Tex huffs from her place on the other side of the room.
“You’re an idiot,” she mutters, but we both hear her. “I need a minute. You got this?”
“I do,” I say and she stomps down the stairs.
“I’ll be outside.”
Twenty-Five
Ava
“I don’t like those words. Those are bad words. No one says the words ‘we need to talk’ without saying something bad afterwards,” I say. For a moment just I’m a seventeen-year-old girl and my boyfriend has said something that’s scared me.
“They are not bad words. I just wanted to talk about when you wanted to leave. You agreed to three days, and it has been three days.”
Oh, right. With all the chaos and taking care of Coby, I had absolutely and completely forgotten about the leaving part. Clearly, Peter hadn’t.
“Leaving. Right.” I had been all for it three days ago. I knew that if I stayed, I wouldn’t want to leave.
And now I don’t want to leave. Tex needs me. She is going through something and I can’t let her face it without me. And Dad. I just can’t abandon him. Outside of the heat of the moment, I see how foolish it was to even think that I could leave. I’m just going to have to suck it up, bite the bullet and learn control. Time to cowboy up.
Peter stands and watches me and I can tell he’s completely reading my mind, but he doesn’t make a sound.
“We are not leaving,” he finally says. It is a statement, not a question.
“I knew this was going to happen. I shouldn’t have even considered leaving. Besides, I probably would have ended up coming back the next day anyway.” It’s totally true. We would have gotten about as far as New Hampshire and I would have begged him to come home.
“Is this your decision?”
“No. Yes. I’m sorry that I’m changing my mind so much. I’m not normally like this. Deciding about being with you was so easy. Falling in love with you was easy. I just wish this was the same way.”
“I know, Ava-Claire. I know.” He gives me a quick kiss and I think the two of us realize at the same exact moment that we’re alone, and I haven’t had him to myself in a while and I’m stressed and freaking out and I just want to not think for a while, and I do my best not-thinking when we’re both naked.
“This is probably not the best time, but I can’t get the image of you pushing me up against one of these trees and having your way with me out of my head,” I say, biting his bottom lip. That’s all it takes for my back to collide with one of the trees, and a fraction of a second later, the tree breaks and we end up on the ground. So much for doing it up against the tree.
“We tried,” I say as he tries to remove my clothes gently, but kind of gives up. I don’t even bother as I rip and tear until we’re both naked and he’s on top of me, making love to me as if the world is ending. He’s pushing me so hard that we start breaking through the ground, sinking a few feet and making a trench.
Peter drives both of us to the brink and back again, and it takes every ounce of will to stop. When he finally stills over me, we both smile at one another.
“That was an interesting turn of events,” I say, realizing that we are both drenched in dirt and we’ve even caused a cloud of it because we were so intense in our . . . fervor.
He lowers himself and lies beside me in the brand new hole we’ve made. I predict there will be a lot more of these on the property very soon.
“We are staying?” He rolls over on his side and puts his hand on my hip, moving it up and down on my side. It’s very distracting.
“We’re staying. Tex and Jamie would hunt me down if I left. You know they would. And they’d use Brooke and Viktor to do it. You told me once that Viktor is really good at finding people.” I had no doubt that Tex would use her feminine wiles to get him to do exactly what she wanted.
“You do have a point. But I will do what you want to do, so if you are staying, I am staying.” I love that he was so supportive of what I want, but sometimes I kind of want him to tell me what to do. A tiny part of me wonders what I would have done if he’d thrown me over his shoulder and kidnapped me and told me that I couldn’t go back.
I probably would have hated him and resented him and done whatever I wanted anyway.
He knows me too well.
~^*^~
After we climb out of the sex-made hole, we try to make ourselves look presentable, but it’s kind of a lost cause. We put what’s left of our clothes back on and slink back to the house. When you live with a bunch of people that have crazy good hearing, there is no such thing as sneaking, but that doesn’t stop us from trying.
“What the hell?” Tex says as Peter and I use our supernatural speed to streak into the house, up the stairs and into our room, slamming the door behind us.
I start laughing because of the absolute ridiculousness and insanity that I’ve somehow found myself in. Peter starts laughing with me, and it’s the very first time that he laughs, really laughs, like this. If we were human, we’d be doubled over and our stomachs would be aching and there would be tears streaming down our faces. Still, I did lean on him because it felt right to do so. His body shook with the laughing and mine shook and we stood and laughed together.
“That was nice,” he says when we finally stop. His shirt is just sort of draped on him, and only one of his pant legs is intact. My clothes fared a little better, but not much.
I tear his pants (he almost never wears underwear anymore) and the rest of his shirt until he’s naked and then does the same with my clothes.
“Come shower with me. No funny business, though.” He behaves and then we get re-dressed in new and non-destroyed clothes. The house is relatively quiet, but there is definitely some action going on in the basement. Tex is also talking to herself in the kitchen.
“Okay, back to reality. Or, what passes for it nowadays,” I say as I whip my hair into a bun. “I’ll deal with Tex, you see how the newborn feeding is going.”
In some really weird ways, it was like having a baby. A super-strong, blood-sucking, thirteen-year-old baby.
We kiss and part, him to the basement and me to the kitchen. Somehow I don’t think Breakfast at Tiffany’s and a lot of chocolate and nachos is going to cut it this time to make Tex feel better.
“Hey, what’s up?” I try to say as casually as I can.
“Nothing. How was your sex in the woods?” There’s really no point in denying it.
“Fine. But I’m not the one who has a little brother who is a newly changed immortal.” I sit down on the stool next to her, making sure there’s enough space so we don’t accidentally touch.
“Yeah, you’re the one who will be having fabulous sex for eternity. My heart bleeds for you.” Even for Tex, this is a bit harsh. I wait for her to say something else.
“I hit him. With my super painy powers. I was just so mad at him for being so dumb. I mean, why couldn’t he have gotten high, or wasted, or crashed his car? Anything would have been better than this. You can recover from all those things, for the most part. This is permanent. Forever.”
“He could have gotten a tattoo. That’s also permanent.”
She gives me a look and I see that I’m not helping, so I shut up.
“I should have paid more attention to him. I shouldn’t have let Viktor stay at the house. I also should have told him not to say anything to Coby about being immortal, but mostly I shouldn’t have brought this into my life. Do you . . . do you regret it? I know you’re happy with Peter, but isn’t there a tiny part that wonders if you’d be better off without him?”
Of course everyone can hear us, but that doesn’t change what I’m about to say.
“Yes. A tiny part of me does. You can never be one hundred percent sure of anything, and at the beginning, I tried to cut him out of my life, but I couldn’t. I was already in too deep. It was like, something else took over. Fate or destiny or something like that. I know how that sounds, but it was like the harder I tried to tell myself t
hat I was going to let him go, let this go, the easier it was to keep letting him in. That makes no sense.”
Tex looks at me for a long time, as if trying to see if I’m BS-ing her.
“No, it does, actually. Thank you.”
“Anytime, ho,” I say, winking at her.
“Back at you, slut.”
There’s a sound in the basement that even Tex can hear.
“Do you think we should . . .”
“No,” I say, almost reaching out to stop her from getting up. “You don’t want to go anywhere near there. Trust me. It’s not going to be pretty. Seeing it in real life is different than the movies.” I could barely remember the first time I’d fed. It was similar to the first time I got drunk. A blur.
“I know it’s not a movie, it’s my fucking life and it’s all fucked up now!” She jumps off the stool and storms upstairs and I’m left thinking that Tex is going to need more time than I thought to adjust to all this.
Jamie’s truck sounds in the driveway and I dash out to keep him out of the house.
“Don’t worry,” he says rolling down the window of the truck. “I wasn’t going in. Just wanted to be here to lend a hand. Or a neck. Anything. I feel so useless.” I come to stand at the window and I rest my chin on the mirror.
“So how’s he doing?”
I shrug one shoulder.
“It’s still too early to tell. Not that I really know how this is supposed to go, seeing as how I only have my own experience to go on.” I hear a crash and look toward the house. It’s loud enough for Jamie to hear and he winces.
“How’s Tex?”
“She’s not taking it very well.” Understatement. “It’s going to be a while before she figures all this out. And we need to get Coby stable right now.” Jamie stares up at the house.
“I still haven’t really wrapped my mind around this whole thing.” He waves at the house. I think he’s talking about the whole immortal situation.
“I mean, I go home and Cassie’s there and talking about her swollen ankles and I’m trying to figure out how to pay for diapers and then there’s Brooke and I forget, all the time, that she doesn’t eat, or sleep. To me she’s just a girl, and the other stuff isn’t really important. She’s just my girl.”
That makes my heart a little melty and I smile at him and he blushes and tugs on his ear.
“So, I’m guessing she’s in there with the newbie.”
“Yeah. It’s probably going to be a while. Come on.” I jerk my head toward the backyard. He looks like he doesn’t want to get out of his truck, like it will somehow protect him. I offer him my arm and he gets out slowly, as if the house is going to leap forward and bite him.
I take him toward the backyard, where his tent is set up and there’s a tree with a swing on it. I remember Mom and I playing on it not that long ago. This seems like a good time to give him her letter.
“Get on, James. I’ll push you.” Before, this would have been near impossible to do, but now, I could pick him up and hold him over my head for days.
Jamie gives me a look like I’ve lost my mind, but I point to the swing and tap my foot in impatience. Then he grins and kisses the top of my head and gets on the damn swing.
Peter
Within about five minutes, Coby has drained his first person and tossed her to the side of the room, and an hour later he’s drained his second. We’re going to have to bury them. Perhaps Viktor and I could dig a very large and very deep pit, or maybe we should risk a fire.
Viktor and Brooke have to hold him down so he won’t charge up the stairs and go after the only two humans left nearby, even though he wouldn’t be able to feed from them. I remember when Ava was like that, but she came out of it and back to herself more quickly than Coby is.
“Cobalt,” Viktor says, “remember who you are.” He snarls and lunges and tries to scratch and bite his way free, but they have him.
“Can you get the bodies out of here, Peter? I think it will be easier if we can clear the air somewhat.” The bodies inevitably drip on the hardwood floors as I drag them outside and make another pile. Ava is upstairs with Texas and Jamie is in his tent in the yard, but comes out when he hears me.
“What are you . . . oh my God. Did he . . . “ He stops, unsure of what to say or do.
“This is what our existence is. Blood and death.” Or what it could be. I had blood and death and love in mine.
“Don’t you ever worry about getting caught?” Jamie is unable to take his eyes off the pile of bodies. I’d closed all their eyes, but it is still a gruesome sight for a human, I suppose.
“No,” I say, standing in front of the body pile so Jamie will look at me instead. “It isn’t always like this. In the beginning, yes. Control takes time and practice to learn.”
I can see the question forming in his mind and I answer before he utters it out loud.
“Yes, she did. But the moment she realized what she had done, she was so filled with guilt, I thought it was going to crush her. I knew that this was what she wanted, but it was hard to give it to her, knowing what she would have to go through. Even after so many years, it is still hard.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” he says before turning around and walking into the field behind the house.
Yes. Be careful what you wish for.
Twenty-Six
Tex
I stay away from Coby the rest of the day. Partly because I can’t deal with seeing my little brother covered in blood, and partly so he won’t try to eat me.
Ava and I go out in the back to sit with Jamie, and he seems especially introspective.
“You are one sad, sad tripod leg,” he says as we both sit down next to him.
“Tripod?” I say.
“Yeah. Three of us, three tripod legs,” he says, pointing to each of us in turn. Cute.
“I was just thinking about how crazy this is,” he says, lying on his back and looking up at the sun. Ava and I do the same, forming a tripod with our heads nearly touching.
“I forget all the time that I’m not human. Like, I’ll go to brush my teeth, or sometimes I walk into the bathroom for no reason, and then remember that I don’t need to use it anymore,” Ava says, and for some reason, this makes me laugh.
I must be losing it.
“Sorry, Ave, that’s pretty weird.” Jamie tosses a rock at Ava and she dodges, of course.
“Ha! Your human reflexes have nothing on me now, James.”
“Wanna bet?” he grabs a few more rocks and stands up. “You up for a challenge?”
“Oh, bring it,” she says, getting to her feet with that inhuman grace that she never had before.
She plants her feet apart as if she’s waiting for a football tackle.
“It’s being broughten,” he says, and starts throwing rocks at her as fast as he can and she blocks or dodges every one. She throws her hand up and they turn to dust the instant they hit her skin.
“Damn,” Jamie says when he’s out of rocks. He’s breathing hard, but Ava just skips over with a smug look on her face.
“You’re all Crouching Tiger now.”
“Told you I could do it.”
“I never thought you would be more athletic than I am. No offense.” He holds up his hands as if she’s going to hit him. In all fairness, I did punch him that one time when he insulted Dirty Dancing, and Ava did break his arm, which was still healing.
“Yeah, who says dance isn’t a sport now?” She crouches as if she’s going lunge at him, and I get the hell out of the way.
“Not me,” he says, backing up, his hands still in the air.
“Dance is so a sport, and don’t you ever say otherwise, James Barton,” Brooke says, putting her arms around him from behind and pretending to bite his neck. He smiles and turns around.
“Hey, I missed you.” They kiss and Brooke has to get up on her tiptoes. I make a gagging noise and they part. I’m a total hypocrite, but I don’t care. I’m in a sucky mood.
Brooke
glares at me.
“Bite me,” I say, before realizing she might take me up on that.
“You wish,” she says, nipping on Jamie’s ear. “Come on, baby. I wanna go take a walk.”
Jamie blushes and slips his hand into hers.
“Ladies,” he says, nodding to us as they walk toward the woods, talking and laughing.
“How disgusting,” I say and Ava gives me a look.
Viktor
It takes another hour for Coby to be able to stay still. He’s not completely back to himself, but he is getting there. He knows his name and is able to answer simple questions about his life, but he still has bursts where he tries to get away. Peter and I have had quite a time with him.
“I’m okay. I think,” he says when we let go of him. “I couldn’t stop it. I tried, but I couldn’t. It was like something else took over. Is it always going to be like that?” I look at Peter.
“No, it will get better,” I say, hoping he buys the lie. He does not have an easy path. The younger you are when you change, the harder it is to control that darker side of you from coming out. Coby had already been in the midst of puberty, which is a similar sort of change. His body was already volatile, and to add this to it is just adding fuel to an already out-of-control fire.
“Can we go outside now?” he says, and I nod. Like we’re carrying an invalid, Peter and I take Coby and help him walk up the steps. He’s a little drunk on the blood, so he’s moving slower, almost at human pace.
“I want to see the sun,” he says, nearly dragging us toward the door.
I hear Ava and Texas outside, and Jamie and Brooke are off for a walk. Good thinking, Brooke.
I push open the front door and Coby stands in the sun. He doesn’t say a word, just stares at it.
“They always tell you not to stare directly at the sun because you’ll destroy your eyes.” Peter and I wait, but Coby is so enthralled with the sun, I think he’s going to be fine for now. He walks down the steps and puts his arms out, as if he’s going to embrace it.