“Thanks,” his smiled faltered as he struggled to use his injured arm.
“Here, let me help.” I took both the cup and spoon back and he smiled sheepishly as I began to spoon feed him his frozen treat.
After a couple bites he held his hand up for me to stop. I set the hardly touched scoop on the chair then returned my attention back to him.
“You’re too good to me Laney.”
“How so?” I smiled at him, wondering where this was going.
He reached for my hand and held it with what little strength he had. “You’ve always been there for me whenever I’ve needed you and you’ve never judged me.” His head seemed to be getting heavy on his shoulders.
“Carter, why on Earth would I judge you?”
He didn’t answer, he was out. His grip loosened on my hand and his head fell to the side. I pulled the covers up higher on him and just sat there waiting to be told what to do next.
I was rolling too many thoughts around in my head and it felt like it was about to burst from the strain of everything that had happened recently. Knowing I would be spending the night in the house without Oliver made me really uneasy. I barely knew these people. At least Julz wasn’t around, that was a huge bonus.
Lola caught my eye as she entered the room, and soon after Felix returned too.
He eyeballed the hardly touched ice cream and said, “He didn’t eat much.”
“No, but he seems to be doing much better. He was talking and was able to sit up a little on his own.”
“He is improving, he just needs time to adjust. It’s hard to say what the full moon will bring though. Thankfully it’s still weeks away.”
That surprised me. I hadn’t thought about how being bitten by a werewolf would affect him, if it would change him. I had just been concerned with him surviving.
Hayden came in the room with a vase full of roses that looked liked they’d been picked, not bought. She put them on a little table at the foot of the bed, then retrieved her book from under the chair and situated herself to start reading more to Carter. I saw his eyelids flicker as she began reading quietly.
I rolled a few questions around for a moment and was able to get one answered before Felix got a call and left the room. My question was this: “Why do you care about him so much?”
He seemed a little surprised by what I had asked, either because he thought it odd I would wonder such a thing or because he was taken aback by the fact I didn’t already know.
His eyes shifted to Carter’s face and without looking away from him he answered in my mind, “Because he is of my line. He is of my family.”
Now I was the one who was surprised. He left the room just after answering me to take a call. I hung out for a few more minutes and listened to Hayden as she read. She was reading a poem about a black wolf and the second night of the full moon. It told of wild dreams and hunting feet. Of singing to the moon and eyes of gold.
I collected the covered cup of ice cream to put it in the freezer and headed out of the room towards the kitchen. As I was leaving Carter and Hayden to their wolf stories, Felix stopped me in the hall and rushed me into Oliver’s room.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He bent down until his eyes were level with mine.
“Did he bite you?”
I stared at him confused and wondered why the hell would Carter bite me?
“Delaney, did Oliver bite you?”
Ooohhh…“No.” It was the truth.
His eyes narrowed on mine and he stared at me for a long moment. It was really intimidating but I tried not to show it. Then he rose to his full height and without taking his eyes off of mine he dialed a number on his phone, held it to his ear and immediately said, “No.” He paused then added, “I’d know if she was lying.” He ended the call and smiled at me. “Sorry about that.”
“Uh huh…” Then he left me standing there, in Oliver’s room, completely dumbfounded.
Oliver called my cell soon after I’d shaken off the weird moment with Felix and after putting Carter’s left-over ice cream in the freezer. The picture from our first date popped up when his call came through. That moment seemed like so long ago.
“Are you in trouble?” I asked after we’d gotten our ‘Hellos’ and ‘I miss yous’ out of the way.
“No. Why would I be?”
“Felix asked me if you had bitten me and then made a phone call about it.”
He was silent for a moment, then said, “Nothing to worry about. I need to go though. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“K.” But I was worried. Worried that he would be in trouble for drinking from me even though he hadn’t bitten me and worried about a night without him in that house.
“I love you Laney.”
The way he said it made every ounce of worry fade away for a brief moment. At least long enough for me to tell him I loved him too. I heard Felix’s phone ring soon after we hung up. Of course I wondered if it was Oliver. When Felix went outside to take the call I assumed I was right.
That night we all sat in Oliver’s room and watched TV. It turned out it was the only one in the house. i was oddly comfortable, surrounded by those I hardly knew. Carter joined us too. Felix helped him walk from the room he was staying in to the one where I was staying. It was the first time he’d really been on his feet since the incident. Felix situated him on the bed against the wall beside me. His pale face smiled at me and he slid his hand under mine and squeezed lightly. We were both in a strange place and a strange situation. It was calming to have him there with me, if only the circumstances were different. If only every day wasn’t a struggle for his life.
We watched TV. Nothing special or specific-just random channel flipping. I think it was the company that we enjoyed more than the shows. We joked and laughed and just enjoyed each other. Isaac had pulled some snacks out of their hiding spots and we passed them around and happily munched on them. Felix and Hayden sat on the floor in front of the bed and were hilarious and kept us entertained with their ‘scrawny girl’ and ‘fat man’ jokes towards each other. Isaac seemed so carefree and his laugh was contagious. Carter faded in and out and seemed truly happy just to be around others and to be having a normal night. Lola was not happy. She was lying part way across my lap and part way between me and Isaac. She continuously tried nosing my and Carter’s hands apart. I wouldn’t let her do it though, and she’d whimper and look up at me with those soulful amber eyes. I’d reassure her, even though I didn’t understand her issue, but then she’d just try again. Eventually I gave up even trying to stop her and she just shoved her nose under our hands and stopped trying to pry them apart.
It was late when everyone began to clear out of the room. Felix helped Carter, who moved with pathetic weakness, off of the bed and back to his. Once they were gone and only Lola and I were left, I turned out the lights and crawled under the covers. It had been a long and interesting day and just as my eyelids were giving in to the night my phone chimed with a text from Oliver:
I love you so much!
I smiled at that and then I was out before I could respond.
Chapter 14 - Lockdown
I woke to Lola’s cold wet nose pressed against mine. Not the most pleasant way to wake up, but also not the worst. She whimpered a little and it was clear she needed to go out and I had to go with her. With one large furry paw she reached up and pushed the door handle down, opening the door herself. I was gaping at her from where I was standing beside the bed with what I could only imagine, was a seriously shocked looked on my face. She was definitely no ordinary dog.
She stared up at me until I finally took a step towards her and then I followed as she trotted down the hall towards the kitchen. The tile was cold on my bare feet as I passed everyone’s open doors. I could see they were all still asleep, just heaps under blankets. Well, Isaac’s room wasn’t visible from the hall, but it was easy to assume that he too was still fast asleep. Felix was at the computer desk and Lola nosed his hand as she passed by to the back door.
He turned to me and smiled, that sweet one-dimpled smile of his that made him seem so gentle, and he said, “She’s just asked me to stay with you while she relieves herself.”
I came to a dead stop at the mouth of the hallway and I’m sure I had the stupidest expression on my face. I stared at him for an endless moment and then watched Lola let herself out of the house and into the backyard.
It was just after seven in the morning and I was far from coherent enough to be having such a conversation but I asked anyways, “How is she so smart and how on earth do you know what she wanted.”
He turned in the chair to face me, “She’s a vampire dog.”
“A what?” I had just been joking when I’d referred to her as such in my head. I plopped in the computer chair beside him. Felix was too large for the armed computer chair and was seated in a dining chair at the desk.
He smiled wider and Lola trotted back in and nuzzled my hands for me to rub her. I did and then said to Felix, “Explain.”
And so he did. He told me how her DNA had been genetically altered. That her original German Shepherd breed had been spliced with that of the vampire race.
Lola looked up at me and it seemed her eyes lit up as we spoke of her. I rubbed her super soft ears and thought about how much I really, really didn’t know about this new life I’d fallen into.
It was just after eight in the morning when I crawled back into bed following my early morning conversation with Felix. But sleep eluded me. It was too hard to fall back into slumber with a brain full of crazy new knowledge. Plus, I was still vividly aware of the memories I’d received from Julz. Her love for Oscar had felt so real and somewhat desperate. Like she needed him, really
needed
him, not just wanted him. It was probably because of one or all of their many bonds.
I love Oliver and feel I need him but not in that desperately hopeless way she feels about Oscar, and I hope it never comes to that…
With that thought of Oliver, I was off to get ready for the day. Ecited he would be back anytime and hoping it would be sometime soon.
By the time I was out of the shower and ready for the day, the house was busy with life. Isaac was strumming his guitar on the couch and Felix was making breakfast with Hayden. I smelled bacon so it was easy to assume Julz had yet to return. I was okay with that. I had made Lola wait outside the bathroom door and she was still there when I opened it.
I checked my phone before sitting down to breakfast. I was a bit surprised to find nothing. No calls and no texts. I sent Oliver a message telling him I missed him and asked if he’d be back soon. Little did I know it would be hours before I’d hear from him…
The kitchen table was covered with breakfast food and we all, including Carter who didn’t eat much but tried, joined around the table. We had pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, jellied toast, a variety of cut-up fruit and orange juice. Felix and Isaac talked about their upcoming tour schedule and how it might need to be postponed. They mentioned going on tour with a band called Grumpy Zombie. That made me and Hayden giggle. The table was filled with smiles and laughter. It amazed me how warm the house felt without Julz in it. Without the fear of the psycho demon herself ruining a good time.
I was stuffed when Hayden and I started clearing the table. The boys had all scattered but we didn’t mind. It was really nice to get to spend one-on-one time with her. She was really easy to talk to and get along with, unlike her mother.
Once we were finished, Hayden joined Felix at the computer, Carter was snuggled back in his bed fast asleep, and Isaac had resumed playing his guitar in the living room where I joined him and scanned the bookshelves.
What did I want to know?
I chose a good sized encyclopedia of mythical creatures and had a seat on the opposite couch. I still hadn’t heard from Oliver, and Lola was still attached to my every movement.
As I scanned the pages of the book I listened to Isaac hum along to his strumming. It amazed me how comfortable I was around all of them. It was like these were our normal lives.
I’d already devoured the vampire section of the encyclopedia and I was lost in the section about werewolves when Isaac’s playing stopped. He smiled faintly at me as he leaned his guitar against the couch and then he got comfortable, kicking his feet up across the arm and laying his head back. “Time for a siesta,” he said, and with that, he was out about thirty seconds later. I wandered to my room with the book soon after that. Isaac’s soft snoring made it hard to concentrate on the words on the page.
The day was ticking by and I was beginning to worry about Oliver. Late that afternoon my cell finally rang. It was Oliver.
“I have bad news,” he said when I answered and my stomach dropped. “I’m so sorry, but I’m going to be another night.”