I know. Astronomically rapid update, for me, right!? Haha. And I did all but 600 words since the last update.
Hope its good. :DDD
The picture is Vietta. I talk about it in the chapter. You'll recognize it.
Enjoy!
Song: I'm Staying Here (And I'm Not Buying A Gun) by John Wesley Harding
Playlist is the linky thing
Chapter 25
I'm Not Running
The way she threw her arms into the air, one just over a 90o angle, one just under, looked like someone from a girls' night out movies when the life of the party returns from a long absence. She was wearing a green mini skirt, black satin cami, green sunglasses with blacked out lenses, a green barrette holding her black hair up, and knee high black leather boots. Her curls were bouncy in their pulled-ish back nature, her skin translucent as if it was simply plastic wrap. Her green nails were glimmering in the porch light.
He stood behind her, brown board shorts with white strips on the sides and matching shirt neckline and arm bands matched his dark brown hair. His sunglasses were black, as was his shirt and tennis shoes. His skin, as well, was alarmingly see-through, but it was more obscured by hair.
I hobbled forward, the senses in me that came from the slayer in a frenzy, even though she was absent. I hadn't seen her since I had...um...Jackie. With broken fingers on broken arm, I shut the door. They stepped back in synchronization. Mr. Bloodworth leaned against the post of the porch and Mrs. Bloodworth stood in the middle of the walk way about a step ahead of him, hands on hips.
"What. The hell. Are you doing. Here?" I asked in a low acidic whisper, suddenly very aware of my mother in the other room. Maybe when I had first met them and had the privilege of reading their minds and learning that Ben didn't actually hate his mother I had a bit of respect for them, the tiniest bit, but now they were on my territory and they were invading on my privacy and my safety.
They exchanged conspiring looks. "Sassy don't you-" Mrs. Bloodworth began.
"Think, dear?" her husband finished.
"Very." She smiled. "How's your leg honey? The cast is intense. Whatever happened to my son's power? Does his current state not allow him to heal that?" she said it in a light tone. Her mouth was near a smile though. I suspected she knew.
"I don't know but I'd rather he didn't use them to fix these particular injuries," I muttered, angrily.
"Silly girl," she batted her hand at me.
"Hmmm," I wasn't in the mood for small talk. "Answer the original question," I demand simply.
Mrs. Bloodworth suddenly looked extremely bored and took out a nail file and started on her left hand, well-knowing they would all grow back by morning.
"See here, Slayer," I whinced at the title as Mr. Bloodworth said it. "We held up our end of the bargain, you got your army, now we are here to take ours. Don't think just because you two are happy in love and crippled that we will let it slide this once. I lost some of my best men to your kind in that stupid little battle, and frankly, I am in need of replacement. This is my start. Where's my son?"
He was working me into a rage. "He's at home, asleep, where you should be," I snapped and took out my little pink cell phone.
"Hullu?" a groggy voice asked.
"Uhh, honey, I don't know how to put this, but we've got visitors," that was his cue to wake up and get his butt over here.
"Whut?" he didn't get it. A few moments later there was a loud cuss word. "How long have they been there?"
"A few minutes or so, I think. Be-"
"Where are you?"
"At home. Be-" He cut me off again.
Words that would make old ladies cringe spilled from his mouth and their translations in every language he knew. There was a lot of banging, booming, and even one shatter.
I tried again. "Be-"
It didn't work.
"All right. I'll be right there."
"Ben!" but all that was left on the line was the dial tone. I sighed and turned to the vampires on my porch. "I hope you're quite happy. He'll be here soon. But it's not like you couldn't hear the conversation." My scowl was deep.
"Honey, my son's pain is hardly my pleasure," stupid smile of hers. Although, deep inside, I knew I believed her.
"I just have to say," he added, "My son is a slow runner. It's not far. Shouldn't he be here by now?"
"It may only be 23 miles and 20 seconds for you, but that's five minutes for us that aren't gazillion year old full breds."
They snickered together. I guess I had made a funny but I didn't press to find out what. As the minutes passed the tension grew. It's not that I felt unsafe around them; I had no worry for my life, but my mother's, on the other hand, was a whole different story. I was terrified they would get hungry or mean and hurt her. After all, she was waiting in the living room probably having forgotten about me standing on the porch.
When Ben arrived they heard him coming. Mr. Bloodworth turned his head to gaze dazedly off down the drive way, but Mrs. Bloodworth didn't move; she just kept staring at me like I was some beautiful capturing painting.
It was odd actually. I had to wonder what in fact she was thinking. She seemed almost enthralled in my face. What did she see in it? Promise? Hope? For domination or for her son? Was there legitimate emotion behind those red eyes?
They seemed passionate. Hopeful. Like she had been lost in the darkness for years and I had at long last brought her a light. Had I brought her the light? Was that Ben? Was I bringing him home to her?
"Why don't we take this elsewhere?" Ben growled from off in the dark.
"Oh because we're content right here," Mr. Bloodworth said while smiling at me in a extremely perverse like way. It sent shivers down my spine. "Thank you though, son."
"It wasn't really an offer."
"I know." His pert little smile made me frown. "Don't worry. We have no interest in the girl's mother. Although it is funny that she's already forgotten about her daughter coming out here. Don't you think that's a little odd?"
"Shut up," I whispered. "Leave my mother out of this."
"What? You're dear sweet mum doesn't pay as much attention to you as you have wished? But then again you hide from her, do you not? You don't want her know about you. Your entire life is a secret. That's why it'll be convenient for you when join our family. You'll never have to hide again. That's why we're here, of course. To..."
"Collect you," Mrs. Bloodworth interrupted.
"We told you we'd come in twelve days. It's hardly been that long." Ben still stood in the yard, his eyes lethal and closer to red than brown.
"I know," he said again.
"But we missed you and thought we'd come and help you," his mother said in light, innocent voice.
"We need no help. I'm sorry to disappoint you but you need to return to Farmington. Immediately."
"Hardly. In fact, I think we'll stay around a while longer. I like it here. It has a..."
"Rustic feel," she smiled as she waved her hands.
"Fine. But there's conditions. You can't hunt in the area. You can't linger here and you need to find your own housing." Ben pushed his way past them to stand by me. I knew he wouldn't be going home tonight.
"Don't worry, dear. We brought the jet. We have all the commodities we need," his mother said, her eyes soft.
"Great. Go there. Now." Her face visibly crumpled a bit. Obviously he was providing her the warm welcome she wanted.
Pity.
"We'll be back, son." Mr. Bloodworth nodded approvingly. "Why don't you meet us at the delightful little diner in town tomorrow at...eight?"
"Fine. But please, dress it down. You don't want to look like that much of idiots here. It doesn't get hot until August and try to ditch the designer labels," and that was their dismissal.
"Good night son. Slayer," Mr. Bloodworth said before disappearing.
"Ben," she whispered, her eyes tortured. And she was gone. I could still see those red eyes though. Awfully red and endless sad.
"Go back into your house and go to bed soon. I'll be waiting upstairs. Okay?" he brushed his hand over my chest, bringing me back to the world.
I nodded numbly.
"You're mother will be safe. They'll be true to their word and not harm her. Don't worry." I'd like to have followed his order, but that's one I just couldn't. I didn't trust. Not as far as I could throw them or any distance more.
My mother asked who was at the door when I came back in and I told her it was the church people that tried to sell their religion to you. She nodded absent mindedly and went back to grading. Summer school...
"I'm feeling tired so I'm going to head upstairs now. I love you," I said earnestly.
"Love you too." And she waved me away.
Well that was too easy, I muttered to myself.
But for once, the slayer didn't answer.
And I felt oddly alone.
* * *
"Now can I heal you?" Ben asked as he tossed a softball towards the ceiling.
"No," I said as I watched him catch it. We were lying side by side on my bed, my door locked and music playing semi loudly. Enough to block out our voices at least.
"How bout now?"
"No."
There was silence for a while as the music filled my ears.
"You have to leave, you know."
"What do you mean?" I asked sitting up.
"If you leave now, catch the next flight to Alaska or Peru or something, then you could get away. You could escape this pact we've made with my father and it wouldn't be very long before I could join you. I'd just have to make a false trail and explain to my parents that we won't be joining them. Hopefully from a safe distance of at least a thousand miles away."
"Why would I do that?" He sat up too and stared at me, seemingly confused by my reaction.
Why would I flee?
"Because then you could stay alive! Then you could keep a heartbeat. Then you wouldn't have to become a soulless, killing, monster!"
"Is that what I'll be?" I didn't ask it in a shocked way, like I hadn't considered that before. But in a way that said I quite thought otherwise.
"Yes! You will. That's the definition of vampire. That's what they all are. What we all are," he frowned.
"We are nothing. Yeah we'll lose our souls and yeah we'll probably kill, but will we really? Beside of that though, why would I want to run? I made a promise, a pact. I've broken too many promises in my life, many of them to you. I have to keep this one." I looked into his eyes earnestly.
"Why can't you keep the one you made to your mother instead?" I looked away and he kept going, knowing he was onto something. "You know the one. The one where you told her you wouldn't leave her again? Where you promised her you weren't going to take a head start this summer?"
"I'd be taking one anyways. You just said we'd be going to Peru or Alaska. I'm sorry but that doesn't sound like Alsea, Oregon to me," I shook my head. I had just as much ammunition as he did.
"We could come back. As soon as they left and went on the search to find us, then we could return and resume our lives and you wouldn't have to leave your mother. You wouldn't have to break her heart. Again," he added morosely.
"They'd keep tabs here. They know slayers and the way they hunt how they're territorial over their territory and wouldn't leave it unprotected. They know my feelings for my mother. They'd know I wouldn't leave her unprotected. They'd expect me to return. And just because they didn't find you last time doesn't mean they'd give up so easily this time. With you the only thing they were chasing was their son and their test subject. Now, they're chasing prospects. They're chasing their chance to take over the world and they're chasing someone who made a deal with them. They're vampires! Do you honestly think that they could give up that many men and just let us run? Do you think they're that...giving?" but I knew it was more than that. I knew it very well. Ever since the idea of becoming a vampire had first crossed my mind it had always been more.
I was bloodthirsty. Power hungry.
I wanted to be vampire.
I was willing to give everything up for it.
I loved Ben, with all my heart, don't get me wrong. But he wasn't what I was assuming eternal life for. I wanted to live forever because I wanted to live forever. I wanted to live forever so I could be the biggest, the best, and the strongest.
That was why I had stolen so much of his venom. If I was being honest with myself it wasn't for experimentations sake. It was because I liked the rush. I liked the way it made me feel. I liked feeling of being best.
And that was just a taste of it. That was just a taste of being a vampire, a taste of the power.
And I was craving the real thing.
I had been trained ever since I was fifteen to resist the allure of a vampire's body, voice, and pheromones. I had been taught how to resist them but never how to resist becoming one.
That just didn't happen.
Slayers didn't become vampires.
No one had ever conceived how lethal they'd become because it just wasn't thought of. But I wasn't known to follow the laws of the normal ways of my race. I felt when I should just hear, see, smell, and taste and I had more kills in a week than most slayers did in a year. Not to mention I let an entire coven of vampires live and even went so far as to gamble my blood with them. And then there was the fact that I was madly in love with a vampire, a not so normal one either. Don't let me forget how I had butchered countless slayers and worked side by side with vampires.
Yeah. I wasn't normal.
These were my many errors. My countless errors. Why hesitate in making this last one?
"Aerie. I love you. More than anything in this world. The only I want in my life is make you happy and to what's best for you," he tapped my chest with his finger and a rush of guilt flooded through me. He only cared about me and I cared about so much more. "And destroying your soul, your personality, your entire being is not what's best. We can be together and happy if you just let me help you run."
"I have to do this, Ben. I've come this far. I've done this much. If I stopped now and ran there'd always be the possibility that they'd take you away from me. That they'd change you. That they'd kill you. And then my friends' deaths would have been for nothing. Is that what you want? I sure as hell don't! I want to be with you. I want to be able to be in love with. To make love to you. But I can't do that if I'm seven thousand miles, eleven countries, and a continent away. I'd be alone living in a city with a language I can't speak and I'd have no way of knowing that you'd be alive. I love you and I can't leave. Don't make me." Yeah. It was pretty low. I used every tool in the book, every weapon I had. I twisted my argument twice one way and then twice the other but the point was still there: I couldn't run. "I'm not running."
He just stared at me for the longest time, gazing into my eyes. I wondered if he had caught my lie. If he would call me out for it. But he didn't. He just shook his head finally and said, "We can drop the subject for now, but we will be revisiting it. I'm not done discussing this."
I nodded. "Fair enough." But inside I was burning.
* * *
I was awake before Ben but found myself content to lie in his arm. I was still safe and I could sense that my mother was as well. The Bloodworths' had kept their promise.
I never realized Ben was awake until he was kissing my neck gently. The music was still playing, now softer and quieter, so it was kind of perfect.
"Ben," I chastised in a whisper.
"Your mother won't be up for hours and she can't hear anything anyways..."
"What about your parents?"
"Miles away."
"How far are you thinking?" I asked knowing he'd understand I wasn't talking about his parents.
"Nothing that would make you scream," he nipped at my ear.
I rolled my eyes. "Like that would happen."
"I'll take that as a challenge."
"You do that."
He made a sudden movement with his thigh that made me gasp rather loudly.
"Damn you," I growled at his rather annoying smirk.
Sometime later, seven oh-six to be exact, I dragged myself away from him and towards my dresser.
"Ooh! I want to help," Ben said excitedly once he got over his pouting that I had left him in the middle of what he had been happily preoccupied with.
"Okay but I get ultimate veto power," I laughed.
After a couple of cute stunts involving my underwear and bras he finally settled that he wanted me to look somewhat artsy. So he decked me out in plain dark skinny jeans, a dark gray tee with black designs printed on it, a black, grey, and white plaid scarf, and dark grey ballet slippers. I was quite a bit slimmer due to my eating...disorder than I was when I bought them at the beginning of the summer so the jeans were loose enough that I was able to wear them, despite the cast.
I went to the bathroom and grabbed my hair ties and brushed my teeth and then came back to him smiling.
"We still have twenty-five minutes. It's my turn." I pulled at his blue tee. .
"Must I? You sound conniving."
"I'll only do as good of a job as you did," I smiled innocently.
"Fine. Let's go."
I left my mom a note and then I took the wildest motorcycle ride of my life. Trying to hang on the back with one arm and one leg in a cast without losing my crutches....well, it was fun.
After much leafing through Ben's dresser while listening to the quiet hum of his shower I decided I would dress him in dark blue skinny jeans (not tight though), a very tight blue tee, and a worn but still shiny and nice leather jacket I had never seen him in. my own jacket was leather as well so we could match.
He smiled at me and rolled his eyes. "Is this how I should dress when I want to be on your good side? Skin tight tops and leather?"
"It wouldn't hurt," I whispered as he kissed me. I didn't feel it though. The word "hurt" riocqueted through my brain thundering and screaming through my conscious. After all this and I was still smiling and kissing? After all the horrible things I had done?
I was quiet all during the car ride to the restaurant. We took his car. It was easier for me to maneuver. But at that point, I was tempted to hurtle myself and my bike over a cliff. Take care of the monster I had become once and for all. And before I did away with the good in me all together.
It was eight on the dot when we arrive and they were waiting outside by the door.
"Breakfast, dears?" Mrs. Bloodworth asked. "My treat!" She took off into the dinky diner while Ben carried me up the stairs and Mr. Bloodworth stood at the top and smirked.
It gave me shivers that it looked so similar to the one Ben had given me this morning. But then I continued to shiver as it reminded me of the one Taylor used to give me.
I'd been in the restaurant a few times before. We didn't eat out much, but on occasions we had visited this place. It was alright but I wasn't eating these days anyways.
Seated at table in the corner, menus spread out in front of us like the food was actually what we were here for.
"I don't see why you can't come back with us now," Mrs. Bloodworth stated simply in an almost whiney voice. "Why do you need twelve days?"
"Because we lives! Things to wrap up. Strings to tie. We can't just walk out." Ben said stiffly.
"You didn't tie any strings when you left me," she said, her voice quiet and tone agonizing. There was so much pain there. She really did love him.
"You got over it. But it was different. You had tools to find out where I was, if I was alive. The people here, if we take off, they'll have no idea. They'll call the cops, put up missing children signs and the whole thing. Not for me, I don't really have very many ties here, but Aerie. She has her mother, her friends. She's lived here her whole life. Yeah I have my own friends here, but I've moved around a lot. I know how it is. I've done it time and time again. Wrapped up my life and left everyone I knew. You two made that necessary. But Aerie didn't have that problem. We have to make it look like she wasn't kidnapped. We don't need search warrants." There was so little emotion in Ben's voice it was sad. Or maybe there was so much. Anger. Hatred. Annoyance.
"If I do recall correct she has done that before. Twice," Mr. Bloodworth drolled.
Ben just frowned. I swallowed hard, memories of abandoning my mother and heading to New York to make friends I would later kill.
"Or maybe three times depending on the context. You remember dear. I can see it in your eyes. When you abandoned your friends. Didn't return their phone calls. Refused to see them. And then when you ran off the New York and left your mother alone. And when you left New York and left those slayers we dealt with and your dear aunt Becky?" my head spun as I thought of Jackie...what I did to her. I could hardly breathe.
He nodded a small smile on his face. "I'm right. As usual."
I wanted to roll my eyes, make some pert remark, but I couldn't. All I could think about was blood and murder and death and betrayal.
"Two weeks ago you knew nothing about her and know suddenly you know her life story? What the hell?" Ben snapped, his eyes showing his obvious attempt to get the spotlight off of me.
"I do my research boy."
Ben just frowned because the waitress arrived and asked us what we want.
"I'll take coffee and whatever's your favorite," Mr. Bloodworth said his tone flirty.
The waitress blushed.
"Tea and a muffin for me," Mrs. Bloodworth smiled.
"Umm...fried eggs. Over easy. With grapefruit juice," Ben said, not looking up from his hard stare on his father.
"And for you sweetie? What happened to you? Finally crash that motorcycle?"
I tried to smile. It was a failure. "No. Horseback riding actually. Um, can I just have some orange juice?"
"Sure thing. Nothing to eat?"
"No today. Thanks though," I nodded to her and she smiled, gathered the menus, and scurried away.
"Aerie," Ben growled a little reprimanding.
"Ben," I said back to him, my town pert and innocent.
He didn't say anything else though.
"You really should eat you know," Mr. Bloodworth nodded to me. "You're looking a little emaciated."
"I'm not trying to dress myself up to be a meal. Sorry."
"Your loss," he shrugged.
"So now that we've decided you're both flakey, will you come with us?" Mrs. Bloodworth asked, her tone almost whiney again.
"No. We'll drive and meet you." Ben crossed his arms and leaned back.
"Ugghh," she rolled her eyes. For the first time I noticed that she was wearing contacts. I mean, I had noticed before, but I hadn't really seen it. They covered her whole eye, covering the blood red, and had pretty green irises. Almost like her eyes had been originally. The contacts were pretty cool actually. They covered enough of the eye that she could still roll her eyes and look around. I'd have to invest in those in my later days.
She had on a flowy green satin lower thigh length dress with a black layer underneath the skirt part. They were cut on the bottom in swirly spikes. Her sleeves went to just above her elbows but she had spandex black sleeves beneath that went beneath it and to her wrists. She wore black leggings and knee high green leather boots. Her husband was dressed in straight leg jeans, a black turtle neck sweater, and a black dress jacket. Instead of contacts he had casual sunglasses.
It was still early so their layered attire was acceptable. Alsea didn't really get hot until August and only in the later day.
"We came to collect you dammit and we're not leaving without you!" she actually raised her voice. It became shrill and anxious. My heart wrenched. No one was benefiting from this.
In the end, really, what I had done to...them, my friends...my sisters...had benefited more than just me and Ben. It had benefited Mr. Bloodworth, for one. He got his weapon. His tool he always dreamed of. And then there was Mrs. Bloodworth. Vietta. The mother of Ben. She benefited, I realized, more than anyone did. She was getting her son back.
I had seen some pictures in a room I had found while at Bloody Estates. They were modeling photos. Of her. They were just little photos in a white school folder. Nothing special. But there were dates beneath them, all in 2004, this year. In another room, one I didn't think I should be in, there was a framed photo of her. One that was appeared so sad. One that had made me want to cry. She had been gazing off into the distance, her face dead and passionate. I had taken it out of the frame and looked at the back. On the back she had written, "December 15, 2003. It's over."
Now, I understood what those words meant. Now, I was able to connect the dots. Ben had told his parents that he was never coming home not long before he met me. It was when he was in Montana. I met him in late March and it had been a few months before. It all made sense. She had written, "It's over," because of what he had said. Because she knew he was all grown up now and he wasn't going to coming running back for help from his mommy. But had. I had made him.
The modeling photos had been her salvation, her distraction. But now she had the chance to have him back. Now she was getting her baby back.
He had been her greatest desire. She had jumped in front of Mr. Bloodworth and wished for Ben when she could have let the love of her life have whatever he wanted. But she had wished for a baby. Ben. Her boy.
And now he was coming back to her.
Yeah. She was getting the best end of this deal.
But get me wrong. Yes I understand her situation, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up my few last days in Alsea.
"Mrs. Bloodworth," I said softly once the waitress dropping off our drinks was far enough away. "I know you miss Ben. Trust me. I know he's everything to you and you're desperate because he left you back then and now you're finally getting your boy back, but you have to trust me here. I'll bring him to you. I promise you that. I'll bring him to you by the 29th and then he'll he home. Then you can have him back. But just like you love him, my mother loves me. I've hurt her over and over, like Mr. Bloodworth said, and I'm about to hurt her again, but I feel I at least owe it to her give her these last few days. As a mother, can you see what that would mean to her? I know you came here for the same exact reason as I want to stay here. You love Ben and even though you have eternity to see him, every single day that he's in your life means everything to you. If you miss a day, well, its agony, am I wrong? You came here to get as many days as possible. But unlike you who have eternity, my mother doesn't. My mother is going to lose me forever as soon as I leave here. From you to her, one mother to another, can you give her the rest of the week I promised her? It's Wednesday and we're leaving on Sunday. That's all I have left with her. If that was how many days left you had to see Ben, could you let someone take him away early?"
She stared at me for the longest time, her hands wrapped loosely around her mug. She broke the silence with a quiet, oddly crackly voice, for a vampire that is, by saying, "Vietta."
I gave her a puzzled look. "Call me Vietta," she said. I smiled, then. Genuinely because I knew she approved of me and that she'd make sure I got my last days.
Ben gripped my hand underneath the table tightly as the food came. He realized that I had fixed it.
I even took a bit of pride in knowing that she approved of me. I used the excuse that it was because I was going to be spending most of the rest of eternity with her. If she hated me the entire time then life wouldn't be pleasant.
I watched them eat. They did eat. Halfway through I broke up the random conversations they were having by asking, "You can eat?"
Both Mr. Bloodworth and Mrs. Bloodworth started chuckling. Even Ben grinned.
"Of course, dear," Mrs. Bloodworth smiled. "In fact, if we really wanted to, we could live off of it. We don't need different nutrients than you do, just, because of our challenging anatomies, we are better suited to take it directly from the blood. We can eat only food. It leaves us weak though. Blood just has the necessary nutrients already taken out of the food and in a concentrated form. Most of us do both. Blood and food."
"But does it taste good?" I asked incredulously.
"It's not amazing and blood is definitely better," she said with a smile, "but I don't mind it. Bryc here isn't as fond of it, but I grew up in a time and place and in a life style where food was very important. So I love it still. His life was definitely different, as you know." She nodded.
I smiled. Ideas threading through my brain.
"That's why you were smoking," I said absent mindedly, pointing towards Mr. Bloodworth.
He frowned, trying to recall an instance in which he was smoking in front of me. "Yes. Just like with humans we still get the high from smoking cigars, cigarettes, whatever it be."
"And that's why you drink blood drinks." I nodded. "The escort limo," I added when he frowned again.
"Ah. Yes. Be careful with that in the future. Alcohol and vampires don't mix very well."
"I'm not planning too-" I started but he put up his hand and cut me off.
"Just a word of warning, slayer. Drink in moderation."
I was actually surprised that he was giving me advice. I figured he would have wanted to see me flat out drunk. But maybe it was something that he really didn't want anyone to experience.
I nodded and just let it go.
* * *
Standing outside of the restaurant, before I made my attempt down the stairs, Mrs. Bloodworth wrapped her arms around me. It was surprising, to say the least. "I'll take care of everything," she whispered in my ear quietly.
I wondered if Mr. Bloodworth could hear it.
"Thank you," I whispered back.
"Anytime. You're bringing him home." She shrugged a little without releasing me. "See you on the twenty-ninth," she added and pulled back.
I smiled. "See you on the twenty-ninth."
"Now Vietta," I heard Mr. Bloodworth say in an annoyed town, as Ben carried me down the steps.
"You did well in there," Ben said warmly as we drove towards my house.
"I knew why she came," I said simply. "And I know why I'm staying."
"You set everything up perfectly! They're leaving and won't suspect we'll be leaving too! You can get away safely now. And they won't try to kill me for hiding you because of how you touched my mother. Everything's working out! We can still run."
What the hell?! I "set everything up perfectly"? I "can get away safely now"? Did he still freaking think I was running?
"No! I did not 'set everything up perfectly'! I cannot 'get away safely now'! I told you I wasn't running and that means I'm not running! Why the hell do you still think I am?"
"Aerie can't you see? It's safest. It's for the best! We can have happy simple lives after all this is said and done. We just have to take a 'vacation'!"
"Ben." I said, my voice lethal. "Pull the car over. I want out."
"No. I'm not leaving you here." He sped up.
"Let me out of the car. Ben."
"No. You're freaking crippled! Broken arm, broken leg, broken fingers! I can't leave you on the side of the road. There's not even cell service here!"
"Let me out of the car now!"
He looked at me and thing swore under his breath and rolled his eyes. However, he did stop the car.
Rather violently I wrenched myself out of the car, banging things as I pulled the crutches out.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked calmly.
"Because I need to get it through your brain that I'm not running. Also, I can't sit in the car any longer and argue with you. I'm close to home. I can make it on my own thank you." With that I spun on my crutches, losing my balance and almost face planting, and hobbled down the road.
"Aaaeeerriie," Ben moaned, as he drove the car alongside me.
I ignored him.
"Please get in the car."
I ignored him some more.
"Please?" He sighed heavily. "Always so stubborn."
I was on a section of the road in the middle of field so, like in many places, I didn't have to worry about sliding off a cliff. Thankfully. But still, doing long distance on crutches wasn't fun and it was going to be a long time before I made it home. It was over ten miles away from here. A very long time.
It was twilight when I stumbled into my yard. And Ben was right behind me. He had driven his car at about one mile per hour, for a little over eleven hours. I had thrown myself out of his car at 9:45 AM and it was about 9:00 PM now, I figured. Sundown was around 8:45 and twilight in Alsea was epic.
That wasn't the most pleasant eleven hours of my existence either. July in Alsea isn't hot if you don't go outside much. However, it is really hot when its 85 degrees and you're walking and already experiencing extreme fatigue.
And then being hot had reminded me of the fire and I had stopped being mad for a while so I could freak out. But then Ben had started pleading for me to get back in the car again and the anger returned.
I wasn't running. It wasn't happening.
"Aerie," he called and I heard him get out of the car.
I kept hobbling towards the house.
"Aerie!" he said again close behind me. "Aerie," he breathed standing in front of me. I bumped into him kind of forcefully. It hurt my arm.
I backed up and glared at him.
"Aerie," he said calmly. "Please. Just talk to me."
"There's nothing else to say. I'm not running. End of story," I said flatly.
He grinned ear to ear. "You spoke to me," he said proudly.
I opened my mouth to object, but then decided to frown. Dammit. He was right.
"You know, that were some of the worst eleven hours of my life. Having you not talk to me and be mad at me." I didn't say anything, I just stared. "I can tell you mean it though. You don't want to run. Fine. We don't have to run. I just wanted to protect you. I know better than anyone else the kind of awful things vampires do, they do, and I didn't want to put you in their environment. But you're not running so I'm not going to ask that of you."
I smiled lightly. "That's what I wanted to hear."
So I kissed him passionately. I wanted to show him I wasn't mad at him anymore so I made a show of it.
"I'm forgiven then?" he asked afterwards, his voice husky.
"Yeah. You're forgiven." I placed my head against his chest and sighed.
"What's wrong?" he asked suddenly.
"Nothing. Just thinking of how life is so heavy sometimes."
"Tell me about it," he sighed too. "You going to be okay tonight?"
"Well I'll be fine unless you want to come over. I liked last night."
"We'll have the rest of eternity," he whispered, running his fingers over my cheekbone.
"Not to be human."
"No. Not human." His eyes went unfocused. "But then again, neither of us are human anyways."
I almost smiled. "True."
"I love you, Aerie. I've got some things I need to go do, but if want me back tonight just leave your window open. I'll be there for you. I will always be there for you. I love you. You're all that matters." He kissed me again.
"Alright. And I love you too. You're the best thing in my life right now." I squeezed his hand.
He picked me up then and carried me bridal style to the door. He opened it and carried me to the couch. He set me down on it, much to my mother's scrutiny from the other end of it, and leaned my crutches against the side.
"I love you," he said and kissed me softly.
"Love you too," I smiled. "Thank you," I added as he left. I was sure my mother assumed it was for him carrying me, but it wasn't. It was for him following me for eleven hours and for him finally just letting the running thing go. It wasn't happening.
I was Ariel Millon. I didn't run away from a challenge. Especially not one I was dying to take on.
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