Chapter 42
New Years
The day we have been planning for is finally here. It is time for our big New Year’s Eve party. Everything looks excellent. The decorations are amazing. We added fresh white roses around the house. The family ensures the finishing touches are complete, and Florence even added a welcome mat to the front step. The kitchen is filled with enough food to feed all of New England. We even have kid-friendly food for all the little ones that might be joining us. The hired staff members are starting to arrive, from a bartender and wait staff to the nanny and clowns for the kids. The DJ begins setting up in the family room, and the valets are outside, ready to park the cars.
As I peer out my bedroom window, I notice Nathanial and his family are the first to arrive. Everyone is dressed so dazzling. I’ve just finished dressing and start walking down the grand staircase toward Nathanial. I’m wearing the cocktail dress Matilda gave me for Christmas. The white bustier and black above-the-knee skirt with crinoline is very retro! I finished it with a black pashmina and black heels. The low ponytail I have in my hair is tickling my back, and I smile. I feel stunning.
By the look on Nathanial’s face, my guess is that he’s in full agreement. My guess is confirmed when he says, “Well there is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen!” Nathanial smiles, and his brother and father both nudge him in my direction, as if he was frozen in place.
“Now this party is going to be fun. I am glad you are here.” I greet my love with a kiss and proceed to his family. I smooch each one of them on the cheek. “I’m happy you could all make it. Please come in.”
“Thank you so much for inviting us. You have a marvelous home,” Mrs. McCord replies.
“It would not be the same without you,” Florence interjects.
“May I help you with anything?” Nikole offers.
“I would love it if you help me have a good time. We have finished everything and the staff will take care of the rest,” Florence smiles.
Our guests are beginning to arrive. The house is filling quickly with the town residents, and everyone is mingling, telling each other about their Christmas. The wait staff is busy serving drinks from the bar, including any kind of cocktails, beer, champagne, juice, soda, and Shirley Temples that someone might want to order. Everyone will be taken care of and be able to enjoy the party.
This is a great opportunity to meet and get to know the townspeople, especially since there are over a hundred guests. I’m enjoying talking with some of Nathanial’s friends from football and school, along with their girlfriends. I glance around to see what my family members are all doing. Constance and Isaac are visiting with coworkers, and Florence and Elijah are meeting all the parents. Everything is going great. People are dancing to the music, and the kids are enjoying all the crafts and games we have set up for them. It seems to be a typical mortal party.
Nathanial starts to introduce my siblings and me to the students from school that made it to the party. Over the past weeks, we had met a few, but no one really wanted to interrupt us at the lunch table at school. We have a tight group the six of us along with Danika, and she’s always around somewhere, which isn’t too bad. I’m beginning to feel like I am truly experiencing high school for the first time. I am even able to talk to some of the football team members and their girlfriends; they are a lot less judgmental than I first assumed.
Ebony and Matt finally arrive and join in on the conversation.
“Hey, Ebony! I am so glad you are here,” I say with a hug.
“Hi, Ebony,” a few of the girls say.
I am glad we didn’t invite Mel; the girl Ebony had the run-in with at school. I would have ended up ripping what she has of a heart out of her chest.
“Hey, everyone! Ebony says as she greets me and some of the other girls that have said hi. How are things going, Sophia? Sorry, but we got a little held up. Eliza had an outfit meltdown,” Ebony explains with a chuckle.
“Well, she looks great. Crisis averted, I see.” I wink at her.
A group of us head to the dance floor and start dancing the night away, laughing and having fun without a care in the world. The DJ is playing an array of music, but everyone seems to really get into things once he starts to play the top hits from the eighties. Who doesn’t love Duran Duran and Michael Jackson?
Some of the girls from school notice my ring that Nathanial strategically placed on my left hand ring finger, causing more than a few questions.
“Oh my! Your ring is beautiful! Is it from Nate?” asks a pretty, petite girl whose name I don’t recall.
“Yes. It was my Christmas gift. It really is lovely, isn’t it?” I reply.
A girl named Paige, who I remember as the girlfriend of one of the football players, asks, “Wow! Does it mean—?”
I stop her mid- sentence. “It’s just a gift from my boyfriend that I am wearing on my ring finger, it even matches my necklace.” I point out.
“Sorry. We didn’t intend to pry.”
“You did, but it is alright, and I’m sorry for my rudeness!” We giggle.
Everyone is warming up to me, and I’m warming up to them as well. I’ll admit there is more than one teenage girl whose head I’d love to rip off. I can hear a few of them whispering and such. I guess I’m no different than other high school girls, and we can’t all get along. It’s getting more and more like real life every day.
“Are you alright, Sophia? You look like you could use a drink,” Nathanial says.
“I think you’re right. Please excuse me for a moment.”
“Do you mind if I join you?” Nathanial politely requests.
“Hey, can I come too?” Ebony asks.
“Sure, I...um, I guess so,” I agree reluctantly.
I lead the two downstairs to the cellar, where we have a hidden room to store all our blood products.
“Why is it you keep all food, per se, down here?” Ebony asks.
“We only moved our supplies to this room because of the party. We didn’t want any wondering eyes finding it,” I reply.
“Your family thinks of everything,” Nathanial says with a chuckle.
“So Nate, I’m just curious, how did you know I needed to get away and have a snack?”
“I could feel the frustration you’re feeling, and I know every laugh line and freckle on your face. When I saw your eyes turn a darker shade of green, I knew it was time to get you out of there.”
Ebony holds up a bottle. “Is this the one you need, Sophia, from the juice jug?”
“Yeah, just a small glass would be great. Are you both sure you want to stay here? Neither of you have seen me feed or drink before,” I say nervously.
“Really, how bad can it be? We pour you a glass, and you drink it like any other beverage,” Ebony says with a hint of sarcasm.
“It’s not really that simple. If I’m able to control the features like my fangs and eyes with the smell, once I taste the blood, I’ll not be able to control it anymore. Are you sure you are both ready to see me…the real me?”
“Sweetie, we know the real you and look at the real you every day,” my beloved reassures.
With a slight reluctance, I take the glass of blood that Ebony pours for me. I turn my head away from the two of them and take a small sip. I feel the ache as my fangs come out and the burn of my eyes as they go black.
Nathanial turns my head back to them. “Sweetie, please. You don’t need to be ashamed, we accept you for everything you are. We’re bound to see this more than once in a while, and I must say you look beautiful.”
I quickly finish the rest of my drink and start to relax myself so that I can return to the party. I slip into the restroom and brush my teeth.
“I just want to thank you both for being so supportive of me. I could never ask for better people around me than the two of you. I love you both. Are you sure you can both handle seeing me like that?’
“Nate is right, Sophia. We’re fine. We’re here for you, which is
why we came with you. Now let’s get back to the party.”
They both put their arms around my shoulders, and we return to the festivities and celebrations once I relax enough and my features return to normal.
Immortal Embrace Page 42