Unrequited (20 page)

She was a nurse; she would have access to human blood. He worried she would be horrified and turn him down, but instead, she agreed to help without hesitation.

“I know something is brewing, and I want you to be strong enough to handle it,” she said over the phone. Will made arrangements to meet her, and began to plan how he would tell Gwendolyn to leave.

***

Griffin arrived at Will's house, but he could sense that nobody was there. He decided to stay on the porch and wait for Will to return. Their meeting was very important, and he couldn’t risk missing him. His senses felt heightened and strong, and he was fully aware of everything happening around him. Griffin was a warrior in the calm before the storm of battle. He would be ready next time Gwendolyn appeared, and he knew she would appear again.

Time ticked away, until finally, the teacher drove his car into the driveway. Griffin was surprised to have a pleasant feeling at seeing Will. For so long he had considered him an enemy, but the two had formed a kinship, and Griffin was glad for it. He had gone from being alone in the world to having a love and now also a friend.

His friend got out of his car and approached the porch.

“Griffin?”

“Will, there are things we must discuss.” Griffin stood and followed Will inside the house.

“It's about Gwendolyn,” Will offered before Griffin could say anything else.

“Yes, she is a wicked being, Will. You cannot be taken in by her. She is your creator.”

“I know, Griffin, I know. I know she has overpowered me so much that I have driven Ashton away. She has consumed me, but I am stronger now. I can loosen her hold, but I may need your help.”

Griffin almost laughed. They must be friends now if Will was asking for his help.

“I will help. First, I need to be completely honest with you.” Griffin did laugh a little now. “Ever since meeting Ashton and coming to this town, I have suddenly been inspired to forge a new path for my life. I can't start down that path unless I am completely up front. I love Ashton, and I know you know that. I also know you love her as deeply as I do. No matter what choices she makes for herself, I will still love her. I have told her I will always be there for her. I will always be ready to accept her should she ever decide to be with me. I will not try to sway her or change her mind, but I will always be waiting for her.” Griffin waited for Will to respond.

“I know you love her. I will never fault you for that. I will always be there for her too, should she choose you over me. If all we want is Ashton's happiness, then we will always know where each other stand.” Will extended a hand, and Griffin accepted.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ashton felt like a bad romance novel heroine. She was constantly in a state of conflict or despair. She was in love with two men, one dark and one fair. She felt like a cliché.

“Mama, I'm going for a walk,” she yelled to Elaine as she headed for the door.

“Ash, I don't think you should. Something strange is happening. I can feel it.”

“Oh, you don't start getting senses now, okay? Leave that up to us vampires.” Ashton laughed and walked out the door. The warm summer air would help her clear her head. She was tired of worrying and dwelling on things she couldn’t control. Instead, she was going to try and just see how everything played out. Will knew her feelings. Griffin knew her feelings. It was up to them to decide how they would use that information.

“I can't control that Gwendolyn chick, so I'm not gonna let thoughts of her control me,” Ashton said aloud to the air, and saying it made her feel empowered.

“Really?” An ice-cold voice spoke out from behind Ashton.

Gwendolyn. Ashton knew who it was before she even turned. She had not yet met this vampire, but introductions were not needed.

“So you are the girl that has my boys all tied up in knots. I expected you to be beautiful
…
but now that I see you, I have to wonder why all the fuss?” She spoke to Ashton in an overly sweet voice that belied the words being used.

“Will doesn’t want me, and Griffin…Griffin and I are at odds. I cannot control their feelings, nor do I wish to. I just want to be alone right now, thank you.” She started walking again, this time toward her home. She prayed Gwendolyn would let go of whatever mission she had come here on.

Her prayers were not answered.

“Oh, Ashton, you are such a silly thing. Some people reek of 'new vampire.' You are one of them. Worst case of it I have ever seen. You are so naïve to think you can just say a few words and walk away. You are so ignorant to think I'm going to let you live to see one more day.” Ashton stopped walking, and the fear running through her body was worse than any she had ever known.

“Why…why, Gwendolyn? Why do I have to die?” she whispered the question without turning around. As confusing and unpredictable as the vampire world could be, the thought that someone wanted her dead was completely senseless.

“It is simple, my dear. I am used to getting everything I want. I thought I wanted Will, but he is a bore. I offered myself to Griffin, and he turned me down because he is in love with you. My first thought was to kill Will, just so I wouldn't have to deal with him. With him out of the picture I thought you might just go away, and I could have Griffin for myself.” Ashton contemplated running, but Gwendolyn's next words stopped her in her tracks.

“Then, I overheard the most interesting conversation. It was about you, and these two simpering idiots were pledging to always be there for you, no matter who you might choose to love.” Gwendolyn walked toward Ashton and touched her cheek.

“You see, I look at you and I see a poor, stupid creature who has somehow won the hearts of the men I wanted. I can't have that, and more importantly, I cannot let you have it.” Gwendolyn's face turned dark, and she roughly grabbed Ashton by the arm and forced her down the road, far away from the Wallace house.

Ashton screamed, but her cries were swallowed by the vast and empty fields surrounding them. She struggled to pull away, but the grip on her arm was strong. Ashton could feel her flesh tear a little as Gwendolyn's razor-sharp nails dug in tighter and tighter. She tried to keep some sense of calm so she could recognize any opportunity for escape, but the further they traveled, the more hopeless she felt.

Vampires were supposed to live forever, but Ashton knew she was about to die.

***

Will and Griffin were talking on the front porch when Elaine Wallace whipped her car into the drive.

“Will, I can't find Ashton. She went for a walk, even though I asked her not to. I decided to go get her, and she isn't anywhere on the road. Can you help?” She glanced at Griffin. “Can you both help?”

Will knew instantly this had to do with Gwendolyn. He didn’t want Elaine to be in harm's way, and he didn’t want to alarm her, so he tried to sound calm.

“Oh I'm sure she just took a different path. Why don't you go check the school? Some of the teachers were there looking at their classrooms for fall. I think I remember Ashton saying something about wanting to go over there. We'll also take a spin around town and see if we can find her.” Will hoped he sounded convincing. He must have, because Elaine smiled and agreed to go to the school.

As soon as she pulled away, Will and Griffin jumped into a car and started driving out of town.

“Griffin, can you sense anything that can give us a direction?” Griffin had superior skills, and he was counting on them now.

“Yeah, keep going north. I can feel her, and the closer we get, I’ll be able to hear her.” They drove on. Griffin looked distraught as he began receiving more and more of Ashton's emotions.

“She’s scared. She’s very scared. Will, I think she might be…Wait! Turn here.” Griffin gestured for Will to swing the car left onto the road to the rock quarry.

Will slammed the gas pedal to the floorboard. The car sped toward the quarry, and as they gained ground, the men could make out the figures of two women. The car stopped and they both bolted from the car.

“Let her go, Gwendolyn,” Will raged. For a moment, everyone fell silent at this uncharacteristic eruption.

Will didn’t stop. He kept moving toward Gwendolyn. He knew, for the first time in his life, that he was going to kill another person. Gwendolyn knew it, too; he could tell by the gleam in her eyes. She loved a fight. She was hoping for a fight.

Griffin's stride matched Will's, and both men were focused on Gwendolyn. As they neared her, she took a step away from Ashton. Will was relieved. This would be between them. They could leave Ashton out of it. Just as soon as he thought Ashton was safe, Gwendolyn took another step away and then started running full force toward Ashton.

Before anything could be done, Gwendolyn threw her body against Ashton. The force of the hit caused Ashton to fall over the quarry edge and plummet to the bottom. Will stopped breathing, and something squeezed painfully in his chest. He was gripped with horror. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. After a moment, Will was faintly aware of a cackling laugh as he rushed to look over the edge of the quarry.

Ashton was dead or very nearly dead. He could tell.

“Griffin, Griffin can you feel her?” he yelled for any sort of indication of life.

“She is alive, but barely. Will, you have to go to her. I'll take care of this.” Will turned to see Griffin bracing for a fight with Gwendolyn. He ran from the scene and, sliding down rocks, made his way to the bottom of the quarry.

“Ashton, oh, love, can you hear me?” He knelt beside her and gently placed her head in his lap. She was broken. Her entire body was open wounds. There was bone protruding from more than one place. Her head was bleeding profusely, and he knew she was about to die.

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” He wept. He had brought her to this because he had been weak when he should have been strong.

Ashton didn’t make a sound. She didn’t open her eyes. Her fingers didn’t move. Will placed his hand gently on her chest to see if her heart was still beating.

“You have to help her.” Will looked up to see Griffin staring down at him.

“Will, you have to help her. You have to make her drink. It's the only thing that might save her.” Griffin sat on the ground. He was covered in dirt. He was cut in several places on his face and arms. His clothes were ripped.

“Gwendolyn?” Will asked.

“Dead,” was the curt reply, “Will, I can’t do this. I'm too weak from fighting Gwendolyn. You have to feed her.”

Will looked around and grabbed a sharp rock. Without hesitation he cut open his forearm. Dropping the rock, he gently opened Ashton's mouth. He placed his opened arm on her mouth and willed her to drink.

“Please, please, Ashton, drink. You have to drink.” He kept his arm on her mouth, and he stroked her cheek and throat. Will prayed, silently and then out loud for Ashton to be saved.

There was a slight movement on his arm. Ashton's lips were brushing him. She was weakly drinking, but would it be enough?

Minutes went by. Will could feel her getting slightly stronger as her lips became more insistent. He felt himself weaken a little, and it made him happy, because that meant she was getting what she needed.

She stopped, and he slowly removed his arm from her lips.

“Ashton?” He needed her to speak. If she would just say something, or open her eyes, he knew she would be able to recover. Griffin had moved closer and was stroking her hand.

Both men hovered over her, waiting.

***

Ashton had never felt such pain. She was sure she had died. When Gwendolyn pushed her, she felt such a sense of fear and sadness. She was sad her life was going to end before it ever truly started.

Then she hit the rocks.

She could feel her bones breaking. She knew she was losing blood. She tried to open her eyes, but didn’t have the strength. Ashton was dying, and she tried to spend her last moments thinking of her family. Her loving parents and her brother who was just starting to become a man. She was going to miss them. She was sorry for the grief they were about to go through because of her.

Ashton also thought of Will. He had loved her from the beginning, even when she didn't deserve it. She thought of Griffin, who had learned to love because of her. Her thoughts began to fade, and she was drifting away from the world.

Then something touched her lips. It was salty and had a metallic taste, and she knew it must be blood. Even in her diminished state, the thought of blood was repulsive. She was not going to swallow it until she heard someone say “please.” That “please” sounded so small and so desperate, and she knew the only way to help the person who said it would be to drink.

So she did. She drank the proffered blood, and with each drop she felt a little more aware. She felt her body drift back to the Earth, and she knew today was not the day she would die.

The source of the blood moved from her lips, and Ashton tried to gather any amount of strength she had to give a signal she was still alive.

After several minutes, Ashton slowly opened her eyes and stared into the faces of the men she loved.