In Love With a Vampire

Chapter Nineteen

Jim



“Why can’t I stay in my room and play with Coco?”

“Now now, I thought we agreed that you were going to give that dinosaur a cool name…”

“Coco is a cool name!”

“Is it?”

“Jimmy! I want to go back to my room!”

“You and me both little man…But remember what I told you about parents?”

I watched as my little brother c****d his head to the side and bit his lower lip. His honey-brown eyes held a faraway look as if he was literally transporting himself to the time I was telling him about. After a few seconds, his eyes lit up and his face became brighter.

“They are like rulers of a kingdom and as much as we want to love them, it is fear they demand from us.”

My lips twitched; he had remembered everything I had said even in the sequence I had said them in. He had not mumbled or stammered…My little brother would probably live on to be some fancy lawyer or a doctor.

God, I had begun to sound like my mother.

“Mother and father both want us at this dead party…we are going to smile at these people, we are going to be polite to them and we are going to make sure father gets reelected…”

Seth gave me a determined nod before he stretched his arm to tug his collar. I let out a low cuss when I noticed that a part of his neck was red.

“Did mother dress you?”

Seth remained quiet, darting his eyes everywhere but me.

“I asked you a question, Sean…”

Sean lowered his gaze and slowly bobbed his head. My eyes once again wandered to the red patch on the side of his neck. At some point during the event, my brother would have collapsed due to a lack of circulation. Had she been drunk while dressing him? Or was she too excited to rejoin society that she completely forgot how to dress a child?

“Please don’t be mad at mommy…she was nice to me today.”

I placed my hand at the base of Sean’s chin and lifted it so that he could face me. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, his thin lips curled into a pronounced pout.

“Listen to me, Sean…Mothers are meant to be nice every day okay? How she treats us is not normal…I do not want you to think that it is normal okay?”

Sean looked at me quizzically. I sighed, how did I expect a seven-year-old to understand that our mother simply loved drugs and fame more than her family? Guilt brewed in my stomach as I tried to recall whether she had always been like that or if it had all started after the incident. Either way, Sean was not meant to get caught in the crossfire; I would not let my mother treat him like he was not her child. Set on giving her a piece of my mind, I swept my eyes across our living room which had been shifted into some sort of ballroom. I cringed at the sound of pretentious laughter and compliments; why did rich people behave like this? Did wealth not mean you could finally call out someone for being a completed turd? I continued to scan the room until something caught my attention.

“f**k me…”

The words flew out of my mouth, between my clenched teeth. I could not help what I did next, it was as if my body was moving on autopilot. I stood up from my crouched position, gingerly pushed Sean out of the way, and began making my way to the girl in the wine-colored dress. Her lips were the same color as her outfit and the long slit on her side allowed me to steal a peek at her luscious hip. Her beauty was completely disarming; so captivating was her appearance that it took me a while to recognize who the girl was.

“Roof girl?”

“Very angry human boy…”

I came to a sudden halt, the trance collapsing and reality setting in. We were aloof from each other, our gazes fixated on each other. She c****d her head to the side and I mirrored her movement. She squinted her eyes at me and I did the same to her. Her face was etched with confusion and shock, I felt the same emotions churn at the base of my throat.

“What are you doing here?”

We voiced our curiosity at the same time, both of us folding our arms and waiting for the other to respond.

“Are you stalking me?”

“What?”

“How do you explain your presence here? Among the wealthy and powerful humans?”

“I live here you self-entitled brat.”

We were beginning to draw attention. Amused smiles and curious stares surrounded us. A man with a large frame and a bright orange scarf stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“Since you two are probably the only teenagers at this party, how about a dance? Show these old folk how it’s done?”

The man with the orange scarf turned to face roof girl who had gone completely stiff. I wondered if she was about to have another panic attack. After an eerie staring contest between the two, roof girl conceded to the man’s suggestion and made her way toward me with a plastic smile on her lips.

“Shall we?”

“No.”

“Where I come from, hosts are meant to do just that…host.”

I stared at her open palm and released a strained sigh. I ignored her open palm and grabbed her arm instead. We made our way to the center of the ballroom and I gave a small nod to the band. The lead, a man I had known since childhood, smiled before gesturing for the band members to change the lulling tempo that threatened to put everyone to sleep.

“Could we not have done this at the edge of the room? Do we have to be the object of curiosity?”

She was nervous, her eyes darting in all directions. My eyes flickered to her wine-colored lips. I gritted my teeth as a jolt of desire ran through my being. I found myself leaning forward so that when she breathed, her warm air fanned my face.

“Focus on me and you will forget they are even here…”

She was hesitant at first, her grey eyes taking their time to face me. Once they did, I wrapped my arm around her lower back and pulled her toward me. A tiny scream escaped her mouth, I smiled suddenly feeling cocky. The band began playing a song I had not heard in over a year, “The way you look tonight.” After the first few beats, roof girl relaxed in my arms and allowed herself to enjoy the music and perhaps even the moment. We swayed and twirled, completely in sync with the song’s rhythm. A lightness settled on my shoulder. The sort of lightness that I had not felt in a long time. At that moment, I forgot about Sara, Nate, my father, and mother even the f****d up party that was a front for my father to influence voters...the raging storm that normally shadowed me had calmed.

“What are you doing to me?”

I had meant to voice the question in my head but my subconscious had other things in mind. I saw roof girl’s eyes flicker with confusion.

“What do you mean?”

She gracefully dipped both her legs between mine before reemerging and doing a full twirl. She was a good dancer, good was an understatement.

“The last time I danced was with Sara…Ever since, I cannot even bring myself to listen to music.”

Once again I found myself stunned at how I had become so vulnerable. The only person I talked to about Sara was my therapist and it had taken months for me to even verbally utter her name. I was about to walk away when roof girl pulled me toward her using my arms She then wrapped my arms around her back and placed hers on either side of my neck.

“For someone who continuously refers to me as a brat, this is some house you live in…”

A raspy laugh emanated from my throat.

“If I had any kind of choice I would be living on the streets…”

Roof girl’s eyes searched mine for a few seconds before a smile made its way to her lips.

“I suppose that means you and your father do not see eye to eye?”

“Let’s just say I think he is a huge turd…”

Roof girl c****d her head to the side.

“Turd means s**t…you should seriously consider watching modern shows.”

Roof girl’s smile widened before it suddenly vanished.

“What is it? Do you not own a TV?”

“I have no idea what that is either…But it is not why I am suddenly sad. I was just wondering if that was the fate of all children and their fathers…”

I decided to ignore the TV bit and focused on what seemed to be hurting her.

“Ah, you also have a f****d up relationship with your father huh?”

“You could say that.”

Roof girl lowered her gaze, sadness engulfing her being.

“Look, my therapist says that the apple does not fall from the tree crap is not necessarily true.”

Roof girl lifted her gaze at me, her face etched with confusion.

“You do not have to be like your father or your mother. Choose your path and walk it, Donna.”

“So you do know my name after all…”

I shrugged, a playful smile on my lips.

“And you do you know mine? Or do you plan to call me very angry human boy forever?”

I twirled her around and directed her to my free arm. She fell into it so easily, so naturally that I felt a warmth bubble in my stomach. Once she regained her upright position she offered me a warm smile. I had never noticed how gorgeous her smile was.

“Jimmy is it?”

I suddenly halted my movement causing her to lose balance and stumble.

“Only my little brother calls me that.”

And Nate.

I watched as roof girl struggled to form an answer. A commotion emerged from the edge of the room. I turned in time to see Aunt Lory slap my mother. I had not seen Aunt Lory since I was ten. What was she doing here?

“I am sorry for that, my mother has a tendency to…”

She was not there, she had vanished during the commotion. I quickly scanned the room; my eyes landed on the hem of a wine-colored dress making its turn up our staircase. I hurriedly made my way to the staircase; this time roof girl had to cough up straight answers.