The Vampire. Cont'd (9)

What was wrong with her? Astrid wondered as she stretched out on her bedroom floor. Oliver was an amazing guy, she couldn’t have asked for someone sweeter or more sincere so why did she have to act so bitter at supper?1

“I wasn’t bitter…” she croaked, forcing herself to sit up and abandon the cool carpet floor. Her slender body was sheathed in only a t-shirt and matching pair of underwear which happened to be her favourite ‘baby doll’ set.2

Despite the breeze that shifted through her room Astrid was too warm to get comfortable in her bed but she nonchalantly related that to the upcoming of her favourite season, spring. The humidity also explained her choice of night clothes however it didn’t explain her sour mood.3

Her thoughts drifted from her dinner with Oliver and her parents to the awkward goodbye the two had said only an hour later before he disappeared, not to be heard from for the remainder of the evening. She glanced at the clock again; the green digital bars read 3:03am as if to taunt her and the lack of sleep she would have to deal with for another day. 4

Groaning aloud Astrid pushed herself to her feet, sitting at her vanity table that was dimly illuminated with old white Christmas lights whose bulbs were growing old and since everything seemed to be LED they were no longer manufactured. 5

Oddly enough this reminded her of Warren, as did most old fashion things. 6

Picking up her round brush she ran it through her hair a few times, allowing herself a few private moments to think of him though it wasn’t a habit she wanted to begin. In this quiet serenity it occurred to her that she had never asked Warren just how old he was. From what she had guessed he looked to be about eighteen, almost too old for high school. She also wondered why he didn’t attend school, since he claimed that the myths about sunlight were just that. 7

Her quizzical thinking was interrupted though, by a flicker caught in the mirror which caused her to turn quickly on the stool.8

“Who’s there?” She asked while still gripping her brush. The curtains rustled and everything went silent. An eerie sensation settled itself in her room and she protectively wrapped her arms around her waist.9

Astrid pushed herself to her feet and abandoned the brush on her vanity before taking a few uneasy steps toward the opened windows. It’s just the wind, she reasoned, nothing to get all jumpy about. 10

The curtains flapped impatiently again, beckoning her to step out into the early spring night and to her surprise the wooden balcony below her feet was frighteningly cold despite the sweet spring breeze that rustled her straight hair into a frenzy. 11

“Hello?” Her voice cracked, allowing it to ring with fear but it was barely audible in the darkness. A few cautious steps brought her to the railing, peering out into the unsettled early morning. The sky was painted an interesting blue, the kind that separated the light from the darkness and made the stars harder to find. Astrid noted the peaceful atmosphere and smiled in spite of her uneasy fear that lingered in her stomach.12

Without warning the doors to her balcony, the one thing separating her from her safe and comfortable room, slammed closed. A fragile gasp escaped her trembling lips and like a bolt of lightening she dove forward, praying that they hadn’t locked. 13

“What’s your hurry?” The voice floated behind her, clearly agitated but Astrid refused to turn and face its owner. 14

Astrid took a deep breath, holding it for a moment while a wave of emotions rushed through her quivering body. She tried the handle, giving it a few hard jolts but it refused to move, locked tightly.15

“I said, what’s your hurry?” He repeated while only a second had passed since he first spoke to her. Growing impatient he snatched her upper arm in his frigid hand, twisting her to face him in the moonlight.16

Despite how Astrid knew she should feel the pale light only seemed to illuminate his beautiful alabaster skin, the flawless features of his face, his mesmerizing eyes and for a moment Astrid forgot how to think. She only stood there, barely breathing while his icy grip kept her from falling.17

“I-I…” Astrid began but was unable to say anything else; ashamed she dropped her gaze from his face18

His impatience grew and this was evident when his hold on her arm tightened before he spoke again with the same infuriated tone as before,19

“What the hell were you thinking, Astrid? Why would you even open your mouth to that church goer about me? Do you have any idea what he is thinking? The reasoning in his head is unfathomable-“20

Warren continued to rant on but Astrid only stood there, her back pressed hard against the glass and the handles digging in to her lower back painfully.21

“How do you know about Oliver?” She choked when she was able to find her voice. With her free hand she began trying to pry his fingers from her arm though she knew her efforts were to be fruitless. 22

Warren paused in the middle of his spewing and narrowed his eyes at her, 23

“You expect to just move on, date someone else, and I not find out about it? Clearly you know nothing, as I suspected.” 24

His insult hit her hard in the chest and physically she lurched forward suddenly finding courage to stand up to him, even just a little bit.25

“I could care less if you knew that I was dating someone!” She growled bitterly, “You obviously didn’t give one more thought to me since you never came back after that day, so why should I suffer? I decided it was time I moved on and was with someone who actually cared for me! Not someone who used me as a chew toy!”26

Warren’s face moved away from hers in such a swift motion that she almost didn’t catch it and once it registered in her mind Astrid studied the horrified face before her,27

“Is that what you think?” He asked quietly as he removed his hand from her arm and took a step away,28

“Why should I think differently, Warren?” Astrid steadied herself against the door, holding on to the locked handles that provided her some stability. “You brought me back that day then abandoned me. All-” her breath caught in her throat for a moment as it restricted, “all the nights that I wanted you back, I-I cried for you, I came out here and yelled to you!” Her voice cracked but he couldn’t take her eyes off of his. Why did he look so hurt? So tormented? “I even tried to find your stupid house again.” Astrid bowed her head as the tears she thought she had locked away began to overflow over her cheeks. 29

“I know…” Warren whispered his arms at his sides were limp as he too bowed his head.30

There was a moment of silence between them in which the wolves, not too far off, howled briskly at the coming dawn. The noise seemed to carry further then it should, as if they were on the move, following the moon in its ritual decent.31

“What do you mean, you know?” Astrid inquired, wrapping her arms tightly around her body. She felt confident enough to be able to stand now, without having to lean against the balcony doors. 32

“I heard you, every time you cried, every time you called for me…” Shame clouded his voice as he waited patiently for the backlash he was sure would follow his confession.33

“Why didn’t you answer me then?” 34

“I couldn’t. I knew it would be better if I stayed away from you. I hoped you would forget about the whole incident.”35

Anger bubbled through her blood as Astrid fought with her emotions. On the one hand she wanted to throw her arms around him and cry but on the other she wanted nothing more to do with him. She ached to make him leave, pretend his visit tonight was a dream but it wouldn’t work, despite her praying.36

“You make no sense!” She hollered, finally bringing herself to glare at him though he still looked down. “Why would you come here now if you knew it would be better for you to stay away from me? I’m happy with Oliver! You can’t just waltz in here and say these things then disappear again.”37

“I won’t leave again, Astrid. I can’t be away from you anymore.”38

“No. You have to leave now, this isn’t a choice for me; being with you is not an option.”39

“Astrid don’t say that, please.”40

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”41

“Well beside the fact that you have no where to go at the moment, seeing as how you’re locked out…” The smirk that wasn’t evident on his face danced like a child in his voice because he knew that she had to listen. “I didn’t leave you because I wanted to. I had to.”42

“You-”43

“Let me finish, please…” His eyes pleaded with her to listen, just to hear him out for a second and so, with a sigh, she gave in.44

“I’m not supposed to do what I did. I’m not supposed to capture my ‘food’ and keep it with me; catch and kill or catch and release.” Scanning her face to make sure it made sense and that she was listening he continued, “I violated rules that have been in place for hundreds of thousands of years by doing what I did,” Warren sensed Astrid was about to interrupt so he quickly added, “But it was worth it.”45

Warren held out a hand to her and much to his surprise she reluctantly accepted it. Easily he led her to the low balcony railing where the two sat opposite one another, inclined slightly inward.46

“The Vampire Lords aren’t just some old legend, they are very real and they dictate these rules for us. I wasn’t sure if they knew I had broken them by keeping you with me but, because they pay avid attention to the news, I assumed they had. It was just easier to give in and let you leave, hoping that it would all blow over, which it has.”47

“Then why have you come back? I don’t understand…”48

“I didn’t think that when I first left that a bond had actually formed between us but I was very naïve to think so. I kept finding myself her constantly, or watching over you to make sure that nothing is going wrong until finally I gave in to my compulsions.” Warren paused for a moment to take an unnecessary breath before he silkily continued, “I knew you had moved on and the thought of it nearly drove me mad. It took a lot of patience on my part not to make Oliver magically disappear or to take you again. But I’ve decided that the next time you go somewhere with me, I want it to be voluntary.”49

The kindness of his words touched her and without realizing it Astrid had begun to cry. The salty tears danced down her cheeks and her eyes, already puffy from lack of sleep, quickly became bloodshot. 50

“Warren… I…”51

“I know this is a lot to take in, Astrid. And I’m so sorry that I sprung all of this on you at once but you need to know that I’m here to stay now.”52

Once able to speak Astrid repeated herself,53

“You never answered my question, why did you come back?”54

“At first it was for your protection.” The quizzical look on her face gave him the reason to continue, “I knew that if the Lords found out they would undoubtedly hunt you down and kill you without trial.”55

“Do you mean like, court?”56

“Yes, it’s something like that I suppose.”57

Astrid considered this for a long moment before lifting her gaze back to his, “So let’s say they found out but hadn’t come for me, can I ask for a trial? How exactly does that work?”58

“They have to want to give you a trial. If they decide to kill you there isn’t a damn thing you can do to change their minds.”59

She shuddered at the thought of ravenous vampires coming after her, ripping her body to pieces in front of her family and friends. Assuming she was cold Warren instinctively put his arms around her though it did nothing considering he was a giant block of ice. Despite herself Astrid leaned against him and sighed as she allowed herself to indulge in his presence.60

“Wait, you said at first it was for my protection…?”61

“Well yes, originally I stuck around to make sure that if anyone came knocking I’d be here to protect you but they never came and I never received a summons from them so one of two things has happened,” he paused briefly before he gave his theory, “One, they couldn’t care less about what one vampire on the west coast of Canada has done or,” Warren paused again, drawing at Astrid’s tolerance, “They never knew about it to begin with.”62

“And you think…?”63

“I assume that they’ve never looked into it, no one seems to watch the prairies as much as they do Central Canada.”64

“Oh…” Astrid replied, suddenly relieved.65

Now what? She couldn’t help but wonder as her mind danced around the events previous. What was she to do about Oliver? Or was that something she even needed to worry about?66

“Warren.” Astrid said suddenly, sitting up quite seriously to look at him, “You have to see the position this puts me in. I’m with Oliver now. I can’t just break up with him, especially not after tonight.”67

Displeased, a frown tugged at the corners of Warren’s pale lips and he folded his arms across his solid chest.68

“You should have known that,” Astrid added, “You came into this tonight knowing exactly what you were going to say, knowing more then I fathomed you would…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to hide her embarrassment from him but her cheeks flushed. 69

After a moment if deliberation he shrugged, “I’m not going anywhere.”70

His nonchalant answer caught her off guard for a moment before she found her footing again,71

“You needed to make this more difficult, didn’t you?” Astrid answered with a groan before she pushed herself to her feet, striding away from him.72

By now the sky had turned a very pale blue, it seemed almost grey in the early morning light which caused a moment of distraction; would it rain today or be sunny?73

“I need to get some rest.” Astrid explained, looking impatiently from the locked doors to Warren. 74

“I don’t know how much you’ll get; you need to be up in about two hours.” 75

“Just unlock the doors, Warren.” He waited, still sitting on the railing, “Please?”76

“Much better,” he replied smugly and within a second the doors before her opened gracefully.77

Astrid stood in the chilly morning light, arms folded across her bosom as she watched the vampire in front of her. He stood with his hands in his jeans’ pockets and his eyes examining her, almost as if to mock her stance.78

“You’re free to leave anytime.” Astrid griped walking over to her spacious bed. She plunked herself down, ruffling the duvet that had been neatly placed on top.79

Warren glided over to Astrid, kneeling down before her and began to speak softly,80

“I wasn’t joking before, Astrid. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here from now on, whenever you need me.” His gentle words and sweet breath were enough to lull her and her lids began to close as she yawned.81

“Right now I just need sleep Warren.”82

“And I need to hunt. I’ll be back before you know it.”83

Before Astrid could say anything else to him she stretched out on her bed and fell into the first peaceful sleep she had encountered in a long time.