The vampire's soulmate

Chapter4

I have no idea when I fell asleep. The last thing I remembered was feeling Bella's body in my arms. Or, at least that is what I thought I felt. My phone rang and I immediately knew who was calling me. Gary. We had to leave for our "date". I really wasn't in the mood for going out but since I promised to do so, I needed to keep my word. When did I become the type of person who would rather stay at home and daydream about a girl instead of going out and get some. It all seemed f****d up. I picked up my phone and, before I could say anything, Gary was shouting.

"Man, you were supposed to be here half an hour ago. What happened? Don't you dare tell me you stood me up, because I'll go berserk. " Oh man, I was late.

"What time is it?" I tried to look at the clock but my vision was blurry, I wasn't fully awake yet.

"It's late man. Just get your ass here. Sharon's friend is already nervous and thinking about leaving. If you screw this night for me..." I didn't let him finish.

"I'm coming man. Let me take a quick shower and I'll be on my way."

"Thank you! Now hurry up!" Before he hang up I could hear him mumble something like "I can't believe this guy, you know, I am the dependable person in this work duo". He was definitely bragging to score points with that girl Sharon.

I took a hot, quick shower and threw some casual clothes on, just some black jeans and a white shirt and I was on my way. The girls and Gary were at the table, having drinks. One of the girls was getting lost into Gary's eyes, Sharon, for sure and the other one looked bored. My date, I guess. As I approached them, she lifted her eyes at me and a smile formed at the corners of her mouth.

"Good evening, sorry for being a little bit late. I... uh... lost track of time with some errands." What was I going to say? I slept while thinking about Bella?

"Hey man! Don't stress about it, I already told Penny you got caught up with something." Gary tried to smile but he was definitely anxious, he was afraid the girls might cut the night short. "Penny, Sharon, this is my partner and best friend, William." I nodded towards the girls and sat down.

"So, what would you like to drink, Will?" Penny asked while checking me out from head to waist. The other part of me that she would definitely want to see was under the table. She called me Will. Only close people called me Will.

"I'll call the waiter. Don't stress about it." Her smile faded as she eyed her drink. She didn't look back up. More than fifteen minutes passed without the two of us saying anything. It was awkward silence. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I got it out. I had a message from Gary. 'Man, what the f**k is wrong with you? Why won't you talk to Penny? She is about to leave. I saw the text she sent my Sharon. She will make up an excuse and leave. If she walks away, so will Sharon. Man, so something. For me. I need to get laid. I'll owe you big time.' I groaned and looked at Penny again. She looked nice, black hair, blue eyes, thin figure. I guess I could at least have a nice chat with her.

"So, do you come here often?" The girl lifted her head and looked at Gary, I guess she thought I was speaking to him. But then she caught my gaze and knew I was talking to her.

"Ow, you asked me." She even giggled little bit. "Not really. It's my first time here. I'm not a very outgoing person, nor do I drink often." I knew she was telling the truth because her drink was almost full. She only took small sips.

"I'm not a drinker either. I would rather have a nice cup of coffee or some ice tea."

"Me too. Really. I drink gallons of coffee at work in order to keep my energy."

"I know a great place with ice coffee and tea. What do you say weave these two lovebirds one and grab some cold beverage that we could actually enjoy."

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Gary, Sharon, Penny and I will be grab some ice coffee. I hope you don't mind us parting ways tonight." Sharon was about to say something but I cut her off. "Don't worry Sharon, I will make sure Penny gets home safely. I'll drive her myself. You two enjoy your evening and we will make the best of ours." Without them saying anything we walked away. My phone buzzed again in my pocket. I had another message from Gary. 'Thank you, man! You made my night!' So, I texted him back. 'Enjoy yourself. Use protection, we don't want kids yet.' I put a smiley face at the end.

The rest of the evening was quite pleasant. Penny was a nice girl. I kind of felt sorry for her that she had to spend her time with a vampire. It wasn't safe for her. I did my best to keep my distance and keep our conversation from, so I don't lead her in any wrong, romantic direction. I could tell she was into me, she had even asked for my phone number and I was trying to make up an excuse to not give it to her, but I got lucky because Sharon called to check up on her and she forgot about it. When I drove her home, she didn't immediately got off my car, she waited for a minute or so. I think she was hoping for a kiss or, at least, for me to ask for her phone number but I just told her I had a nice time and stayed in silence until she decided to get off. As soon as she entered the door, I went home and slept. I had a long day and Bella was still on my mind. When her name popped into my head, a voice at the back of my mind always whispered 'soulmate'.

Bella POV

I had a very restless night. I kept thinking about Will since I saw him yesterday. I really need to do something in order to find out more about him. I may have understood everything wrong and he may be single, in which case I would have a chance or he could be involved with someone and I would really need to move on. The truth is that I can't really imagine myself with someone else. All I see wrapped around myself are his arms, the only smell I wish to inhale for the rest of my life is the smell of his hot skin, the only lips I wish to kiss are his and the only drops of water I wish to taste are the salty drops of sweat from his body when we make love. I am tired of feeling aroused whenever I think about him, I kind of started to understand Iris and her obsession of having someone devour her. Now, that William is in my heart, I wish the same thing. Badly. Eventually, after a long time of daydreaming about Will again, I got up and went downstairs to have my morning coffee. My aunt Maya was waiting for me with a huge grin on her face.

"Hey, sweetheart. A little bird told me that you may have a date soon." Her smile was so wide that it reached her ears. I wondered if her checks hurt from so much grinning.

"Morning, auntie. Yeah, I am going out with Ian." Before she could add anything I continued with my speech, I didn't want her to get her hopes up. "Keep in mind, please, that this is just one date. I know Ian is a great guy, and I know that you are rooting for us, but just know that it is very likely that we get along just as friends. If anything else should happen, I promise I will let you know. Please, don't ask any question, nor should you make any assumptions about us. I will tell you everything there is to know. And for now, there is nothing going on between us. Is that clear enough?" I said it as gently as possible, hoping she wouldn't mind my telling her to keep her butt out of my "relationship" with Ian.

"Sure do, baby. You know I want you girls to be happy." She smiled and poured my coffee. Auntie knew exactly how I liked it. "Jarred is coming over today. Iris wished to introduce him to me first, to help her smooth the way when introducing him to your father." She giggled a little bit. She knew that my father would approve of the guy Iris dated, no matter who he was. He lived both of us so much, he just wanted us to be happy. I was glad that Jarred was coming over, I wanted to meet my sister's dream man, she was over the moon whenever she mentioned him, so he must be a really great guy.

Jarred was an hour earlier, he was very anxious to see my sister. As soon as he walked into the house, it was like there was no one else in the room, but my sister. He went straight to her, took her in his arms and gave her a looong kiss. Too long. My aunt had to start fake coughing to let them know we were in the room. Even Iris seemed to be oblivious that we were still there. I started giggling when seeing how awkward they felt when they stopped kissing.

"Auntie, Bella, this is Jarred, my love." Iris said, visibly proud of introducing her boyfriend. I could hear her mind screaming something about Jarred being the love of her life and hoping she would soon be intimate with him, I had a really hard time trying to contain my laughter. She sounded desperate. It was a good thing no one else could read her mind. She eventually caught my gaze and blushed a little. So, to avoid her embarrassment I said something.

"It is really nice to finally meet you, Jarred. Iris kept talking on and on about how great you are that we were really curious to finally officially meet the person who is ringing her bells."

"It is indeed an honor to meet you, Jarred. My niece is really happy to have you in her life. She told us a lot about you." Auntie smiled at him and gave him a short, warm hug. Jarred relaxed almost instantly and smiled at us.

"I'm very happy to finally meet you too. Iris always said that she is very close to her family and that she is lucky to have you in her life." My aunt Maya invited them to have a seat while she went to the kitchen to make some ice tea. I stayed for a little while with them and when my aunt came, I excused myself and went to my room. While being in my room, resting, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I tried to breathe deep while staying calm, but it felt impossible. I reached for the door, desperate to call my aunt Maya and Iris, but I didn't get to touch the door knob because all went blank. I saw this huge light far far away, and all around me, there was darkness. A cold shiver went down my spine as I wondered whether this is what death felt like. I started running towards the light but it kept getting farther and farther. Eventually I got tired and fell on my knees. I started breathing harder and I began to sob. Tears were falling g down my cheeks right on my dress. I was so sad. My mind flew to father, Iris, aunt Maya, uncle Ben, Will. Oh, William. He will never get to know how much I loved him. I covered my face with my palms and stood there for what felt like hours and hours. My body went numb after a while, I wasn't feeling sad anymore. Actually, I wasn't feeling anything at all. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and as I opened my eyes, I saw a soft hand with pale skin caressing me. I lifted my gaze and there he was. My man. My beautiful creature. My soulmate. William. I got up to my feet and threw myself in his arms. Everything felt right here. I felt peace, love, I felt safe. Not wanting to let go of him, I asked while still sniffing the sweet scent of his chest.

"Will, why are you here? How did you know where to find me? Where exactly are we?" I pulled him even tighter, so he won't back off from our hug when answering me.I stood there and stood but no answer came. When I finally lifted my gaze, Will face was expressionless. It was as if his body was right there with me but his mind was somewhere else.

"Will! Will! Please, look at me. I'm standing right here. Please, help me! I need you so bad!" I grabbed his hand and put it on my check, hoping he will feel my warmth. Tears started running down again, but it was in vain. William wasn't able to feel my touch, he was absent minded.

The numbness was gone, desperation and sadness filled the void. The light was coming closer to me, I knew this time I would be able to reach it. I just didn't know whether I was able to leave William's side. I got to touch him, hug him even, my heart wasn't willing to let go of the feeling yet. For a moment, I was the happiest woman in the world. The light kept coming towards me, it was getting closer and closer, so I had to make my decision. Father, Iris or the love of my life? I grabbed William's hand and tried to run away from the light. Will's body remained on the spot, it was as if it was pinned to the ground. I kept pulling, but it wouldn't budge, not even for an inch. I looked in William's eyes and, for a second, I saw nothing but pain there. And then I understood, the same pain would be felt by everyone around me if I stood here with Will. It would be agonizing. So, I dared to do one last thing before I let the light overwhelm me. I grabbed William's face, stood on my tiptoes and gently kissed him. His lips were so sweet and delicious and I would just stand like this, connected to this beautiful mouth, for an entire lifetime. This time, the kiss in my dreams didn't make me horny. It made me feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy because it gave me the chance to feel his woman, sad that I had to leave this feeling behind. The light took over me and I drifted slowly to sleep. When I woke up, it was dark outside my window. I must have dozed off all afternoon. I turned and Iris was standing right there beside me, intensely looking at me, worry in her eyes.

"Hey, how are you? You got us a little scared today." What? Why would I scare them? Is it as if I haven't slept an entire afternoon before.

"What do you mean?"

"After Jarred left, when we saw that you weren't coming downstairs again, aunt Maya and I came to see what you were doing and we found you passed out." She seemed terrified remembering this."Bells, for a moment there, I felt no connection with you. It was as if you were dead." This time, her eyes were in tears. I remembered the lain in my chest, my dream, the light, Will and I immediately understood.

"I'm sorry. I must have passed out, but I'm fine now. I'll go see the doctor these days, have a check-up."

"Promise?" I nodded. "Okay then, I"ll let you sleep. See you tomorrow. Dad is home, he was worried sick, I barely convinced him to go and rest. As soon as I felt you were okay, I calmed everyone down. Sleep well, sis!"

"Thank you for your care sis! Love you! See you in the morning!" I closed my eyes again and, even though I had already slept a lot, I felt exhausted, so I dozed off almost immediately.