Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (3 page)

“What the--?”

“I’m carrying you over the threshold,” Chaseyn responded before I could finish my sentence. I rolled my eyes in response. “Don’t give me that look. It’s romantic.”

The sun was low in the sky so Chaseyn used the flashlight on his cell phone to light the interior as he looked for the light switch. After a moment, the bulbs began to glow inside the chandelier dangling overhead, illuminating the foyer. It was a small space, but the ceiling was open to the second story.

“You can put me down now,” I said.

“Not until you’ve seen every room,” Chaseyn replied.

I refrained from rolling my eyes again--even though I really wanted to--and chose to snuggle in tight against Chaseyn’s chest instead. Most girls would give their right arm to have a boyfriend as attentive as mine, and I was so grateful we had found each other. So he was a little old-fashioned at times--he was from another era after all.

“This is the living room,” Chaseyn said proudly as he carried me down a short, narrow corridor to a wide open space at the end of the house. The entire interior was lined with the exposed facades of the wooden logs that had been used to construct the house, and there was a wood-burning stove in the farthest corner on the room. “And that is
our
kitchen.”

The way he emphasized the word “our” was like music to my ears. The kitchen had hand-crafted cabinetry and granite countertops. There was a large island with a breakfast bar in the center, and I could picture us eating Lucky Charms and hot cocoa there every school morning, me cramming notes for a quiz while Chaseyn flipped through the morning newspaper. I shivered with delight.

“You’re cold?”

“No, Chaseyn, just happy.”

He kissed my forehead and continued the tour. The next stop was a half-bath in the very back corner of the main floor. It was nothing special--a pedestal sink and a toilet in a space no larger than a closet. Still, it was our teeny tiny bathroom, and I loved it.

“Are you ready for the piece de resistance?” Chaseyn asked, a broad smile curving his luscious lips.

“You know it, babe,” I replied as he carried me effortlessly up the stairs to the loft that overlooked the living room and kitchen.

“What I’m sure will be my favorite room in the house--the bedroom,” he announced.

I shoved his chest playfully, and he lowered me gently to the ground.

“This is amazing, Chaseyn,” I said, spinning in a slow circle so I could take in the full view of the space. There was a bookshelf framing a stone fireplace along the exterior wall, and I could picture us lying in bed lazing away Saturday mornings on a cold winter weekend.

“What’s behind that door?”

“Why don’t you check it out?”

I walked to the corner and turned the knob, opening the door to the most spacious walk-in closet I had ever seen.

“This is huge,” I said in disbelief. “I don’t have near enough clothes to fill this space, and not that I don’t think you dress extraordinarily well, but neither do you.”

“There’s no basement in this place, so we’ll need to store other stuff in there too,” Chaseyn replied matter-of-factly. “Christmas decorations, for example.”

Christmas. Wow. We would be spending Christmas here. Together. As a couple. With our own tree and stockings. I was suddenly overcome with emotion, and tears sprang to my eyes.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” Chaseyn asked as he dashed across the room and threw his arms around me. “I was so sure you’d like it. I should never have bought it without you. How could I be so inconsiderate?”

“Inconsiderate--don’t be ridiculous. This is the best gift I have ever received.”

“Really?”

“Really. It’s perfect.”

“Then why are you crying?” he asked, lifting my chin so I was forced to look up at him.

“Because I’m so incredibly happy to be spending my life with someone as thoughtful and amazing as you. And hot. I can’t forget hot because that may be your best feature,” I said as I slapped him hard on the behind.

“Okay, well, then there’s one last room to show you,” he said as he took my hand and led me to the far corner of the room. “I present to you the en suite.”

This was it, my new favorite place in the entire world--next to Chaseyn’s arms, that is. A claw-foot white porcelain tub stood as the centerpiece of the room, French doors to its right and a fireplace to its left. At the far end of the room was an oversized shower stall with a six sprayers and a steam machine. The entire bathroom was covered in floor-to-ceiling travertine with hand painted accent tiles as embellishments scattered carefully throughout the space. Natural light shone through the skylight in the ceiling, while wall sconces added soft-glowing light to the room. An antique vanity with his-and-her sinks completed the space.

“Oh, wow.”

“That’s it?”

“I’m speechless,” I said. “Wow. So, when do we move in?”

“I’m glad you like it,” Chaseyn said as he planted a kiss on the top of my head. “We should probably get some furniture first.”

“And maybe devise a plan to fool my mother into thinking us getting engaged and moving in together is the a great idea,” I quipped.

“I’m on it.”

***

We were silent for most of the ride home. I think we were both contemplating our future together and what that would mean. We had to find a way to make sure we had a future together, and I was pretty sure I had a foolproof plan. I just needed to find the perfect time to tell Chaseyn about it.

It was dark when we pulled up outside my house, and Chaseyn walked me to the door. I saw the edge of the curtain pull back a little bit as my mother tried to get a glimpse of us saying goodnight.

“Keep it modest,” I warned, looking over my shoulder. “ We’ve got company.”

“I’m sorry we never got a chance to talk. I know it’s important to you,” Chaseyn said as he planted a chaste kiss on my lips. “I could come over after your mom and Kevin are asleep.”

“We had such a perfect day--I don’t want to ruin it,” I replied sincerely. “We can talk about it another time.”

“Can I still come over?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

A week had passed since Chaseyn had popped the question, and I still hadn’t found a way to break the news to my mother. It was all about timing, I had decided, and I simply couldn’t find the right time. Monday, she had stayed late at work. By the time she got home, I was asleep. Tuesday and Wednesday were her book club and yoga class nights, respectively. Her favorite television show was on Thursdays, and who was I to interrupt her viewing schedule? Friday, she and Kevin were going out with friends, and on Saturday, she had volunteered to babysit a co-worker’s eight-year-old son.

Today was the day, I had decided. Chaseyn and I had spent every day shopping for furniture and knick knacks to decorate our new home, and I was starting to feel like a traitor for not having told my mother already. Not to mention that I had taken to wearing my vintage diamond on a chain around my neck to keep it out of sight. It wasn’t fair to Chaseyn to ask him to keep this secret any longer, and it wasn’t fair to my mom that I hadn’t told her in the first place.

“Mom, we need to talk,” I said, pulling up a seat across from her at the dining table where she had been picking at a slice of bacon. “Do you have time now?”

“Of course, honey,” she replied. “Kevin’s at work til three so I have all the time in the world. Besides, I have something I want to talk to you about too.”

“You know how I was planning to live in res at school when it starts up?”

“Was? Are you thinking you might want to live someplace else? Are you and Addie getting a place together? Oh, you girls are going to have so much fun.”

“I am getting a place with someone, but it’s not Addie, mom. Remember, she’s following Eli to Indiana. She applied late, so she’s not starting classes until next semester, but her and Eli are getting a place together now anyway.”

“Right. Well if it’s not Addie, then who is it, dear?” she asked, and then as if a light bulb went on, her head snapped up, and she looked me dead in the eyes. “ No, no, no. Not Chaseyn. You are not living with a boy. Not until you’re married, Lia.”

“See, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about…” I said, pulling the ring out from under my shirt and sliding it on my finger. “He asked me to marry him, and I said ‘yes.’”

“Cordelia Lorelei Jameson, you are not getting married to that boy. Not until you’ve got a college degree and a real job. You are far too young to be making this huge a mistake,” my mother shouted.

“It’s not a mistake,” I screamed back. Rather than giving the rational well-thought-out explanation I’d planned in my head over and over all morning--that we would wait until I had finished school--I threw a childish temper tantrum instead. Sure. That would convince my mother I was mature and ready for marriage. “You can’t tell me what to do. I love him, and I‘ll marrying him if I want to. I’m 18 and you can’t stop me.”

“This is not what I need right now,” my mother said, returning to her seat and pressing her fingers hard against her temples. “Not with another one on the way. I can’t believe I’m going to do this all over again.”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Lia, this isn’t how I planned this,” she said. “I don’t want us to fight, but I can’t stand by and watch you ruin your life like this.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded.

“Kevin and I…we’re having a baby. You’re going to have a little brother or sister,” she said, and all her anger melted away, but mine rose to the surface.

“And you think I’m the one ruining my life,” I said before I had a chance to cool off and think about my words.

“What was that, young lady?”

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“I know this will take some time for you to adjust, but I hope you can be happy for us,” she said.

“Back at you,” I said, as I grabbed my coat and stormed out the door.

***

It was times like this I was most thankful for Chaseyn’s sixth sense. He could always sense when I needed him most, and like magic, he appeared.

“What’s wrong?” Chaseyn asked as he pulled the car to the curb so I could hop into the passenger seat.

“I told my mom,” I said.

“Let me guess. My standing invitation to Sunday night dinner has been revoked.”

“She was pretty mad,” I replied. “But I think she’ll get over it. Besides, she had some news of her own.”

“She’s pregnant.”

“I hate when you do that,” I said, but I was lying. I loved his intuition, and it kept me from having to say the words. Saying them just made it seem all the more real, and I wasn’t ready to give up my only child status just yet.

“So I’m right?” he said smugly. As if he didn’t already know.

“Of course you are,” I replied. “Can we not talk about it right now?”

“Absolutely,” he said, placing his arm on the back of my seat while he drove with his left hand. “Let’s go grab an ice cream, and then we can go mattress shopping,” he said with a smile so big I thought his face would explode. “Do you think they’ll let us test them out before we commit? I want to be sure we take our time and pick just the right one. I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time in bed.”

“You’re terrible,” I said, turning away from him.

“You love it.”

He was right. I did. And I was just as eager to spend all my time in bed with him. In fact, since we were now officially committed to spending the rest of our lives together, I didn’t see the harm in taking the next step in our relationship either. I couldn’t wait to christen our new home…every room--and surface--of our new home.

Something was weighing heavy on my mind, though--something other than my situation at home. Chaseyn and I had never talked about the research I had done into finding a cure for his “condition,” and I had been too preoccupied with everything else to bring it up again. But now, I felt like it was looming over me, and I needed to bring up the topic for discussion.

“Do you think you might be ready to talk about the possibility there is a way for you to be come human?” I said quietly. I couldn’t look at Chaseyn for fear he would be upset with me for bringing up the subject. “I haven’t pressed you to talk about it all week, but I’d really like to share my ideas with you.”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot this past week, Cordelia. I didn’t want to say anything before because I needed time to embrace the idea, but I would really like to know more,” he replied.

“Really?”

“Really.”

I was so excited I undid the clasp on my seatbelt and slid into the seat next to Chaseyn, fastening the lap belt around my waist. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, relieved he was ready to consider what I had to say. I began running through the details while he listened intently.

***

“I’ll have the Goog Special, and she’ll take a medium vanilla cone dipped in sprinkles,” Chaseyn said when we finally reached the front of the line.