Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (18 page)

Zoey took another sip of blood.
 
Finally, her drinking was slow and controlled.

"I don't know about the wings.
 
I just think he's cute."

They shared a laugh, and more tension in the room faded away.

"So, what now?" Zoey asked.
 
"What do we do now?"

"I have no idea," Victoria said, smiling.
 
"Believe it or not, this is all new to me, too.
 
How do you feel right now?
 
Be honest."

The younger vampire took a deep breath.

"Excited.
 
Terrified.
 
Confused.
 
Happy.
 
Sad.
 
I think I'm feeling pretty much everything right now."
 
She looked at the kitchen around her.
 
"Definitely in awe."

"In awe?
 
Why?"

"Alex told me the house was big.
 
The jerk.
 
Does he always play things down like that?"

"He definitely has a different view."

"And there's you.
 
I hope you don't freak out, but he didn't tell me you were so pretty.
 
And…it's a little intimidating."

Victoria took the compliment in stride.
 
Zoey was going to be in awe herself when she discovered what a normal, steady diet of blood would accomplish.

"Thank you.
 
But don't be intimidated.
 
I watch TV and surf the Internet, just like everyone else.
 
Sometimes I even dance on occasion.
 
My life can be just as normal and boring as anyone's."

"I doubt that."

She shook her head.
 
Modern-day media had created a certain image when one thought of the word
vampire
.
 
Everyone always assumed she lived an exotic lifestyle.
 
Wild sex, underground raves, vampires feeding off one another, loud music and parties.
 
Nothing could be further from the truth.
 
Sometimes it was exciting to simply share a bottle of blood with a handsome Irishman at a restaurant.

"Okay, well, we've been talking off and on for a few weeks.
 
I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Damn right.
 
I should have written them down."

"Good.
 
Fire away."

"Oh God.
 
Where to start?"
 
She thought for a moment.
 
"Can I cut my hair?"

"What?" Victoria said, confused.

"Can I cut my hair?
 
Are we like…frozen in time?
 
If I cut my hair, will it just magically grow back to the length it is now?"

She couldn't help but laugh.

"You can cut your hair.
 
Your body will never age, but your hair and fingernails will grow.
 
So I actually recommend visiting the salon every now and then.
 
You'll still have to shave…whatever it is you shave."

"How about dying it?
 
Or getting a tattoo?
 
I've been thinking about getting a tattoo."

"You can dye your hair.
 
A tattoo, I'm afraid not."

"Okay, good to know.
 
Will I ever be able to have sex again?"

Victoria was surprised that question wasn't number one.

"Vampires, male and female, can definitely have sex."

There was more to it than that.
 
But the combination of feeding and sex wasn't a lesson Zoey was ready for.

"I'll never be able to go to the beach again, will I?"
 
She glanced at her arms.
 
"I used to have such a good tan."

Victoria could feel her patience ebbing.
 
She wasn't sure what she expected, but Zoey's questions weren't what she had in mind.

"You can certainly go to the beach, just not during the day."

She left out the part about a witch's magic.

"What about clubs?
 
My hearing—"

"Zoey," Victoria said, rubbing her temples.
 
"I don't mean to be rude, but do you have questions about anything
other
than sex, beaches, tans, twerking, or whatever it is you kids do now?"

Zoey smiled.
 
"You sound like an old woman."

"I
am
an old woman.
 
Very
old.
 
And guess what?
 
In one-hundred years, you're going to sound exactly like me.
 
You're going to look just like you do now, but you won't be able to completely relate to others in their late teens, early twenties.
 
Your posture, speech, everything will be different.
 
You'll have to learn to blend in, act like someone else.
 
You probably won't even be able to twerk, assuming it still exists in a century."

Zoey chewed on her words, and only had one thing to say.

"I don't
twerk
."

Victoria laughed.
 
"Not in those jeans, you're not.
 
Do you have any other
real
questions?"

Zoey was afraid to speak, taking several false starts, but finally opened her mouth.

"Are you lonely?"

She nearly scolded her again, but held her tongue.
 
Despite the simplicity of the question, it was a very good one.

"I mean…how do you handle knowing you're going to outlive your friends?"

Victoria thought very carefully on how to answer.

"A month ago, you thought you were going to outlive your parents.
 
Did that bother you at all?
 
Or did you not think about it much?
 
Be honest."

"I didn't really think about it a whole lot."

"Of course.
 
It's something that's with you, but you don't let it define you.
 
Alex, Cindy, Leese, all my friends, they are going to die one day."
 
She shook her head at the thought of Jack.
 
"Well, most of them.
 
But we could also all die tomorrow.
 
The important thing is to
live
.
 
Enjoy yourself, enjoy your friends.
 
Being a vampire, at times, can be lonely, in a way mortals will never understand.
 
We're cut off from half the world.
 
While they're out basking in the sun's love, we're hiding in our coffins."

"You have a coffin?" Zoey joked.

Victoria rolled her eyes and smiled.
 
"Shut up.
 
There will be times when you're sad, lonely.
 
We can feel these things, too, like any mortal.
 
But I choose to surround myself with wonderful people.
 
My friends are everything to me."

"I don't have any friends," Zoey said, glancing down.
 
"None that are alive, at least."

"You do now.
 
I'll teach you everything you need to know."

"Can we braid each other's hair, too?"

At that moment, Victoria knew she liked her.

"Smartass."
 
She rose from the table, certain there would be many more questions later.
 
"Let's get you settled.
 
I'll show you your room."

"Okay."
 
Zoey peered out into the hallway.
 
"How many rooms do you have here?"

"Oh, a lot.
 
Follow me."

Victoria led the way to the basement.
 
They stopped for a moment so Zoey could grab her bag.
 
The older vampire recited the security code for the door, which Zoey took note of in her smartphone.
 
She had no way of knowing what an honor it was simply to know the code.
 
Very few people did.

Zoey had the reaction Victoria expected when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"What the fuck?"

Victoria laughed and leaned against the wall.
 
Chaz and his crew did a wonderful job, not only with the basement, but the entire house.
 
She couldn't imagine Zoey having a single complaint.

"Welcome to your coffin."

Zoey was awestruck.
 
She said nothing, just glanced around the basement.
 
Victoria gave her the thirty-second tour.

"The bathroom's over there.
 
TV way over there.
 
King-sized bed, so you should be comfortable.
 
No windows, as you can see."
 
Victoria strolled to the refrigerator and opened the door.
 
"Plenty of blood.
 
Bottles on top, bags on bottom."

Zoey eyed the many shelves of nectar.

"The bags," she said.
 
"They're so we can pretend it's a neck, isn't it?
 
Bite into it?"

Victoria nodded.
 
"It does help with the…
aggression
that pops up."

"Yeah.
 
I figured that one out on my own."

Victoria eyed her bag, and then the empty racks near the king-sized bed.
 
Whatever she brought with her wouldn't fill half a rack.

"What do you got in there?"

"Not much."
 
Zoey set her bag on the dining table and emptied its contents.
 
"Just a few pair of jeans.
 
Some PJs to lounge around in.
 
My makeup.
 
Not a whole lot."

Victoria noticed a sketchpad peeking out.
 
Zoey was working on a portrait of an unknown man.
 
It was stunning work, and she'd seen a large amount of art over four centuries.

"You're an artist?" she asked.

Zoey was embarrassed as she closed the bag just enough to hide the work.

"I draw.
 
I wouldn't say an artist."

"Well, I would.
 
That's incredible."

Victoria moved to open the bag, only to be stopped by Zoey.
 
The teenager moved in the way, keeping her head low.

"It's…it's not done yet."

Surprised at the resistance, all Victoria could do was shrug.

"Okay.
 
Fair enough."
 
She gestured to her clothes.
 
"You're going to need more to wear than that.
 
Tomorrow night we'll head to the mall."

Zoey frowned.
 
"Victoria, I'm not going shopping with you."

"Why not?
 
Vampire or not, you're a woman, right?
 
I love shopping."

"No, I mean…I'm not going to let you buy me clothes."

"Good luck trying to stop me.
 
Ah, I forgot to ask.
 
How are your parents?
 
They seemed a little
tense
when I talked to them on the phone.
 
I know their world is being wrecked, too."

Zoey collapsed into a dining chair.

"Yeah, they're tense.
 
Their daughter isn't human anymore.
 
That causes tension.
 
And…I think they'll be getting a divorce soon.
 
I think that might be the big reason why they let me come up here.
 
They need some time to themselves right now.
 
They had their problems, even before all of this."

Victoria was wise enough to know that sometimes there were no words of comfort.
 
The only thing to do was a simple pat on the back.
 
Victoria wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed.

"Let me get something to drink, and I'll show you how to use all this tech."

"Where do you sleep?"

"I have a master bedroom on the top floor.
 
We won't be seeing each other much during the day, for obvious reasons."

Victoria and Zoey spent most of the night together in the basement.
 
It was two in the morning when they finally settled down in the living area and watched television.
 
Sleepiness was starting to take a hold of Victoria.
 
She was used to sleeping in the late hours.
 
Zoey was still going strong until about four.
 
Victoria jumped from the couch, one of many cat naps, to see Zoey curled up in the recliner.

She smiled at the sight.
 
The power of the recliner was difficult to resist.
 
She wasn't completely sure if Kevin didn't sneak into the basement from time to time, to sprinkle the recliner with one of his magical potions.

Victoria stretched her arms over her head as she rose to her feet.
 
She crossed the fifty feet to the bed and grabbed the light blanket.
 
She covered Zoey gently, who sighed from within her dream and pulled the blanket to her chin.

The future was always a mystery, but Victoria felt it could only be a good thing, having another vampire in the house.

*****

It was mid-morning as Victoria stood on her back deck.
 
Leaning against the wooden railing, she poked at her smartphone as Chaz's cousin and his crew worked on installing the first of two hot tubs.
 
Some of them weren't happy with the client watching over their shoulders.
 
Others couldn't get enough of the shapely redhead, nearly straining their necks every few minutes to get a look at her.

"If you don't mind me asking," Chaz's cousin, Paulie, asked.
 
"Why install the other tub at night?"

"I have a house-guest on the night shift, sleeps all day.
 
I don't want to wake her."
 
She looked up from her phone and flashed a smile.
 
"Is that okay?"