Past Life (22 page)

“
Nearly killing yourself in the process! Yes, very helpful, thank you!” He took a deep breath. “What are you doing up so early anyway?” he asked.

“
Couldn't sleep,” she said. “I guess that being unconscious helped me to catch up on my sleep.”

The real reason was actually the gruesome dreams she'd been having, but she didn't want to worry Dante.

As he turned around, he saw that Frankie had gotten back under the covers and was glaring at him, the quilt pulled up to her chin in a childlike way. She looked so fragile that he found he couldn't stay irritated at her. He sighed.

“
I'm sorry,” he said. “It's not you that I'm upset with.”

“
It wasn't your fault,” Frankie said, her glare softening at his apology.

“
Frankie, you nearly died.”

“
No I didn't. And even if I did, I'm fine now.”

Dante shook his head, she was so damn stubborn!

“
Tell me the truth,” he asked. “Did you fall because I made you jump or because you moved too quickly and became dizzy?”

She frowned as she considered his question.

“
Okay, maybe I'm not
completely
back to normal yet, but I'm fine.”

“
No you're not. Can't you at least slow down for a few days?”

“
No.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because I can't, that's not who I am.”

“
Only because you don't think that you can rely on anyone else.”

“
Like who?”

“
Your parents are in the next room; I'm sure they'd like the opportunity to look after you for a while.”

“
They've already proved that they suck at it.”

“
Then me,” he said, sitting next to her on the bed. “This is my fault, after all, let me help you.”

“
This is not your fault!” she reiterated. “If you hadn't fed from me, we'd probably both still be there.”

“
But I couldn't stop,” he said, reaching one hand out and softly caressing her cheek, as though she were made of the finest china. “I haven't felt hunger like that in centuries and the thought that I might have-”

“
Shh,” she cut him off with a finger over his lips. She then took his hand in both of hers. “All's well that ends well, Mum used to say. Maybe you'd prefer it if I was shouting and yelling at you but right now, I'm just glad that you're okay. That we're both okay.”

He stared at her for a moment and finally nodded.

“
Okay, you win; I won't say anything else about it-”

“
Good,” she smiled.

“
If you take some of my blood.”

She looked as though she were about to argue but his expression was firm.

“
All right, fine, but just a little.”

Dante went to bite his wrist but, Frankie put her hand on his arm to stop him. With her lying and he sitting it would be awkward, so she flipped the other side of the quilt down and gestured for him to get in.

Dante looked a little hesitant.

“
Frankie, uh... blood and... well, sex don't always have to-”

Frankie laughed, which rather spoilt his magnanimous mood.

“
You're cute but you're not
that
cute,” she smiled. “Even when I'm back to normal, somehow I think I'll manage to resist you.”

Dante just stared at her for a moment until she stopped laughing.

“
I'm sorry,” she apologised. “You were just so earnest, I couldn't resist. Come on, you'll be taking the bed soon anyway so I just thought it would be easier if we were on the same level. And besides, you own me an explanation, remember, and I'm guessing that won't be a quick tale.”

Agreeing with her, he nodded.

“
Will it cause a misunderstanding if I take my shoes off first?” he gently teased.

“
No. In fact, removal of all clothes, except boxers, is allowable.”

“
How do you know I wear boxers?” he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“
Let's just say, I got to see more than I wanted to when I touched the bed in your apartment.”

“
And did you like what you saw?”

“
Eh, I'd give you a five, I guess. If I'm being generous.” Frankie smiled.

“
Out of?” he asked, suspicious of her words.

“
Ten, of course.”

Dante laughed, pleased that the tension seemed to have broken. He stood up and began to undress as he walked around the bed.

“
That's what you say now,” he told her. “But if I wake up to find we're spooning, I'm taking a picture and putting it on Facebook.”

“
I don't have Facebook.” Frankie laughed.

“
Twitter then.”

“
I don't tweet.”

“
You are aware that it's the twenty first century, right?” he asked as he climbed in beside her.

“
Yes, I just don't see the point in being a twit,” she said as he made himself comfortable.

He brought his wrist to his lips and bit down; Frankie raised herself up a little and when he offered her the wrist, she put her lips to the wound and swallowed a few mouthfuls.

“
That's enough,” she said, pushing his arm away.

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yes.”

Dante licked the excess blood from his wrist until the wound closed.

“
What's up?” he asked.

“
Nothing's up,” she said, turning onto her side to face him.

“
I know you've taken vampire blood before so why are you so hesitant now? It's not like it's addictive or dangerous.”

“
I just...” she looked into his eyes for a long moment before seemingly deciding to trust him. “The last person who gave me blood was Josh. I know it's stupid but somehow taking it from someone else just seems... callous, somehow.”

“
It's not stupid,” he said. “I know that he loved you, but I didn't realise that you cared so much for him.”

“
That's just it, I'm honestly not sure how I feel about him. I do care about him, or at least I did but...”

“
Shh,” he urged as she struggled to explain her feelings. Josh had told Dante about Frankie's dating history, which basically consisted of one relationship. As strong and brave as she was, when it came to relationships she was like a teenager; floundering in new waters and trying to make sense of how she felt. Dante hadn't understood what he meant but now he could see for himself. She didn't understand it, maybe she felt guilty about it since she'd been dating Alex at the time, but she had loved Josh as well, or at the very least, cared deeply for him.

“
You don't have to explain yourself to me,” he said, smiling. “But Josh is more than just one moment. I'm not saying it was unimportant, but it was just one memory.”

“
That's easy for you to say, you have four lifetimes of memories. I only knew him for a few months.”

“
But he allowed you to see a part of him that hardly anyone else got to see. He wasn't just the badass that most people think; underneath that he was a warm and caring man. He showed you his heart and let you see him when he was vulnerable. Remember that, because that's who he really was.”

“
Thank you,” she said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

“
The bruise on your throat has gone already,” he said.

“
I can feel,” she said, smiling slightly. “Thanks.”

“
Any time.”

“
Now, I think you owe me a story.”

“
Ah,” his easy countenance fled, to be replaced by a rather haunted look. “Where to start?” he asked himself.

“
Try the beginning,” she said. “I've got time.”

“
That would be the orphanage,” he began. “I had a brother there; we were found together, he was about two, I was thought to be just under a year old. Our parents were never found so the monks named us Francesco and Dante. I don't remember any of this, of course, but Francesco  filled in the gaps for me over the years. We both looked very similar, but we were as different as night and day in our temperament. I was always fighting, arguing, pushing the boundaries. Francesco was much quieter, content to go unnoticed and blend in.

“
When I decided to leave, I asked him to come with me but he always refused, so finally I went without him. I think he was afraid of what the brothers would do if they caught us. I wanted to go back and check on him so many times but I was afraid of being caught too, so I stayed away and then after I met Josh, we moved so that the monks couldn't find me. I sent Francesco a letter to let him know that I was safe and being cared for, but obviously I couldn't include a return address.

“
Josh still had contacts in the town so I heard news of important events, like when he got married, but it was always just the barest of details. These days I could just follow him on Twitter, but back then communication was so slow that it was almost impossible to keep track of him. Then, about seventy years after I had left, I decided to go back. I thought that Francesco would be dead by then, but perhaps I could find someone to tell me about his life. I had left town before puberty hit, so I knew that I wasn't in much danger of being recognised as that boy.”

Dante's eyes were staring over Frankie shoulder, off into the distant past and a smiled graced his lips as he continued.

“
By some miracle he was still alive. Very frail and half-blind but he was still alive. I couldn't tell him who I really was, so I told him that I was Dante's grandson. He was so pleased to see me; wanted to know all about what I had been up to, if I had ever married, if I was happy. His wife had died a few years earlier but he introduced me to his seven children, his grandchildren and he even had two great-grandchildren. He had told them a lot of stories about me over the years, and the adventurous life I had led; there was very little truth to his tales, of course, but I went along with it.”

Frankie was beginning to wonder what this had to do with Pietro when he finally got to the point.

“
I suppose I was so happy to see him again, to be around family for the first time in decades, that I was a little indiscreet. Francesco's youngest son in particular, took a real shine to me and I to him. He would come and visit me in my rooms during the day and he asked so many questions about my 'grandfather'. I should have spotted the signs earlier, but I'm ashamed to say that I overlooked any flaws in his character. I looked more like his son than his uncle, but that didn't stop how I felt about him. I never had my own family, so this relationship was priceless to me.”

Dante fell silent then, his smile long since gone as he prepared to tell her the rest of the tale.

“
How long did you stay for?” Frankie asked when he hadn't spoke for a long while.

Dante looked at her, as though only just noticing that she was still here.

“
Two years.”

That surprised Frankie, she had been expecting to hear a few months, not years.

“
I settled there,” he explained. “I wanted to be with my brother until he died and I had a few scores to settle with the monks. Pietro eventually became my day man and I trusted him with my true identity. Of course I made sure that he couldn't tell anyone else, just as I did with Will but...” he sighed deeply. “But it didn't matter, he didn't need to tell anyone else.

“
It turned out that I had been blind to his true nature. He was sadistic, evil, cruel, and had been developing a love of the dark arts long before I returned. Somehow I found excuses for the few incidents I witnessed, but mostly he was a good actor. I don't know how long he had been planning it but a few days after my brother died, he knocked me unconscious and took me to a room he had prepared for me.”

“
How could he overpower you?” Frankie asked.

“
Simple, he came up behind me and hit me over the head. I trusted him, I had no reason to fear him. The room he took me to had been rigged with a lever and pulley system, which allowed him to drop rocks on my head from a distance, knocking me out cold while he drained me of my blood.”

He fell silent again and Frankie squeezed his hand.

“
The first time I woke up I was shackled with silver cuffs, I had a pounding headache and hardly a drop of blood left, I still didn't understand what was happening... He'd left a woman in there with me, her hands were securely tied behind her back so that she couldn't free me. I compelled her to try, obviously, but it was impossible. Instead I fed from her to heal myself so that I might stand a better chance of escaping. I had never known hunger like it, but I managed not to kill her.”