Unrequited (16 page)

***

“From everything you've described, it sounds like Griffin may be Ashton's creator. Or at the very least, they came from the same creator. Vampires have a powerful bond with the vampire who made them. It could explain the love-hate relationship Ashton seems to be having with both you and Griffin.” Henry's voice boomed through the phone line.

“That would explain her inability to really explain her attraction to Griffin…but, Henry, I've never felt any draw toward some faraway vampire that created me.” Will was trying to piece together Henry's opinions, and couldn’t believe he hadn't realized the same earlier. Griffin had created Ashton, though Will still didn’t know exactly how that had come about. It was one subject that was still off limits after all these years.

“Perhaps your creator is dead. Or perhaps your creator has always been so far away, you haven't felt the same pull Ashton does, and maybe you have been alone for so long, you never will. There are a lot of unknowns in your world, Will.” Henry was always the voice of great reason, and Will could also detect a hint of excitement. Undoubtedly, Henry was thrilled at the chance to learn even more about this world he had devoted most of his life to studying.

“It's amazing that after all these years of living a solitary existence, vampires start entering my life at an increasing pace. I think it's time to find out what Ashton knows about the night she changed.”

Will bid Henry farewell and promised to call as soon as he gathered more information.

He grabbed his keys and left his house in search of Ashton.

***

Ashton settled on a book to read. The house would be quiet tonight since her parents would be joining the rest of Belle Ridge at the dance. They left a little early to get some dinner, and Calvin had been gone since noon with his friends. Ashton went to the living room and sat on the couch with her book.

Just as she was getting into the first chapter, there was a knock at the door.

“Griffin.” She spoke aloud to the room, knowing he was undoubtedly on the other side of her door.

Only half-remembering her previous decision to be with Will, Ashton readily opened the door for Griffin.

His presence filled the room. He was wearing his characteristic outfit of black on black, and it struck Ashton that the man seemed to become more handsome by the day. She had a moment of trepidation, and stepped away from him as he walked toward her.

“Why is it always back to this?” He asked, obviously seeing her hesitation.

Ashton didn’t know why she always felt this mix of emotions. Was it possible to want to run from someone while also wanting to cling to them?

“Why are you here?” Ashton ignored his question and asked one of her own.

“I came to collect you for the dance.” He stepped forward until he was standing over her.

“Thank you, but I'm not going. I just want to stay home and read.” Ashton motioned toward the discarded book on the sofa.

“That won't do, love. It's my great dream in life to dance with you, and that dream is going to come true tonight. Now please, go get dressed.” The words were said in a gentle manner, but they felt more like a command than a request. Ashton hated being told what to do. A spark of something resembling her normal self flickered but then quickly died out, and she decided to give in and go to the dance.

“Sit down. I'll be right back.” She motioned for Griffin to take a chair and then went to her bedroom.

Ashton walked into her room and shut the door behind her. “What am I doing?” she whispered to herself.

She couldn’t understand this power Griffin had over her, and it seemed to grow stronger with each passing day. When she was away from him, and had time to think clearly, she knew he wasn't right for her. Anyone could tell Will was the right choice, and not just for a girl in her condition. Will was the type of man any woman would want to be with. He was safe and sweet and funny. He tried to take life at face value and enjoy each day for what it could bring. Will was the man she should be with…then why couldn’t she shake Griffin?

Griffin was the opposite of Will. He was impetuous and domineering. He had a way of always being in control of every situation. Sometimes she fancied herself falling in love with him, and the way he seemed to sweep in and throw her senses into a tailspin. She understood the feelings of trepidation her mother and Will expressed about Griffin. From the outside he seemed arrogant and dangerous, but Ashton knew a different side of him. A side he had shown her on a few occasions.

“Do you miss them, your family?” Ashton asked during a walk along the river.

Griffin looked into the distance, as he often did when a subject had arisen he was uncomfortable with. Ashton had seen that look many times since they started their walks. She also knew that, given some gentle nudging, he would eventually answer her.

“I ask because I know the day will come when I have to say goodbye to my family, and the thought is unbearable. If you can tell me it somehow gets easier with time, at least that is something I can hold onto.” She reached out and touched his arm, and the two of them came to a stop.

“Missing them never gets easier, Ashton. The pain becomes…it becomes something you eventually learn to live with, but unlike mortals who have the gift and hope of joining their loved ones in the afterlife, we have only the truth that we will never ever see our loved ones again.” Griffin stopped speaking, and Ashton watched as he took a ragged breath. It was the first time she had seen him come close to losing his composure. It was the first time she knew, with certainty, that his heart held deeper emotions than he liked to display.

Ashton had thought of that moment many times. The memory of it guided her decision to accompany Griffin to the dance, just as it guided her to give him alleyways into her heart when others would have her shut him out. She opened her closet and, after hardly a moment of deliberating, chose a dress and shoes. A few minutes later she was ready and walking out the door to Griffin's waiting car.

As they drove down the long dirt road to town, a car passed them. Ashton knew it was Will they had passed, and knew he would turn and follow them to the dance. She looked at the dark and handsome man next to her, and sunk back into her seat a little more. Ashton wasn't sure if she was running from a problem, or running away with one.

***

Will passed Ashton and Griffin on the dirt road. He knew they were headed to the dance. Stopping in the middle of the road, Will turned his car and followed them back into town. There was no question in his mind that Griffin had created Ashton.

Though he still didn’t know the events that had occurred the night Ashton was changed, he knew there was no excuse for Griffin to attack and alter an innocent girl. Beyond that, there was a depravity in Griffin's conquest of Ashton, as though he had created her for his personal pursuits and would toy with her until he moved in for the final kill. If Will and Henry's suspicions were correct, Ashton would always be drawn to Griffin for as long as he continued to desire it. Tonight, Will was going to try and upset Griffin's plans. This was the night Will was going to get the answers he had been searching for since the moment Ashton first moved to Belle Ridge. He just hoped those answers didn’t come at a price.

Ashton might not value herself enough to steer clear of such a dangerous man, but Will valued her beyond all measure, and he was going to make sure she was protected.

Chapter Twenty-One

The town square had been blocked off for the end of fair festivities. There were food stands and game booths for the kids. The majority of the space was sectioned off for the dance. A small stage had been built for the musicians to play on, and lights had been strung overhead. A group of young girls with ribbons in their hair ran by waving sparklers. Ashton felt transported when she caught her first view of everything. The scene reminded her of an old movie, and she wanted to step back in time before cell phones and the internet and vampires who pulled her in different directions.

As if reading her thoughts, Ashton felt Griffin's hand on her arm as he pulled her toward a set of benches near the dance area.

“Why don't we sit for a while until the music gets started?” Griffin asked, and before Ashton could answer, he pulled her to sit beside him on a small wrought iron bench.

“In my day, sitting on a bench with a young lady in a public area was a way of letting the world know of certain intentions, and if the young lady acquiesced and stayed on the bench, she was accepting those intentions,” Griffin whispered in Ashton's ear. His words harkened back to a time of innocence, but there was something less than virtuous in his tone.

Ashton didn’t move. Instead she focused on a man and woman who were slowly dancing in the middle of the street. They looked so happy and in love. She found herself wildly jealous of the woman. That woman probably had an uncomplicated road to love, a road Ashton would give anything to be on. Instead she was on a seesaw, one minute raised up and in love with one man, the next minute falling and thinking she was in love with the other.

She continued to watch the dancing lovers, even as she could feel Griffin's eyes staring at her, waiting for a response.

“Ashton, don't pretend you misunderstand my words,” Griffin finally said after several more moments of silence had passed. Still, Ashton said nothing. She wasn't trying to be coy or purposefully misleading, but no matter how much she wanted to make a decision about the man next to her, she couldn’t.

She could sense Griffin's growing frustration, and he moved closer until his body was so close to hers they were almost touching. His eyes seemed to grow darker, and he spoke in a low and ragged voice.

“I need you, Ashton. I want you more than I have ever wanted another person. I know you’ve had some mixed emotions about me and that…teacher, but I'm asking you to make a decision now. I'm telling you I'm the only choice. I'm the only one who can love you the way you need to be loved.” His finger trailed down the side of Ashton's face, to her neck, and to her shoulder where it made lazy circles.

“Please, Ashton.”

Ashton couldn’t breathe. There was something so desirable about Griffin. It wasn't just his look, but something inside as well. For all the moments where she felt he was dangerous and wrong for her, there were other moments where a different Griffin showed himself. That other Griffin was hard to resist. As much as she cared for Will, he had never been able to get inside her the way Griffin had. There were times she actually thought she could feel Griffin coursing through her veins as though his blood were her own.

Ashton couldn’t respond to his plea. She searched within herself to find an answer, and she only found more questions. Who could she love? Who should she love? Before she could add any more to the list, she was pulled from the bench.

***

Griffin took Ashton by the hand and led her to the street and stopped a few paces away from the couple they had been watching. Slowly they began to move to the music, and Griffin searched Ashton's face.

He could see the questions running through her head, and it touched a small spot inside that he no longer thought existed. For a moment, Griffin felt vulnerable. For so long he had gotten whatever and whomever he had wanted, and if they shouldn't want him back, it hardly mattered. There was always another woman waiting in the wings.

For the first time in centuries, Griffin felt a longing in his heart. There was something so perfectly sweet about Ashton, something so unspoiled. He found himself silently calling to God above to give him this one thing, and if he could have it, he would never ask for anything else so long as he should exist.

He felt intensely jealous of the teacher, for he knew somehow Will Leighton had touched a spot inside Ashton's heart she had guarded from all others, including Griffin.

The thought had occurred to Griffin that there was one way to get rid of Will forever: by exposing him as a vampire. Will would have no choice but to leave Belle Ridge and Ashton. Griffin knew he could then have Ashton to himself, for she would never leave her family to follow Will. She had made it clear she would stay with them in Belle Ridge for as long as possible.

As quickly as he had the idea, and he'd thought about it many times, he dismissed it. Griffin could never hurt Ashton in that way. As much as he detested the teacher, he knew Ashton needed him in her life. Will brought Ashton a certain level of comfort and stability to this world the three of them inhabited, and he could never take that away from the woman he loved.

Griffin pulled Ashton closer in his arms and willed this dance to last forever, but the song ended, and Ashton pulled away and walked back toward the bench.

***

Will watched the entire scene unfold, the conversation, the caressing touch, the dancing, and most importantly, the conflict in Ashton's face. He could see the confusion every time she looked into Griffin's face, as though she couldn’t understand her attraction to the man.

Will felt he finally did understand this connection between Griffin and Ashton, and he knew what he had to do.

The streets were beginning to fill as the dance was finally underway. Will made his way through the crowd, intent on speaking with Griffin. Until now, two men had only circled each other, but they had never actually spoken man to man. It was time they finally did.

As he walked, Will was stopped and greeted by many of the students and townspeople he had befriended over the past few years. More than one former student asked for a dance, and he tried to put them off as politely as he could while he continued to push his way through the crowd.