~Chapter Eighteen: Begging You~
"You're what?" I all but shout into the phone, the surprise evident in my voice.
"I already bought the plane ticket, so don't think you can talk me out of it," Heather replies almost instantly, putting a stop to any argument I might have. What am I supposed to say to that? 'I don't want you here' seems a little harsh, especially since I miss her.
But Ryland is here...
"Anyway, I'm late to a meeting. Bye, little brother," she says.
"Wait, I-" the sound of the call ending cuts me off and I groan, holding the phone away from my ear to make sure the call was actually disconnected and it was not my mind messing with me. Sadly, my mind was not.
I sit on my bed with my chin resting in my hands, wondering what to do about all this. "Are you okay up there?" Ryland asks from downstairs and I can hear the couch shift as he stands up.
"No," I reply softly when my mind blanks on ideas. A moment later, there are footsteps on the stairs and Ryland appears at the top of them. He remains there for a few seconds before taking a few steps closer.
"Is there anything I can do, amore mio?" He asks, looking like he wants to sit down next to me. Thankfully, he settles for crouching down in front of me. Ryland's hands reach out to touch my knees, but stop just before they make contact and return to rest on his own legs.
I take a minute to consider my options. I could always just let Heather come to whatever conclusions she wants. The pros would be that she would stop bothering me about dating people; the cons would be that she would tell our parents and they might get worried about something that is completely unrequited. I could tell Heather the truth before she gets here, which could lead to her playing matchmaker and still telling our parents. And the third option...I guess trying wouldn't hurt anything.
"If I ask you to leave town next weekend, would you do it?" I wonder out loud.
Ryland seems to consider my question for a moment before asking one of his own, "Why?"
"My sister is visiting and she comes up with really random conclusions to things and I do not want my parents to know about all of this. They would get worried and drop everything to visit. Plus, my oldest sister is pregnant and I really don't want her driving all the way here just to check on me," I explain, hoping it will be enough to convince him.
Again, he pauses to consider. "Is that such a bad thing?" He inquires. "I understand why you are adverse to them coming to their own conclusions, but I am sure that, if you explain properly, they would not be worried."
"Yeah, but I...I don't know. Please, I am begging you to leave. Just for a few days," I plead, feeling silly for being so worried, yet unable to help it. My family means a lot to me and for some whatever reason, I am strongly against them thinking that someone – a male someone – might be my mate. I do not think so, but my family is very open-minded and they might think that since Ryland believes we are destined to be mates, it might be true.
It takes a few minutes of consideration, but he comes to a decision. "Okay, I will leave town for the weekend. I should probably visit la mia famiglia anyway, but you will owe me for taking a weekend away. Deal?"
"Yes, anything. What do you want?" I ask, wanting to get this settled as quickly as possible.
However, Ryland shakes his head. "I will think it over and tell you once I know I can ask for something I will not regret later," he says.
At first, I am not sure what he is talking about, but the second I realize his meaning, I jump away from him, putting my back against the wall when I comprehend our current situation. Me, on the bed. Alone with the lion. "Anything but that," I snap and feel instant relief when he nods.
"I know. I would never ask to take you because of a deal. I am not cold-hearted, amore mio. When we do it, you will be the one asking," he says, an arrogant grin on his face. My eyes widen and I throw my pillow at him. He catches it with no trouble, tossing it back onto my bed before standing up. "I will take my leave now. I only came to make sure you were safe and now that I know you are, I can return to my work."
While I am tempted to ask what work he has in the area, I am not sure I want to know the answer, thus remaining silent as he leaves my cabin.
- - - - - - -
"Hey, Erika, I am sorry for calling when I know you aren't home, but I am between classes, so I can't hold a conversation. Tell Dylan he needs to stop calling at inconvenient times. I am perfectly fine," I speak into the phone after listening to her annoyingly long voicemail about calling back. "I'll call you once I get home."
With that, I hang up and turn my phone off in case Dylan gets the voicemail instead of Erika and decides to call me back. I left it on the pack house phone, after all, so anyone could hear the message. It is surprising that no one answered it, but I think there is some meeting for the local wolf packs – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, and Kansas – and it is being hosted at Dylan's place this year, so that might explain why no one has time right now. Though, they should still answer the phone.
Slipping my phone into my backpack, I lean back in my uncomfortable chair and close my eyes, content to relax while I wait for class to start. Sitting in the back of the room offers some perks since no one will bother-
"Cade, where were you last week?"
If it was anyone else, I would probably be annoyed, but if Cameron knows he is being annoying, he will only try harder. Instead, I plaster a fake smile on my face. "Don't you have class?" I ask, opting to ignore his question for now.
Cameron sits down in the chair in front of me, straddling it to face me properly. "Thirteen minutes," he says, gesturing at the clock on the wall beside us. In a lower voice, he asks, "Is it something we can't talk about here?"
I slowly shake my head, though I really do not want to get into this right now. Once Riley arrives, I need to talk to him about what I missed in class last week so I do not fail on the next homework assignment or upcoming test. This class has a lot of those, and failing is not an option unless I want to take this class again next semester.
"Lion problems," I mutter, keeping my voice low. It is unlikely anyone would think I am talking about a real lion, but that does not mean I want anyone overhearing what I am saying and possibly coming to a weird conclusion. Besides, hearing is no problem for a vampire.
"He's not causing trouble, is he?" Cameron asks cautiously, two different emotions of concern and wariness showing on his face.
"We made a deal, I sort of broke the deal, he is in a one-sided romantic frenzy, and I don't know what to do," I whisper softly, knowing that his high-powered hearing would be able to catch every word no matter how quietly I speak.
Cameron's entire body jerks as if he is resisting the urge to do something. Instead, he runs a hand through his hair roughly and bites his lip. His fangs extend down over his bitten lip, proving just how strong his emotions currently are. With my hand, I make an air quotation gesture modified to look like fangs. Almost immediately, a calm look settles on his face and the fangs retract...or rather, they disappear as much as they usually do, which is only enough to pass off as human with his mouth closed.
"Is Ryland in control?" He asks after a long moment of silence. We have only about eight minutes left before classes start, though I have no doubt that he will be perfectly on time for his class, even if he leaves just as the clock strikes one.
"He is, but the question is for how long. I won't accept him, but I can't refuse him until our deal ends, which is more than half a month away."
The vampire remains silent as he considers what I said, though there is not much to really consider. It is not like I am asking for advice or anything. The door opens and Riley walks in. He spots me and starts to walk over, but then he sees Cameron. Riley hesitates before taking a seat and giving me a questioning look. "Be right back," I say to Cameron before standing up and walking over to Riley.
"Please tell me you took notes last week?" I ask, crouching down next to his desk since the ones around him are taken by students.
Riley nods, "Yeah, I did. I'll let you copy them after class."
"You are a lifesaver, Riley," I tell him, relieved that I will not have to talk to another one of the students. I usually only make one classmate into a somewhat friend each semester and try my hardest not to socialize unless absolutely necessary. Some of the people in my classes are kind, but perhaps a little too standoffish for me to approach about homework.
He smiles at me before pulling our three hundred page history book out of his backpack, letting me leave without a word. I turn back to my desk to find Cameron staring at us. Or, rather, Riley. "You can't eat him," I quietly joke to the bisexual vampire as I sit down.
"Wasn't planning on it. What's his name?" Cameron asks, gesturing with his head towards my classmate.
I shake my head, "Riley, but he's straight. And from what I hear, an anti-vampireist."
"There is no such thing as an anti-vampireist, Cade," my friend points out, showing fang with his clearly fake smile. "But you're right. He is out of my league. I think I will just watch this one from afar."
"Do you realize how creepy that sounds?"
Cameron rolls his eyes before standing up. "Anyway, I have something to talk to you about, but your class is about to start. This is your last class of the day, right?" He asks. My response is a simple nod, allowing him to continue without interruption, "Then I'll stop by after this class and pick you up."
The vampire rises from the chair and starts stepping over empty seats towards the secondary exit of the room. He stumbles over a hidden backpack, though, and almost falls into a girl. I cannot hear what he says, but whatever it is, the girl giggles and he does it all without even a smile.
"Ass-kissing blood-sucker," I growl softly and the vampire chuckles before straightening up. With one last wink, he disappears out the back door just as the professor enters via the front.
"Good morning," he greets as he sets his briefcase down on the desk. "In this class, we will be talking about the Gettysburg Address."
- - - - - - -
Riley's footsteps echo off the hallway walls, as we among the only few students in the hall and I make little sound when I walk. "If the library printers aren't working, you can just take a picture with your phone," the human suggests, despite being the one to insist that I have a physical copy of his notes instead of something that is 'out of sight, out of mind', as he put it.
I say nothing as I follow him across the rather large campus to the library. It is not like I have another class, anyway. Besides, class ended early and if I do not finish this in time to meet Cameron outside his class, he knows how to find me. It helps that the library is next door to the building Cameron is in currently.
However, when we reach the library doors, Riley's phone starts ringing, causing him to jump a little. When he pulls his phone out of his pocket, he grimaces. "Uh, I need to take this," he says, brow furrowed as he stares at the caller ID before glancing at me to make sure it's okay that he answers.
"I can wait," I shrug before taking a seat on the bench beside the library doors. He gives me a hesitant smile before a few feet away to answer the phone, most likely not wanting to be overheard. Though, my cat-like hearing makes it impossible not to hear him.
"Jay, what's wrong?" He asks, pausing to wait for an answer before groaning and starting to pace the width of the path. "Then why are you calling when I told you I have class? You should be glad I got out early...yeah, I'd like a ride...ten minutes...okay. Bye."
Riley ends the call and looks over at me. When he sees me watching, he smiles again, this time it looks more genuine. "Everything okay?" I ask once he draws closer. Once he is a foot away, I stand up and open the library door for him.
"Yeah, my older brother is in town and has been staying with me while he looks for work," Riley explains, much to my amusement. While it is useful to know that yet another stranger is in town, it is funny how humans tend to give so much away without being asked. Every cat I have known barely even gives the information asked.
"I hope he finds what he's looking for," I respond, feeling it is necessary to say to his statement. Proving my assumption, he smiles again. However, our conversation ends there, as we are soon standing in front of the printers and have to focus on making them work. The problem with community colleges is that while the printers are often working, it is not uncommon for them to run out of ink.
It takes two different printers to get a full copy of his notes and by then, Riley keeps glancing at the clock. When we finish, however, it has only been eight minutes and he seems to relax a little. I am a little curious as to why he seems so anxious, but outwardly, I do not see any sign of physical abuse, meaning it is unlikely his brother is abusive. Though...as something of a friend to Riley, I feel the need to escort him to his brother to make sure everything is okay between them. How someone acts around someone else can paint a nice picture of their relationship.
Though, it is not like I can ask where Riley is being picked up, as I was not supposed to hear that conversation. Instead, I settle for, "Do you need to be somewhere?"
He pauses before pushing the library door open. "My brother is picking me up because he's borrowing my car while his is getting his break lights fixed," he explains, holding the door open for me as I follow him out.
I settle for nodding a couple of times in understanding. Riley starts heading towards the north parking lot and I follow one step behind him, pretending that I am going in the same direction. If he were to change direction, I would always just pretend that I had forgotten where I parked my Jeep. It would not be the first time, after all.
Glancing at my watch, I see that Cameron's class has just ended, but he can wait until I am done with this, or join me at our parking lot destination. As we draw nearer to the north lot, I slow down a little when I see the man waiting next to Riley's car, a green Civic. Even though a little taller than Riley – yet shorter than myself – he does not look threatening. In fact, while his posture says 'confident', the fact that he is staring at the floor suggests he is not all that sure of himself. Of course, that does not mean he might not be abusive at home.
Though, as we draw closer, I can see how wrong I am. Riley's face seems to brighten when he locates his brother, just as his brother's does when he sees Riley. Although, my classmate looks more in awe, while his brother just seems comfortably relieved to see him.
When the brother spots me walking besides-behind Riley, though, he looks a little confused. I am tempted to just walk off in some random direction, as if looking for my car, but I am rather curious about this stranger now and leaving does not sound that much fun. So, I stop when Riley stops.
"Are you one of Riley's friends?" He asks, extending his hand when we both stop in front of him. Riley glances over at me, as if a little surprised to see that I stopped as well, but I just shrug at him before shaking his brother's hand.
"I'm Cade," I reply with a nod, this time in his direction. However, I find myself unsure of what to do when he does not readily release my hand, instead his hold lingering. At first, I thought he might be testing my grip, doing the whole I-am-a-strong-man handshake, but his grip feels somewhat cautious.
When he does let go, I let my hand fall back to my side as I subtly size him up. He is very clearly human, just like his brother, which means it is unlikely that he might be challenging me some supernatural way. Maybe it is a human challenge I neglected to learn. And when Riley elbows his brother in the ribs somewhat roughly, I have to wonder if that is exactly what it is.
However, I do not get a lot of time to consider that, as I am hit by the scent of vampire just before an arm is wrapped around my shoulder. "Who are your friends, Cade?" Cameron says, his voice loud next to my ear.
It is tempting to push the vampire off me, as I am not all that trusting when he is so close to my neck. Just because he feeds regularly and we are in the presence of humans, Cameron can still have some lapse in judgment that would make him do something stupid. Still, I let him remain there for now, unwilling to cause a scene over seemingly nothing.
"Riley and..." I trail off. One, I should not know that Riley calls him Jay. And two, it is possible his name is not even 'Jay' but rather it is a nickname, 'J'.
"Oh, sorry," the brother says, shaking his head as if to clear it. For a moment, I thought it was Cameron's sudden appearance that made him unease, but it is soon I realize that he is not unease at all. In fact, I think he is...checking Cameron out. "I'm Jason, Riley's older brother."
Riley says something to Cameron, but I tune them out, trying to assess the brother. When he saw me, he looked a little off-guard, perhaps even curious. The look he has for Cameron, though, suggests more than just curiosity.
I find it kind of cool that Cameron's flirting might actually get him somewhere if he chooses to turn his attention Riley's brother instead. Although, judging from how the vampire has his eyes on my classmate, there might not be a whole lot of pursuing here. It might just fall flat if Cameron is too focused on the younger one to notice the older one.
"Are we going to go or what?" I ask Cameron, turning my attention back to my current situation. If the vampire has something to tell me, it is probably important and I would very much like to find out before something pops up. Like Cameron noticing the brother eying him.
This seems to catch Cameron off-guard, as he looks to me in surprise before slowly nodding. "Y-yeah, sorry," he says, before turning back Riley. "I would like it if we got the chance to talk more over coffee."
Riley accepts the vampire's offer, no doubt rather oblivious to Cameron's subtle advances. I keep my eye on the brother, Jason, while all of this is going on, but his face is masked with indifference. Though, his body language suggests he is a little bothered by the situation, whether it stems from envy or the urge to protect his little brother from the person trying to flirt with him.
With one final goodbye, Cameron and I start in the opposite direction, though we only go twenty feet before he stops in front of a black Cadillac, one of the more recent models. Out of the few vampires I have met, I think he is the only one who actually likes to play with stereotypes. I bet he even lived in a castle once.
"Get in," he instructs, removing his arm from around my shoulder before slipping into the driver's side. While it is tempting to make him tell me out here, as my car is still here and I would rather not end up driving somewhere, I want to hear what he has to say and he would not tell me if he thought someone might be listening.
Though, to my surprise, when I climb into the car, the vampire does nothing more than turn on the engine to make the air heater work to chase away the chilly air. "There has been some odd activity in the vampire community lately," Cameron says, getting right to the point.
"Odd how?" I ask, growing a little apprehensive. 'Odd' for vampires is flat-out crazy to everyone else.
Cameron seems to consider his answer before replying, "The older vampires have cut off communication to the outside world."
I will admit, I was very worried. However, I no longer am. This happens from time to time, where the older vampires find that it is too tiring to keep up appearances and just become recluses for a couple decades. It is weird that they would chose to do it all at the same time, sure, but maybe they had some kind of get-together and someone said something offensive. Vampires are oddly sensitive about their pasts.
"Okay...I don't see how that affects anyone outside their covens," I point out and his brow furrows as he stares at me for a moment before sitting back in his seat and nodding.
"I guess you are right. Though, I would appreciate it if you mentioned it to the local wolf Alpha," Cameron says.
I quickly nod, wanting to make my escape now. "I will, though it might be a couple of days. The local packs are gathering for their yearly meet so he might be a little busy. Speaking of, you might want to get out of town for a couple of days," I suggest. Dylan is accepting of other species, but some werewolves feel they have something to prove when faced with vampires. It is stupid, as the wolves have no feud with the blood-suckers, but it still happens.
The vampire says nothing, which I take as my cue to leave. "See you later," I grunt before quickly getting out of the car. Sadly, my Jeep is in the south parking lot, not the north, which means more walking. Though, I am hoping it might get rid of the vampire smell from my clothes. I would rather not encounter Ryland today, but if I do, it would be a whole lot easier if I do not smell like someone who nearly challenged him the first day we met.
Translation: La mia famiglia - my family