Bitter Sweet (15 page)

Alyon Alik

Chapter 18.0

             
I had just two weeks before Vanessa would go off to school and she could possibly be so far out of my life that I would no longer matter, and my mother could be intrusive to no end or silent as a ghost. I couldn’t rely on my mother intresion into Vaness's life to possibly keep me in her thoughts. I had to think of something. I brooded over this singular idea that entire night after I dropped her off at home. My mood somehow snaked its way up to my mother’s penthouse and pulled her down to my rooms four floor below.

              “I think you did good, why are you moping?” she asked, taking a seat and making herself comfortable in my room without invitation.

              “Really?” I sighed, not looking at her.

              “Well, that is unless you went off on some horrible tangent and became your usual morbid self.” I didn’t respond. “You did, didn’t you...” She then sighed and mimicked my posture with her arm over her eyes, head leaning over the back of the chair.

              “Can I help you?” I said, annoyed that she was still here.

             
“No, but I think that I can help you. I know that I haven’t given you much advice over the years apart from the many ways you know how to kill men and vampire or seduce women with your charms. So I will give you some advice on how to make a woman love you.”

              “What is that exactly” Despite myself, I was interested.

              “Gifts and jewelry will not win you a woman’s heart, just what’s between her legs. In the days of the knights, it was their promise that won them a maidens favor and their actions captured hearts. They would quest for the maidens they desired. It could be anything from picking a flower that only grew near the mouth of a dangerous beast lair to finding her lost father stolen by bandits. You need to figure out your quest.”

              “Vanessa,” I said in a deep voice trying to sound gallant. “I am here to serve you, please bestow on to me a singular quest so that I may win your fair heart,” I mocking, moving to one knee in front of my mother as I took her hand. She gave me an exasperated look and kicked me with her foot so hard that I slid the few feet between us. “Oww!”

              “That’s not what I mean and you know it. I’m trying to be a mother for once and you're not helping me out much here.”

              “Okay, okay. So you’re saying that I should do something specifically meaningful for her?”

              “Yes, you need to find out her likes and dislikes, dreams and passions.”

              “That would take time, I have two weeks before she starts her first semester of college.. In Ithaca.”

              “What is she studying?”

              “I don’t know, I only know that she is going to Cornell as she mentioned it to a guy at Masteria.”

              “Do some digging,” was the last thing she said before she

stood. “Brooding here isn’t going to help you.”

              I called Vanessa the next day to ask if she wanted to get lunch.

              “I’m not going to be on the menu, am I?”

              “Only if you want...”

              “No, I would like pizza.”

              “Done.”

              “See you in thirty minutes?”

              “See you then.”

              New York was the easiest place to find a good pizza place so I was feeling confident. When I got to her house, Vanessa wasn’t ready yet but her mother Mariee and Sam were cooking downstairs in the kitchen. I felt bad for a moment, taking her away from what her mother was cooking, but then I found out that Sam was cooking under the watchful eye of Mariee. The end result wasn’t pretty...

              “So Alik, do you have a brother?” Sam asked and I smiled.

              “No, I only have a sister. We were both adopted by our mother.”

              “Oh,” she said like she might have made a mistake.

              “Have you ever tried to find your real parents?” Sam continued with renewed boldness. Nothing kept her back for long I saw.

              “No, Lilith is my mother now. Whatever situation my real parents were going through doesn’t matter. I like my life. Everything that has passed led me to sit in this kitchen and wait for the most beautiful girl I know.”

              “I thought you were here for Vanessa, not me...” she said, shocked, and Mariee laughed. I couldn’t help but laugh, too. She looked so genuine when she said it.

              “I hope this doesn’t sound insulting, but I don’t see how you and Vanessa are friends, you are just so different.”

              “We get that a lot,” smiled Sam.

              “Sam actually gave Vanessa a black eye when they were in elementary school,” Mariee stated, trying to salvage what Sam had tried to cook.

              “Really?” I asked, shocked.

              “I got a bloody nose in return,” Sam informed, smiling at the thought. “I knocked my juice box over on a picture she was drawing. All around kids were drawing their mothers and fathers, Vanessa was drawing the Empire State Building.” Vanessa’s mom laughed.

              “She has always been fascinated with buildings,” Mariee finally said. “Ever since she could hold a crayon. Some of her work is very beautiful, and I’m not saying that from a mother’s perspective.”

              “She has designed stuff before?”

              “Oh yes, she has tubes all over her room full of designs she has done. You should get her to show you.” She sounded very proud. “I wish I had the means to build one of her homes. They are so beautiful.”

              “What are you talking about in here,” Vanessa chimed in as she walked into the kitchen. “What died...” she gasped as she caught a smell of Sam’s cooking.

              “Shut up, I’m still learning...” Sam pouted. “But let’s show Alik some of your work.”

              Sam took my hand, pulled me from the table past Vanessa and up the stairs to Vanessa’s room. I think Vanessa was shocked at the turn of events as it took her a moment to realized where we were headed.

              “Whoa, whoa, whoa. No.” She ran after us, managing to pass us and block the way to her room.

             
“Move Nessa, this is good for boyfriend here.”

             
“One, he isn’t my boyfriend, he is just a boy. Two, what about what is good for me?” she shouted.

              “It will be good for you as well.” Sam picked Vanessa up off the ground, locking her arms next to her. “Go on,” she told me. My next action would damn or save me, but I decided to go and open the door.

              Vanessa’s room was simple: a bed, a dresser, mounted TV, and a mirror all in a corner. However, about two thirds of the room was taken up by three bookshelves and two glass drafting tables. The two walls without windows were covered in artistic sketches of homes and actual blue prints of those homes.

              “Wow...” I said as I looked around. There was one in particular I really liked that was hanging up. It was a one bedroom, multi-level, of mainly steel, wood, and glass. The artistic sketch of the house colored in showing how light would reflect off the glass walls.

              Vanessa managed to wiggle out of Sam’s arms, pushed me out, and slammed her door. “Okay, you’ve seen enough,” she shouted, pushing Sam and me back down the stairs. “We have pizza to eat,” she said to me. “You have slop to fix,” she glowered at Sam.

              Sam stuck her tongue out as Vanessa pushed me out the front door, slamming it as we exited. We were in the car for a moment before I was brave enough to ask.

              “So you’re going to study Architecture at Cornell?”

              “Yes,” she said, stiffly. “Just how much did you see?” her tone now timid.

              “Everything out on the walls. I can still see it. It was all beautiful. You have a gift.” She didn’t even say anything about me looking her in the eye as I drove.

              “You mean it... Thank you.”

              My mother was right, I thought. Damn it, she would be smug

later. The rest of the date went well, Vanessa mostly asked about me,

but when I told her where I had gone, she always wanted descriptions of the places and things I had seen. I enjoyed the looks on her face most. She lit up like a child when she talked about buildings and homes. When I dropped her off, I managed to get another kiss on the doorstep, a more private moment without her mother and Sam watching.

             
“I enjoyed myself,” she whispered.

              “So did I. Can I see you tomorrow?”

              “We will see.” She smiled and went inside.

              It was still early, so as soon as I got into the car and drove off, I pulled out my phone and dialed Sam’s number, which I stole off of Vanessa’s phone.

              “Hello?” she answered, looking at the strange number.

              “Sam, it’s Alik.”

              “Oh, hi, what’s up?”

              “I need your help.”

              I had found my noble quest.

Vanessa Stanton

Chapter 19.0

             
I spent the next two weeks mostly with Alik and I nearly forgot that he was a vampire. It might seem strange to say it, but there was just so much human in him. If he wouldn’t look into my eyes and ask me what question I had on my mind, I would have forgotten completely. That bothered me a lot because I would never get to know just who Alik was. Was he a sophisticated and well-traveled man, or that dark brooding vampire all the female leads love in the books. It was all so damn confusing especially because while he opened a new Masteria, which brought back an old vampiric practice. He shunned the old vampiric practices of Masteria, and still he would not stop the humans practicing these practices.

              Also, it felt like he was trying to keep me away from anything vampiric and wouldn’t go in depth with anything on that subject. However, if I asked him if he had seen this or if he had gone there, he would launch into vivid and detailed explanations and descriptions. To his credit, Alik could get me to smile or laugh or just hold my attention more deeply than anyone else. Spending time with him for a few days had become like spending time with Sam, which I had done all my life.

              The night before I was supposed to move into my dorm with

Sam at Cornell I heard a tap at my window. I went to find out what it was and found Alik outside in my backyard, waving for me to come down. I tiptoed past my parent’s room, down the stairs, into the kitchen, and out into the back.

              "To what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked, confused. “Wouldn’t a call work?”

              "I wanted to talk to you, in person."

              "It couldn’t wait until the ride to Cornell tomorrow?"

              "Sam will be with us. It’s really important, actually," he said, moving over to the hammock that sat in a corner of the yard between two orange trees. He motioned for me to join him. I lay next to his cool body and he placed his arms around me and was silent for a while. It should have felt awkward, considering what I had just been thinking, but as always, when I’m in his grasp, I just can’t help myself. I felt safe, like nothing could harm me no matter the situation. "Have you been thinking about becoming vampire at all?" he finally asked.

              "Yeah, I have."

              "What did you have in mind, like a time frame?"

              “You make it sound like I will want to do it.” I couldn’t figure out what he was searching for, but it felt like he was looking for an answer.

              “I didn’t mean…”

              "Maybe after college; Lilith could..." I interrupted.

              "No," he cut me off.

              "No?"

              "I don’t want her to do it, if you ever truly decide to become one of us."

              "Why?"

              "I would rather do it myself. If that’s okay with you, that is.

              "I thought you didn’t want me to be associated with death the way you are."

              "That’s why it has to be me, if my mother is too deeply involved with your new life, she will force you down that path. You aren’t just anyone to me now. A lot has happened since Sam brought you to Masteria that night."

              "Alik, you know I…" I started awkwardly, trying to get free from his arms, which were like steel bars now.

              "I know you are confused right now and don’t feel for me the way I have come to feel for you.”

              “It’s not like that, but I can’t guarantee my feelings for you.”

              “Can you tell me why?”

              “Can you tell me there are no reasons for my doubts?” He was silent and didn’t move and I took that as a confirmation. “I don’t want to start this if it’s just…”

              “Your attraction to a predator bred and raised to attract women?” Self-hatred filled his voice when he said that.

              “No, if it’s just going to hurt us in the end.”

              “Is there no hope?”

              “I don’t know; I don’t want to give you an answer to that. So please don’t make me.”

              “For the last 1100 years of my existence, I’ve been alone..." he started.

              "You’ve had Lilith and June, haven’t you?"

              "My mother and June have been around, but they have never stuck with me. We are a ‘family’ apart. I’ve never been able to just talk with either of them. You saw how I get around my mother; we disagree on so much, but it doesn’t mean I love her as a mother any less. It’s

just that we can’t help but be mean to each other. I couldn’t tell her what I’ve told you without feeling like I will be getting a smart remark back or a cold calculated response that I didn’t need in a moment of weakness. June is so serious at most times around me that I can’t really relax around her; I’m her brother and she looks up to me. With you, I’m alive again, no longer a monster. I’ve told you what a life around my mother is like and I want to keep any obligation you feel to serve her to a minimum. It will keep you safe.” I lay there against him silent for a while and he didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to break the silence. “Can I just stay close to you if nothing else?”

              “I do like you close. Your touch is comforting, your voice soothing, but I can’t do anything but hurt you this way.”

              “What if I didn’t care?”

              “I’d care.”

              “I can’t leave you of my own free will, Vanessa. You will have to tell me to go before I will.”

              “Please don’t say that, I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to.”

              “I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.”

              “Stay with me like this for however long you can.”

              We sat there as the wind blew and I snuggled closer to him.

              “It’s cold, you should go inside.”

              "Vampire blood, remember? It feels rather warm. This is probably the last chance I will have to fall asleep in your arms for a while."

              "Isn’t this the only time?" he asked.

              "No, the second time I saw you, I might have been dying but

your touch and your face were the last things I saw before I drifted off

that night. It made everything easier."

             
We just lay there until I fell asleep somehow. I didn’t know if keeping Alik like this was the right choice, but I didn’t have to hurt him this way, at least I told myself that.

              I woke up in my room with my mom calling my name from down the stairs to ‘Hurry up’. After all, Alik was supposed to be here soon to take me to pick up Sam. I got dressed quickly and went down to the waffles my mom had made stacked high on a plate. I grabbed a fork from the drawer and rewashed it; stupid enhanced taste buds had made eating horrible at times. I had gotten through two waffles and a little bacon before I heard a car stopping outside, but it wasn’t the normal sound of his car that I had grown accustomed to. Had he bought a new one? I put my food down and went to the door and opened it; Alik was sitting in a shiny white convertible car, then he was next to me.

              "Do you like it?" he asked behind me, taking my hand and slipping the key into it.

              "You’re not giving me that, are you?"

              "No, of course not. I’ve spent a while tuning that car; no other like it exists in the world. You can drive to Sam's, although if you want a car, we can talk. Maybe something British?"

              "No, I don’t need some expensive car. Is that a vampire thing: wanting expensive and fast cars?"

              "You know, now that you mention it, maybe because my mother has a collection of classic super cars."

              "Am I supposed to know what those are?" I asked like he had just spoken another language.

              "You’re right, I forgot who I was talking to, sorry." he said mockingly.

              "Oh, shut up," I said as I hit his arm.

             
I walked back into the kitchen with the key dangling from my finge as Alik followed behind me . My mom’s face always lit up when she saw me with him, and today was no different.

              "Good morning, Mrs. Stanton."

              "Good morning, Alik dear; would you like some breakfast?" she offered with a warm smile. She was always trying to feed him, although she didn’t know that he didn’t consider waffles breakfast.

              "No thank you; I ate just before I came." I wondered if that was a lie.

              "Mom, I’m going to go pick Sam up now."

              "Okay, do you need my keys?" she asked, reaching for a set of keys on the wall.

              "No, I’m going to take Alik's car." She gave him a worried look.

              "I hope your insurance premium is paid up, dear."

              "I double-checked it this morning," he replied with a smirk and they both laughed.

              "Okay, enough humor at my expense," I said, pushing Alik out of the kitchen. He walked me to the car and opened the door for me. "Behave yourself, and don’t be alone with my mom for too long; it’s for your own good."

              "I think I can handle two humans."

              "Behave," I said as I glared at him.

              "I promise. Like I said, I’ve eaten already," he said, flashing his teeth in a wider smile. I started the car and it roared to life. "Oh, a quick word of warning, this car is a bit powerful so it requires a light touch," he informed me as he stood back. I placed my foot on the gas pedal and the car leapt forward, spinning its tires as I flew down the street. I could hear him laughing a block away. Amazingly, I made it to Sam's house in this monster car without crashing it and when she came out, she screamed.             

              "Hey!" I shouted, waving from the driver’s seat.

              "This is Alik's, isn’t it?" she asked, nearly jumping up and down.

              "What are you so excited about? Your brother has a convertible and you’ve been in one before."

              "He has an ugly old Celica, but this is a Aston Martian DB9 Convertible!"

              "Seriously?!" I was shocked, all I knew about cars came from Sam's constant babbling about them, and she mentioned this one once or twice.

              "He didn’t tell you?"

              "No wonder it took me ten minutes to stop the tires from spinning." She laughed. "Are your parents ready?"

              "Yeah, they are in the garage now; everything is packed away," she told me as she hopped over the door and into the passenger seat. We sat there for about 10 minutes as Sam ranted about the figures and numbers on the car until the garage door opened. Her parents followed us back to my house where Alik and my dad were pulling a rope tight on the back hatch to my dad’s car.

              "You let her drive that?" he asked Alik while I was still half a block away.

              "Yeah, I thought she would look good in it."