Indulgence (224 page)

I sensed that Vincent could tell something was bothering me.
Not that this was difficult to figure out; I had barely said a word since
leaving the cottage. I just couldn’t shake the nightmare because it was
incredibly disturbing on so many levels. I had always believed that dreams were
the mind’s way of jumbling a bunch of real memories together and regurgitating
them in a different way, but this dream was no jumbled mess of memories. I
couldn’t imagine how my mind could conjure up such a disturbing scene of us as
vampires in a forest with two unsuspecting victims. Even worse was how real the
vision had felt; the pain in my stomach, the hardened skin on my face, and the
overwhelming feeling of satisfaction and fullness when I drank the man’s blood.
I shuddered at the thought. The dream felt so lifelike it was threatening, and
that kept me from talking about it. I had no idea how to explain it all to
Vincent. It was unfathomable to me how my mind could present something so
horrendous.

I stared out the passenger window of the Corvette hoping the
passing scenery would erase the appalling images and feelings. It was early
evening and the sun was setting against a sky rich in shades of gray and
purple. The steady stream of rain seemed to be subsiding and raindrops
glistened on the baring tree branches. On a normal day, the scene would be
quite tranquil, but today it wasn’t enough to expunge the ugliness trapped in
my mind.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about your dream?”
Vincent insisted.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“You know, sometimes talking about it helps.” Vincent threw
me a reassuring glance.

I sighed heavily, realizing he just wasn’t going to give up.
And unlike the cottage, where I could go outside and avoid Vincent, I was
trapped here in the car. I had no escape, at least not until we got back to my
house. And if his antics at the cottage were any indication, he was going to
badger me all the way home.

“It was just a disturbing dream that I don’t know how to
explain.”

“Well why don’t you tell me and maybe I can help figure it
out with you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why do you want to know so badly?”

“I don’t like to see you like this. You aren’t yourself. I
think if you talked about it, you would discover what the dream was trying to
tell you.”

“Kind of like a hidden message?”

“Something like that.”

It was a good point, but Vincent hadn’t a clue about what I
had seen and felt last night. There was no way this dream had any kind of
hidden message.

“Fine, but I’m warning you, it’s a weird one.” I smiled at
Vincent and he returned the gesture.

“I’m all ears.”

“Well, we were both in the dream,” I started.

“And you consider that a nightmare?” Vincent joked.

I smirked and continued. “We were in this strange place. It
was a forest of sorts. It was dark and colorless, lifeless for that matter. The
trees were gray and leafless and blended into the black sky and the place
smelled terrible. Anyway, I was there and in tremendous pain. It was the worst
stomachache I’ve ever experienced times a thousand. It was this awful burning
that churned in my stomach. On top of that, I looked horrible, like a mummified
monster. My skin was hard and discolored and my hair was falling out. I heard
what I thought was your voice calling me so I followed it and found you. Only
you didn’t look like you. You looked ill too, but not mummified like me. You
looked malnourished, I guess. You took my hand and the scene changed to where
you and I were sitting on a couch with two strangers, a man and a woman, who
were clearly unaware of the danger around them.”

“Danger? Because you weren’t feeling well and looked awful?”
Vincent teased.

“Yes, danger,” I replied, ignoring his attempt at a joke.
“You, uh, went first and then I followed.”

“I don’t quite follow you.”

“You, um -- bit the woman,” I said, discomfort clearly
apparent in my voice.

“I bit the woman?” Vincent asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes. Like a vampire,” I confessed before rushing into the
rest of my explanation. “But then I bit the man and it was horrible. I cast him
aside like he meant nothing but I felt great about what I had just done, like I
was reborn. I felt better physically, and my appearance changed back to normal.
It felt so real and so right. It was quite disturbing.”

There was a long pause as I stared straight ahead through
the wet windshield. I was afraid to look over and see Vincent’s reaction. I
could tell by the peaks and valleys in the road that we were getting closer to
my house. That was a good thing. After my ridiculous revelation, I was planning
to lock myself in my room and duck my head under the covers and hide myself
from Vincent. He had to think I was a complete lunatic after hearing my dream.

“Hmm,” Vincent purred from the driver’s seat as he
downshifted around a corner.

“Excuse me?”

“Huh? What?” Vincent asked. He apparently was deep in
thought over something.

“What are you mulling over?” I couldn’t possibly believe he
could be thinking that hard about my ghastly dream. There was no way to
interpret it, to make sense of it. It was just a bunch of nonsensical stuff.

“Your dream,” Vincent responded matter-of-factly.

“First, it was a nightmare. And second, what could be so
interesting? It means nothing!”

“If it means nothing, then why do you suppose it bothers you
so much?”

I threw myself back into my seat. “Because it was disturbing
on so many levels.” I paused. “Yet it felt so real.”

Vincent was quiet as we rounded another corner. He looked
like he was thinking about something again.

“What?” I asked. I was getting irritated that he was making
so much out of nothing at all.

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh no, come on…what is it? You made me tell you my
ridiculous nightmare; you can surely tell me what you are thinking.” I couldn’t
wait to hear his interpretation of my horrific dream.

“Okay,” Vincent said, turning his head to look at me. “What
if it’s true?” He narrowed his eyes as he asked the question with intense
sincerity.

“What if what’s true?”

“Your dream, of course.” Vincent was serious and wasn’t
giving any signs that he was joking.

“Oh come on! You can’t be serious?”

“But I am. What if we are vampires?”

His comment was so absurd I almost didn’t respond. “I’d have
to say you need to get your head examined. There’s no such thing as vampires.”

“Have you ever thought about it?”

“Thought about what? Being a vampire?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, that’s something I think about all the time. Come on
Vincent, knock it off. Are we really having this discussion? Vampires aren’t
real.”

Vincent chuckled softly as he turned into my driveway.

“Oh, but they are my dear.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, the nonsense that was
coming out of Vincent’s mouth. He had to be pulling my leg, but he had one heck
of a poker face going on. Vampires? The thought was beyond ludicrous.

“What are you looking for?” Vincent asked.

I pushed my face closer to the passenger window, pretending
to look for something. “A full moon. That’s the only explanation for your wacky
behavior right now.”

“There’s nothing wacky, as you say, about my behavior.
Allison, have you ever really paid attention to the world around you? Vampires
do exist.”

I had had about enough of this garbage. We had spent a
couple of wonderful days together, and now he was pulling this weirdo act on
me. I couldn’t imagine why he would be doing this to me, especially now. I felt
like my life was finally falling back into place after my accident and now I
was going to find out that my companion was off his rocker.

Vincent parked the car in the garage and I immediately
jumped out and grabbed my bag out of the back. I snatched the keys from his
grasp and hurriedly unlocked the house door, flinging my bag inside.

“What’s wrong, Allison?” Vincent called after me.

“Seriously? Get out of my house!” I shouted at Vincent as I
stormed into the kitchen.

What’s wrong
, I thought! He couldn’t be serious. He
wanted me to consider that vampires actually existed and he had the nerve to
ask me what was
wrong
?

“Please consider it,” Vincent stated.

“Excuse me?” I stopped in my tracks and twirled around.

“Just let me explain,” Vincent calmly beseeched in his
smooth voice as he followed me into the kitchen.

“Explain what?” I felt a rush of blood go straight to my
face as anger swelled inside of me. “You expect me to believe that
you
are a vampire? That
I
am a vampire? Do you know how ridiculous that
sounds? Vampires…do…not…exist!” I snarled each word individually, my nostrils
flaring. “Why are you doing this to me? Why now? I was starting to feel normal
again, to understand my life and everything that has happened over the past
three years and you spring this absurd consideration on me?” I broke down in
sobs.

Vincent ignored my questions and spoke in a calm voice. “The
dreams you have been having, they are trying to tell you something.”

I paused and took a few short shallow breaths. “How do you
know what I dream about?” I asked coldly.

“Look at me,” he gently commanded in a soft voice as he
grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him.

“Look at me, Allison.” Vincent placed a scorching finger
under my chin and lifted my head to meet his gaze. His touch was much hotter
than it had been earlier. He placed his other arm around my waist. “This is
what you dream about.”

Suddenly, the dream flashed before me in broken segments,
but I could make out enough to realize that it was indeed my dream, the one I
craved each night when I went to bed. There was the garden with all of the
tropical flowers, the canopy of trees and the animals roaming freely. Then the
scene fluttered and I saw the stream and a bridge. The vision flickered again
and I was floating over flat lands and valleys filled with tall grasses. Then
the tree appeared, with its glittering fruit swaying in the breeze, throwing
off prisms of color. The final scene showed the stranger biting the fruit and
the serpent attacking the man.

I gasped as I pulled away from Vincent. “What in the hell…”
I stared in disbelief, my breathing labored.
How did I just see that
, I
thought. I searched Vincent’s face for an answer but didn’t find it. He just
stared into my eyes, waiting for my reaction.

“If you won’t leave my house, then I will!” I exclaimed.

I grabbed the first set of keys my hands came upon in the
drawer and charged out the door into the garage. I rolled my eyes as I realized
I grabbed my motorcycle key. I guessed I was going for a ride in the wet
elements. I threw my leg over the motorcycle and stuck the key in the ignition.
I had no idea where I was going, but I needed to get away from Vincent, whoever
he was. Or whatever he was.

“Allison, where are you going?” Vincent yelled over the roar
of my engine.

I threw on a pair of clear riding glasses but didn’t bother
putting my helmet on; I just needed to get away. Fast.

I laid a patch on the garage floor, spinning the bike
towards the door and released the clutch. I was out of the garage on my way to
nowhere very fast. I didn’t even stop at the end of the driveway to see if
traffic was coming as I turned onto the country road. Anger burned inside of
me. Vincent had to be out of his mind. How dare he tell me such nonsense and
expect me to believe it.

My entire being was so consumed with anger that I didn’t
even realize how easily I was navigating the twisting, wet road ways. The
ground, still moist from the earlier rain, was way too treacherous for a
motorcycle. Yet I leaned into each turn, my motorcycle hugging the wet pavement
as if the riding conditions were ideal. I broke to the right and to the left
and then up a hill and found a straightaway. I pulled in the clutch, shifted
into fifth gear and opened the throttle. The cool, damp air felt pleasant on my
skin which was starting to burn, probably from the anger and contempt I now
felt for Vincent. The faster I rode, the less I thought of him. It was as if
the wind against my face removed any thought of him. A severe right turn
approached and I down shifted, still taking the turn with too much speed, but
easily rolled through it.

Lights in my side mirrors caught my attention. I looked down
at my speedometer. I was doing 85 in a 55 mile per hour zone.
Better slow
down,
I thought;
could be a cop
. The light drew closer and I
realized there was only one headlight – a motorcycle headlight. It was late in
the evening, and there was only one other person who would be out in the dark,
in the middle of nowhere and in the rain on a motorcycle. Vincent.

Anger swelled in me again so I sped up. I saw a sign in the
far distance that I easily read. It said ‘Whipps Ledges.’ In the summer months,
Whipps Ledges was a favorite spot for many locals. It was a forested park
filled with caves and cliffs that attracted hikers, rock climbers, nature
lovers and the occasional group of high school kids looking for a spot to smoke
some pot. But no one would be there at this time of night or at this time of
year. It would be much too dangerous to try to navigate the rocky terrain in
the rain and dark.

I sped to the sign, down shifted and took a hard left into
the parking lot. I shifted my bike into neutral, pocketed my key and took off
for the woods.

I again didn’t think about what I was doing. It was pitch
black and I was entering the woods, a place that frightened me enough during
the daylight, let alone this time of night. And a lunatic, who claimed that
both he and I were vampires, was on my tail. Leading him into the woods
probably wasn’t the brightest idea.