Devour (5 page)

Mom
beams. I obviously said the right thing. Silently patting myself on the back, it’s my turn to grin at her. Purposely, I shove the betrayal of her telling my Dad to the back of my mind for the night. This event is special and the need to focus is overwhelming.

In no time, we’
re pulling up to a stop alongside a curb. When we exit the car, we are standing in front of a fancy nail boutique. It’s more upscale that I expected, but then again, Mom would accept nothing less for a royal engagement.

It’
s turning out to be fun. We both get pedicures and gossip like only girls can. I choose a soft, shimmery lavender for my toes. They break us up for our manicures and I mull over the events that will occur tonight.

It’s hard to
always remember that my parents have my best interests at heart and I should listen to them. They have experience and I can learn from their mistakes. Gee, that actually sounded grown up coming from me. I crack a smile and return my focus to the nail technician.

The tech is quick and does a wonderful job.
I settle on a French manicure that makes me look sophisticated. Satisfied, I wait for Mom to finish and pay. She has chosen a soft pink and it looks amazing on her.

We are giggling and comparing manicures as we step out
of the shop. Unfortunately, I’m too busy paying attention to my nails and not watching where I’m going. Suddenly I’m smacking into somebody and I stumble. Landing on my butt, it takes a moment for me to realize what just happened.

Then a hand is there,
helping me to my feet. Once I’m standing, I look up to thank the stranger for helping me up and apologize for running into him. That’s a huge mistake. This isn’t happening. I close my eyes and my brows furrow.

My eyes slowly reopen
and peer at the figure in front of me. Yep, it’s happening. It’s him. Chase. There, in front of me, stands the human that has caused me so much trouble and turned my world upside down.

His eyes penetrate mine and
they see something unexpected, recognition. Panicking, I speak in a rapid pace.

“I’m so sorry for running into you.
I should have been paying attention to where I was going. Thanks for being so kind as to help me up.”

“It’s quite alright.
It was my pleasure to help up such a beautiful woman. Tell me, Callie, how are you today?”

I f
eel my Mom stiffen next to me. All the color drains from my face in a whoosh. There is no way. Last night, I erased his mind. Butterflies struggle to break free from my stomach. I’m in pure panic mode. This has never happened to any vampire that I know of,
ever.

My eyes grow wide and it’s obvious that he’s enjoying this. If he remembers me, then he likely remembers what happened last night. He should be running the opposite direction instead of standing here, looking at me with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. Curiosity did kill the cat they say.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I say
, trying to tamp down the panic.

“It’s Chase, you know, from last night.
Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about me. I would recognize those beautiful, violet eyes anywhere. That was some night,
Callie
,” he says as he emphasizes my name.

What the hell?
My eyes dart to my Moms. I need some direction. I’m not sure what to do now. Mom looks like she’s ready to spit nails. This makes me cringe. How had I messed this situation up so badly?

“It’s nice to meet you
, Chase. I’m Callie’s Mom. Why don’t you join us for some tea so we can talk? I would love to get to know you better. My daughter has told me all about you,” she offers with a chill in her voice.

Chase hesitates, but only for a second.
He winks at me with a grin before responding. “Sure, that sounds nice. I would love to get to know Callie better. She won me over last night. I’m quite glad I ran into you all today.”

It’s possible my
Mom might have stopped breathing right then and there. I’m thankful for the chauffeur that walks around the car and opens the back door for us.

We usher
Chase in first and then Mom scoots me to the middle seat. She sits next to me and the door closes. I look over at her to gauge her emotions and am hurt to see the betrayal emanating from her, like I felt earlier in the evening.

The ride is silent and uncomfortable.
It isn’t until we reach the gates and the chauffeur flashes our pass that the silence is broken.

Chase is wide eyed,
completely in awe. The place is beautiful, I always thought so myself.

“What is this place?
Do you really live here? This is amazing.”

Th
at’s when I realize I’m in deep trouble if my Mom is bringing him into our community. Is she going to let him walk away? Maybe she can erase his memories for good. One can hope, because the only other option is one I would rather not even entertain.

“This is one of those self-sufficient communities you see in the papers.
We do just about everything ourselves here. We have lived here forever, it seems.”

It’s hard not to
notice her use of forever. He doesn’t know how literal that response is and I will not be telling him. I’m going to say as little as possible. I don’t want to dig my grave any deeper.

Silence f
alls once again as Chase takes in his surroundings. His mouth is open slightly in what I can only describe as wonder.

We finally come to a stop in front of the house and
I’m first to scramble out of the car. It’s hard trying not to freak out, but it seems inevitable. This human that has such an effect on me is here, at my home. He remembers. I’m not sure whether he is stupid or brave to come here with us.

“
You have a lovely home,” he offers.

I wince, knowing my
Mom’s response will be stiff and forced. My Mom doesn’t like humans. She thinks they are nothing but trouble. She and my Dad don’t have to hunt like Jane and I do. They are mated, so they can take blood from each other to replace the human blood.

At this
Moment, mating doesn’t seem so bad. After this incident, I think it will be nothing short of imperative to prevent another mishap with a human.

“
Thank you, won’t you please come in. Callie will show you to the sitting room and I will have tea prepared,” she replies before dismissing us in search of our maid.

Smiling
at Chase and nodding my head in the direction of the house, I open the front door. He steps through it and stops on the other side of the door, just inside the foyer. The sense of wonder is plastered across his face.

Our home is more like a modern day castle than
a house. I grew up here, so it’s something that I’ve never really thought about before now. As royalty, we entertain guests here for functions or meetings and such.

In fact, the only reason we don’t have anyone here during the blo
od ball this year is because I’m coming out. Guys from around the world will be here and they don’t get to see me until the ball, with the exception of Cody and Thayer. Other families are hosting all of them this year.

Breaking my train of thought and re
turning my attention to Chase, it’s hard to force myself to speak in a subdued tone instead of the frenzied one that is trying to surface.

“Follow me; we can have a seat just inside that set of doors.”

Pointing to the set of large, double doors on our right, I make my way to them and open them wide. Nervously, we enter and sit in two of the chairs. Chase sits across from me.

M
y eyes finally meet his. That’s a big mistake. He has this effect on me that I can’t understand. Goose bumps form on my porcelain skin and I absently rub my arms.

“Callie, I…” he gets out before my
Mother and my
father
join us. The maid follows and prepares some tea for Chase. The spell is broken. I shake my head and turn away. If my parents caught that they interrupted something, they didn’t let on.

Chase takes his tea and my
Dad clears his throat. “So, Chase, how is it you know my daughter?”

Dad
gets right down to business. That’s not a good sign. I’m in for it. Still, I’m confused by how this could have even happened. This incident defies all logic. I want to speak up. I want to shout out. This isn’t my fault. I did everything right.

Instead, I just sit
there, my eyes downcast, waiting for my father and Chase to hash out details of last night so I can determine just what is going to happen to me.

“Sir, I met her at a club last night and was quite taken with her.
She is truly unique and beautiful.”

Those words penetrate my thick skin and I want to melt.
For the moment, I wish he isn’t human but that he is a vampire. Instead, he’s human and this is a serious situation. The difference could mean life or death to either of us.

Dad
takes a second to absorb his statement before replying. “Please, what do you remember about last night?”

“To be honest, I remember everything.
We met at the club and hit it off. Callie is beautiful and I was thrilled to have caught her attention. We danced for quite a while before we went back to my place.”

My
Mom goes ashen. She knows what happened after that because I told her. This is not good. So far he hasn’t come out and said it, but it appears that he remembers
all
of it. My Dad is going to blow a gasket.

“She went back to your place last night?
I hope you were a perfect gentleman to my little girl.”

“Yes
, sir, I was completely respectful. I am curious as to why she left like she did, considering we were getting along quite well.”

I frown
. “What do you mean why I left like I did?”

“You’
re a vampire aren’t you? You drank my blood, told me to forget and left. How could I actually forget something that amazing? I’ve never felt anything like that in my entire life.”

My
Dad slams his fist down on the table, making the tea set shake. “That’s enough. I’ve heard more than enough of this debacle. Chase, you are going to be our guest indefinitely until we figure out how to handle this. I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to leave until we have sorted things out. “

My heart s
inks. I’m so screwed. My night went from bad to worse in a matter of minutes. He remembers. How can that be possible? I sure hope my parents believe my innocence.

“No offense, but I have a life to get back to and staying in a house full of vampires sounds like a sketchy pla
n.”

“Your life will be just fine on hold.
You should be more concerned as to why you’re here. We’re not the danger, you are.”

It only takes a few minutes for me to realize what is going on.  They drugged his tea.  He could care less about much of anything at this point.  All I can do is turn away in dismay.

Dad presses on the intercom and calls for the maid, dismissing the argument with Chase. She scurries through the door and bows in front of my Dad. “Yes, sir?” she asks politely.

“Please see our guest to the east wing, red room please.
He will be staying with us for a while.”

The maid look
s at Chase skeptically. She knows he’s human and isn’t sure why he is here. She’s smart enough to nod and lead him away.

Just before Chase le
aves the room, he turns and looks at me. “It was great to see you again Callie. I hope I will be seeing you around,” he says with a goofy look on his face.

Then
, just like that, he’s gone and I’m left with the mess. I have to face Mom and Dad alone. Why is this happening to me?

As soon as the door shut
s, silence descends. I’ve never seen my parents this quiet before. It terrifies me. I’m not sure what to expect now. Finally, I can’t take it anymore and break the blanket of silence.

“I swear I took his me
mories like I always do. I’d never, ever jeopardize this family and what we have here.”