“You’re her maker?” My words came out dripping with rage.
He nodded and the light in his eyes seemed to dim. He looked away almost as if he were ashamed. In my personal opinion, he should be. Creating twisted demons as vampire offspring probably wasn’t something to be proud of.
“This is something
you
should have told me!” It was my turn to growl.
His eyes lifted back to mine. “It’s not my story to tell.”
I studied him for a moment. “Bullshit!”
His eyes widened. I cut him off as he began to respond.
“This is just as much your story as it is hers. And don’t you dare try to tell me different!” He began to respond again and I stopped him. “You should have told me.” I hissed.
His head drooped and he sat back on his heels.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Explain.”
He exhaled loudly. “I did it for Hayden,” he said without looking up at me.
“More.” I said with the same amount of distaste in my voice. This moment was making me realize how very little I knew about this man, for whom, only days ago, I’d been so willing to sacrifice everything.
His head lifted and his jewel-like eyes met mine again. “I did it for Hayden and Isaac. I lost my mom and couldn’t bear the thought of that baby losing hers too, without ever knowing her. And I’d seen Isaac lose Julz once before and I couldn’t stand to see it again. She was dying and I had to try, for them.” He took a steady breath and continued, “At the time, I thought I was doing what was right, what they both needed. But over time I came to realize it was a mistake. That they would’ve been better off without her. We all would have been. She’s my responsibility now. She’s tied to me because I am,” he swallowed hard here, “her maker.” His eyes left mine again.
“You had her blood. You bit her. Doesn’t that make her bonded to you?”
He answered this question more enthusiastically, like it would make things better. “No, she was already bonded to Oscar. My venom did not affect her.” He paused for a moment and then continued. “I also believe it is because I am Oscar’s brother and that we share the same DNA. That is why I was able to turn her even though she was already bonded to him.”
“Have you bitten her since then?”
“No. It was only once and only for Hayden and Isaac’s sake. It was never for myself.”
His selfless act wasn’t making this any better. I continued to glare at him. “I am so angry with you right now.” I said through my teeth. “If you
ever
put me in this situation with her again, I will leave you.”
His eyes widened, then his head dropped once more and he whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
I didn’t want to stay there with that psychopath. And I was so angry with Oliver. And what the hell had happened in the hall?
Did I just jump a crazy-ass vampire?
Had she antagonized me to the point of that?
Great! Now I’m pissed at myself for letting her get to me.
“I never want you to leave me,” he whispered. My heart began to melt at his words. “I am so sorry, Laney. That’s all there is about Julz. There won’t be any more surprises.”
I stared down at him sitting there on the floor and wondered if I should believe him and found it was way too easy to do so.
“Please forgive me.” He had the face of an angel as he looked up into my eyes this time. There was no way I was going to be able to resist him.
I tried to keep my voice strong as I said, “Anything else happens with her, anything at all, and I’m out of here.”
“I understand,” he said as he rose from the floor and tipped my face up to kiss my lips. I’m not an idiot. I knew he hadn’t agreed to what I had just said, but I let it go. And looking back, I probably shouldn’t have.
He sat beside me and took both my hands in his. “You have any idea what you just did?”
I shook my head.
A small smile appeared as he began, “You just took down a vampire. Granted she’s not a very strong one.”
I just stared at him. It was still a blank to me.
“I think there’s more to you than we know,” he whispered into my ear and then he started kissing my neck and everything faded together…
Chapter 8 - The Death of Us
There was a light knock on the door. Oliver pulled away from my neck where he’d been nuzzling and whispering how sorry he was and how much he loved me. And me, I was trying my damndest to stay strong and not give in to him. And I had been right, a good night’s sleep does boost my willpower. That and being livid always helps.
“Come in,” he said as he pulled away from me.
Lola had stood and backed away from the door as Hayden poked her head in the room.
“Mom’s trying to get into her bedroom.”
Oliver sighed, “I’ll deal with her.” He left the room then. He directed Hayden back to her bedroom and shut the door behind himself, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
A single tear trailed down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away. I was so upset that Julz had been the only other person he’d fed from, not counting his deceased maker. Why her? Then a familiar thought returned with some new ones following. Would he try to turn me? Could he? Were there other secrets about Julz that would be revealed? Was he really going to make her share memories with me?
My mind was reeling, I needed to distract myself. I fumbled for the TV remote on the headboard and reached for my blanket.
Dang it!
I’d dropped it on Hayden’s floor. I slowly and quietly cracked the door open and peeked out. Her door was closed. I quickly tiptoed across the little patch of hallway and knocked lightly while turning the knob.
She was sitting cross legged on her bed and looked up at me as I entered. There was a shoe box in front of her that she quickly covered with its lid.
“What’s up?” she said.
“I, uh, dropped my blanket in here.”
“Yeah, it’s in the chair.” She pointed to the orange moon chair in the corner.
I retrieved my fleece and headed back for Oliver’s room. Just as I reached her door I heard her say, in a rather faint voice, “She’s crazy, you know.”
I turned and stared at her, clutching my blanket to my chest. I was fully aware of this, but how was I supposed to respond to that?
Her sapphire blue eyes glistened with a hint of tears. “She’ll be the death of all of us.” Then she looked away from me, her thick dark hair falling forward to cover her face. Again, I had no idea what to say. I turned and left the room, closing the door behind me. I hurried back into Oliver’s room and quickly closed the door.. I stood there for a moment thinking about poor Hayden and how Oliver had probably been right. She’d have been better off without her mother. But for one who had lost her own mom and doesn’t remember her–it was hard to admit.
“You okay?” Oliver asked from out of nowhere.
I screamed and about jumped out of myself. “Holy crap! Don’t do that!”
“I’m sorry,” he said with a chuckle. He wrapped his arms around me then. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I heard you open the door and I came to check on you.”
I took a few calming breaths then said, “Hayden told me that you want Julz to share memories with me. Why? Why can’t you just tell me?”
“She’s behaving herself for now. I’d like you to try.”
“For real? That’s how you answer me?” I still didn’t understand why he
needed
me to do this.
He gave me that smile I couldn’t resist and I gave in. “Fine!” And with that he took my hand and I reluctantly trailed down the hall behind him.
Chapter 9 - Memories
Oh, I was
so
pissed as I stood in that living room. I wanted no part of this crap. I didn’t even want to be in the same room as her, or even the same house. I tried to head back to the bedroom. I was determined to pack my crap and get the hell out of there. I’d walk if I had to, I knew I’d never get far but I felt determined to try. Unfortunately, I only made it as far as the hallway before Oliver pulled me back. I was fuming mad. I crossed my arms over my chest and glowered at him. He actually seemed amused by my behavior which only ticked me off even more. “Come on Laney.” He tried, very nicely, to encourage me to take a seat by Julz. I didn’t budge.
Julz was sitting on the foot of the chaise, and sitting rather oddly, with a strained smile on her face. Her back was board-straight and her legs were crossed, with her hands neatly placed upon her knees. I, myself, was still really freakin’ irritated and began pouting. I really wanted no part of this.
Oliver leveled his gaze with mine and gently placed his hands on my upper arms. “Do it for me, please.”
Damn him and his powers of persuasion over me! I finally agreed to do it, but there was no way I was going to be happy about it.
He got us both situated on the chaise together. Facing each other. She still had that bizarre smile on her face. It wasn’t the evil smile I had seen multiple times. This one was like she was hurting, mentally. We were sitting cross legged, knees almost touching. I still had my arms crossed over my chest as I took in all there was to see of her. She was the same petite little package I’d first seen on the side of the highway not too long ago, but now she was balled up and visibly full of anger. She’d never liked me–it didn’t take a genius to solve that mystery. She just wasn’t even willing to give me a chance. She was staring past me and I glanced back to see at what. Isaac was sitting on the loveseat facing her. His eyes locked with hers. Hayden was sitting on the floor by his feet and she seemed rather tense. They both looked like they were ready to watch a movie.
Was this really that interesting?
I just wanted to get it over with. Scratch that. I didn’t want to do it at all.
I returned my attention to Julz. Her chaotic hair was loose and unruly. She was in plain jeans and a fitted v-neck purple tee. Her feet were bare, revealing polished black toenails. There was a small diamond ring on a thin gold chain around her neck and an onyx and mother of pearl ring on the ring finger of her left hand. The ring alternated between black and cream stones in triangle shapes all the way around her finger. She caught me examining it and shoved her hand under her thigh.
I was eyeing her very curiously when I heard Oliver say, “You ready?” from beside us.
Like I was ever going to be ready for this.
I just nodded slightly. He leaned in and whispered into my ear so quietly I could barely hear him. He said something about the memories and pay attention to their clearness. “Anything fuzzy is fake.” That part I heard without a doubt. He gave me a reassuring nod as he took a step back.
Her eyes met mine as I turned my attention back to her. She held her hands up. Palms towards me. I glanced at Oliver and he nodded again, encouraging me to continue. So I did. I took a deep breath and on my exhale I placed my palms against Julz’s. I was surprised at how cold her hands were. She clamped her frigid fingers down firmly and I did the same to her, maybe a little harder than necessary. She closed her eyes and began breathing very steadily.
I was suddenly enveloped in her memories. They came thick and fast. I felt like I was falling at first, and then things steadied and I began catching moments flashing by in glimpses. I could smell things: peanut butter cookies and a salty smell…the ocean! I caught a glimpse of a wave crashing down. I was her, I could feel what she’d felt, see what she’d seen. I saw a glimpse of Oscar, young and clean. Gorgeous from head to toe. His dark wavy hair, fair skin and those breathtaking sapphire blue eyes that melted my heart…Wait! Her heart! Melted Julz’s heart every time he looked at
her
. Then the memory jumped to one of Isaac. He was upset and looking right into her eyes like he was waiting for a response or an answer or something. It was dark around me, cars were passing by on the street and there were lights coming from behind me. Isaac dropped his stare, turned and walked away. I felt sad as I watched him go. No, she felt sad. I felt her. Then the memories started to flick by at an unsteady pace. Some fast and some slower. Oscar was smiling at me now and I was so in love with him. No! Julz was in love with him! Not me!
I tried to separate myself from the memories. I tried to stop feeling what she felt. I couldn’t, so I gave in to the emotions. I was crying now and Oscar was singing to me. His voice was heavenly. He was brushing my hair away from my face and I was staring up into his beautiful dark blue eyes. I was torn between bliss and sorrow. Another memory flicked into its place and I felt my body cringe in pain. His body was on mine and he was biting me, feeding from my neck and then he entered my body. I gasped and a new memory flicked into view. I was falling to the ground as a fist collided with my face. I felt myself scream as Oscar stood over me angry and ready to strike again. My hands covered my face as I huddled on the floor waiting for impact. Another memory flashed. A baby crying. It passed by too quickly for me to see it. Then suddenly I was running with Oliver. Through an apartment. He climbed out a high window and I followed after him. He was holding my hand, the one with the triangle ring on it. We were on a second story and we slid down a roof to the fence line to climb to the ground. He held me in his arms as I stared back and saw Oscar on that rooftop watching us go. I felt a mixture of relief and fear. Then the memories turned all fuzzy and…worbly, for lack of a better description. I reminded myself what Oliver had said about the fake memories and was thankful I did. It was a vision of Oliver smiling over me fangs out and a smile on his face. He was naked. I pushed with my mind at hers and the memory turned into the real thing with a baby crying in the background and Oliver, tears in his gorgeous emerald eyes, just before he leaned over and bit me. I mean Julz. Another worbled memory tried to surface but her focus slipped and I caught a glimpse of a memory that I don’t think she meant for me to see. A ring being placed on her finger. The same ring that was on her finger now. I saw Oscar place that ring on her finger and heard the words “I do,” slip from between his smiling lips. Then the connection broke.