Crimson Groves (29 page)

My insides were a pit of emptiness, hollow and numb. I was weak and needed blood, but didn’t care if I ever tasted it again. I tried to get up but felt dizzy and fell back down. My fingers rubbed my eyes, which burned and stung, but at least I wasn’t crying anymore. My neck and shoulders felt heavy; perhaps the muscles were fatigued. It really sucked not being able to heal myself. And that wouldn’t even begin to happen unless I got blood, a lot of blood. So to relieve some of that pressure, I started to massage my neck, pressing my fingers deep into the skin. Something hard and cold whisked across my fingertips. The necklace Tyler gave me! Remembering the loving moment when he gave this to me made my stomach roll. Nausea crept up my chest. Frantically, my fingers traced the necklace, searching for the clasp so I could remove this horrible gift and throw it at him or Bronx the next time I saw either of them.

Tugging and shifting the silver chain seemed endless—the clasp never made its way around. Maybe my fingers skipped over it, so easy to do since the clasp was about the same size as the rest of the chain pieces. And I was getting weaker by the second; that surely wasn’t helping me. Then I felt something sharp, a tiny prick on my finger. The clasp. I strained to pull the chain forward so I could get a good enough grip on the lever, but it wouldn’t budge.
What the hell?
I tried again, nothing.

The doorknob rattled, then the door slowly swung open, an eerie creaking noise that you’d hear in a horror movie. Roll the scary music now. I froze in a panic, and then quickly dropped my hands to my knees. The last thing I wanted was to be caught fondling with this stupid necklace, not until I got it off and could use it as a flying projectile. I watched my fingers nervously trace and poke at the holes in my jeans.

“Abigail, come with me.” Bronx’s voice was like a drill sergeant.

I slowly raised my head up, avoiding his eyes. “I’m not sure I can get up. I’ve already tried.” Then, I tried again anyway to prove I was telling the truth. Placing my boots on the floor and my hands on the seat of the chair, I pushed with all my strength but barely moved at all. Completely exhausted, I leaned back.

Bronx walked over to me and bent down, then cradled his arms around me like I was a baby, one arm around my back, the other under my knees. In a flash, he stood up; my head fell backwards as he did. I tried to lift it up but was too fatigued. “I am going to get you cleaned up. Please do not get any ideas of escape while we are away from this room,” he warned.

I’m not sure where he took me, but I assumed it was a bathroom. He sat me on a short bench with my back against the wall. My left side leaned against something cold and hard. It reminded me of a bathtub. After numerous failed attempts to focus my eyes, I decided that closing them would be best. The back of my eyelids looked like curtains in a dark movie theater—only I knew the motion picture wouldn’t be playing soon, the weight of the curtains too heavy to lift. The curtains started swaying and flowing, like running blood.

I felt something damp, and a little rough, wiping my face. “You are worse off than I thought,” Bronx said, his voice soft. “Can you hear me?”

My lips slightly parted to answer him, but I couldn’t speak. I forced a little noise out of my throat that sounded like a hoarse growl. Every minute that passed, I was progressively getting weaker. I felt sick, so sick, unlike any cold or virus I’d ever experienced when human. Thoughts of a final death floated to the surface of my mind. Every moment that passed, I was one step closer.

“Tyler, come in here! Now!”

Like a herd of cows, loud footsteps rushed in. “What is it, Boss?” Tyler’s breathing was deep and short. I envisioned the vein on his neck pumping with each gasp. Oh, how easily I would bite him now, after everything he’d done to me. I no longer cared to preserve his innocence, which he’d already showed was nonexistent due to his alliance with Bronx.

“
What is wrong with her? She is not supposed to be so sick!” Bronx continued to wipe my face, neck, and arms with the rough, damp cloth.

“She’s been trying…powers…every time she tries…the weaker she will get…” Tyler replied. My consciousness was fading in and out.

“But I need…healthier…this!”

“Then you’ll…feed her. Should I…get…girl?”

An eerie moment of silence filled the room. My mind stopped fading in and out, but I still felt horrible. Bronx finished wiping me and began to pick at my hair with what felt like a comb. “This hair color is horrid! Why did you allow her to do this?”

“It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, sir.”

“Then you should not have a problem changing it back.” Bronx was making progress with the comb as strands of hair began to flow through its teeth. They tickled the side of my face.

“Yes, sir.”

“Go get the girl.”

“If you want her hair color changed, shouldn’t I do that before she feeds?” Tyler’s voice was anxious, stressed.

“No, go get the girl now.”

“But sir,” Tyler begged, “I can’t be in a room with her after she feeds! She’ll kill me after everything she just found out!”

“Yes she will.” Bronx burst into that sinister laugh again. Then my consciousness started wavering. “I never said…you would not…punished for…advances…if she chooses…kill you…then…is your sentence.”

The last thing I remember thinking was if Tyler would return with “the girl” before it was too late. Or maybe it already was.

21

Face-to-Face

HER MELODIC VOICE WAS LIKE that of an angel, and her tender touch on my cheek felt like silk. “Abby, are you okay? Abby, it’s me. Wake up. Wake up and bite me.”

I couldn’t move, my eyes were sealed shut, and I didn’t want to bite her anyway. Why live? Why should I want to live? To be Bronx’s slave all over again. He would use my power and I’d never be able to defend myself.

What had Tyler done to me? How had I become so helpless, so defenseless? After all that fighting and training, I couldn’t even use those moves. Would drinking from Lily change that? Mostly likely not. Bronx had demolished me in the woods; whatever was happening to me had already taken me down. No powers, no senses, and no longer a will to fight.

“Abby, please,” Lily begged, “please Abby, bite me. I need you, don’t leave me here.” She brushed her neck against my lips, back and forth, trying to taunt me.

Her skin was so warm, inviting, alive. The vein thumped rapidly; vibrations danced through her neck. My tongue swelled, saliva moistening it. I parted my lips to release some of the pressure. Her neck was right there. Closer than I’d realized. My tongue stroked across it. I couldn’t stop now. I opened my mouth wider. In one swift movement my fangs pressed out, then down into her skin. The warm delicious liquid flowed like a river and my stomach was the mouth to the ocean. I could feel Lily’s body trembling. I raised my arms. They moved with ease—I was getting my strength back! I held onto her head, her soft brown hair mashed in my hands, and I drank feverishly. I was feeling better, stronger. I twisted her head slightly to the side, dug my mouth deeper into her neck. She gasped, then released a very happy sounding sigh.

I drank from her a short while longer and then sealed the wound and gently laid her on the floor. I looked around, getting my bearings. Immediately I recognized where I was: the master bathroom at Bronx’s house. Memories of trying on clothes, laughing, and talking with Lily flashed in my mind like a home video. I also noticed that some of my advanced senses were back. I took in the fragrance of Lily’s blood mixed with the lavender-scented lotion she wore, the musty smell of my dirt- and blood-stained clothes, and Bronx. He was in the master bedroom, most likely waiting to see me when I came out. At least he let me enjoy a meal before making me sick all over again.

No reason to delay this confrontation—better to just get it over with. I scooped Lily up in my arms, her gray chiffon dress crumpling against me. I walked like a human out of the bathroom, each step careful, cautious. Bronx sat in the corner, on the plush leather chair that I used to sit on when I had my “alone time.” He gazed at me with eager eyes. Muscles pulled his cheeks into a grin. I eased Lily onto the large canopy bed. It was easier to do with all those sheer white curtains removed. The bed looked more like a shell of a canopy bed now—basic, plain, undecorated. As I stood by Lily, I kept my eyes locked on Bronx. My defenses were on high alert, shock waves zinging through my body.

“Do not try to use your powers or you will become weak and frail again.” His voice full of warning. He leaned forward in the chair but didn’t get up.

“You’re a murderer! And a liar! Why? Why did you kill Meredith?”

He got up, took three human steps toward me. The grin washed off his face. He didn’t look pissed, just not happy. “It seems you already know too much.”

“So it’s true!” That was definitely a statement, not a question. I stepped back, bumped into the bed. Nowhere to go but on the bed, and I wasn’t going there.

“I guess there is no reason to keep it from you now,” he said and snickered. “Yes. Yes, I killed Meredith. She would have stood in the way of us, Abigail. I could not allow that. Once I discovered you, I wanted only you. If Meredith would have respected my wishes, she would still be alive.”

Anger surged up inside me. It would’ve taken my breath away if I had it. I closed my eyes, tried to relax. I wanted desperately to access my powers and destroy him that very minute, but the fragile condition it would put me in held me back. “You don’t want me. All you want is control over my powers, and you plan on using your ability of mind control to gain it.” I opened my eyes and stared at the floor. “So now that you have me, Bronx, why don’t you go ahead and control me? What are you waiting for, an invitation from me? Well go ahead, you evil bastard, go ahead and use my powers!”

Taking another step in my direction, stopping just a foot or two from me, he responded loudly, “You are not in any position to tell me what to do or how to do it! Do you understand me? You are not the one in control here!” He flashed forward and punched me in the face so hard I fell sideways, immediately tasting blood. Before landing I threw my hands in front of me and pushed up off the bed. I flashed back around, accidentally using my senses, and glared at him, fangs out. A growl rumbled out of my throat. My tongue massaged the inside of my cheek, where the blood was leaking. A cool sensation swept through me—I was starting to heal. There was no way to stop it. Well, that left just one thing to do if my abilities were automatic. If I was going to get run down for it, I might as well go out with a bang.

Laughter roared through my lips. In the blink of an eye I sprung up, swinging my fist right at his pretty little face. He dodged back. I just missed him. I jumped up, airborne, fist aimed, with razor-sharp focus. He lunged forward and swung back. His fist collided into mine. It felt like a big brick, sending me flying backwards. I landed on the floor, on the other side of the bed, feeling shaken and stunned. I shook my head side to side. I tried to get up. Nausea flooded through me. I stayed down—weak, pathetic, defeated. My eyes stung, tears were rolling down my cheeks. I rolled to the side and looked up.

He stood over me, eyes blazing with anger. I could almost see their tiny blue flames. “What did I just finish telling you?” My body cringed. He laughed so loud it pierced my eardrums. “You cannot use your powers or you will become sick and weak again. Do you really want to be in that state when you encounter Tyler?” His laughter trailed behind him as he flashed to the door and left the room.

His words left me angry, confused, and most of all, broken-hearted. Tyler would be coming in here? Bronx left me alone so I would have to face Tyler again? Agony swept through me as I lay on the floor cradling my chest. I tucked my knees closer up into me and prayed the next person I’d see would not be the one who’d betrayed me. But I was quickly learning that this was not my day.

I heard the door open, then close. Soft footsteps approached me. Lily sighed and then shifted around on the bed. His scent flooded my senses, confirming his identity. I jumped up, in one swift movement, eyes locked on him, glaring, challenging. There was no freaking way he was going to see the pain he’d caused me. I wasn’t bleeding anymore, thank God.

He smiled shyly, nervous. “A-Abby.” He looked down at his feet. Stared at them for a few heartbeats. “I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant for us to—”

I cut him off. There was nothing he could say to me that I wanted to hear. “Just shut up! You’re a liar and I will never believe another word from your mouth! You are no better than Bronx!” My fangs plunged out. I took a small step back.

He stood there like a statue, completely dumbfounded, speechless. His smile was gone, his green eyes looked glossy, sad. Distant memories of his arms around me, his lips kissing me, the sweet words he had said tortured me. Each minute dragging out, shrieking inside my head like fingernails on a chalkboard.
God, Tyler! Why? Why did you do this to me? How could you do this to me?
My body tensed, the memories still flooding my mind. I rolled my shoulders to ease the pressure. It helped a little. Why did I attract every piece of crap guy out there? John turned out to be such a jerk, and now Tyler. I’d completely opened my heart to him even after everything John had done to me. After everything Bronx had done. I’d let Tyler in. I’d trusted him. He’d seemed so sincere. How could I have these super-human abilities and still be blind as a bat?