Lengths For Love (16 page)

“No, I think you can be beaten by liking someone that’s not yours to take. Or rather, you’re in love.”

“No, I’m not,” he said through his gritted teeth. Up close, I noticed they weren’t perfect. He had plenty of gaps between them. “I don’t fall in love that easily.”

“But you did with her.”

“I did not.” I could hear him grinding his teeth now and I began to wonder if I had gone too far with my goading. “I don’t want to hear anymore about this. What I feel and what I do is none of your concern.”

“Any other time, I would agree with you. But this is my girlfriend we are talking about. It’s my girlfriend you are making eyes at!” Now it was my turn to serve up some anger. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll lay off.”

“And you intend to stop me?”

“If I have to.”

That was it. That was when he threw the first punch and I held my hand up to block it. Then I swung and he ducked. Soon, we were rolling on the ground and beating each other. He got in more punches, but I managed to get my fist right across his jaw. That only enraged him and he punched me square on the nose.

“How could you?!” He demanded. “How could you get in here and tell me what I’m supposed to be feeling?! How dare you tell me how to run my own house?!”

“Run your house?!” I spat out. “You torture them, let them live in fear, and you expect me to let my girlfriend stay with you?! I don’t want you anywhere near her!”

“I DON’T LOVE HER!” he yelled.

“YOU LIAR!”

“HOW DARE YOU?!” He was screaming now. “HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT I AM FEELING?! YOU DON’T KNOW ME!”

“STOP IT! STOP IT!”

This didn’t come from either of us, but Kristine who had burst in to find us sprawled on the floor, beaten and blue. I was pleased to see a thin strip of blood trickling from Vince’s nostril and how bruised his bottom lip had turned. I had no idea of my own injuries, but I had a feeling I looked better than he did.

“What,”, Kristine breathed out, dropping the papers and towels she had been carrying, “are you doing to each other?!”

Vince stood up and wiped the blood from his nose. “None of your concern, Kristine.”

“I’m sorry, Master, but if I see you sprawled on the floor with a guest, I think it would be hard to ignore or forget.” She stood up straight and handed him a towel to take care of the other scratches I had made. “Now go on. Clean up. Stay away from each other for a while. I know you hate being in the state you are. I’ll talk to Ian and straighten this out, all right?”

He grumbled but took the towel from her before storming off. At that point, I stood up and rubbed my jaw. Kristine closed the door behind Vince and gave me another one of the towels. I had a feeling she was changing out the towels and sheets downstairs when she had heard the commotion. It had been a good thing that she had come in at the time she did. I watched as she wiped an area above my eyebrow with a washcloth and brushed my hair out of my eyes with her hand.

“What was all that about?” She wanted to know.

I shook my head. “He lost his temper when I confronted him.”

“Confronted him?” She frowned. “Why would you ever do that?”

Thinking about how that jerk wanted my girlfriend made me cringe. “I’m sorry, Kristine. I wouldn’t mind if he liked Alexis, but Alexis is taken. I know it sucks for him, but there’s nothing I can do about that. We’re in love and he can’t change it.”

“I know.” She sighed, wiping the blood from my arm. I had never noticed that scratch before. Apparently, the guy had some sharp nails. “But tread carefully around him. Mr. Augustin won’t hurt you if you do nothing to hurt him.”

“Weird. I’ve done nothing to hurt him and he still treats me like crap.”

“All I can suggest is that you and Alexis keep your relationship on the low while he’s around. Get intimate when he’s not there.” She looked out the window and frowned. “Now where is he going?”

“What do you mean?” I followed her and saw that she was right; Vincent was outside and heading to the forest. I didn’t know why since the forest didn’t seem to have anything but trees and little animals. Was he going to beat up some bunnies? No, there had to be something more.

“What’s in that forest?” I wanted to know.

“Not much. It’s strange for him to go in there.” She shrugged. “All that’s there are the stables.”

“Well, if he comes back in the same mood, I’m ready for him.” I cracked my knuckles. “If it’s a fight to the death that he wants, then that’s what he’ll get.”

“Oh, don’t say that!” Kristine warned me. “That’s exactly what he’ll give you!”

“Good!” I was fed up with his behavior now. “Let him get angry with me. Let him be pissed. Because I’m ready to take whatever he has to give. Make sure he’s aware of that! And make sure he knows that Alexis is mine!”

I had emphasized that sentence at the wrong moment because Alexis entered right then, obviously awake from the commotion we had made. She stared at me and then at Kristine and then at the mess that was Vincent’s office. When she finally went back to me again, I could feel the flames of fury around her.

“So,” she began, slowing taking steps away, “I’m yours? I suddenly became property to you? And from the looks of it, you’ve been fighting with him again, haven’t you?”

“No!” I exclaimed. “I was telling him to back off!”

“With words or with fists, Ian? You’ve had a thing against him and this place from the beginning! You think I’m crazy to believe in vampires, don’t you?”

“I never said that!”

“What?” Kristine looked at us. “So... you don’t think we exist?”

“I didn’t in the beginning, but things have changed! I know now you’re real. And I know what kind of scum runs this place! He’s a dick, Alexis! I know you don’t want to believe it but it’s true! He’s a dick!”

“No, please!” Kristine pleaded with us. “Keep your voice down!”

“Why?” I asked. “That’s all anyone’s ever done in here. They’ve kept their voice down so as not to anger him. But you’re vampires! You’re ten times stronger than he is! You let him control everything you do because you’re afraid of dying!”

“And what would you know about DYING?!” Alexis screamed, almost losing her voice in the process. “Come on, who do you think you’re talking to? I just wanted some peace and quiet while I was here, but I can’t even get that much. You always have to get jealous over any guy that comes between us. Am I right?”

“I am not jealous!” I snapped. “You just never see Vince the way the rest of us do. And it’s because he doesn’t want you to see his bad side.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You just don’t want to accept that he might have a good side, too.”

“I’ve been with this guy longer than you have. He has no good side!”

“Ian, stop!” She pleaded. “Just stop! I’ve had enough. I’m so tired that I don’t want to hear you guys anymore. So please... just stay quiet and stay away from him. If it will keep you from each other’s throats, stay away.”

Before I could say another word, a shot rang out. The two of us ducked and I looked around. It didn’t seem to come from inside yet it was close by. Kristine looked at me and then out the window again. Another shot was fired and she got down again.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. “Who’s shooting?”

“I don’t know, but it’s coming from outside.” She whispered. “It has to be in this area. It’s too loud to be far away and I know you heard it, too.”

I nodded and slowly stood up. No more shots were heard so I assumed that it was safe to look around. I did not know what direction they came from, but I stared out the rear window as that was when I last saw Vincent storming off. Was he behind this? I started to feel the pang of guilt hitting me again. Whatever had happened would indirectly come back to me. It would be my fault. If I hadn’t confronted him like that, he wouldn’t have done what he had done. Even still, I had no idea what he had done.

“Should we go outside?” I asked.

But before Kristine could reply, Jenny came barreling into the room, flustered and babbling something. Her face had lost all its color and she looked as blank as the walls in the room. Her makeup was running down her face and she almost fell into Alexis. We all tumbled into one another as she cried to catch her breath. Alexis, who was still reeling from pain of hitting the wall, tried to calm her down. I knew she was aching yet she still tried her best to comfort Jenny.

“Jenny! Jenny!” She pleaded as the girl blubbered. Kristine and I approached her and saw that Jenny had been crying a lot. There was snot covering her lips and nose. A lot of dried mucus and tears were on her sleeves.

“Jenny, what happened?” Kristine asked, more calm than Alexis was. That seemed to do the trick because Jenny stopped trying to spill everything. Instead, she stopped, swallowed, and let out a sigh.

“I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “I can’t believe he would do something like that.”

“Who, Vince?” I asked. She nodded and hiccupped. “What exactly did Vince do? Was he the one shooting outside?”

It was a stupid question. Of course Vince was shooting. He was the only one crazy enough to have a gun and pull the trigger. That had to be the reason why he had stormed off into the forest. But who had he been shooting at? If he had been known as an avid hunter or something, I wouldn’t have reason to worry. Vincent was no such thing. I saw it from the beginning and he never failed to prove me right.

Alexis was rocking Jenny back and forth while dealing with the pain in her back. “There, there. It couldn’t have been that bad. What did he shoot?”

“He... He...” Jenny was trying to get out. She fell to her knees and tried to catch her breath. The last time I had seen her like this was when Vincent burned her things and I had a feeling this time wasn’t any better than the last. Her makeup was streaked and I knew she had been crying for a long time.

“Who? What?” I asked, helping her stand. She felt so limp in my arms even though I knew she was alive. Vampire or not, she was not supposed to be this weak. I checked over to see if she had been hurt and sure enough, there were barbed wire marks around her arms and legs. She had been crawling around in the back and trying to get away. Was Vince trying to kill her?

“Did he go after you?” Kristine asked. She grabbed Jenny by the shoulders. “Jenny! Jenny, answer me! What did he do?! Who was he shooting?!”

“The horses... the horses...” She repeated as Alexis tried to get her to drink some water. She took a sip, swallowed, and blurted out. “He shot the horses!”

“What?!” Now I almost dropped her. “Who shot the horses?”

“Who else?” She slid down to the ground and rubbed her wrists. “He shot them both and I think they died. I don’t know, I couldn’t stay and see. He yelled at me and I just ran to get you. I crawled through the wires because I knew he wouldn’t try to get through them. He wouldn’t want to hurt himself. That’s why I... I came in here...”

“Did he hurt you?” Kristine wanted to know. She shook her head and leaned back against the wall, the back of her head touching it. I didn’t believe it. The lacerations on her legs and arms seemed to have come from more than just crawling through barbed wire fences. If Jenny hadn’t gotten her third strike yet, she was probably going to get it now. “I think you should stay here. Alexis, keep giving her water. Ian, go see what she’s talking about.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” I exclaimed. “Look after her! Make sure she’s okay!”

Racing down the stairs, I ran outside and where the stables were. Of course. They were deep in the forest. Why didn’t I see it sooner? The guy was a few screws loose and now whatever happened to these horses would be my fault. Stupid Ian. You idiot Ian. You let him leave like that and you caused this.

The mare and horse lay dead on the hay. I took a quick look over them, but it was unnecessary. I knew nothing in the world was going to bring them back and there was no vampire who could turn them. One of their sources of food was gone.

“You just don’t know when to give up, do you?”

I whirled around to find Vincent holding a shotgun. However, he was not aiming it at me, but at the ground. He didn’t look angry at me, but upset at what he had done. For once, I thought I saw remorse in his face.

“Look at what you made me do,” He mumbled.

“I made you do it?” I found myself growing angry now. The roles had been reversed and I stormed towards him, not caring that he was armed and I wasn’t. “No one told you to kill them. They did nothing to you.”

“Are you serious? They were everything that you are.” He turned his nose up at me. “And for that reason, they had to go.”

“But you loved them!” I pointed out, seething in rage. “I saw the way you looked when I told you she was pregnant! You can’t fake something like that, man! I know how you felt when I told you! You were heartbroken over it!”

He held up the shotgun and aimed at my chest. “Oh, really?”

I gulped but stood my ground. “Really. You were shaking like you are shaking now. You can fake everything else, but you can’t fake that. Sorry. Go ahead and kill me if it makes you happy. “

Any minute now, I thought he would pull the trigger. I began to pray to myself and hoped that the bullet wouldn’t hurt. Closing my eyes, I waited for the gunshot and vowed that I would die like a man.

Instead, he threw the gun down and ran back into the house. I found myself standing in the stable now, prayers gone and only Kristine staring back at me. The horses lay dead behind me while I felt the world spinning. The smell of their blood was ready to knock me off my feet. That was when I realized that vampires had managed to sneak in and start feeding on them. The blood was coming from them ripping into the animals and not the bullet wounds. I stared at them, finally knowing it was real. They were eating them. Their teeth were digging into the flesh and they were drinking all the blood that seeped out.

Nauseous, I fell to my knees and Kristine ran to my side. What happened next was confusing and I still couldn’t tell if happened or not. Her arms around me, I looked up to see Vincent with Alexis. Kissing Alexis. Holding my girlfriend in his arms. Worst of all, Alexis obliged and gave in to him.

“No...” I whispered. “No, it can’t be...”