Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (8 page)

Every now and then, we would attend a gathering as a couple--bringing our separate school lives together. Chaseyn and I had both been asked to pledge sororities, and while it had never been a dream of mine to join the sisterhood, he thought it would give me the ultimate college experience. As a result, we were forced to attend a certain number of mixers and charity events in support of our respective fraternity and sorority. I would never admit it to Chaseyn, but I was having a blast hanging with my “sisters.”

Addie called twice a week--Sunday mornings at ten…or whenever she and Eli managed to pull themselves from bed…and Wednesday nights at eight. She never missed a call, and we talked for hours, sharing all of our secrets, hopes, and dreams, just like we always had. I missed her terribly and longed for winter break when she would be home for the holidays. We’d convinced my grandmother and Eli’s grandfather to spend the holidays in Colorado as well so Addie and Eli wouldn’t have to be apart. Not to mention, it would give my grandma, Mina, and I time to catch each other up on our latest findings with regard to Chaseyn‘s cure.

For the most part, life was good. Great even. Until
that
fateful day. The day I discovered Chaseyn’s had his first grey hair.

***

“What’s that?” I asked, taking a seat beside him on the couch and pointing at his head. I was holding a bowl of popcorn, and Chaseyn was waiting hit play on the remote control. A fire was crackling in the wood-burning stove.

“What’s what?” he replied.

I pushed around the hairs on his head until I found what I was looking for and then tugged it free from the root.

“Ouch,” Chaseyn said, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.

“Got it,” I said proudly, holding the hair up to take a closer look. “It’s a grey, old man.”

I started to laugh--I loved to tease Chaseyn about his age. But soon, I realized he wasn’t laughing along with me. And that’s when it hit me, the seriousness of the situation. Chaseyn didn’t age. It wasn’t possible for him to go grey. Unless…

“What does it mean?” I asked, my voice trembled with fear.

Part of me didn’t want to know the answer. The other part already knew it. Goose bumps broke out on my flesh as I waited for Chaseyn to reply. Before saying a word, Chaseyn took the bowl from my hands and set in on the old steamer trunk we used as a coffee table. He turned to face me, so we were sitting cross-legged, face-to-face on the couch, our knees touching.

“It’s okay, love,” he said, looking me straight in the eye so I would know he was telling the truth. I wouldn’t put it past him to sugarcoat it, though. “Remember, we talked about this? I will soon start to show signs of my true age.”

“I know, but it still scares me,” I said, looking over my shoulder so he wouldn’t see the moisture pooling in the corners of my eyes. “We haven’t been together long enough yet.”

“We have plenty of time together still, Cordelia. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he replied. Then, he laid back on the couch and petted his chest, signaling me to snuggle into him.

“Once it starts--the aging process--there’s no stopping it, unless we find the cure or you take a life,” I said when my back was pressed tight against his chest, our legs spooned together.

“It will be fine, love. Everything will work out.”

“I don’t know how you can be so relaxed about this. How can you be
so
sure everything will be okay?”

“Because it has to be,” he said, clicking play on the remote control.

***

We never again talked about what I found that night. Instead, when I wasn’t in class, I spent every waking moment--and some moments I should have spent sleeping--digging through the archives at the library or surfing the Internet for any piece of information I could find pertaining to ancient vampire lore.

When I was with Chaseyn, I watched him like a hawk, looking for any sign something was wrong. Aside from that one grey hair, I hadn’t seen anything to cause me any alarm. It had been weeks since that night, and there were no other external signs, but I wasn’t so sure Chaseyn wasn’t keeping something from me. He hadn’t seemed quite the same since that night.

“You have to stop doing this to yourself,” he said one Friday night while we were in bed.

The room was dark, and we’d both been lying back-to-back in silence pretending to sleep for over an hour. I knew my obsession with finding a cure was driving us apart, but I couldn’t help myself. Once we had what we needed, we could go back to our normal lives. In the big picture, this would be a minor blip on our radar. We would grow old together, like everyone else.

“I can’t help myself,” I said. “I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

“But you’re driving us apart, Cordelia,” he sighed. “I feel like I’ve already lost you.”

I reached up and flipped the switch on my bedside lamp before turning to face him. I was furious at him for saying those terrible things. I wanted him to realize how badly it was hurting me that he wasn’t trying harder to fight for us. He was sitting back idly while I did all the work to find a way to keep us together.

“How can you say that? I’m doing this for us, so we can be together forever,” I shouted.

Chaseyn pushed up on his elbow to face me. His eyes were wide, and I couldn’t tell if he was angry or upset.

“Ha,” he chuckled in a way that suggested he thought my comments were anything but funny. “You talk about forever, but if that’s what you really wanted, you wouldn’t be looking for a cure.”

I knew exactly what he was getting at--that we could literally be together forever if I would let just him take my life, turning us both into vampires. But that option was off the table, and he knew it. He’d hit below the belt with that comment. I grabbed my pillow and tossed back the blankets.

“Where are you going?” he shouted as I took off down the stairs.

I didn’t respond. If he wanted to talk, he’d find me sleeping on the couch.

***

Morning came, and I awoke to the sound of bacon frying on the grill. The events of the night before came back to me in a rush. I was still angry. Chaseyn’s words were harsh, but he was right. I had driven a wedge between us. When we were alone together, all I talked about was finding the cure. I was obsessed. And he’d supported me in every way possible--we’d passed on at least three parties so I could spend the time in the library instead. But it still bothered me that he wasn’t working harder to help me find what we needed.

I laid still a while longer with my eyes close. I wasn’t sure what would happen when I rose, so I held on to the silence a little longer. I contemplated what I would say and how Chaseyn would react. I also wondered how he would greet me. When I could no longer lay still, I twisted free from the throw that was keeping me warm, and stretched my arms over my head.

“Good morning,” Chaseyn said, his voice was raspy.

“Good morning,” I replied coldly.

Silence. Neither one of us knew what to say. I sat looking out the window at the fresh snowfall, while Chaseyn went about his business in the kitchen. I had yet to face him, and I wasn’t ready to just yet. And that’s when I felt his presence come up behind me. A second later, his arm slipped over my shoulder, passing me a steaming cup of coffee.

“Peace offering,” he said.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“I hate fighting with you,” he said, leaning over the back of the couch to wrap his arms around my shoulders. “Don’t ever leave me alone in bed again, okay?”

“Only if you promise me something in return,” I said, turning so my knees were touching the back of the couch. I was gazing up into Chaseyn’s jade green eyes.

“Anything if it means everything will be okay.”

“Make me French toast,” I said, batting my eyelashes flirtatiously. “You know, the kind you stuff with mixed berries and cream cheese.”

“Your wish is my command,” he replied.

“Oh, and one more thing,” I added before he could take more than a few steps back toward the kitchen. He turned to face me again.

“After breakfast, you’ll help me scan the stack of books I brought home from the library last night to look for any clues about the cure.”

“I knew there was a catch,” he chuckled. “I suppose I could agree to that.”

Chaseyn went to work preparing my favorite of the meals Mina had taught him how to make over the past few months. I watched the muscles in his arms flex as he cut the berries, and I longed to run my fingers along his smooth skin.

Regardless of how he had been behaving, I loved him more than any one person should be allowed to love another, and I knew in no uncertain terms that he felt every bit the same way about me. The electricity that sparked between us--even from across the room--was palpable. Chaseyn looked up at me then through his lashes and flashed a toothy grin without missing a beat. My eyes connected with his for a brief moment before he turned to grab a loaf of bread from the pantry.

I was reluctant to let up on my research because I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that we had less time left than Chaseyn had anticipated. I would just have to take another approach. I would find a more positive way to get him onside with my plans. It was the only way to make this work.

“We’ll be okay,” I said quietly, but I knew Chaseyn wouldn’t be able to hear over the sound of the French toast frying. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“So grams, Cordelia tells me you’ve been helping her and Mina research potential cures for my
condition
,” Chaseyn said, popping a fresh-baked shortbread cookie in his mouth.

“They’ll be time enough to talk about that,” she replied, slapping Chaseyn’s hand when he tried to take another cookie from the tray on the cooling rack. She was trailing a reindeer cookie cutter through a neatly rolled sheet of dough.

“I like the way your grandma thinks, love, you could take a page from her book,” Chaseyn said, giving me a wink as he made off with another cookie.

It was bright and early on Christmas eve. I had finished my last exam earlier in the week, and Chaseyn had finished grading his last paper just the day before. My grandmother and Hank arrived a few hours after that, and seeing as though we lived just a short drive outside of Denver, we had met them at the airport. We brought them back to our place, where we had made up our room for them for the night.

Chasyen and I slept on a blow-up mattress in front of the wood-burning stove. Under different circumstances, it would have been utterly romantic. But with my grandmother and her boyfriend sleeping just a few feet away, it was incredibly awkward. We only crawled into bed after I was certain they had fallen asleep for the night, and I made Chaseyn promise to wake me the moment he heard them stirring. The last thing I wanted was for them to see us sleeping together, even though that’s all it was. In fact, aside from our hot-and-heavy make-out sessions, that’s all it had ever been. Sleep. Not because we didn’t want to, but because I still wasn’t ready. Things had been better for us since that night I’d slept on the couch. So much better. Chaseyn had been incredibly attentive, even helping me follow up on new leads to cure his condition. And I had tried harder to leave my research at the library--our home time was all about us.

Chaseyn and I had dismantled our mattress and dressed in the tiny bathroom on the main floor before my grandma and Hank made their way downstairs. We greeted them in the kitchen with blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Now, I had been baking cookies with my grandma since the crack of dawn. And Chaseyn was getting ready to take Hank to the airport to pick up Eli. He and Addie were arriving together, but she would be going directly to her parent’s place until after Christmas. Eli would be spending the holidays on our couch since Hank was his only family, and it was times like these that I wished we had more than one room in our cozy little country cabin. Eli and Chaseyn under one roof was always like waiting for a time bomb to explode. It would be an interesting couple of days. I wished Addie could join us, but I knew her parents were every bit as eager to see her as I was. There would be time for that yet.

“Lia, I missed you,” Eli beamed when he walked through the door. I ran into his arms, and he spun me around the small foyer. I saw Chaseyn glaring daggers with his eyes.

“Nice to see some things never change,” Eli said, elbowing me in the ribs as he took in the sight of Chaseyn seething in the corner. Eli walked to Chaseyn’s side and gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. “It’s okay man. I’m over her for real this time.”

“Hey, I’m still in the room you know,” I pouted.

“No offense, Lia. You know I love you--like a sister--but I’m
in
love with Addie,” Eli replied, and Chaseyn pulled him into a one-armed guy hug. “You too, man--like a brother.”

Chaseyn, Eli, and Hank sat in the living room chatting about whatever men talked about, while my grandma and I finished our baking. When we washed the flour out of all the nooks and crannies and pulled the last tray of cookies from the oven, we went to join the men.

“Ready?” Chaseyn asked as I sat in his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“You better believe it,” I smiled. “Got my thermals on, and I dug my toque out of the closet.”

“Great, then let’s go,” Hank said, popping to his feet.

“I’ll grab the axe,” Eli added.

“I don’t think so,” Chaseyn said. “There’s no way I’m trusting you with a murder weapon anywhere within fifty feet of me.”

“I told you, man, I’m over it,” Eli laughed.

By then, we had dressed in our warmest coats, scarves and boots. That afternoon, we would all head into the woods near our cabin--on land I was pretty sure we owned--to chop down our Christmas tree.

***

Christmas morning wasn’t exactly what I’d envisioned when I thought about our first Christmas together. It was much more crowded. Chaseyn was like a little boy--I don’t think he slept a wink all night. Not unusual, but annoying no less. And, I had barely slept since Eli had arrived. The boy snored so loud it sounded like a freight train was running through the middle of our living room. Not to mention, with him sleeping three feet away, Chaseyn and I had absolutely no privacy. I couldn’t even bring myself to be the little spoon, let alone engage in anything more intimate.

Chaseyn had loaded his iPhone with Christmas carols, and they added background noise to the merriment that came with exchanging and unwrapping our gifts. The five of us crowded under the tree shaking boxes and making our best guesses before tearing the paper from each package to reveal the surprise inside. Chaseyn guessed right every time--where’s the fun in that?

By mid-afternoon, I’d had enough Christmas baking and eggnog that I would be struggling to get into my jeans. I’d worn my pajamas all day, but I knew I would have to put on something more respectable for Christmas dinner at my mother’s house.

“Are you ready to go?” Chaseyn called from the bottom of the stairs. “We’re all waiting on you.”

“Just two more minutes,” I shouted from behind the closet door in our bedroom. By the time everyone else had showered and dressed, there was no hot water left for me. I had to wait for the tank to refill before I could get ready, and then it took me forever to dry my hair. Now I was trying desperately to find something to go with the eccentric new sweater my grandma had knit and insisted I wear to dinner. It was metallic gold, and it reached to my knees. I decided a pair of black skinnies was my only option.

“Oh, honey, you look lovely,” my grandmother said as I came down the stairs. “I just knew you would, and it will be great for school. I hear those oversized, off-the-shoulder styles are all the rage this season.”

Or maybe that style was all the rage in 1988, I thought to myself.

“Yes, and you can rival the angel on the top of the tree for the title of shiniest object in the room,” Eli quipped. Before I could respond, Chaseyn slapped Eli in the back of the head and shot him a dirty look. “What I meant to say is that your radiant, just like the angel. You know, she has that light thing in her hand.”

“Thank you, Eli,” I said, trying to make his comment sound more like a genuine compliment.

“You boys shush,” Hank said. “I think you look beautiful, Lia--just like your grandmother.”

So sweet, I thought as he leaned in to kiss my grandma on the cheek. I hoped Chaseyn and I still shared that kind of love and admiration fifty years from now. Chaseyn pulled my coat over my shoulders, and I slipped on my boots.

We were running behind scheduled, but I knew Chaseyn would make up for lost time on the highway. Thankfully, all of our guests knew his secret, so we had nothing to hide as he sped past the other vehicles on the road.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, man?” Eli asked. He was holding the handrail above the window like he thought he was going to fly out the door if he let go.

“We said we’d be there by five, and I want to be sure we’re not late,” Chaseyn replied. “Do you think I should go faster?”

“No!” Eli, Hank, and my grandmother shouted in unison.

I forgot this was their first experience with Chaseyn behind the wheel--by now, I was used to the speed and his agility. I simply chuckled and shook my head. An hour after we’d left the cabin, we were pulling into my mother’s driveway, and she would be none the wiser. She was under the impression we had left hours ago.

I had one foot through the car door, when I was taken aback by the high-pitched sound of a squealing woman. I pulled my foot back inside and slammed the door closed out of shear fear of what I would encounter if I stepped foot outside the vehicle. It was then that I saw a blonde blur whip past my window and throw herself into Eli’s arms. Addie. She was always one to make an entrance.

“I missed you so much,” she said, planting kisses all over Eli’s face. He had caught her mid-air, and she remained in his arms--her legs wrapped around his waist--as they walked to the door. I was jealous she hadn’t met me with the same warmth, but had the roles been reversed and I’d been apart from Chaseyn for several days, I would have reacted the same way. We’d been friends long enough that I didn’t take it personally--she loved me, too.

“Mom,” Chaseyn said with surprise when Mina met us at the door. He immediately took her into his arms. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered in his ear.

“Did you arrange for her to be here?” he asked.

“We did it together,” I replied, giving Mina a wink.

Mina had been in Romania the past few weeks doing some digging into Alexei’s vampire origins. She knew a great deal about his offspring, but that wasn’t going to help us cure Chaseyn’s condition. We needed to find his ancestors, and she knew the only way to do that was legwork.

“I wanted to be with the family for the holidays,” she replied, gazing at everyone in the room with love and adoration. There was silence for a moment as everyone shared her sentiments. She was right. These people--my mom and Kevin, Eli and Addie, my grandma and Hank, Chaseyn and Mina--they were my family. Some by blood. Others by their loyalty to me. But family all the same.