Jesse

6

I might have been halfway done with the list when everyone showed up, and Lukas came right to my side, asking questions about my old life and how cool he thought it was.

I guess he never gave it much thought to how old I was.

"And you had an arranged human marriage?" He asked and laughed. "Why did humans have those? Couldn't they just fall in love?" He asked after having a mild laugh.

"Most of them were power plays. One family wanted to take over a business in some way, or merge them they would have their kids marry." I told him and shrugged.

"And why did you marry Miss Imogene?" He asked me, seriously confused since he knew I was gay and what that meant.

"Imogene and I grew up together. We did everything. Back then there were these things called season. And after our first out parents realized that we didn't branch out, that we were basically courting our entire lives, at least that is what my mother told me when she advised me that my parents and her parents arranged everything for us." I shrugged and he looked a little confused still.

"But did you love her?" He asked and I gulped and looked around, everyone else was talking or listening to the person they were speaking with and I just looked back to Lukas.

"Yes, but not in the way you're supposed to love a wife. I loved her as a best friend." I told him and shrugged before looking over to Immie. She was still as beautiful as ever. Her onyx hair and jade eyes made every man look at her twice, and now they probably wonder if she has contacts or if she dyed her hair. Her hips were full from giving birth twice but I remember the times when all the women were jealous of her not having to bind herself as tightly as others.

She had always been skinny, even after both sons were born she bounced back quickly, skinny and glowing is what my mother had described her as. She was also short, which meant she could wear any kind of shoes and still not be "too tall" as men say.

Her hair was long when she was turned, so she could still style it however she wanted. She preferred curls when I last saw her, but it seems she's going for a straightened look now.

I waited for more questions, answering more questions about what it was like growing up in England and what I've done since then. Lukas thought it was so cool.

"And your sons... what have they been doing?" He asked me and I looked at Jr and smiled.

"You can ask them. That way they can tell you everything even their secrets." I told him and he nodded quick before taking off and walking over to Jr.

"You miss it don't you?" I heard Immie and I looked up at her and pretended not to hear her right. "Kids. You miss when our boys were still coming to you and asking you all sorts of questions and you miss teaching them."

"Yeah." I shrugged and she sat beside me. "Do you wish we could have had more?" She asked and sighed as she looked at Jr. game like a fish a couple times not knowing what to say.

"We'll have grandchildren soon. Even if they have to adopt. Eli has always been great with kids." I told her. I knew she always did blame herself after Eli. She had a complicated pregnancy and birth and after that she and I agreed no more kids. I didn't want to loose her and I knew she didn't want to leave us.

"But you wish for your own." She added and I looked to her.

"I would never have kids with anyone other than you Immie. I'll never need anymore. They're grown but still childish." I told her and she laughed lightly before leaning her head on my shoulder.

"We did good for the first couple 100 years." She told me and I nodded.

"The last 5 or so might have messed them up. Guess it's time to be mum and dad again." I told her when I saw Eli and Jr get a bit tense with each other.

"Time to parent." She sighed and I got up before her and walked to our sons and just handed over the list.

"Half now and if we don't find anything out I'll keep thinking and keep making the other half of the list." I handed over 6 sheets front and back and simply watched as their eyes scanned the names.

"I know a couple of these guys are dead... guess if we know they're gone we can just check then off."

"Only if there is absolute proof. Don't want to check someone off the list and find out it was rumor they were dead." Eli corrected Jr, the tension between them went up all over again and I just worked my jaw.

"Just get on it. Jr you said you had people that betrayed you... find out about their past. Or something like digging into it so then you can draw a conclusion to a name." I told him and he pulled out a new phone with his old number and got to work calling his people in England as Eli took a pen and marked out a couple names.

"How do you know they are gone for sure Eli?" Immie asked him and for the first time Eli didn't look like my son, he looked like he was dark and twisted as he looked at the names he seemed too happy to scribble.

"Not all vampires deserve to be able to live and torment forever. I've killed a few guys that didn't deserve the blessing of what we are. I'm glad these are people who would want to kill dad, and not just old friends." He looked over another sheet and I bit my cheek as Imogene seemed worried.

"Even we have standards." She told him and he laughed lightly before he looked at both of us.

"You don't really know what I am do you?" He asked looking at both of us before Lina and the Titan family.

"Wanna enlighten me?" I asked him and he sighed.

"Let's go into your office dad." He told me and I shot him a look when his mother seemed to want to come along. "Mum is welcome to come too." He told her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before taking off that way.

"We need to make a few calls, please eat or make anything you want. You know the drill Air." I told the Titans and moved to pull Immie out of the room with me and then down the hall to the soundproof room.

"Spit it out Elliot." Imogene using his full name was never a good sign, but since she was taking lead I moved to my chair and relaxed as he made her sit down.

"I'm a contract killer."