Vampire Bride

Chapter Fifteen

Charlie

Fully submerged in the tub, limbs gently floating in the warm water, relaxation takes over every inch of my body or so I thought. My mind begins to wander. Maxwell’s supposed jealousy and Dave’s need to insert himself back into a romantic position. It’s too much and just a bunch of stupidity if you ask me.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that Maxwell has this idea that coming here will bring us closer together, but part of me refuses on making him right. I’m not ready to admit that I think he’s attractive, caring, intelligent...jesus I need to get ahold of my myself. I’m not ready to lose whatever it is that I’d lose being with him, be it my beating heart or humanity. My head gently rests against the rim of the luxurious bathtub with heavy eyelids.

Quietness mixed with the lightweight warmth the bath gives me is a bad combination. I shoot up from under the water, gasping for air. I didn’t realize I actually fell asleep until I tried to breath underwater. Water runs in thick trails down my face and my once dry hair is now soaked. My hands uselessly wipe away the water from my face.

I nearly slide back under as Maxwell bursts through the door. I instinctively scramble to cover myself up, only to realize that most of my bubbles have disappeared. “Would you learn to knock!” I shriek at him.

“I heard you struggling and I…” It’s the first time I hear him at a loss for words.

I raise both my eyebrows and bob my head, urging him to finish the sentence. As the seconds pass, I get annoyed. “Well, as you can see, I’m not drowning, and Casper the friendly ghost is not present, so you can. Leave. The. Room.”

I see him try extra hard to not look at me, but occasionally I see his eyes bearing down on me. “Try not to be lingering in the bedroom, I’m going to be getting out.” I shoo him out the door with my hand, several drops of water dripping off my fingertips.

As soon as the door closes, I hop out of the tub and wrap myself in one of the fluffy white towels. Even though I instructed Maxwell to leave, who knows if he’s actually going to listen. I towel dry myself off and slip into my undergarments before peaking out into the bedroom. I cautiously exit the bathroom to enter an empty bedroom. Feeling more comfortable in the still warm bathroom, I man up to face the mess that my reflection is bound to show.

A small smile stretches across my face as I hear Maxwell knock on the bedroom door. I shut the bathroom door, just leaving it open a c***k before I give him the okay to enter. “I had some food delivered if you’re interested.”

Really, even though he knows I’m going downstairs to a restaurant, he ordered me food. I tell myself to relax. I know he’s just trying to be nice, trying to be this so called gentleman. “Thank you…I’ll be right out.”

I’m expecting to find him waiting in the bedroom for me, but once I exit the bathroom he’s nowhere in sight. With a little searching, I find him sitting at the table across from my food. He immediately stands up in my presence.

“You know you didn’t need to get me food. I was planning on getting some downstairs, unless…you’re disappointed that I didn’t invite you to come along and you’re trying to make me late or feel guilty about my behavior,” I say mockingly.

“You still can ask me to join you.”

“That would make an interesting evening, but no thanks. It’s going to put a toll on me the way it is without watching Paige goggle at you. I mean, you might falter at the presentation tomorrow and things might not go in our favor.” I can’t help but to laugh as I tell him his own words.

He, however, just stares at me blankly.

“Oookay then, I’m just going to eat.” I look away from his emotionless stare and take bite after bite. I don’t overstuff myself, just enough to hold me over.

“You still have some time left before you have to go. Do you want to watch some TV?” I know something is going on because he’s acting excessively nice. Nonetheless, I agree. I follow his gesture and sit on the couch beside him, but not too close. I expect him to ask me if I have anything in particular I would like to watch, but he hoards the remote.

Once I hear that familiar theme song, I can’t help but to smile. He’s gloating in satisfaction, but I just can’t stop the smile from getting wider. “Shut up, you broke into my house when I was watching this yesterday.” He just shrugs, allowing me to put all my attention on one of my favorite shows.

Once it’s over, Maxwell finds his voice again. “I honestly don’t know what you see in that show.”

“Humor, corpse…humor. Why are you being so nice anyways? You know this getting me food, watching my shows, trying to be a gentleman with fangs is not going to get you whatever it is that you want.”

“I can try.”

“What exactly are you buttering me up for?” One of my eyebrows perks up as I think about what I just said. “Wait...that sounds bad, considering you butter things that you eat and you eat people, so I shouldn’t talk about buttering me up. What do you want?” I decide on the bluntest way of saying it.

“Nothing...besides your approval.”

Wow. Nobody has ever asked me for my approval before. It’s like an invisible weight is now draped across my shoulders. “This isn’t about Dave is it? Because there’s just something he has or any other human man has that you don’t. Something very hard to compete with.”

My eyes gaze over the clock on the wall in the process of not meeting his eyes. It reads two minutes to seven. “Well, would you look at the time. I gotta go.” I walk away with that said, his words still bearing down on me. With my hand twisting the doorknob, I think I’m in the clear, but before it’s open just a sliver, he appears beside me with his foot stopping the door.

“Maxwell,” I say in a threatening tone.

“And what is that exactly? I’m dying to know.” He tries to look smooth and seductive, ignoring my warning; however, his words tear at me.

I hold the laugh back as long as I can, but it explodes through my tight lips. “Dying to know, oh so cute. Like a puppy…a vicious puppy, but a puppy nonetheless.” I shove the door open against his foot and walk out into the hall. “I always wanted a puppy. I promise to be back before ten, Father.”

“Very funny, Charlie,” he hollers down the hall at me, but he makes no move to follow. I enter the elevator before I hear the door close.

***

At first, I don’t spot the trio when I enter the restaurant and I’m more than willing to back out and face Maxwell instead of looking for them. As if life can’t for once go in my favor, I see Aiden jump up and down. The sound of his voice echoes through the restaurant as he shouts my name.

I put on the most genuine smile and walk over to my new found friends. Aiden pulls out a chair closest to him for me to sit in. To my joy, Paige sits to my other side. Aiden waves his hand at the bartender for another round of drinks and within seconds four tall glasses of something alcoholic, I presume, arrives at our table.

Paige is the first one to speak. I watch her blonde hair bounce as her head bobbles. Her bright blue eyes bore into mine for seconds at a time. “Are you excited for the presentation tomorrow? I can’t wait until it’s my turn.”

“Of course. Maxwell is...” I pause, trying to find my words.

“Perfect. Gorgeous. Prefect,” Paige says dreamily.

“Exactly. Perfect.” Way too perfect for me obviously. There’s no stopping the thought of how he deserves better than me from creeping into my head. He deserves someone like Paige who’s willing to jump head over heels for his attention, for his love.

“I would love to have him. He could use and abuse me all he wants.” Paige continues.

“Get over yourself, Paige,” Eddie chimes in. His hand flaps in Paige’s face to bring her back to reality.

“You know what, I think I’m just going to have water,” I say, getting up from my chair to head over to the bar. I get my glass of water, finding relief from being away from them, but as I turn around hoping to take one last breath before I join the group again, I run into Aiden. I see the water splash in my glass; luckily, he doesn’t get any of it on his shirt, because who knows what he would do.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

I nod in compliance.

“I can see you don’t care about Maxwell as you say you do.”

Someone’s straightforward and blunt to the point, a point that doesn’t need to be pointed out especially given where we are. “That’s not—”

“Shh. No need to try to convince me. It’s fine. I’m not going to tell.” His voice his a little seductive, but all it does is make my stomach lurch. “It wouldn’t be the first time that a presentation was called and one of the parties didn’t care for the other. Most of the time it’s the human who dislikes the vampire. Beauty, health, and eternal youth don’t appeal to everyone apparently. Some people want a connection. A physical attraction,” he says in a throaty whisper.

Oh s**t. Maybe I should’ve thought this through a little more.Being friendly is obviously a bad choice with people who deal with vampires. Note, friendly equals attraction. No attraction, no friendly.  “I appreciate that, but it’s not necessary. I love Maxwell, truly I do.”

“I love my vampire too, but vampires aren’t known for having just one bride or groom. Or one donor either. My vampire was off obtaining another groom before we had to come here. Hopefully, the next time we meet we’ll both be exceptionally cold.” His fingers glide across my cheek. Before I know it his mouth is over mine, taking me completely off guard.

I shove him away, disgusted at his immature behavior. “Aiden. I’m with Maxwell and there aren’t any other donors or brides. We treat this living and ‘unliving’ relationship very seriously.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“Is there a problem here?” Grace says, making the situation even more awkward than it already is.

“No,” I reply.

“Charlie, would you care to sit and talk? I mean, if you don’t mind leaving the company of your friends, that is.” She says the word friends with disgust.

“Of course,” I say back to Grace. “Aiden, tell Paige and Eddie it was nice talking with them, but I really should sit down with Grace.”

Aiden walks back to the table defeated and rejected.

“You’re going to tell Maxwell, aren’t you?” I whisper as we make our way to a table.

“I really do want us to be friends and I want you and Maxwell to be happy together, so no, I won’t tell him. It’ll be our little secret.”

I smile at her effort, but part of me doesn’t trust her. The same part that doesn’t trust Maxwell. The vampire part.

“I don’t think Maxwell has ever showed an interest in anybody as he does in you. Don’t believe that i***t. Just because each of their vampires are bloody awful doesn’t mean that all of us are.”

“This whole presentation and The High Council…I just want to go home.”

“Soon enough, but until then I’ll let you in on a little secret. I hate The High Council just as much as you. Just as much as Maxwell.” I can tell by the look in her eyes that at some point in time they did something awful to her. “You don’t know how much you resemble him; he despised the man who changed him.”

I never would have compared the two of us, ever. “Would you tell me about it? I mean, your hate for The High Council. If you don’t want to, though, I understand,” I ask as kindly as possible, fingers crossed that she does.

I watch her look at the tabletop as she gets lost in recalling the memory. “It was many, many years ago. I just met Maxwell a few years earlier, in fact. I remember the look on his face when I introduced him to Alexander. At the time picking a bride or groom to him was a waste and when I told him that Alexander was to be my groom he laughed in my face.” She laughs quietly, lost in thought.

“Alexander was the most humble, honest man and he too didn’t want to become a vampire such as yourself. I waited a total of three years until he agreed to start the transition. I bet you’re wondering where The High Council comes in.” She stops, waiting for my reply.

All I can do is nod my head. I’m thankful that it’s enough for her to continue.

“Alexander went to collect some donors who belonged to our new bloodline, but while he was gone a naïve young girl ran to The High Council claiming that Alexander bit her. It was against every vampire law written and unwritten, claiming that if you bit another vampire’s property you will be sentenced to death. Benjamin being all ‘I am your king’ demanded for me to bring him Alexander. When I said that he has been gone and was not responsible for that girl’s bite. Of course they that I was lying to protect him. They knew he would have to show his face sooner or later, so they waited. He was spotted walking back into the village with four donors.”

I have a feeling I’m not going to like the ending to this story. I swallow the lump in my throat and continue to listen.

“The High Council sent the humans away. They told me that I was to go back to my original bloodline because there was no need for a new one. At dawn Alexander saw the sun again. Mind you, he was not turned for very long and he still remembered what the shining rays looked like. It made it worse, of course. The fresher the vampire the longer it takes to die. I was more than willing to refresh my memory of the sun’s rays. However, I was forced to hear his agonizing screams as he slowly burned.”

She drops her head, finally showing emotion. Although I don’t see tears, I know she’s hurting. She raises her head with an awkward smile. “Maxwell was the one who stopped me. He called it saving me.” She laughs again the same way as before, short and abrupt. “At that moment I didn’t agree, but now I’m more than thankful. Anyways, a few days later the girl who claimed Alexander bit her begged for forgiveness at the feet of Benjamin. She said that her vampire told her to say that after he bit her.”

My jaw drops in disgust and my heart aches for her loss that she shouldn’t have had to endure. “Of course the human girl was unharmed, because it was not her fault in Benjamin’s eyes. She was put under a trance that us vampires like to use sometimes. As for the vampire, well, when dawn arrived he was next to see the sun again.”

“Grace, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you talk about it, I was just curious.” I can’t help but to keep apologizing. I have no idea if it makes it better, but I have to try.

“I have had a difficult time picking a groom again. There will be no one like Alexander. No need to apologize, if anything it makes you understand things better. Just take what I told you and think about it. I might be Maxwell’s friend, but he’s just as caring and sincere as any other human. He knows better than anyone, including myself, that to turn someone means that you really have to care for them and you have to be willingly to take the heartbreak that may follow.”

I remain silent, not intentionally, though. I just can’t find the right words to say.

“You have a big day tomorrow, you should get back. It’s after ten and I’m sure Maxwell is waiting for you,” Grace says before I have a chance to say anything, even if I had something to say.

“You’re right.” However, one question pops into my head. “Grace, who turned you? Do you still talk to him or her?” I know I’m out of bounds, but I have to know.

“Times like these I really don’t have a choice. All I can say is that he’s closer than I want.”

I know she’s not going into it any further, so I finally tell her goodbye. I hear Aiden and Eddie yell their goodbyes as well, but I just wave at them as I walk out of the restaurant. I don’t think twice about Paige not being present at the table. I figure she’s probably in the bathroom, maybe unable to hold her liquor.

Between Grace’s miserable past and those three who can’t wait to die, my emotions bear down on me, bad...guilty emotions fill me to the brim. After turning the corner and a matter of a few doors away from the room, I see Paige walking down the hall.

She fluffs her hair as she greets me. “Charlie, is it that time already? I missed everything.”

“It’s fine. Grace came down and snatched me away to talk. Why are you up here and not with Aiden and Eddie?”

“Oh, I had a little job I had to do. Nothing to concern that pretty little head of yours. I should be getting back to the boys. See ya later.” With heavy feet, she quickly walks away.

That was weird. Not thinking too much into it, I finish making my way to the room. I’m expecting to see Maxwell with a stern look on his face and his arms crossed sitting at the table when I walk in, but after walking around the kitchen and living room areas, he’s nowhere in sight.

I try to peer through the c***k of the bedroom door; it’s open no more than an inch or so, leaving it completely pointless. I quickly push it open to reveal something that connects dots that should never be connected. I take in the scene before me perfectly, even though several candles dimly lit the dark room. My bad emotions just got worse.