Vampire Born

Piano Music

“Everything okay?”  Rose asks looking at me.  I feel like mush.  Like a puddle on the floor.  “Dahlia?”

“Yeah.  Everything’s fine.”

“You love him, don’t you?”  Rose says.

“You knew that already.”  I say looking at her.

“True, but I didn’t realize until now just how much you love him.”

“It’s been growing.”

“I can tell.”  She smiles.  I wash and she dries.  After the dishes are done, I go upstairs and fill my bathtub.  I add a couple drops of lavender oil.  I grab my book and sink into the warm water.  After fifteen minutes of being in the water, I get out and get ready for bed.  I drift off into a blissful sleep.

The next morning I wake up to my alarm and hop in the shower.  After I wash up, I wrap myself in my towel and wrap another around my head.  I go into my closet to find an outfit for the day.  I dress in black pants and a mauve blouse.  I braid my hair and wrap it in a bun.  I go downstairs to the kitchen.  As I make the morning blood, I think about how Rose and Lysander have gotten close, but I can’t even tell Marius how I feel.  As I stir the blood for the hundredth time, Marius appears in the doorway.  He leans against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets.  God, does he look sexy!

“Morning.”  He smiles a true smile that shows in his eyes and dimples.

“Morning.”  I smile in return.  “How did you sleep?”

“Very well.  And you?”

“Peacefully.”  I reply.

“That’s good.”  He says.  I nod and go back to the blood.  If I look at him much longer, I may reveal how I feel.  I get out four mugs and pour the contents of the pan into them.  I briefly look at Marius to give him his mug.  “Thank you.”  He smiles a true smile again.

“You’re welcome.”  Just then Rose and Lysander walk in holding hands.  I think about how nice it would be to be able to do that with Marius and if I could blush, I would be.  Marius looks at me with a smile in his eyes.  I wonder what he is thinking.

“So, I’m thinking the four of us should go for a walk.”  Marius speaks out.

“Where should we walk?”  Lysander asks.

“Just in the woods out back.”  Marius replies.

“Sounds good to me.”  Rose chimes.

“I’m down for it.”  I say.

“Sure.  Why not?”  Lysander finally says.

“Let’s go then.”  Marius, Rose, Lysander, and I grab our mugs and head out the back door.  We walk for about half an hour with Rose and Lysander making me jealous by holding hands.  When we get back to the house, Rose and I wash dishes.  I then go to the library and lay down on the couch.  I wrap the throw from the back of the couch around me and drift off.  When I wake up, it is midafternoon.  I go in search of everyone.  I find Rose and Lysander in the pool and Marius in his study.  I decide to go to the bowling alley and bowl a couple games.  As I am finishing game two, Marius joins me.  Together we bowl two more games.  I then go upstairs to make more blood.  I go into the kitchen with Marius on my heels.  When we reach the kitchen, I turn to look at him and he has this smug grin on his face.

“Is there something I can do for you?”  I ask.

“It’s about my birthday.”  He says.

“What about it?”  Just then Rose walks in.

“Never mind.”  He says then turns and leaves.

“What was that about?”  Rose asks.

“I’m not entirely sure.”  I reply.

“Interesting.”  I nod in agreement.  I get the blood heating when Lysander walks in.  He takes Rose into his arms.  I get jealous for the third time today.  Marius walks in, sees Rose in Lysander’s arms, and then looks at me with a smile in his eyes.  I shyly smile back.

“Blood is ready.”  I announce.  I pour the blood into four mugs.  Lysander and Rose grab theirs and head outside leaving me alone with Marius.

“Shall we join them?”  Marius asks.

“First, I would like to know what you were going to say to me before Rose walked in.”  I reply.

“Oh.  That.  It was nothing.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Hey.  You guys coming out here with us?”  Lysander pops his head in.  I grab my mug.

“Yeah.  We’re coming.”  I say and walk out with Marius behind me.  We all sit enjoying the twilight of the evening.  My favorite time of day.  The sky tonight looks picturesque.  Straight from a painting.

“I bet you could draw the way the sky looks tonight.”  Marius says.

“I don’t think I’m that good.”  I retort.

“I beg to differ.”  Marius uses my words from a few minutes ago.

“Thank you.”  I smile shyly into my mug.

“You’re welcome.”

“So, what’s everyone’s plan for the night?”  Rose asks.

“I don’t have one.”  I say.

“Me neither.  Why?  What were you thinking?”  Marius says.

“I was thinking the four of us could watch a movie and play a game.”  Rose answers.

“That sounds like a great idea.  What movie and what game?”  I ask.

“How about The Greatest Showman for the movie and Monopoly for the game?”

“Sounds good to me.”  I say.

“Yeah.  Sounds like fun.”  Marius chimes in.

“Let’s go then.”  Lysander says standing up.  He takes Rose’s hand and helps her up.  Marius and I stand up and the four of us go down to the theater room and get everything set up.  We watch, play, and laugh at each other.  The first movie ends and we fire up another one.  This time we watch How to Train Your Dragon while still playing Monopoly.  We have such fun.  Once the second movie is over, I decide to grab a book and go up to my room.  I grab The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.  I head up to my room and decide to take a bath.  I drop some lavender into the bath while the water runs.  Once the tub is full, I step in and open my book.  I read and soak for about fifteen minutes before my eyes won’t stay open.  I get out of the water and dry off.  I put on my pajamas and crawl into bed.  I am soon fast asleep.  However, it’s a rough night for me.  I have a nightmare where I’m being experimented on in a human lab.  I startle awake, but soon drift back off and sleep through the night.

~

This morning when I wake up, I go down to the kitchen as usual but when I get down there, Rose is already there making the blood.

“Morning.”  She sing songs.

“Morning.”  I smile.  “What’s going on?”

“Oh.  Well, I woke up early, so, I decided to go ahead and make the blood this morning.”

“Oh.  Okay.”  I shrug.  Marius and Lysander come into the kitchen.  Rose pours the blood and we each take a mug.  The four of us go out onto the patio and enjoy the early morning light.  “So, I was thinking that today the four of us should go for a walk.”

“Why don’t we finish our blood and then go once dishes are done.”  Marius smiles.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”  Rose says.

“Same here.”  Lysander adds.

“Okay.”  We finish our blood in silence and then Rose and I go into the house to wash the dishes.  Once those are done, the four of us get ready for our walk.  Rose and Lysander walk ahead of Marius and me.  They hold hands while walking.  I wish I could do that with Marius.  Rose and Lysander talk and giggle but Marius and I stay silent.  After our walk, Lysander suggests a movie.  I make a fresh pot of blood then the four of us go down to the theater room.  We start watching The Host and drinking our blood.  While watching, Lysander and Rose get cozy together.  It makes me wish I could be honest with Marius about my feelings for him.  But I am a coward so I sit curled in the corner of my recliner, away from him.  I start to doze off part way through the movie even though it’s not even one in the afternoon.  As I’m sleeping, I hear Marius say something about letting her sleep and to just put another one in.  Let who sleep?  Put in another what?

When I wake up, the end of Suicide Squad is playing and I’m lying on Marius’s shoulder.  I immediately sit up and go to apologize.

“Don’t even think of apologizing.”  Marius says with that way he has of reading my mind.  “You were tired.  It’s okay.”  He smiles.

“Okay.”  I mutter shyly.  The movie ends and we decide to put in another one.  After all, we have nothing to do.  Rose and I decide to torture the men by watching Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.  What’s funny is that both men sing along to some of the songs.  As the movie is ending, Marius’s phone rings.

“I’ll be back.”  He says and leaves to answer it.

“You lying on Marius was so adorable.”  Rose gushes once he’s out of the room.

“Rose!”  I scold.

“What?!  It was.  Don’t tell him I told you this, but when you first moved to lay on his shoulder, he got this huge grin on his face.”  Rose says.

“Rose!”  Lysander scolds now.

“What?!  She should know.”  She says getting annoyed with us scolding her.  Lysander shakes his head and rolls his eyes.  Marius comes back in looking pissed off.

“Everything okay, bro?”

“No.  I have to leave you guys for a bit to do some work.”

“That’s okay.  We understand.  Work first.”  I say with a smile.  He leans down towards me.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  He says inches from me.  He leaves then and I blink as if that happening were in my head.

“Did he really…”  I pause.

“Just lean really close to you and inform basically you that he’d be back asap?”  Rose finishes.

“Yeah.”

“Yup.  It really happened.”  Rose affirms for me.

“I thought it was all in my head.”  I say blinking some more.  “So, what movie should we watch next?”

“Way to change the subject.”  Rose laughs.

“Thanks.  I do my best.”  I giggle.  “So, what movie?”

“How about Divergent?”  Lysander suggests.

“Sound good to me.”  Rose says.  I nod in agreement.  Lysander gets up and gets the movie set up.  Thirty minutes into the movie, Marius walks back in.

“Sorry to have been gone so long.”  He says.

“It’s okay, bro.  Everything okay?”

“It is now.”  Marius smiles.

“Good.”  I comment.

“So, what are we watching?”  Marius asks then looks at the screen.  “Ah, Divergent.  Good choice.”

“Lysander picked it out.”  Rose says.

“Well, good on ya, bro.”  Marius chuckles.

“Thanks.”  Lysander chuckles back.  Marius sits down next to me and we finish the movie.  Once the movie is over, I go back upstairs and make a fresh pot of blood.  As I am pouring, the other three join me in the kitchen.

“I’m going out onto the patio with Lysander.”  Rose says.

“Okay.  I’m going to the library.”  Marius replies.  I nod in acknowledgement.  I hand out the mugs and we all go our separate ways.  Lysander and Rose go out onto the patio and Marius goes to the library.  I go into the living room and sit in front of the television but don’t turn it on.  I sit there for about ten minutes, when I hear the sweet music of the piano playing from the library.  I grab my mug and go to see who is playing.  I stand in the doorway watching Marius play Debussy.  He looks up, sees me, and stops playing.

“Don’t stop.”  I say.

“I don’t usually play in front of people.”

“Why?  You play so beautifully.”  I smile.

“Thanks.  But I’m just not confident in my playing.”  He replies.

“Well, you should be.  Please continue.  I’ll leave if that helps.”

“No, you don’t have to leave.  I like you knowing I play.”  Marius smiles his true smile that shows his dimples.

“I’m glad to hear it.  Both the playing and that you like me knowing.”  I smile back.  Marius starts to play again.  I recognize it as Beethoven, but I can’t put a name to it.  Marius looks so sexy sitting at that piano playing.  The song ends and Marius gets up.  He crosses to me.  He takes me in his arms and we start to sway.  I think about what it would be like to dance with him if we got married and can’t help the smile that crosses my face.  I quickly slip out of his hold and he looks hurt by it.  I shake it off and go to the kitchen.  I start washing the dishes I have in the sink and Rose and Lysander come in to give me their mugs.  Rose dries for me.  I thank her and then go upstairs to my room.  I turn on my stereo and grab my sketchbook.  I lay down facing down with my feet and head switched.  I start to sketch flowers in a vase.  I get about half way done, when there’s a knock on my door.  I get up and go answer it.  Marius stands on the other side of my door.

“Is something wrong?”  He asks.

“No.  Why do you ask?”

“Well, you ducked out of my arms and now you’re in your room.  It’s like you’re avoiding me.”

“Not at all.  I just wanted some quiet time.”  I reply.

“Oh.  Okay.  Well, the rest of us are going swimming.  Would you like to join us?”

“No thanks.  I think I’ll just sketch some more.”

“Okay.  Well, you know where we are if you change your mind.”  Marius says with a hint of disappointment.  I nod and he leaves.  I go back to my bed and sketching the flowers.  I finish my sketch and decide to go ahead and join the other three in the pool.  I go down and head for the locker room, but Marius stops me before I make it to the locker room.  “I’m glad you decided to join us.”  He smiles a true smile.

“I’m glad I did too.”  I smile in return.  He steps aside to allow me to go to the locker room.  I go to the door and push it open.  I get changed into my bathing suit and exit the locker room.  I get into the pool by way of the slide.  I pop back up and Marius is right there to pull me into his arms.  I go freely into his arms as if I truly belonged there.  But that cannot be because he does not care for me in that way.  And yet, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be loved by him.  Marius smiles and starts us swaying.  I wonder what has him smiling.  We sway for about ten minutes before I decide to end it.  I slip from his grasp by going underwater.  I swim over to the edge of the pool and decide to do a few laps.  Once I am done, I climb into the hot tub.  I sit there quietly for a few minutes.  Rose and Lysander sit whispering to each other while Marius does a few laps.  I lean my head against the edge of the hot tub.  Marius climbs into the hot tub and sits right next to me.  I briefly look up and he smiles.  My head falls back against the edge and I close my eyes.  I feel Marius’s hand close to mine.  So close that if I were to move just right, my hand would be right on top of his.  I start to drift off so I decide to get out.  I go upstairs, still in my bathing suit, and go to my bathroom.  I get out of my suit and turn on the shower.  I turn my stereo on and step into the warm, cascading water.  I wash off the chlorine and then change the shower head to the massage setting.  I stand under the massaging water with the back of my neck under it.  I take my lavender scented luffa and rub my body with it.  After I have scrubbed myself all over, I turn off the shower.  I step out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel.  I dry off and turn my stereo off.  I wrap my hair in the towel.  After I’ve had my hair wrapped in the towel for about ten minutes, I take the towel off and braid my hair.  I get dressed in my pajamas and crawl into bed.

The next morning, I wake up to my alarm.  I get dressed and let my hair out of the braid.  It curls nicely for me.  I put on a touch of makeup and go downstairs.  I make a fresh pot of blood and set the mugs on the stove to keep warm.  I take my mug and go to the library.  I grab my latest reading material and curl up on the couch.  I lose myself in the book as I always do with books.  As soon as I finish my blood, I go to the kitchen and wash the dishes.  I set them in the rack to dry.  After that’s done, I go in search of everyone else.

“Dahlia?”  Marius says from behind me.

“Yes?”  I say turning around.

“I have a conference call at one that will probably take two hours.  You don’t need to make more blood for me this afternoon.”  He informs me.

“Okay.  Sounds good.”  I smile.  He smiles in return.  Marius leaves and I go out onto the patio.

“Hey, Dahlia.”  Lysander says when I get out there.

“Hey, Lysander.  Where’s Rose?”

“She went in to use the bathroom.”  He replies.  Just then, Rose comes out.

“Hey, Rose.”  I smile.

“Hey, Dahlia.  Lysander and I were going to go for a walk.  Do you want to join us?”

“No thanks.  I think I’m going to grab my sketchbook.”

“Okay.”  Rose smiles.  She and Lysander get off the patio and go down to the wooded area.  I watch them disappear into the woods and I go into the house.  I grab my sketchbook from the library and then go back outside.  I sit and enjoy the midmorning sun.  I open my sketchbook to the next empty page and start to draw a window looking out at some woods.  I draw for about an hour before Rose and Lysander come back from their walk.

“What are you drawing this time?”  Rose asks.

“I’m just doodling.”  I reply.

“What are you doodling then?”  Lysander clarifies.

“A window with a wood scene outside.”  I sense Marius nearby.  I look around and see him standing in the doorway.

“May I see?”  Marius asks.

“Sure.  When it’s finished.”  I say with a chuckle.  Marius smiles and goes back inside.  Rose, Lysander, and I sit quietly while I continue to sketch.  I finish my sketch and go inside to get the colored pencils from their spot.  I color in my sketch then go to find Marius.  I find him in his study, but he’s on the phone.  He motions me to come on in, so, I enter the study and sit on the couch he has in there.  Marius ends his call and turns to me.  “I finished the sketch.”

“Well, let’s see it then.”  He smiles.  He gets up from his desk and walks over to the couch.  Marius sits beside me and I hold out my sketchbook for him to look at my finished sketch.  “Wow!  It’s incredible!”  Marius exclaims.

“Thanks.”  I smile.  The rest of the day goes by and I slip into bed.  I drift off peacefully.