Chapter 35
The Park
We start to organize the invites in the basket according to address. We have quite a few families to deliver to.
“We should get going and deliver these before it gets too late,” I suggest.
“It may take us a while. We are lucky everyone lives fairly close to one another.” Nathanial picks up the basket and grabs my hand, leading me out of the room.
I see the rest of my family is busy preparing, so I just tell Alexander we are going to deliver the invites. I’m actually a little excited. My family has hosted lavish parties before, but never one with so many mortals. This should prove to be an interesting and new experience for us all.
S S S
Nathanial and I drive to the school end of town. This will be the best place to start, and we can just walk the streets of the area delivering our invitations. It’s a nice evening out, with a slight chill in the air and tiny perfect snowflakes falling from the sky above. Wenham is such a scenic town. It’s not as modern as most places are. In the center of the town park, there is a magnificent gazebo with white lights hanging from the roof. The biggest poinsettias I have ever seen line the path from the street and surround the gazebo. Everything about this town feels welcoming and like home. The sun is setting and it is striking.
Nathanial and I both stand frozen as we look down the pathway into the park. It’s the same park where he was attacked about a week ago. I look up at Nathanial as he squeezes my hand just a little tighter. “Are you alright? We can go another way,” I suggest.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. It’s just now that I know the truth, and I see the entire attack a whole new way–the right way, just like it happened. I can actually remember it all and see what I never saw before,” he explains as if he is watching it happen. “I look over to where we were and I can picture the vampire ready to attack. Now I can see Alexander and Mati heading toward us at incredible speeds.”
“Don’t do this to yourself,” I insist.
“Do you see that? There is a man over there behind the tree.” Nathanial stands tall and tries to shield me just as he did the night of the attack.
“Oh my gawd! I don’t believe it.” If I could have gone any paler, I would have.
“So you see him too?”
“No. I see my brother.”
“Alexander? What is he doing here?”
“No, it’s Caspian. He’s here.”
“Well don’t just stand here. Go! I’ll wait for you.”
I take a few steps forward and just speak aloud. I don’t want to scare him away. “Caspian, I know it’s you, and you can come home. We miss you, and you are always welcome back.” I watch as he turns and disappears into the night once again. “Caspian…NO! Please don’t leave again!” I shout, to no avail.
Once in a while, I swear I see Caspian. I know he likes to keep tabs on where we are staying. I always hope he comes home to us soon. This has been the closest he has gotten. I have never been able to speak to him like today. Maybe the day of Caspian’s return is nearing. I now know the entire family wishes for him to come back to us. Caspian making his presence known to me may be something for my family to look into. This is twice in a week that a member of our family has spotted him. I wonder why he is getting closer, and I hope it is because he plans on returning to us soon.
“Are you okay, Sophia?” Nathanial wraps his arm around me.
“Yeah, thanks. It is just so awkward for him to show up now, when my family and I have been discussing finding him. We actually started talking about it since your attack, and to see him here where the attack happened is odd. Alexander believes he was here that night too.” I rest my head on Nathanial’s chest as he holds me.
“That’s a little weird, quite the coincidence. Can you tell me more about him?”
“Caspian was great. Aside from the bond Alexander and I have, Caspian was dearest to me. I have always turned to him whenever I needed something. Everyone has always treated me like some fragile little girl, but not him–not Caspian. He was always honest with me. Caspian would share things with me no one else would. He is a few hundred years older than I am and lived like a true vampire for most of that time. He was only able to go out at night. He hunted and fed off humans to stay strong. But Caspian was tired of living like that. He was a perfect fit for our family,” I explain.
“Yeah, the story you told me about Caspian explains so much, especially why you were so reluctant to get involved with me now. Don’t worry, honey. That will never happen to us. I believe in you and know that you are stronger than that,” Nathanial comforts.
“I wasn’t sure if I could resist you. Your scent overpowered me for the longest time. It was all I could think about,” I admit.
“And has that changed?” he questions.
“Yes. You still appeal to me, but ever since the attack, I’ve had the advantage of knowing I can control it. With the open wound and your blood spilling all over me that night, your scent is imprinted in me. I know now without a doubt that I can resist the temptation of your blood,” I say with pride.
We begin to walk further up the path hand in hand, and Nathanial asks, “Do you think Caspian will rejoin your family?”
“Well, we can’t worry about it now. We have a job to do.” I begin to lead the way to our next delivery.
It’s so much fun running up and down the streets and placing the invites in the doors. I pick up a little of the snow that has fallen to the ground from a large spruce tree towering above us. As I walk toward Nathanial, I slowly reach up and tuck the snow down the back of his shirt.
He begins doing a funky chicken dance, hopping around to try and get it out. “You’ll pay for that.” He grabs a handful of snow and starts chasing me down the street.
It feels so good to laugh uncontrollably. I lean over the bus stop bench as Nathanial comes up behind me. Grabbing my waist, he picks me up, and a moment later there I am lying on the snow-covered grass. Nathanial falls beside me, and we roll around together, laughing as we play in the white stuff like little kids on a snow day. This is so much fun, I think to myself. Everything about this feels so real, so normal. How is it possible that someone like me is so lucky? To be able to find such happiness–even something that resembles happiness–is a grand feat for my kind. This is unbelievable.
“We better stop horsing around and finish these deliveries,” I say with a giggle.
“Yeah, I think you are right. The next house is just over there.” He points down the street.
Nathanial and I are just about finished delivering the invites to everyone, and then it hits us: Christmas is in two days.
“Oh my gosh. I need to finish my shopping.” I explain.
Immortal Embrace Page 35