by Anna Santos
***
The dinner was fun. We talked and laughed, making me forget, for a moment, the craziness that my life had become. Ewan acted like the perfect boyfriend; serving food, giving me his hand under the table, and treating me really nice. It was extremely disturbing to have him so devoted to me. Even if I was trying to act cool, my mind was troubled by Anastasia’s threats. I wanted to get my friends to safety. I needed to resolve the situation I had created and get rid of Ewan.
Time flew during the conversation. It was almost midnight when I began to wash the dishes, while Ewan was bringing the glasses from the table. Francesca and Sebastien were sitting on the couch, talking sweetly to each other. They looked really cute together. I was happy to see how their innocent and sweet love had blossomed.
“They make a really cute couple,” Ewan whispered in my ear, putting his arms around me to place the glasses in the dishwasher. I panicked with his closeness, but tried to control the urge to stay away from him.
“They are adorable,” I agreed, nodding in the process. “They will make a lot of adorable babies,” I joked and Ewan chuckled.
“We would make a lot of adorable babies,” he teased in my ear, nuzzling his nose against my hair.
“Too bad you are a vampire.”
“That’s the downside of being a vampire.”
“At least you had a baby,” I reminded him, since I was still intrigued about that. “When you were married with the enchantress. You’ve never told me what happened to your baby,” I mumbled, trying to lead the conversation to a point that would make him feel uncomfortable.
“No, I didn’t. Maybe I’ll tell you someday.”
“It must be hard—to think about it. Your baby and—your wife died. Or don’t you ever think about that anymore? It’s been how long since you are a vampire?”
“We should talk about this when your friends aren’t here,” he said, looking behind to see if they were listening. They were too busy cuddling and kissing.
“You should have told me that they were going to be here.”
“I thought you would like the surprise.”
“On a normal night I would. But we really need to have a serious conversation.”
“You have been jumpy since you got home. Your heart is erratic and you get really uncomfortable around me,” he said. I knew he had noticed. He wasn’t easy to fool. But I had a really good justification for my behavior. I washed my hands and made him step back so I could face him.
“I have a really good excuse for that,” I said, serious face, staring straight into his eyes.
He blinked and then frowned. “Did I do something wrong?” He wondered.
“I believe you did.”
“What?”
“We will talk after,” I said, strolling my way back to the couch and sitting next to my friends. “Are you going to get back to classes soon?” I inquired, staring at Sebastien and interrupting their talk.
“Yes, tomorrow. Francesca wanted me to rest more, but—I think I’m ready to go back.”
“We should probably get back home,” Francesca said, staring at her watch. “We have classes in the morning. This has been really fun, Sarah. You have to come and dine at my place some other night,” she proposed and I nodded with a smile. “It’s everything okay?”
“Fine. I’m just tired,” I said, getting up to take them to the door. “I’ll accompany you downstairs.”
“It isn’t really necessary. We know our way out,” Francesca said.
“No, I want to make sure that you will be fine. And I want to talk to you, privately,” I whispered the last part lower. She just nodded.
“It was a pleasure,” Ewan said, coming to us to say goodbye to Francesca and Sebastien. He frowned, staring at me, intrigued by why I wanted to take them downstairs. “Do you want me to walk you out?”
“No, just finish cleaning, please,” I said, smiling to reassure him. “I promise I’ll explain everything in a bit,” I whispered, closer to his ear, kissing his cheek. “Now be a good boy and make me some tea. The herbs are over the counter.”
He nodded and I followed Francesca and Sebastien into the corridor. We walked to the stairs.
“What is going on?” Francesca asked intrigued.
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you coming with us downstairs?” Sebastien asked, also intrigued.
“Well, because you are in danger,” I said truthfully, “and I need to keep you safe. So hold on and try not to scream—much,” I explained, putting my hands in each other’s shoulder and teleporting us out of there to the headquarters.
“Oh my god!” Francesca squealed, when we appeared somewhere else. She stumbled, holding on to Sebastien’s shoulder. He seemed puzzled, frozen eyes on me. “What has just happened?”
“Your life is in danger,” I answered, staring in Francesca’s eyes. “Relax,” I whispered, using my enthralling voice. “Relax,” I whispered to Sebastien, who let his body relax and slipped into the same hypnotized state as Francesca. “Follow me,” I ordered, trying to find someone in that place. I had no idea why everything was so deserted. Galvin wasn’t answering me either. Finally, I found one of the guards.
“I need to get back to where I was. Could you please accommodate these two in a holding cell? A comfortable one and they can stay together. Give them extra blankets.”
“Are they prisoners?” The young boy wondered.
“No, they are possible victims. I’ll be back to get them later.”
The boy nodded sternly, and I instructed Francesca and Sebastien to follow the guard and stay relaxed. They were at home in their heads. They were going to sleep and relax until I could come and get them back.
Then I got back home. I tried to relax myself before I faced Ewan again. He was starting to suspect my actions. I had to play nice and end that situation that night. I was tired of pretending with him and I wanted Anastasia to pay for her cocky threat.
When I opened my apartment door, Ewan was waiting for me on the couch. He had a hot cup of tea on the table in front of him, and he looked meditative. I smiled to myself, staring at the boiling water, spreading the aroma into the air. He must have inhaled the herbs’ aroma while making the tea. My plan was in motion.
“Are you going to tell me what is going on?” He asked. I nodded and closed the door behind me, evading his eyes and looking at the floor as a scared and timid girl would do. Faking well was the key.
“I really don’t know how to tell you this,” I whispered, sitting next to him in the couch in a rigid position. He frowned again.
“What the hell is going on?” He asked, beginning to lose his patience.
“We can’t be together anymore,” I informed him mildly. “I thought about this and—it feels wrong. And I don’t really know how to explain it to you, but we have to break up. I’m going to leave tomorrow. You can stay here while you find another place to live. But I’m going to go back home and we are going to break up.”
“That is not going to happen,” he said firmly right after I finished talking.
It was my time to frown. “What?”
“I’m not one of your immature boyfriends. I have been patient with you and I have been nice. I even gave you time to get to know me. I’ve invested too much of my time in you. We aren’t going to break up,” he clarified nonchalantly.
I looked in his eyes, perceiving the calm and the certainty he had. So, summing up, it was not up to me to decide whether we would break up or not. And since he didn’t want it, I had no say in the matter. That was really mature of him, no doubt about it. It didn’t sound selfish, either.
“I’m sorry, did you bump your head and lose your mind? Or do you think we live in the medieval age?” I asked, baffled by his attitude. Deep down inside of me I knew it wouldn’t be that easy to get rid of him. As he had said, he had spent too much of his time and energy on me. As Anastasia said, I was his new toy, one more girl to add to his list, one more for him to fool. Rejecting him was
not in his plans, he was the one who rejected a woman, not the other way around. But I had a plan.
“Give me a valid reason for us to break up,” he requested. He looked rather convincing in pretending that he was afraid of losing me.
“I don’t love you,” I declared and he just smirked. Was he crazy?
“You haven’t thought much about this, have you?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I followed you today,” he informed me and I tensed. I thought about what I had done during the day.
“Why would you do that?” I asked, breathless.
“Well—I thought there was something wrong with you these past days. You are acting really strange.”
“How do you want me to act with all that is going on?” I asked, with a trembling and vulnerable voice. He grabbed my hand and kissed it.
“I know, darling. I know.” He sighed deeply.
“So did you have fun?” I questioned, intrigued, because if he had followed me, he knew I had spent the morning in classes and the afternoon in the library.
“You had a pretty boring day—until—Anastasia and her new vampire toy visited you at the library.”
“You saw that,” I mumbled, staring at our hands together and intrigued by what he knew.
“She threated you, didn’t she?” I just nodded. He sighed deeply and grabbed me under my arms and made me sit on his lap. I let him, confused, intrigued. “What else did she tell you?”
“She said you were lovers.”
“She said that, so you would break up with me. We aren’t lovers. There is just you in my life now.”
“She also threatened to hurt Francesca like she has hurt Sebastien,” I told him the rest, since there was no more reason to hide it. Not that I was planning to keep a secret of what had happened. I was going to tell him, he just beat me to it. I was lucky he had followed me on a day that nothing out of the ordinary happened. Well, Anastasia had happened.
“I was worried about you,” he explained. However, I knew that there was more to it than what he was telling me. Not sleeping with him was raising red flags.
“Why didn’t you do anything if you saw them there?”
“They didn’t hurt you. I wouldn’t have let them hurt you. I was also curious to see what you were going to do. Were you willing to give up on us just to save your friend?”
“Of course,” I said, pretending to be annoyed by his question. “I’m just a human. What can I do against her?”
“Honey, you should have told me. Breaking up isn’t the solution. I love you.”
“You also love her” I said and he evaded his eyes from mine. I wanted him to react, but he just looked pensive. “Besides...she said a bunch of things, that...totally grossed me out.”
“You should have told me that she had threatened you.”
“What for? I’m tired of telling you that Anastasia is dangerous. You have a history with her and you don’t seem to understand what a psychopath she can be. She is obsessed with you. I don’t want to live fearing for my life.”
“You won’t need to. I’m going to take care of her.”
“Are you going to send her to her room again?” I asked sarcastically.
“No. I’m going to have a serious conversation with her.”
“Of course, that will do the trick.” I breathed deep, losing my patience. “You had that before and whatever you told her, it didn’t work.”
“So what do you want me to do?” he asked. “She’s my daughter.”
“You two really need to see a shrink. She is not your daughter. You had one and you didn’t fuck with her, did you?”
“What the hell are you saying?” He stared at me outraged.
“Please, stop acting. She told me. I really don’t care, really,” I declared as if it didn’t matter what they had done before me. “It has nothing to do with me. You don’t have to explain it to me. She is pretty, she is not your real daughter and she is obsessed with you. She also said the nastiest things about you.”
“She—can be extremely possessive,” he said, pensive eyes and I was intrigued. “Sarah, I’m with you now,” he said, hugging me tighter. His answer was everything but a denial of my assumptions. It was more an excuse for him to leave her behind. He grew bored of her like he had grown bored of me when I was Violet. “I want to start all over with you. I’ve missed you.”
“I’m not your deceased wife,” I sighed annoyed, breaking the hug.
Ewan was really crazy or remorseful for what he had done to his Violet. I didn’t consider myself his Violet anymore. I was a new and improved Violet. He could be remorseful all he wanted. My heart didn’t feel any pity whatsoever. Anastasia and he were nasty beings. They were perfect for each other. I was a fool to keep craving revenge. It was revenge enough to know that Anastasia was making his life a living hell.
“I know that you are not my Violet. You are much more than that. But don’t be mad sweetie,” he pleaded, taking my hands and making me go back to his lap. “What I meant was that I will do my best to make you happy.”
“Well, I won’t be happy if something happens to my friends. And if I don’t leave tomorrow, Anastasia will make her threat real,” I whined against his neck while he was cuddling my hair. Was he eventually going to do something to stop that bitch? He was getting on my nerves. “Why don’t you kill her?” I asked, unable to keep playing the good girl. I smirked mentally at my evil question and stared at Ewan with puppy eyes. “It would be so much easier. She’s so evil. I don’t like her at all.”
“Kill her,” he whispered, frowning, probably surprised by my request.
“We can’t send the police after her. She is a vampire. Unless,” I stopped talking, pretending to be thinking about another solution. “If we could tell the hunters where she was and what she did? Would they come for her?”
“I guess they would. They don’t tolerate when vampires take a life or try to take lives. However, don’t you think it is a bit harsh as a punishment?”
“It’s harsh because she’s your daughter or it’s harsh because you like to fuck her in your free time?” I asked stern face and cold eyes. “Don’t even try to lie to me, she told me all about it. She even asked if I wanted to do—a ménage à trois.”
“With who?” He asked, his voice getting louder and angrier.
“With her and that guy,” I answered, blinking innocently and biting my lower lip.
“What the hell,” he cussed and I felt when his body tensed and he clenched his jaw. “That twisted bitch!”
“Would you like better if it was me, her, and you?”
“Stop talking nonsense,” he demanded. His eyes were flickering between blue and dark. He wasn’t happy.
“It’s what she told me that you wanted to do,” I whispered, holding on to his shirt with both hands and staring at his chest, pretending to be extremely sad, but just smirking mentally. “Did you really say that to her?”
“Of course not. I don’t share my women.”
“Your women?” I glared at him and he just smirked wickedly. “Fuck you!”
“There’s just you now,” he assured, before I could get out of his arms. “Come on, Sarah, be a nice girl.” I was almost throwing up with his mellow voice in my ear and his breath on my face. “I’ve told you there is no one else now. I love you. I’m trying to be a new man.”
“I have a feeling I wouldn’t have liked your old self. You’ve been playing me. Telling me some sappy story about your deceased wife and how sad you were about her death, but in reality, you and your twisted vampire daughter have been living all this time together and she actually said that you had a lot of other women after your wife was dead.”
“I was sad not dead. Besides, there was nothing I could do about her death. I mourned her, I searched for revenge, but I couldn’t bring her to life.”
“And all that story about wanting to die, is it all bullshit?”
“Sarah, please stop talking about the past. I lo
ve you, I want to be with you. I don’t want Anastasia. I don’t want any other woman. Just you. So, stop questioning everything about my life before you. Tonight,” he said next to my mouth, trailing his hands down my spine, “it’s about us. Tomorrow, I’ll take care of Anastasia. I’ll make sure she won’t even think about hurting you. Besides, after you turn into a vampire, you can take care of her yourself. Would you like that?” He asked huskily with shining evil eyes.
“Kill her?” I asked, surprised by his words. Was he being serious?
“If you want. I don’t have any use for her anymore. She is a spoiled and annoying girl.”
“But you said you loved her and she was your daughter,” I stammered, shocked by how easy it was for him to get rid of his former lover. Just like that, he would even let me do it. I guess it was some sort of initiation ritual, get rid of the old girl by making the new one kill her. That was the real Ewan.
“When you said that I should kill her, I thought you were extremely brave. It pleased me a lot. I like it when you act so cold because of your feelings for me.”
I mused about his words. So he thought that I wanted Anastasia dead because I was jealous of her and of what they had. I wondered if he had made the same proposal to Anastasia to kill me, or plan my death. Silly me, of course he had.
“You have no idea of the things I want to do to you right now,” he whispered, kissing the middle of my cleavage and sliding his hands to the pit of my arms, so he could push my chest closer to his mouth. His kisses were needy and I felt his swollen crotch when I had to sit on his lap. His hands molded my breasts and he kissed me deeper. Things were escalating quickly.
“Just wait a bit. I need to know something,” I requested, pulling him back. He was high on lust and I gulped, cussing mentally. I managed to get out of his lap and stand in front of him. “How do we kill a vampire?”
“Cut the head or rip out the heart,” he replied and smirked. “I don’t think you have the stomach for it.”
“And that shows how little you know me.”