Beautiful Monster 2 (19 page)

He shrugged.
“Adults don’t often talk about dreams that never were, Amy. You’re so lucky, you know that? You’re living you’re dream. And you’ve turned out exactly the way your mother and I wanted you to.”

“I thought you said acting was just silly and not stable.”

“I did say that,” he replied. “But really, I just wanted you to have a future, to protect you and keep you safe. But you seem to be doing that just fine these days. You don’t need me anymore, Amy.”

“Ah, Daddy, I always need you.”

I wouldn’t say that it was a nice day I spent with my father, because how nice can it be when you are at a hospital? But with him by my side, the day didn’t seem so long, the tests didn’t hurt as much, and the cafeteria food seemed a bit more passable.

“
Where is Liam? He’s normally glued to your side.”

I took a deep breath. I had been waiting for this question all day.

“Dad, Liam and I aren’t together anymore.”

“Oh,” he said, surprised. “That was fast.”

“Well, it was about a year,” I said, blushing when he looked surprised. It’s not like we came out and told him right away.

“Are you alright?” he asked
immediately.

I nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It helps that Sarah is here.”

“And how is Sarah?”
His opinion of Sarah hadn’t risen too much since her hospitalization and the police report. He didn’t know the whole story, but the times he met me for lunch and saw Sarah and Connor sucking face, he could probably figure some of it out.

“She’s better
.” I looked at my watch. “We should go back up. They will probably be calling us soon.”

We were taken into Dr. Martin’s office just as it closed, being ushered in as the secretary locked the door.

I could see him through the door, paging through my test results and entering notes into the computer. I swung my feet against the bed and my father smiled.

“You used to do that when you were a little kid, remember? Only a lot louder. The whole office could hear you and I used to have to buy you a lollipop to get you to stop.”

“Did it work?” I asked, curious.

My father grinned.
“Nope.”

After not too long, Dr. Martin came in with my file and a stack of papers. He did not look happy and I knew that all my
suspicions were true.

“Well?” I asked, eager to get this over with.

He sighed. “Well, Amy, your T cell count is low and your blood tests show the disease has progressed. It looks like we are in the early stages now, so no need to worry too much. There’s a lot we can do to…”

I let him drone on and on, but I wasn’t listening. It didn’t matter what medications he had to offer,
or what the statistics said nowadays, or what I could or couldn’t do.

The truth of the matter was right in front of me
: I had AIDS.

The car ride home was silent, except in the middle, when Father asked where I wanted to sleep. I asked to be taken to his house and he agreed.

From there, I went straight up to my childhood bedroom, where I lay with my phone in my hand for quite a few minutes before rolling over and texting Sarah.

It’s bad
.

She responded
immediately.
I love you. Remember that.

I smiled, and we went back and forth for about 45
minutes, never once hearing each other’s voices. This was the way it used to be, Sarah and me, before all this complexity came in. Before Liam, and school and relationships, it was just Sarah and me, our personalities coming through the texts, as we shared every detail of our day through our phones. All the awkwardness and anger of the previous weeks melted away.

I knew I should text Liam, but I didn’t want to.
How was it his business anymore? Of course, I still loved and cared about him, but he had made it clear that he was in a different place in his life right now, and there was no room for me in it. So instead, I scrolled down my contacts and texted Drago.

Hey. Got time to talk?

After a few minutes and in between texts to Sarah, he responded.

For you? Anything. Want me to bring food? Where are you?

I smiled, sitting up. Perhaps a good meal, or a weird meal, with two close friends was exactly what I needed. I confirmed with Sarah that she was free, and then texted Drago back, giving him my father’s address.

Be there in 20 minutes
was the response.

I smiled, feeling better already and went to my closet, where there were still some clothes. No matter what the situation was, I still had friends that I could be close to
, that could make me laugh no matter what. A night out with Sarah and Drago was just what I needed.

My phone beeped again and I went over to check it, assuming it was
one of them. But instead, it was Liam.

Emergency Party Scene rehearsal in Red
Theater, 6 am

That was all it said. I didn’t think that my heart could pound any louder after today, but it
leaped into my throat.

And yet, at the same time, I didn’t want to go. The days of rushing to Liam’s side to fix yet another issue of a world I wasn’t apart of was over. After the show, I was pretty sure I would be leaving school and not coming back.

Why?

I’ll tell you when you get here.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. Typical Liam. And yet, Liam never made a mountain out of a molehill. If it was serious, it was serious. It seemed like he sent a
mass text to everyone, so I simply replied
ok
and went back to getting dressed. I wasn’t going to let him ruin my evening, not with so few evenings left.

I paced the stage at 1 pm as the others arrived. When Connor had told me that the other vampires wanted to speak with me, I assumed it had to do with the plan, and so I decided to arrange for a whole cast meeting. I knew that Amy had to film Ranger, so I arranged a breakfast meeting when most of them would be coming out of their transformations with the rising sun.

Amy came in first
with Sarah, and neither girl looked like they had slept much. The scent of death wafting from Amy grew stronger every day, and from the look on her face today, I knew she had learned something about it. It just about killed me to not ask her how she was feeling, or what was wrong. Once upon a time, I could practically read Amy’s mind, but now times were different. I felt like I couldn’t trust her anymore. I knew all about Drago from the summer Gatsby tour, and even though I knew she was probably telling the truth, I couldn’t help but wonder if that compromising picture was more than she claimed it was.

After all,
I remembered clearly being her age, being young and free and off on my first tour. And I remembered all the girls I bedded during that tour. I knew how the media could be, of course, but I also knew that each article had at least some semblance of truth in it. They had the picture as proof. I wasn’t accusing Amy of sleeping around. I knew that she wouldn’t, not with a human in any case. But she had been so far away from me, and we were such different people that I wondered if she was looking for a way out that summer. And in a way, I thought she deserved it. This boy was human, in nearly the same place in his life, working side by side with her every day. I pictured them staying together at night, no last minute kiss goodbye as the sun set, no transformation. It made me angry, and yet, I couldn’t help but feel like I deserved to be betrayed. Amy deserved a better future than being with a vampire, a creature of darkness, when she represented light and life. Perhaps she and I being apart was for the best. So why did I feel so angry at this other man in the picture with her?

Everyone filed in by 1:15, which made me smirk. They had coffee cups and paper plates in hand
as they juggled their backpacks. I thought about how well they were adapting to student life. They certainly looked like students, slurping coffee at 1 pm in the afternoon as if they had just woken up.

“So, here I am,” I said, holding out my arms as everyone sat down. “A few of you asked to meet, so I figured you had questions that we could all sort out.”

“Actually.” Steven stood up, clearing his throat and looking around sheepishly. The others gave him an encouraging nod. “Liam, is it true you were visited by the elders?”

“Yes
.” I shrugged. “It’s sorted out now, don’t worry about it.”

“You were visited by the e
lders?” Amy called out, raising an eyebrow.

Once upon a time, she was privy to all information at the school. But not being on speaking terms with the headmaster kind of killed that idea
. She knew all about the elders, since I had told her once.

“Yes. But it’s taken care of
.” I met her eyes.

I didn’t need to tell her that they had nearly ripped my head off for her know
ing about vampires, and I didn’t need to tell her how we got around it. What I really wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and keep her safe and take care of her. Even now, she looked exhausted.

“Liam, there is one thing we
fear more than Selene and respect more than our sire and that is the Elders,” Steve said in a trembling voice. “Many of us feel that the elders’ visit has rained disapproval on this plan. And we cannot kill Selene but live our lives in fear of the elders.”

“Wha
t?” I glanced to Connor, who was taking it all in.

Connor raised his voice.
“As Liam has said, the elders visit had nothing to do with our plan. They were here for Liam and Liam alone.”

“Then why is Liam not dead?”

“Because it was taken care of, as I said.” I really didn’t want to tell them, but it looked like they were giving me no choice. “Who feels this way?”

A
group of them shuffled together towards Steve, and I realized that by ‘many of us’ he meant every single vampire except for Connor.

“Liam is the leader of this coven,” Connor snapped. “You will obey him!”

But the others clearly did not feel that way. Sighing, I rose to my feet.

“The e
lders visited me for violating the vampire law of secrecy. Two mortals knew of our existence, and they were clearly not happy about it. But we came to an agreement.”

“How?” Steve demanded. “The penalty for violating the law of secrecy is death.”

“By invoking the law of deliverance,” Connor supplied. “The humans Liam had informed smelt of death. They will not carry our secret for long.”

I lo
cked eyes with Amy, and I don’t think I had ever seen such fury than what she carried then. She would have slapped me if I was closer. I could see her hands trembling. Without speaking a word, she rose and took Sarah with her, stomping out of the theater and slamming the door so hard behind her I was worried it might break.

I sighed, burying my face in my hands. When I looked up, the others were whispering to each other.

And then Steve stepped forward. “We’re sorry, Liam. But we can’t risk it. The elders will be around forever, they are truly immortal.”

“But it had nothing to do with the plan!” I protested. “They even wished us luck!”

“And we wish you luck as well, Liam.” Steve bowed his head just the right amount to show respect to a clan leader, which contradicted with his actions because he and the rest turned to go. “We will remove our belongings and be gone in an hour.”

And then it was just Connor and I alone in the
theater.

I glanced at him and he sunk into a chair.

“Well that went well,” I said.

He sighed.
“We can still execute it without them,” he said. “It’ll just be a lot harder. Thomas De Ritter is still on board?”

“At a price,” I replied.

“What price?” Connor’s face darkened. “What have you promised on Sarah’s behalf?”

“Nothing. She doesn’t need to do anything. The
Shields will offer her the opportunity to be educated by them.”

“Offer?” Connor raised an eyebrow. “Or forced?”

“Aah…” I threw up my hands. “What do you want from me, Connor? You want Selene dead? Well, it doesn’t come easy and it certainly doesn’t come cheap. We’ve lost Nina already. She couldn’t handle this life because we are such disgusting creatures. How long before someone else succumbs and decides they can’t handle that life? If we kill Selene, there won’t be another vampire suicide, at least not on our hands.”

“You promised Sarah to the Shields? Holy hell
.” Connor got up as well and headed towards the door, leaving me alone in the theater.

It had been quite
a while since I got smashed in the middle of the day. But today, I didn’t really care.

What I didn’t expect was Amy to be waiting in my office.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, slamming through the door and jiggling open my desk drawer.

I knew she didn’t like it when I drank, especially in the middle of the day, so I made sure to take a long swallow before meeting her eyes again. She didn’t even blink and I sat, letting the warmth of the booze flow through me.

“I came to tell you that I’m withdrawing from school after the show,” she replied. “My contract with Ranger has been extended.”

“Fine. You don’t know where the forms are
or something?” I took another swallow.

“I just thought you’d like to know,” she replied.

“And I suppose you’d like to know if you can extend your benefits,” I snapped at her.

Her jaw dropped.
“What?”

“Amy, after a year
, do you think I’m stupid or something?”

She looked taken aback and I knew I had hit a nerve. Amy never used to keep secrets from me
.

“Tell me what’s going on,” I urged, and she bit her lip, clearly struggling with it. Finally, I saw her face soften.

“I don’t need AZT anymore.”

My heart plummeted to the ground. Of course, I knew what it meant. And it confirmed my suspicions.

“How long?”

“You mean, how long if I managed to survive without a vampire trying to kill me at every turn? I don’t know, a few years. It doesn’t matter, Liam.”

My jaw dropped. “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? Of course it matters!”

“Liam
.” She glared at me. “I don’t know where the forms are. Show me so I can get out.”

“You aren’t thinking abo
ut giving up, are you?” I asked sharply. The look on her face caught me off guard and I almost leapt over the desk to grab her. “Amy! Answer me!”

“Why?
” she asked plainly.

“Because…
are you serious? You can’t be considering this!”

“Liam!” Now it was her turn to snap at me. “I found out less than 24 hours ago what was happening. And until then, I lived in some deluded fantasy that it would never happen and
everything was going to be alright. Now my whole life has changed. Can you give me some time to think without smothering me for once?”

“You think I smothered you?” This was news to me.

Amy and I always talked about how we didn’t get to spend enough time together. But now, here she was talking about wanting more time apart.

She sighed, shaking her head.

“Forget about it.” She moved fast and was out of my office before I could catch up to her.

I sank into my chair, burying my head in my hands.
If I had thought things were desperate before, I clearly had no idea what I was talking about.

My phone rang and I glanced at it, not intending to answer it. But when I saw it was Thomas’s ID, I picked up with a sigh.

“Hello?”

“The vampire Isabelle is dead,” he stated, as if we had been talking all this time.

I sat up straighter, closing my eyes. I had known that this was likely, but hearing the words was a huge blow.

“You killed her,” I said dully, a statement.

“You knew we would, Liam. Our truce only has to do with Selene.”

“I know
.” I leaned back in my chair. “It’s just that Isabelle was 5 centuries old and now I have to explain this to her ex-husband.”

“Who nearly compromised another
Shield in this situation,” Thomas reminded me. “This is already drawing dangerously close to the line. The others are restless. If Selene is not killed, I’m not sure I can stop an out-and-out war.’’