In Love With a Vampire

Chapter Forty-Eight

The door closed with a soft thud. For a minute, everything remained still, unmoving. No one present could believe the events that had unfolded in the last half an hour. Had they really let Andrew walk away scot-free? After everything he had done to jeopardize their safety?

Maria was the first one to speak.

“Lory, she is no longer vocal. What do we do? I have heard of what that awful man was trying to say before but…but what if she cannot handle it?”

Lory, still shocked that she had lost the upper hand to her brother, slowly turned to regard Maria. The teenage vampire was hovering over Donna, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Lory felt the sudden urge to embrace her, she had seen how close Maria had been to her brother’s goon. Had she known or had she been shocked to her core?

“Come, we will take her upstairs. I will do some research online. Meanwhile, you’ll get her as comfortable as possible. The girl has suffered enough.”

Maria bobbed her head before averting her gaze back to Donna. She was trembling now, but not as violently, just spasms. It reminded Maria of someone who had been shocked by an electric jolt.

Maria was about to lift her Mistress when Pete made sudden movements. Pete took large strides towards Jim, who had not moved an inch since his father and his friend vanished behind the front door.

“Spit it out, was this always the plan? Is this why you came here? To our home?”

Alarmed, Lory followed her husband and stopped next to him. She then stretched her arm wanting to comfort her husband by holding his hand, Pete inched away from her touch. Lory recoiled as if she had been violently slapped.

“What? Are you dumb now? Do you really expect us to believe that this was in a spur of a moment act? Your father knew that your aunt would never let something bad happen to you so you and your little friend made up this this whole charade when our backs were turned didn’t you?”

“Pete-"

“No, no Lory! I have had enough! Do you have any idea how it feels to be helpless? Because I do! I listened to you and stayed in our room while, while your brother…”

Pete’s voice broke as he turned to look at his wife. The purple bruise on her face was still prominent. The mark on her neck tangible. He could have lost Lory today, he could have lost the love of his wife while he was locked in their room weeping like a child. A wave of rage suddenly hit him, a growl escaped his mouth.

“So? How long did it take you two to put on this little show? Wait, let me guess, we leave the event, your father notices that you and the queen of vampires over there have established some kind of bond and then he sends you after her?”

“That’s not what happened-"

“Really? Then why are you still alive? Andrew has a reputation you know, he sees his threats through yet here you are unharmed…”

“That’s enough Pete-"

“What about you? Why did you not kill him when you had the chance? If you lacked the stomach for it I would have gladly-“

“Pete shut up before you say something that you can’t possibly take back.”

Pete and Lory held each other’s gaze before Pete lifted a stray packet of medicine and flung it across the room. Jim followed the movement of the box with his eyes, he blinked rapidly in shock when the box reached the other side of the room. No human could do that, not even a skilled pitcher. Who were these people?

“I say we tie him up, use him as leverage of some kind. How about having Andrew exchange himself for his son?”

Silence ensued after this statement before the room was filled with laughter. Lory placed her arms on top of the makeshift bed as bubbles of laughter escaped her throat. Jim pounded his mattress as breathless laughter traveled from his stomach to the air around him.

Uncertain of what to do, Pete ran a hand through his hair and waited.

“You…you think…my…father would…”

“Do…you…know…my brother?”

Both Jim and Lory talked in between laughter and when the rumbles of their guffaws had died down, they both wiped tears from their eyes and averted their attention back to a confused Pete.

“My father left me alive because he has another ace up his sleeve not because I am his son and he cares for me or because I was a part of whatever I had just witnessed…”

Jim’s voice trailed off, he was still in shock. So much had happened within the past hour, the past day? Two days? How long had it been since the party? Was his mother looking for him? Were they safe?

Jim suddenly remembered that roof girl was in pain. He had seen her writhe on the ground as his father stated his demands. He had also seen…Jim shook his head, had he really witnessed roof girl drink his father’s blood? At first, he had chalked down her speed as a side effect of his drugs. Then he had seen her bury her head into his father’s neck. He had seen the coating of fresh blood around her lips. Before he could process this information, he had come face to face with the barrel of a gun.

Jim wished that he was hallucinating. He refused to believe that Seth worked for his father. They were not best of friends, heck they were not even friends but Seth was one of the good ones. At least that was what Jim had believed.

“We should help her.”

Both Pete and Lory turned to view Donna who was still on the ground, a pitiful sight to behold.

“If you had killed him, she would be alright you know.”

A cold shiver ran down Lory’s spine. She whipped around to face Pete with fire in her eyes.

“Are you seriously pinning this on me?”

“The girl almost died from poisoning Lory! A situation set in motion by your brother and now here she is again, suffering because of your brother-"

Pete cut himself off when a loud sob emanated from Lory’s mouth. Pete, suddenly remorseful, moved towards Lory and opened his arms. Lory inched away and began walking towards Maria and Donna. Soon, the trio of women made their way upstairs. Jim followed them with their eyes. There was a heaviness in his chest; he felt responsible for roof girl’s suffering. History had taught him a crucial lesson so why was he not listening? Any girl who he got involved with was doomed, that’s just his cross to bear.

“I shouldn’t have come here. I led him to her. This…this is my fault.”

Pete with his arms wide and his eyes cast on the ground opened his mouth and whispered hoarsely,

“No, it’s not. It’s also not Lory’s fault or mine. The fault lies in the monster who is dead set on destroying us and everything we love. Now you better get some rest, we will have to move soon. Andrew will be back and this time, he will get what he wants.”

Now a normal child would have defended his father. A normal child would have said that his father was not a monster, that his father did not deserve death but Jim could not bring himself to defend his father.

How could he when the man had almost killed his sister? Him? And God knows how many more people he had succeeded in killing? The question was, if it came to it, would he kill his own father?

“Hey, can you give me a phone, I need to call someone.”