Bite, page 25
“Joseph what’s wrong,” I ask.
“Something’s happening. I can feel something going on and it’s going to transpire soon.”
We immediately look to Charlie who is already searching into a vision of the future. I watch his eyes as he focuses on nothing and when he finds what he is looking for, he gasps as he breathes, “Oh shit, he’s coming.”
“Who’s coming,” David asks with his fist already clenched thinking Charlie is referring to trouble.
“Harry.”
They all turn to look at me but I sit back down while the name sinks in. Harry, Gina’s father who is now a vampire, had decided to go away for a while until he was able to get his thirst under control so he wouldn’t hurt his family. But before he left, he overheard me talking about her and made me swear to never go anywhere near her. We were to protect Gina and her mom from afar but I was not to interact with her under any circumstances. I guess I didn’t listen.
I suddenly feel sick to my stomach but I knew this day would come eventually. Harry wasn’t going to stay away forever and I’m nowhere near ready to face him. Nor am I ready to tell Gina the truth about him either. I have no idea what I’m going to say to her. When she hears the truth about her father it will break her heart.
Joseph breaks the silence by asking the question I’m dreading to get an answer to. “What are we going to do about Gina? She’s going to be here at the house a lot and we won’t be able to hide Harry forever.” He shrugs his shoulders while nervously adding, “What are we going to say to her?”
“We have four days. We’ll think of something,” Charlie replies while rubbing the back of his head.
There’s nothing to think about because there is only one logical solution. No matter the cost, I have to do the right thing by Gina. I stand up and firmly say, “I’m going to tell her.”
“You’re going to do what,” David shouts.
I throw up my hands as I reply, “What choice do I have? I feel bad enough for not telling her sooner and she’s going to find out eventually. It’s either tell her or lie and I’m not going to lie to Gina.”
Charlie feels the tension building and he calmly says, “The two of you just chill out or you know what I will do.”
“Yeah I know,” David says and walks to the other side of the room.
I see that he’s worried that Gina will think him changing Harry was intentional and she’ll be angry with him. “David, none of us knew her then. I will make Gina understand that you didn’t mean for it to happen.”
David’s face appears grim and he hesitates as he says, “Yeah but you don’t know the whole truth Sam.” He swallows hard as he gathers his thoughts and finally after a long silence he says, “That day I wasn’t going after Harry, I was going after her.”
The whole room stands silent at David’s comment as my rage begins to intensify. I know I said we didn’t know her then but I’m still angry. I’m ready to leap at him but Evan grabs me. “Sam, relax man. Let the man explain himself.”
“You were going to kill her,” I ask through clenched teeth.
David actually looks remorseful as he replies, “I’m sorry I hid that from you but yes. I was going for her and Harry got in the way. It fucked me up so bad that I wasn’t concentrating and that’s how I accidentally changed him instead. After I finished with him, I saw Gina on the ground and if you and Charlie hadn’t come along, I might have…” He trails off.
I can’t believe the words I am hearing. David had wanted to kill Gina. It was her blood that attracted him not Harry’s. My head is spinning and I know fighting with him now would be wrong. I feel my anger rising and my fangs are growing and I can’t calm myself. I need to strike at something to help release the fury building inside me.
David approaches me even though Joseph is trying to hold him back. “Sam, I’m sorry I never told you what really happened. But how I felt before has changed now that you’re with her. You can rest assure that I meant what I said before. I will not harm her.”
“How can I be sure,” I growl. “She appealed to you before. How will I know the moment I turn my back you won’t go for her again?”
“Because Sam, if I wanted her blood by now I would have taken it already. Why would I help with the Stacy situation if I wanted her dead?”
He is right. If he wanted to kill her, Gina would have been dead already. I step closer to him and say, “You’re going to tell her the truth and once you’re done, you will apologize. I will deal with her reaction and redirect her anger towards me. Got it?” He nods and I go outside to the backyard to get some fresh air and to calm my anger.
Charlie follows me and asks, “Are you alright?” I shrug and he says, “We have to focus on Gina right now. We’re about to tell her that her father is not really dead so she’s going to need you to be strong for her. Can you put this shit aside and be ready for that?”
I take a deep breath and think about the task at hand. I know she is going to be angry with me for keeping this from her. We all thought Harry would never return but I knew deep down he was coming to see if I held up my end of the bargain of keeping my distance from her. He is in for a big surprise.
I nod as I reply, “Yeah I’ll be ready.”
“Good. Now pull yourself together. She’s going to be here soon.”
The thought of seeing her instantly puts a smile on my face.
Minutes later, I hear a car approaching the house and I quickly head to the door so I can greet her. After Gina says goodbye to her friends, I open the door and hold my arms out. Her smile grows wide as she falls into my embrace and whispers, “Hi.”
I kiss her softly and say, “Hello. Did you have fun with your friends today?”
“Well after the unpleasant part of picking out an outfit for Stacy, we ended up having a nice day.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you and your friends. Are you all alright?”
She shrugs and says, “Yeah we’ll be fine. Once we get through the funeral tomorrow then it’ll start to get easier for us.” Gina looks up at me where her face reads for the subject to change. She smiles up at me as she says, “So tell me about your day. What did you do while I was gone?”
“Nothing exciting.”
“Nothing at all? I find that hard to believe.” She giggles and her infectious laugh makes me chuckle as well. “I still have stuff I want to discuss with you. You think I can order something to eat while we talk?”
I smile as I reply, “I can do better than that. How about you follow me into the kitchen and I’ll find you something to eat instead?”
She grins as she says, “That sounds like a plan to me.”
I laugh while I fill her in on what I did excluding the disagreement she was moments from witnessing. Even though it wasn’t anything exciting I’m blown away that she still found my day interesting. Then again it could be the fact that I’m a vampire that sleeps. “Did you dream,” she asks while keeping me company in the kitchen. Since Gina is going to be spending more time here, Evan has stocked the fridge with stuff for her to eat. Right now I’m preparing her favorite; frozen pepperoni pizza with extra garlic. Yuk!
I smile at her as I reply, “Well I don’t know if you would call it dreaming but I did see your face.” My smile grows wider as I murmur, “That is the first time I’ve ever seen anything in my sleep since I was a human.”
“Really? I’m honored,” Gina responds with a giggle. “Was I doing anything?”
I laugh at her curiosity, as I say, “Not really. All I saw was you looking as beautiful as ever in a flowing white gown and the wind was blowing through your hair.”
A perplexed look appears on her face as she asks, “That’s it?”
“Afraid so,” I respond while laughing.
“I guess vampires don’t really have interesting dreams huh?”
I’m by her side in a flash and I murmur, “Oh we do. Mine was very interesting. I guess it would be considered what you would call a wet dream.”
Her expression of disgust and confusion are priceless and I laugh as I go back to finish her dinner. After I put the pizza in the oven, I turn to face Gina who is sitting very quietly on the stool by the counter. Her face has changed to something different and I grow frustrated that she won’t allow me to hear not one thought clearly. But I’m concerned that I offended her so I go over to where she is sitting and ask, “Did that upset you?”
She smiles and replies, “No. It’s flattering that you think of me in that way.” She blushes while asking, “Are you able to do that?”
Now it is my turn to look confused. “What do you mean?” She doesn’t answer so I say softly, “If it’s too hard to say out loud then make it clear in your mind so I can see it there.”
She quickly shakes her head and says, “No way. It’s too embarrassing. Forget I said anything.”
I lean closer to her and softly kiss her neck while whispering seductively, “Please Gina.”
Charlie must have started rubbing off on me because that is something he’s done many times before and apparently it works because she breathlessly says, “Okay but don’t laugh at me.”
“I would never laugh at you,” I say and stroke her hair while I take a peek.
She is still hiding her thoughts for a moment but once she relaxes, I am able to see it clearly. And I see why she felt embarrassed so I gently ask, “You wonder if vampires have dreams like that can we climax like a human does.”
Her cheeks grow redder as she answers, “Yeah. I mean I see the evidence of what happens during sex with my headboard on my bed needing to be replaced and all. But I’ve never seen anything else like…”
Her voice trails off but I read the rest of what she wanted to say. “Like used condoms and so forth.”
Just as she nods, Charlie enters the kitchen and says, “Now you’re talking my lingo.”
I roll my eyes as I say, “This is a private conversation Charlie.”
“Sorry but I couldn’t help myself.”
Gina hops off the stool and hits him on the chest as she yells, “Maybe you shouldn’t listen in on everyone’s conversation! Sam and I are talking and our subject of discussion is none of your business!”
I try to stifle a laugh while he responds, “My apologies. I won’t listen in on you two again.”
“Thank you,” she says while realizing hitting Charlie might not have been a good idea. She is cradling her hand and I say, “Let me take a look.” I study her hand and relief fills me when I see it isn’t broken; thank God.
I finish up Gina’s dinner and sit with her while she eats. My head is trying to decide on how to tell her about Harry but no matter how many ways I form the words in my head, it is still going to be hard for her to hear. I’m so deep in thought that I didn’t realize Gina is staring at me trying to catch my attention. She slowly reaches for my hand and I immediately grab it without looking at her.
“Penny for your thoughts,” she says. “Are you concentrating that hard on my question from earlier?”
I look at her and she has a warm smile on her beautiful face that almost completely relaxes me. I return it with one of my own and whisper, “I just thought I would answer that when we were alone.”
“Okay I think I would like that.” Gina gives my hand a little squeeze as she asks, “Then what’s wrong? You seem slightly upset about something. Maybe I can help if you talk to me about it.”
I’m not going to get a better opening than that and I guess there’s no reason to put this off any longer. That moment Charlie enters and says, “Why don’t we go into the living room where we would be more comfortable.”
She is about to yell at Charlie again for barging in on us but I gently say, “That would be better.”
She sees my pained expression and softly responds, “Okay you both are making me start to panic. Somebody tell me what’s going on right now or I’m going to completely lose it.”
“I promise we’ll explain. Let’s go into the living room like Charlie suggested and I promise you’ll be told everything.”
Gina stares at me with concern but nods in agreement. I take her hand as I start walking and she reluctantly follows us into the living room.
Daddy’s Home
(Gina)
Okay I’m starting to freak out here as I enter the living room where the others are standing around looking troubled. My instincts are telling me that something bad is going on and I begin to panic. I’m trying not to think of the worse (Sam telling that we are over for example) so I sit on the couch and take a deep breath while I wait. Sam is the first to speak.
“Gina,” he begins but I cut him off by asking, “Is this the end?”
He smiles and shakes his head, “No way. At least I hope not but who knows how you’ll feel after we tell you what we need to say. So please listen to the whole story and afterwards, whatever you decide, I will respect that.”
Now I’m really getting worried. No, in fact, I’m at the point of total hysteria. I mean, I was okay after the yeah-we’re-vampires bomb; what else can they possibly say now that would make Sam utter those words? I know they feed on humans and as much as that bothers me, it’s who they are so I really can’t get mad. But looking at Sam’s face has me worried that the worse has yet to come.
I watch as he tries to form the words to tell me whatever it is he wants to tell me but after moments go by and he still doesn’t speak, I stay calm and softly ask, “Sam what is it? Please tell me something and fast. I’m a nervous wreck here.”
David answers, “Before he says anything, I actually want to tell you what’s up. Sam said I should be the one to say it and I want you to know that I’m the one that you should be mad at. Sam couldn’t tell you because it wasn’t his secret to tell and he only got the complete details moments before you showed up. So if you’re going to be pissed be pissed at me. Okay?”
“Okay,” I reply hesitantly.
And David proceeds to tell me the story about my father and how he died. As he speaks, my memories that were fuzzy are suddenly becoming quite clear. All the gaps are now being filled and I don’t know whether to be relieved that I was right or scream at David. Hearing the words, “Your father is a vampire” leaves me in a dream state as I try to picture what Harry must look like now. My mother is Spanish but she fell in love with a blue-eyed brown hair white boy (her words) when she was eighteen. He had a great smile and always made me laugh. When I became a teenager, we had our rough patches but overall, I loved my father.
Sitting here now I’m trying to picture how much paler he must be (I have his skin tone mixed with Spanish features with light brown eyes). Did his eyes get bluer like Charlie’s or are they gold like Sam’s? Will he have any special abilities or will he just be a normal vampire (whatever normal is for them)?
David is done speaking and I glance around the room and see that they are waiting for my response. When I meet Sam’s eyes, he looks so worried that I thought he is going to scream while waiting for my reaction. Should I yell? Should I beat the crap out of David (yeah like I could)? At first I didn’t know what to say until it dawns on me. Wasn’t I just sitting here wondering what my father must look like now and what kind of vampire he is? That tells me right there that I didn’t care what Harry has turned into. He could be an alien with ten heads for all I care. All that matters is I’m going to see my father again.
I think I made the guys wait long enough because Sam grabs my hand and asks, “Gina love, please tell us what you’re thinking? Your thoughts are all over the place and it’s driving me crazy.”
I focus on him when I come out of my dream world and murmur, “Why didn’t you tell me about my father before?”
Pain immediately crosses his face and he replies, “I wanted to but I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to unload too much on you. After you learned about us, I was afraid of telling you about Harry because I was certain it would have been too much for you to handle. Please forgive me Gina. It was wrong of me not to come clean with you earlier.”
I stroke his face as I say, “Sam it’s okay. I understand. I mean, I just learned everything about you so I guess mentioning my father as well might have made me had a heart attack. You’re not one of the two I’m pissed with.”
David appears confused as he asks, “Aside from me, who else are you mad at?”
I shoot up from the couch and scream, “At him! He’s been around for almost a year and he just let my and me mourn for him! He never came to see us or anything. He has no fucking idea of what I put her and Tiffany through! I was walking around like a zombie and crying all the time until my eyes were puffy and red. My mom was ready to have me committed and Tiffany was always there when I woke up screaming at night. The only thing I wanted was for him to be there with me and when I thought he was gone, my whole world died and I fell apart. And the bastard has the nerve to still be walking around all this time? God damn him!”
I feel Sam put his arms around me and I didn’t realize I was crying until I feel the tears rolling down my face. I hear Sam whisper, “I’m sorry Gina but he had to stay away from you and your mom until he felt he was ready.”
That stops the tears and I look at him hard while I ask, “What do you mean he had to stay away?”
Charlie replies, “Gina, when someone turns into a vampire, the early stage of their new life is very dangerous. There is only one thing on their mind and that thing is blood. Human blood especially. When we reminded him about you and your mom, he wanted to get as far away as he could so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt you guys.”
