Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One) (11 page)

“Yeah,” he said.  “But I know my little angel wouldn’t tell people what she saw, would she?” he asked.

“No sir,” I said with obedience.

I excused myself from dinner to avoid any potential problems.  I had homework anyway, and I really didn’t have the urge to hear about my father and his mighty slayings.

I walked upstairs and closed my door behind me.  I wish my father wasn’t who he was.  Why couldn’t he be an accountant or something?  Why did he have to be the one profession that he was?  I was in love with and dating the man my father hunted for a living. 

I did my homework and got in bed.  I lay there while thoughts of James filled my brain.  I couldn’t help but smile thinking of him lying right next to me.  His arms wrapped around my body.  His lips pressed against mine.  Both of us: whole.  I fell asleep thinking of him right next to me.  It was the most peaceful that I have had in a long time.

I had dreams of him that night.  I dreamt of receiving a bite from him.  I wanted it more than anything.  I wanted to leave this place and be his wife.  I wanted him to love me forever.  I didn’t care about being mortal anymore.  All I cared about was being his.  I needed and wanted it more than anything else in the world.  I knew we would be okay.  I knew he would take care of me.  I knew his family would accept me and help me with everything and anything.  I needed to convince him to do it.  I needed to convince him to give me the bite.

The next morning, I woke up determined.  I was tired of being just a normal girl.  I wanted to be different.  I wanted to join James’s family and leave mine.  My parents wouldn’t even notice if I was gone.  They would probably even be happier.  As I got ready for school, I thought about how I wanted to go about asking James.  Maybe I could trick him into giving me it.  Maybe he would just plain offer to give me it. 

I decided to wear my nicest outfit with my best perfume.  If I could get him crazy about me, maybe he would just have the urge to give me the bite I so desperately desired. 

I got in the car and drove off to school.  I got out of the car and smelled the crisp air as I made my way up to the door.  Kids were laughing, people were getting along, and everything was great.  I made my way to my locker and skipped over to James, who was already standing there waiting for me.

“What are you so happy about?” he asked me, smiling.

“Oh nothing, just thinking,” I said.

“Oh yeah?  About what?”

“You giving me the bite,” I said.

He covered my mouth to hold back anything else that I was going to say.

“You know you can’t mention that here,” he said frantically.

I pulled his hand off my mouth.

“Relax,” I said.  “Nobody heard me.  I want it though, and I need it.”

“I don’t think you understand what it even means.  You aren’t ready for it.  Nobody is ready for it.”

“Why aren’t I ready for it?  You don’t think I’m tough enough to take it?”

“It isn’t about being tough enough to actually receive it.  It is about the things that come with it.  The things you lose.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Like your family, your friends.  Everything is lost when you become like this.  You have to leave everyone behind and it isn’t an easy thing to do.  We have all done it and it took years for those scars to even begin healing.”

I looked into his eyes and I could see his emotion.  He was genuinely afraid of what would happen to me if I did lose these things.  Even though I was distanced from my parents, I still loved them.  I cared about them and just thinking of one day up and leaving them without any explanation started to sink in.  Maybe I wasn’t ready for this. 

“Fine,” I said.  “Maybe now isn’t the time, but I still want it someday.”

“I know you do.  If the day comes where it is meant to be, then I will do it.  I feel like I should be the one to give you it.”

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you with all of my heart,” he said, gazing into my eyes.

He gently grabbed my hand and kissed it.  It still amazed me when I felt his lips against my skin.  It was like a cold can was being softly pressed against you.  Even though his skin was cold, I still felt his warmth with every touch.

“I should get going.  The bell is going to ring soon,” he said.             

He walked away and I couldn’t help but smile.  Why was I so lucky to find such an amazing person?  Someone who would love me unconditionally.

“So,” I heard someone say.

I turned around to see Ariel standing there.

“Are you going to give me the dish about you and James already?” she said playfully.

“Well, he is pretty amazing,” I said smiling.  “Everything is going great.”

“That’s good.  We have been wondering about him for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, nobody knows much of anything about him and Emma.  They come and go and don’t talk to many people.  I mean, James doesn’t even show up every day for classes.  Seems like he comes to see you then just leaves like it’s nothing at all.”

“They are kind of shy,” I said, trying to pull the attention away.  “I’m sure it’s all good.”

“Whatever you say, girl.  Just be careful.  A guy that handsome is bound to have broken some hearts along the way.”

The bell rang and we started to make our way to class.  I had never thought to ask James about his past relationships.  He had been around for a long time, and I am sure he has loved other women. 

I started feeling sick from the idea of it all.  He was mine, and what if he left me for somebody else? 

“I have to go see the nurse,” I said to Ariel as I started walking that way.

I felt physically sick, as if I had the flu.  I made my way to the nurse’s office and opened the door.

I saw Cara already in there getting treated by the nurse.  Werewolves had an easier time with human contact because they weren’t cool like the vampires.  They were warmer than humans by a few degrees and could pass off as mortals. 

“Can I help you with anything?” the nurse asked.

“Y—yeah.  I’m feeling very nauseous,” I said.

She let me lie down on a cot and gave me some medication.

“This should take effect in fifteen minutes or so, dear.  I am going to go around the corner for a few minutes.  If you girls need anything you can ring my buzzer and I will come back,” she said, smiling.

“James got you feeling sick?” Cara asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“His power over you is disgusting.  You just flock to him as if he was a god.  He has you wrapped around his finger and it won’t end well for you,” she said, laughing.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.  “He loves me and I love him.  He isn’t using me in any way.”

“Keep telling yourself that, princess.  All of a sudden you get sick after spending so much time touching him and kissing him, and you don’t think it’s all related?  Wake up and see what he is doing to you.”

“Oh yeah?  James is using me as much as Derek is using you,” I shouted.

“Don’t you dare bring Derek into this.  He and I are spirit bonded.  We chose each other with no interference.  He doesn’t have manipulation qualities like your undead boyfriend.”

I turned on my side so I wouldn’t have to look at her anymore.  I wasn’t going to let her get to me.  James loved me, and I knew he meant it.  He wasn’t using me for anything and I knew that he cared about me.  Cara just wants to shove a wedge between us for her own personal gain.  She hates vampires and would do anything to make them miserable.

“Running away?” she asked.  “Typical.”

The nurse walked in soon after Cara talked.

“How are you feeling, dear?” she asked me.

“I feel a lot better.  I think I would like to go now.”

“Okay, dear.  Let me just get you a pass for your class,” she said as she handed me my slip.  “If you start feeling ill again don’t hesitate to come back,” she said, smiling.

I smiled and took my slip.  I walked out of the room hoping that Cara would get fleas.  She was crazy, and nothing she could say would keep me away from James.

I started walking slowly through the hallway.  I still wasn’t feeling that great, but getting away from Cara was worth not staying there longer.  I finally made it across the school and into class.  I handed the slip over to the teacher and sat in a desk open in the back row.  I put my hand against my cheek and tried to listen as my mind drifted off into a daydream. 

I started thinking of James again.  What if Cara was right?  I didn’t think James would do that to me, but you never know.  She was right that I was different.  I thought about him a lot and didn’t feel I could go on with my life without him.  I needed him.  No, it isn’t true.  She is just jealous because she is stuck with that fleabag Derek and I have somebody as remarkable as James.

It seemed like I was there for five minutes before the bell rang.  I hadn’t had a clue of what the teacher said or even if there was an assignment.  My mind was filled with the thought of James. 

Ariel approached me after class to see how I was feeling.

“Hey, did you get sick?” she asked me.

“No.  She gave me some medicine and I got to leave.”

“You know we have more dissections in biology today, right?  I hope you will be able to handle it.”

“Great,” I said as we walked away.

We made our way to biology and I started feeling nauseous again.  The thought of dissecting another animal was gross enough, but add in this sickness and it almost felt like too much to handle.

We walked into class and went to our seats.  I saw James sitting at a table with nobody next to him.  I walked up and sat next to him and held his hand under the table as the teacher started talking.

“All right, class,” Mr. Johnson said.  “Today we have another fun and interesting dissection for you all to do.”

The class groaned as he said this.

“Mr. Johnson, do we really have to keep doing this?” Billy asked.

“Why yes, Billy, it is important.  We have to dissect things to see how they work.  If we don’t know how they work, how could we ever help them?  Today we will be dissecting cats!  I will be handing out the specimens for your use.  Please partner with the person you were with last time,” he said.

“What’s wrong?” James asked.  “You look ill.”

“Yeah, I got sick after you left earlier.  I had to go to the nurse, Cara was there.”

“Did she say anything to you?”
              “She said she knew we were together and that you were using me,” I said with my head down.

“You know that isn’t true,” he said.  “I would never do that.  I love you, Juliet, more than anything.”

“I know.  It still gets to me sometimes.  I mean, why would you want to be with someone like me anyway?  You can have anyone.”

“You’re all I want.  I don’t want or need anyone else.  As long as I have you I am fine,” he said while looking into my eyes.

As he finished, Mr. Johnson put our specimen in front of us.  It was shaved and it looked like it had been dead for a while.  I could handle dissecting a frog, but a cat was a whole different game.  I had a cat growing up, and what if this was someone else’s pet? 

I made James cut it open and dissect it.  I figured he probably didn’t have too big of a problem with death, and that he could handle it.  I couldn’t even look at the cat.  The putrid smell it gave off made me feel like I was going to vomit.  How did people do this for a living?  How did they think it was a good idea to give a bunch of teenagers dead cats to cut open?

Biology was over pretty fast.  James did everything and let me rest as I still was trying to fight off my nausea.  When the bell rang, I was sad.  I would have to stop being able to have him close to me, comforting me.  I wanted it to last forever, but knew it never could.

The day went on and I started feeling better.  The medicine the nurse gave me really worked and I finally felt okay.  When I made my way to lunch, something happened that I never thought would.

It was Brittany.  The encounter James and I had with her didn’t sit too well with her.  She wanted James and she wasn’t shy making it known. 

She started to approach me and I knew something was about to happen.

“We are going to settle this once and for all,” she said to me.

“Settle what, Brittany?”

“James.  He was mine before you came along and I want him back.”

“I’m sorry Brittany.  You need to get over it.  He never was yours and you really need to back off.”

I was surprised I was so assertive with her.  Usually I would just agree with someone confrontational to get them to stop.  This was different though.  This was about the man I loved.

“Excuse me?  We are settling this tonight.  Meet me at Founder’s Park at 8 unless you’re too scared.”

“Brittany, I’m not doing this with you.  Just give it up.”

“No.  If you don’t meet me there then you don’t deserve him.”

I turned around and started to walk away.