I woke up hours later to the assault of the lights turning on, making my swollen eyes burn. I blinked into consciousness to see a guard standing in my doorway talking into a phone. "Got her." He said gruffly, then walked back out.
I sat up in my bed confused until the events of the last few hours all came flooding back to me. When I looked up again, Calvin was standing in the doorway, his brown hair a mess and an unreadable expression on his handsome face. "Why the hell do you keep doing this to me?" He demanded. "Do you think I enjoy spending my time worried to death about where you are?" He stepped into the room, followed by Master Pedro who had a look on his face that did not make me excited for this conversation. "I've just had a very interesting conversation with Master Pedro." He informed me. "Care to guess what that was about?" I could place the expression on his face now. He was pissed.
"Calvin, I was going to tell you." I insisted.
Master Pedro clicked the door shut behind him and went to sit on my vanity bench, while Calvin stayed posted right in front of the door. "Oh, really? And when were you planning to inform me that my father made a pass at you?" He demanded. "I had to hear it from Pedro, and then again by my father himself, before you."
I sighed, bringing my knees up under my chin. "You were already so upset, and trying to gain control of yourself, I just didn't want to make it worse." I explained, then that sting in my eyes reminded me. "Besides, it's not like you really gave me much of a chance to tell you anything, seeing as how you ran off and left me to go chasing after some other girl!" I shouted.
Master Pedro rubbed his jaw and stood up awkwardly. "I think I will wait outside." He said bowing his head to Calvin.
I huffed. "Yeah, you do that." I said. "I can't believe you told him."
Pedro looked defensive. "How was I supposed to know you didn't tell him?" He shot back.
"You didn't even give me a chance to tell him myself."
"Again, you had just been with him and didn't inform him, I assumed you would have, and that was not the type of news I am at liberty to keep from my prince."
Calvin raised his hand in the air, silencing us both. "Pedro, go ahead and wait outside, please." Pedro gave me one last glance, then sulked out of the room. Calvin turned his eyes back to me. "Why didn't you come back to our room, Rachel? I've had all the guards out looking for you all day."
I stared at him for a long time, amazed how he could just act like nothing had happened. "You should know why, Calvin." I snapped and laid back down in the bed, covering my head with the comforter.
I felt his weight sit down on the edge of the bed. "Rachel, don't be like this."
"Like what?" I shot back.
"So damn frustrating, Rachel! All the time!" He said exhaustedly.
I threw the blankets back and sat up to face him, my eyes burning from the tears that were right on the edge of spilling over. "I'm the frustrating one?" I laughed sarcastically. "You ditch me to run off and chase another girl, leaving me with a bunch of girls who you know are horrible to me, and I'm the one you're mad at right now?"
Calvin dropped his eyes from mine. "I'm not mad at you, Rachel."
"Oh, well, that just makes everything ok then." I snapped. "I'm so happy to know that you're not mad at me!"
I looked away from him too, glancing up to try and keep the tears from falling out. "But you are mad at me?" He asked.
I had to laugh again, the motion causing the traitor tears to fall down my cheeks. "Wow, I can't get anything passed you." I said monotone.
Calvin reached for my face but I smacked his hand away. "Rachel!" He said roughly. "Have I not made my feelings for you clear enough?" He demanded. "Do I need to go out there right now and call a session so that I can pronounce on live TV that I want to be with you?" He laughed halfheartedly. "I thought you of all people would understand why I went to Lexton."
I looked up into his eyes hurt. "Calvin, how would you have felt if I had just been kissing you after you'd nearly been killed, and then as soon as another guy walked up, I just took off with him without any explanation at all, just left you behind like trash?" The tears were coming heavier now.
This time when he reached for me, I just didn't have the energy to deny him again. He pulled me over to cradle me in his lap. "I'm sorry, Rachel." He whispered against my head. "When you put it like that...You are not trash to me, Rachel. You are the most beautiful and rare gem in all of the world, not trash, and I'm sorry for making you feel that way. It was not my intention, I've just never had to think about things like that before, and I didn't think how you would feel."
"Do you love her?" I whimpered, and I hated myself so much the second the words left my lips because I sounded like a weak and stupid little girl, but at the same time I needed to hear the answer.
"Rachel." He scolded me, holding me tighter. "Of course I don't. Lexton is...I just hate to hurt her. She's very kind and sweet, and I hated to see her cry because she doesn't deserve to be hurt." He explained, but his answer almost stung just as bad as if he said he did love her. "I don't want to be with her, but I consider her a friend." I nodded my head and he held me away from him so that he could see my face. "Now we need to talk about my father." His tone and facial expression was very serious, but I didn't feel like reliving that whole thing again. I turned in his lap so that I could wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He was receptive at first, rubbing my back while we kissed but he suddenly stopped and I found myself slung into the middle of the bed, while he was standing off to the side of it. "Nice try." He said crossing his arms.
He had on one of his usual white button downs, but something about the way he had his sleeves rolled up over his nicely defined arms, and the way his hair was displaced made it hard for me to concentrate on what he wanted to talk about. "Why do we have to talk about that?" I asked. "Why can't we just keep doing what we were doing?" I winked, but he didn't take the bait.
"Master Pedro told me what he said to you." He said evenly. "Did anything else happen?"
I shrugged my shoulders and crossed my legs out in front of me on the bed. "No, he just was creepy about wanting to know what I do to you to make you act different, and then he rubbed my shoulders for a second, and I ran away from him."
Calvin bit into his lip and his eyes darkened a shade. "He touched you?" He said through gritted teeth.
I nodded once. "Only on my shoulders, and just for a minute, I stopped him."
"That doesn't make me feel any better." He said dryly.
"You said he told you, did he leave that part out?" I asked.
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, he did." Calvin nodded. "He told me he went to see you, and that the conversation went to a place it shouldn't have and he apologized and asked me to send his apologies to you as well. I don't want you alone with him again." He said gruffly.
"I have zero desire to be around him again." I replied quickly. "Did he tell you not to pick me?" I asked, looking up beneath my eyelashes.
He sighed and came to sit beside me in the middle of the bed. "He did." He smiled. "I don't plan to listen to him though."
"Good." I responded. "He told me I'm just like your mom." I informed him.
Calvin laid back on his back, and I did the same. "I guess in ways you kind of are." He smiled at the ceiling. "She was very spirited like you are. She could be hard headed and say things that she shouldn't and she was more stubborn than any other person I'd ever met, before you, of course."
"Of course." I smiled.
"She was kind, but strong, and she had a silly side. She was a great person." His voice was distant.
"Do you miss her?" I asked softly and he nodded. "I miss my mom too." I said sadly.
Calvin laid his hand on top of mine and we both turned our heads, looking at each other. "You've never mentioned her before."
"I don't remember a whole lot." I said feeling numb about how true that was. "I was taken from her when I was 10."
He sat up on one elbow and leaned over me, looking deeply into my eyes. "Rachel, I'm sorry that happened to you."
I shrugged. "She's probably dead now anyway." I said trying to sound indifferent. I'd never spoken about my mom to anyone. Not since that first year at Drighten. "Because of the whole vampire takeover thing." I whispered.
"Rachel..."
"It's fine." I cut him off. "I'm fine." I chewed my bottom lip to keep from saying anything else. I've spent a long time trying to block out any memories from my life before I was taken. Remembering any of it only made my new reality that much harder to swallow.
He leaned down on me, kissing my forehead. "I guess its one thing to know about something like feeder schools, but it's another thing to think about where those boys and girls actually come from." He said more to himself than I think he meant for me. "I can't imagine how hard all of this is for you. I know you've told me it is a thousand times, but...Now that I'm thinking about it...Don't you hate vampires for taking everything from you?" He asked seriously.
I looked up into his eyes and battled with myself on whether or not to lie. "Honestly? Yeah. I don't hate you though."
His expression was still troubled, so I changed the subject. "So I'm confused about that guy." I told him. "Fernando? Who was he talking about?"
Calvin sat up, facing away from me again, and I leaned my head on his back between his shoulders. He sighed happily when I wrapped my arms around him, lacing my fingers in front of his stomach. "God, I love it when you touch me." He laughed, then sighed. "Do you remember that first night when you got lost and ran into that guard who was a little overly friendly with you?"
"The one you stopped from biting me?" I asked.
"That's the one." He nodded. "I had him thrown into the dungeons, and Fernando was his lover. He had a personal vendetta after you because he blamed you for what happened to him."
That part made sense now, but the rest of what he said was still strange. "He told me that he wasn't the only one." I reminded him. "He said there were others who would come for me."
Calvin turned around fast, pushing my shoulders back down onto the bed gently, then he leaned over me to kiss my lips, groaning softly as he held my face. "I won't let anyone hurt you, Rachel." He whispered as he kissed my collar bone. "I will have my people look into his allegations, and until we figure it all out, I want you back in my room with me where I can keep my eyes on you." He smiled against my skin and I curled my toes. "Although, I have to say, seeing you holding him down with that knife in your hand...that did things to me, Rachel."
"Like what kind of things?" I asked breathlessly as his hand roamed down my body gently.
"Bad things." He answered. "You are one incredible girl, and you probably don't even need my protection, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you get away from me." He said as he rolled his body over on top of mine.
"I don't mind you protecting me." I whispered then giggled hysterically as his fingers dug into my side, tickling me.
"Oh, you don't?" He chuckled lightly then kissed me again. "You're giving me permission then?" I nodded my head and gave him a look that made him grab my face and kiss me harder. I wrapped my legs around him and he lowered more of his weight down onto me. My body was electric, tingling all over like never before, and I couldn't control the noises coming from out of my mouth, which would have been embarrassing if it weren't for the fact that Cal was doing the same. He kissed at my neck again and I arched my body to him, feeling a strong need to be closer to him.
Then I felt his teeth graze my neck. "Woah." I said loudly, and Calvin shot up off of me and to the other side of the room.
"Rachel, I'm so sorry." He said pacing with his black eyes again. "I didn't mean to...I haven't fed in a while...Please forgive me, I just got caught up." He looked so guilty as he walked his trail into the carpet. I crawled off the bed and walked slowly to him. "No," He said holding a hand up to me. "Wait over there, just give me a minute."
I don't know what had come over me, but I grabbed the hand he was holding up in my own hand and came to stand directly in front of him, stopping his pacing. "You won't hurt me." I whispered, bringing his hand up and placing it on my warm cheek. "I trust you." I told him. It was alarming, staring into his eyes black as coal, but something in me gave me the courage to do it anyway. "Just look at me." I whispered. He barred his teeth a few more times, but his breathing began to slow, and his eyes came back to the hypnotic smoky blue I'd come to love.
"Rachel, I l-." There was a soft knocking on the door and Calvin pulled me into his chest, wrapping me in a hug. "Come in." He said to the door, then kissed the top of my head.
Master Pedro stuck his head in. "I hate to interrupt, I was just wanting to speak with Rachel before I go start setting up for the elimination tonight." Pedro explained to Cal.
Calvin tighten his arms around me and sighed. "That's alright, Pedro, she's all yours." He laughed. "I was just about to go have something to eat." He said as he released me. "I'll see you at the elimination ceremony." He winked at me walking towards the door. He whispered something to Pedro as he passed that sounded like some kind of direction, but I couldn't hear him, then he was out the door.
"You better have a good reason for interrupting that." I said putting my hands on my hips.
Pedro rolled his eyes and went to sit on my bed, eying the spot next to him for me to join him. "Sorry to keep you from getting to fool around with the prince anymore tonight." He joked and I slapped him on the arm. "I've gotten some new whispers." He told me secretively.
I leaned in closer to him. "What did you find out?"
He rubbed his jaw like he does when he's nervous, then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know if I believe it." He said lowly. "It's pretty farfetched, and if it is true, then you're not the only one in danger, and there would be some major treason going on."
"Just tell me." I prodded.
He rolled his eyes at me. "You have to promise not to say anything to the prince until I get better evidence on how true it is." He told me. "Do you swear?"
I hated the idea of keeping anything from Calvin, but I needed to know what my strange dreams about 'whispers' meant, so I nodded my head once. "I swear."