Chapter Twenty-Three (Alexander)
I woke up in tears.
Pain assaulted me from every angle and I felt my body was about to explode. My tears felt like molten lava down my scalding cheeks and something icy cold kept touching my forehead as I writhed on my bed. For a second, all that I felt was pure and utter agony.
And then it vanished, just like that.
My vision went from blurry to focused when I saw Amber leaning over me, dabbing at my forehead with a wet cloth, her blue eyes narrowed and her blonde hair pulled up into a sloppy bun with chopsticks as she wore a blue turtleneck and jeans.
"A... Amber...?" I managed, my voice booming in my head and making me moan in pain. Amber sighed, cocking a brow at me as she left the cloth on my forehead.
"I never thought I'd see the day that my baby brother had a hangover." She retorted smartly, making me grimace as she rose off the bed, going to my nightstand. I blinked a few times and rolled over, the wet cloth plopping on my bed as I watched her pour a mug of hot AB positive blood that made my stomach growl viciously.
"What happened?" I mumbled, trying to remember, but I could only remember getting into Vladimir's limo and nothing else after that. Amber said nothing as she stirred something into the mug before reaching out to help me sit up. My world tilted and twirled for a moment before settling as she handed me the mug of hot blood. I took careful sips, sighing in relief as the blood settled my stomach.
"Are you gonna tell me what happened?" I asked tiredly, peering up at Amber past my hair, pausing to grimace at my reflection in my mug. I had terrible bedhead, blonde locks sticking up all over the place and my bangs hanging in my face in some wild screamo fashion before I looked up at Amber, who was smiling sadly at me. I frowned in confusion as she reached out, brushing down my hair with her fingernails before trailing her hands to my cheeks, cupping my face.
"Vladimir is staying at our house for a couple nights with Storm and Mark just down the hallway... Mom and dad aren't exactly the happiest campers." She explained gently. I frowned deeper before I vaguely remembered flopping down on the sofa downstairs, cuddling with the velvet as Vladimir told my parents... And my mom upset that she wasted decades trying to give Vladimir the son-in-law he needed, but no longer wanted.
I just sat there, staring into my mug as a mixture of emotions struck me all at once.
Pain; not just from the hangover, but that I no longer had a purpose and that meant my parents no longer wanted me. I had a feeling that were ready to pack my things up and kick me out, just like any normal human parents would do.
Anger; That I didn't stand up to them like Mark did, even though they were my parents.
Fear; I didn't know what to do now. Where would I go? How would I live?
And the twinge of relief. It made me want to cry again, but all my tears were dried up. I didn't have to worry about useless things like marriages and clans anymore. I was on my own. I could do what I wanted now. I could go to college. I could become something important. I could get a wonderful job and live on my own.
"Are you all right?" Amber asked softly. I blinked, then forced a smile as I nodded before taking a sip of my warm blood, sighing contently.
"This is great, Amber. Thanks... Just what I needed." I answered, trying to be cheerier than I felt. Amber still didn't look convinced as she felt my forehead and touched my cheeks before standing up as my bedroom door opened. Mark came in with Storm right behind him. Mark looked so much better now, just like the pureblood he was. I noticed he'd gotten into my clothes, wearing a dark gray drape front long sleeve shirt and snug skinny jeans. The hood that the drape of his shirt collar made was pulled back as a hood, handing off the back of his head in a style I'm sure only Mark could pull off perfectly.
"Visitors," Amber decided, smiling at me gently, "I'm gonna go downstairs and get you a bit more blood to drink." She started to leave, but I caught her sleeve and gave her a warm smile.
"And by the way, we're not going out drinking for my twenty-first birthday." I told her. Amber smiled, looking relieved that I was okay. Mark snorted as he came in, his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his jeans, taking on a very attractive pose as he sauntered in.
"Are you kidding me? You're hilarious when you're drunk. At our wedding, I'm gonna get you so drunk, you'll strip for me." He declared, making Amber laugh and Storm smile. I blushed, watching as Amber shut the door on her way out. Mark came over and plopped on the bed, bouncing a little and giving me a quick smile. Storm sat in the chair that Amber had put beside my bed, both of their eyes on me.
"How're you feeling?" Storm asked me, his concern surprising me before I smiled lightly.
"Just fine... A bit of a headache." I added, reaching up to rub at my temple. Storm picked the cold cloth from the side of my bed and handed it to me. I nodded gratefully and touched it to my forehead as Mark smirked, leaning back on his hands and kicking his feet back and forth off the edge of my bed.
"I used to drink coffee after a hangover. Tons of coffee." He mused, glancing up at the ceiling as if remembering a specific time before shaking his head. I smiled and handed Mark my mug of blood. He glanced at it before taking a sip, shivering a bit as I withdrew it to take my own sip.
"This is gonna take some getting used to." He admitted, licking his lips and smacking them together, his fangs flashing.
"You'll get used to it quickly." Storm assured, then glanced at me and I beamed at Mark.
"Storm's right. Once you've had a sip, you'll be glad you can have it for every meal and snack." I responded. Mark smiled for a moment, but it fell away as he studied me.
"So... What're you gonna do now?" He asked me. I hesitated, drumming my fingers on the mug before smiling for real this time as the idea struck me.
"I'm gonna finish out my senior year at Wolf Creek High and put in an application at Condoria University. I'll see what programs they offer and which ones are avaliable and take them," I answered excitedly, "And I heard they have nice dorm rooms there. It'd be so cool!" Storm smiled and Mark just beamed for a moment, then cocked his head.
"How're you gonna hide your, uhm... Tastes?" He asked, gesturing to my mug. I paused, studying my mug before looking up with a shrug.
"I'll figure something out. I want to have a roommate. It'd be so neat to spend that much time with another human." I added, taking a sip from my mug. Storm seemed relieved that I was excited about my parents and his rejecting me. I didn't mind at all now.
"What about Nicholas?" Mark asked suddenly. I blinked and almost spit my drink out, looking up as the realization hit me.
Nicholas.
I had been trying so hard not to think about him and now... Now it didn't matter. Now I could think about Nicholas all I wanted because now there was nothing holding me back from asking him out. My heart started to pound vigorously as I felt my face heat and I gripped my mug tightly in my hands.
"I'm gonna find him and ask him out." I stated. Mark grinned.
"Sweet! You gonna go to prom together? Prom's in... what? May?" He asked. I blushed.
"Would the school let two guys go together?"
"They will when they see it's Nicholas taking you. Nicholas is the hot jock of the school. If they reject him, the whole school will hate the staff."
"Sounds legit."
"Damn straight!" Mark whooped, then hopped off the bed and went to my closet, making me raise an eyebrow as he opened the doors.
"What're you doing?" I asked, handing Storm my mug. He snuck a sip and set it down on the nightstand, turning as Mark threw a pair of pants toward him, which he just barely caught before they hit his face.
"You can't go see Nicholas dressed like some hobo." Mark responded, digging through my clothes and tossing out another shirt. I slide out of bed carefully, my world only slightly tilting to the side before I got my balance and caught the shirt Mark had tossed at me. Mark closed the closet doors and turned to me.
"Storm and I will go with you." He added.
"We will?" Storm asked, cocking a brow. Mark rolled his eyes, then gestured for him to follow him out of the room to give me privacy. Mark disappeared out the door first before Storm pulled up short, turning to face me as I slid my shirt off, letting it fall on the floor in a dirty pile.
"Alexander." He stated to get my attention. I looked up, blinking as he studied my face.
"Please be careful. I have a bad feeling in the pit of my gut. I don't know if it has to do with my father or not, but it probably does. Wherever he is, death follows." He warned. I frowned, feeling a wave of concern wash over me before I nodded slowly in understanding. Storm nodded, then paused before coming up to me. He brushed his fingers through my hair and surprised me by leaning down to kiss me on top of the head. I looked up at him as he smiled down at me.
"But either way, I'll be here if you need me. I've been a bit of a jerk during this whole fiasco and I apologize. I honestly didn't think things would work out like this." He admitted, stroking my hair before stepping back. I smiled lightly.
"Neither did I. And Mark will make you way happier than I could. I would've moped the entire time." I confessed honestly. Storm laughed.
"I knew the moment I saw you." He responded, making me grin. He bade me farewell and left the room, closing the door behind him so I could hurry and get dressed in the black jeans and loose elbow-length gray shirt. I emerged from my room and went down the hallway, moving carefully as I found my way down the stairs. The house felt eerie all of a sudden.
It made me stop at the foot of the stairs. I had come down the stairs every day since I had learned how to walk. Everything about it had been familiar right down to the cracks in the wood.
But now, it suddenly felt different. I felt a strange aura, as if I didn't belong here and it made my stomach flip flop. I was unsettled. I shivered a little and moved down the hallway, coming into the kitchen just as the fridge door closed and Vladimir stepped back, holding a large bag of dark red O negative blood. His fangs had sunk into the plastic bag, puncturing it as he sucked the blood clean out of the bag, squeezing out the little pockets of blood towards his fangs. I started to back out of the kitchen.
"Good morning, Alexander." Vladimir said without looking up, licking blood off his lips and sighing contently before glancing at me with a light, secret smile. A chill crept up my spine, but I hid it the best I could with a small smile of greeting.
"Hello... Uhm, where are my parents?" I asked hesitantly, wondering if I even wanted to know. Vladimir paused, staring at the blood bag in his hand before shrugging, tossing it into the toxic waste basket under the sink before turning to face me.
"Work, most likely. How're you feeling? My mistake for assuming you could handle alcohol. Most children your age are just fired up about nearing adulthood and think drinking is the perfect way to represent their maturity." He explained casually. I blushed hard, reaching up to brush my hair back behind my ear in embarrassment.
"I'm... fine. I didn't mean to... drink that much. I didn't think an extra sip would hurt." I admitted quietly, making Vladimir smile as he pushed off the counter he was leaning on to walk over to me. I stiffened instinctively.
For several reasons. One being that Vladimir was a natural leader and you could sense it. His power radiated thickly and swirled around him, making it almost as intoxicating as the alcohol he'd given me. Then there was the fact that Vladimir seemed to take every chance he could to molest me. He'd become far more aggressive since I met him, less serious. It was as if the power had gotten to the point where it was making him do weird things.
"It's my fault," Vladimir corrected coolly, reaching out to brush his knuckles against my skin, giving me goose bumps at the butterfly touch, "I neglected to tell you what the drink was called." I frowned, looking at him in confusion and ignoring the way he stroked my cheek.
"What'd you mean? I thought it was just a mixture of blood and alcohol."
"Exactly, but it has a special name in our world."
"It does?"
"Yes. It's called Blood Wine. Blood Wine is pretty much the only thing that'll get us drunk. And the blood type must be AB positive. Otherwise, it's just cheap." Vladimir responded simply, making me blink. I'd never heard of it and I opened my mouth to ask more, but I heard Mark call my name from the front door.
"Heading out?" Vladimir asked me, lifting a regal brow as if he suddenly didn't like the idea. I smiled politely and gave a nod.
"Visiting a friend. Sorry if I'd caused you any trouble, sir." I added. Vladimir had been staring down the hallway, then looked down at my as I had finished speaking before a smile tore across his face and he reached out, ruffling my hair.
"Not at all, Alexander." He told me, then brushed past me into the dining room and through that, to the den where he flipped the television on. I came down the hallway, passing the den to meet up with Mark, who had pulled a coat on over his shirt. Storm doned his leather jacket and as soon as I tugged my wool coat on, we were out the door and walking to Nicholas' house, which wasn't too far.
"So, how're you gonna ask him out? Are you gonna be sweet about it or are you gonna get aggressive?" Mark asked innocently, his hands in his pocket. I noticed that Storm also had his hand in one of Mark's pockets, probably holding his hand, but he walked normally as if nothing were wrong. It made me want to smile, but I kept my eyes on the sidewalk ahead and shrugged.
"Just ask him straight out, Mark. I didn't think there was any other way to ask people out." I replied, raising an eyebrow. Mark snorted.
"Says you. Instead of choosing the straight out way. I was chased by vampires, suffered emphysema, died, then had my memories scrambled." He explained, cocking his head to glance at Storm, who shrugged and gave Mark's hand a squeeze; judging from Mark's yelp anyway.
"Our situation is different. And once we arrive, you better keep your mouth quiet so Alexander can do his business." Storm added sternly, making Mark huff, but not argue. I was pleased that Mark had finally found someone he'd gladly listen to, aside from me, of course. Well, most of the time, if it was a life or death situation.
I walked up the path to Nicholas' house and rang the doorbell, but I only had to wait a few minutes before the door flew open to reveal Nicholas' mother, her eyes red and puffy and her dark brown hair flipped up into a loose, saggy bun. Instead of wearing a nice skirt and blouse like she normally did, she was wearing one of Nicholas' school sweatshirts and some sweatpants.
"Mrs. Ryan?" I asked hesitantly. She sighed in frustration for a moment, then sniffled a bit, rubbing at her eyes.
"Oh gosh, hi, Alexander. I heard your parents got you back last night. What're you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be with your parents?" She asked, coughing into the crook of her arm. I smiled politely, feeling Mark and Storm staring over my shoulder at her.
"They don't mind. Uhm, I came over to see Nicholas. Is he here?" I asked, getting a strange heavy sensation in my stomach as Mrs. Ryan blinked a few times, then sniffled, using her thumb to wipe away smudges of mascara under her eye.
"I don't know," She managed, making me stare at her in surprise, "He left a note saying he was at his grandparents', but when I called them, they said he wasn't there; that he was at Oscar's. I called Oscar, but he wouldn't pick up the phone. He's not answering his door either." A chill coursed up my spine as I frowned, nodding.
"All right. I'm sorry, Mrs. Ryan. I'll try and find him." I promised. Mrs. Ryan smiled through her tears before she stood on her toes, kissing me on the cheek before stepping back.
"You always were a good guy, Alex. I can see why Nicholas liked you so much." She added lightly. I blushed.
"You knew?" I asked. Mrs. Ryan laughed softly, leaning against the door to rest her forehead against it, peering up at me past her straight cut bangs.
"Of course. Nicholas' father and I always knew he liked you. The first day he came home from middle school, all he talked about was the cute blonde boy he was paired up with in biology." She answered, making me smile. I nodded, then said my goodbye before she shut the door and we turned and got off the step.
"We need to go to Oscar's." I stated. Mark blinked and leaned in closer to Storm, shuddering.
"Why? He hates me! As soon as he sees me, he'll rip my innards out and dance in my blood." He complained. I scowled, elbowing him before I walked ahead of him on the side walk, my hands in my pockets.
"He can't kill you if you're a descendent of the Druids." I muttered. Mark blinked, then beamed brightly now.
"I knew this being a vamp would come in handy!"
"What did I tell you about calling them that?"
"What else do you call vampires?!"
"Not vampires! That's like calling a male witch a warlock."
"I thought they were?"
"No," Storm answered for me as I threw my hands in the air in exasperation, "Male witches are also called witches. Warlock is a Scottish term, meaning "oath breaker". It's extremely offensive to them, so watch what you say." Mark pouted for a second, letting the thought sink in before nodding slowly and glancing up at Storm.
"Then what else is there to call vampires? Something easier than saying descendents of the Druids? That's such a long name." He added. Storm paused, then glanced up at me as I shrugged and kept walking past the park, only to hear the chains clink inside, making me glance over. My eyes widened when I spotted Oscar sitting on one of the swings, staring at the ground.
"Oscar!" I called, my voice echoing over the chainlink fence. Oscar blinked and looked up, his eyes widening. I quickly rushed around the fence and came into the playground as Oscar rose to his feet, watching me hesitantly before he spotted Mark and glared at him. Instinct made Mark jump back from him, but Storm, like the good fiance he was, gave Oscar a death glare that made him scowl, but retreat.
"What do you freaks want with me?" He demanded harshly, making me frown.
"Oscar, Nicholas' mom says that Nicholas told her he was staying at his grandparents, but they told her he was staying with you, but she can't contact you. What's going on?" I questioned seriously, watching Oscar's eyes flicker for a moment before he grimaced, giving me a warning look when I came a step closer. He got behind his swing, as if it were strong enough to keep us apart.
"You better not get near me! Because I know what you are!" He barked. I blinked and stopped moving, staring at him in surprise.
"What?" I asked, feigning confusion. Oscar scowled, gripping the chains of the swing tightly in his fists, his gold eyes narrowing on me.
"Don't play stupid. I ain't dumb. Nicholas came over with some snotty little brat that he said he was babysitting. I believed him at first until he walked away. I wanted him to at least tell me where he was staying so I could tell his mom, so I followed him, but I stopped halfway down and overheard him talking with some freaks. The little brat was one of them." He added.
"A child?" I asked, trying to go through a list of children's names in my head. Storm narrowed his eyes as Oscar went on.
"Yea, the kid was talkin' shit like he was some tough macho serial killer."
"What did he look like?" Storm demanded, angrily enough to make all of us jump. Oscar stepped away from the swing as Storm let go of Mark's hand to come forward. He reached through the swing and grabbed Oscar by the front of his jacket.
"What did he look like?" He repeated sternly. Oscar writhed in Storm's grip and if he were like us, he'd be able to escape easily because Oscar was naturally strong, but he was only human.
"I don't know! Black hair, blue eyes! Really small, not even five foot! Maybe four and a half feet? He looked like he was about eight or ten-years-old!" He protested angrily in response. Storm stepped back, frowning as he averted his eyes. Oscar shrugged his jacket back on straight, scowling as he withdrew even further away.
"I think Nick called him Newt or something." He added. I blinked as the name struck me as familiar.
"Newt?" I asked again. Oscar nodded and Storm cursed, whirling to face us. His expression was completely serious and I felt my stomach churn as I finally matched a name with a face in my mind.
"Newt. Newt was the nickname for Newell C. Drakon."