Bitten – Episode 23

 

Ch 23

 

 

When Vincent finally drove us home, I felt a lot better about the whole ordeal than I had at first. The movie was awesome- definitely more fun than school could ever be. I didn’t even care that I skipped anymore. In fact, I had no qualms about skipping school for the rest of my life. Well, no. That was a lie. I wanted to do something with my life. But I wasn’t against skipping every now and again with Vincent. “I’m home!” I shouted as Vincent and I walked through the front doors.

 

My brother appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the kitchen doorframe, his arms crossed. “Where did you two go?”

 

“Movies,” Vincent responded the same time I said, “Walmart.”

 

He shot me an amused glance while I scowled at him.

 

My brother frowned. “Emily, you’ve never skipped school before, so you obviously

 

weren’t the instigator here. Which means…” He narrowed his eyes at Vincent.

 

“You’re the problem.”

 

“Guilty,” Vincent said flatly.

 

“You can’t force Emily to skip school!”

 

“How did you even find out?” I interjected, furrowing my eyebrows.

 

His narrowed eyes turned to me. “Why aren’t you more upset about this? And the reason I know is because we have study hall together, remember?” Oops. That had totally slipped my mind. “Uh…”

 

“You can get suspended for this, you know,” he continued, talking to both of us now. Vincent snorted. “I don’t care.”

 

“You should! If you don’t clean up your act, you’re getting sent back to California!”

 

“No I’m not.”

 

My brother looked at him in disbelief. “Who do you think is allowing you to stay here?”

 

“Allow? I think you mean forcing-”

 

“We got it, Jake,” I snapped, sending Vincent a warning look. “We won’t skip again.” Jake still didn’t look satisfied. “I’m worried about you, Em. This guy seems to be a bad influence.”

 

I stole a glance at Vincent. Seems to be? More like is. “Er, well…”

 

“I’m disappointed in you.”

 

“I tricked her,” Vincent told him in a hard voice. “She let me drive and I decided I didn’t want to go back to school. It wasn’t like she could stop me since I was driving.” Jake gave him a disapproving look. “I knew you were no good.”

 

 

“Oh my god, Jake, shut up,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “What is your deal?”

 

“My deal is that I don’t want my little sister being hurt by some jerk,” he replied, turning back to me.

 

I softened my look. “I’m not little anymore… And Vincent wouldn’t hurt me.” I hope, I added silently. Who knew what could happen with him. Joel had lost control before. Couldn’t Vincent?

 

“Whatever. You still don’t trust guys like him.”

 

“Like me?” Vincent repeated, looking half amused, half annoyed.

 

Jake nodded. “Handsome? Jerk? A suave voice? Your sense of style? You have the makings of a total player.”

 

I covered my mouth to hide my smile. “Wow, Jake. You think he’s handsome? Should I be worried you might fall for him?”

 

“No!” my brother cried, looking repulsed at even the thought. “No way!”

 

Vincent smirked. “Sorry to disappoint, Josh, but I like girls.”

 

.

 

.

 

“It’s Jake!”

 

“Jake, Josh, whatever.”

 

“No, not whatever!”

 

I shook my head, sighing. If they kept it up I was going to get a headache. While they continued to bicker, I headed for the kitchen. When I entered, a familiar brunette was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of Count Chocula. I blinked at her for a few moments, taking in the scene. “Fiona?” I finally spoke. She grinned at me, waving her spoon. “Hey, Em!”

 

“What… What are you doing here?” I asked, moving toward her slowly. “And why are you eating my cereal?”

 

“I couldn’t help it. I had to taste Count Chocula,” she told me with a giggle. She held up the box. “A vampire turning into a bat? That is such a myth. I wish we could do that!”

 

I eased myself onto one of the stools at the island, watching as she lifted a spoonful of the chocolate cereal into her mouth. “Do you have a reason for coming here?” She nodded. “Yeah, I have to tell you and Vincent something.” “I didn’t see your car. How’d you get here?”

 

“Joel dropped me off,” she informed me. “He’ll pick me up later. Where’s Vincent?” Using my head, I gestured toward the front hallway. “Squabbling with my brother… By the way, does he know you’re here?”

 

“Vincent?”

 

“No, my brother.”

 

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s the one who helped me find the bowls.”

 

“I see…”

 

My brother and Vincent chose that moment to join us in the kitchen. Jake looked annoyed while Vincent held a smug expression. He sent me a superior look. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he had outsmarted Jake. His eyes travelled next to me, landing on Fiona. They widened a fraction of an inch. “Fiona? What are you doing here?”

 

“Coming to talk to you!” she chirped.

 

My brother stared between the two, wrinkles appearing in his forehead. “Whoa, you two look a lot alike.”

 

“That’s because we’re-”

 

“Cousins,” I blurted, interrupting Fiona. “They’re cousins. That’s why they look so much like each other.”

 

Jake gave me a suspicious look but shrugged it off. “Oh. If she’s his cousin, why isn’t he staying with her?”

 

“No room,” Fiona replied before I had the chance. “But um, anyway. I’m in the mood

 

for a walk! Emily, Vivi, care to join me?”

 

“No,” Vincent grumbled.

 

“Good! Let’s go!”

 

I laughed at the pair, but quickly sobered up with the look Vincent was giving me. Fiona hopped off her stool and I followed, glancing at her leftover bowl. “Jake, will you pick that up?”

 

“Sure,” he responded with a sigh. “Just leave it to me, Jake, the house keeper.”

 

“Thanks!”

 

“I was being sarcastic!” he called after me as I ushered Vincent out of the kitchen, Fiona on my tail.

 

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear him. Fiona, Vincent, and I went out the front door,

 

and into the cool air. The sun would be setting soon. “Let’s go this way!” Fiona

 

suggested, leading us to the right.

 

“Sure,” I mumbled, following her.

 

“What do you want to talk about?” Vincent demanded, getting straight to the point.

 

“It’s cold out here.”

 

.

 

.

 

Fiona pursed his lips at him. “Get over it, you baby.”

 

“Fiona,” he started in a warning tone.

 

She sighed. “Fine, fine. Sebastian called me earlier and told me an interesting little fact.”

 

“Interesting how?” I questioned, already getting a bad feeling about the answer. “I’m sure you remember the name Ashton, right?”

 

“The guy who had his friends attack Joel,” I stated, the corners of my lips turning down. “And the guy who wants the kingdom.” “Right,” Fiona responded.

 

Vincent glanced at her, his jaw set. “Don’t tell me what you’re about to say has something to do with him figuring out we have a Blue Blood.” She smiled sadly. “Bingo.”

 

He growled. “How is that even possible? No one outside our immediate family knew

 

this!”

 

“Exactly.”

 

An uncomfortable feeling washed through me. “Does that mean someone in your family betrayed you?”

 

“That or we have a spy,” Vincent stated, crossing his arms. “Joel would never tell anyone a royal secret, so we don’t have to worry about him.”

 

“It must be the same person who told everyone we had a human staying with us,” Fiona said, picking up a piece of her hair and twirling it in her fingers. “I don’t believe anyone has betrayed us… Neither do our parents.” I shuffled my feet. “So what does this mean?”

 

Vincent gave me an impatient look. “You can’t figure it out?” “Obviously,” I snapped, taken aback by his condescending tone.

 

“That means you’re in trouble,” Fiona explained, sounding tired. “As of now no one

 

knows where you are, so you’re safe.”

 

I blinked at her. “Trouble like…?”

 

“I don’t think you understand this whole Blue Blood thing,” Vincent started, coming to a stop, and turning to face me. “Remember what we told you about the poachers? Those still exist, Emily. They’ll want to use you for you blood, be it killing you, or kidnapping you to use your blood over and over again. Either way, it won’t be a pleasant experience.”

 

Grimacing, I let my eyes drop to the cement sidewalk. “I understand,” I mumbled. “So does that mean everyone will be coming after me? All the poachers, or whatever?”

 

 

Fiona hesitated. “I’m not positive, but from what Sebastian knows, no. Only Ashton’s group knows about you. I think they’re keeping the secret because they want you to themselves.”

 

“Well that’s kind of good, right?”

 

She shrugged. “I guess, but Ashton is pretty powerful. His rule may not be, but as a person he is.”

 

“This is unbelievable,” Vincent muttered, clenching his fists. “You really are a troublesome human.”

 

“Well sor-ry! It’s not my fault I was pulled into this mess if you remember, Mr. I-will-drink-your-blood!”

 

He shot me a mocking look. “Oh, very clever, stupid.”

 

“Calm down,” Fiona ordered in a very un-Fiona like tone. She gave us both serious looks. “Emily, you’re still safe. Vincent, you don’t need to get your panties in a bunch over it at the moment. As long as no one finds out where Emily is, we’re all good. Sebastian just wanted to let us now in case something ends up happening.” “Something ends up happening?” I echoed.

 

She nodded. “It’s our job to protect you, Em. We won’t let you die. Even if it means

 

taking on Ashton’s group.”

 

.

 

.

 

Once again a feeling of unease washed over me. “You mean like… kill?” “Probably,” she said with a shrug.

 

I winced. How could she say that so easily? “Are there a lot of people following Ashton?”

 

Vincent scoffed. “He wishes. There’s no more than we can handle.”

 

“But, like I said, we don’t even have to worry about it,” Fiona added quickly. “Sebastian was just giving us a heads up. I’m sure you’ll be fine, Em.”

 

I grunted in response. Even though she said that, I knew better. If they figured out that I was a Blue Blood, how could they not find out where I was staying? They’d find my house and try to get me… I froze. What if they went after my parents? Or Jake? They had no idea vampires existed. They wouldn’t know what was coming. I violently shook my head. I’d have to trust the Rutherfords. If they said nothing was going to happen, I would believe it. I knew at least Sebastian would tell Vincent or me if I were in any danger. Solomon and Luella would too, if not him.

 

“Shoot!” Fiona suddenly cried, startling me. “I left my backpack in your house! Crap! Joel will be here any minute to pick me up and I told him I’d be waiting outside! I’ll be right back you guys!”

 

 

Before Vincent and I could respond, she took off toward my house. I looked around

 

wildly, afraid someone might have seen her vampire speed. Luckily for her, it didn’t

 

seem like anyone was out. I sighed, shaking my head. “She really needs to be more

 

careful.”

 

“So do you.”

 

I looked up at Vincent’s serious tone. “Huh?”

 

He frowned at me. “There’s nothing about Ashton you can trust. While Fiona might

 

want to keep you from worrying, I think you better know the truth. He’ll probably

 

find you very easily.”

 

“A-are you sure?”

 

He nodded. “Ashton has his ways. I won’t let him hurt you though.”

 

“Otherwise Solomon will be pissed,” I said, making a face. I’d only briefly glimpsed a half-angry Solomon. That itself was pretty scary. I couldn’t imagine a full out pissed one.

 

“That and you’re my entertainment source.”

 

A smile threatened to appear on my face, but I managed to hold it back. I didn’t want Vincent thinking I enjoyed being his source of amusement. “And you can’t have it dead, can you?”

 

He shook his head. “No way.”

 

“What are you going to do if I get a boyfriend?” I questioned. “If I hung out with you all the time, he’d get jealous.”

 

Vincent smirked at me. “Who said I’d let you have a boyfriend?”

 

I gawked at him. “What if I want one?”

 

“You’re looking at your only contender,” he responded, tapping his chest.

 

My heart fluttered at his words. What did he mean by that? Was he just trying to be an ass? Or did he want me to choose him as a boyfriend? Did I want him to mean that? He was a vampire… I nearly slapped myself. I needed to stop thinking like that. So what if he was a vampire? They were basically the same as humans… Except they lasted a lot longer. But still. It was hard to take Vincent seriously. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and then have them crushed when I found out he was just taunting me. “And if I don’t want you as a boyfriend?” I finally spoke up. “Then you are SOL.”

 

I sighed. “Stupid vampire.”

 

“Stupid girl.”

 

“I’ll just date Kai,” I started slowly, my eyes stuck to him to gauge his reaction. “We’ve always had a thing for each other.” That was a total lie. He was like my brother.

 

.

 

.

 

Vincent didn’t seem bothered by my words. “I’ll kill him.”

 

I made a face. “Don’t say that, Vincent. You sound like one of those psychopaths on T.V that want a girl that doesn’t like them, so they go around killing all the people who she does like.”

 

Vincent scowled. “I’m nothing like that.”

 

“That’s the point.”

 

“You’ll fall for me eventually,” he stated confidently. “Once I’ve taken an interest in something, I don’t let it go.”

 

I wasn’t sure to be flattered or annoyed by his words. “I don’t understand you, Vincent.”

 

“No one does.”

 

My eyes widened at his words, but I realized he didn’t say them with anger. He said it calmly, like it didn’t matter. It made me smile. “I like how un-dramatic you are, Vincent. Most people would be bitching about the fact people don’t understand them. I can’t tell you how many thins I’ve seen on the Internet that have those kind of slogans. You can’t understand me, no one does, don’t bother trying…” Vincent rolled his eyes. “That shit is so annoying.”

 

I smiled wider. “Isn’t it?”

 

“Why are you grinning so much?”

 

My smile dropped. “Nothing, never mind.”

 

He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything else. “Can we go back inside now? I’m cold.”

 

“Sure,” I responded, turning on my heel. “Baby,” I added after a moment, unable to stop myself.

 

He shoved me to the side gently. Unfortunately for me his gently was my roughly. I stumbled over my feet, landing flat on my butt. He snickered while I scowled up at him. “Don’t call me a baby. I’m not the one who is afraid of thunderstorms.” “That’s a legit fear!” I protested, pushing myself up off the ground.

 

“Oh no! Thunder!” he said in mock horror.

 

“Shut up!”

 

He smirked at me. “Of course, stupid.”

 

Before I could say anymore, a loud honk filled the air. I jumped, twisting around to the street. A black, window-tinted Rolls-Royce rolled up to Vincent and I, stopping next to us. I peered at it, trying to decipher who was inside. I didn’t know anyone rich enough to own one of those things.

 

“What’s he doing here?” I heard Vincent mutter in an irritated voice.

 

The car shut off, parking illegally in the street. Seconds later the driver door opened, and out stepped someone I was no stranger too. My mouth dropped open, and before I realized it, my feet were running toward him. “Sebastian!” I cried, throwing my arms around him.

 

He seemed taken aback by my action, but after a moment he returned my hug. “Hello to you too, Emily.”

 

Embarrassed, I quickly let go of him. “Um, sorry. I let my emotions get the best of me.”

 

He chuckled in that deep voice I missed so much. “It’s fine. I take it everything is going okay down here?”

 

I nodded my head. It was hard to believe it’d only been a day since I’d last seen him. I really had grown too accustomed to having him around. “Geez Sebastian, I didn’t realize how attached to you I became.”

 

“It’s the same with me,” he responded with a handsome smile. “Your presence is definitely missed in the castle. Yesterday Mother asked for you. You should have seen the look on her face when Father reminded her you weren’t there anymore.” .

 

.

 

“Oh,” I responded, feeling my heart drop. They missed me? “I think you should come back,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

 

I scratched the back of my head. “Haha, but I don’t belong there.” My eyes widened as the words spilled out of my mouth. The truth of them weighed upon me heavily. I really didn’t belong there. I was a human… they were vampires. I was where I belonged.

 

“Even if you don’t belong there, you’re welcomed,” Sebastian told me in a quiet voice. “Anytime.”

 

The tension in me broke and I grinned up at him. “Well thank you.”

 

He ruffled my hair. “Anytime. Vincent, are you just going to stand there and glare

 

at me or say hello to your brother?”

 

“Hello,” Vincent responded. “No go home.”

 

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “I’m here to pick up Fiona. Where is she?”

 

“I’m coming!” Fiona cried, her voice sounding far off. Sebastian and I turned, seeing her running at a human pace down the sidewalk. “I had to get my backpack! Where’s Joel?”

 

“I asked if I could come pick you up so I could say hello to Emily,” he informed her, putting an arm around my shoulder. “Father said yes.”

 

 

Fiona beamed at him. “Ooh, well if it’s you, can we stop for ice cream before we go back?”

 

Sebastian smiled. “Of course we can.”

 

I nudged him in the side, giving him a knowing look. He gave me a disapproving look when I wagged my eyebrows.

 

“Please,” Vincent muttered loud enough for me to hear.

 

I laughed, removing myself from Sebastian. “You guys better get ice cream before it’s dark… Sebastian, you’ll come back soon, right?”

 

He nodded. “As often as I can. You can come to the manor too.”

 

“You should come do something human this weekend,” I pressed. “Ask Solomon to give you a day off so we can play together.” “Play?”

 

“You know what I mean,” I said, crossing my arms. “Use the paddleboats or something.”

 

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Paddleboats?”

 

I blanked. “You don’t know?”

 

“No, I-”

 

“Get that day off, Sebastian. I have a lot to show you.”

 

He sighed. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”

 

I nodded. “Good. I plan on seeing you on Saturday then.”

 

“Didn’t you just hear me-”

 

“Bye Fiona! See you tomorrow!”

 

“See ya, Em!” she responded from the passenger seat. “Let’s go, Seb!”

 

Sebastian pursed his lips, shaking his head. “Fine. See you later, Emily.” He gave me another quick hug before climbing back into his fancy car.

 

As it rolled away, I returned to Vincent’s side. “That car is very conspicuous.”

 

He made a noncommittal grunt before heading back toward my house. I had to jog to keep up with his brisk pace. “What’s wrong now?” “Nothing.”

 

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Sebastian.”

 

He scowled. “I’m not.”

 

“You so are,” I said with a grin. “Don’t worry. We’re just friends.”

 

Vincent rolled his eyes. “I don’t care.”

 

Instead of replying, I settled on knowing that he was jealous. I was already recognizing the signs. It was pretty cute too. Vincent would have never pinned me as the jealous type.

 

“What is a paddleboat?” he asked after a moment of silence.

 

I gaped at the back of his head. Vampires were very ignorant creatures.