Broken Rules(The Chronicles Of Amber Harris) Page 5

  *

  “Grandma, Grandma! Look what we got you!”

  It is a good thing I am strong, because this kid left me to bring in all of the bags. It is fine though. He has a one-track mind. All he talked about on the way back to the house was giving Madeline his gift, and hoping she was in a better mood. Well, maybe I was the one hoping she was in a better disposition. I have to remind myself to be considerate, but I do not know how much longer my temper will hold.

  Madeline is sitting at the kitchen table, with a glass of wine. Thankfully, it looks like she has just opened the bottle.

  “What do you have for me?”

  Opening her hands, she takes the rectangle box from Dominick. Sliding the lid off the box, I watch her eyes grow big and round. She has not noticed my entrance yet.

  Closing the box, she places it on the table.

  “Do you like it?” There is such hopefulness in the young one’s voice.

  Looking at her grandson, she ponders her answer. She now sees me standing in the doorway.

  “Oh, my, do you need help with all of those?”

  Before she can stand, I shake my head and say, “No, I’m fine. Dominick, do you want to take a few of your bags upstairs and I’ll bring the rest up in a little?” Walking to me, I slide the two of his smallest bags off of my arm and into his hands.

  He faces his grandmother and says, “Amber bought me new clothes!”

  Not giving her a chance to respond, he turns and heads for his room. I put all the bags down and search through the pile until I find the items I picked up at the local grocery store.

  “Amber, this bracelet is too much. I can’t take it. And what is all of this? You bought Dominick clothing? There is nothing wrong with the ones he has.”

  Hmm, I wonder if she was looking at what the boy put on today. About halfway through the day, I wondered if he was colorblind. Some of the outfits he picked out really had me concerned. I realized though that he has no fashion sense. He had no problem telling me the colors of the balloons as he took his time picking a few out. Those are still tied to his wrist. I have to say, it is a good thing I had the way back to the house memorized, since it was very hard to see out any of the windows, between all of the bags and the balloons. I know from now on, sports cars may equal fast, but they do not leave a lot of room for packing another human, no matter the size, and about fifty shopping bags and four balloons.

  Noticing that I have not responded to Madeline, I turn and face her. “The bracelet was a gift from Dominick. You will hurt his feelings if you take it back. Saying that, I figured you might have a problem with it so I put the receipt under the holder in the box. Feel free to return it. I’m sure they will be happy to offer you a store credit. I paid with a credit card. As for the clothing, Dominick and I liked them so I bought them. They aren’t yours to return. Dominick will keep them. I’m sure you won’t be happy to know that I also picked up a few items for you too.” Shoving the bags across the floor, they stop an inch before her foot. “Do with those as you please.” I know that was rude, but she really needs to cut me some slack. Hell, I am trying. She needs to remember that she is not the only one who lost Lance. Going up the stairs, Madeline follows me. I stop at Dominick's door and set the rest of his bags inside his room. He must be in the bathroom again. I never knew kids went so often. After the first time, I think he had to go every fifteen minutes. He must have the world’s smallest bladder.

  Madeline is right behind me. I do not make eye contact with her as I sweep by her and enter the room she told me I could stay in. I may need to go out for a midnight snack it may help with my anger. If need be, I will just go out the window, I do not want to see Madeline for a few hours.

  4

  Note to Self

  “Maddie, can you come in here? I need to talk to you.” Maddie enters the living room where I am seated. I have to say she looks a great deal better than when I first arrived. I still cannot believe it has been six, almost seven months, since I agreed to stay. We have had our ups and downs, but looking at her now, I can honestly say we have become true friends. We have recovered from Lance's death and developed a wonderful friendship. The first month though, I questioned if I was sane. Or was I pushing fate?

  The second night in the house, I waited until Maddie and Dominick slept before I left to find food. The red haze that blazed from Maddie and my disagreement cleared, and I realized I probably did not need to use the window as my personal exit and entrance to the house. Using the stairs and the front door worked just the same. Once my belly was full, I was able to face the next day or two with a grieving Maddie. I believe Maddie realized that she upset me too. The next morning when she awoke, she acted happier than she did the day before. We were able to talk about how she and Lance met, and what it was like to have dated and been married to him. I did not want to push her for too much information too quickly, and she did not volunteer to give too much up. Every day of the first month was still a roller coaster though. Depending on what we talked about, determined how her mood swayed. I was always mindful that she considered my generosity a handout, especially since her marriage and her family lived off of my funding. After the first few heated arguments, I gave up on trying to explain it was not like that.

  Going to bed at night was difficult and is still hard for her. I can sympathize. Lance's scent holds a strong grip in their room. I kept my distance from the master suite, but there were times Maddie would fall asleep on the sofa and I would carry her to the bedroom. Those nights were as hard for me as all the others were for her. I once offered to help her air out the place, but she declined—I cannot say I blame her, I would have done the same thing. On some of the mornings, after she tossed and turned all night, she found it a lot harder to get up, and I tried to be as big of a help as possible. Those were the days I was glad I had so many years of making myself a well-tempered vampire. I would try to help but somehow I would end up upsetting Madeline. Dominick's first day of school was one of those days.

  The night before, after polishing off a bottle and a half of wine, Maddie stumbled to bed, only to lay there and cry for the next two hours thirty-six minutes and forty-two seconds. I tended to leave her alone when she shut the door to her bedroom. Instead of going to her aid, I sat in the dining room staring at my hands until she finally fell asleep. I knew from talking to Dominick that the next day was his first day of school—he had only told me forty-eight times that week. After Dominick woke up and began to get himself ready for the first day of kindergarten, I was torn between letting Maddie sleep or waking her up to help us. I mean, really, I am a vampire! There was no such thing as kindergarten when I was a child. I understand now that it apparently is a much bigger deal than I realized.

  My first mistake of the day was offering to help Dominick with getting dressed. Prior to his big day, I had left the bathing department up to Maddie. But Dominick insisted that he clean up before getting ready for class. As I started to follow him into the bathroom, he turned around and scolded me, telling me he was a big boy and did not need my help. After he shut and locked the door in my face, I stood there listening to see if he would need me. Being a vampire can be handy when it comes to breaking down doors, if only Dominick knew that. My second mistake was trying to help him pick out his clothing. This was week three of my stay, and I learned by the second day that Maddie let Dominick dress himself, which in my mind, was a walking disaster. Somehow, I lost that battle too. I never guessed a five year old had so much fight in them.

  Lunch was a mess in itself. I had never packed a lunch. Growing up, we would go home during the day and Mother would have food waiting for us. When we finished, we would go back to school. Working with humans, I found they would sometimes bring food from home to eat during their lunch break, yet I had no idea what I should pack in his monster lunch box—yes, the lunch box matched the slippers, the socks, and about a dozen other items owned by the little boy. After staring at the plastic box for a few minutes, I made m
y third mistake. I walked over to the refrigerator and removed the leftover chicken Maddie baked the night before. I was not sure how much he would eat, so I cut a hunk of breast and the remaining drumstick off and placed it in the box next to an oblong container that had a handle on the top half of it. I had no clue what that did so I just left it alone. I also added a few green grapes. I saw Dominick munching on the grapes a few days before and enjoying them. Lastly, I put a treat in the lunch box. The last time we went to the store, he wanted this candy, which comes in yellow packaging and contains several different flavored soft candies wrapped on the inside. I added two packages of those and closed the lid. By that time Maddie still had not woken up, and that was my fourth mistake of the day. Instead of going to wake her up, I closed my eyes and concentrated on wrapping my mind around the sleeping woman upstairs. It is a good deal easier to read the mind of someone who is awake, but I knew if I tried hard enough, I would be able to pull the location of the building from Maddie’s head and not need to wake her. She had a hard night and really needed to sleep.

  Once I had an idea of where to go, I packed Dominick in the car and headed off for his first day of school. I was thankful I overheard Dominick ask repeatedly what time school started, otherwise, I would have been clueless and most likely it would have been another mistake to add to my belt. I think the only thing I did right all morning was decide to walk Dominick into his classroom. I was not clear what the protocol was for the after school pickup, and I was not confident Maddie would be prepared to pick him up, so I walked him in to meet the teacher. I also figured it would be a good idea to give the teacher some background on who I was so there were no questions later. I waited in the doorway and watched Dominick walk in and head towards the group of children in the room. I was very proud of how brave he was. The teacher noticed me and walked over. Reading her thoughts, I could see she knew who Dominick was, but she was unsure of who I was. As I reached out to shake her hand, I tried to look a little older. The first thought that ran through the teacher’s head was, ‘who’s this kid, and shouldn’t she be in school?’ Brushing that off, I explained I was a friend of the family, and I would be around for a while. I also told her that Maddie had wanted to be there but she was still grieving the death of her husband. Before I could turn and leave, Dominick came running towards me. Wrapping his slender arms around my legs, he stared up at me with those big gray eyes. I could tell he was not ready for me to leave. After assuring him that I or his grandmother would be back to pick him up, he was able to go back to his new classmates and teacher. It seemed like he had already started to make friends with a set of twin boys. I knew he would be just fine.

  I ran a few errands before making it back to Maddie's house, only to find a very upset grandmother waiting for me. She told me she almost had a heart attack when she woke up and could not find Dominick or me around. I had not bothered to bring my cellular phone with me so she was unable to get a hold of me. After debating on calling the cops, she realized it would have been pointless, since people would have only thought she was crazy trying to explain that a vampire kidnapped her grandson. She settled on phoning the school to see if Dominick made it safely or not. Before I could begin to argue with her about the whole kidnapping thing, she chastised me about how I ruined one of the most important days in both Dominick’s and her lives. She droned on and on, until I could no longer understand her words because they were drowned out by sobs. We spent most of the day in different parts of the house, well, until she came back from picking Dominick up from class. That brought a new round of yelling. By then, I was in no mood to hear anything she had to say. I tuned out sometime between ‘what kind of person puts a half of a chicken in a child's lunch box?’ and ‘just because he doesn't drink blood doesn't mean he doesn't drink at all.’ It was a good thing Dominick went outside to play by the time the blood comment came. That kid is a sponge. He picks up on and remembers every little thing you say. I chose to walk out of the room, it was best for her safety, and I knew Lance would not have liked it if I killed Madeline right there mid-sentence.

  For a few days after that we lived in silence. It took her awhile but she finally understood that I was not trying to be a nuisance. I did feel bad though. I have never really lived with a human, so there were a lot of things that I did not do the human way. By the second month, Maddie learned to accept me more for what I am. It was to her surprise when I took her out to eat one afternoon. She looked a little pale and I figured a little fresh air and an outing would bring her skin a little color. As I gently enticed Maddie out the house, I tried to lighten her mood by sharing I could smell that she was lacking vitamin D and a well-needed car ride would fix that problem. Although I have explained to Madeline time and again that I do not go around on purpose smelling her like she was a piece of meat, my statement left a discerning look on her face. After an hour and thirty-five minute drive, I pulled into a seafood and steak restaurant and proceeded to get out of the car. Maddie, however, stayed seated.

  We went back and forth a few times before I told her I would cause a scene if she did not get her “easily disposed of body” out of the car. She and I had come to an understanding: I was a lot stronger than I looked. It had taken a few mornings to remember that she personally had not walked herself up to bed the night before. Since I was able to carry someone at least my size up a flight of stairs, she thought twice when I used threats to make her do as I wanted. Before that point, she did not know I did not need to use my hands to cause that kind of harm to her body. She pouted once we were seated in the restaurant, so I ignored her and I decided I would order us both the same thing. When the waitress came to collect our orders, I declared we would have two of the most expensive items on the menu. Before Maddie was able to speak, I reminded her she had a chance to decide what she wanted, and she sat there looking like a big kid with her arms crossed and her bottom lip stuck out. I reprimanded Madeline for her behavior. I saw better behavior from her five year old grandson.

  When our food came, this thing they called surf and turf—go figure—I requested a doggy bag container for mine. I do not understand the human language sometimes when it comes to their dead and processed food. I told Maddie to eat, and I would bring the surf and turf home for Dominick. That day was the first time during my stay in which I saw her smile. She was really hoping I was going to join her in eating. She had looked forward to seeing me attempt to consume the lobster and steak. About a week before I shared with her the first date Lance and I went on. She found it amusing that I would have gone so far to hide myself from him. She also told me that I just wasted a hundred dollars because there was no way that Dominick was going to eat the lobster. ‘He’s afraid of them. When we go to Red Lobster he refuses to look in the tank. He says the eyes creep him out.’ I told her I would take my chances. She was right.

  In the third and fourth month we spent time each day getting to know each other. I enjoyed this time the most. As Maddie would tell me about her life before Lance, and I would watch the memories play in her head. If it was something that I had always wanted to do or something that I had missed out on in my human life, I would place myself in her memories. On those nights I did not sleep, I would play over and over again the stories I saw in her head, only it was my face and name that would be seen and heard. Sometimes I would try to enhance the story, and take it down different avenues. I would change the memory just a little to make it my own. I have to say I have enjoyed living vicariously through others, but a small part of me that wishes I had a chance to live those dreams myself, and not always be “place Amber here”. Inserting myself in Maddie's past life reminded me of the paper dolls that mother gave me on my birthday as a child. Maddie represented the paper cutout of the doll and I became the new wardrobe and face you could add on by folding the little tabs along the sides to secure the two papers together.

  Keeping up with the spirit of sharing, I showed her a few things I could do as a vampire. She found it very impressive that I could do
so much with my mind, but chose to do it all physically. I had to be very careful to keep what I did to a minimum. They live in a more populated neighborhood than I do, and I was already causing a ruckus amongst the men just by staying there. Also, I tried to conserve as much energy as possible. Maddie did not like me going too far on my “walks in the woods” and the closest vampire friendly blood bank was in the next town, so I tried to keep my walks to a two hundred fifty mile radius.

  On one of our outings, I took her into the blood bank. Madeline nagged me to take her along. She felt she needed to donate blood to the cause and was not sure where to go to make a donation. I told her if she was that willing to make a donation, I would be happy to help her out, and there would be no need to make the trip to the bank. I must work on my delivery and punch line, because as with all the other times, she did not find this funny and took it quite serious. As we sat in the family room watching one of her mid-day soap-operas, she tugged at the collar of her shirt, revealing the thick vein running down her neck. Leaning into me, she closed her eyes and held her breath. A few seconds passed of me gawking before she opened her eyes and stared at me with the weirdest expression on her face. Reading her mind, she really thought I was going to sink my teeth into her and was very upset with my rejection. I subsequently explained to her that unlike my brother and my mother, I did not drink from a human. My blood only came from either a bag or a furry creature. I explained it was not that her blood did not appeal to me, but it was the fact that it was just a rule of mine. I informed her that I would rather not go into detail of why I would not drink from her or any human. That was when I gave in and took her to the bank.

  From the look on the vampire’s face on staff, he was not used to seeing a human and a vampire walk in together. As the human employee took Maddie to the back, I attempted to explain why I was there and why Maddie had come with me. The man, in his late forty's when he was transformed, did not seem to care too much. In general, the staff there was not as friendly as Sarah and her staff back in New York. I made a mental note to tell Sarah she should look into opening a blood bank closer to Maddie's house. If Maddie is going to make a habit out of donating blood, I would feel a whole lot better if she dealt with a friendlier staff.

  The last two months have been the best out of this stay. Our awkward friendship has blossomed into something breathtaking. Maddie likes for us to communicate silently. We do not do it as much at the house as we do in public. She, in many ways, gives me the comfort level I have around my family. I have come to think of Maddie and Dominick as family. That is why I have devised a plan to make sure they, too, live a comfortable life, now that Lance is gone, and I will be returning to New York soon.

  Sitting next to me, Maddie glances down at the pile of papers on the coffee table, “Amber what's all of this?”

  I cannot help but smile. She knows things are not simple with me. She realizes I have not called her in here to chit-chat. “Well, Maddie, I think it’s time for me to go back to my family.” Her brow furrows and the wrinkles on her forehead begin to take on deep waves.

  “So soon? I didn't expect you to leave so quickly. What does it have to do with all of this paperwork?”

  As always, I truly wonder if she is some sort of mind reader. “The time has flown by faster than I would’ve thought. If you would have asked me that first night how long I was planning on staying, I probably would have told you I intended to leave the next day.” I give her a tight grin. We both know it was a lot harder than we would have thought it to be.

  “The papers in front of us are a little gift. Dominick and you have become very important to me, and I want to make sure that neither of you want for nothing. I know Lance has left behind enough funds for you to be comfortable. But I want to make sure there is no stress at all. I guess you can say, I’m giving you what I gave Lance.” She brings her hand up to stop me, but I continue anyways. “Let me finish. I understand you’re a strong woman, and will be fine, but this is bringing me more peace of mind than you. Believe me, I’ve lived long enough to know that no matter how stable a life may seem, there’s always something that can change all of that in a blink of an eye.” I give Maddie a second to think about what I am saying before I start to talk again. “It isn't much. Please let me explain it all before you give me any flak.” Grabbing the top sheet, I hand it to her. “Both cars in the garage seem to be in pretty good shape. I thought about replacing them, but I knew you really would’ve had a fit, so instead, this is the number to a local mechanic. He has all the information needed about the cars and I’ve an account set up with him. If the cars need repairs, just take it to him and he’ll handle it.” Picking up the two credit cards that were stuffed between the papers, I start to hand them to Maddie, but she shakes her head.

  “Amber, I don’t need those cards.”

  I try to keep a straight face, and place the cards on her lap. “The MasterCard is for grocery shopping and gas. There’s a two thousand dollar limit on it. The American Express is for hospital bills and other health issues. I understand Lance's partner will remain the family's primary doctor, but there may come a time that his office cannot cover the emergency, use this card for that.”

  While I was talking, she removed the cards from her lap, folded the first sheet of paper over them and placed them back on the coffee table. She is giving me her “I am very displeased with you glare”. I stifle an eye roll. I swear sometimes she can make things so difficult. I refuse to drop this subject. She may look at it as a handout, but in time she will get over it. Grabbing the next few sheets of paper, I decided not to hand them to Maddie but to just tell her what they are. “Don’t worry, this is the last of it. After making sure your checking and savings accounts were balanced, I rolled the stocks Lance had into a different account. Money will still accrue, but on a monthly basis, funds will be transferred into your checking account. It won’t be a lot, but it will be enough for you and Dominick to have weekend trips. If you choose to save it, you’ll be able to go on vacations twice a year. All of this paperwork will explain how it works and how to access the banking on the internet. I’m not taking the laptop I bought so you’ll have a computer and internet access when you need it.”

  Without saying a word, she starts to stand. Placing my hand on her wrist, I gently try to pull her back down. She is not budging, and I do not want to hurt her. “Madeline, please don’t look at this like a handout. I’ll feel a lot better if you have less to worry about.” She and I had discussed her going back to work—something she had not done in over twenty-nine years. I thought it would be best if she was available for Dominick at anytime, and going to work after all these years would interfere. She was worried about spending money. I do believe my solution has solved both of our problems. She folds her arms across her chest and glares down at me, and I try to put my most angelic smile on as I gaze up to meet her gray eyes. Another thing we have become good at is pushing each other’s buttons. If I let her see that by her not making this easy it will upset me, she will have won, which will leave me going back to New York without a sound mind.

  “Amber, don’t give me that look. What you’re trying to do won’t work. Dominick and I will be just fine. I have the Sunday paper in the other room, and I'm sure a part-time job will be enough for all of our wants. I don’t need you shelling out more money than you already have for this family.”

  I widen my smile. “I know the two of you will be fine. I’m not shelling out a lot of money. These are all in place as ‘what ifs’, well, everything but the MasterCard. Still, there’s a very small limit on it, so you really cannot complain I'm overdoing this. I’m not telling you not to go get a part time job. I'm just making sure that if you choose not to, you’ll still have a security blanket in place just in case.” Standing, I cruise quickly through her thoughts. It breaks my heart to see that it is not the money that is upsetting her. No, that is a façade. What is really upsetting her is the fact that I’m leaving. She knows that this will most lik
ely be the last time she will ever see me. We have not talked about this, but we know it is a given. I cannot stay here, I cannot do monthly or holiday visits. There is too much at risk for me to do that.

  Taking a deep breath, I wrap my arms around her, and Maddie’s soft warm body makes my mouth ache. I need to feed again. I was planning on it before boarding the plane. This only shows me that it is not a good thing for me to stay here any longer. I have already tempted fate by thinking any of this would be easy. “Maddie, it’s best for me to go. This was never a safe situation for you or Dominick.”

  “I never had a doubt in my mind that we weren’t safe. Like you said, Lance wouldn’t have wanted you here if it wasn't safe for us. Are you sure you need to leave?”

  “Yes, I’ve overstayed my welcome. Besides, this was never meant to be a permanent thing. I knew I couldn't leave you alone right after the funeral, but I had no intentions to stay as long as I did. Don’t get me wrong, I’m elated that I did, but it’s really time for me to go be with my family.” I let go and step back, her steady trusting heartbeat is ringing louder in my ears than I would like it too. “Furthermore, my family and I still have a lot of catching up to do.”

  There are tears in her eyes but she nods before speaking, “Will you at least wait for Dominick to get home from school so he can say goodbye too? You know he’s going to be heartbroken.”

  “Of course I will.” In the last few months the little boy has grown on me too. Saying goodbye to him will be hard. He will be getting out of class in two hours, twelve minutes and three seconds. I figured they would want to see me off at the airport, so I turned my rental car in this morning. Once we pick him up from school, we will need to head over to the airport so I can make my flight. “I need to make a quick run and then I should be ready to go.”

  5

  Skull Cracking News

 

  My cell phone rings as I leave the airport parking lot. It is Lisa calling. “Hey, Liss, what's up?”

  “Amber, I miss you!”

  I chuckle. She is always so happy-go-lucky. “I miss you too.”

  “How was your flight? Did you just get in? I tried to call about twenty minutes ago but your phone went right to voicemail.”

  “My flight was fine, Liss. I didn’t turn my phone on until I got in the car. I have to say, I’m surprised that I didn’t have any voicemails waiting for me. You must have been well entertained during my flight.” She giggles with her hand held over the phone, and that is enough of a response for me. I need not know what has kept her attention this whole time.

  “Are you far away?”

  “No, I’m about four miles off. Traffic is pretty light right now. If I took the later flight, I would’ve been stuck in rush hour.

  “That's good. I won’t keep you then. I just wanted to tell you I missed you, and I'll see you soon.”

  She has perfect timing. “Yes, we’ll see each other soon. Bye.” As I hang up the phone, I park the car and step out. It is about three fifteen and the sun is out in full force. Locking the door, I head towards the building. I am looking forward to this in some ways and in others, I am really dreading it.

  Following the directions I was given, once I enter the building I need to take a left, then follow the blue line to the elevators, take those to the seventh floor and then make a right, and I will find her nine doors down.

  I need something to take my mind off of the smell. I am not hungry right now, and this place reeks of cleaning supplies and disease, save I still smell the blood. It is mixed in with other weird smells, but the blood is still there. Trying to take my mind off of the red sustenance—the smell that is still inside some of the surrounding bodies and leaking out of others—I try to think about Lisa, and how much things have changed. Out of all of the cities I have resided in, no one ever left an impression the way she has. I imagine her smiling and waiting for me. “Ah, here we are. Room 725.”

  I do not know why I hesitate before walking in. Maybe I am afraid of what I will see. It is hard to believe it has been six years. I think about my return trip to Rochester and how livid I was. I told myself that I should have never trusted Christopher; nonetheless, as time has gone on, I believe it was for the best. At least now I am able to think of Lisa more like a sister and not just a coworker, or just some human who was completely clueless about the life around her.

  When I left for Lance's funeral something weird was going on with Lisa. After I decided to stay and have a chance to get to know the family Lance left behind, I also knew I was leaving things hanging with Lisa, so I asked my doting brother to check on her once the family returned to town.

  No one picked me up from the airport that Thursday, on my return trip to Rochester. There was no need, I traveled pretty light. The sun already set and no human would see me running to the house. I was within a mile of the residence when I picked up a fresh vampire scent. It was strange in a way, I thought I knew the scent but it had the making of a vampire. The scent I thought I recognized should have only been of a human. I figured if there was any danger, my family would have given me a heads-up. The vampire scent became stronger as I moved closer to my living quarters. I started to wonder if we had a house guest. By the time I reached the outer woods of the property Olivia and Isaac were outside waiting to greet me. I wondered where Christopher was, but then again, if he had a guest, I figured he would not be heading the welcome wagon. I could tell it was a female visitor and had a flash back to when I returned to the residence a few months before to be greeted by Judy. “Does Christopher have company?” I could tell Olivia was trying hard not to look nervous and I wanted to read her mind, but I knew I would be finding out soon enough.

  “Hi, darling. How was your flight?” I noticed she did not answer my question.

  Instead, Olivia reached over and hugged me. As I started to ask again, Isaac swept me into a huge bear hug, which really set alarms off in my mind. Over the last century and a half, Isaac has touched me the least and if or when he has felt the need to hug me, it was a quick vampire hug—those are usually so fast that they are over before you realize anyone has touched you.

  As he released me, he whispered in my ear, “Please do not be mad.”

  My suspicions were confirmed. I let go of him and without another word bolted towards the house. Inside, I was overpowered with the new scent. I made my way into the living room, but before I could make it through the threshold, Christopher stepped in front of me. Yet, I could still see over his shoulder. If it was physically possible, I am confident my eyes would have popped out of my head and landed on the floor alongside my chin. There in the living room sat Lisa, the new and improved vampire Lisa. She was sitting curled in a ball in the middle of the sofa looking like a deer caught in headlights. No one spoke for a minute, Isaac and Olivia were of course right behind me. I am not certain if they were letting it sink in or if they were too worried to speak in hopes of not upsetting me anymore than I already was. I could see my reflection in Christopher's eyes. I also noticed the worry in his face.

  “Amber, let me expl...”

  Before he got the rest of the sentence out, I had him on the floor. I physically and mentally pushed him to the hardwood floor. There was enough strength behind it to kill a human, but only enough to crack his skull. He winced from the impact but never made a sound. Throwing my body onto his, I heard a few ribs crack. I wrapped my hands around his neck and began to squeeze. “I asked you to do one simple thing! One thing and this is what you do?” I felt my parents edging closer. Lisa had not stirred from the sofa, but I could hear that her breathing increased. Christopher tried to wiggle under my ironclad grip. His movement was futile I was not letting go. “You. Fucking. Bastard!” I growled. “I asked you to look after her, not take her life!”

  “Ambrosia Elizabeth Wilson!” Olivia yelped from behind me, my offensive language didn’t seem to go over too well with her.

  Nonetheless, it caught my attention. I, in some ways, a
m just as sensitive as Christopher when it comes to our names. Just as much as Christopher tries to hold on to his human name, I decided to leave that part of my human life in the past. It was as if Olivia slapped me across my face. It not only got my attention, but I also loosened my restraint on Christopher. It was not much but it allowed him to speak.

  “Will you please listen to me?”

  “No! I cannot believe you.” Picking his head back up, I slammed it back on the floor, re-cracking his skull.

  “Um, Amber, do you mind not destroying your brother? I was just starting to like him.”

  That came from Isaac. I do not know if he thought he was breaking the tension in the room with his little joke, but I was in no mood for it. Diverting some of my mental attention to him, I wrapped my mind around his body, picking him up and flipping him into the wall against the stairs. That got me a low warning growl as he removed himself from the wall to position his body protectively in front of Olivia. I would be sorry later for destroying the wall. Thankfully, over the years between Christopher's temper and our fights, Isaac became very handy with fixing walls. As I started to turn my full attention back to killing my brother, a very soft spoken voice caught my attention.

  “He saved me, Amber. I was dying and he saved me.”

  I glanced up and met Lisa's gaze full on. Her brown eyes seemed to look like mini saucers. She still sat on the sofa and looked much smaller than normal. It took me a second to understand what she was so afraid of. Scanning Lisa’s thoughts, I watched through her eyes how badly I reacted to her sitting in my living room. There was some concern for Christopher, but she knew that he was still trying to move under my grip so he was not injured badly. What startled her the most was looking at me for the first time. Well, the first time through her new eyes. Until that moment she had trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that I, too, was a vampire.

  “I-I, Nathan was a vampire too. He was, um, feeding off of me. Well, more like draining me. Christopher came to check on me like you asked and found me half dead in Nathan’s grasp.”

  I was speechless. How had I missed the fact that this Nathan was a vampire? Had I not read her mind? Had I not looked to see who the handsome new beau was? Of all people for her to meet, how could he have been a vampire? The movement under my body brought me back to the living room. I refused to look into Christopher's eyes—not that he could read my mind, but I was not ready to face those green eyes. Why did he not call me? Give me some kind of warning. I tried to look further into Lisa's mind but the memories were really blurry and fuzzy. It reminded me of trying to watch TV without rabbit ears. I instantly turned to Christopher's mind. Drifting through his thoughts, I watched him canvassing the house, picking up the scent of another vampire, and watching through the window as...I fell back trying to catch my breath. I knew the vampire draining Lisa. Well, I did not know him as a vampire. I knew him as my childhood friend, the man that I would have married if I would have stayed home, if I would have stayed human. The man in Christopher's memory was not this Nathan Lisa spoke of. It was someone I left behind, someone I thought died the night I became a vampire. Robert. “No,” slipped through my lips. It was barely a whisper, but everyone heard me.

  My lack of concentration showed, and Christopher took that moment to remove himself from my grasp. He also stared into my eyes to see what I saw, to see what made me falter in my attack. Olivia moved from behind Isaac and came closer.

  “Amber, what is it?”

  I could not speak. I understood why it had not fazed Christopher as much that Lisa happened upon a vampire boyfriend. How often were the shoes on the other foot when it came to him and his human snacks? I was brought back to that fall evening all those years ago. Olivia and I always thought Jackson had killed Robert. I pondered for a split second how or if Judy was able to lie about what she saw or knew that fateful fall evening. Olivia and I assumed that when Jackson snapped Robert’s neck and began to feed that he had or was going to kill him. Olivia believed that if Jackson was not so preoccupied with Robert, he would have killed me as well.

  “Are you sure?” Isaac had come to kneel next to me.

  “I’m sure.” I am surprised I was able to find my voice to speak. I could tell that he, too, was reading my mind.

  “Amber, I had no idea. I never would have thought that they were the same person. I saw his face and thought I knew him from somewhere, but I never put everyone’s sighting of him together.”

  Yes, out of the group, Isaac would have been the only other one to make the connection. He would have seen the images that Olivia and I had from that night before I learned to block my mind. He would have seen Christopher’s and Lisa’s—even though hers were fuzzy—from the night that Christopher found her.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Lisa had moved from the sofa and was standing next to Christopher. “I’m talking about the vampire you were dating. I knew him, I knew him from my past life. He was, well…we were going to be married. I…we…saw him die the night that I was transformed.” Christopher jumped to his feet.

  “Amber, I’ve seen your thoughts many of times, and that face wasn’t one that I’ve ever seen before.”

  I got to my feet with the help of Isaac. “Why would you? I don’t think of my past life often. And when I do, it’s in the privacy of my own mind, thank you,” I snapped, then glanced at my family and felt a frown pull at my lips. “How could this happen? How did we miss this?” My questions were more spoken out loud than to any person in the room, but Olivia seemed to think they were meant for her.

  “I don’t know, Amber. This is my fault. I should’ve made sure…I assumed that he was going to kill him. He seemed to be in hunting mode. I...”

  Olivia trailed off as Isaac moved to put his arm around her and said, “My dearest, this isn’t your fault. How could any of us have known?”

  Olivia pulled away from Isaac and put her face in her hands. He was right. Truthfully, how could we have known? I walked over, and forced Olivia to look at me. I knew this had to be hard for her. She, to this day, blames herself for what happened to Robert and me that night. She always thought that if she was strong enough to kill Jackson when she had the chance, long before I was born, long before he would have given a second thought to turning his back on her, she would have.

  While attempting to comfort my mother, there were so many questions that ran through my mind like: was this all by chance? Did Robert just happen to stumble into my office-mate’s life? Did he know I was still alive? Was Jackson his creator? Why was he killing Lisa? All of the questions will forever be unanswered. Robert was dead and we decided decades before that we would not willingly search for Jackson. As long as he did not pass our paths, we would leave the slaying of him and all Elders to others. We wanted to live a more civilized life and being the Slayers of Elders would not help that cause. I believe it was more for my benefit than anything else. Although it would have made sense after the Judy altercation, to find and kill Jackson, with Lance’s death, revenge went by the wayside.

  As one of the restless nights of my life passed, I notice that a relationship had formed between Lisa and Christopher. By the end of my first night back, they were in each other’s arms, unable to take their eyes off of each other. I never saw Christopher this way before. I was so sure it was all an act. Was it not bad enough that he had made one of the only humans I could call a friend a vampire, but he had to go and perform as if he liked her too? I could not stand by and watch him use her as he did every other woman that allowed him into their lives. Before dawn broke, I pulled him aside to ask him what he was doing, and as always it ended in a fight. We were two for two that night. Yet, this fight did not end with any bones being broken, but it did end with a question that left the both of us speechless. Our voices had just passed the comfortable hearing level for all the vampires in the house, and we were very close to breaking furniture, when Lisa for the second time that night spoke and caused a falter in at
tack.

  “Why don't you two just sleep with each other and get it over with?”

  Christopher and I went silent. What could we say? We turned and looked at her. She was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. We were both in the dining room, gripping opposite sides of the table, trying our best not to lunge at each other’s throats.

  “What did you say?” hissed from my lips like a rattlesnake about to strike.

  She met Christopher’s eyes, head-on and spoke.

  “There’s so much tension. No, sorry, those are not the right words. There’s so much sexual tension between the two of you, you’re either going to have to kill each other or have sex. Not that I would prefer either of those options. I love the both of you, and no offense, Amber, but I'm really not into sharing my man. But if it’s going to help in the long run for us all living happily together, I would rather you just got the whole sex thing over with.”

  She turned and walked away mumbling to herself something about it only being a few hours and we were already walking her up the wall. And how had Olivia and Isaac put up with it all this time. Christopher had always wanted to be with me. The fact that we were not a couple was my own doing. It had never crossed my mind that it was sexual tension between us. I had always thought of it as Christopher being an ass and enjoying to fight with me about everything. We have always mixed like oil and water. How, no, why would there be anything else to it? Okay, okay, I recognize somewhere in the back of my mind, Christopher would have given almost anything to get me between the sheets, but was it really that obvious to everyone else? Lisa's comment hit a nerve in the both of us. The hurt look on Christopher's face in just thinking about betraying her, and the look of disgust that I am convinced was plastered all over my face, was enough to call a truce for a few days, to say the least.

  Over the last few years, I have watched Lisa’s and Christopher's love grow to something I never could have expected from my brother. His world revolves around Lisa. Not only has he remained completely faithful to her, but he worships the ground she walks on. They go out on dates every Friday or Saturday, and sometimes go on little weekend getaways. Nonetheless, sometimes Christopher embraces me a little longer than a “brother” should, and we still fight like cats and dogs, but Lisa does not mind. She is comfortable enough with their relationship that she knows there will never be anything between myself and Christopher. Through and through, I came out on top. Christopher found a love interest—hopefully it will last and I have a sister, finally.

  Focusing my attention on the present, I take inventory of the room. They are not aware of my entrance. Moving slowly, I get to the center of the room before my appearance is noticed. Our eyes meet and I smile and give a small wave of my hand.

  “It’s you, you really came.”

  It is said in a whisper, but I am able to hear it. “Of course, I came.” Throwing the handheld device on the end of the bed, he moves as swiftly as his legs will carry him, to embrace me. He has changed. I was not expecting the impact of his full weight, but my body is strong enough to counteract the weight being thrown at me. I only hope I do not hurt him in the process. “Well, hello, to you too. Careful, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  He chuckles. His voice is different, in some ways a little deeper. “She said you were coming but I didn't believe it.”

  We both turn towards the bed where she is sitting. Her hair is spread out on the pillow, her skin is paler than the last time I saw her, but her smile is the exact same.

  “Hi, Amber. I'm glad you could come. Thank you.”

  I am unable to move any closer, since I am still being embraced. “Hi, Maddie. It’s good to see you. I’m glad you called.” My attention shifts back to the hold, and I glance down and see those sparkling gray eyes looking up at me. “How are you, Dominick?”

  “I'm great! I'm glad you’re here. I've missed you.”

  “I have missed you too.” Being as gentle as possible, I try to step back. He realizes he has not let go yet, and releases me. The blood moves quickly to his cheeks. His heartbeat increases. I need to distract myself. I may not be hungry, but I don’t want to tempt myself.

  “Maddie, what’s wrong, my dear? Have the doctors given you any answers?” The gray eyes, which are usually identical to Dominick’s, are a lot paler today. She takes a deep breath and turns her head toward the window.

  “They say I had a minor heart attack. The doctor would like me to stay here for a few days for observation, but I should be able to go home after that.”

  “I’m here to help. What can I do?”

  “Being hospitalized will leave Dominick home alone. I could have had him stay with friends, but I’m not sure how long I’ll really be here. I would rather not disturb his daily routine.”

  I glance over my shoulder to where Dominick is standing. He has the silliest grin on his face.

  “Dominick, can you do me a favor and get me more ice water from the nurses’ station?”

  “Sure grandma. Will you ask her?”

  Ask me?

  “Yes, I will. Thank you, sweetheart.”

  He grabs the small beige pitcher and heads for the hallway. “What does he want you to ask me?”

  “Do you know in the past six years he hasn’t stopped asking about you? I would have figured that since he was so little during your last visit, he would have forgotten who you were. And, yet, I don’t think more than a month can or will go by before he brings up something about you. Most of the time, he talks about some expedition the two of you went on.” She gives me a vexing glance at the thought of some of Dominick and my outings during my last visit. She is having trouble breathing. Taking a break from talking, she reaches for her cup and drains the remaining sip or two of water.

  “That's better,” she says as she clears her throat and continues to speak. “Now what was I talking about. Oh, yes, he is looking forward to spending this time with you.”

  “I am as well, Maddie, but you still haven’t told me what the boy wants to know.”

  Looking up she smiles at me. “You really do have a one track mind, don't you? It’s nothing important. He has a little lawn care business. You remember how he had that weird obsession with mowing the lawn when he was younger?” I nod. I remember very clearly the talk we had about him being the man of the house, about being able to keep up with the lawn as Lance did.

  “He wants to know if you can take him home soon so he can tend to his clients’ yards. He has an impressive amount of clients. I believe there are four houses on our street, another two one block down and three more a block up from us.”

  “That won’t be a problem. It sounds like he’s a hard worker. Are you sure you’re okay with us leaving?” In response, Maddie lies back on the pillow, closes her eyes, and waves her hand in a shooing motion.

  “I need my rest, child.”

  Chuckling, I walk over and kiss the top of her head. “Rest well, young lady. I’ll be back tomorrow once Dominick is off to school.”

  “Is that your car?”

  Heading out from the hospital, I hit the unlock button on the car remote and the lights flash. “Yes, it is. It’s a rental.”

  “I like the color. I don't think it is as nice as the red car you had last time, but I still like it.”

  I should not be surprised that he remembers my car from my last visit. I rented it because it looked like the toy car he pushed around on the floor. I wonder if he still plays with toy cars. I am not sure what age boys grow out of such things. Looking at him, I believe he has grown two feet since the last time I saw him. I wonder what the average height of a twelve year old boy is. He seems to be tall for his age. His hair is cut short, and I can barely make out the natural wavy texture. He has grown out of most of his baby fat, yet there is still some in his cheeks. I have to say he is a better dresser than last time. I wonder if he still needs help picking out his clothes. There is still work to be done. Maybe we will take a sh
opping trip. “Are you hungry? We can stop anywhere you like before heading back to your house.” I can see the wheels in his head churning, I am going to try my hardest not to read his mind.

  “I'm all right. If you don't mind, I would really like to get home so I can get a few lawns cut before it gets too dark.”

  The child is very determined, I like that. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll take you to the house so you can get to work, but how about I make sure you have a warm dinner waiting for you when you get home? You have four hours seventeen minutes and six seconds before the sun goes down.”

  “How are you so sure of the exact time the sun will set?”

  “It’s just a hunch. Now tell me, what would you like for dinner?”

  6

  Tee Time

  “Good morning, Maddie. How are you today?” Maddie glances up from the book she is reading, her color seems to be a little brighter today, and her heart is not working as hard. I was a little nervous yesterday with the irregular heart palpitations I heard. The machine she is hooked up to, did not pick up on any of them while I was in the room. Once Dominick was sound asleep last night, I sneaked back in here to make sure she was doing fine.

  “I feel much better today. How did everything go yesterday?”

  I knew that was going to be her first question. In the midst of my worries last night, I decided to listen in on her thoughts. I did not do it for long, but I just had to know if she was in pain or worrying during her sleep which caused her to toss and turn the whole night. I was glad to see that she was not in any pain. She was just concerned about stressing and upsetting Dominick. He is all she has left, and she wants to make sure he has the best of everything, which includes a healthy grandparent. “Everything was fine. Dominick was able to cut five lawns, and he also finished the rest of his homework before eating four hotdogs for dinner. Now before you ask, I did insist that he eat more than just processed meat, but that was all he wanted so I dropped the subject.”

  Maddie chuckles and then says, “I think that boy can live off of hotdogs. Do you know he can go through a pack in less than a week?”

  My face scrunches. I do not consider that food and would not think about putting anything like that in my mouth, even if I was human. The look I am making gets a giggle out of Maddie.

  Standing does not bother me, but I have noticed people tend to draw attention to themselves for being the only one standing in a room. I pull a chair up next to Maddie's bed. As I take my seat, Maddie reaches out to grab my hand. It feels so frail in my grasp. I would rather not touch her. At anytime I could hurt her, however, I think pulling away will hurt her even more than any accident I may cause. “Your heart seems to be pumping better today. Has the doctor come in to see you yet?”

  She smiles and gives my hand a light squeeze. “You’re such a dear. Dr. Goust should be here soon. You’ll like him, he’s young and really cute.”

  A weird slant forms on Maddie's lips for a second, and I wonder what is going through her mind.

  Her watchful eyes give me a once over before she continues to talk, “So, Amber, tell me, how have you been? What have you been up to since the last time we saw each other?”

  We talk for fifty-three minutes and fourteen seconds before the good doctor comes to check on Maddie. She is right—young and handsome in some ways. We seem to be the same height. Dr. Goust shaved this morning, but he already has a five o’clock shadow. There are bare patches on his face where there is no stubble, this must be the reason he shaves daily. His light-green eyes are nothing in comparison to Christopher’s. But then again, I do not think anyone’s green eyes can compare to my brother’s. Dr. Goust’s light brown hair is shaggier than I would have expected to see on a doctor. It appears as if he is going for a surfer hairdo. As he checks in on Maddie, he seems to do his job pretty thoroughly, so I will stay out of his way. Before I leave, he makes it clear that there will be no sneaking food in for her. She is strictly on hospital food. I have to say, I do not see the big deal, all human food is processed. What does it matter where it comes from? On my way out the door to pick Dominick up from school, Maddie calls to me that she is tired and only to bring Dominick back if he asks. Otherwise, she wants to catch up on her sleep. I believe I invaded her beauty rest for the day.

  It is a good thing that Maddie wants her rest. As soon as Dominick plants himself in the car, he asks if we could go out to eat. I agreed and head for the closest Pizza Hut.

  “After you.”

  He is being such the gentleman. He asks me to wait in the car while he walks around to open the driver side door for me. Holding the door open to Pizza Hut, I enter first. It must be the dinner crowd. Almost every seat is filled, and there are still people in line. Hopefully, not everyone will be dining in tonight.

  “Amber, what are you ordering?”

  He is close to my height, so I do not have to glance down too far to meet his stare. “Oh, well, I’m not too hungry. Have you decided what you want?” There is a look of disappointment on his face.

  “Yes.”

  He must be old enough to order for himself. “Dominick, here’s some cash. I’m going to grab you, I mean, us a seat before they’re all taken. Will you be fine ordering by yourself?”

  “Yeah, I order for myself all the time. I have money, thank you.”

  Hmm, Maddie did not say anything about giving him funds. I hope that is not his lawn care earnings. “Save your money, you may find something you want from a different store. Here.” I do not give him a chance to decline the money again. I place it in his hand and stroll towards a booth where a couple is just getting up to leave—perfect timing.

  I have to say this is my first time in a Pizza Hut. The company Lisa and I used to work for would order pizza from the one down the street once a month. It was a group lunch thing I never understood or joined. I did enjoy working for that company, however, once Lisa transformed, it was not safe to live so close to those who knew her in her human life. We decided to move from New York. I liked the city and hope to one day move back, but we know it will have to be in a few decades. One of the toughest parts for Lisa in her new life is her age. She was twenty-two at the time of her transformation. Most people would probably kill to be twenty-two forever, but there are downsides. In a human who is aging, twenty-two is a time for change. You no longer look like a teenager—most people—but you still do not look old enough to pull off someone in their mid to late twenties. We are finding the youngest Lisa can pose is twenty, and the oldest is twenty-four. It gives us about four good years before we have to pack up and move. Before I left my family again, Lisa, Christopher and I were all masquerading as college students. Well, masquerading is not the right word. We are attending college and taking classes that are new to us in some ways.

  Dominick joins me at the booth with what looks like a miniature size pizza and a huge soda. It is a cute personal size. I guess it helps if you are eating alone.

  “Amber, can we go to the movies tonight? It’s my treat.”

  My brows come together as I pull my sight from the little pizza. I do not understand him. “What do you mean, it’s your treat?”

  “Well, there’s this movie I want to see, and I was able to finish all my lawns that needed immediate tending yesterday, so I was hoping we could go. I would pay, since it was my idea.”

  What is with this kid? His money must be burning a hole in his pocket. “I don’t know. We’ll have to call and see if it is all right with your grandmother. Do you normally go to the movies on a school night?”

  “Well, uh, no, but I figured it would be okay since its Thursday night. Tomorrow is Friday, and if I’m tired, I can sleep in on Saturday.”

  I do not know what to make of his logic. I wager Maddie will have my head if I let him stay up past his bedtime. “Tell you what. You seem to want to spend your earnings, which makes sense, you’ve worked hard for it. Once you’re done eating, we’ll stop by a shopping plaza and you can get a game or
something. That was a Game Boy Advance you were playing yesterday at the hospital, correct?” I had to do research last night on what kids were into these days. It appears handheld devices are the new rage. Whatever happened to hula hoops and sticks or just their imaginations? “Since tomorrow is Friday, how about we wait until then to catch a movie? That way you won’t need to worry about being tired in school tomorrow.” He seems to be mulling it over. Perhaps this kid-sitting thing is not as hard as I thought it might be.

  “How long are you staying?”

  We are leaving Pizza Hut. He once again has opened the door for me. “I’ll stay as long as you and your grandmother need me too.”

  “I asked grandma, but she said she didn't know. Where do you live? How come you don’t come to visit us more often?”

  I have no idea where these questions are coming from. He is going to retain everything I say. I will need to be careful with my answers, as I am certain there will be more to come. “I live with my parents, brother, and sister in High Point, North Carolina. I don’t want to interfere with your lives. It’s best if I don’t come around too often.”

  “Oh, but you’re here now.”

  He seems very confident in that statement. “Yes, I am.”

  In the car, Dominick turns the music up much louder than my ears like. He claims his favorite song is on. He sings along in an off key tone and bobs his head to the beat. We do not speak much. With how loud the music is, he would have trouble hearing anything I have to say. The only upside to the music being on is he has stopped with the questions. Although, he did manage to get a few odd questions in like: do you have a boyfriend? Do my parents allow me to date? And if I could kiss anyone in the world, who would it be? I had never heard such thoughts come from a boy. When I was a girl, talk like that, well, there was no talk like that, but if there was, it would have gotten the young man’s face slapped. Thankfully, the volume goes down once the song is over.

  In the gaming store, lots of little humans run between the different trial game consoles. Each demonstration has lines two to three people long waiting their turns to try the new games. I try hard to understand why there is so much excitement about the images moving on the television screens. There was nothing but unfocused colors moving about, making weird noises. I need to hide my joy. Dominick has a game in mind and we are in and out of the store in eight minutes flat. On the way back to the house, he explains his new game. It is a series that is on the sixth installment of the ongoing saga. Times have really changed. Who would have thought of a game having add-ons once it was over? Heading into the house, we make a deal that he can play his new game for thirty minutes before he works on his homework. I wonder how that part of the day was skipped over when he was trying to convince me to go to the movies.