Blood-Red Tear (32 page)

“I’m sorry
. I hate our being separated too, but it’s the only way for now. I made your dad a promise and I intend to keep it. Just remember, I long to be with you too every minute of every day.” He kissed me and sighed when he pulled away. “I will fight to keep you as long as you will have me.”

“Aidan
, it’s not a fight. I want you and Orin is aware of that.”

He frowned and moved so he was sitting on the bed next to me.
“Trust me. He thinks he can change your mind.”

“Never
,” I laid my head on his chest. “You’re stuck with me forever.”

“I won’t hold you to
that, but someday if you choose to be with me, you may have to make that decision.” He lifted my chin and kissed me again, then stared deeply into my eyes. “Rest now,” he commanded.

I felt my eyes droop
at his compulsion, but before I could I scold him I was fast asleep.

Chapter
Twenty-Nine

I got ready for school quickly the next morning, eager to spend time with Aidan before I left, knowing it would be the last time I saw him until my eighteenth birthday.

He was waiting for me in the
foyer, and I ran down the steps, throwing myself into his waiting arms.

“You’re here,
” I whispered, as he hugged me to him.

“I promised I would take you to school and I will
,” he chuckled. “Now eat your breakfast and we will go.”

   “You’re not fooling me
, you know.” He frowned. “You think I won’t make a scene in front of the entire school, that’s why you’re driving me in before you leave,” I teased as we walked to the dining room.

“That’s the plan,” he told me with a wink.

I looked to my father’s chair that sat empty and frowned. “Where’s Dad?” I asked as my mother walked in, carrying a plate for me.

“Oh,
he had some things to see to,” she said, casting a meaningful glance at Aidan.

“You told him?” I whispered.

“He had the right to know,” he murmured, as he pulled out a chair for me.

My mother placed the
plate of eggs and toast down in front of me, then proceeded to watch me as I ate. Normally I found it hard to eat when someone was watching, but I found I was famished and polished off the entire plate, regardless of my audience.

I took my time drinking my orange juice
, wanting to stall for time but before too long Aidan remarked that it was getting late and rose from the table. He pulled my chair out and took my hand as I rose, and I smiled warmly, happier than I had been in a long time.

After a quick goodbye to my mother, I
reached for my overloaded book bag, which he took immediately from my hands, grumbling about how many books I was forced to carry, before placing his arm around my waist and escorting me outside, where another beautiful black sports car was waiting for us.

“Ni
ce car,” I told him as he helped me inside.

“I like her,” he said running
his hand over the hood lovingly, making me envious of the shiny new vehicle.

“Just be careful with this one,
” I cautioned, remembering his accident not so long ago.

“Cars are meant to go fast and it’s not like much could kill me,” he said with typical vampire arrogance.

“Still, for me, alright?” I pleaded knowing he wouldn’t deny me, which he didn’t.

   He held my hand
the entire ride to school, his fingers moving slowly over mine as he drove much slower than I knew he would if I hadn’t been in the car. I was deliriously happy and it would have been perfect, except that I knew as we drew closer to the school the time for his departure was closing in.

S
adness invaded my happy bubble as he pulled up outside of the brick and mortar building, and he looked at me with a knowing frown. “I will be back.  Your birthday is only a few months away, and if you still feel the same for me then, we will be together.” He squeezed my hand reassuringly and leaned toward me. “Now, let’s say goodbye properly.” His lips met mine, gently parting them, his tongue slowly sweeping my mouth in a deep fiery kiss that made me realize he had been holding back on me. I sighed and he pulled away, staring over my shoulder with a grin at something behind me.

I turned
and saw Orin leaning against his car watching us, his eyes filled with rage, and knew Aidan had not held back because we had an audience.

“Aidan
! How could you? Orin will be devastated,” I cried out.

“He’ll get over it,” h
e said dismissively, before getting out and coming around to open my door.

“Would you?” I
snarled, grabbing my bag, prepared to stomp off.

H
e grabbed my arm and pulled me back, wrapping his arms around me. “I have had to get over knowing other guys have been kissing you for some time.  Let someone else deal with it today.” Guilt overtook me at once, but he rushed to reassure me. “I don’t want you to feel guilty. I am confident I will be the person you kiss for the rest of your life.” He brushed his finger over my bottom lip, staring down at me as if I was the most precious thing in the world. “I will miss you,” he whispered, pulling me against him and lowering his head to mine. “Dangerous,” he growled, kissing me passionately once more before he let me go. I stood, unable to speak, my body quivering like Jell-O as he got into the car. Before he drove away, he rolled down the window and grinned. “Oh, by the way, you looked stunning on Valentine’s night.” I gasped, shocked he had seen me that night, and he revved the engine then drove away.

When I could no longer see his car I turned away and
walked into school, hating the ache in my heart his absence brought, and dreading the moment I ran into Orin. Thankfully, Jess was the one waiting at my locker and not Orin, so I got a momentary reprieve.

“
I see Aidan has another new car,” she said, leaning against her locker with a grin that should have warned me about the third degree that was coming.

“
Yeah,” I muttered, wondering what I was going to say to Orin when I saw him.

“Is he staying for a
while?”

“Who?
” I asked.

“Duh, Aidan. I
s he staying with your family for awhile?”

“No
, he’s leaving now,” I mumbled, closing my locker, fighting back the tears that threatened.

“
Oh.” She placed a finger to her lips looking thoughtful. “So where’s Orin?”

“I don’t know.” M
y patience was going south fast and my hands tightened on my books.

“Are you two fighting?”

“No, not really, it’s just…I can’t do this here, please,” I pleaded as the tears spilled over.

“Hey, don’t cry. Why don’t
I come over after school where we can talk privately,” she said, handing me a tissue and looking apologetic for upsetting me.

“That would be great,” I answered
, wiping away the tears. “It’s been forever since we just hung out.”

“I know, right?” she said with a chuckle.  “I think w
e could both use a testosterone-free zone for a little while.”

If she only knew
, I thought.

With my afternoon planned, I rushed off
to my first class and took my seat just as the bell rang. I opened my book and a little slip of paper fell out on the desk written in Aidan’s neat script. “I miss you already. Aidan.” My heart clenched and my hand shook as I stared at his words, missing him more than ever.

The second bell
rang and I shoved the note into my bag as Orin walked down the aisle towards me, not wanting him to see it. “I’m sorry,” I whispered when he sat next to me. He did not say anything or even look in my direction, and even though it hurt, I understood.

When th
e bell rang ending class, I stood and reached for my book bag, but Orin pulled it out from under my hand and smiled. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I knew what I was getting into; you told me from the beginning about him, but I’m not ready to give up yet.” He smiled and took my hand in his. “It is I who am sorry.”

*****

Orin drove Jess and I home after school, and Jess, sensing our need to talk, jumped out of the car, going into the house immediately to give us time alone. At the door, Orin pulled me to him, his kiss gentle at first but quickly becoming more demanding. I pulled back, unaccustomed to this new side of him that was starting to worry me.

“Orin
, we need to talk,” I said, knowing I had to end it with him. It was unfair and cruel to continue seeing him when I knew it was Aidan I wanted.

“Not now,” he said shortly.

“But…” He placed his finger to my lips and cut me off.

“
Later,” he said, walking off the porch, getting into his car, and driving off.

Mom and Jess were in the kitch
en when I came in, shaking my head, unsure what I was going to do about Orin. I cared for him and I didn’t want to hurt him, but I couldn’t keep dating him any longer.

“Katie
, I’m glad Jess came today. You girls need to hang out more often,” my mother said with a smile.

“We are going to try harder
to do that, right, Jess,” I said.

“Definitely,” s
he added.

“Mom, w
e are going to go to my room and talk.”

“Have fun
, girls,” she said, shoving a plate of warm chocolate-chip cookies into my hands before handing Jess two glasses of milk.

We walked up to my room
, barely making it inside before Jess began bombarding me with questions. “Okay, spill! I saw Aidan kissing you in the parking lot today and it was hot.” She shook her hands as if putting out flames and grinned. “What is going on?”

I should have known she saw
us by her constant questioning that morning. “It’s really complicated,” I said, biting my lip and wondering how much I should share. “My dad does not want us dating. He thinks I need more time to grow up.” I rolled my eyes and she giggled.

“It is not like Aidan is
much older than you.”

Uh
-oh. I certainly couldn’t tell her how far she was from the truth so I had to think quickly. “Oh, yeah… but Dad thinks he’s too mature.” She stared at me blankly. “You know, being from another country and all.

“Jeez, you’ll be eighteen soon.”

“Yeah,” I said wistfully, anticipating the day Aidan and I could finally be together.

“Wait a minute,” she said
, staring at me knowingly. “You’re in love with him!” she raised her hand when I tried to object. “Don’t bother, I know that look. I wear it often now that Josh and I are together.” She frowned. “What about Orin?”

Her question shocked me
, since I knew she really didn’t like him much anyway. “Orin knows about Aidan, but he thinks he can make me change my mind and choose him. I don’t know what to do.”

“Listen
, any girl would die to have two gorgeous guys fighting for her, so relax and enjoy the attention,” she encouraged.

“I don’t want
to hurt anyone.”

“If he knows there’s someone else
, you are not to blame,” she reasoned.

She was right but it didn’t make me feel any better. Tired of my drama
, I changed the subject. “How are you and Josh doing?” It dawned on me then that I had not seen Josh all day. “Is everything alright, he missed school again today?”

“Oh
, well…he had something he had to do.” She looked nervous and glanced away, which was suspicious, but before I could question her more she went on. “We are doing well, though, he’s really good for me and I am so in love with him.” She went on then about how good he was to her and all the things they did together, and I listened, more than a little jealous that she had the relationship with Josh that I so badly wanted with Aidan.

Chapter Thirty

With Aidan gone things fell back into routine, but with every day that passed I missed him more and more. I thought of him day and night, wondered where he was and what he was doing, and if he was missing me too. I was sure Orin knew how I was feeling, even though we never discussed it. Things were different, though, and we both knew it even if he refused to discuss it.

One
night after hanging out with everyone at Kelly’s, Orin pulled into the park instead of heading home. It was a beautiful spring night so we got out and walked together, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

   “You know I love yo
u, right?” he said suddenly, pulling me into his arms, brushing his lips over mine. “Say something,” he pleaded pressing his lips to mine once again in a more demanding kiss. “I know you care for me,” he growled impatiently when I failed to participate. 

   I couldn’t do it anymore
, and I knew the time had come to say goodbye. “Orin, I love you too, but…” Something moved behind Orin, halting my next words. My eyes opened wide at the brief glimpse I got of Aidan’s grief-stricken face, but he fled before I could call to him. “Orin,” I said anxiously. “I need to go home, now please.” I walked quickly to the car, with him following one-step behind.

“Katie
, wait…” he said, grabbing my arm.

“Now
, Orin!” I demanded, pulling my arm away from him. 

He got in the car and sulked
the entire way home, but I had no time to console him, not when I knew Aidan was hurting so badly. I jumped out of the car and yelled goodbye as soon as he stopped in front of the house, then ran inside, my feet barely touching the floor as I flew up the stairs to my room, stopping in shock at the sight that greeted me.

My
room had been ransacked. Drawers were pulled open haphazardly and everything Aidan had ever given me was gone. All the letters, the dead flowers I couldn’t bear to part with, and even the iPod he had sent me were missing. The only thing left was a trail of dead rose petals that lead out of the window where the curtains fluttered in the cool night breeze. I closed my eyes and reached for him, felt his pain, and knew he heard me tell Orin I loved him. I also knew just where to find him. As fast as my feet would carry me, I ran out of the room and down the stairs to get to him.

I ran back down the stairs, out of the front door,
and across the driveway, not stopping until I got to the gazebo where Aidan sat, with all of my missing things scattered around his feet.  His head was down and he looked utterly defeated as I walked up the stairs toward him. He made no move to acknowledge my presence, but I knew he was aware I was there. I knelt down in front of him, putting my hand under his chin, lifting his face to mine. The anguish I saw there broke my heart in two, and I knew I had to fix it before I lost him forever.

   “I don’t know what you saw or heard
, but please believe me you are the one. I didn’t want to hurt Orin anymore, and I was going to tell him I couldn’t see him anymore, but you misunderstood what you heard.” He stared, saying nothing, which scared me more than anything. I could feel the tears on my cheeks as I waited for him to speak, but he remained silent. “Say something, Aidan! Do you really think I would agonize over you the way I do if I cared for someone else? I spent days torturing myself because I thought I would never see you again. I cry when I hear our music, I laugh when I remember my time with you, I have dated to make you all happy, but none of those guys compare to you. Why don’t you understand?” I collapsed at his feet, worried I had lost the only man I would ever truly love. “I love you,” I cried out, my head bowed, my body trembling at the thought of losing him forever.

“You love me?”
he murmured with disbelief.

I looked up into
his face and could see his doubt. “Of course I love you. I have loved you since I can remember. When I was two, I followed you everywhere you went. By the time I was seven I worshipped the ground you walked on. At twelve, I thought no one could ever compare to you, and at fifteen you saved me from that horrible date and you kissed me, changing my life forever. I realized that night I had feelings for you I didn’t understand, but then you kissed me in this gazebo the night of my sixteenth birthday party and everything became clear. Of course I love you. You are my other half, the one who completes me. For me it was never a question of
if
we would be together, it was always a question of
when
we would be together.” I took his hand in mine and met his eyes with my own pleading ones. “I stand here now as a mature female telling you I love you, I don’t want anyone else, and I refuse to date anymore. I am tired of looking for what I already found with you.”

“Katie,” he choked out
, pulling me into his arms and placing a slow, lingering kiss that left me dizzy and breathless before releasing me and saying the words I had longed to hear for so long. “My sweet, sweet, Katie, I have been yours since the day your parents brought you to the Council and I looked into your eyes. You are the reason I live: you have brought me happiness, kept me sane, and now by giving me your love you have given me the greatest gift I have ever I received.” He held my face in his gentle hands and kissed the tip of my nose. “I would do anything to make you happy, give you anything you wanted, exchange my life for your own. You are my everything and without you, I am nothing. I love you!”

He bent his hea
d to mine and kissed me again, and as we stood there locked in each other’s arms, I felt contentment like I had never known before. I sighed and snuggled closer to him, refusing to let go, fearing his leaving again. “What do we do now?” I asked reveling in his scent as he hugged me close. “My father won’t let us be together until I’m eighteen.”

“We have waited this long
, I don’t think another few months will harm us,” he said huskily, running his fingers through the back of my hair, looking down on me with the love he felt glowing in his eyes.

The sound of s
omeone clearing their throat interrupted us, and I looked over to see my parents at the foot of the stairs watching us.

“Why don’t you ask
me again if you can see my daughter? I’m not sure you will get the same answer,” my father said. “Even I can see that keeping you two apart isn’t working, and I know Katie is as sure of her decision as she can be right now.” His face tightened. “I will let you two date, but the same rules apply for you as the ones she had with the human boys. Eleven o’clock is her curfew unless otherwise arranged through me. Under no circumstance will you enter her bedroom when she is there without permission from me, and although you are my prince, you must understand that she is our daughter, and I would give my life to protect hers.”

His words humbled me. That he would threaten a man who was his leader and more powerful than he told me how very much he loved me, not that I had ever doubted it
.

“
Aidan, you and I will talk in the library before you leave tonight to make things clear.” He walked up the stairs and took me from Aidan’s arms, hugging me close. “Sweetheart, you have done as we asked, I can ask no more.” He let me go and looked at his watch. “I’ll see you in an hour, Aidan.”

My mother
gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “Be happy, honey.” She turned to my father and took his hand, and they were gone in seconds.

Aidan
tightened his grip on my hand and he pulled me back to his side, hugging me close.

“What do we do now?” I asked
, dazed and deliriously happy that I no longer had to hide my feelings for him.

“We should plan our first date,” he said nuzzling my neck and
whispering in my ear. “Will you go out with me this Saturday?”

“Well
, that depends. Will there be handholding?” I asked teasingly.

He nodded.    

“Hugging?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh and kissing, definitely there must be kissing?”

He smirked
. “I don’t think I can guarantee all those things on our first date.”

“O
h, well, I may have to pass then,” I said feigning a look of boredom.

He pulled me to him and gave me a long
, slow, deep, soul-searing kiss. “How about now?”

“I’m sure
I can arrange something.” I put my arms around his neck and looked up at him. “I love you, Aidan.”

   “As I love you, Amado U
no,” he said, kissing me again. “Forever,” he murmured in my ear.

“Forever is a long time,” I told him
.

“Yes
, it is,” he said with all seriousness. “Are you ready for that?”

“Are you?”
a familiar voice called in my head, sending chills down my spine. I looked around, expecting to see the vampire from my nightmares but saw nothing.

“Katie?” Aidan asked quizzically.

I pushed aside my thoughts of the vampire who haunted my nightmares. I would have to deal with those dreams sometime soon. For now, though, I had everything I wanted. I smiled up at Aidan, happier than I had ever been in my life. “Forever,” I told him, laughing, as he swung me in his arms.