The day passed rather quickly, I even managed to read some book… which I was right, they were all about Vampirism, the rules about being/becoming a vampire and also the occasional book about the human anatomy… which I guessed was used to learn where to strike and where not to… there was one extract in a book that had caught my eye, it was about how Vampires were meant to be cold and callous, that they weren’t meant to feel any emotions at all as it was a sign of weakness… that was not what I had seen here, the children all showed great respect for Anna and I could see in her eyes that she truly loved them… but was that all a mask? Was it something designed to lure those such as I into a false sense of security before striking? The thoughts sent shivers up my spine.
Gazing once more out of the window I could not help but let my mind wander to the fact that I was so far from home and yet… there didn’t seem to be any signs that my parents were even bothered that I had not returned home, I even made sure… I checked the news I don’t know how many times. I know my mother said that my father wanted to teach me a lesson… but that was a bit extreme, I could be dead right now and they wouldn’t care… I shouldn’t have dropped my phone in St James Park that was bloody stupid. As I looked down I noticed Dante walking alone in the grounds, he seemed to be in deep thought, probably thinking on what he was going to do next… bastard, he really didn’t understand what it was like to be me, he really had no idea… if he saw the scars along my body then he might either make them worse or take pity… either route was not a good choice… keeping them hidden seemed the best plan.
I did not divert my gaze from him, I should despise him and his whole bloody family… they were hunters, stalkers, liars and worst of all Killers… yet I could not manage to even do that. Finally tearing myself away from the window I decided to explore the household, well if I was to remain here I might as well. I decided to explore upstairs first, taking in the vast amounts of paintings, some were of the Istrati family, which were mounted next to those of people I did not recognise but taking a wild stab I guessed that they were the much older family members, like the grandfather etc. I loved how a lot of the walls were violet in colour; it contrasted this place so nicely… it was also my favourite colour. Amongst the halls there were tables scattered on either side which harboured vast amounts of either pottery, plants or books. To the left me of was a grand white door, why not take a peek? I pulled the handle down and opened the door ever so slightly; craning my head around the corner I was relieved to find it vacant. The room was relatively the same size as mine yet it seemed to feel cold, like no one really stayed here… or not recently at least, the furniture was a selection of black’s and gold’s, old and new… the room smelled musty and sort of damp.
Hearing voices echo across the hall, but were becoming increasingly close I ran to one of the cupboards and hopped in. I scolded myself for being so nosey… why couldn’t I just stay in my room? The voices were coming ever so close now and I picked up that it was two females in conversation, the one I recognised as Anna whereas the other was rather high pitched and squeaky
“Candice, are sure that you’ve left something here? It’s been weeks since we last saw you?” The name suited the voice really.
“I’m positive… I won’t trouble you to help, so if you could just leave me to do it I shall be out of here in a flash… “She was definitely up to something… that was for sure
“Don’t be long” was all I heard Anna reply, the next thing I heard was the creak of floorboards and the door moving, I knew I had to be quiet… for Anna to seem so used to this girl that had to mean that she was one of them… but taking Armand’s warning seriously I kept quiet and tried to control my breathing, much like I did in the tub.
“Oh Dante, have I got a surprise for you” she muttered to herself, almost menacingly as it were… but I was in his room? Shit… the last thing I needed was that arsehole having a go at me for invading his private space. There was a lot of movement about the room, not being able to contain my curiosity for much longer I decided to take a peek and arched the door forward ever so slightly… but making sure that not only did the door not creek, but also that I didn’t fall out. As I looked around I noticed that she was relatively short, she must have been about 5’4 or 5’5 I guessed, she had short blonde hair that shone in the semi- sunlit room, she wore a white top which was covered with a dark pink jumper that fell to her waist, I noted the long black polished nail on her nimble and tiny hands before averting my eyes to hers… they seemed almost golden in colour, the colour was probably heightened by the amount of liner and shadow she wore.
She smirked as she looked around the room, a smirk that I was most familiar with… it was the same smirk my sister gave me when she knew that she was out of trouble once more with our parents, it was the smirk that lay on Serena’s face when she was about to ‘punish’ me, it was also the same smirk I saw on Dante’s face before he was about to bite me… it was all too sickening. My eyes widened once I realised what she was doing… the girl was stripping! Feeling my cheeks flush scarlet I stared away at her, clawing at the wood of the door in hopes of shutting it… Jesus why did I get into these stupid dilemmas! Not a moment later did I hear her giggle matched with that of a grunt… bollocks… there was not a chance in hell of getting out of this mess!
“Candice what the fuck are you doing here!”
“Waiting for you of course” she giggled and I assumed that was meant to be perceived as seductive?
“I thought I told you it was over” he grunted “I don’t have time for your petty games… anymore” it didn’t take a genius to know he was struggling not to look at her, naked.
“You may have, but I know what I want and I know how to get it” he didn’t say anything for a while, probably thinking on what he needed to do in that situation… well I thought that until I began to hear moaning. I tried to shuffle around in the wardrobe when I felt my leg begin to fall asleep, but luck was not on my side as I lost my balance and would you have it… I feel out, landing smack on my head. Behind me I heard a shriek of outrage and a grunt that come undoubtedly from Dante, feeling my cheeks gush I quickly got up without looking at them and darted out of the room… I had better get out of there before he got his clothes back on!
Breaking out into a run, I ran through the vast corridors, down the stairs and out the door… who cares what Armand said? He would have done the same if he were in my position, I knew I should have stopped as soon as my feet hit outside, I only needed air… but my feet kept going, they didn’t want to stop, they didn’t want to turn back. I darted through the vast and dead grounds, not once looking back for fear he was chasing me or that I would slow down and come to a halt, in the distance I could see large, iron gates. If I could get past those then I should be free, a smile began to form upon my lips, but once more as soon as it appeared it was snatched from me as I felt an iron grip clasp around the collar of my clothing pulling it backwards, not choking me but enough so that I would stumble and fall. Looking up I was greeted with familiar dark jade eyes that portrayed his anger almost as well as his actual expression.
“Why the hell was you in my room!?” he scorned
“I didn’t know it was your bloody room! I just decided to explore ok?” his expression did not lighten in the slightest
“And the falling out of the cupboard? That was all innocent I suppose?”
“I was hiding!” he raised a brow and I noticed his bottom lip had begun to quiver, yet as I tried to sit up I felt a firm hand put pressure on my chest which made me wince out in pain “Get off me!” but once more I was ignored, nothing remotely unusual there
“Not until you tell me why you were hiding”
“uhh hello… earth to knucklehead! I’m a human in a house inhabited by vampires, that isn’t exactly called safe. And you heard you’re father the other day” finally I felt his hand leave my chest, I gasped and cringed as pain made its way back to my ribs.
“I see” he muttered, I sat up; dusted myself off and marched off, I wanted to be as far away from him as possible… I didn’t fancy getting bitten again in the heat of an argument “Wait” I turned to face him
“What?”
“Stay out of my room” the ever so familiar smirk had appeared on his face as he watched me roll my eyes and grunt
“Is that all?” I asked cynically
“No” he stated and I sighed, in a blink of an eye he was face to face with me, his nose brushing my forehead… I just stood there, startled. I don’t know how long we were standing there but it felt like an age, his cold breath sending a multitude of shivers and bumps down my skin., I can’t deny that he was hot… stood there with his shirt half undone, muscles flexing and shimmering with the sweat that caked them, knowing that he must be watching me staring I flushed which met with a darkened chuckle “Why don’t you fear me?”
“I-I’m not sure…” I stammered “I guess it’s because of my past” I looked up at him, his eyes shrouded with guilt and utter confusion, awaiting another explanation which I would not give… I would not allow him to pity me, not him… not anyone. Clearing my throat I turned away from him and walked inside the house, stifling back tears that threated to fall I held my head up high and marched toward the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen I noticed that Seth was sat in the corner once more, his gaze did not lift from his book as he greeted me
“Hi”
“Hi” I replied to him whilst grabbing a bottle of O.J from the fridge
“See you’ve noticed the freshly stocked fridge, it was done earlier whilst you were in your room… Anna thought it best” I nodded as I took a sip from the bottle
“Do you guys eat?” he glanced over the top of the book and I saw the smile that curled on his lips
“Of course, just not as much as you humans do” I shrugged and took a sip “You seem… off, what’s up? He placed a bookmark in his book before setting it down to stare at me
“Let’s just say I’ve come face to face with trouble” he frowned so I thought it best to elaborate “Candice I think her name is” Seth’s eyes closed and he let out a sigh~
“Ahh yes I know her all too well, she’s… difficult that one, but somehow she manages to keep Dante very amused” I snorted and chugged a mouthful of the juice down before setting it aside
“Well I just nearly saw them at it” he raised a brow “I was exploring the household and accidently wandered into his room, I heard her coming… ran in the cupboard… hid and kept quiet but as soon as I heard them… I fell out and ran” I looked at Seth’s face which at first masked shock before his lips curled inwards and he burst out laughing
“Oh my! I doubt that he was happy!”
“No he wasn’t, he very nearly attacked me outside” I grabbed the juice, drank some more and threw it back in the fridge “I don’t get why the hell is such an arsehole”
“Careful dear, he’s still my friend” I shifted awkwardly on the spot “But I have to agree, he is an arsehole… but he never used to be like that, I should know… I’ve been his friend since birth… it’s one of the reasons they took me in”
“What changed?”
“He met that venomous wench… she poisoned him” he scowled a few words under his breath before shaking his head and smiling at me “But don’t worry about him yeah?”
“I wish I didn’t have to” he stared at me for a while before giving me a nervous smile and returning to his book, taking that as a sign that the conversation was over I wandered back out of the room and made my way back upstairs, to my room… to my so called safe haven… where I should feel uneasy… but its where I felt most safe.