Subsequently

20: My Immortal

Taylor sat alone. Swinging her feet off the end of a long pier, staring at the fog of moonlight upon softly churning waters. Despite Marcus having returned hours prior.

The wind was warm and barely strong enough to rustle the hair framing Taylor's contemplative expression. It moved, tickling her cheeks. She let it hang there, not bothering to push it behind her ears. The boathouse behind provided little light from a hanging fixture just next to its exterior door. The wind could not move that. Very little moved at all. That's what made his footsteps so strikingly clear. Steady-paced, easy to distinguish through the night air. Crushing green foliage beneath freshly polished shoes. Then came hollowed steps, much closer to Taylor's person. They ceased just behind.

Santiago watched from the home's window. Looking through the tempered glass in hesitation to leave. He wished to be near, to defy his king if things went amiss. Yet, he turned away from the window as Marcus stopped just behind Taylor. Santiago muttered a curse to himself, only to himself. He did not notice how warm the night was as it rushed past his frace. He did, however, recognize the fullness of the moon as he finally slowed his pace. It cast its' silvery glow across the forest, as well as himself. With a slow breath Santiago listened, and with a twitch he realized he was not yet far enough. Not that Taylor would know. However, he doubted he could lie to her any longer.

Taking another drawn-out breath, Santiago sped further from his charges. As was requested. With an unsteady heart and stomach full of lead.

"You've been avoiding me." Marcus always sounded so eloquent. His voice was so smooth, rich. It made Taylor smile, but not look back. Not even as he sat beside her with folded hands rested upon his thighs. He leaned forward to see her face as she looked towards the lake with a bittersweet sort of smile. His head tilted.

"I haven't." Taylor protested without confidence. Without looking to Marcus.

"Why?" He asked, ignoring her remark. It was a halfhearted lie he did not bother to entertain. His hands were wrung in his lap. The answer to his next question was already known to him, the night before still fresh on his mind. Forgetting this, or blatantly trying to ignore the fact, Marcus asked anyhow. His face giving away his inner knowledge. "What have I done?"

What had he done? Taylor stuck to what was easy to understand.

"You haven't done anything." She seemingly assured, but her smile faltered. "That's the problem."

The darkness seemed watchful, laying at the edges of moonlight. Waiting for its' moment to suffocate Taylor. She was being selfish, or was she being oh so patient? The night would end with the start of a ticking clock, counting down the minutes until the end of Taylor's life. Would he turn her then? Would he turn her at all? Was she, as she feared so long ago, becoming too much for a passing fling? Taylor closed her eyes a moment. Those thoughts would not help her now. Anxieties about the future wouldn't aide her then. She loved him. Taylor chose Marcus. She chose him.

She's choosing to leave everyone else behind.

How very selfish.

Taylor opened her eyes to the rather jarring scene of the present. It hadn't changed really. Moonlight, darkness, water below, and at her side was the man she loved. Not really a man at all. A vampire. Marcus. Her Marcus. She swallowed.

"If I'm not-... " She began.

How was she to say this?

"You said last night that-." Taylor struggled, biting her lip. Marcus watched patiently, waiting for her to gather her thoughts. Already he knew what to say. He wasn't ready for anything physical. He can't perform for her. He wasn't good for her. And she was far too good for him.