Blood-Red Tear (23 page)

Chapter Twenty

  
Fall came, bringing with it cooler temperatures and chilly winds. My mother turned her attention to planning a party for Halloween. Paul was not happy about the logistical nightmare that meant for the security team, but since there had been no further problems he begrudgingly agreed.

Every d
ay I did what they asked of me, but inside I was miserable without Aidan. I had changed so much and wished my family could see it, but they seemed ignorant of my transformation. I was no longer a little girl who needed them to guide me. That girl was gone and in her place was a confident young woman who knew where her life was heading and was determined to do whatever it took to make it happen. My decision had only been made easier by the time spent without Aidan by my side.  I was only half a person without him. Don’t get me wrong: I could live and even have fun without him, but my life was better, fuller, and complete when he was in it, and I missed him terribly.

“Kati
e, is that alright with you?” my mother asked as we sat in the dining room planning the upcoming party.

“Sure,
Mom, whatever you want,” I answered, unsure exactly what I was agreeing to.

“Honey
, are you alright?” my father asked with concern.

No
, I wasn’t. I was missing Aidan and wanted nothing more than to see him even if just for a short time, but I couldn’t tell him that. “Yeah, I’m just tired. Do you mind if I go to bed early?”

“Of course not,” he said.

I stood and stretched, bid them goodnight, and walked upstairs to my room. To my surprise, I was found I was very tired and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep. True to course, my dreams kept me from sleeping soundly, and before too long I was wrapped up in another nightmare. This time I was running, trying desperately to find a place to hide. I knew the vampire was playing with me, toying with my emotions, building the fear within me. At any time he could overtake me and he knew it. Terror consumed me as I ran through the forest, screaming for help, begging for anyone to aid me, but no one came.

“You’re so
tired; let me help you,” the vampire taunted appearing before me, pulling me roughly into his arms. His fangs protruded from his mouth, dripping with saliva. I screamed in terror, which only seemed to excite him and before I could blink, his mouth was at my neck caressing the skin there with his sharp and deadly fangs. “I can hear your blood pumping through your veins. It calls to me, beseeching me to drink.” His tongue moved slowly over a jagged cut made by a tree branch and he groaned. “You taste so sweet. I can’t see how Aidan has possibly resisted the temptation for so long.” He chuckled malevolently and bit down, tearing into my flesh ruthlessly, ignoring my cries as he gorged himself on my blood. I felt my limbs grow slack and my body droop in his arms as he indulged. And then nothing, as my eyes closed and the finality of death over came me. 

 
“No,” I screamed jumping up from the bed, holding my throat, immediately checking for the tell-tale sign of bite marks or blood but to my relief finding nothing.
Just a bad dream,
I thought to myself as I got up and began getting ready for the day, but in the back of mind I feared it was something more. Something much, much darker.

*****

Paul and Beth were already in the dining room waiting for me a short time later, holding hands and looking so in love it made me long for Aidan.

“Beth and I are going cost
ume-shopping today after school,” Paul said as I sat down. (A pleasant change from his usual “We’re late,” mantra.)

“A
ny ideas about what costumes you’re going to wear?” my father asked.

“Why don’t you c
ome as Robin Hood and Maid Marian? You could wear tights, Paul, wouldn’t that be fun?” I said with a smirk. Dad and Beth laughed, but Paul shot me a look that said to knock it off.

   “I don’t think so
, and do not go giving Beth any ideas.” His warning fell on deaf ears, though, and I couldn’t resist teasing him some more.

“You know
, Beth, he would make a great Romeo. Didn’t he wear tights, too?”

“You’re pushing it,” Paul growled
, but he was smiling so I knew he was not too angry.

“You’re goin
g to make us late, Paul,” I said as I grabbed my bag and walked out, leaving him and Beth to scramble after me. For one brief moment, everything felt like it had before my feelings for Aidan had surfaced, before I was old enough to understand what those feelings meant, before I was totally, completely, and utterly in love with my vampire.

****
*

By the time Halloween came, even I was geared up for the party. I got home from school that afternoon to find my home had been completely transformed from its former beauty to one of a more haunting visage. The outside was strewn with cobwebs, dark lighting, and ghostly forms dangling from nearby trees. Creepy coffins littered the yard, along with tombstones bearing funny sayings and fake skeletal remains poking up from under the earth. I walked into the front door to find the inside was dark and eerie, making it seem like a haunted house from a Hollywood movie. Cobwebs hung from every corner and chandelier, something scary lurked around every corner, and I knew once the party started there would be actors dressed in costume to help make everything even scarier. I had to admit my mother had done it again, and I went to my room to get out of her way and wait for the festivities to begin.

   “Katie
, it’s time for you to get ready,” my mother said a short time, later hanging a bag on my closet door and unzipping it as I sat on the bed. “Let’s go, honey.  Your guests will be here soon.”

I undressed and she went to work transforming me for the party
. I had no idea what costume she had chosen for me, but my legs were encased in iridescent green stockings, and a shimmery matching bodysuit was draped with pale-green and yellow material. She handed me a pair of matching slippers, which I dutifully slipped on. Then she fussed with my hair and makeup for a while, hemming and hawing as she went.

When she was done, she led me to the mirror for my first look at her creation
, and I stared transfixed at the magic she had wrought. The fairy I saw in the mirror before me was magical, not at all like the childish Tinkerbell I knew, but a more adult version. My hair had been pulled up off my shoulders with tiny ringlets spiraling down my neck. Shimmery ribbons and shiny pearls had been strategically placed throughout my hair and they sparkled in the soft lighting as I moved my head. The bodysuit fit snug to my torso, and the soft material draped over it hung down in an almost zigzag pattern to my mid-thigh, making it an appropriate length for my age, but still kind of sexy. It was simply perfection and I loved it.

“Mom
, it’s perfect, thank you.”

She hugged me close and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“I’m glad you like it. I have to get dressed now, so don’t sit or do anything that might ruin your costume before the party,” she cautioned, before rushing out of the door.

I was so excited that I decided to walk downstairs and wait for everyone to arrive.
Paul and Beth were already in the foyer. They had settled on a black stone bench that looked like it belonged in an old cemetery and were holding hands, staring at each other hungrily, so in love it made me jealous. Beth made a beautiful Cinderella; Paul was a very handsome, if uncomfortable looking Prince Charming. I knew then it had to be a “forever” kind of love between them, because no other female could have talked my brother into wearing tights.

“Wow
, Katie, you look amazing,” Beth said, looking away from her Prince Charming as I approached.

Paul was not so agreeable. His
eyes bugged out of his head and he swore loudly, looking me over from head to toe with a frown. “What was Mom thinking? We need to put a coat or something over you.” He started for the coat closet, but my father’s voice across the hall stopped him from acting rashly.

“Leave her alone
, Paul, she looks great,” he said as he walked into the foyer. He was dressed like Frankenstein, and I had to stifle a chuckle. I mean, seriously, my vampire family was dressing up for Halloween as other monsters. It was just a little too ironic not to find it amusing!

“So
, what do you think?” he asked walking to my side.

“You wil
l scare everyone in that costume,” I told him playfully.

“Good
, maybe he can keep all the males away from you tonight that are going to flock around you dressed like that,” Paul said angrily.

“Settle down
, Paul.  She looks perfect,” my mother lectured as she walked in the room. Her hair was piled high, sprayed black with a white streak down the middle and she wore a long, white, form-fitting gown that molded to her curves. Her face was whiter than usual, with plum- colored eye shadow and grayish lips to finish the Frankenstein’s-wife costume she had chosen to complement my father’s costume. I knew she was going for scary, but she was just too beautiful to pull it off. Although I kept that thought to myself.

“You are absolutely gorgeous,” my father said
, as she floated to his side.

“Don’t be silly
, Duncan, I’m supposed to be scary.”

She frowned
, looking upset, but I rushed in to appease her. “You look great, Mom, really scary. Thanks for doing all of this, my friends will love it.”

“You are
welcome,” she said in her best monster voice.

W
e all laughed at her horrible imitation, but she didn’t seem to mind and even joined in.

The doorbell rang and one of the actors
, dressed as a butler in a dusty tux and bald cap, moved forward to answer it. “Good evening,” he said, his voice low and spooky.

“Uh
, hi,” Jess said, as he took a step back to allow Josh and her to enter the foyer.

They we
re dressed as Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, and I had to admit they made a striking pair.

“Mrs. Sutherland
, this place is amazing.  You really have gone way out,” Jess gushed.

“It’s great,
” Josh said as he surveyed the house, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Thank you both,
” Mom beamed.

The door op
ened again and again after that, so the next hour was spent greeting our guests and trying to guess who was wearing what costume.

Chad wanted to surprise me with his costume, so I didn’t know where or who he was, but a
fter some time I realized Dracula was following me everywhere I went and I began to suspect it was him. “Chad, is that you?” He held his cape partially over his face and didn’t answer. “Do you want to dance?” He held out one hand, keeping his face hidden, and I placed mine in it, shocked by the tingle that flared to life between us. Before I could comment, a slow haunting melody came over the speakers and he pulled me close, dancing me out of the glass doors that opened the warm room up to the outside world. I was so overwhelmed that I barely noticed our surroundings until we arrived at the gazebo. Once there he pulled me into his arms and leaned in gently, placing his lips to mine and kissing me long and passionately. My senses roared to life and I responded eagerly to his kiss. Only one person had ever made me feel that way, and I knew instantly whom it was that held me.

“Aidan,
” I murmured against his lips. Chad shouted my name and he pulled away, stepping back into the shadows.

“Katie
, are you out here?” Chad called again.

I turned
in his direction for one brief moment, and when I turned back Aidan was gone. I put my hand to my lips and my fingers traced them slowly, feeling the coolness left behind. I sighed with disappointment.

“It’s cold, why are you out here?” Chad asked
, staring at me as if I were crazy. I couldn’t answer: I was too overwhelmed by the emotions that were coursing through me after being in Aidan’s arms again. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking at me oddly.

I shook my head to clear it
, feeling a million butterflies dancing on my stomach. “Umm, yeah, I’m good. Where have you been?” I asked. He said something about a flat tire and I murmured the appropriate response, but my thoughts were all of Aidan so I wasn’t really listening.

“We should go
inside,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me back towards the house.

T
he rest of the night passed in a blur for me. I was thrilled that Aidan had come but also a little annoyed that he did not identify himself sooner. When the last of the guests finally left, I thanked my mother for another great party and went to my room to digest Aidan’s mysterious visit. The fact that he had picked Dracula was not lost on me. I assumed it was a joke, but for some reason, this time I was not laughing. Instead, my heart was breaking.

I moved toward the bed. O
n my pillow was a perfect, pink, long-stemmed rose with a note folded underneath. Carefully I opened the note and read.
“Please don’t be angry at my deception. I needed to see you. You are all I think of and I miss you more with every day that passes. You are, as always, my Amado Uno.” Aidan.