Authors: Jez Strider
After finishing off my treat and Marc his beer and chicken wings, we headed over to the lift.
I found the lift to be a romantic spot.
The noise and smell of the park below, the view of the ocean, especially now as it was getting dark.
I cuddled up against Marcus and he put his arm around me.
Lots of things can be romantic.
It’s not just fancy restaurants and jewelry.
All the laughter and happiness drifted up to us.
“We don’t do stuff like this enough.” He said…seeming to choose his words carefully so that I didn’t balk at the concept.
Any other day, I’d have been more defensive.
Not that day, though.
Not after everything that had happened in the past twenty-four.
All I said was, “Yeah.”
A few more moments passed.
“Just wondering, you know
,
if you’d think about letting go of some of the rules.
It’s not a big deal.
I just wanted to throw it out there.”
I’m not a fool, well most of the time anyway. I saw this coming.
“Tomorrow is a work day.
Why don’t you spend the night?”
Maybe it was a small concession, but it was big for me to break the rules of our relationship.
He visibly relaxed and gave me an affectionate squeeze with his arm.
“Let’s run by my place and I’ll feed the dog, then we’ll head over to yours.”
I nodded and we rode in content silence until the end of the ride.
When I exited the chair and Marcus took my hand once again, someone in the distance caught my eye.
Antonio was watching me and he made no secret about it.
Luckily, Marcus didn’t notice.
The last thing I needed was a confrontation between those two.
I glanced at Marc to make sure he didn’t see and when I looked back to the spot Antonio had been leaning, he was gone as if he’d never been there.
Marcus and I were still laughing and having a good time when I unlocked my front door.
When we stepped inside, all amusement abruptly ended.
There were boxes everywhere packed with my stuff.
My mouth hung agape as I walked into the room.
“Antonio.”
I whispered as I realized he’d packed or at least had someone else pack all my things so I could flee.
On the kitchen counter was a notice that the movers would arrive to move everything the next day.
To say I was furious would be an understatement.
It didn’t matter that it had all been done for my protection.
I
made
my
own decisions.
This wasn’t an era where men made all the choices.
I thought I was mad, but when I turned to Marcus, I saw a look of pure fury that I’d never seen on his face.
He jerked the note out of my hand, read it, and crumpled it in his clenched fist.
“You’re moving…without even a word about it.
Were you just going to leave without even telling me?”
He slammed his fist into a nearby wall, leaving a hole in my drywall.
“Whoa,
hun
.
Let me explain.
Well, try to explain.”
I immediately grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and tried to put it against his hand.
He snatched the pack from me with a sneer and shake of his head.
“I’m listening.”
He said through gritted teeth.
I wasn’t scared of him. He had a temper, but he wasn’t dangerous to me as far as I could tell. I’m sure I’d have been pretty pissed to walk into such a strange scene as well.
I also knew that the anger was to help hide how hurt he felt.
“Sit down.”
What was I supposed to say?
I had no idea where to even begin.
The truth seemed like the least logical choice.
He begrudgingly took a seat.
I noticed my journal from the safe sitting on top of a moving box.
I needed a new password…. A small note in elegant script read,
“If you love him, give him the truth.
–A”.
Seriously?
I didn’t know Antonio’s angle, but he was right.
What other option did I have at this point?
Marc’s leg bounced up and down uneasily and he leaned forward, putting his hands over his face waiting for my explanation.
“My dad…he just up and left my mom, sisters, and me.
That’s why I always looked up to my grandfather.
I’m sorry if I overreacted.”
He rarely showed his temper, but it was volatile.
I knew he’d been in bar fights and had to spend a few nights in jail before.
“I wouldn’t hurt you.
I didn’t mean to scare you or anything.”
He added.
“To explain the moving boxes, I have to tell you some other things about my past first.”
I dusted off the cover of the journal.
It’d been a long time since I’d opened it.
“
Here.
”
At that moment, I was about to freak out.
It was too early in our relationship for the big secret to be revealed.
Gently, I sat the journal on the table in front of him.
Eventually, he reached out and opened the book, glancing at my handwriting.
“
Evey
… I’m not much on reading.
Just tell me.”
He often shortened my name from Evelyn, apparently even when mad.
My eyes were welling up with tears.
I’d been tough, even humorous through the events of the past day and a half and I couldn’t do it anymore.
I scooped up my kitty and walked into my bedroom, sitting down on the bed.
I burst into tears.
The cat let me cuddle it, sensing my unrest, where she’d usually protest being held in place.
At least my pets always loved me no matter what.
Perhaps it was the only true unconditional love.
Marcus didn’t follow, but I could hear the occasional ruffle of a page turning.
The silence was deafening.
Sure, I’d told other men what I was before.
It had been a long time, though.
It never got easier.
The reaction was just too unpredictable.
Would his mind be able to accept the new reality, would he hate me for lying, would he be disgusted, would he even believe it or just think I’m crazy?
After a long time passed, I’d fallen asleep.
Reading a history as long as mine is a lengthy endeavor and I knew he would be at it for a while.
Emotional exhaustion was taking a toll.
Days can turn bad so quickly.
At some point in the night, I thought I felt his kiss upon my forehead.
When I awoke the next day, I figured it to be true since my journal was on the bed beside me and open.
He had written a note on one of the unused pages.
It read,
“I know what you are, but this still doesn’t explain why you are moving.
I didn’t want to wake you.
I’m taking a walk to clear my head.
I don’t know how to deal with this.
Don’t leave yet.”
My eyes ached from crying as I rubbed them.
I called the clinic and told my assistant to put up a sign that we were closed indefinitely.
Things were changing, whether I wanted them to or not.
There was no more going to work for a while.
I took a long, hot shower as I waited for Marcus.
I’d been up a couple hours and there was still no sign of him.
Looking around the kitchen I noticed one of the bottles of blood on the counter.
He’d found it.
Not all that surprising, I knew he was smarter than his playful, fun attitude let on.
One time I asked why he didn’t go to college and he’d said he wasn’t smart enough.
I knew better.
He ran motorcycle repair shop not far from the boardwalk.
It was good business and he was his own boss.
Maybe he was smarter than most by doing what he loved and enjoyed.
Last night he was probably on the verge of telling me he loved me, today I didn’t even know if he’d want to see me again.
Whether he wanted to see me or not, I was going to look for him.
I figured he was at the shop or would be eventually.
I left a note for the movers not to touch my stuff.
There was no way I was letting Dante dictate and rule me by fear any longer.
As I was heading to my Prius, a shiny black 370Z pulled up behind it, blocking me in the driveway.
Subtle….
I thought sarcastically. The door opened and Antonio stepped out in a sleek Armani suit.
“I thought I told you to leave.” He said as he pulled off his sunglasses, looking sympathetic.
“Dante knows I didn’t kill you.
A vampire friend of mine warned me.
He’s another of Dante’s men, but he owed me.”
“Oh no…”
My hand came up and covered my mouth.
“You were right.
It was to test you.
I bet he knew all along you wouldn’t do it.”
“Either I bring you to him or he’s going to hunt us both down.
And if you don’t stay away from that boy, he’ll end up drained.”
He sighed, walking up and grabbing me by the shoulders like he was going to shake sense into me.
“You have to let me help you.
Why is he after you now after all these years?”
“I guess he figured out I wasn’t dead.
Were you in Versailles?” I questioned.
With a quick look around, he led me to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for me.
I gave a weak smile and sat down as he went around to the driver’s seat.
I felt touched that he was taking such risk for me.
I’d wondered if what we had in Venice was real or if I’d romanticized it over the years.
His actions now were proof of the former.
“
Sí
,
tesoro
mio
.”
It was hard to tell if he always spoke a mix of Italian and Venetian or if he was just trying to seduce me with it.
Either way, hearing him call me his darling made my heart involuntarily skip a beat.
I found the uncontrolled response infuriating.
I nodded as he began driving away from my home.
“So was I.”
He looked at me sharply before turning back to the road.
I’m sure he had questions but he was waiting for me to continue.
“You’re beloved Master
Sanuto
,” I said keeping with sarcasm for the day, “had been keeping me in seclusion for years with lie after lie about vampires, especially what new vampires were susceptible to.
In Versailles, I was locked in my own room.
He personally brought all my food, blood and otherwise.
When he was away on business, there was one servant allowed to tend to my needs.
His fear kept him silent from speaking to me about Dante.”
My arms lifted in a slight shrug.
“Not about
everything ,
though.”