"No. I can get this done in minutes. You should go make yourself comfortable on the couch. Get some rest," Andrew says.
"I've been sleeping this day away already. I fell asleep on my couch earlier after I watched the news. That really did make me feel better to see that little girl all cured. Thank you."
"I knew that would cheer you up. You still need to try to rest your body. It's been through hell lately," Andrew demands. I guess he's right. My body has taken so much physical and emotional damage.
"I'm sorry, Andrew."
"For what?"
"For not being understanding of who are you," I confess.
"It's OK. It won't happen again. Just bare with me, this is all new to me too, love."
"I know," I say and walk over to give him a kiss on his wonderful lips. "I love you so much."
"Always and forever," he says.
"Always and forever," I say back and move my legs in the direction of the living room.
Just as I lay down on the couch and I feel my body relaxing, Julian, Abel, and William come running through the door and startle me. I'm going to end up having a damn heart attack from them scaring me all the time.
"Lucian called me," William announces. Lilah, Ella, and Andrew come running into the living room.
"What was said?" Andrew asks immediately.
William shakes his head. "It's not good."
My mind starts jumping to conclusions. He must have killed Caroline or has been torturing her. "Spit it out," Lilah demands.
"The only way he's giving up Caroline," William pauses, "is if he gets Nina." Everybody starts talking and making loud noises in disapproval. The only way my sister will come back safely home is if I give myself up to the Sulivic Brothers to kill me. A life for a life. He's trying to bargain with us. My mind starts racing. What am I going to do? Should I give myself up for her? Should we try and make a plan to get her back on our terms?
"Lucian also said," William pauses and waits for everyone to listen,"if we deny his request then he's going to either sire Caroline or kill her. He said we have 24 hours."
"Sire?" I ask confused.
"Sire means to father a new vampire," William admits.
"He might turn Caroline into a vampire?" I ask and William just nods his head to confirm my question.
There are no other options. All the plans I was trying to think of are now out the window. I don't have a choice. My death is soon to come. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's official. I have to die for the safety of my sister. My mind is set. "I'll do it," I mumble. "Make the call to him, William." Everyone is in complete and utter shock. I think that was the last thing they were expecting to come out of my mouth. They all are speechless, even Andrew.
"No!" Andrew yells. "That's not an option!"
"We have no options, Andrew. He will kill my sister and that's not an option!" I shout with pure rage.
"We can figure something out. I'm not letting you do that!"
I start to cry hysterically. "It's not your decision. It's mine."
I start walking out of the living room to leave. "Where are you going?" Andrew asks.
"I'm going home to spend my remaining time with my mother!" I shout as I slam the front door behind me.
As I'm walking to my car, I hear the door slam again and Andrew's in front of me instantly. "Please, just listen to me."
"There isn't anything to listen to, Andrew. This is the life of my sister you're trying to gamble with. It's my decision."
"We can figure out a plan. We can somehow trap him into thinking we will give you up and then find a way to kill the brothers." Andrew thinks he has it all figured out. It's not that easy and he just needs to understand that.
"If Lucian thinks we're playing games with him," I pause at the next words that are about to leave my mouth, "he will kill Caroline or turn her into a damn vampire."
"Do you trust me?" Andrew asks me.
"Of course I trust you, but," I'm rambling on, but Andrew decides that the point I'm trying to make isn't necessary so he interrupts me.
"Then, let's make a plan. I won't let Lucian kill you or your sister. It's not an option. I promise you we can figure this out. There can be another way out of this. Your life is not something I'm willing to put on the line. We can do this, love." Andrew pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. "You know how many centuries I've been waiting to meet someone like you. You changed my whole life. I will not let anyone take that away from me. I love you, with all of my being. I can't and I won't lose you. I will do everything in my power to protect you. Please, Nina," Andrew cries.
Tears start running down my face like a waterfall. His words give me hope and faith. I trust him with my life and I love him more than words can express. "I'm so scared, Andrew." The tears aren't going to stop.
"I'm going to protect you, Nina. Even if it costs me my life. You will be protected." Andrew begins to cry also. Tears start rolling down his face. "I can't lose you." I wrap my arms around him. Tears are covering his shirt. I do feel so protected in his presence.
"So, what's the plan?" I ask as I wipe away the tears.
"We have 23 hours to figure it out."
CHAPTER 23
Plan
Dear Diary,
I'm at a loss for words.
Love, Nina
* * * *
I had no words to write in my diary today. I just kept it simple and to the point. At least I expressed some words on how I was feeling. I really am lost for words. This situation I'm caught in is terrible and frightening. There are so many lives on the line. Everyone is trying to help protect me and trying to get my sister back home safely. I've been selfish lately. I haven't taken the time to thank everyone for putting their lives on the line to protect me and my family. I owe them an enormous amount of respect. I've been to selfish to notice.
I'm sitting in Caroline's room, reminiscing on all the memories I have shared with her. Actually, there are way too many to recall, but I'm thinking of the ones I can remember.
I remember the time when Caroline and I were a few years younger. We used to play with each other all the time. We didn't really have any other friends. We have always just enjoyed each others' company. We made up the most ridiculous games imaginable, but we always had a blast.
I remember we made up a game after we watched the movie "Dirty Dancing". Throughout the whole movie Baby and Johnny worked on a stunt that consisted of him picking her up into the air and her arms and legs are in a formation like she's flying. They weren't able to hit that stunt until the end of the movie. Well, Lynns and I thought it looked so basic and decided to try it. So, we pretended we were practicing for a big concert and we had to make the dance and stunt at the end perfect. I acted like Johnny and Lynns acted like Baby. We practiced for hours and hours trying to make up a whole dance routine and even tried practicing that stunt, which wasn't easy at all. Every time I picked her up, it was a fail and she landed right on top of me, smack down on the floor. One time we were practicing that stunt and I didn't notice that our Barbie doll house was behind me. She ran in my direction and I tried to pick her up. We ended up falling straight down into the doll house. It was painful and we completely destroyed our Barbie's house.
Little things like that I will never forget. We always kept ourselves entertained. We have always been best friends and have always been there for each other.
I remember one time some little girl was picking on Caroline at a public playground. My mom was busying talking on the phone and my father wasn't there. Caroline came running up to me crying in pain. This girl pushed Lynns off the slide. Lynns' knees were scraped and bleeding. I ran over behind the little girl and pushed her off of the slide. She began to cry and moan in pain. I told her, "You better say sorry to my sister, or I'll beat you up!" Well, the girl went crying to her mom and never said sorry. I ended up getting in so much trouble from my mom for doing that. The point to the story is, I saw my sister in trouble and I defended her. I always ha
d her back, no matter what.
I look around Caroline's room and it's destroyed, like always. She told me once,"There is absolutely no point to waste my precious time cleaning my room when I'm going to ruin it the next day looking for an outfit." Clothes and shoes are everywhere. She always had a hard time finding anything in here. It was actually hilarious to watch and listen to her stomping around from downstairs.
Tears start running down my eyes.
I decide that it's time to stop bringing back all of the memories. I just miss her so much. I hope she's OK. I hope they aren't torturing her or hurting her in any way. I walk out of Lynns' room. Before I shut the door, I take one more glance throughout her room.
I go into my room, shut the door behind me and lock myself in here. I slide down onto the floor, with tears endlessly streaming down my face. I cannot stop the pain I feel. The aching in my heart won't stop; it won't leave. I want this depression and sadness to just go away. It needs to leave me alone.
I crawl over to my bed and underneath it I retrieve a box. The box contains a razor blade used for anything besides your skin, but I need to feel a different kind of pain.
I rip down my pants and throw them across my room.
My right hand is shaking with the blade in my hand. I press it down onto my left thigh. I press hard until I see blood flooding out.
My heart is beating. I can feel the thudding of it. I can see it under my shirt.
I begin to slice the blade across my bare skin. Blood is flowing out and running down both sides of my thigh.
I can feel the sheering pain filling my leg with agony, but I can't stop. The blade is still moving across my thigh. Slowly. Calmly.
I close my eyes and release the sharp razor from my hand and let it hit the floor. I lean my back and head against the wall. The uneasy pain in my heart is gone. It disappeared. The pain from my thigh took away the pain in my heart. I thought the aching, piercing, agonizing pain in my vulnerable heart would never end, but the blood and the blade took it away. Why? Maybe because I'm now more concentrated on the pain in my leg. It's burning and I just continue to ignore the pain.
I retrieve the razor blade from the floor and place in on the vein that is on my wrist. I press down and feel myself wanting to leave this world.
I cry and shake my head. I can't be a coward. I drop the blade onto the floor again. I sit here for a few minutes. It feels like an hour. I try to calm myself down. I keep telling myself that everything is going to be OK. I trust Andrew, and I know he'll come through for my sister's sake, for her well- being.
I take four long, deep breaths. I can't believe that I just relapsed.
I go into the bathroom to find the first aide kit. I tend to my deep and bloody cuts with the appropriate cream and band aids. After, I retrieve my pants from across my room and put them back on, I retire downstairs to find my mom in her studio. "Have you gotten any sleep at all?" I ask as I welcome myself in and sit down.
"I've been up all night. I told you I have very little time left to finish this master piece," she giggles.
My mom's painting is of a woman. The woman looks depressed and mournful, like my mother."What's going on in the painting?" I ask.
"It's trying to tell a story of a woman in distress. She's depressed over the loss of her husband, her only true love. Not a day goes by that she doesn't think about him. The world seems so much different without him in it. She will truly never forget the love they shared, but she knows that it's time for her to move on." It sounds like my mom's story. That's probably what inspired her to paint it.
"I think it's more than beautiful," I announce.
"Thank you, sweetheart. It sounds familiar, doesn't it?" she asks me.
I shake my head, "Very familiar."
"There isn't a day that passes by without your daddy coming to my mind. He was my soul mate. He was the best man I knew." Tears start to form in her eyes.
"I love you, mommy," I confess. Maybe this will be the last time I'm able to say it to her and the last time for her to hear those words come out of my mouth.
"I love you too, my Nina." As she speaks those words, I walk over to her and hug her. I smell her hair, possibly for the last time. It's the smell of paint and flowers. I kiss her on the cheek and rush out of her studio. The tears are covering my face. I hope I'll be able to smell that sweet smell of hers again real soon.
I look at the clock and it's almost noon. I should hurry up and get to Andrew's house to start making a plan before midnight, when we have to call Lucian.
* * * *
I decide from now on I will knock on Andrew's door before I enter. It's almost lunch time so they might be feeding on someone. I really don't want to start my day off with seeing that. That's just disgusting and disgraceful the way some of them do it. I hear a voice yell, "Come in!" I walk in and everything seems calm here. No naked women and no blood stains splattered anywhere. That's a good sign. I stroll into the living room, where everyone always is. Andrew, William, Alex, Lilah, Ella, Julian, and Abel are all sitting around in a circle. It looks like they started brain storming plans while I was home.
"What's that on your leg, Nina? You're bleeding." In that instant, Alex is standing by me and trying to smell me. "Did you hurt yourself?"
"No. Why are you smelling me?" I question. I shouldn't have been wearing gray pants. What was I thinking? Wait, I wasn't thinking, at all.
"It's just different that I can't smell your blood. What happened?" Alex asks as she gestures to my leg.
"I don't know. That's weird." I try to slide by her, but she won't let me by. She knows something is not right. She grabs my arm and drags me to her bedroom down the hall. She slams the door behind her.
"Strip. Now," she says as she gestures to my pants.
"Why are you doing this?" I argue.
"That blood is fresh, Nina. Believe me, I know. If you didn't hurt yourself on accident then you did it on purpose!" Alex yells in complete rage now. My eyes find the floor. "Why? Why would you do that to yourself?"
"To distract from the aching pain in my heart. To put the pain somewhere else. Put it some place where I can actually cope with it," I cry. Alex doesn't say a word. All she does is hug me, tight. I begin to cry more. I haven't been this emotional since the first few weeks after my dad's death. After that I cried here and there, but not 20 times a day like I feel like I have accomplished today.
"I'm so sorry that you're hurting inside. I wish I could say something to help, but I truly don't understand what you're feeling inside. Just stay strong, for your sister. She's counting on you right now. So, you need to wipe away those tears from your beautiful face for starters. Then, we can go out there and make a plan to get your sister back to us safely." Alex always has inspiring words and the wisdom of a god. I hate the idea that vampires don't have souls because all of these vampires in this house have shown me that they have more of a soul than most humans. My opinion, it's just a myth. I believe they're capable of having the most loving and caring souls.
I wipe away the tears from my face like Alex suggested. I take a few deep breaths and hold my head high. It's time for me to be strong for Caroline. I can do this!
Everyone stands up when I walk out into the living room. They heard Alex's and my conversation. Crap. I keep forgetting that they're vampires with super sonic hearing. I'll never get used to that quality.
They all take turns coming over to me and hugging me. Every one of them tell me that they believe I can be strong. Look at how much I've been through in my life. I'm only 17 years old and I've been through more pain and suffering and seen more things in my life than some adults have. I'm naturally a strong human being. I just don't give myself enough credit. Look, I had the strength to stand before these vampires and tell them I wanted to give myself up for the safety of my sister. That took strength and courage to say that.
"We need to find a plan that promises our safety, along with Caroline's as well," Andrew announces. "Any ideas?" We all shrug and sit there
with our thinking caps on. Mine is burnt and out of order, so I hope theirs are working properly.
"Why don't we pretend to have Nina with us, somehow. When we get Caroline in our sights, we attack the Brothers and William goes to save Caroline," Lilah suggests.
"That will never work. Lucian will demand to see Nina before we see Caroline," Andrew adds.
"We can find out where the Sulivic Brothers are and attack them," Ella says.
"Sister, if we knew there was a way of finding the location of the Brothers, don't you think we would have done that by now?" Abel says. He's absolutely right.
"Brother, do you have anything better?" Ella argues.
"Tell Lucian a meeting spot. Andrew and William greet Lucian. Then, we all come out of no where and kill them all." Ella shakes her head at Abel's idea. His is no better than her's.
"Remember, right now he's always two steps ahead of us. Lucian is a smart vampire and believe me when I say this," William pauses. "He knows exactly what he's doing." William knows from experience. Lucian and William used to be good friends back in the old days. "We have to out smart him."
"We can kidnap a brother and hold him hostage," Julian suggests.
"That will never happen in less than 12 hours. Let's just wing it and kill all those bastards!" Alex shouts in rage.
"We need to protect Caroline." I try to get my words across. That's the whole point of this situation, to protect Caroline and I. Everyone shakes their heads in agreement. I'm glad we're all on the same page now.
"Let's use Nina as bate," William says.
"No!" Andrew yells in pure anger. "Absolutely not!"
"Andrew!" I shout. "Let him finish!"
"We'll make a meeting spot. We'll bring her just as he wants. Make him show us Caroline. When he does, Lilah, Ella, Julian, Abel will attack them from behind. Alex and I can take out Lucian. I know how he thinks. I think I should be involved in killing him," William pauses for a moment to wait for someone to interrupt with their advice. No one does. Everyone stays quiet, listening to his voice. "Nina will stay with Andrew. You'll keep her safe while you two go get Caroline and while we distract them. We'll take care of the Sulivic Brothers. You keep them safe."
Dark Love Page 18