I can’t just forgive and forget
Anna and Luke were in their private lounge the following Friday night when there was a knock on the door. When given permission, Gabriel walked in.
“Your brother’s here and he doesn’t look too good.”
Anna leapt to her feet. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked.
“He won’t say. He just wants to talk to you.”
“Send him up,” Luke said. He took hold of Anna’s hand and kissed the back of it. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
A few minutes later, Paul walked into the room, sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. Anna said nothing; her brother would speak when he was ready.
“Danielle and I have had a huge row. I walked out. I can’t face going home. Can I stay here tonight?”
“Of course you can,” Anna said. She put her arm around him and he rested his head on her shoulder. Since she had moved in, he had visited often, so none of the resident vampires would mind him staying over. They had a couple of spare bedrooms and Anna told him to choose whichever one he wanted.
“Can I ask what it was about?” She wanted to say ‘what did you do’ but he wouldn’t tell her if she worded it like that.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure. I can’t even remember how it began. All I know is that it quickly escalated from a minor disagreement to world war three. Both of us started bringing up things the other had done in the past that we weren’t happy with. It began to get really ugly so I walked out before I said something I couldn’t take back.”
“You should give her a call, let her know where you are.”
Paul shook his head. “No. It will do her good to worry about me.”
Anna disagreed, but remained silent. There was no talking to Paul when he was in this mood.
At that moment, his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, saw it was Danielle who was calling, and hit ignore. Before it could ring again, he switched it off.
Almost instantly, Anna’s phone rang. “It’s Danielle,” she said. “Can I answer it?”
Paul nodded, then said, “I’m not speaking to her.”
“I gathered.” She hit the answer button and, instead of greeting Danielle, said, “He doesn’t want to talk to you right now. I suggest you wait until he calms down.”
“I should have known he would go running to his big sister,” Anna heard Danielle say.
“I’m his only family,” Anna snapped. “Of course he came here.”
“And where exactly is ‘here’?” Danielle had been told that Anna had moved in with her boyfriend, but was given no details as to where she now lived.
“None of your business,” Anna told her.
“Do you know what that bastard of a brother of yours has done?”
“No and I don’t want to know. This is between you and him. Keep me out of it.”
Danielle ignored the request and started to list everything Paul had done wrong, so Anna hung up and switched her phone to silent, wondering how long it would be before Danielle realised that she was no longer listening to her.
“Don’t say it,” Paul said when he saw the look on his sister’s face.
“Say what?”
“I told you so. I know you have never liked her and you thought letting her move in was a mistake.”
“I never said I didn’t like her.” She didn’t like her, but she had never actually said the words. Paul gave her a sour look. “Oh stop feeling sorry for yourself,” she said. “Go and work out your frustrations in the gym or something. Gabrielle is roughly your size. I’m sure he will lend you some clothes.”
Paul looked like he was going to argue, then he backed down. Anna was right. Physical exertion would do him a lot of good.
A few hours later, Luke went down to the kitchen to get himself and Anna some wine.
“Do you know what your brother is doing?” he asked when he returned to their lounge.
“Do I want to know?”
Luke grinned at her. “He’s drinking whiskey with Gabriel and Martin, discussing how much better the world would be without women.”
Anna rolled her eyes.
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The following morning, Paul looked hung-over when he finally made it down to breakfast. Helen took pity on him.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked.
Anna noticed the way she smiled at him and wasn’t sure she liked it.
“Just coffee thanks,” Paul said, returning her smile. “I don’t think I can face any food. Your brother and Gabriel are bad influences.”
“I thought you would have worked that out by now,” Anna said. “How much did you have last night? Are you safe to drive?”
“Probably not. I think I’ll go back to bed for a while.”
“Your own I hope,” Luke said. He, too, had seen the way Helen and Paul had been smiling at each other.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Paul said. He sounded sincere, so Luke let him leave without saying anything more. He did, however, confront Helen the moment Paul was out of the room.
“He has a girlfriend,” he said. “Keep away from him.”
“I haven’t laid a finger on him,” Helen said. “Nor a fang.” She revealed her fangs and hissed at him.
Luke rolled his eyes. “Children,” he said, making Anna laugh.
It was past lunchtime by the time Paul surfaced once more. This time he was able to face food and Helen made him an omelette.
“Thank you for the food,” he said as he rinsed his plate in the sink before placing it in the dishwasher.
“My pleasure,” she said. “Speaking of pleasure.” She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Instead of pushing her away, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.
Anna chose that moment to walk into the kitchen.
“Oh hell no,” she said, making the couple jump apart.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Paul said.
Anna ignored him. “My office. Now. Both of you.” As she walked into the corridor, she called out for Luke.
As soon as they reached her office, Anna grabbed hold of Paul’s chin and moved his head from side to side as she examined his neck.
“What are you looking for?” he asked, jerking his head back.
“Bite marks. I want to know if she is controlling you.”
“Of course she isn’t,” he said. “She has never bitten me.”
“How do you know?”
“Good question,” Luke said as he entered the office. “What have I missed?”
“These two were all over each other in the kitchen,” Anna told him, “and I want to know if he knew what he was doing. I want to know if Helen has injected him with enough venom to control him.”
“Well?” Luke asked, raising his eyebrows at Helen.
“Of course I haven’t.”
“How do I know you aren’t lying?” Anna asked. “How do I know you haven’t been causing all of the problems Paul is having with Danielle, biting him every time he comes here then sending him home to start an argument?”
“Anna,” Paul said. “You’re out of order.”
“No, she’s right,” Helen said, placing a placating hand on Paul’s arm. “What she is suggesting is possible. It’s not true, but it is possible.”
Luke moved closer to Paul. “All I can tell is that she hasn’t claimed him.”
“Then why don’t you?” Helen asked. She turned to Anna. “You don’t trust that I’m not controlling your bother, so why not make it so I can’t? Have Luke claim him, then I can’t bite him.”
Anna didn’t know what to do. It was a good suggestion, but if she agreed to it, she was telling Paul and Helen that she didn’t trust either of them.
“No,” she eventually said. “There’s no need for that.”
“Yes there is,” Paul said. “I’m seriously thinking about leaving Danielle and I need to know that it’s
me making the decision, not someone else. I know that Helen hasn’t bitten me and injected me with her venom, but unless I have proof, if I do decide to split up with Danielle, there will always be that lingering doubt in my mind that I was not in complete control of the decision.” He turned to Luke. “Will you do it?”
Luke looked at Anna, who shrugged her shoulders. It was his decision to make and she would not influence him in any way.
“Are you really sure about this?” he asked Paul. “It will mean that Helen won’t be able to touch you.” Paul paused before nodding his head. “Alright. Leave us alone for a few minutes.”
As soon as Anna and Helen had left the office, Luke moved closer to Paul and bit him.
————————————-∞————————————-
That evening, during dinner, Craig asked Natalie to go for a drive with him the following afternoon. He said that the problems between them had gone on for long enough and it was about time they sorted them out, one way or another.
She ignored him.
Craig looked at JD, who nodded his head.
“Natalie,” JD said. “You are going to go with Craig and you will listen to him.” He put a lot of emphasis on the ‘will’. “I promise you that he will not hurt you in any way and if you don’t like what he has to say then you never need to speak with him again.”
“Do I have any choice?” Natalie asked in a quiet voice.
“No,” JD said. He had already spoken with Doc so he wouldn’t interfere. Neither of them were happy about forcing Natalie to do something she didn’t want to, but they could see no alternative.
“Okay,” she reluctantly said.
As soon as the meal was over, she went to her bedroom and shut herself away. She didn’t join the others for a game of cards and nobody saw her again until the next morning.
“Thank you,” Craig said to JD once Natalie had left.
“Don’t screw this up,” he said. “I want you back on a hunt as soon as possible.”
Craig nodded. He had no idea what Natalie would do when he spoke to her; all he knew was that by the end of the weekend they would either be back together or he would be leaving 14, not that he had told anyone that.
————————————-∞————————————-
The following afternoon, Natalie said nothing to Craig as he drove her away from 14 and he didn’t attempt to start a conversation. He was tense and could see that she was as well.
He drove to the graveyard, parked his car, then asked her to take a walk with him. He led her past many graves, eventually stopping beside one. He sat down next to it and began speaking.
“Kirren, this is Natalie. I’ve told you a lot about her. Natalie, meet my brother. He was gay and killed himself when he came out to my parents and they rejected him.”
Natalie knew a little about Kirren, but not the full story. Craig had never told her and she had never felt the need to ask. He had never wanted to talk about it and she didn’t do anything to force him to.
“I haven’t had anything to do with my parents since. As far as I am concerned, the day Kirren took his own life, I became an orphan.”
Natalie remained silent. She had no idea why Craig was telling her this now, but she wouldn’t interrupt him.
“I don’t come here very often. I still feel guilty. I can’t stop blaming myself. There should have been something I could have done to help him. I get very emotional whenever I come here. I guess that is one of the reasons I never brought you. I didn’t want you to see me so weak and vulnerable.”
Still Natalie said nothing. She sensed that Craig didn’t want her to, at least not yet.
“For that I am sorry. I should have included you in this part of my life. Having you here with me might have made the visits easier.”
He stood up and walked away. Natalie followed him. He headed toward another grave. The gravestone had Simon’s name on it.
“I never visit here,” he said. “Somehow I could never bring myself to do so. The only reason I came here that day is because I heard crying. When I saw it was Jane, I couldn’t just leave her. She needed someone to comfort her and, to be honest, so did I. I know that that person should have been you, but you weren’t here.”
Craig’s voice was beginning to break as he spoke and Natalie felt an overwhelming desire to put her arms around him, but she held back.
“To this day I don’t know how we ended up kissing. All I know is that she needed someone and I was there. It meant nothing to either of us.”
For the first time since he began speaking, he turned to look at Natalie and she could see that there were tears in his eyes.
“I can’t go on like this anymore, seeing you every day but not being able to touch you. I’m in love with you Natalie and it’s tearing me apart. You have to decide what you want to do and you have to decide today. Either you forgive me and we start again or I move out.”
“You can’t move out. Your hunting team are your family.”
“You’re right. Since Kirren’s death, and my rejection of my parents, the people at 14 have become my only family and I love them all, but I will leave them if that is what you decide I have to do.”
“If one of us has to leave it should be me.”
“You can’t. Most of them mean almost as much to you as they do to me. Besides, where would you go? You don’t know anyone else in the hunter society. I do. I can easily transfer to another team. JD already has my application. He’s just waiting for you to let him know if he should submit it or not.” He was lying, but it would be a simple task to make his words true.
“You can’t do this,” Natalie protested.
Craig ignored her. “The other alternative is that I go away for a year to train to be a trainer. I’ve been asked and I said I would think about it in a few years. Maybe I should change my mind. It might be the perfect solution for us.”
Natalie stared at him incredulously. “You would go away for a whole year?”
“If I have no reason to stay, why not?”
Craig was hurting Natalie again, but he no longer had a choice. A decision had to be made and it couldn’t be delayed any longer.
“JD has asked me to stay, at least for another seven months or so. You can’t tell anyone this, but Sarah is pregnant again. JD wants me to stick around in case she needs me, but I can’t. I can no longer concentrate when on a hunt so have become a danger to everyone. I need to get back together with you or leave. Do you understand why?”
A tear rolled down Natalie’s cheek as she nodded her head. She knew how close Sarah and Craig were and how much leaving her would destroy him. She couldn’t believe he was even thinking about it.
“I need an answer by the end of the day Natalie. If not, I will take your silence as you want me to leave.”
He turned his back on her and went to the car. He had to wait a long while before she joined him.
“I can’t just forgive and forget,” she said. “I can’t just put it behind me and move back in with you.” She couldn’t look at him as she spoke so she didn’t see the look of despair that crossed his face.
He started the car, but she put her hand on his arm. “Please, let’s not leave yet.”
It was the first time she had touched him since he had ruined his life by confessing to her and he found himself pulling away from her.
He switched off the engine and stared ahead of him. He could hear in her voice that she was fighting back tears and he didn’t want to see her crying.
“I don’t want you to leave. I can’t bear the thought of not seeing you again. Seeing you every day but not being with you hurts, but not seeing you would be worse. I still love you Craig, of course I do. How could I not?”
“So what do you suggest we do? You don’t want me to leave, but you don’t want to be with me. There is no third option I’m afraid.”
“I never said I don’t want to be with you. Can we start over again? From the beginning.
Start by taking me out on a date tonight and see how that goes.”
Craig thought back to how their relationship started. Natalie and her sister had been rescued by hunters from 14 from a vampire who had held them hostage for a long time, using them as a constant supply of blood. Natalie had been terrified and had taken a long time to come out of her shell. Just getting her to leave the house with him had been a huge step for her. Their courtship had been slow, but it meant a strong bond had developed between them. They did it once, maybe they could do it again.
He turned to look at her. “I’m prepared to try, if you are. But you have to promise that you will never bring up what happened with Jane, that you will never use it against me if we have an argument. This will not work if you are always going to hold that against me.”
“I promise,” she said and tentatively held out her hand.
He hesitated before taking it.
He drove back to Sanctuary 14 one handed. It was dangerous, but he didn’t want to let go of her.
Neither of them spoke to anyone when they got home, though they could tell by the inquisitive faces that everyone wanted to know what had happened.
They got changed and left again soon afterward. Once they were a good distance from the house, Natalie phoned Silvia to let her know that they would be eating out that night. Soon everyone at 14 would know.
As she hung up, Natalie smiled at Craig and he felt a weight lift from him. He returned her smile and took her hand.
It was late by the time they returned. Craig walked her to her room, but made no move to kiss her goodnight. It was too soon. Natalie wanted to take it slow and he would let her set the pace.
For the first time in far too long, he slept through the night and woke up the next morning feeling optimistic and ready to face the day.
I’ve left her
A few weeks passed and Craig and Natalie grew closer and closer. JD allowed him to start hunting once more and everything returned to normal.
One evening, during dinner, Sarah was helping herself to some food when Jonathon said, “You need to cut down on your portions, sis. You’re beginning to look fat.”
Greater Vampires Page 13