Chapter 12: Ever Fallen in Love
Carrie was surprised and touched that Vincent Sangre - the drummer of Erotic Corpses and someone she was a secret fan of - had trusted her enough to believe her when she had told him that Ro was in trouble and that Dr. Cole - someone whom Vincent had previously trusted - had Ro held captive!
No questions asked, Vincent had simply trusted and believed in Carrie and had even helped her to save her best friend, Ro. Ro was a sweet, kind girl and one of the first people not to judge Carrie by her appearance or shun her because of it. She truly valued Ro's friendship.
The Wicca witch was so happy that Ro was safe having been reunited with Blake and the band once more. She felt like she couldn't put a 'thank you' into words for Vincent, but she still wanted to thank him. She really owed him one. But Carrie didn't know how to express herself - except through fashion.
That's why Carrie decided that she would design a suit for Vincent Sangre as a 'thank you' gift. A suit that really complimented him or that at least expressed how she saw and felt about him.
Carrie spent hours and hours just sketching possible designs for Vincent's suit. After she decided upon one of her best sketches - that of a Victorian-style suit - she went to the material store on her bike. Once she arrived there she picked out the materials she needed from rolls and rolls of different gorgeous materials that were stacked in shelves. She ended up selecting a dark purple material that she would use for the jacket, some purple and silver silk for the vest, white lace for the cravat, a black silk material to use for the pants and silver buttons to use on the jacket.
After Carrie finished making her purchases, she brought the materials back to Blake's apartment, which had somehow become her temporary sewing studio. The witch began to cut the material according to the patterns she created, and put her sewing machine to good use. It took Carrie several hours to finish the suit and when she was done she folded it gingerly and put it inside of a suit box.
Carrie wiped some sweat from her brow with her hand and let out a satisfied sigh. That was a job well done. She put the box into her backpack before slipping the straps over her shoulders. She left Blake's apartment and made her way over to her parked KTM. That day she was wearing some tight leather pants, a long-sleeved, purple shirt that had long, belled sleeves and a pair of lace-up knee boots. The shirt was low cut, and had a black cross on it.
Her pentagram necklace swung around her neck as she mounted her bike, put her helmet on, and began to ride off in the direction of Wraythe Records. According to Ro who Carrie had placed a quick phone call to the band was at the studio practicing and Carrie intended to intercept Vincent there.
Thirty minutes later, Carrie arrived at the Wraythe Records majestic tower-like building and parked her bike out front. She dismounted and confidently made her way into the building. She flashed her ID badge at the security guards that let her pass as she made her way to the elevators. She took the elevator up to the tenth floor and once the doors opened she made her way to the studio. Carrie didn't bother to knock as she opened the door to the studio and made her way quietly inside.
There before her was Erotic Corpses. The band was practicing and the sight and sound of their playing stole her breath away just as it always did.
Her eyes were inevitably drawn to Vincent Sangre?his long, silky red hair swishing up and down as he headbanged and attacked the drums and cymbals with a fiery passion.
Devon Decayn was playing his electric guitar, jamming hard, his fingers sliding up and down the fret board swiftly, and looking hot as his skin glistened with sweat.
Joey Bones was grinning like an idiot and having a little too much fun as he played his bass guitar. He was wearing a black t-shirt that had the word 'HI' on it made out of bones.
Then there was Ro Ripper?singing her heart out with her glowing lavender-colored eyes. Blake had obviously possessed Ro and he was rocking hard as he belted out punk rock lyrics in a fierce manner.
Reclining on the nearby leopard print couch was Sadie Skellington. She was watching Devon with blue eyes that shone with lust, desire, and possessiveness. Her look seemed to be saying 'that boy is mine, all mine'. Carrie rolled her eyes at the female rockstar.
Carrie flinched when she noticed that Vincent's so-called 'brides' were also in the studio off to one side in a circle and whispering to themselves. Carrie recognized them from the Christmas party. Candra - the blonde one - was wearing a cute black and white Victorian-style dress that had lots of frills and lace with a pair of black platform shoes. Candra was currently sucking on a lollipop in an obscene manner.
Scarlett - who Carrie secretly liked to think of as 'the sluty one' - was wearing a tight, red corset, and a pair of black leather pants. Her long, wavy red hair was loose around her shoulders and her green eyes shimmered with obvious desire for Vincent as she watched the drummer spinning his drumsticks.
Annabel - the leader of the Vincent Sangre fan club - was wearing a black, medieval-style dress that was high-cut. Annabel seemed more serious and sophisticated than the other two but that didn't mean that Carrie trusted her or anything.
Carrie took an unconscious step back when she spotted Vincent's possessive fan girls. They gave her a bad feeling and made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She sensed something 'dark' about them and it made her finger her pentagram necklace in a defensive manner as if her necklace could ward off their evil intent.
Carrie steeled herself, however, took a deep breath and continued her way into the studio. She ignored the group of three fan girls and made her way to the couch instead. Sadie was the lesser of two evils in this instance. Even as she ignored the brides though Carrie could sense that their eyes were upon her as she made her way over to the couch. It was creepy.
Carrie took her backpack off and set it on the couch first. "Hey Sadie. What's happening?" She greeted casually and in a low voice before she sat down. Carrie didn't want to disrupt the band's practice and so had made sure to keep her voice extremely low.
"Hey, witch," Sadie answered back in an equally low voice. Sadie eyed Carrie's backpack curiously and raised an eyebrow at it since she could see the box poking out the top. "Some more clothes for the band?"
Carrie shrugged. "Something like that."
Carrie, Sadie, and the brides continued to watch the Erotic Corpses practice until they were winding down to the end of their final song. Carrie looked at the brides and wondered if she should find another opportunity to give Vincent his 'thank you' present. But then she shook her head stubbornly. No, she wasn't afraid of them and could care less about what those girls thought. She was Carrie Ashmore! And I have nothing to hide! Carrie thought to herself adamantly.
As soon as the song was finished Blake left Ro's body. Ro's ice-blue eyes lit up when she caught sight of Carrie. "Hey Carrie," she greeted softly as she approached the Goth witch.
Carrie stood up and awaited Ro's approach while Joey followed after the medium like a loyal puppy. The sight made Carrie's black painted lips twitch into an amused smile.
Devon made his way over to Sadie, who stood up, grabbed Devon's head with both her hands and pulled him in for a sizzling kiss. After a few minutes of making out she pulled back from Devon and licked her lips. "Your playing made me hot." She purred in a husky voice.
Devon smirked at the sexy female rockstar. "That was the idea, babe."
Ro looked at Devon and Sadie and bit her lower lip. She debated if she should tell Devon about what happened between her and Sadie that night of the party. She remembered Sadie taking her outside of Devon's apartment building to talk about Devon's drinking problem and then she had suddenly felt woozy. After that, when she had woken up it had been to find herself locked inside of a cage somewhere inside of Dr. Cole's mansion. Sadie had given her over to Dr. Cole, she was sure of it. Blake had also confirmed this.
But why? Ro wondered to herself morosely.
Why had Sadie done such a cruel thing to her? Did s
he hate Ro that much? Ro had been under the impression that Sadie had wanted to be her friend. Why did Sadie dislike her? Ro intended to find out.
Sadie noticed Ro watching her and Devon, and shot a glare the medium's way.
Vincent Sangre dabbed at the sweat on his brow with a lacy, silk handkerchief before going over to greet his brides. He had spotted Carrie out of the corner of his eye but chose to ignore her. "Greetings, my lovelies."
"Oh Vincent?we've missed you." Scarlett purred as she wrapped her arms around Vincent's arm and pressed her body up against his side.
"Where have you been hiding lately?" Candra asked as she latched onto Vincent's other arm and looked up at the drummer with a cute pout on her face. "Have you been avoiding us? You don't like us anymore?" Her tone of voice was slightly petulant.
Vincent gave Candra a mock-horrified look. "Of course I haven't been avoiding you, my treasures. I've just been?busy lately."
"I hope that's the case." Annabel said in a serious tone as she gave Vincent a concerned look. "If we've done something to displease you?please let us know."
Vincent shook his head. "No, of course not. You ladies know how much you mean to me."
Annabel nodded and smiled knowingly at Vincent. "Indeed. You can't live without us?we are your faithful, loyal brides."
Carrie watched the brides clinging to Vincent and had a sinking feeling in her gut. Those girls were so beautiful and obviously head-over-heels in love for Vincent. Why would Vincent like someone like her - loud, outspoken, rude, difficult? When he could have them? Carrie sighed. She didn't care who Vincent liked - it was none of her concern. She fished the gift box out of her backpack and approached Vincent and his brides anyways. "Ahem." Carrie cleared her throat loudly to get Vincent's attention.
Vincent turned to regard Carrie and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Hello Carrie, may I assist you with something?" His voice was cold.
"Vincent?I need to talk to you." Carrie explained, in a serious tone.
Vincent looked at his brides and hesitated.
"It will only take a moment." Carrie insisted giving Vincent an urgent look.
Vincent nodded and gave his brides an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, ladies, if you'll excuse me for a moment." Vincent left the brides and took Carrie's arm to lead her aside. "What is it?" Vincent spoke in a low concerned voice.
Carrie took a deep breath and held the gift box out to Vincent. "I made something for you?"
Beneath his round, yellow sunglasses, Vincent's red eyes widened in surprise. "For me?" He took the box.
Carrie nodded. "I wanted to thank you for trusting me about Ro."
"Carrie?" Words eluded the drummer even though he was definitely touched by the gesture.
Carrie noticed that the brides were watching her closely. "That's it. If you don't like it you can throw it away." The witch declared loudly with a wave of her hand.
Vincent looked up at Carrie and smiled fondly. He lowered his sunglasses so that Carrie could see the warm expression that was in his ruby-red eyes. "I will treasure it always?until the day I die." He said in a soft, low voice that only she could hear.
"Pfft." Carrie snorted, putting a hand on her jutted hip in a sassy pose. "You haven't even seen it yet, idiot."
"Anything you make is a work of art. Truly. You are an extremely talented and beautiful woman, Carrie. And I-" Vincent was saying as he reached his hand out towards Carrie's violet-colored hair as if in awe. However-
Carrie felt the menacing looks upon her and turned to see that the brides were glaring daggers her way. The Wicca witch pulled back and avoided Vincent's touch. "Well, I'm outta here. I have stuff to do. See you." Carrie said as she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.
Vincent didn't realize that his hand was still outstretched as if still reaching for Carrie for several minutes even after she had gone. His brides did notice, however, and Scarlett and Candra immediately looked displeased.
"That little witch." Scarlett seethed as she chewed angrily on one of her long, red fingernails.
Candra was looking at Vincent with a pout. "What does he see in her? She's not even that pretty."
"Ladies. Calm yourselves." Annabel chided them. "Remember that as Vincent's brides we wish for nothing but Vincent's happiness?even if that happiness lies with someone else."
"Hmph." Scarlett let out a snort. We'll see about that?
***
Ro had to go to the bathroom and so left the studio. She didn't know it but Sadie left Devon and decided to follow her. Blake noticed this of course and so followed Sadie. When Ro finished using the toilet and came out of her stall it was to see Sadie applying some black lipstick while casually standing in front of one of the sinks. Floating next to Sadie was Blake with his arms crossed over his chest and a suspicious look on his face.
Ro looked at Blake wondering what the ghost was up to, and then turned her gaze to Sadie. Ro had specifically told Blake to never ever follow her into the girl's bathroom?but he had anyways. Ro wanted to give Blake a piece of her mind but Sadie was right there. Ro was opening and closing her mouth for a moment like a fish. The medium sighed instead and made her way over towards the sinks so that she could wash her hands. "Hi Sadie." Ro said as she turned the water on.
Sadie looked over at Ro and smiled. "Hi?we need to talk, Ro." Sadie declared as she capped her lipstick and replaced it inside of her hot pink makeup bag. Sadie walked over to the bathroom door, turned the lock, and turned around to put her back to the door. She had essentially trapped Ro inside of the bathroom.
Crap! What is that crazy punk up to now?! Blake thought as he flew in front of Ro protectively, placing himself between Sadie and Ro.
Sadie grinned evilly, approached Ro, and passed right through Blake's body. This caused a frustrated and angry look to form on Blake's face. That punk could just pass right through him?as if he weren't even there. Dang it!
Sadie shivered as a chill washed over her. She quickly shrugged it off though and stood in front of Ro with her arms crossed over her perky chest. "Ro?I want you to tell me what you remember about last night?"
Ro blinked and looked at Sadie with a bland look on her face. "If you're asking about whether or not I know that you handed me over to Dr. Cole?I know all about it." The medium admitted in her dull tone.
"Crap." Sadie swore and bit her lip. She fished a cigarette out of her makeup bag and lit it up. She took a long drag from her cigarette to calm her nerves. "Are you going to tell Devon?"
"Hell yea, you conniving punk!" Blake shouted and shook his fist at the female rockstar.
"No." Ro said surprising both Sadie and Blake. "I don't plan on telling Devon as long as your feelings for Devon are sincere. Sadie, how do you really feel about Devon?" Ro asked, giving Sadie a piercing look.
The surprise was clear on Sadie's face. "How dare you ask me that, you twit?"
Ro reached into her pants' pocket and pulled out a photograph, which she handed to Sadie. Sadie snatched the picture out of Ro's hand and glared down at it until her eyes widened by what she saw.
It was a picture of her and Blake White. Blake was giving her this amorous look while her head was turned away in the other direction, and so she hadn't noticed it.
"Where did you get this?" Sadie breathed as she looked down at the photo. She removed her cigarette from her lips and her hand was trembling.
"Blake White truly cared for you, Sadie. It's not nice to play with people's emotions. I really thought you wanted to be my friend but you obviously hate me?why?" Ro gave Sadie a hurt look.
Sadie looked up and snorted at the other girl. She put the cigarette between her lips and took another drag. "You went out on a date with my Devon! Don't think I don't know all about it! Slut!" Sadie accused heatedly, her body trembling with rage.
Ro sighed. "It wasn't a date?not really. I had to go out with him for other reasons. I?don't like Devon, in that way. Now, how do you really feel about Devon? Are you j
ust going out with him because he's the number one rockstar in the country right now?or because of something else?"
Sadie frowned as she looked down at Blake's picture. "I?you might not believe me but I cared about Blake too. But I think I was more in love with Blake's voice than Blake as a person. He never really opened up to me?even after we had sex. He had this wall up around his heart?
"I know Blake cared about me in his own way. But I also know that he didn't love me. I didn't feel loved. Blake White only loved one person and that was himself. Which is why Blake White never would have committed suicide, Ro. Blake was murdered by someone?I'm sure of it." Sadie looked up and met Ro's eyes with a surprisingly fierce expression.
Ro sucked in a breath.
Sadie tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear as she gathered her thoughts. "At first, I wondered who had the most to gain from Blake's death and I thought it could be Devon who secretly liked to sing, and so I decided to go out with Devon in order to find out the truth but?"
Sadie blushed as she thought about all the things that had happened between her and Devon. "I fell for Devon instead. And I can tell you without a doubt in my heart that Devon is not the one who killed Blake. Unlike Blake, Devon's really opened up to me?he's let me take care of him when he's sick or hung over from drinking himself into unconsciousness wondering about why Blake killed himself?or who dared to murder him. I think Devon suspects something too. But we've never talked about it. All I can do is be there for him and support him. At first, I was just investigating him?trying to find out the truth. I never expected to fall in love." Sadie admitted and she put her cigarette out by sticking her tongue out and crushing the burning end of her cigarette on her tongue with a sizzle.
Ro flinched as she watched the freaky move. Blake and Ro were both stunned by Sadie's sudden revelation. Ro was curious to see what Blake's reaction would be to his ex-girlfriend saying that she did care about him but that he hadn't. Also, Sadie had just admitted that she'd truly fallen for Blake's best friend.
Ro looked at Blake and saw the saddest look on his face. It broke her heart. He looked like he was about to cry. Without a word Blake flew out of the bathroom, passing right through the bathroom door.
Ro looked at Sadie directly in her eyes. "I promise I won't tell Devon what you did. You have my word."
Sadie let out a breath of relief and smiled. "You're not so bad, slut." Sadie declared before turning around, grabbing her makeup bag, and heading for the bathroom door. She paused as she reached her hand out to unlock the door. "Thanks." She said before she unlocked the door and exited.
As soon as Sadie left and the bathroom door closed, Ro sunk to her knees. She was physically and emotionally drained by the strange encounter. With trembling fingers Ro got out her list of murder suspects and crossed Sadie's name off the list. Sadie Skellington could be a conniving two-faced punk but?she hadn't murdered Blake White.
Ro's ice-blue eyes fell upon the name 'Vincent Sangre' next. Ro had noticed that Carrie was getting closer and closer to Vincent as of late. She had to clear Vincent's name ASAP?to protect her friend Carrie who had protected her and come to her rescue when she had fallen into Dr. Cole's clutches.
I have to find out the truth behind Vincent Sangre. I have to look after Carrie. Ro vowed to herself in a determined manner.
***
It was Carrie's day off. The witch had requested a day off from work at Wraythe Records, so that she could stay home with her family in order to help her younger sister, Rosemary, catch up on her homework over the weekend. Thankfully, Manager Brody had allowed it. Carrie's mother and father had abandoned their family leaving the responsibility of taking care of the rest of the family up to her. Carrie's younger sister Rosemary was twelve-years-old, had long black hair and a serious demeanor. Carrie had a little six-year-old sister named Lilith, but everyone called her 'Lily'. Lily had a twin brother the same age named 'Samael', but everyone just called him 'Sammy'. Lily and Sammy both had the same haircut - a chin-length bob of black hair. The youngest member of the household was baby Draven. Draven was a cute little six-month-old baby that had blonde curls and big blue eyes.
Carrie was dressed in one of her usual spectacular gothic dresses, but since she was at home taking care of her siblings she had an apron on over her outfit. She was in the kitchen adding some spaghetti to a pot of boiling water when the doorbell rang making Carrie jump. She frowned. More bill collectors? But Carrie had paid everything off for now thanks to Wraythe Records. "I'll get it!" Carrie declared as she headed for the door with Lily and Sammy attached to the gown of her dress. Carrie frowned down at them. The poor kids definitely had abandonment issues. Spoon in hand, Carrie opened the door to see none other than Vincent Sangre standing in her doorway!
Carrie's jaw dropped open. What the hell was Vincent doing at her house? She looked past him and saw that his maroon-colored Phantom Rolls Royce was parked right outside. Vincent was wearing the Victorian suit that Carrie had designed along with a top hat that was pulled down low to shadow his face in case there were paparazzi hiding in the bushes. The drummer was also wearing his signature round yellow sunglasses and his hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail - a look that Carrie had never seen him sport before.
Her exotic dark-brown eyes were drawn next to the bouquet of flowers that were in his hands. They were the most unusual looking roses she had ever seen - a magenta color with black edges. Could those be real? They looked real.
Carrie continued to gawk at the sight of Vincent Sangre standing in her doorway, looking all hot and delectable, and with a bouquet of roses in his hands. Carrie pinched her cheek, sure that she must be dreaming. "Ow?" Or maybe she was hallucinating? Maybe he had the wrong house? Did she accidentally put a shroom into the spaghetti sauce?
Vincent was looking at Carrie equally stunned. The sight of a Goth witch in an apron and with two little kids clinging to her skirts was?unexpected. Vincent raised an eyebrow at her, and couldn't help but wonder who the kids were. Surely?they weren't Carrie's?
Vincent took his round yellow sunglasses off, folded them and slipped them into a jacket pocket. Vincent then took his top hat off and bowed. "Do forgive me for stopping by unannounced. Is now a bad time, dear lady?"
Carrie shut her jaw with an audible click. "Uh?what are you doing here?" Carrie felt like hitting herself over the head as soon as the words left her mouth. Smooth Carrie, real smooth.
"I wanted to thank you properly for my lovely new suit. I also wanted to ask you out on a date. Here, these are for you." Vincent handed Carrie the flowers.
Carrie absentmindedly took the extravagant bouquet of purple and black roses. At first she had thought they were silk flowers but upon closer inspection she found that they were indeed real and very fragrant. "How?purple roses?" Carrie looked down at the flowers in confusion and awe.
Vincent shrugged, "Dyed of course."
"Of course," Carrie muttered looking at the roses.
Vincent stood awkwardly in the doorway beginning to look more and more out of place. Carrie seemed to realize this. "Ah, I'm sorry, come on in?" Carrie stepped aside and ushered Vincent inside. "Ah, the pasta!" Carrie ran for the kitchen. "I hope I didn't overcook it! Crap! We're just about to sit down for lunch by the way. We're having spaghetti!" Carrie yelled from the kitchen.
Vincent chuckled drying at Carrie's antics as he entered the house and closed the door behind him. "Is that so? I'd love to join you?" Vincent tried to follow Carrie into the kitchen, but Lily and Sammy stood in his way.
The two Goth twins looked up at Vincent silently and stared. "Your eyes are red." Lily pointed out in a droning tone.
"Are you a vampire?" Sammy asked in a dreary voice.
"Are you here to drink Carrie's blood?" Lily added.
"Will Carrie be 'going away' just like Mommy and Daddy?" Sammy asked with wide eyes.
"Ah! Lily! Sammy! Don't bother Vincent with weird questions!" Came Carrie's order from the kitchen. "I'm
sorry, Vincent, they're my siblings."
Ah, siblings. A rush of relief spread through the drummer's body. Vincent knelt down so he could look the two kids in the eyes. "My eyes are red because of a unique genetic trait I have in my DNA. I'm not a vampire - though I wish I were. I would never harm your older sister, Carrie. And I'm pretty sure she'd never leave you."
Lily and Sammy looked at each other and nodded. Carrie was surprised when Vincent walked into the kitchen holding both Lily and Sammy's hands. She had the strange urge to go 'awww!'. But she held herself in check.
Vincent breathed in deep. "Mmmm that smells delicious. May I have a taste?"
"Sure." Carrie dipped a wooden spoon into the sauce and scooped up a dollop. She held out the spoon for Vincent to take.
Vincent shrugged and gave Carrie an apologetic look. "As you can see. I have my hands full?you'll have to feed it to me." Vincent said matter-of-factly but there was a mischievous glint in his red eyes.
Carrie tried hard not to blush as she brought the spoon out towards Vincent's lips. The drummer opened his mouth and Carrie put the spoon inside. She was so nervous that her hand was trembling slightly, and this caused a drop of pasta sauce to dribble down the corner of Vincent's mouth. It looked like blood.
Vincent swallowed the sauce. "Mmmm tasty." He said and then his pink tongue darted out of his mouth to lap up the sauce that was trickling down his chin in a very sensual manner.
Carrie swallowed, her mouth feeling dry suddenly as she watched Vincent do this. Why was Vincent so fucking sexy?
The twins were giggling. "He's a vampire, teehee." "He's going to suck your blood."
"I would love to join you and your family for lunch. Although I understand if I'd be imposing." Vincent drawled, giving Carrie an oddly sheepish look.
Carrie was at a loss and didn't really know what to say. "I?er?"
"Of course, you can stay, Vincent." Lily piped up.
"Stay Vincent!" Sammy added with a crooked grin.
Lily and Sammy began to drag Vincent off towards the dining room before Carrie could object. Carrie watched them go with a bemused expression on her face. Who would have thought Vincent Sangre - punk rock drummer and reputed playboy - was good with kids?
As Lily, Sammy, and Vincent passed the stairs that led to the second floor of Carrie's house there came a voice:
"What's all the commotion?"
Vincent looked up and saw a young girl with long black hair dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an Erotic Corpses t-shirt (one that had only been sold at one of their live performances) and who was carrying a small baby in her arms. Vincent raised an eyebrow at this since the girl looked much too young to have a child of her own. He deduced these must be more of Carrie's siblings.
Rosemary spotted Vincent Sangre and froze. Her eyes widened like saucers and she raised her finger to point at the drummer. "V-V-Vincent Sangre?! What the hell is he doing here? Ahhh!" Rosemary screamed and ran back up the stairs. Vincent could hear the sound of her running down the hall, and then the sound of a door opening and slamming shut. From within her room Rosemary yelled out to her sister. "Carrie! Why didn't you tell me Vincent Sangre was here?!"
Vincent chuckled at the girl's antics. "Pray tell, who was that intriguing girl?" The drummer directed his question to the twins.
"My older sister, Rosemary." Lily explained. "She's twelve."
"And that was our baby brother, Draven. He's six month old." Sammy put in.
"Ah," Vincent said with a nod. What a big family?how nice.
Lily and Sammy still had a hold of Vincent's hands and so led him to the dinning room next. Within the dinning room was a large rectangular shaped table that had eight chairs around it. Three chairs were situated on the longer sides of the table, and one chair was situated at each head. Vincent took a seat at the right side of the table with a twin on either side of him.
Vincent noted that the table had already been set with placemats, plates and silverware. He smirked to himself, thinking that he hadn't expected Carrie to be so domestic. A few minutes later, Carrie entered the dinning room balancing plates like a pro-waitress on her arms. She went around the table setting plates of pasta down before everyone on the placemats.
"ROSEMARY! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE! LUNCH IS READY!" Carrie yelled out at the top of her lungs and then she remembered that Vincent was there. Her gaze flickered over to the drummer, and she slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment as her cheeks grew pink.
Vincent chuckled at her obvious embarrassment. "Don't hold back on my account. From what I've seen of your family, they're really nice. It must be nice?having a big family like this?" Vincent trailed off with a sad, wistful note to his voice.
"Our parents abandoned us?" Carrie began in a bitter tone. "I've been working several part-time jobs so that I can support my siblings and so we won't have to give up the house. Thanks to Wraythe Records I don't think we're going to lose the house any time soon though since I'm able to make the mortgage payments now. But for a while we were walking on thin ice. It was pretty scary."
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't know?" Vincent gave Carrie a compassionate look. "It's better that they simply left?" He said softly and more to himself than to Carrie. It must have been hard for her to take care of her siblings on her own like this. Vincent vowed that he would do anything in his power to help her.
"What?" Carrie asked, giving Vincent a curious look.
Vincent shook his head. "No, it's nothing."
Carrie narrowed her eyes at Vincent suspiciously. "What about your family, Vincent? I'm sure it's more normal than ours." She laughed hollowly.
A dark shadow fell over Vincent's handsome olive-skinned face. "I have no family."
Carrie sucked in a breath when she saw the pain that was showing clearly in Vincent's red eyes. "Vincent, I'm so sorry. I-" Carrie was trying to apologize for her careless comments when Rosemary and baby Draven arrived.
Rosemary was now wearing a floor-length, medieval gown with a black, laced-up corset, belled sleeves, and the pattern of red roses on it. She entered the dinning room with baby Draven in her arms. Rosemary shot a glare Carrie's way. "Geez, sis, why didn't you tell me Vincent Sangre was coming over for lunch?"
Carrie sighed and rubbed at her temples with her index fingers. "Maybe because I didn't know."
Vincent gave Carrie a sympathetic look but he still couldn't help but enjoy the intimate family atmosphere.
Rosemary set Draven into a kiddy high chair that was situated on the left side of the table. Rosemary then set a small plate of spaghetti in front of Draven and then sat down in front of Vincent. She looked up and gave Vincent a shy smile. "Hi."
Carrie rolled her eyes at her obviously star-stuck sister, but she wasn't much better. "Ahem," Carrie cleared her throat. "Let's say grace." Carrie had taken her seat at the head of the table and reached out to take Sammy's and Draven's hand. Sammy and Lily both took Vincent's hands while Rosemary took Draven's other hand and closed the circle by reaching across the table and taking Lily's hand.
"Grace?" Vincent arched an elegant eyebrow at Carrie. She was a Wicca witch who worshipped the Goddess?right? It surprised him that she would be saying grace.
"It was how we were raised," Carrie explained with a shrug as she said the blessing. "Bless us O Lord and for These Thy Gifts which we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen."
"Amen." Vincent said softly. He didn't think there was a point in telling all of them that he was an atheist just yet. If God existed he wouldn't have let what happened to his family happen, or so he believed. "So you believe in God and the Goddess?" Vincent asked Carrie teasingly.
Carrie shot Vincent a perturbed look. "I can believe what I want to believe in but my brothers and sisters need to be raised properly. What do you believe in, Vincent?"
"Nothing." Vincent deadpanned. "I believe in?myself, I guess."
Carrie blinked. "What do you mean?nothing?"
Vincent shrugged. "I don't believe in God or a Goddess or anything really." He explained in a despondent tone.
Rosemary gasped.
"Why don't you believe in God?" Asked Lily curiously.
"Lily!" Carrie reprimanded her little sister.
Vincent held up a hand. "It's quite alright?" Vincent gave Lily a sad, little smile. "Maybe there is a God and I'm sure he loves a sweet little girl like you, but if God does exist he has forsaken me and so for me there is no God. God does not exist."
"Why do you think God doesn't love you?" Sammy asked, frowning at Vincent.
Another dark shadow fell over Vincent's handsome features. He remained silent for a moment and then opened his mouth to speak but Carrie suddenly clapped her hands. "That's enough questions, you two!" She scolded the twins and she took a nervous sip of her soda.
"Are you going to marry, Carrie?" Lily asked the drummer abruptly.
Carrie and Rosemary had both been taking sips of their drinks at that exact moment and so both girls ended up spitting out their soda onto the table in a very unladylike manner.
"Lily!" Carrie objected while looking embarrassed. Vincent thought Carrie's expression was quite endearing.
"No way!" Rosemary objected loudly, before slapping a hand over her mouth, and blushing at her outburst while giving Carrie a nervous look.
Vincent looked at Carrie thoughtfully. "The man who gets to marry your sister?will be a very lucky man."
Carrie looked up and met Vincent's eyes. She was captivated by those stunning eyes that looked like rubies. But why did Vincent sound so sad? Carrie's spirits fell. Why doesn't he think he can be that man? What am I thinking? Carrie shook her head. We're not even dating or anything. We don't mean anything to each other. I don't mean anything to him?besides, Vincent has his beautiful brides?
"Vincent probably has a girlfriend right now anyways. Don't you, Vincent?" Rosemary asked, giving Vincent a curious look.
Vincent chuckled. "As a matter of face, I'm currently single. I just broke up with my last girlfriend."
Rosemary propped her chin in her hand and quirked her head at Vincent. "Oh, has it been a month already?"
Vincent nodded solemnly.
"So the next girl you date?is it also only going to be for a month?" Rosemary asked giving Vincent a suspicious look.
Vincent nodded. "Yes, that is correct. I wanted to ask your sister Carrie out on a date today actually, but I had no idea she would be so?occupied." Vincent put his hands out before him in a helpless gesture.
Rosemary's jaw dropped. Vincent Sangre wanted to ask her sister Carrie out on a date?! No way.
Carrie frowned at Vincent. "I'm looking after my siblings today because it's the weekend and they need me. It was nice having you over for lunch, but I think you should go now."
Vincent cut her off before she could say more. "How would you kids all like to go to Six Flags?" Vincent suddenly suggested.
"The amusement park? Yea!" Lily exclaimed excitedly beginning to bounce up and down in her seat.
"Oh yes, please take us! We wanna go!" Sammy joined in with his sister lean towards Vincent with a rapt look on his face.
Baby Draven had gotten caught up in all of the excitement and began to clap his chubby little hands together and giggle happily.
"Oh, an amusement park?I've never gotten to go to one." Rosemary revealed in a wistful tone.
Carrie glared at her unruly siblings. "Stop it. We can't possibly go to an amusement park. Do you know how much it would cost to buy tickets for all of us? It would be way too expensive. We're so not going."
"It would be my treat, of course." Vincent put in, in his drawling tone. This statement was met with excited cheers by Carrie's siblings.
"Yay!" "Yea! Amusement park! Here we come!" "Oh, how splendid."
Carrie slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned. "Ugh?Vincent you've created a den of little monsters."
Vincent chuckled. "Kids should be spoiled every once in a while." Vincent declared firmly as he stood up. "Come on kids. Grab your jackets and let's be off, shall we?"
"YEA!" Sammy, Lily and Rosemary all agreed together.
Carrie sighed and rubbed at her temples. She looked at Vincent just standing there and couldn't help but notice his regal air. He had this shinning aura about him. Celebrities were really cut from a different cloth than the rest. They were from completely different worlds?Carrie could see the ravine that separated them I her mind. She wasn't a part of his world?
The kids all got up from the table and followed Vincent towards the door. Rosemary picked up Draven from the high chair and quickly followed after the rest. The group grabbed their respective jackets from the closet that was closest to the front door, and began to put them on. Carrie dragged her feet towards the closet. She shouldn't have given Vincent that gift. Maybe he took it the wrong way and thought that she was flirting with him. She frowned at the thought.
But?regardless she felt she needed to thank Vincent for what he did. Even if he was still a murder suspect.
This thought made Carrie wonder what Vincent Sangre was up to suddenly and made her stop in her tracks. Why was he really there? And what did he want? Did he suspect Ro or herself of being close to uncovering the dark truth, perhaps? Vincent had seemed a bit?tortured during lunch. And he had admitted to being an atheist. Those without God in their life had no real conscience, no reason to stop them from doing horrible things. What would really stop him from killing someone?
Vincent is a murder suspect. Don't forget it. He could be the one who killed Blake White. Carrie thought grimly to herself.
Vincent, oblivious to Carrie's dark thoughts, smiled warmly at her as he opened and held the door open for her. The witch shook her head as she walked past him with swift steps. The dashing man was definitely an enigma.
Vincent Sangre who are you, really? Carrie wondered. The group exited the house and the Ashmore family all gazed upon Vincent's impressive Rolls Royce with awe.
"Ooo, pretty." Lily said as she ran towards the car.
"It's not 'pretty' sis. It's awesome!" Sammy corrected. The twins began to run circles around Vincent's car.
"I bet that car cost a fortune. It's a Rolls Royce isn't it?" Rosemary breathed.
"Rosemary!" Carrie chided her sister with an embarrassed look on her face.
Vincent chuckled. "That's quite alright. It did indeed cost a fortune. But that's one of the perks of being a famous drummer. We get a sweet ride." Vincent unlocked his car and the twins, Rosemary, and the baby got into the back seat. Carrie moved into the front passenger seat while Vincent got in behind the wheel. Vincent leaned over to help Carrie put on her seatbelt and let his touch linger so that he could enjoy the temporary closeness to the mysterious beauty.
Carrie's brow began to furrow as Vincent's hands stayed on the seatbelt longer than was necessary. She turned her head to give Vincent a questioning look and that's when she realized their faces were mere inches apart. The witch swallowed nervously and Vincent smiled back innocently at her before pulling back. This left Carrie with a feeling of disappointment in her chest that she didn't want to admit to. Jerk. She mentally pouted.
Vincent drove the group to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom that was close to San Francisco. The drummer parked his Rolls Royce in the parking lot and hoped no one would try to steal his baby. Vincent took out his sunglasses and put them back on his face. He also put his top hat back on his head to better shadow his face from view. The last thing they needed was a riot of Erotic Corpses fans chasing after them while they were trying to have fun at the park. The group exited the car and made their way to the entrance of the amusement park where Vincent purchased them all tickets. General admission tickets cost $61.99 each, tickets for kids under 48" cost $42.99, and kids that were 2 and under got in the park for free. Vincent's total came to $271.95.
The group entered the park, the kids at a run. Carrie felt a little guilty that Vincent had just ha
d to cough up $271.95 for her and her family to have a day at the amusement park but she was also worried about what his true intentions were. She was watching Vincent like a hawk wondering just what he was up to. What his motives were. Just what are you up to Vincent Sangre?
Vincent caught Carrie staring at him and smiled smugly. "Can't keep your eyes off of me can you?" Vincent said in a low, husky voice so that only Carrie would hear.
Arrogant playboy. Carrie blushed. "You're imagining things."
Vincent just chuckled and walked on ahead. The twins took Vincent's hands and Carrie flinched. It was really hard thinking of Vincent as a murder suspect while he was walking hand in hand with the twins. He was really good with kids. He couldn't be that bad a person?even if he was an atheist. But even then maybe he had a good reason for being an atheist. Carrie wondered why she wanted to give Vincent the benefit of the doubt so badly.
Rosemary began walking next to her sister. "You like him. Don't you?" She said softly.
Carrie snapped her head in Rosemary's direction. "Huh? I do not."
"You keep staring at him?" Rosemary didn't sound too convinced as she gave her sister a piercing look. "And I think he likes you too. Unfortunately." Rosemary sighed, feeling jealous.
Carrie's mouth opened and closed. She couldn't tell her sister the real reason she was feeling uneasy about this whole Vincent Sangre situation was because he might be a murderer!
"That's what I thought." Rosemary declared as she sped up to catch up to Vincent and the twins.
"I do not like him. " Carrie told herself firmly as she quickened her stride to keep pace with the others, her long gown billowing out behind her.
Carrie, Vincent, Rosemary, the twins and baby Draven ended up going on a series of family friendly rides. First they went on Scat-A-Bout - a ride that had three arms, each of which spun their four pads round and round in circles. Next they went on The Arc - a huge swinging ship. The group followed that by going on the Wave Jumper - a ride where they got to ride a flying orca that lifted off into the air. Lastly, the group went on the Wave Swinger where they got to soar through the air on a flying swing.
After going on so many kiddy rides Carrie and Vincent asked the kids if they would let them ride a roller coaster alone while Rosemary stayed behind to take care of the younger kids. This was how Vincent and Carrie ended up in line for a roller coaster alone together. Vincent took Carrie's hand while she wasn't looking and when Carrie tried to pull away Vincent only tightened his hold upon her hand.
"Hey, let go, what if someone sees?" Carrie hissed, looking around nervously.
Vincent raised an eyebrow at her. "Like who? Your sister? And I'm in disguise."
"Pfft." Carrie snorted looking him up and down. "Some disguise?it's so obvious you're Vincent Sangre."
"I guess?I'll just wait here for you both." Rosemary was saying to herself in a dreary tone with Draven in her arms and Lily and Sammy attached to her sides. She pouted as she watched Vincent help Carrie into the roller coaster car from her position on the platform.
Two male amusement park employees were giving Vincent and Carrie curious looks due to their extravagant Gothic and Victorian outfits. "Dude, do you think they're filming a movie here or something?" One of the employees asked aloud.
The other amusement park employee just shrugged in response, as he looked around the area expecting to see a camera crew pop out of nowhere.
Carrie noticed her sister's pouting expression and felt guilty. She stood up and tried to get out of the roller coaster car, "Ah, on second thought Rosemary why don't you take my place and go instead. I'll take care of the others." However-
Vincent reached out, grabbed Carrie's hand, and yanked her back down into the car and practically into his lap.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Carrie snapped at him.
Vincent leaned forward to speak into Carrie's ear. "Please, I want you to go with me. I want to live this moment as if it could be our last." He begged.
Carrie let out a little huff as she reluctantly settled back down in her seat. "Alright, fine. You can let go of my hand."
Vincent smirked. "But I'm so scared." The drummer made his voice quaver.
Carrie tried to pull her hand out of Vincent's again but his grip was incredibly strong. The witch let out a frustrated sigh and gave up. But having her hand held by Vincent was making her heart rate speed up. She blamed her erratic heartbeat on the fact that the roller coaster car had just started off down the track though. The safety bar was lowered and the roller coaster car approached its first climb. It reached the top and then began its fast descent. Carrie tried hard not to scream but eventually a scream was wrenched from her lips. She turned to look at Vincent and noted that he was screaming too. That brought a smile to her lips and she clenched Vincent's hand.
She had suspected that Vincent's hand would be cold like a vampire but she was surprised to find that today it was warm. The feeling of Vincent's fingers wrapped around her own was comforting somehow. She felt safe in his presence but she knew that all that could possibly be an illusion. Before she even realized it the ride was over and Vincent was helping her to get out of the car. Carrie felt an odd pang of regret that the ride had gone so quickly.
Rosemary glared at Carrie and Vincent noticing their locked hands. "P.D.A much, sis?"
"Huh?" Carrie wondered before she realized that she was still holding hands with Vincent. She hadn't even noticed. At that point it had seemed almost natural. It was like her body kept magnetizing in his direction. Stupid pheromones. Carrie thought glaring at Vincent suspiciously since it was obviously his fault. He probably uses them on all the girls.
Vincent began to use every following ride as an opportunity to throw himself at Carrie in fear and cling to her shamelessly. As they rode a tame ride called Monkey Business that was a classic teacups-style ride Vincent wrapped his arms around Carrie and hugged her tightly while crying out: 'Carrie! I'm scared!'.
Carrie quickly hit Vincent over the head with her first. "Like hell you are, pervert!"
At first it irritated the hell out of Carrie, but after a while she secretly began to enjoy all the attention Vincent was giving her. As they walked through the amusement park Carrie could feel the eyes of curious park goers upon them. The witch was somewhat surprised that no one had noted Vincent's identity yet.
"Hey, isn't that person famous?" A young woman asked her husband in a hushed voice as she discreetly pointed towards Vincent.
"Yea, wait, I think he's Vin-" The woman's husband was saying, but Vincent noticed and grabbed the twins' hands before he took off running.
"Everyone RUN!" Vincent yelled as their group ran away from the perceptive couple.
It was hard being so famous! Vincent thought to himself with a self-satisfied expression on his face. Vincent and Carrie took the kids to one of the animal areas next so that the kids got to see: Tava, the majestic African elephant, Jocko, a friendly and playful walrus that liked to smush it's face up against the glass when you were looking at it, and Odin a rare Bengal tiger that liked to swim!
As they were walking through one of the animal areas, Vincent's blood ran cold when he spotted two of his brides: Scarlett and Candra. What the hell are they doing here? Vincent frowned to himself and saw that they were about to turn their way. Vincent acted quickly, grabbed Carrie's wrist, and took off running.
The last thing he wanted was for his brides to see him on this kind of romantic date with Carrie. There was no telling what the jealous fan girls might do to Carrie otherwise.
"What the hell, Vincent?" Carrie objected as Vincent ran off with her, leaving the others behind. "What are you doing? We can't just leave the others!"
"Quiet!" Vincent hissed as he pulled Carrie behind the wooden cutout of a panda. He peered behind the panda to see if the brides were still in the area.
Carrie looked at Vincent curiously and tilted her head at him. "Were they fans?"
Vi
ncent nodded. "Something like that. Let's continue, shall we?" The drummer started forward but then he suddenly stumbled as his head spun. Vincent put a hand to his head and groaned. He would have fallen face-first onto the ground if Carrie hadn't reached out and grabbed Vincent's arm to steady him.
"Vincent?!" Carrie exclaimed out of concern. "What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing?" Vincent said through gritted teeth as he tried to ignore the acute pain in his chest. "It's just a bit of heat stroke."
"I see a bench over there." Carrie said as she guided Vincent over to a bench and helped him to sit down. "I'll go get us some ice-cream so that we can cool down, okay? I'll be right back."
Vincent looked up at Carrie and offered her a weak smile. "That would be splendid, my dear."
A few minutes later, Carrie returned with two soft-serve ice-creams in her hands. "Chocolate or vanilla?" She offered.
"Vanilla." Vincent said and Carrie handed him the ice-cream as she took a seat next to the drummer on the bench.
The couple silently ate their ice-creams together and Carrie watched the drummer surreptitiously out of the corner of her eye to make sure he was okay. Carrie couldn't help but wonder why Vincent was being so nice to her. Or was that just his personality? She wanted to believe in him, but?they still hadn't proven Vincent's innocence yet. As Carrie ate her ice-cream thoughtfully her expression turned troubled.
Vincent, who had also been watching Carrie out of the corner of his eye noticed her change in attitude almost immediately. "Is something wrong, my dear? You look sad all of a sudden."
Carrie shook her head. "Ah, no, nothing's wrong. I think we should go find the others though if your fans have left."
Vincent stood up and looked over towards where he had seen his brides earlier. He let out a sigh of relief when they were nowhere to be seen. "Yes, it's safe for us to return to the others." Vincent offered Carrie his hand and she found herself taking it. After Vincent and Carrie had reunited with the others, Vincent insisted on taking them all shopping at one of the Six Flag gift shops. There he had fun spoiling the kids by buying them funny hats and stuffed animals of all their favorite animals.
Carrie didn't say anything but she was extremely grateful for this since she hadn't gotten her siblings any toys for Christmas and had instead only gifted her family with practical items. But as Carrie watched her siblings' faces light up with happiness at the toys she realized her mistake.
All in all, they had a great day. Carrie kept her eyes on Vincent the entire time but couldn't find a single fault, er, suspicious action. The only thing she learned was that Vincent Sangre loved kids and was very good with them. And just like a vampire he seemed to get weak when exposed to too much sunlight! She mentally chuckled to herself at the outlandish thought. The witch was surprised and touched that he had taken her entire family to the amusement park and apparently there had been no ulterior motives.
Stay still my heart. The more she watched him interact with her family the more she felt like she was really falling for him.
And that was something she wasn't supposed to do. Blake is going to kill me if he finds out about this. Carrie thought and rubbed her arms as a chill went down her spine.
As the sun began to set, orange, purple and red clouds streaked the blue sky. Vincent gazed at the purple clouds with a wistful expression on his face. "Purple?how lovely. It reminds me of?" He trailed off sadly.
Carrie gave Vincent a curious look but the drummer walked on ahead and didn't finish his sentence. They group decided to call it a day and left the park. Vincent drove the family back to their home and a heavy silence seemed to have descended upon them all since they didn't want the fun day to end. Vincent was soon pulling up in front of the Ashmore's house, however.
"Thanks for taking us to the park, Vincent!" Lily said as she got out of the car.
"Thanks bro!" Sammy said.
The twins exited the Rolls Royce and ran for the front door of the house, clutching their new stuffed toys to their chests possessively, and wearing their new funny hats proudly.
Blushing furiously, Rosemary thanked Vincent as she got out of the car next and stood next to the driver's side window. "Um?er?thank you so much for taking us, Vincent. It was very nice meeting you. Bye."
Baby Draven reached his chubby little hands towards Vincent and giggled. Vincent supposed that was the toddler's way of saying 'thank you'. Vincent reached his index finger out and let Draven grab it. "You're welcome, little man."
Carrie watched Rosemary head for the front door and sighed. She fidgeted in the front seat. It really wasn't like her to be so nervous. She was acting like Ro for heaven's sake! What the hell was wrong with her? "Um, thank you for everything Vincent." Carrie muttered as she reached for the door handle. "I guess I'll see you at work."
But Vincent's hand shot out and grabbed Carrie's upper arm, stopping her. "Wait Carrie?there's something I'd like to say."
Carrie lowered her hand from the door handle and let out a sigh. "Alright?" She said without looking at Vincent, her eyes focused on the view of her house through the window.
"Carrie, please look at me," Vincent begged as he took off his sunglasses.
Carrie reluctantly turned her head and met Vincent's stunning ruby-colored eyes.
"Carrie?I had a really nice day spending time with you and your family. Originally, I had planned on taking you out on a romantic date - just the two of us." Vincent winked at her roguishly. "But this was surprisingly quite enjoyable too. There's something I've wanted to tell you. The entire day?" Vincent took a deep breath. "Carrie, I like you. A lot. And I would be honored if you would go out with me." Vincent reached out to cup Carrie's face and leaned forward, but Carrie didn't close her eyes and just stared at Vincent boldly.
"And for how long would we go out? A month?" She asked harshly. "And then you'd get tired of me and kick me to the curb like you do to all those other poor girls?"
Vincent let out a sad sigh. "Carrie?you're different from those other girls. I think I'm really falling for you. That's why I want to spend more time with you. If you agree to go out with me, there doesn't have to be a time limit. You can have me as long as you want me, Carrie. I should be stronger than this, but I'm not. I should be pushing you away, but all I want is you. All I see is you. Please go out with me?forever?"
Vincent leaned forward again and Carrie knew that the smart thing to do would be to push him away or slap him, but she found herself closing her eyes. Vincent's lips met hers in a tender kiss. He moved his lips against hers gently and sweetly. But as Carrie began to grow more confident and respond to Vincent's kiss their kiss became more passionate and the heat began to build between him. Soon Vincent's hands were caressing her arms and Carrie had reached out to grip Vincent's shirt to unconsciously bring him closer.
That's when Carrie realized that she was falling in too deep. Vincent Sangre was still a murder suspect. But at that moment she just didn't care. She knew she was falling head-over-heels in love with the sexy drummer.
Carrie and Vincent pulled back for air several minutes later and Carrie swore profusely. "Crap?crap?holy crap?! Oh my Goddess!"
A smug smirk played on Vincent's lips. "It was good, wasn't it?"
Carrie groaned and put her face in her hands. How the hell was she going to explain this to Ro and Blake? How could she possibly tell them that she was going out with Vincent Sangre!
Vincent ran his thumb over Carrie's black lips and looked at her with a loving expression on his face. "Carrie?"
"Yes?"
"Will you be the mother of my child?"
Suddenly the romantic spell that Vincent had managed to temporarily put Carrie under was broken. Her eyebrow twitched and she instantly became angry. What the hell? Carrie raised her hand and slapped Vincent hard across the face. Sex?! Was that all men thought about!
Carrie took advantage of Vincent's stunned state to get out of the car and slam the door behind her. She stomped her way ov
er the front door of her house and reached for the doorknob.
Vincent quickly recovered, however, and exited from the driver's side door to pursue Carrie. "Carrie wait!" He called after her.
"No way!" Carrie shot back as she began to open the door.
But Vincent reached out, grabbed her arm, and spun her around to face him. Before Carrie could react Vincent pulled Carrie to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "Please don't run away from me. Please don't just disappear on me. I won't let you escape. Just allow me to explain?"
"Let me go, you pervert!" Carrie struggled in Vincent's grasp.
"No, I won't let you go?not until you've heard me out?it's about my family?" Vincent began somberly.
Carrie immediately stopped struggling. She was very curious about why Vincent had said he had no family.
Vincent took a deep breath before he began his sad tale. "My mother was a fanatically religious woman and when she had a baby with red eyes?" Vincent put his hands out before him in a helpless gesture. "She believed I was a child of Satan. She tried to suffocate me with a pillow when I was only a few months old, but my father saved me. After that Father kept a close eye on me?
"Time passed and it appeared as though perhaps my mother had accepted me. However, when I was eleven-years-old my mother purchased a gun. First, she shot my father, then my little sister, and then she shot me. After that she shot herself in the head. It was supposed to be a family suicide. My father, sister and mother died that day. I should have died too, but miraculously I survived?
"At the age of eleven I was put into the foster care system, and into an orphanage. I couldn't touch my inheritance until I turned eighteen and legally became an adult. Because of my red eyes I was never adopted. The proprietor of the orphanage took pity on me, however and gave me a loan so I could continue my studies in private schools since she knew I'd be able to pay her back later with my inheritance. Because I was still able to go to private schools I was able to keep up my childhood friendships with Blake, Devon and Joey.
"As I grew up and became more and more handsome girls began to pay attention to me. They didn't care about my red eyes anymore because the Twilight book series had lots of young girls and women wishing that they could have a 'vampire boyfriend'. I was suddenly 'in'. They called me a vampire and at least it wasn't a 'demon' or 'monster' or 'spawn of Satan', and so I embraced this new liberating identity. I became what they called me?a vampire?
"Going through my adolescence, without a mother or father or siblings was hard. But there were also so many other kids suffering just like me at the orphanage. When I have a child?I'm going to show that child how much I love him or her. I'm going to shower him or her with love regardless of how he or she looks, regardless of the color of his or her eyes. I will spoil my child rotten until my last breath. This is a secret dream of mine?to have a child?and show him or her all the love I wish I had growing up from my own mother?and to leave a footprint behind.
"So I did not mean to offend you, Carrie. But when I look at you and your siblings, I can't help but think to myself. 'Ah, this woman could be the mother of my child and I know my child would be happy'." Vincent finished and looked at Carrie expectantly, and with eyes shinning full of hope.
Carrie had tears in her eyes by the end of his story and was trying hard not to break down crying. She was trying so hard not to be moved by Vincent's story, but she was already lost.
"Can you forgive me, my dear Carrie?" Vincent asked and held his breath.
Carrie walked up to Vincent with swift steps and raised her hand as if she would slap him again-
Vincent flinched.
But then, Carrie cupped his cheek lovingly instead. "Of course, I forgive you, idiot?" Carrie stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed Vincent on the lips in a tender manner.
I'm so sorry Ro. I'm falling hard for Vincent Sangre?the Vampire Prince.
What Vincent and Carrie did not know was that Vincent's two brides had followed Vincent's distinctive, burgundy-colored Rolls Royce all the way back from the Six Flags back to Carrie's house. Scarlett was behind the wheel of her sexy, red Porsche convertible, and Candra was seated in the front seat. Annabel - the Leader of the Vincent Sangre fan club - was not with them. Annabel was also unaware that Scarlett and Candra had followed Vincent to Six Flags using a GPS device that Scarlett had placed inside of Vincent's top hat. The duo had secretly followed Vincent and Carrie's family the entire day. Scarlett knew that Annabel would be very displeased if she knew what she and Candra had been up to, and that's why she hadn't told the third bride of her plans.
Scarlett was chewing on her red fingernail as she glared at Vincent and Carrie kissing. "That punk?how dare she?! The only ones allowed to touch Vincent like that are us - his beloved brides. And we don't like to share."
"Vincent can't belong to one girl. He belongs to us!" Candra was also looking unsettled by this unexpected turn of events. "But what can we do? It looks like Vincent really does like her." The cute girl began to chew on her pouty lower lip.
Scarlett clenched her hands on the steering wheel in front of her. "We can just get rid of her. That's what." A wicked smile curled Scarlett's lips and there was an evil glint in her emerald green eyes.
Candra was nodding and giving Scarlett an impressed look. "Ooo. Why didn't I think of that? You're so smart, Scarlett!" The bride praised.
Scarlett's expression turned smug. "I know." Carrie Ashmore. Your days are numbered.
To be continued?in Book 2.
Rockstar Ghost Resurrection PG-13 Version
Now available!
###
Final note:
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All song titles that were used as chapter titles in this book
belong to the bands that created them:
I wanna be sedated - Ramones
California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys
Waiting Room - Fugazi
Bastards of Young - The Replacements
Search and Destroy - The Stooges
Personality Crisis - New York Dolls
Death or Glory - The Clash
Complete Control - The Clash
Where Eagles Dare - The Misfits
American Jesus - Bad Religion
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Ever Fallen in Love - Buzzcocks
Other works by the author:
Bitch Heiress X Samurai Butler
Bitch Heiress X2 Samurai Butler
Sir Genkaku Host Club
(Books 1, 2, 3 and 4)
Samurai Superheroes Saga:
Cowboy Samurai X Badass Android
Geisha Assassin X Smartass Hacker
Foxy Yokai X Punkass Cyborg
Rockstar Ghost
Rockstar Ghost Resurrection
His Heavy Metal Heart
Sanky Panky Pirate
(parts I and II)
How to make a guy fall in love with you on facebook
Wicked Bartender
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