Last Teardrop (The Chronicles of Amber Harris) Read online

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  The first time I saw Lance, he was working in the local grocery store called Frank’s Bag and Carry. I do not need to shop in these types of stores often since I do not eat human food. However, that night we had a neighborhood get together. Each house was to bring a dish to pass. Olivia asked me to pick up a few items from the store. We try to fit in as much as possible, so if that means going to a block party with the neighbors, then we will be there. I picked up everything Olivia needed to make a pineapple upside down cake, and I got in line to check out. The store was small and only had two registers. Once I was in line, I realized I was going to be waited on by a new cashier. The manager stood over his shoulder giving him minute by minute directions on how to operate the cash wrap. By the looks on both of their faces, neither one of them were enjoying it.

  When it was finally my turn, the manager was called away to help a customer-this helped the new kid relax a little.

  “Hello, how are you today?”

  I looked up from my change purse to speak. What I saw left me speechless. The young man standing before me was the most handsome human being I had ever laid my eyes on. He was six foot two and had short dark hair, with blue eyes that matched the heavens. They went will with his olive tanned skin, and a short nose. His lips looked so smooth I wanted to rub my own against them just to see how soft they were. As I stared, those lips curved into a smile. I stood there gawking and had forgotten to speak. My eyes shifted from his sensual lips and focused on my change purse as I spoke. “Hello, I’m well, thank you for asking.” 

  While I was ogling, not only had he spoken to me, but he had finished ringing up my items. Before he had a chance to say the total out loud, I handed him the exact amount.

  “Wow, you must really be good at math. I haven’t told you the total yet.”

  Feeling a little silly, I could only smile. What was I thinking? He was human. I could not and should not be looking at him. I could hear the beating of his heart pick up as I smiled back at him. I had to know what he was thinking. I pride myself on not reading other’s thoughts, but with the way he was looking at me, and hearing the fast pace of his heart beat, I had to know. “She’s really pretty. Why haven’t I seen her before? Her smile brightens up her whole face. She’s smart too. I wonder what her name is.” The gentleman behind me in line cleared his throat. Hearing his thoughts screaming in the back of my head, I knew he was annoyed with how long my transaction was taking.

  It took everything in me to finally pull my eyes from the cashier to see what his name tag said. On the brown apron, he was wearing over his clothing in small letters it read: May I help you? My name is Lance. Lance was now handing me my bag with the items I purchased. “Thank you, Lance.” His eyebrows shot up with the acknowledgement of me speaking his name. Then he seemed to remember he was wearing a name tag. I watched as his eyes shifted from my face to the brown apron before finally responding to me.

  “No, thank you. What’s your name?”

  I reached for my bag and started to walk away before answering him. “My name is Amber.” As I walked out of the store into the chilled, fall evening, I refused to look back. I wanted so badly to see him again or to see if he was watching me walk away, but I knew it was best if I did not. I had to stay away from him. I decided many years before that humans were off limits. They all smell too good and are way too fragile for monstrous hands like mine. On the walk back to the house, I tried to clear my head. I did not want to alert my family of my encounter that evening. Still, somehow, Olivia knew something was wrong the moment I entered the house. Olivia possesses senses only a mother could have. Unlike the rest of the family, she is the only one unable to read others thoughts; however, she can always recognize when there is something troubling one of us. By now, we had come to play the role of mother, father, brother, and sister. As most people notice, Christopher and I do not look alike, but many years ago, such things like adoption were not discussed. It was just something that happened, a silent transaction in the middle of the night; such things were not discussed out in public.

  Olivia became a vampire when she was twenty-eight. She has not discussed with me all elements of her past, but I have heard her thoughts and seen her memories. I guess it is too painful still for her. Jackson was the vampire who turned her. He took her away from her loving husband and two children-a boy and a girl. I assume that one day, when she is ready she will tell me the story. The day before his thirtieth birthday, Isaac became a vampire. He was not married, nor did he plan on getting married. He once told me he enjoyed living the single life. He did not mind living by himself. He claimed that working as a journalist kept him busy and on the road. Of course, all of that changed once he became a vampire and met Olivia. One late night he was heading home, after having dinner and a drink with a few friends at the local tavern when he was attacked, and dragged into the woods. In his day in age, and because of his profession, he had heard of vampires and the stories passed throughout the generations were a little more realistic in his world. Because of this, his mind went into immediate survival mode as the vampire drug him into the dark. Knowing that he was not strong enough to ward off his attacker, Isaac instead started talking as calmly as possible to his abductor. The vampire must have had some humanity left in his body, because Isaac was able to talk the vampire into not killing him. Since Isaac had already seen the monster, his abductor decided to make Isaac a vampire. Isaac killed him the moment his transformation was complete. Christopher became a vampire at the age of nineteen. He still lived at home with his family on their farm. He was the oldest of nine siblings, and to have more privacy, his bed room was in the loft of the barn. He believes that was the only reason his life was spared. The vampires that killed his family were to full to want his blood too. They left him wounded and dying in the woods where Olivia found him a few days later.

  Until I came along, it was just the three of them. Other vampires stayed with them on and off, but most vampires do not like to live in one place for more than a few months. It all depends on their eating habits, the less human blood they consume, the longer they are willing to stay in one town. Johnstown only had two other vampires living there beside us. The couple had resided there for fifteen years. They were an older couple. They explained that they were married in their early twenties and made the transformation in their late sixties. They had raised a family and had grandchildren before they were attacked and turned into vampires. Because of their age, they are able to stay in locations longer than us. They believe that people stop paying attention to how fast you age once you are older; therefore, they could stay longer in each city.

  I watched Olivia make the pineapple upside down cake in complete silence. I could see her forehead scrunch and un-scrunch as she fought hard not to ask me what was wrong.

  She finally lost her battle and spoke. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

  She does not drop subjects as easily as I do, but then again, I can read other’s thoughts if they do not want to tell me. “I'll tell you later. I think we should go for a walk after the party.”

  A smile donned her face as she spoke silently to me. “Oh, okay. It must be something good. If you’re worried the boys will hear us. I don’t know how long I will be able to hide it from Isaac though.”

  “Yes, I know. I just need to get my thoughts straight first. It may be nothing.”

  That night, after we played “normal family” in front of our neighbors, Olivia and I went for a walk. There were very few street lights so we were able to walk at our normal pace without prying eyes.

  “All right, talk to me. What has your mind caught in the clouds?”

  I knew my dilemma was going to sound sillier than I intended it to be, so I tried to collect my thoughts one more time before spilling my troubles. “I met a boy today while picking up the items from the grocery store. He is very handsome and I think I like him.”

  I saw out of the corner of my eye that she was noddin
g. “Go on Amber.”

  I snorted, “That’s it. I think I like him. I just don't understand why though. I mean, he is human. I could never see myself with a human.”

  My response caused Olivia’s pace to slow. She turned to look at me with those motherly eyes. “Sweetie, what does he being a human have to do with you liking him? Do you know how many vampires have been created because of an attraction?”

  I had a feeling she was going to go there. “Olivia, I cannot see transforming a human to be with me. I don't see myself being with anyone, especially not a human. He is just a boy.” With that last statement, Olivia came to a complete stop. Our eyes met and Olivia held my stare for a moment. I could see worry swimming in her ocean blue eyes.

  She cleared her throat and reached to take my hand. “In the eyes of every human, you still look like a young adult. What do you have to lose?”

  I already had the answer to that question by the time we returned to the house. Nothing, I had nothing to lose, because I had nothing to gain. I was going to stay far away from Lance. I would not think about him again. Next time someone needed to go to the store, I would make sure it is not me. When Olivia and I entered the house, Isaac was waiting by the door.

  He gently took Olivia’s hand in his as I walked by. “Are you ladies going to tell me what is going on or will you just wait for Olivia to slip and think about it in my presence?”

  I had to laugh at that. That was how things were. Someone would tell someone else something in secrecy, and they would try their best not to think about it around one of the three mind readers. Most secrets were best kept with me. I have better control of blocking my thoughts from others. I looked at the two of them and walked up the stairs to my room.

  I heard Olivia say just before I closed my door, “Guess you’ll find out the next time it crosses my mind.”

  A few weeks went by and I had done a good job of staying away from the store. Lance’s smile still drifted into my thoughts from time to time, but I knew it was for the best that I did not go looking for him. My plan would have worked well, except for the fact that we went to the same University.

  Depending on how long we would like to stay in a town, we sometimes try to portray younger roles. Some of the vampire books I have read come so close to hitting our lifestyle, that I wonder if these authors are taking a stab in the dark and coming up close, or do they really have some help along the way. The youngest age Christopher and I can get away with is sixteen and seventeen and the oldest is twenty-two and twenty-three. That gives us a total of five to six years in a town before people start to talk. Christopher and I were enrolled part time at the University of Pittsburgh, while we lived in Johnstown. I was taking a few accounting classes and Christopher was in engineering. We both had classes on Tuesday and Thursdays. If asked, we told people that we were going part time to help with the family business. The family business at the time was a small print shop.

  Lance and my paths might not have crossed, but I was working on a project with a fellow classmate, and the best time to put the final touches on the assignment was on a Wednesday afternoon. Misty, if I recall correctly, and I had just finished the project and were going to leave when Lance passed us in the hallway. I caught his scent before I saw him round the corner.

  I watched him slow his pace when he recognized me. “Hi, it’s Amber, right?”

  Misty looked at me and smiled, “Hey, I’ll catch you later. I have to go.”

  Oh, how I longed to hold that human in place, make her stay, to give me an excuse to run away from Lance. She turned to leave before I could respond. As I watched Misty walk away, I grudgingly responded to Lance. “Yes, it’s Amber. Hi, how are you…Lance, right?” Of course it was Lance, like I would or could forget that.

  How could I tell him I had not forgotten his name or his face since the last time I laid eyes on him? The fact that I had remembered his name made him blush, that was so dangerous. I was going to grab something to drink once we finished the report. All that blood flowing quickly in his body only made me want him more.

  “Yes, wow, I didn’t know you attended school here too. I mean I haven’t seen you around here. Do you go here?”

  The blushing had spread from his cheeks and was slowly making its way down his neck. I took a step back, putting space between my teeth and his neck. “Umm, yes, I go here. I attend part time and only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I had a project to finish and this was the best day for my partner and I to work on it.”

  I watched as that perfect smile of his began to fade from his face. “Oh, so you’re leaving? I was kind of hoping to see you again. You only came into the store that one day while I was working, and I haven’t seen you since.”

  A boy was walking in the hallway past us as we spoke, I caught a glimpse of myself in his thoughts; I was standing there with this dumb looking smile on my face. Blinking and adjusting my purse-which was just a human fidget I tried to do-I looked into Lance’s blue eyes, and tried to hide all of the emotions I felt coursing through my body. “Yes, I was on my way back to my house.” That was such a lie, but what could I say: ‘No, I am heading off to the woods to find some animal to feed from’?

  I could tell he did not like my answer. His blue eyes dropped from my face and he shuffled his right foot across the floor. “Well, umm, so…you don’t have time to sit down and talk, then umm, maybe I could call you some time? I mean if you want to do something one day?”

  I could not believe that he had just asked me out. I had never been asked out. Well, Christopher had a few times, but I never thought of those as dates.

  Taking another step back, I slowly shook my head. “No, no I don’t think that would be a good idea.” I could see the hurt wash over his face.

  I watch the vein pulsing in his neck slow down and his shoulders began to slouch. “Oh, okay. Well it was nice seeing you again, Amber. I guess I'll see you around.”

  I felt awful. I had hurt his feelings. If he only knew it was for the best. His life was being saved. I was not the young, nice, sweet girl he thought I was. I turned swiftly and started to walk out of the building. Only one thing would help me get my mind off of Lance. Blood. I cursed the other humans in the area, I wanted to make a fast getaway, but needed to maintain my human cover.

  I had not gotten very far outside before I picked his scent up again. I told myself to just keep walking. It was a school campus, and he could just be making his way towards his next class.

  “Amber, wait. Please?”

  I instantly scanned his thoughts before I turned around. I saw that he had decided not to give up on the date thing so easily.

  “Why, why don’t you want to go on a date with me?”

  I knew I needed to think of something, I could not tell him the truth. “Because-because I don't know you. We only met once.”

  He looked down at me and smiled. “I was thinking you had some really good answer, but I don’t think that one counts. If you go out with me, you will get to know me.”

  He was not going to give up that easily. I blew out a huge breath of air in frustration before responding. “I just don't think I would like to go out with you, that’s all. I have to go now. My parents are expecting me. Goodbye.”

  I turn to leave but he placed a hand on my shoulder. “I'm not giving up that easy. I'll keep trying until you give in. Even if it is just one date.”

  Without allowing him to say another word, I turned to leave, hoping my snotty attitude would be a turn off. I caught glimpses of Lance as I stormed away through other’s minds that were walking by. He was still standing where I left him with a huge smile on his face.

  That night I decided to tell the whole family what was going on. I realized that there was nothing to hide, and I may need their help. Although I had told Lance ‘no’, some part of me still wanted to see him again. Olivia was excited. She begged me to show her images of Lance. I told her it would have to be later. I got so caught u
p in thinking about Lance that did not eat like I should have, and it would drain me to project the images to her while trying to block Isaac at the same time. Isaac had no interest in seeing what Lance looked like. I could tell Christopher was hurt but he understood. I hated the fact that I hurt him so much, but I just never felt that way about him. I think it is his personality. It is too much like a light switch. The moods with him come and go faster than the lights can come on. I have tried to read his mind at the exact moment his mood changes and it is weird and sad, I do not believe he can help it.

  The next day as I walked to my class, I saw Lance waiting outside of my accounting classroom. He was dressed in a light blue, dress shirt with black slacks. In one arm he carried his books, in the other, he had one yellow rose. I slowed my speed. When he saw me coming, he stood up straight and started walking toward me.

  “Good morning, Amber. How are you today? This is for you.” He shoved the rose forward, as

  I glared at him. “How did you know where my class was?” I could have just pulled the thought from his head, but I wanted to see what his answer would be.

  He started to blush, turning his neck, cheeks and ears bright red.

  “One of my friends works in the registrar’s office. I had him look up your classes.”

  I raised an eyebrow and a chuckle escaped from my lips before I could stop it. I was in some ways pleased that he had gone to such lengths to find me. As I stood there thinking of a response to Lance’s statement, I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist.

  I did not need to look to know it was Christopher. “Is everything okay here?”

  As always, he was being the good big brother. “Yes, Christopher everything is fine. Christopher, Lance, Lance, Christopher my brother”

  “So this is the human you have been falling all over. Hmm, he smells good.”

  I wanted to elbow Christopher, but I did not want to draw any more attention to our group.

  Christopher let go, knowing he made his point. He then, kissed me on the cheek and said, “See you at the shop later,” then walked down the hall. I could tell by the look on Lance’s face that he was a little confused, but I would not concern myself with that. I straighten my back and frowned at Lance.

  “So, should I be reporting your friend for looking my schedule up?”

  Lance’s face dropped, “No! Please don’t. I promised him he wouldn’t get in trouble. I only wanted to give you this, and tell you that I was still thinking about you, and I am not giving up that easy.”

  He thrust the rose further in my direction, leaving me no choice but to take it. I reached out to relieve it from his hand when one of the thorns jabbed him in his finger, drawing blood.

  “Ouch.”

  I took a deep breath, and immediately kicked myself for inhaling his scent. It took all my willpower not to drain every ounce of blood from his warm soft body. I saw my professor coming down the hall. Without looking back at the warm, wonderful smelling liquid beading up on his finger, I called over my shoulder, “I have to go. Thank you for the rose.” I then moved swiftly into my classroom. I guess it was a good thing Christopher walked away when he did.

  I was hoping that between my curtness, and the fact that I had already told him ‘no’, Lance would give up. Or at least be a little wary of Christopher and his actions. Nevertheless, every day I had school, Lance was standing outside one of my classrooms holding a yellow rose. This went on for almost two months. Some days he would try to hold small talk with me, other times, he would give me the rose with a huge smile and walk away. I told myself I would not give in, I would continue to decline his date offers. There were even a few times while Lance walked with Christopher and me that he would attempt to speak to my brother-who hardly acknowledged his presence-and would make it a point to let him know that he was interested in getting to know me better. Between his persistence and gifts, I was slowing falling in love with him.

  On my way home one night, I ran into our neighbor, Mrs. Swift. She explained that her husband and son were sick. She wanted to make them chicken soup, but needed carrots for it. She told me that she was going to run to the store; however, she really did not want to leave them. She asked if I could go for her instead. I really did not want to go, but I was trying to be the good child. What would my parents think if I told her ‘no’?

  “Thank you so much, Amber. You’re such a nice young lady.”

  I could only grin, she started to hand me money, but I told her not to worry about it. Her husband had been sick a lot lately and money was tight. “Do not worry about the money, Mrs. Swift. I will be right back. Is there anything else you need me to pick up?”

  “Oh, no sweetie, that’s it. Thank you so much. Are you sure you don’t want any money for it?”

  “Yes, I'm sure. I'll be right back.”

  All the time and effort I put into avoiding Frank’s Bag and Carry was going to go down the tubes for carrots. As I walked through the door, I saw Lance standing behind the register, just like the first time I saw him. This time he did not have his manager breathing down his neck. It was a slow night in the store. I counted six heartbeats. I knew one was Lance’s, two were from the men working on the lighting system in the ceiling a few feet away from Lance, and the other three were coming from two shoppers and his boss. He saw me enter, and waved as he rang out one of the customers. I looked the other way and headed for the produce section. After grabbing the carrots, I took a slow and steady breath, and walked over to pay for my merchandise.

  The other customer, a female with curly blonde hair stood in front of me paying for her items. After she paid and she started to walk toward the door, I heard this loud POP! I was able to assess the scene before any of the humans. The men working on the lights snapped a cable. It was falling right for the lady who had just finished cashing out. The loud noise and wire falling must have scared the workers, because they were now falling off of their ladder, and part of the ceiling and ladder were going to land directly on Lance.

  Without thinking about my actions, I rushed and jumped over the counter to physically move Lance from under the falling objects. At the same time, I had to telepathically grab a hold of the men to make sure they had a safe landing with no broken bones, or spilling any blood. All while trying to mentally short circuit the live wire that was threatening to barbeque the blonde haired lady. I believe I over did it and blew the circuit breaker. All the lights went out in the store. This all happened so fast, and I was pretty sure no one would have thought it was me, that is, until I looked down at the soft, warm piece of flesh in my arms.

  Lance’s eyes were huge. I felt like I could go swimming in those big blue eyes. However, the look of bewilderment left his face, and before I could ask him if he was okay, he spoke.

  “I’m assuming you want to keep all of this a secret?”

  I looked down at him and contemplated smothering him. He had a smug look on his face. I was now glaring at him, and my teeth clenched as I responded. “Yes I would. I guess there is no reason to argue over this. What do you want?” I just knew the family was going to lose their minds once I returned to the house.

  With that stupid smug look still plastered to his face, Lance shrugged his shoulders and said, “I would like to be able to take you on a date.”

  I took a deep breath to try and relax my muscles. I could hear movement of the others in the store, along with people coming over from other stores on the block. I pushed myself away from Lance, not too worried about hurting him anymore. “What if I say ‘no’?”

  Lance was still lying on the floor. In response to my question, he gave me a devious smile. My temper flared. “Are you blackmailing me?” My question threw him off guard. He too got up with an alarmed look on his face as we took in the damage.

  “No, I wouldn’t blackmail you. I just want you to give me a chance. I like you. But I won’t push any more. Thank you…for whatever you just did.”

  Lance sighed, as if t
his happened everyday to him, he then turned to pick up the ladder that had missed him by a few inches. “Lance,” He turned to look at me. “Let me think about it, all right?”

  This brought a smile to his handsome face again. “Good because I didn‘t want to reconsider the whole blackmailing thing.”

  He chuckled and began to clean up. I put the money for the carrots on the counter and walked out. No one noticed me leaving.

  I dropped the carrots off at the Swift household and headed toward my own. The family already knew something was wrong. On my way from the store, I let them know we needed to talk-before cellular phones, communicating this way was very handy. “Hey is everyone at the house? We need to talk. I'll be there soon.”

  Olivia was the first one to respond, “Yes, sweetheart. Is everything okay?”

  I only heard a huge sigh from Christopher, and Isaac said he would be there waiting. When I walked into the house, I found the three of them sitting in our living room. I entered the room not looking forward to what I was about to tell them.

  When I was finished, Isaac sat in silence with no emotion on his face. Olivia had come to sit next to me, and sometime during my story, she had taken my hand. Christopher was pacing the room. I knew he was not happy. I figured he would have been upset that I blew our cover, but he was more upset that Lance wanted to go on a date with me, and that he had leverage to hold over me until I said ‘yes’.

  Christopher stopped pacing for a moment to speak, “I could pull the memory from his head. Make him forget all about you, and the feelings he thinks he may have for you. I don’t understand. I thought you were all great and powerful! How did you end up leaving a witness?” Those were the nice things he was saying out loud. Looking at Isaac, I could see him wincing over some of the thoughts passing through Christopher’s mind. I stood, walked slowly over to Christopher, and placed my hand on his arm. “No, no we cannot do that. We don't know the long term effects of you pulling memories from his mind. I don't think it will be that bad to go on a date with him. He's only asking for one date.”

  Christopher turned his head to meet my eyes with his bright green ones. I could see the hurt. His eyes were pleading with me to read his thoughts, to see what he was not able to say out loud.

  “Why?”

  That was all I got from him before I broke eye contact. The emotion behind that one word made me feel dizzy. I stepped back, and turned to go sit back down. Christopher grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug. He rested his chin on top of my head. I could feel his shallow breath gliding across my scalp.

  “If this is what's going to make you happy, then go for it, little sis.”

  I knew that was his way of saying he understood. Before letting me go, he kissed me softly on the top of my head.

  I expended a lot of energy in the store and knew I would need to eat soon. Once Christopher let go, I announced that I was going out for dinner. I did not offer anyone to come nor did I tell them when I was going to be back; I just left. Since not much time had passed since the accident. I decided to walk back by the store before finding food. It was dark out and most stores were closing for the night. As I rounded the corner to Frank’s Bag and Carry, I saw that they were closing up for the night as well. Lance was saying good bye and heading my way. Something told me I should run, but instead, I stood there waiting for him to see me. He took a few more steps in my direction before he realized it was me standing there.

  A huge grin spread across his face and he picked up his pace.

  “Amber? Should you be out here so late by yourself?”

  I chuckled. I was the one who just saved his life, and here he was worried about me being out too late, alone. “Hello again, Lance. I’m not alone. You’re here with me.” He now stood right in front of me.

  “Didn’t you go home after leaving the store?”

  “Yes, I did, but I came back.”

  He looked puzzled. “Why? I mean, it’s not to say I'm not happy to see you here, but it’s late and getting cold. Won’t your family worry?”

  I gave him a gentle pat on the arm. He seemed to be so concerned. “It's a nice night out. I came to walk to your house, and no, my family won’t worry about me. I told them I would be out with you.”

  He chuckled, “You came to walk me home? I think you have it a little backwards. The gentleman is supposed to walk the lady home, not the other way around.”

  I watched as a light breeze softly moved through his hair before I responded. “Hm, you shouldn't think of me as you would a normal young lady.” This comment seemed to make him happy. He spun on his heels and we began to walk towards his house. I was surprised that what I said did not bother him. He had no questions regarding what I could have meant by it, nor did he ask me to explain what happened earlier that evening.

  He had a seven minute walk to his house. We walked at a pretty steady pace. I, of course, slowed my pace a little for him, but since he was tall, he had a good speed for a human. On the way to his house, we talked about school and what we wanted to do once we graduated. Well, more of what he wanted to do after school. He wanted to become a doctor. I found it was kind of hard to tell him what I wanted to be when I grew up. On one hand, I believe I had already grown up, and on the other, I will never grow up. Once we made it to his house, he had a worried look on his face.

  “Amber, I don’t feel comfortable going inside and letting you walk home alone. Will you come in for a second, and I will get my mother’s car keys and drive you home?”

  His blue eyes sparkled in the moon light. A full moon was coming, I could tell by the heaviness of my eye lids.

  I shook my head and took a few steps backwards. “Lance, I assure you I will be fine. There is no reason for you to worry about me. It is very kind of you though.”

  He reached out to grab my hand. “Are you sure? I don't know what I’ll do if something happens to you.”

  I let my hand rest in his warm grasp. I wanted to tell him that nothing worse could happen to me than what has already happened. “I'll be fine. Thank you for a lovely walk.” I turned to walk away, but stopped and turned back. “Lance, when would you like to go on that date?”

  6

  Happy to See the Family

  It is time to leave work. After reassuring Lisa I would still meet her at her house before going out for my birthday celebration, I am finally heading back to my living quarters. Driving can be very nerve-racking. I would like to drive my car fast and weave in and out of traffic, but I do not want to put the lives of these fragile humans in danger. I could run to my house, which would be faster, but it would raise suspicion in my coworkers if I came to work every day with no car. Upon arriving at my house, I see two new cars parked in my driveway, one green and one white. The white car was parked outside my office today. It must belong to Christopher. I wonder if it is a rental.

  Before my foot can hit the asphalt in the driveway, I watch as the front door to the house swings open, and Olivia emerges. Due to the sun being out, Olivia’s speed has been impeded. I make my way swiftly towards her and she throws her arms out for a huge hug. As we embrace, she speaks.

  “Happy birthday, sweetheart! I've missed you so much. How are you?”

  Isaac is standing behind her laughing and brushing his hair back into a ponytail. “I'm well. I’ve missed you too, mom. What a surprise!”

  She releases me suddenly. “Is this okay? I mean, us being here? Christopher didn't bug you too much at work today, did he? I told him to wait for you to get home, but you know how he is.”

  Hm, she seems to be nervous. I wonder what has her so anxious. “No, everything is fine, and I’m very glad to see you. This is a wonderful birthday surprise. Let’s get inside.”

  As we enter the house, I pick up on an unfamiliar scent. My instincts start to kick in, but before I have a chance to ask what is going on, Christopher walks into the room. He is holding the hand of a girl that looks to be my age. I do a double take.
I know her. She is my height, with long dark brown hair that reminds me of the color of dirt after it rains. She has brown eyes, with a beauty mark under her left eye. Her skin is pale, but not as pale in contrast to mine or Christopher’s. Recalling all the faces of everyone I have ever met, it comes to me. Judy. I have not seen Judy prior to her disappearance a few weeks before I became a vampire. Now here she is standing in my living room, holding my brother’s hand. She looks exactly the same as she did all those years ago. This just cannot be. I stand speechless; so many thoughts are running through my head. She does not smell like a vampire. Why is she holding his hand? Am I jealous? I do not like her holding his hand. Why is the room so quiet? Why do I not hear her thoughts? All I hear is a lot of static, like a weird white noise. What is that about? What am I supposed to say? How did I miss this? Despite all of the thoughts running through my mind, all that comes out is, “Hi Judy, it has been a long time.”

  Stunned by the fact that I know her name, Isaac rushes over to me. “You know each other?”

  Now this worries me. Can Isaac and Christopher read her thoughts? “Yes, we know each other. We lived in the same town growing up. Judy went missing a few weeks before I met all of you.” A range of emotions shift across Christopher’s face as he lets go of Judy’s hand and turns to face her.

  “Is this true? Do you know, Amber?”

  Judy, who has been standing quietly, takes a sharp breath before responding, “Yes, I do know Amber. I had no idea this is who you were talking about every time you brought your sister’s name up. I had no idea she was still alive.”

  Yes, well, if I had stayed human, I would not be alive right now. Good come back.

  I try again to read her thoughts, still nothing but while noise.

  Olivia steps forward attempting to put space between me and Christopher. “I'm sure there is some kind of misunderstanding. Let’s sit down and talk.” Her voice shakes; I understand now why she was so nervous.

  No one is moving. My glare has not left Judy and Christopher. “What are you?” stumbles from my lips with a slight snarl. I guess Christopher did not like my tone, he too snarls as he pulls Judy behind him, while pushing Olivia out the way. By doing this, he also put less space between me and him.

  “You just can’t be happy for me, can you? Everything is about you and when it’s not, you make it out as if the world is coming to an end.”

  Christopher’s body tenses and I start to crouch. I need to be able to strike before he gets to me. This could all be resolved without a fight; I could just mentally hold him in place, but I am unsure how Judy will react. If I cannot hear her thoughts, does that mean all of my abilities are null to her? Plus, it has been a long time since I knocked Christopher around. I try not to use my ability of telekinesis to harm anyone; however, at this point, I am really thinking about ripping each one of Christopher’s limbs from his body. I start to move towards him when Judy pulls free of his grasp and steps forward.

  “Wait! Look, I'm not here to upset or start a fight between you two. Amber, to answer your question, I'm a bloodwolf.”

  I was not expecting her to say that. I have heard of such creatures, half vampire and half werewolf. This can only be possible when a human is bitten by a werewolf during the transformation of becoming a vampire or vice versa. This is my first time seeing one. I stand up straight, and relax my muscles and say, “Why can’t I hear your thoughts clearly? It seems like you are trying to cover up what is going on in your head.”

  Christopher senses I am no longer going to pounce and relaxes his body too. He grabs Judy’s hand, and meets my stare. “Neither I nor Isaac can pull full thoughts from her mind. We think it is due to mixed blood, somehow everything does not come out clearly. Thank you for making this so easy.”

  The disgust that sliced through each of his words cut the thick air like a hot knife through butter.

  “I told Olivia that you were too selfish to be happy for me.” Christopher throws an ominous glare at the room as he turns to walk out of the house with Judy in hand; neither one looking back.

  This confrontation has left me speechless. I walk back into the living room and sit down. Olivia and Isaac have come to sit down on the loveseat across from me. I do not trust my voice. “What’s going on? Why didn’t anyone say anything to me?”

  Taking in a sharp breath, Isaac leans forward to rest his arms on his legs. “It was Christopher’s idea. He said he wanted to surprise you.”

  “Surprise me! Ha, so that’s what we are calling this. Christopher and I were about to level this house over the surprise.” I take a deep breath and stand up. I need to go for a walk or something to clear my head; however, I know Judy and Christopher have not gone too far. Instead of leaving the house, I begin to pace and speak out loud. “So, because she is a bloodwolf we cannot interpret her thoughts? She looks to be my age, I’m assuming she had to become a bloodwolf around the same time I met all of you.”

  I stop pacing and look at Olivia who was holding Isaac’s hand very tightly. I can hear her inner thoughts. I see that she wanted to tell me all about Judy, but Christopher wanted to keep it a secret. I can sense how sadden she is to see us at each other’s throats; it is making her rethink their visit. She wants all of us to be happy. She’s missed me and hates to think that by them coming back, I am no longer happy. I sigh and try to clear my head. I hate to see her so upset. I did not mean to distress her. I have no idea what just came over me. I did not give either one of them a chance to explain.

  Kneeling down to be eye level with Olivia, I place my hand on top of my parents’ hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, nor should I have jumped to conclusions. I should have given everyone a chance to talk. I’ll go find them and apologize.”

  Standing to go find my brother and his new companion, Olivia grabs my hand. “There’s no reason to be sorry. We should have told you. I just was so excited to see how happy Christopher has been, that I figured it would all work out. I can go with you to find them if you like.”

  I shake my head. “No, I’ll be right back. Thank you.”

  Isaac starts to speak as I turn to leave. “Are you sure you don’t need one of us to go with you? There are two of them.”

  I sense a huge grin on his face. I give a light laugh and call over my shoulder as I head out the door, “I think I can take them.”

  I can tell Christopher and Judy have not gone too far for three reasons. Number one, I can still smell both of their scents. Christopher’s scent is permanently engraved in my brain, pine with a hint of ginger and vanilla. Judy has a different smell. I am not sure if I like it. Her odor consists of a small amount of vampire, but also an outdoorsy scent, kind of like wet grass. The second reason I know they have not gone far is from all the mental yelling I am hearing from Christopher. It is a good thing he is keeping most of those things to himself, I would be very offended if he spoke such awful things about me out loud to his new fling. I am getting nothing but static from Judy still, this is going to walk me up the wall. There is something not right about this girl. And the third reason I know they have not traveled far is because I can hear Judy trying to calm him down. I can tell that her soothing words are to no avail. Christopher’s wall seems impenetrable.

  I find them sitting on a fallen tree approximately two miles away from my backyard. There is no point in trying to approach without either one of them hearing me. Though Judy is not full vampire or werewolf, I am positive her hearing is just as strong. Werewolves and vampires hearing are pretty comparable. Knowing Christopher is still ready for a fight, I guess I should try talking to him before I get to close. “Hey it’s me. I do not want to fight. I just want to talk.” A few seconds have gone by with no verbal response from Christopher. All I can do is sigh. He can be so stubborn at times. “Judy, Christopher, I would like to talk to the both of you.” Still nothing. I wait a few more moments before I do hear Christopher take a huge cleansing breath.

  “What Amb
er, what do you want?” Finally he speaks.

  Oh joy, he really is not going to make this easy. “Look, I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. I should not have jumped to conclusions. Will you come back to the house so we can talk or do I need to come back there and we duke this out?” I hope he hears the playfulness in my voice and just comes back to the house.

  I begin to count to ten; I will give Christopher until then to respond before I make my way back to the house. I get no further than four when I pick up on a slight rustling of the bushes that conceals my sibling. At the same time, I hear Judy gasp. I move most of my body out of the way at the last possible second. Christopher has come charging from the shelter of trees and bushes he and Judy were sitting in. He is able to clip my shoulder with his first pass. We both move at a lightning fast speed. I turn to see him jumping in the air like a panther pouncing on his prey. I start to jump to meet him midair, but change my mind and just stand still. I let my mind wrap around his body. Once I have a full grip on his frame, I slam him to the ground. The fall knocks the wind out of him, and before he has a chance to recover, I pounce, landing with my knee in his chest, knocking the wind out of him again. His green eyes are wide with surprise. Taking both hands, he grabs my knee and pushes upward, flipping both of our bodies. I have ended up on the ground with him hovering over me. Grinning down at me, he thinks he has the last move. Simply smiling at him, I lift his body once again without lifting a finger. I move from under him and let him fall. He knew it was coming and was able to flip on his back before landing on the ground. With a small smirk on his face, he grabs my leg and pulls me down on the ground with him. I know now that he means no harm.

  Lying next to him on the cool earth, we look at each other and laugh. Christopher puts his arm around my shoulder and says, “I would still be kicking your ass right now, but you did say sorry. You never say sorry. I guess I can forgive you, that is, only if Judy can too.”

  I forgot all about Judy during our play. She has come from the cover of the trees and is standing over us. We both look up to see her not looking to happy with us.

  With her hands on her hips, she frowns down at us. “That was not funny. I thought you two were really fighting. I didn’t know what to do.”

  Coming up behind us, Olivia and Isaac are both laughing. I am positive they saw the whole thing.

  Isaac shakes his head as he puts out a hand to help me up. “Hopefully you would have jumped in to help Christopher. It appears he was going to lose…again.”

  He turns to look at Christopher who is now on his feet and examining his clothes, which are ripped and torn in a few places, unlike mine.

  “I guess you still haven’t learned, have you? If you two are done fooling around, I think we should go back to the house. We still have gifts to open.” Isaac gives my hand a light squeeze before reclaiming Olivia’s hand.

  Oh, I was hoping they forgot about my birthday. I was also hoping this would not be a long day. So much for hoping.

  I take my time walking back to the house. My family and Judy are not far ahead of me, but I need to walk back into the house with a clear head. There is something funny going on with Judy. I do not know if it is the fact that I knew her from my past life, or the fact that she is hanging on my brother’s arm. I just cannot put a finger on what is bothering me. Everyone else is now entering the house. I should catch up so they do not think there is something wrong. Entering the house, I see gifts. I do not remember those sitting there before, but I could have missed them with all of the commotion.

  Judy and the rest of my family are all standing around the table waiting for me to join them. I take a slow deep breath and make sure to smile as I enter the dining room. There are three gifts resting on the table. One is in a shiny blue paper with a purple ribbon tied around it. The second is inside of a balloon covered gift bag. And the third is wrapped in red and orange striped wrapping paper with a hot pink bow sitting on top, this gift is the largest on the table. The four of them part way so I can stand in the middle of them: Isaac and Olivia on my left, Christopher and Judy on my right. Isaac grabs the gift bag and hands it to me.

  “This one is from me. I picked it up while in Ireland.”

  I pull the white tissue paper out of the bag to reveal a box. Lifting the box out of the bag, I do not smell anything; I wonder what it can be. With the lid of the box opened, I find a glass sculpture of a girl sitting on a swing in an apple field. She is in mid-swing. Behind her is a young man pushing the swing. The sculpture has a gold and green emblem by Waterford Crystal.

  My eyes briefly leave the glass masterpiece and meet my father’s stare. I can only whisper a “thank you” to Isaac. This is all I thought about for years after I became a vampire. Mr. and Mrs. Leavers set up a swing between two of their apple trees, and Robert would spend hours pushing me on the swing. I close my eyes and relish only for a second in the memory of that old life. As I open my eyes, I with care place the glass piece back on the table. Out the corner of my eye, I see Olivia has my next gift in her hand.

  I reach out and take the red and orange striped gift from Olivia. “This one is from me,” she says as I begin to open the gift.

  Removing the colorful wrapping paper and opening the box, I find one of my all-time favorite book series. The four book collector’s edition of Time Quartet signed by the author Madeleine L'Engle sits in the box with the spines of the mint condition books facing me. My finger glides over the books and I look at Olivia. Once again, I can hardly speak. I remember when A Wrinkle in Time first came out. I read the book until the pages fell out. I believe I read the whole series a total of forty times that first year. “I must have talked about this series every time we spoke for the first decade after reading it. I haven’t read this in years. Thank you!” As I reach over to hug her, I watch Christopher softly kiss Judy on the cheek. A sour taste fills my mouth, and I let go of Olivia, and wait for Christopher and Judy to finish.

  I should be more understanding. Christopher catches me glaring and straightens. He gives me a lopsided grin as he removes the book from my hand, and replaces it with the small shiny blue box left on the table. I wonder what is inside, it is very light.

  As I start to tear the paper, Judy clears her throat and says, “I wanted to get you a gift too, but Christopher assured me that you would not mind if we put both our names on this one. I hope you like it. I picked it out.”

  I need to be nice. Putting on the nicest, fake smile possible, I speak through gritted teeth. “I’m sure I will love it, Judy.” Now that I have the paper off, I see that it is a jewelry box. Christopher usually gets me some kind of jewelry. I am surprised he would still get such a gift now that he has a serious girlfriend. The lid opens with a small squeak to reveal a diamond necklace. From the length, it looks to be a choker style with teardrop shaped diamonds. Each diamond looks to be a carat and a half. In the middle of the necklace sits a lovely four carat canary diamond, also shaped in a teardrop.

  I feel Christopher’s hand on my back. “Do you like it? I think Judy has wonderful taste in jewelry.”

  “Yes, I do really like it, thank you both so much.” With the case still in hand, I turn and pull both of them into a hug. Funny, Judy is a lot softer than I would have thought for a half vampire. She is not as soft or warm as a human though.

  I end our embrace with a simple squeeze before taking a step back. At my new vantage point, I am able to observe everyone in the room. I truly missed my family. Until now, I did not realize how much I enjoy having them in my life, and for the time being, I will deal with Judy. I see Isaac holding back a grin, without hesitation I dive into his thoughts. It appears I am not doing a good job of blocking my thoughts from being heard. I may not be listening to everyone else, but he can hear mine loud and clear. Our eyes lock and we have a silent laugh. I know my thoughts are safe with him. I am rusty at keeping my mind blocked from him and Christopher. I will work on that later. I clear my throat and bring my full a
ttention back to the room. “So tell me, besides my birthday, what brings you here?” I glance at everyone in the room, my sight stops on Olivia as she fiddles with a strand of her hair.

  “We decided that we missed you too much, and it has been too long for this family to be separated. Also, Christopher wanted you to meet the newest member of our family,” Olivia says in a small voice.

  Oh great, so she is not a fling. Sifting through everyone but Judy’s thoughts, I learn that she has been around for three years. Strange, they never mentioned this whenever we talked.

  “We hope you don’t mind us just popping up. I know we haven’t seen your home until now. We figured you would have enough room for us, even if we were to only stay here for a little. At least until we get a place of our own.”

  Ouch, that hurt, I guess I have been kind of selfish these past few decades, by alienating myself from my family.

  I shake my head and try to ward off the guilty feeling. “No, no that will not be necessary. This is your house just as much as it is mine. Like you said, the house is big enough for everyone. I’m truly sorry that you feel I wouldn’t want to share my living quarters with you after all these years, but I would be more than happy to. I’m so excited to have all of you here with me. I know it has been a long time, and I shouldn’t have let it go on this long. I’m very glad you are here now and thank you so much for making it a part of my birthday.” I look to Judy and Christopher who are also holding hands. “That goes for you too, Judy. Welcome to the family. It is extremely good to see you, again.” Hmm, I hope that was believable. “Have you all made yourselves comfortable? I can show you anything you need, if you have not already sniffed it out.” This comment makes everyone laugh. I sigh. This is not what I planned, but I guess this will work out.

  “Well, thanks to Christopher, everyone in the office knows it’s my birthday, and my officemate wants to go out for drinks.” I turn and look at Christopher, I wonder if he was thinking about Judy when he accepted the invite for tonight.

  “Brother, will you still be joining us tonight and are you bringing your beautiful date?”

  He sees the playful gleam in my eyes. I bet he has not told Judy about his evening out with me and my coworkers. Just as he starts to open his mouth to speak, Judy beats him to the punch.

  “Oh, I didn’t know you had plans for the evening. It sounds like fun. I don’t want to intrude. Besides, it’s been a long day. I think I’m going to go to bed soon.”

  Hmm, she sleeps, and it sounds like on a regular basis unlike the rest of us. It must be the werewolf in her. Christopher is not fazed by her decline of the night. He must have known she would say ‘no’, which is probably why he said ‘yes’ to Lisa today. Oh, some things have not changed. I glance back at Judy. “Are you sure, Judy? You are more than welcome to come.”

  “I’m sure. I’ll have to take a rain-check, maybe next time. I’m really tired.”

  “All right then.” I shift my sight to my loving parents. “Would either of you like to come with us tonight?” I already know the answer, but I still ask. Olivia considers me her equal in most ways, yet she likes to keep that picture perfect family persona going in towns where we will be residing for a while. That means she will not be seen out bar hopping-as the young ones call it now-with her “children”. Sometimes Isaac will risk a night out on the town; however, I can tell he wants to stay by Olivia’s side. He can be such a sweetheart. They both shake their heads ‘no’. “That settles it then. Is it still a ‘yes’ for you, Christopher?”

  “Yes, I think I will still join you tonight. It should be fun. Like old times, you know?”

  “Yes, I do know. Well, I’m going to go change my clothes. Are you wearing that out?”

  His lips quiver ever so slightly as he tries to hold a grin in. “What if I am? Can I still go?”

  I stare him down for a few seconds. I know he is only joking, well, I hope he is only joking.

  Laughing out loud, he places a hand on my shoulder. “Geesh Amber, I’m kidding. I’ll have to change, since you decided to destroy what I am wearing. I think I should start charging you for all the outfits of mine you’ve ruined.”

  That makes me snort. Over the last century I have ruined thousands of dollars of his clothing, but as Isaac says, he just never learns. As I head upstairs, I pick up the diamond choker. I will have to find something to wear with it tonight. I wonder how much he spent on the necklace, and why Judy had no problem with picking something like that out for me. Until a little while ago she had no idea that I still existed on this earth, well at least she claimed she did not. I am going to have to look into all of this later. “Livia, we will need to go for a walk later…”

  She sighs, “I figured as much. Well, you know where to find me once you come home.”

  I enter the bathroom and turn on the hot water in the shower. As I strip out of my clothing, I mentally go through all of my clothes and think about what will look best with the necklace. I do not need to shower, I do not sweat, but I like the way the hot water feels on my body. I keep the water heater turned up to its highest point. The water would scald a human’s flesh if not warned. I may need to say something to Judy about the water…then again, maybe not. I also shower because I like the way the scent of the soap alters my smell ever so slightly. When necessary I will wash my hair, but that is only to keep up a clean looking appearance for the humans. Letting the water wash over my body reminds me of when I was a child, and I would play out in the rain. Of course, I was not supposed to, and once mother caught me, I would be in deep trouble. But it was refreshing as a little girl to feel the rain hit my arms, face, and legs. I loved the way the rain would splash the ground and then bounce back up to sprinkle my bare feet. Mother would tell me to come inside, so I would not catch my death from the cold. Somehow, it seemed worth it. I would do anything to hear her voice calling me in from the rain to feel the warmth of the kitchen, while her loving touch dried me. I wonder now if it was the love of the rain or the attention I received after coming in from the rain that I craved so much.

  Finished with the shower, I turn the water off and step out. On my way back into my room, I turn on my curling iron. I still have no idea what I will do with my hair for tonight’s outing. Drying myself off, I let my mind drift to the others in the house. Olivia is thinking how great it is to be under one roof with her family again, and Isaac is thinking about eating. I will have to tell him about the blood bank or some of the trails I find useful when I want wild game for a change. I do not have to read Christopher’s mind. I can hear him and Judy talking down the hall. Judy is telling him that she hopes everything will be okay, and that she is sorry for the confusion. Christopher is reassuring her that she did nothing wrong and all is fine. I can hear an edge in Judy’s voice as she speaks. She misjudged my abilities and their strengths. Something about that worries her. Christopher is doing his best to soothe her, but I can hear her heavy breathing. There is still something peculiar about her, I wish I could put my finger on it. I think the next time I have some time to myself, I will need to investigate bloodwolves.

  Inside my walk-in closet for the second time today, I pull out a long black strapless dress. I think this may be too fancy for where we are headed tonight. I have seen this bar many times in Lisa’s head, and I think I need to move on to outfit number two. Stepping to my right, I spot my black lace corset that ties in the back. Grabbing the top, I turn to the other side of my closet and reach for a pair of black tapered capris. Top and bottom in hand, I move onto my shoes. I choose a pair of five inch patent leather stilettos. I am concerned it is too much black; however, seeing myself in the mirror, I am extremely pleased with my outfit. Now that I am dressed, I wander back into the bathroom. I can smell my curling iron is hot. I have decided to wear my hair half up and half down. In one quick flick of my wrist, I part my hair on the left, making a swoop bang on the right that will connect into a tight French twist on the back. On the left side, I pull a
few strands out and make a few loose candy curls. I make the same loose candy curls with the hair I have hanging in the back. Tonight I have decided to wear light eye shadow and mascara. I do not wear makeup often, it all feels very thick and makes me want to rake my nails across my face. After applying the mascara and yellow eye shadow to help bring out the color in my eyes and necklace, I go back into my room.

  Admiring the necklace one more time before putting it on, I hear footsteps outside my room. I know it is Christopher even before he knocks and opens my door. He has changed his clothes. He looks rather handsome. He has traded his blue jeans for a nice pair of dark tan khakis, and his torn green button down shirt for a crisp black button down—un-tucked-shirt, with a pair of black Dockers. The dirt smudge on his cheek and forehead are gone, and his green eyes are sparkling against the contrast of his black shirt.

  “Here, let me help you with that.” Christopher steps forward and takes the choker out the box and reaches around to clasp it on my neck. He lets his hands come to rest on my shoulders.

  “You look gorgeous. I’ve missed you.”

  I give him an affectionate gaze in the mirror. “I’ve missed you too, and you don’t look too bad yourself. Are you ready? I told Lisa we would meet at her house. I guess she likes to have a drink or two before heading out.”

  Chuckling, Christopher steps back. “I take it you haven’t gone out with her before? Let’s hope she doesn’t try to keep up with us. Remember the last person who thought they could “hold” their liquor like us?”

  This memory makes me laugh. Alcohol has no effect on vampires. We only like the warm feeling of it going down our throats. The stronger the drink, the easier it goes down. This is okay if you are out with a bunch of vampires. People are amazed at how much we can consume, but it is not good for those humans who think they can keep up. One of the few times Christopher and I went out with humans, I ended up staying the night with them in the emergency room, while they recovered from alcohol poisoning. That was a rough night for me. Two car accidents occurred and one person who had injured themselves with something sharp sat within a few feet of me. There was a lot of blood and I needed to control my urge to feed. We decided it was best between the two of us, if I stayed while Christopher went back to the house. Thankfully, by then I had better control of my cravings.

  I walk back in to my walk-in closet and grab a small yellow change purse to put my fake ID in, along with cash and credit cards, and then I follow Christopher down the stairs to where the others are seated in the living room. We enter side by side, and Christopher slides his hand into mine. I can only wonder what Judy must think of this. It is really upsetting me that I do not know what is going on in that brain of hers. Isaac stands first and walks over to place a kiss on my cheek while he puts a hand on Christopher’s shoulder.

  “Amber, you’re stunning. That necklace looks wonderful on you.”

  Nodding in agreement, Judy walks over and grabs Christopher’s free hand. “Wow, sweetheart, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so cleaned up before. Amber, you must invite him out more often if you can get him to look like this.”

  Christopher rolls his eyes and releases my hand to pull Judy into a hug, while kissing her on her lips.

  “My darling, are you sure you will not join us tonight? I would love to dance with you?” Christopher whispers that in Judy’s ear, but we can all hear him as clear as him speaking out loud.

  “I am quite sure. Go, you have fun with Amber and her friends.”

  Judy steps back and makes room for Olivia.

  Olivia kisses both of us on our cheeks and says, “You two go have fun. We will see you once you come home. Please behave yourselves. I remember what happened the last time you were out with humans.”

  7

  Double Fisted

  I let Christopher drive my car to Lisa’s house. He was admiring it so much that I tossed him the keys, and told him whatever happened to the car would happen to him. He has a tendency to be rough on cars, whether they are his or not. We did not talk much on the way. I read his mind a few times and I knew he wanted to talk about Judy, but figured that I would bring up the topic when I was ready to. Like the gentleman he sometimes pretends to be, upon arriving at Lisa’s, he holds my door for me and helps me out the car. As I climb out, we make eye contact. “Be good tonight. I work with these people and would like to be able to go back to work on Monday. Okay?”

  “Oh, Amber, have you forgotten? With your mind thingy you can make people see and feel what you want them too. And with me being able to erase memories, you should have no problem going back to work come Monday.” He says this with a small chuckle, as if he really believes I am being foolish. Christopher wraps his arm around my waist and guides me towards the house as he continues his commentary. “Though, I don’t know why you feel you need to work. Don’t you have enough money sitting in several hundred accounts all around the world? You really need to relax.”

  Note to self: I may need to put a little mental restraint on him tonight.

  Before we make it up the steps to her house, Lisa opens the door. “I saw your headlights pulling up. Wow, I can’t believe you made it! I really thought you were going to stand me up. Hi, Christopher, how are you?”

  I roll my eyes as Christopher releases me and takes hold of Lisa’s hand to kiss. My sight narrows in on his movement. His thumb is rubbing the veins in her wrist. He told me once that he loves to feel the pulse in a human, even if he is not going to feed on them. Taking my eyes off of Christopher, I wave to Lisa. I can tell she is ecstatic that I did show up. “Of course we made it. We were both more than happy to be invited.”

  Her eyes are glued to Christopher as she responds, “Please come in. Karen from work is already inside mixing up cocktails before we go.” I may need to wipe the drool from her mouth before we leave for the bar.

  I am not too surprised to see Karen here. I picked up on her scent when we first arrived. I also picked up on her heartbeat before entering the house. As I walk through the front door, I take inventory of Lisa’s dwelling. I know that she has not lived here long, yet she has done a good job on her décor. It seems very cozy.

  I follow Karen’s scent to the small pantry. Surveying the bottles of liquid, I can tell she is making dirty martinis. “Hello, Karen. How are you? Did you get a chance to meet my brother today at the office?” At the mention of a male in the room, Karen spins around with a surprised look on her face. The bottle of liquor slips from her hand and without thinking, I reach and grab it before it hits the floor.

  Karen turns to me with wide eyes, “Good catch!”

  “Smooth Amber, could you move any faster?”

  “Did you want me to let it fall and possibly break into tiny little pieces that could have cut one of them?”

  Christopher ignores my silent question and greets Karen with a friendly gesture. “Yes, Karen and I met today while you were out to lunch. It’s good to see you again. What are you making?” I am surprised she is able to speak. She has a star struck look on her face. I also know that Christopher is just being polite; we both know what she is making.

  “I, umm, we are having umm, dirty martinis with a shot of vodka on the side.”

  Karen’s heartbeat and breathing pick up as she turns to finish the drinks. Immediately I listen to Christopher’s thoughts. I want to make sure he is under control. Karen smells better to me with every heartbeat. Since I am aware of it, Christopher must be slowly losing his mind.

  From his thoughts, I detect that his mouth is aching. To help defuse the situation, I step between my brother and coworker before this night ends with us moving out of the state. “Let’s go have a seat while we wait for Karen to finish up in here.” Realizing what I am trying to do, Christopher breathes a sigh of relief and grabs my hand as we turn to leave the small quarters.

  “Thank you.”

  “Anytime.” “Lisa, you have a lovely place. Have you finished all of your decoratin
g?”

  Lisa steps into the doorway of her living room and spreads her arms out. “Thanks. Would you like a tour?”

  Leave it to Christopher to be the ladies’ man. He lets go of my hand to slide next to Lisa.

  “Sure, we would love a tour.”

  He places his hand on the small of her back as she begins her tour, and I follow them. Funny, Christopher seems to be in love with Judy while they are in each other’s company, yet the moment she is not within ear shot of him, he is back to the brother I have grown to love. And still, he looks at me with a longing for love and lust written all over his face. Before the end of this weekend, I will need to get to the bottom of this Judy thing.

  We end the tour at the same time that Karen has finished making our drinks. With a martini in one hand and the shot glass in the other, we enter the living room and sit down on Lisa’s suede gold colored furniture. Christopher and I take the loveseat-of course. Karen sits in the recliner and Lisa lounges on the sofa all by herself. Everybody is now looking at me, this is why I hate celebrating my birthday, there is way too much attention. I raise my shot glass for a toast, “Here’s to all the fun we’ll have tonight!” Hopefully I put enough emphasis into that. Tilting the glass back, I enjoy the warm burn of the liquor sliding down my throat. Christopher and I finish our shots first. Meeting each other’s eyes, we lift our martini glasses and down those just as fast as the shot. Lisa and Karen look shocked. As I drift through their thoughts, I find it funny, Lisa thinks I have been holding back on her with the way I just downed my drink. Karen wonders if she made the drinks strong enough and starts to stand up to offer to make us more. I put my hand up, “We’re fine. There will be plenty to drink once we get to the bar.”

  Sitting back down, her eyes dart to Christopher, and once again her heartbeat picks up. This is going to be a long night.

  “So, Christopher, do you go by a nickname like Chris or Cee or something?”

  I really wish she had not asked that question.

  I hear Christopher’s jaw snap shut. A look of lost passes his eyes before he answers, “I only go by Christopher.”

  It is a touchy subject for him. He carries the name that has been passed down from father to son or grandson for eighteen generations. He will not speak about it often. Christopher feels that he let his ancestors down. One day, almost three years after I became a vampire, Christopher and I were coming back from the Saint Patrick’s Day celebration held by the small town we lived just outside of, when he brought up the subject of his lost treasured name.

  ‘I can have no children to pass my name on to. I don’t even have family left to make sure one of my siblings will pass the Christopher George Herrice name on to another male. Not that it really matters, not since we change our names so much. I’m surprised I can even remember what my real name is. I’m sure if my parents have graves, they would be rolling in them to think I have thrown our treasured name to the side. Growing up, I never would have thought I would be called anything but Chris Herrice. I remember the first time I met Olivia and she thought it would be easier if we went by the same surname, so no one would have questions. I managed to talk her into taking my name. All which stopped once Isaac entered the picture. Can I tell you I was none too happy to change my surname to Ellington? That is why I refuse to go by anything less than Christopher. I need to be able to hold on to something from my past life.’

  After that conversation, I went to Isaac and Olivia, and expressed that we should think about the next time we moved to use Christopher’s surname. With a few choice words, I won the argument. Though we have modernized the spelling over the years, we now all carry the surname of Harris no matter where we live.

  I try to help the atmosphere in the room. With a small pat on my brother’s knee, I attempt to elaborate on Christopher’s answer and sudden mood swing. “Christopher and I are both adopted. He is named after his biological father. Prior to his death, everyone called his dad by his full name. Christopher prefers the same now.” I sense that Karen is embarrassed, but there is no need for her to be. Most do not know how touchy it can be too lose almost everything all at once. Or how hard it can be to try to hold on to what little you can walk away with. I direct my gaze at Lisa’s and Karen’s drinks as I clear my throat to speak. “Are you almost done with your drinks? I’m ready to party.” Lisa and Karen both gulp down the rest of their martinis and stand up. I take their glasses and quickly wash them. There will be a chance that Lisa will be too wasted once she returns to the house, that she will not remember if they were cleaned or not before we left. After I place the glasses back in the cabinet, I walk out to meet the others who are standing at the door. Christopher has placed himself in the middle with his arms wrapped around both girls waist-both of whom are blushing. I roll my eyes, “Be good.”

  We decided to take Lisa’s car since mine is a two-seater and Karen was going to stay the night at Lisa’s. We let Lisa drive but I know either Christopher or I will be driving back from the bar. Lisa parks the car outside of Turn Styles, there is a line already forming. I hear Lisa mumble under her breath that she is not standing in the line. Reading her thoughts, I see that she is going to pay the bouncer a little extra to get us in. I open my mind up to bring Christopher into the loop. This enables him to hear Lisa’s thoughts as they pass through my head.

  “I’m sure there will be a way around that, don’t you, sis?”

  “Yes, I think we will be able to help with it.” My feet glide ahead of Lisa, who was trying to get there to pay for us. I come to a stop in front of the man. To most, he would appear scary. He stands approximately six foot eight, and weights about two hundred and eighty pounds. With every inch of his exposed skin covered in tattoos and piercings he appears to be tough. I can knock him over with a flick of my pinky finger, if I felt like using that much energy. Instead, I put on my prettiest smile and say, “Good evening. How are you?” I do a swift mind read. Though his face shows no emotion, he likes what he sees. Still he stands his ground. He was ordered not to let the “pretty women” affect his job, so he tries not to make eye contact with me.

  I would rather not mess with his head, but I will not pay or allow Lisa to pay to get us a prompt entry to this bar. Gently, I make him raise his hand to the door, and while he swings the door open, I command him to speak. This helps ease the dumbfounded look of why he is opening the door for us from his face. “Tell us you’re sorry for making us wait, and you hope we have a wonderful night. And you will remember Lisa’s face the next time she comes. She will not pay or stand in line ever again.”

  Sweat glistens from his forehead as he opens the door. He slightly bows his head, “Sorry for the wait. I hope you have a wonderful night. It’s good to see you again, Lisa.”

  I hear Lisa gasp. She is shocked the bouncer remembered her name. I also hear Christopher chuckle.

  He speaks in a very low voice, that only I can hear, “Smooth.”

  I let Karen and Lisa enter first. Christopher grabs my arm as we walk in together. “I made sure Karen and Lisa didn’t see anything too weird.” I played back for Christopher what I wanted my coworkers to imagine. Which was, me walking over to the bouncer, he, and I exchanging a few pleasant words, and a hug and a kiss on the cheek for letting us in.

  Christopher throws his head back and laughs, “You are always way too nice to these humans. I considered breaking the guy’s arm if he didn’t let us in.”

  I shake my head as we too, enter the bar.

  I do not understand why humans must play their music in places like this so loud. Honestly, how do most vampires even think about hanging out at a bar or a club? If I was unable to muffle the music in my and Christopher’s ears, we would have ringing in our ears for the next two centuries. We go straight to the bar and Christopher buys a round of whisky shots. The girls gag as the drinks reach the back of their throats. Christopher and I are ready for another drink before they put their shot glasses down. While Christopher or
ders two lighter drinks for the girls and four more shots for us, Lisa, Karen, and I take the task of scouting out a good spot to stand. Karen and Lisa are once again shocked with the speed my brother and I consumed our drinks. Lisa spots a standing only table near the dance floor. We take up positions around the table and await Christopher. I watch as Christopher winds his way through the crowd with our drinks. As he joins us, I relieve him of two of the shot glasses. I am double fisted with shots of what smells like gin. There are so many hot and sweaty humans in the small area. I hope Christopher will be okay. I should have made sure he fed before we came out. The whole Judy thing has really thrown me off. Looking into his eyes, I can tell he was trying hard to read my mind. Since it is blocked like always, he sees nothing; however, he still knows what I am thinking.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t lie. They all smell wonderful, but I know how much this means to you. I’ll control my urge. I promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  Now he has a silly grin on his face, “It will cost you though. I want a slow dance before the end of this night.”

  How did I know that was coming? “Fine, but you need to behave with Karen and Lisa, too.” In response, he rolls his eyes and walks back to the bar. I believe he is going to buy a bottle so he and I can pour our own shots.

  The moment she thinks he is out of earshot, Lisa pulls me close to her so she can talk in my ear.

  “Your brother is so freaking hot! I know Karen and I are drooling all over ourselves every time he looks at us. Will he want to dance? Does he dance?”

  “Yes, he dances. I’m certain he will be leading you to the dance floor once he comes back with our drinks.”

  “Speaking of drinks, Holy moly can you two drink! For you not to be blood related you sure can both throw them back.”

  I shake my head. “Just don’t try to keep up and tonight will go really well.” As I predicted, Christopher has returned with a bottle of tequila for us to share. He wanted two bottles but did not want to draw too much attention to our drinking. After taking another shot, he puts his hand out for Lisa and escorts her to the dance floor. It is quite a sight. I know my brother does not go to these new-age bars often, so to observe him on the dance floor trying to do what all the kids are doing is priceless. These are the times that I am glad I have a photographic memory. It took him a few seconds, but he got the hang of it. I think Lisa has already started to feel the liquor, she did not notice the few awkward steps he took. With Christopher and Lisa on the dance floor, I shift my gaze to Karen, who is really enjoying the atmosphere. She is swaying to the music with her drink in her hand. I move in closer to speak…I feel a warm soft hand on my arm.

  I swivel around to see a man standing behind me. The gentleman is short with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He is not to steady on his feet. I wonder how many drinks he has had. He gives me a lopsided grin before speaking. “I would offer to buy you a drink, but since you walked in I’ve seen you knock back eight shots. Either you hold your liquor really well or you are two sheets to the wind. What’s your name?”

  Out of all the introductions I have heard in the past two centuries, this one by far was the worst. After a swift mind read, I understand that he is hoping that I am very drunk, and if I am not, he is going to try to help the process. This worries me, what will happen to all the other women he may come in contact with by the end of the night? I must do something. Making sure all anyone witnesses if they look in our direction is the two of us laughing and talking, I open my mind up to his. “You are going to turn around and walk away from me right now. As a matter fact, you are going to leave this club and never come back. If I ever see you even looking at a female in the wrong way, I will make you watch me rip your heart out of your chest with my bare hands, and make you eat it all before your body has a chance to react and die. Now get out of my sight, before I change my mind and do it now.” The man is out the door before I turn around to finish the conversation with Karen I started to have before we were interrupted. She is completely clueless to anything that just happened.

  “Where did the cute guy you were just talking to go?”

  I shrug my shoulders, “I think he had a change of heart. Are you enjoying yourself?”

  Karen and I talk for a little while longer before Christopher and Lisa join us from the dance floor. Christopher and Lisa both reach for their drinks. Lisa takes a few sips of her Sex on the Beach while Christopher downs two more shots. Lisa then excuses herself to the restroom while Christopher leads Karen out to dance.

  As Lisa rejoins me, I notice she has two more drinks for her and Karen. “I was going to buy all of us drinks, but your brother told me not to worry about it, and he offered to pay for another one for me. I declined his offer. I don’t like guys feeling they should always have to pay.”

  It is strange to me how money is always a concern of humans. Then again, if I was still human and did not have hundreds of years to save, I would be worried too. “Don’t concern yourself with money when it comes to Christopher. Did you have fun out there?”

  “Did I! I don’t think I have ever danced so hard in my life. Why couldn’t I have met your brother before I met Nathan?”

  “Lisa my brother is not what you think he is. I promise you will have a better time with Nathan than you ever will with my brother.” As I finished talking, Karen stumbles to the table with Christopher in tow. Karen looks flushed. She leans against the table for support. Christopher eyes her warily before reaching over to pour two more shots for us. It does not take Karen long to collect herself. She and Lisa finish the drinks in front of them in record time. The girls quickly disperse of their empty glasses and Lisa slips her hand into mine.

  “Christopher, will you watch the table for us? It’s time for the ladies to hit the floor.”

  Christopher and I both raise an eyebrow.

  “You women are going to dance together?”

  I am as confused as he is. I give him a shrug of my shoulders before responding. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  I let the girls drag me to the middle of the dance floor. I am unsure what to expect as we form a small circle, and my coworkers start to dance. Taking their lead, I sway my hips and move my body. Like my brother, I am not used to this type of music, but my body moves so easily to the rhythm. While the three of us move our bodies to the music, a growing crowd of men come to observe. As the music changes, Lisa grabs our hands and we continue to dance in a new direction, still going to the rhythm. A few bold men have walked over and asked if they could join us, but we only shake our heads and keep our little circle going. After a few songs, I catch Christopher’s eye. By the look on his face, I can tell he is trying to talk to me. “Yes, my brother, what can I do for you?”

  “Man, you really have that whole mind block thing going, don’t you? I’ve been screaming to get your attention for a while now.”

  “Sorry, I have to get use to knowing people are trying to talk to me without moving their mouth in such a big crowd.”

  “Yeah, sure, whatever. Is it time for my dance?”

  “Sure, come join us.”

  “Amber, that is not what we discussed. I want you all to myself, and I don’t want any of this fast paced music either.”

  “You know, you’re asking a lot. I don’t…”

  “Don’t try to give me that you are not strong enough. You know very well I can smell that you fed recently.”

  “Fine, wait until the song goes off.”

  As the song ends, I look at the girls and tell them that I need to excuse myself. I make them think I am walking towards the ladies room, as I walk over to meet Christopher standing at the edge of the dance floor. I stop halfway and stretch my hand out for him. He grabs my hand and I pull him into the mental bubble I have created for us. Everybody that looks in our direction will see a man and a woman dancing like everybody else. They will not see that I am now wrapped securely in Christopher’s arms-both hands resting on my hips, wh
ile my arms are draped around his neck. We stand close, gazing into each other’s eyes. We do not hear the song that is playing in the bar, but a very slow classical song that we were both fond of in the early nineteen hundreds.

  “You really look stunning, Amber. I’m glad you wore the necklace out tonight.” His lips lightly brush my ear as he speaks.

  “Thank you, Christopher. The necklace is breathtaking.”

  “It’s nothing compared to you.” My skin tingles as his cool breath caresses my neck. I pull back to give us some space.

  “You need to behave. What would Judy think, hearing you speak to me like this?”

  “Oh, Amber, let me worry about Judy.”

  “So tell me about her. Where did you meet? Why haven’t you mentioned her before now?”

  “Can’t we enjoy this time together? We can talk later, okay?”

  I take a deep breath, “Fine.”

  Christopher and I dance for thirty minutes before we rejoin our group.

  Karen spots us first. “There youzzz are! Wezz didn’t know what did happened to youzzz twozzz.”

  Her words slur together.

  “Sorry, Amber and I took a tour of the place, since it is our first time coming here. I’m going to get another drink for Amber and myself. Would you ladies like anything?”

  Looking at the girls, I see that they have another drink in their hands, and two empty glasses on the table that were not there before. I can smell the liquor coming through their pores. Karen shakes her head and downs her drink.

  Lisa forms a lopsided smile. “Nozzz, thankss you. I think you’re…we are doned for zzzhe night.”

  Christopher laughs before heading off to the bar.

  “All right ladies, then I will be right back.”

  My two coworkers lean heavily against the table. It will soon be time to go. Christopher returns with four more shots of tequila and we knocked back both glasses then each grab a girl to help them to the car. This might be a lot easier if we could just carry them out, but there are too many witnesses. Plus I used too much energy blocking everybody’s minds during Christopher and my dance earlier.

  We are almost to the car when I hear a heartbeat coming up behind us. I assume it is a club-goer. Neither Christopher nor I bother to look back until we hear a clicking noise. We both know the sound of a gun without looking. Now I am annoyed. Is it always like this when people go out for drinks?

  “I want your wallet, their purses and that sparkly necklace of yours, now or I’ll shoot.”

  Christopher and I both sigh at the same time. “I have this. Christopher will you put the girls in the car?”

  “No problem. But you always have all the fun.”

  I hand a half sleeping Karen off onto Christopher’s free arm as I hear our gunman take a step forward.

  “Hey, don’t move! I will shoot you.”

  Without turning around, I wrap my mind around the gun and snatch it out the gunman’s hand.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  I turn to face him, “You’re really putting a damper on my evening. I should just let my brother rip your throat out.” As the gun floats out of his grasp, I mentally pull the clip out and remove each bullet before his eyes. I reach out and the bullets land in my hand. It takes little effort to squeeze the bullets into one lump of metal, that I then drop to the ground. In the same instant, I move the gun closer to his head. Using the butt of the gun, I bring it down hard on the top of his head causing a muffled thud. Our would be attacker hits the pavement with a thump. I then glide over to grab the gun off the ground and crush it like the bullets, before dropping it back on the man’s head. I hear Christopher laughing behind me.

  “Did you just mentally pistol whip that guy, with his own gun? Nice, Amber. I would have just killed him. Get in the car before someone comes out here. I’m going to put his body in that alley. He’s going to wake up with one hell of a headache in the morning.”

  “Thanks, don’t go feeding on him, I know you.” Christopher gives a sarcastic yawn as he and the gunman disappear down the alley. I have a feeling he will still feed from the man.

  On the way back to Lisa’s house, Christopher still refuses to talk about Judy. When we arrive at Lisa’s house, I carry both Karen and Lisa into the house. I do not trust Christopher to behave. As I suspected, he came out of the alley with a small drop of blood on his collar. I lay Lisa in the master bedroom and Karen in the guest room before quietly slipping out of the house. They will wake up in the morning thinking they made it home and fell asleep before they had a chance to get ready for bed. With the door securely locked behind me, I find Christopher waiting for me in the driver side seat of my car. He likes the car. I may have to buy him one of his own. Better yet, give him that one and buy myself a new car. It is time for us to talk. I slide into the car with a huff, “Enough already. I’ve waited long enough. Spill it. Where did you meet Judy and what’s really going on with her.”

  He starts the car and guns it out of the driveway.

  “Fine, Amber. I wish you would have just left it alone and been happy for me. Judy and I met almost three years ago while we were living in California.”

  “Wait! You were back in the States and you didn’t tell me?”

  “Hush, and let me tell my story. And, yes, we lived on the coast for nearly five years, but didn’t tell you because you didn’t want to be bothered with us. Anyway, I was working in a blood bank and one day she walked in.”

  “They must give away free blood or something; I don’t see you working there just for the fun of it.”

  “Look, do you want me to finish my story or what?”

  “Fine, fine, go ahead.”

  “Well the moment she walked in, I knew she was different. I mean she is very pretty. Not as pretty as you, but I know I can’t have you. So where was I? Oh yes. It didn’t take long for me to realize she wasn’t a full vampire. I questioned why she was in the blood bank. She told me that she had seen me working there and had to come in and meet me. That really impressed me. It’s not often you have a bloodwolf walk up to you and tell you you’re cute. After talking to her for a while, I asked her if she wanted to go out. We dated for a while before I brought her home. It was weird, for the first time since meeting you, I felt nervous when she came around. It took months before I introduced her to Livia and Isaac. Isaac picked up as quickly as you did that there was nothing but static coming from her thoughts. We just concluded that it was a mixing of the species. I mean, in all these years, how often have we run into a bloodwolf?”

  “Yes, that is true. She would have had to have been bitten by a werewolf sometime while the vampire transformation was taking place. I guess depending on when would determine how much vampire or werewolf she is. Go on.”

  “She told me she didn’t remember much about her transformation. When she was able to focus again, there was a male vampire waiting for her. To this day, she has not told me his name. I think she loved him. I don’t know what happened to him, but now she is alone. Isaac and Livia have accepted her as family, and I love her. We didn’t want to upset you. That was the only reason we didn’t say anything to you.” Christopher pauses for a moment, as if to collect his thoughts before continuing. “Amber, you’ve changed. After Lance, you weren’t the same. We understand our kind never forgets, but we just wanted to give you time to hopefully heal. We’ve missed you so much. It was Judy’s idea to finally reunite with you. She insisted that even though you wanted nothing to do with us, you really didn’t mean it, and we should be by your side. She said that she would have given anything to have a family in the days after the other guy left or whatever. Being with us helped heal her pain. She was looking forward to meeting you, and we decided that today would be the best day to rejoin you.”

  “I don’t think I have ever heard you say you loved someone other than us before. I know when we parted ways I said many harsh things. Over the years, I’ve regretted ever
y word. I would do anything to take them back. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was my words that kept you away. But, there was a hole in my heart causing me to want to curl up in a corner and die, instead of trying to make it right between us. I had my mind made up that all of you were better off without me. I had finally become that monster that we all fight not to be. For a long time after you left, I let that monster consume me. I believed every word I said, but as the time went on, all I wanted to do was take it all back,” I sigh and place my hand on my brother’s shoulder. “Well Christopher, I’m glad that we are all together again. I’m also glad you have found true love. I will try my best to get to know Judy. I have to admit, I had real suspicions about her, but if you trust her, it’s good enough for me.”

  Leaning over Christopher kisses me on the cheek. I bat him away and he gives a small chuckle before responding.

  “Thanks, sis. That means so much to me. I really didn’t want to have to kill you, if you two didn’t get along.”

  “Ha! You can dream.” I lean back in my seat. For now, I will keep my qualms at bay, but I still think I need to look into Judy and her past. In spite of everything, I find it odd that it was never mentioned that she and I grew up in the same town. My family and I do not keep many pictures of ourselves, but I do not understand how all of this was missed.

  Christopher careens the car into my driveway and I spot Olivia waiting for us on the porch. She approaches as the car jerks to a stop. “I heard the car pull up the street. How was your evening?”

  “It was wonderful. I got to witness Amber pistol whip a man with his own gun, without lifting a finger.”

  A puzzled look crosses Olivia’s face, but she quickly dismisses it. “Well I’ll assume that since he had a gun, he was up to no good. Are your coworkers home safe?”

  “Yes, they are. They’ll have wicked hangovers in the morning, but I believe they had fun,” I say.

  Olivia reaches her hand out for mine as we walk up the stairs. “How was your evening, mother?” At the sound of me calling her mother, she squeezes my hand.

  “It was lovely. This is a very nice place you have. I hope you don’t mind Isaac and I took the room two doors down from yours.”

  “No, I don’t mind. Let me know if you need anything to help you get settled.”

  “Thank you, sweetie. I think we’ll be fine.”

  Once inside, I sit next to Isaac on the sofa, and Christopher heads up stairs.

  “I hear Judy sleeping. Did she find everything okay before going to bed?”

  Olivia leans over the railing at the bottom of the stairs to look up at him, “I believe so. She came down to say goodnight three hours ago.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be back down in a little. I just want to kiss her goodnight.”

  Hmm, I have never seen Christopher like this. I will not concern myself with it tonight. I have missed the company of my parents. For now, I am going to enjoy the rest of the night with them and worry about Judy later.

  8

  Just the Neighbors

  The weekend past uneventful. My family and I recapped the last fifty years or so, and I showed them around town. This, like mine, is their first time ever living in Rochester. I took Isaac to the blood bank, introduced him to Sarah, and went shopping with Olivia and Judy. I am ashamed to say that I focused all of my time on my family, which left me no time to look into what Judy has been doing for the past two hundred plus years. I did notice that after feeding at the blood bank with Isaac-there was a different employee working with Sarah, so I was able to “donate” again without suspicion-that I was able to interpret fragments of Judy’s thoughts. No complete sentences, just a word here or there. It had to be something that she was thinking of at that moment, nothing from the past. I have yet to bring this up to any of my family members. I believe with enough energy and concentration I can break her barrier.

  I was going to take some time off from work, since I have so much vacation and sick time built up, but Olivia thought it was unnecessary. She told me I should hold on to the days for a true need. I do not know any vampires that have a true need-outside of drinking blood-which they will need to miss days from work, that is, if they do work. The company I work for is very generous with the vacation and sick time. Each year we get three weeks of vacation and two weeks of sick time. This is going on my third year at the company and I have not needed to take a day off yet. Once I reach a certain amount of vacation time the company will roll it into my pay check. It is not like I need the money either.

  Back at work on Monday, a very excited Lisa, who surprisingly beat me to work, greets me.

  “Good morning, Amber! How was the rest of your weekend? Did Christopher have a great time out? How about you? I had a wonderful time. I was so excited about my date on Saturday that I couldn’t wait to get to the office to tell you. I was worried with your family popping in for a visit, that you would take time off to spend with them. I didn’t want to call and disturb you to check on your plans. I’m so glad to see you!”

  I chuckle. She always speaks swiftly when she is excited. I am glad she had a wonderful time on her date. I am assuming I will hear about her eventful weekend as the day progresses. I unlock my desk and settle into my chair. I need to prepare myself for a very long day. “Good morning, Lisa. I’m glad you had a wonderful weekend. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it. Yes, my brother and I had a lot of fun out. I did consider taking some time off to spend with my family, but there really is no need. They aren’t leaving. This isn’t a visit. It’s a permanent move for them.” That is, until it is time for us to move to the next town.

  A surprised look plasters itself to Lisa’s face with my last statement. She is staring wide eyed at me. Reading her mind, she wonders how I must feel regarding my unannounced new roomies.

  She blinks twice before she is able to speak, “Oh, I thought they were just visiting.”

  “We talked over the weekend and they like it here. They claim to have missed me too much. It’s okay, I’m enjoying a full house. Now tell me about your date with Nathan.”

  I turn my attention to my computer, and wait for the email to pop up.

  Lisa does the same.

  “Well, when he picked me up at my house, he brought me a single white rose. He looked so handsome. He had on a nice red collared shirt with a sports jacket over it. He wore pair of dark blue jeans and black boots. And let me tell you, he smelled really good. I don’t know what kind of cologne he had on, but it made my mouth water.”

  I chuckle. I consider my mouth “watering” almost every time I am close to a human, but it is not from the cologne or perfume they are wearing. As I listen to Lisa talk about her and Nathan’s first date, fond memories come to mind of my first date with Lance.