Crave (4 page)

I headed down the back roads toward home. I couldn’t get Grayson off of my mind. I felt awful for hurting him, even though we would have never worked out. My mind wandered to Elijah. I wondered if he would come around again. I hoped he would.

I turned onto Church Street with a new attitude. There was more to life outside of this small town. I had tasted it and I wanted more. I immediately went to my room to change out of my work clothes that smelled of coffee and sweat. I grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a tank headed into the bathroom as I thought of him while turning on the water and let the tub fill. My cell phone began to ring from my bedroom. I ran down the hall to see who it was. The caller I.D. showed Grayson. I set the phone back down on the dresser and walked back to the bathroom, lowering myself into the tub without answering.  I felt like I finally had the courage to stop running back to Grayson whenever he flashed me a smile. It was only prolonging his pain. He wanted forever, and I knew our futures were no longer guaranteed.

I thought about the vampires at the pool hall and then those who had killed my brother. Three of them had been caught immediately, but their leader had avoided capture. Many doubted whether the ones found were even involved or if they were just sacrificial lambs to a higher power. I had my doubts as well.  That is why I carried the gun. It had belonged to Marcus. If he had been carrying that night, perhaps he would still be around. I wouldn’t make the same mistake he had. He was caught off guard.

Most vampires have the ability to hide their true nature from humans, not making their secret known unless they deemed it necessary to get what they want.  Or in the case of the pool hall assholes, they show their true colors for a good laugh.  Most blended right in with the community, hiding behind the façade of a frat boy who parties all night or working nights like many people around here had to do to pay bills.  It was harder for new vampires. They didn’t have the ability or the desire to stay in control. They thrived on the power of being an undead killing machine. Now that vampire’s existence was known, there was a great deal of speculations about who in the public eye had been one of them. 

Groups had formed that were dedicated to discovering and exposing such people.  They had already uncovered countless politicians and rock stars who led a secret eternal existence. Several of whom had faked their own deaths and lived in the underworld scene of European countries, where their names and faces were lesser known. 

Once exposed, people would protest and harass them until they fled. I used to rally against such exposures and help with petitions for equal rights between the vampires and humans. That was until my brother was killed. I blamed myself for his death because of that.

Last year, when a young vampire went on a killing spree in a movie theater, the world rallied together to expose and eradicate them like disease-infested animals. Countries and world powers joined forces. Violence in the Middle East ceased and we all united against our common enemy. Nothing brings people closer together than sharing a mutual hate for someone else.

My phone rang again, startling me from my thought process.
When was Grayson going to take the hint?
I hopped out of the tub and pulled the drain as I began to dry off. There was a knock on the door and I rolled my eyes, cursing him under my breath. I was not dealing with his shit tonight. I brushed my hair out and went to my bedroom to grab my lotion. The banging on the door became louder as my phone simultaneously rang.

“Damn it.” I stormed out of my room to the door, yanking it open. “What?”

Elijah stood in the hallway with a grin and a bouquet of flowers. I felt my cheeks heat up as I blushed.      

“I-I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else,” I stammered, chewing my lip.

“Clearly.” Grinning he held out the flowers as his eyes traveled down the length of my body.

“Thank you. Come in,” I said, stepping out of the way, smelling the lilies. My phone went off again and I threw it on my bed as I followed Elijah to the living room. All my frustrations disintegrated as Elijah turned around and looked me up and down. “I should get dressed,” I said, suddenly realizing I was still wrapped in my towel.

“Don’t put on clothes on account of me,” he said with a devilish smirk.

“Here.” Handing him the remote, I motioned to the couch. “I’ll just be a sec.” I headed down the hall. I heard the television come on as I slipped into my room, squealing quietly to myself. I threw on my T-shirt and shorts, stopping in front of my dresser to spritz on some perfume that smelled like a horrible imitation of the very real flowers Elijah had brought me. Grabbing them, I inhaled their scent once more before putting them in a tall glass on my kitchen counter. I walked back into the living room casually, trying to hide my nervousness. Elijah was so enthralled with the news he didn’t seem to even notice my presence. 

“Anything interesting?” My voice squeaked and I swallowed hard, begging my heart to slow its pace.

He looked startled and clicked off the television. “Just you,” he said as he got up and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. I smiled, unable to hide my growing infatuation with him.        

“No work?”

“Nah, got the night off. I’m all yours.” He grinned. 

“What do ya have in mind?”

“A movie.” He winked and I had to force myself not to giggle like a little girl.  I was excited to go out on a real date. I can’t remember ever having one unless you count the after school trips to get fast food with Grayson, which I didn’t. I grabbed my phone off of my bed, and then realized I couldn’t have it on in a theater, and tossed it back onto my pillow.

***

We decided on an action flick with an underlying love story. We sat off to the side and Elijah kept his arm around me for most of the movie. I was so lost in the thought of him, I didn’t notice the commotion on the other side of the theater. That was until Elijah grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the fire exit in the front of the room. Some guys had come in and started a fight with the local football players, most likely a rival team. We made it to the parking lot where I noticed a shiny black muscle car parked in the fire lane.

“I think those guys in there are the ones who came into the pool hall earlier starting trouble. They’re vampires,” I warned.

“Come on.”

I pulled my arm free from his grip and he turned around, his jaw tense.

“We can’t just leave. Aren’t you going to do… something?” I threw my hands in the air, not certain what it was I expected from him.

“Like what, Eva? You want me to go in there half-cocked and start shit with a bunch of vamps?”

“Well, we can’t just leave them in there with all those people.”

He took two quick steps toward me and I had to look up to maintain eye contact.

“If they wanted to kill someone in there, they’d already be dead.” His voice was so low but I could tell he was upset.

“But it’s your job.” I sat the weight of the world on his shoulders with one statement but his resolve didn’t waver.

“No. Tonight, my job is to keep you safe. You. So you can either walk with me side by side, or I can carry you, but we are leaving
now
.”

I eyed him for a moment, wanting to protest but I knew he was right that if those guys wanted to, everyone in that room would be dead. Having him go back in would just escalate the situation.

I held out my hand and he laced his fingers in mine, his mouth cocked in a small grin. We rushed back toward my house, avoiding any confrontation.

When we reached my apartment, I locked the door, leaning back against it as I struggled to slow my breathing.

“Whenever you see that car I need you to run the other direction as fast as you can.” He placed his hands on either side of my face.

“I know, Elijah. Don’t worry. I’m the last person who would want anything to do with them.” I smiled, trying to lighten his mood. His expression remained hard.

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” Whatever the vampires had done to Elijah had to have been terrible. My thoughts drifted to my brother. I contemplated telling him my story to make him understand how serious I was about avoiding them, but it was too soon. I didn’t want to scare him off with my baggage. Besides, he didn’t seem ready to talk about whatever his issue was with them either. He kissed me on the forehead softly, ceasing my rambling thoughts.

“So, what now?” I asked, hoping our night wasn’t over.

“I have an idea.” He leaned in to kiss me again and I let my lips part, wanting to pick up where we left off last night. I wrapped my arms around him just as my phone rang from the bedroom.

“Shit.” I pulled away from him. “I should get that. They will just keep calling if I don’t.” I stalked off to my bedroom to answer, ready to release a string of curse words on the caller.

“What?” I asked into my phone.

“Jesus, Eva! Where have you been?” Grayson asked angrily.

“None of your business, Grayson.”

“Wait, wait! Eva! I have some… bad news.”

“I’m listening.”

“There was a big fight out at the pool hall after you left. Christ, Eva. I don’t… Madelyn is dead.” The line went quiet as I tried to process what he’d just told me. “I’m coming over.”

“No.” I rubbed my hand over my face, praying this was some sort of sick joke. “I think I just want to be alone.” The last thing I needed was Grayson and Elijah face to face in my house and I didn’t want Grayson running to my rescue anytime things went wrong.

“Fine… just call me if you need me. Eva, I love you,” he said as he hung up, not giving me the chance to respond. I was relieved he didn’t.

I tossed my phone on my bed, collapsing next to it as the weight of his words crushed me. Burying my face in my hands, I tried to absorb the news I had just received. This is what happened when you cared about someone and even though I attempted to keep everyone at arms length, they still found their way into my heart.

Elijah knocked on my open bedroom door to announce his presence.

“You alright?” he asked as he bent down beside me and lifted my chin to look at my face. I sniffled as the tears that blurred my vision fell from my lashes, rolling down over the apples of my cheeks. He held my face in his hands and wiped my tears with the pad of his thumb.

“My friend… died tonight.” A small sob escaped me as the reality of the situation set in. Wrapping his strong arms around me, he pulled me against his chest.

“It was those vampires. I know it. It had to be them,” I rambled in between sniffles.

“Calm down, Eva. How do you know it was vampires?” he asked, pulling me away from his body to look at my face.

“They were there. It
had
to be them. They came in just to cause trouble. I left right after they had showed up. I should have stayed… or… done
something
.”

“There’s nothing you could have done. If you would have stayed it could have been you that they hurt.”

“We have to do something about it. We have to stop them from hurting anyone else.” Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed my gun out of my dresser drawer.

“Whoa, Eva. What the hell?” He raised his arms as if I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had.

“It’s okay. It’s for protection. I know how to use it.” I slid it into the back of my jean shorts, my body shaking from being overcome with grief. He walked up to me slowly, putting his hands on my waist and looking me in the eye.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Reaching his arm behind me, he pulled the gun out of the band of my shorts. He released the clip and emptied the bullet from the chamber. Sitting the contents on my dresser, he turned back to face me. “I promise you, no one will hurt you, but you can’t just go after them by yourself.” Kissing me on the forehead, he searched my eyes for understanding. I let out a sigh, feeling overwhelmed and defeated. I just wanted to be held. I was surprised he hadn’t run out the door yet. I thought about my stint on the ledge. I can’t believe I almost missed out on this.

“I understand if you wanna go,” I murmured into his chest. His arms gripped me tighter.

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart,” he reassured me. I slipped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his musky cologne mixed with the lingering smell his body wash had left behind on his skin. He kissed me on top of my head as his hand ran over the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair.

“We have to kill them,” I whispered as I glanced up to look him in the eye. His body stiffened, pulling me back against him. My eyelids grew heavy as tears silently fell from my lashes to his shirt.

“You should rest,” he said.

“No,” I replied quietly, grasping a man that was nearly a stranger as if he held my sanity.

“Sshh...” He breathed in my ear as he picked me up into his arms and swung around laying me gently on my bed. “I’m not going anywhere.” He took off his shoes and walked to the far side of the bed. I slid under the covers as he lifted his shirt off and removed his pants. Even in the darkness, it was hard to miss the ripple of muscles down his stomach and I hated that even grief-stricken, my stomach still fluttered at the sight of him. He slid under the blanket and wrapped his arms around me. I turned my back toward him and adjusted myself to fit perfectly against him, cocooning myself in my newfound sense of security. He kissed my neck, exhaling deeply before resting his head on the pillow behind mine. I pushed out a heavy breath of my own and let my eyes fall closed, feeling safer than I had in years.