

  "Sure," I say again.

  "Can I speak to you before you leave, Nina?" Andrew asks as he stares into my eyes. I try to look away from him to avoid eye contact. Just because four evil, old, strong vampires are out to kill me, doesn't make me forget about why Andrew pissed me off.

  "Sure," I say once again. I'm starting to really like that word.

  Everyone retreats out of the kitchen to give Andrew and me some privacy. "I know I did wrong. I wasn't expecting you to come here," Andrew admits.

  "So, if I never showed up, you would have obviously continued to, what I call cheating, and I would still be oblivious to this fact?" I ask.

  "I'm a vampire," Andrew begins to say.

  "Don't even try to pull that crap on me."

  "Listen, I'm deeply sorry. I'll never do that again. I promise you on everything I love," Andrew says.

  "I hope you'll never do it again, but I'm still hurt and there's nothing you can say to take that pain away," I admit. "I can't just unsee what I saw. It's impossible." I look at Andrew and I remember what he's capable of doing. "Don't even think about making me forget either."

  Andrew stands there and shakes his head like he's disappointed in himself for his actions that he displayed today. "I have to go," I say as I stand on my tippy toes and kiss him on the cheek.

  "I love you," Andrew says.

  "I know," is all I manage to get out. For some reason I couldn't let myself say it back even though I would mean every word.

  * * * *

  I invite Lilah and Ella into my house. My mom's in the kitchen cooking dinner. I haven't been able to look at her the same after I found out that she cheated on my father and Caroline isn't Scott's child, which meant that Caroline isn't my real sister. "What happened to your nose?" Ali's eyes are bugging out of her head.

  "I ran into a door. It's no big deal," I say. "This is Lilah and Ella. Is it OK if they stay the night tonight?"

  "Well, of course. I'm making dinner so I hope you girls are hungry," Ali announces as she goes over and checks on the food she has cooking on the stove.

  "We already ate, Mrs. Mckay." Lilah points to herself and her sister. "But, thank you very much for offering," Lilah says with a smile.

  "If you get hungry don't hesitate to help yourself to our kitchen. Make yourselves at home." Ella and Lilah smile at her and we head upstairs to my room.

  I walk into my room and instantly lay on my bed and pull the covers over my face. Today has been such an overwhelming day. On the plus side, I didn't faint at all.

  "There's a vampire at your door," Ella says and runs out of the room. I stay underneath the covers. I don't care who is at my door or who is trying to kill me.

  I hear footsteps coming toward my room and I hear two voices talking. "I couldn't miss the sleepover," a familiar voice says. It's Alex. I flip the covers off of me and jump up and run to Alex to give her a hug. It's nice to have her here for some reason.

  "I missed you too, sis," Alex says as she hugs me back. After the day she saved me at the football game, I feel as if I can trust her with my life. She's the only real friend that understands. Lilah and Ella just act like they understand.

  "I'm glad you came," I say as I let go of Alex.

  "After everything that's going on, I thought I should come spend some time with you."

  "Thank you."

  All us girls sit around talking about anything that comes to our minds. I tell Alex how I healed Melissa and how perfect it felt. I explain everything that happened today to her also. "Walking in on Andrew looking at another girl naked like that was so painful," I admit.

  "Hun, you have just been opened up to our world. This is how we live. You won't completely understand, but this is all we know. This is how we live. Andrew has never had a girlfriend before. I don't think he really knows how to handle the situation. Don't get me wrong, he loves you. He would give his life if it meant you got to keep yours," Alex starts to give me advice. It actually starts to sink in. They're vampires. This is how they have lived their lives, before I was even born.

  "It just hurt. I understand that he's a vampire and all, but it doesn't give him a right to be all over another girl while she's naked and drenched in her own blood."

  "You're right. It gives him no right to do that, but he now knows how you feel. Just give him time. I know Andrew well. If he said he will change then he will. His word is honorable. You can trust him. Just let him get used to this all. He's a vampire that's in love with a human, healer girl. It's going to take some adjusting for both of you," Alex says. She's absolutely right. I didn't take the time to think of his side to everything. I only thought about the way the pain hurt me. Adjusting is going to be a key in our relationship for as long as we are together. It's not usual that vampires and humans date. There's no rule book or hand book on the do's and don'ts. We're just going to have to work at this every day and help each other through it.

  "I feel like such a horrible person now," I admit.

  "Don't feel that way. Your emotions are always going to be on a roller coaster. You can't help what your heart tells you," Alex says.

  "How do you know the perfect things to say right now?" I ask.

  Alex takes a deep breath. "I was in love with a human before."

  "You were?" I ask in complete shock. "How was that?"

  "I was with him for 35 year
s of my life."

  "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "Jonathan died in the war. It was a depressing time for me. I thought I would never recover from his death. It took me 50 years to truly accept that he was gone forever. I haven't truly moved on from him. I don't think I ever will. Your first love is always special. Mine was Jonathan." I see a tear start coming down her face.

  "I'm so sorry," I say as I give Alex a comforting hug.

  "It's OK. It was a long time ago."

  I can't imagine losing Andrew. It has never even crossed my mind. If I lost him then I would lose hope for my future. I can't imagine existing in a world that he isn't in.

  Lilah's phone rings and interrupts Alex's and my heart to heart. "Hello," Lilah says as she answers her phone.

  I look at Alex and notice she's staring deep into Lilah's eyes. It's like she's lost in Lilah's conversation, that of course she can hear.

  Lilah, Alex, and Ella's faces turn emotionless. Then, I see that they all look scared. "What's going on?" I ask. No one will answer me. "Alex!" I shout.

  Alex looks at me with a depressing look in her eyes. "Lucian beat up William."

  "Is he OK?" I ask.

  "The Sulivic Brothers have kidnapped your sister."

  My mind doesn't even have time to think. I just react. I bolt out the door, down the stairs, and into my car.

  "Nina!" Alex yells. "You need to stay here. It's not safe for you right now."

  "Then get in the car," I yell.

  Alex shakes her head as if she's not OK with my actions, but she gets in the car anyway. Lilah and Ella follow her.

  * * * *

  My nerves are going crazy. My whole body is trembling. My hands cannot stay still. My eyes don't want to focus. My sister has been kidnapped by the Sulivic Brothers. My worst fears are starting to come true.

  "Where the hell is my sister?" I scream at the top of my lungs as I barge into the Madsen house.

  "I tried, Nina. I just couldn't," William begins to say.

  I lunge at him and keep punching him in the face. "How could you let something happen to her? You promised you would keep her safe!" I scream as I keep hitting William. I realize that every punch I throw isn't going to hurt him, but it helps me release some anger.

  Andrew pulls me off of William. "Nina, it's not his fault. He tried. They're too strong for him. Calm down!" Andrew yells.

  I plop myself onto the floor. My hands are shaking uncontrollably. The rage in me is just taking complete and absolute control over my whole body. I want to hurt someone. I want my sister back right now.

  "I went to go get Caroline at Kali's house. I wanted to make sure she was safe," William cries. "It was like they were watching our every move. I couldn't stop them." William threw the coffee table across the living room. It broke into a dozen pieces. "Do you know how powerless I felt? I couldn't do a damn thing to save her!" William yells as loud as he can. He walks over to me and sits on his knees. "I'm so sorry."

  I look down at him and see the tears covering his face. "We need to find her," I cry. "We need to find my sister."

  CHAPTER 22

  Bargaining

  Dear Diary,

  This is all my fault. I take full blame for this. Caroline was kidnapped by the Sulivic Brothers and I'm the reason why they did it. It's me they want and they took Caroline to draw my attention. It sure as hell worked.

  I should have told Caroline about vampires and healers. I should have informed her of what's going on all around us. If she would have known that I'm a healer and the Sulivic Brothers are after me because they think my blood is poison, she could have been more alert and cautious to watch out for these lunatic vampires that are on the loose.

  Maybe I'm so protected of my family because they're all I have left. Without Ali and Caroline, I would be alone in this huge world. I would be all by myself.

  Love, Nina

  * * * *

  Andrew texts me and tells me to turn on the TV and watch the news. I don't understand why he wants me to, but I decide to listen to him. I walk down the stairs in my house and make my way to the living room. I sit down on the couch and turn on the news. My eyes open wide. My mouth drops open.

  "11 year old, Melissa Conway was miraculously cured of cancer a couple of days ago. She wasn't suppose to make it another two weeks and the parents of Melissa found a note that stated, "Bless you sweet child. The pain and agony is now over. The healer of God has healed you. The cancer is now no more. May peace and happiness fill your future." The doctors tested her to check her cancer again and it had disappeared all of the sudden," the news lady announces.

  I cannot force my mouth to shut. I'm the one who healed her and now it's all over the news. This is unbelievable. My blood really does work. The doctors even tested her. The cancer is 100% gone.

  I see a video of Melissa pop up onto the screen. She's running around a playground outside of the hospital. She's playing and having fun like a normal kid should be doing. "God is definitely on Melissa's side. I'm Mariah Lee and what I saw today is a miracle!" The news lady ends her story.

  Andrew knew that seeing Melissa's face would bring light to my cloudy day. He's right. A smile is planted on my face now. It will only last a few minutes, but I will appreciate every second of it. "Thank you." I text Andrew back.

  I lay back onto the couch and cuddle up to a pillow. Melissa's face is imprinted into my memories at the moment. The thought of her won't disappear and I don't want it too.

  I feel my phone vibrate. Andrew texts me and informs me that Julian, Abel, and William will be outside of my house just in case I need them.

  Hours pass by and I'm still in the same position on the couch and not wanting to move. I must have fallen asleep after watching Melissa on the news. The thought occurrs to me, I have to tell Ali a lie about Caroline until we get her back. I'll just tell her that Lynns told me to tell her that she's at Kali's house for the night. They have to work on an art culture project or something.

  I force myself off of the couch and make my way to the kitchen. My mom is slaving over the hot stove like she always does. "Hello sleepy head," Ali says in a high voice. "I thought I would cook us all a quick dinner."

  "What's the rush?" I mumble.

  "I have a painting due for an art exhibit in just a few days. I'm going to be locked in my studio until then. But, don't worry, I won't forget about you girls." Ali laughs.

  "Oh, that reminds me. Lynns is staying at Kali's house tonight. She asked me to make sure I told you. They have like an art culture project or something," I mumble awkwardly.

  Ali studies my face for a moment. "OK. That's fine with me." I feel a sudden relief rush through my body. At least there is one less thing for me to worry about now.

  "I have to go, mom," I announce.

  "I just cooked dinner. Where are you going?" Ali asks.

  "I'm going to Kali's house. I'll be back in a few hours. Can you just put my dinner in the microwave for me, please?" I beg.

  Ali stands there and shakes her head and rolls her eyes at the same time. "I suppose. Don't be home too late!"

  I shake my head in agreement and leave my house in a hurry.

  * * * *

  I notice that Julian, Abel, and William follow me all the way to Andrew's house and then go their seperate way. I knock on Andrew's door this time instead of just walking inside. I don't want to see a naked girl covered in blood again. So, knocking will keep me on the safe side. I don't want any more surprises. I've had enough of them in the past few weeks. My nerves are shot. I feel an aching pain in my stomach that's making me sick and it won't go away.

  The door opens. It's Andrew. "Why are you knocking?" he asks.

  "My nerves and stomach can't handle anymore suprises. Is it safe to come in?" I ask.

  "Yes," Andrew replies.

  "Any news on Lynns?" I ask as I walk into his house and into the living room. He always has a fire going. I feel as if I'm going to end up melting in this house. The smo
ke is filling the air lightly. It smells like the outdoors in here, like always.

  "Not yet," Andrew shakes his head.

  "Where is everyone?" I ask, starting to hound him with questions. He should be used to it by now. I always do it. "I seen the boys follow me here, but then they went their seperate way."

  "Julian, Abel, and William are out trying to find a way to contact the Sulivic Brothers. Lilah and Ella are in the kitchen trying to cook you dinner and I have to supervise them to make sure they don't burn down the house." He laughs.

  I can't help but giggle to myself. Lilah and Ella have never eaten human food before. So, they definitely don't know how to cook it. "Why are they trying to cook me food?" I ask.

  "They think it might help you. Ella saw on TV, a way to someone's heart is by cooking them food." Andrew and I look at each other and smile. "They thought it might make you feel better."

  "Should we go check on them?" I offer.

  "That probably would be a good idea. Yes."

  We move our legs to reach the kitchen. Lilah and Ella have a few dozen cooking books out. Pans are filling up the stove. The oven is beeping. Smoke is filling the air from the food. It smells like something died in here. Ella has food all over her face and clothes. Lilah doesn't like to get messy. "Nina!" Ella shouts. "There you are! We've been trying to cook you a delicious meal, but I'm not sure if it's suppose to smell like this in here."

  "That's very nice of you both. I'm not that hungry though. I'm sorry."

  "Thank God, Nina. We really tried. I told Ella that she watches way too much TV. Maybe she should turn it on a cooking channel and learn something useful." Lilah storms out of the kitchen in laughter.

  "It does smell awful in here. Sorry, Nina!" Ella cries. "I'm glad you aren't hungry though. I would have felt terrible. It doesn't smell or look edible" Ella walks over and hugs me. As she's leaving the room she turns around and looks at Andrew. "Would you be a doll and clean up? Thank you, Andrew!" Ella walks out of the room to go clean herself up.

  Andrew shakes his head in disagreement. He doesn't look too excited to clean up the mess these girls made in the kitchen. At least their hearts were in the right place. "I'll help you," I offer.