Broken Dreams: The Present Day - Project Abandoned (lack of interest)
~*Jax*~:
damn ... i'm totally hooked. keep it up! :)
Sam the T-man:
Wow, thanks guys :D Makes all this work worthwhile - especially these ones :smt120
Now's the time to say I have a very different take on vampires here - some of it includes legends, some of it I made up, but then don't a lot of vampire authors do that? ;)
*****
I looked about myself as we stepped through the park, and couldn’t help but smile to myself.
“You come here for your meals?” I breathed. I’d always liked the tranquillity of these places.
“We certainly do,” came the reply as we walked, “It’s quiet, it’s secluded. Perfect location for our feeding grounds, in more than one way.”
I frowned, about to question what she meant, but another more important one took priority. “Does he know it’s me you’re bringing?”
“Not yet,” she said, “The phone’s not really the place for that kind of talk.”
“Fair enough,” I shrugged, before I spotted the figure sitting patiently on the bench a short distance away. As he rose and approached us my stomach began doing cartwheels. I lingered behind as I watched Mum stride ahead and greet him with a hug and a kiss. They seemed to be talking for a while, and I couldn’t help but wonder what they were saying.
After a short time she beckoned me over. My stomach lurched as I nervously tugged at my shirt before walking over, meekly waving at him.
“Evan?!”
“Hi,” I mumbled shamefacedly in reply.
“When did this happen?”
“Last night,” Mum answered for me, “I caught him sneaking in after I got back.”
“Can’t we do this later?” I complained, “I thought we came here to eat?”
Marco scoffed lightly. “It’s not that simple I’m afraid,” he told me, “Come on, we’d best sit down. I have the feeling we’ll be here for a while.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked as we sat.
He frowned as he looked around. “It’s too quiet,” he mused, “Maybe they’re getting wise to us.”
I couldn’t help but nudge Mum. “What’s he on about?” I asked, “Who’s they?”
She eyed me knowingly. “Take a guess,” she replied with a raised eyebrow.
Suddenly I heard a scream from somewhere. This animated the couple sitting with me, and Marco grinned as they rose.
“Or maybe not!” he acknowledged happily, rubbing his hands together in glee.
“You ready for this Evan?” Mum checked, beckoning me to follow.
“I guess so,” I frowned in reply, more bemused than ever. Why were they waiting for a scream?
He then took off, like a rocket from the ground. I had barely any time to gaze in wonder at the now floating character before Mum clutched my arm. Without warning she followed, and I let out a surprised yelp as we flew into the night sky.
“What the…?”
“Just focus on the task at hand,” he said as he flew off.
“You alright?” she checked, slowly releasing the grip on my arm. “Think about hovering, like you have rockets attached to your feet.”
I tried it, and swayed a little as I struggled to control myself.
“That’s it!” she grinned, before looking back, “Come on, let’s get some while it’s there, huh?”
Flying soon became as effortless as walking, but landing was a different matter. Especially at the sight that greeted my eyes as I approached the source of the sound. There was this group of men, who looked like they were causing trouble… were they attacking someone? Was that the scream I heard? And Marco was feeding from one of them. It was then it clicked.
Hey, wait a minute… Mum’s meals are bad guys!?
I felt so relieved, and my hunger returned with a vengeance as I nearly crashed into one of them, using the movement to grab one by the chin, and quickly sunk my fangs into his throat as I regained my foothold on land.
Mm, that tastes good…
Once I started to drink, I couldn’t stop. His blood tasted a little different to mine, more savoury and bitter, but it was still a lot better than that awful smell coming from my sister’s plate earlier. I had to stop eventually though, and stood there dazed for a moment as a warming sensation flowed through my being. It felt amazing.
“Break his neck!”
I shook my head briskly as I tried to locate the source of the yell.
“Huh…?”
Suddenly the man was yanked from my grip. Back to reality, I stared at the sight of green hands gripping his head and viciously twisting it until I heard a sickening crack. I watched the corpse crumple to the ground, before slowly staring upwards at the owner of the hands, my heart skipping a beat and dread building up within me as I was met with a familiar pair of huge red eyes.
Sam the T-man:
My half brother and I eyed each other for a while as the rest of the commotion washed over us. I swallowed a lump in my throat as he crossed his arms, eventually raising an eyebrow questioningly.
“Didn’t expect to see you out here tonight,” he cooly observed.
“This seems to be my week for confrontation,” I bitterly replied.
“Are you surprised?! There’s a reason we don’t bite kids!”
“It was an accident Joe,” I protested, but immediately wished I hadn’t. After glancing at the other two vampires present, he turned back to me and beckoned behind him with his thumb as he backed away with a suspicious air. Sighing, and gritting my teeth as I prepared myself for interrogation number three, I followed him as we moved further into the undergrowth.
“Pull up a tree trunk,” he invited, his dry sense of humour rearing its head as he found a place to sit. I found somewhere nearby as I continued to eye him awkwardly, drawing the back of my hand across my mouth as I became aware of the traces of blood on my lips.
“Look,” I started, “I’ve already had this twice in the space of about half a day…”
Joe shrugged casually in reply. “Doesn’t bother me,” he said, “I can always try out this other gift we have if you don’t fancy repeating yourself…”
“Other gift?”
“Yeah, mind reading,” he explained, “Like hearing thoughts, only more in-depth.”
On the one hand I didn’t like the sound of that. But on the other, maybe he’d pick up more than the others did, and so understand the situation better. Whether or not that would be a good thing I had yet to decide, but what was the alternative? I risked yet more misunderstanding no matter what choice I made.
“Okay,” I said quietly as I came to a decision, “Do it.”
He smiled gently as he beckoned me over, standing up. My heart began to race as I rose and advanced, watching as his arms lifted his hands to my head. As he placed his fingers on my temples his eyes closed, and when he next spoke it was in a hushed tone.
“Just relax,” he told me as he drifted off.
That was pretty hard to do at first as I felt a strange sensation in my mind, like a probing mist, creeping into whatever crevice it could find. But it also brought its own calm in a strange way. It was also unearthing memories I’d tried to bury for my sanity’s sake, and all those emotions I felt at the time came flooding back. By the time his hands started to slip down my face, his work done, I grasped at his wrists and pulled them away myself as I struggled valiantly to contain myself, but despite my efforts I soon found myself sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.
It seemed like an age before all the pain was released and I stopped crying. I was fast realising why Gino had bonded with him so well as I found myself doing the same, yet in a different way. I could now understand why he had such a strong longing for children; he has a paternal instinct a mile wide, which was showing through now in the way he spoke to me.
“Why couldn’t you tell one of us all this?” he asked, “I mean someone outside the house…”
“How could I?” I replied, “We’re all caught up in this some way or another…”
Joe sighed and hung his head. “I know,” he acknowledged, “I just wish I could’ve known what was going on… I could’ve done something.”
I stared at him, amazed that he seemed to be blaming himself for some of this. “Hey,” I began, “This isn’t your fault…!”
“It’s not that…” He raised his head again, looking sad. It was starting to dawn on me that the pain etched in his face was caused in part by me. Tears of guilt stung my eyes as I felt another lump in my throat.
“I’m sorry Joe…” I uttered, “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“Of course you didn’t,” he replied, a flicker of a reassuring smile appearing briefly on his face. He bit his lip, but shuddered as he forgot himself. A drop of forest green fluid trickled down his lip, and an emerald tongue flickered out to brush it away.
“What do you think about what happened with Mum?” I asked. I had to know if it was just me taking it all so badly.
“You’re referring to Marco, I take it?”
“Yeah.”
He shrugged. “To be honest, if Mum hadn’t changed so much I’d have taken it a lot harder. And yes, I did hear what he got up to at my wedding.”
I smiled briefly as I let him continue.
“But as it stands, I’m not really that surprised. Maybe because I could pick things up from Marco, and because I know Sarah wouldn’t have returned his affections if she thought there was any hope left in her marriage. In fact it’s extra support in a difficult time, if you think of it that way.”
I cradled my head in my hand. In my confused emotional state at the time, that hadn’t occurred to me at all. A hand laid on my shoulder, before in the corner of my eye I noticed his head move. I looked at him; his eyes were fixed on something behind me, and he was wearing a sympathetic smile. My head turned in that direction and found them both walking towards us.
“I’ll leave you all to it,” Joe said, “I’m off back to my own family.” Before he left however, he nudged my chin. “And the next time you need a shoulder to cry on, call me, okay?”
I just nodded as he took off into the night, watching him go with tears once again staining my face. Even now I still can’t get over how lovely that man is, and how lucky we all are to have him in our family.
Sam the T-man:
But I had further lessons to learn that night. After an emotional moment with Mum, Marco took me by surprise in his own way by offering me a hug himself. But that was just the start of it.
“I think we need a talk,” he offered, “We can go back to my home if you like.”
I found myself nodding, still feeling a little drained from that crying earlier. As we approached our vehicles however, I couldn’t help but ask something.
“If we can fly, what do we still need cars for?”
“Because not everyone we go out with are vampires,” Mum replied, “Besides, it’s fun!”
“In more than one way,” he replied with a mischievous grin.
“Hey you, behave!” she playfully chided. He merely laughed as he got into his car, while Mum and I hopped onto her bike. As we rode off, I was reminded why Mum still rode her bike – I made a mental note to look into riding lessons at some point.
I stared in awe at the large house we pulled into. Marco was propped up by the side of his car as she parked in his driveway, waiting for us to dismount. He led us both into the sitting room, but he surprised me when he made us all drinks. I got a taste for red wine from Emily’s glass, but wasn’t expecting him to now place the drink into my own hands. It wasn’t in a traditional wine glass either, but a large beaker. And it was generously filled.
“Aren’t I too young?” I checked.
He smiled as he settled into the sofa next to me. “Alcohol’s all we can drink,” he explained, “Needless to say, we can’t get drunk.”
That’s got to be the best excuse for boozing I’ve ever heard!
He broke into a giggle as I took a sip from my glass, which without my knowing quickly became large gulps. I hadn’t realised how thirsty I was.
“Okay,” I mused a little later, “So, a liquid diet and alcohol for our only drink…”
“Welcome to our world,” came her dry reply.
I looked up at them with a puzzled look. “What was that about “breaking his neck”?” I asked.
“Ah,” she said, “That’s to make sure you don’t end up with nasty vampires floating around.”
I silently listened as, between them, they explained the difference between good and bad vampires. Apparently we still feel and care because we still have our souls; the kind of people who prefer to cause trouble – the nature of their, well, our meals – are the kind who lose their souls if they become vampires, and would become more dangerous as they also lose whatever trace of conscious and humanity they might have had before. By killing them before our ‘virus’ had a chance to take hold, we stopped the threat before it started.
“Fair enough,” was all I could say in reply. The thought of such vampires being around, and even worse, likely to be a danger to my friends and (half) human family, was enough for me to tattoo that rule into my brain so it wouldn’t leave.
But Marco suddenly became serious. “Your Mum’s explained the situation as best she can,” he started, “But I have my own concerns, and there’s only one way I can answer them…”
I looked puzzled, wondering if I liked the direction this was heading in.
“With permission, I need to read you…”
I shook my head slowly; I couldn’t deal with another sudden influx of emotion. “Oh no, not again,” I moaned.
He eyed me quizzically, sensing my dismay. “I don’t know what Johan was doing, but I’m looking for something specific. It’s for your own good I do this.”
I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. I shrugged in resignation as his hands rose to the sides of my head, and I steeled myself for what was to follow.
This was very different to my experience with Joe. The memories brought back into light this time were all centred around Emily; our meetings, even my diary entries were being analysed. And for some reason, our night of passion came under particularly heavy fire. The related emotions being re-energised this time paled the result of Joe’s probing into insignificance, and even before he was done I had to pull his hands away.
“Stop, please,” I begged him, lowering my gaze to avert his eyes. His next remark was enough for me to stop in my tracks, however.
“You poor, poor man,” he said simply, without a trace of sarcasm.
I looked up at him bemused. His eyes were laden with genuine pity.
“What do you mean?”
“The answer to your question is yes,” he said, “This is love you’re feeling.”
My blood ran cold as I realised what he was driving at. I felt weak, and broke into a cold sweat as I stared solemnly at him.
“So this is how it feels,” I breathed.
He slowly nodded. “You hear many fairytales about how love ideally feels, but while some of it is true, the reality is often very different. It can not only blind, but deafen and deal great pain.”
You’re telling me(!)
Unlike Mum, he chose to ignore my passing thoughts as he continued. “I need to explain something to you at this point,” he told me, “There is a fine line between true love and infatuation – at first I thought the first was true with your sister, but it turned out to be the second instead.”
“And it took Mum for you to realise that?”
“Yes,” he softly replied, becoming distressed himself, “In all this time I’ve known her, it has only been recently I’ve woken up and considered my true feelings.” He began to sound angry, and I guessed immediately that anger was directed at himself. “I wasted years of my life thinking it was Jeanette I wanted to be with, even gave her a child, yet when it came to a head with her, leaving was one of the easiest things I’ve had to do. My only regret is Karl being involved in all this.”
“Does he know any of this?”
He nodded. “I broke it to him shortly after it all happened,” he told me, “Thankfully he’s very mature and sensitive for his age. He’s told me ever since I did the right thing.”
My heart sank as did my head. I’d been so hard on them both, not to them but in my mind. The more Marco spoke, the more I could see how Mum, in her state of mind, fell so deeply for him so quickly. I was so caught up in my own feelings I’d not considered why the love affair between them started in the first place. Now he was telling me his feelings for Mum were real, and was even sympathising with my feelings for Emily. No judgement, no “you can’t see her any more.” Dad would’ve been livid – well, maybe not before he changed, but he certainly would now.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Marco just hugged me in reply. After a while we broke away, and I eyed him helplessly.
“What can I do?” I asked gently.
“All you can do is tell her how you truly feel,” he said, “A daunting task I know, but you’re a vampire. Your mental senses are more acute, so whatever her reaction will be, you’ll know if you’re wasting your feelings or not.”
I nodded before checking my watch. “There's still time,” I acknowledged, “Can I go now?”
Mum nodded. “Just don’t be too long,” she told me, “You need to be back before daytime, remember.”
Again I nodded, rising to my feet. “Thanks,” I said, before looking back at him. He bade me good luck before I left, my heart pumping so hard I could feel it thudding against my ribs. I’d never felt so nervous in my life as all sorts of outcomes flashed through my mind – how would she take this? Did she feel the same way, or was I just a casual fling?
Sam the T-man:
“Emily, I love you...”
Nah.
“I really care about you...”
Hmm, better...
“I need you to know, I'm really fond of you...”
Ah man; sounds like you're proposing marriage!
All the while I was walking, I kept rehearsing different ways of breaking it to her, but every time I tried it just sounded more and more... cheesy? Clingy? Desperate? There was no denying the latter, but I couldn't let her know that... or could I? It would certainly convey my real feelings, but at the same time I risked making an even bigger fool of myself. But before I knew it, her house was yards away, and the lights were on. I hoped her Mum wasn't in as I tentatively approached the front door, and rang the bell before stepping back a little, my hands to my lips as I tried to compose myself.
“Evan?”
I turned round, and hid my dismay on seeing Nadia at the door.
“Hi,” I began, “Is Emily in?”
“She is, yes,” came the reply, “To speak the truth, she cannot face you.”
At first I frowned, before I realised what she meant. “Look, if that's about last night...”
There was a pause, and it seemed as though she was keeping a mental ear open for the nature of my thoughts, before she finally stepped aside. “Very well,” she conceded, “What happened once you returned?”
“Mum was there waiting for me,” I confessed, “She was about to ask where I'd been, but she must've noticed my eyes 'cause she took me straight to the nearest mirror after that.”
“And now, all is well?”
“As well as it can be, yeah,” I smiled sadly, “Now I've realised what a d*** I've been to my folks lately...”
Nadia merely laid a hand on my shoulder, before inviting me to take a seat while she went to call on Emily. I looked about me anxiously, before noticing a faded stain on the sofa I was sitting on. I smiled knowingly to myself as I recognised it as the remnants of a stubborn bloodstain.
“I will leave you two alone,” said the distant voice that drifted through the air. I looked up and saw her, a distressed look on her face as she kept her distance. The longing within me grew to new proportions as I rose from my seat, overcome with emotion.
“Hey,” I greeted, “I need to talk to you.”
Her expression didn't change as she advanced hesitantly. But as the distance between us narrowed, I started to pick up all manner of confused feelings from her.
“Forgive me Evan, I did not mean...”
“I know,” I interrupted as I held out a hand. Unable to contain myself, I moved closer and allowed my hands free reign of her soft face as I continued to speak. “It's okay, I don't hate you for it... in fact you did me a favour.”
This seemed to relax her a little. “Really? How so?” she asked.
“This has all given me time to sort myself out,” I explained, “I've been so screwed up lately... No, my remaining family weren't amused at first, but they're used to the idea now. In fact Mum took me for my first meal a few hours ago.”
“I see,” she smiled, and as her arms glided round my waist the air was thick with different signals. I wanted nothing more at that moment than to taste the sweetness of her lips, but I knew I went there that night for a reason. Despite that we nuzzled each other for a spell, before she uttered something I had only dreamed that I would hear.
“I love you so much.”
My head moved away for a minute, as I eyed her in happy disbelief. A smile played upon my lips as I thought how best to react.
“Wha... seriously?”
She merely nodded in reply, her red eyes becoming glassy. My smile grew until my mouth began to hurt, and felt tears trickle down my cheeks as I struggled to speak.
“I love you too Emily,” I stuttered, and we clung tightly to each other, all sense of time gone as after a while our lips met.
I'd never felt so good in a long time as I did after that. We began to properly date, and I even invited her to meet Mum and Amy. Meanwhile I heard Dad was starting a new life in his new house too; after learning of Kieran and his robotic companions, he decided to buy one for himself and named her Nadia. Apparently these “servos” took on the personality of whoever initialised them, so to him it was like finally he'd found a soul-mate, someone who could take him as he is now. And yes, those were his words; they cut like a knife. It was as though he was alienating himself from us – couldn't he understand how it felt from our end, having to watch?
The final straw came about a month later. Just as I'd guessed, he wasn't happy about my relationship with Emily; I put it to him that, if we'd met up normally there wouldn't be a problem so why should there be a problem now, but he retaliated with “You should never have been creeping out in the first place.” Damn, werewolves can be predictable. To make matters worse, Joe's twin Diana had been cursed too, although her house-mate – Gino – had sent her for preventative treatment right away, terrified that she would eventually become a real bitch otherwise. For that I owed him my eternal thanks; at the time I didn't know how grateful I would end up being thanks to bitter experience.
I grew concerned about Emily – she was looking green around the gills of late, but she tried to put it down to a bug. It might have worked if she was mortal, but vampires don't get ill. They do however get...
Hey, wait a minute.
“Um, Emily...” I mentioned one day, when the thought occurred to me, “I think you need to go to the doctor. And I'm coming with you.”
“Why?” came the bemused reply.
I swallowed hard, Mum's warning to me resounding through my head.
“Vampires are still fertile...”
“Vampires don't get ill,” I reminded her softly, all the while considering the enormality of our carelessness, “But they do get morning sickness...”
“Morning sickness? What on earth is that?!”
Of course, she wouldn't know.
After gently explaining to her the urgency of the situation, she hastily agreed and an appointment was made in the next few days. Well, not with a doctor, they don't open at nights, but there was still the local clinic.
By the time we left, both of us were shaken and our minds spinning with all sorts of confused thoughts.
“Whatever can we do?!” she exclaimed. My heart went out to her – people then were so ignorant. Single mothers of her class were cast out and generally treated like dirt.
“Look,” I soothed as I put an arm round her shoulder, “Things aren't so bad these days, you won't get kicked out or anything...” I silently hoped Nadia, being something of an outcast herself for being bisexual (and later a vampire) would be more understanding in that field. That and she was a single Mum herself.
“I am afraid, Evan...”
I could only offer a hug in reply, relenting as I held her. “Me too,” came my admission. Despite our predicament, neither of us could bring ourselves to include termination as an option.
I couldn't find it in me to tell Mum though. I left her to chat with Amy at the table as I made a beeline for my coffin dead on sunrise, again feeling unable to face anyone. As I woke that evening, my mind still reeling from the news, I anxiously paced about the room for a good five minutes before remembering I needed to eat something. Not feeling any more sociable, I instead opened my bedroom window wide and clamboured outside onto the ledge, before leaping into the night sky.
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