Unrequited (7 page)

Will could feel a sense of satisfaction emanating from Elaine Wallace. He ventured to guess that next week he would see the entire Wallace family sitting in a church pew.

Frank Wallace entered the room, followed closely by his son, whom Will had yet to meet.

“So you're a vampire, huh?” Calvin Wallace said the moment he saw Will.

“Um, yes, I am. You must be Calvin.” Will reached out to shake the twelve-year-old boy's hand.

“This is so cool. Have you killed lots of people? If you haven't, you should. You could create a vampire army,” Calvin chattered excitedly.

“Be quiet, Calvin,” Ashton hissed at her little brother as she took the seat closest to Will.

“As you see, not everyone in this family is forlorn about our new set of circumstances.” Frank smiled and actually laughed.

Will found Calvin's demeanor refreshing. He guessed from a kid's point of view, having vampires around might seem pretty entertaining. Hopefully his new fan would be discreet and keep the family secret.

Everyone took a seat. Will sat himself beside Ashton. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to him, that they should be side by side at the table. Elaine began passing around the food. Will politely helped himself to some of the fare. He noticed Ashton had not taken any food.

“I know eating is kind of pointless, but think of it like practice for when you're in public.” Will leaned toward Ashton and whispered in her ear. She hesitated, and then took a few items and put them on her plate. If Will wasn't mistaken, her hesitation was born out of a reluctance to follow his lead, and not a reluctance to eat.

Noticing the prying eyes of the others, Will addressed everyone at the table.

“I find once you get used to the blandness, you can pretty much chew your way through anything. No offense, Mrs. Wallace. I'm sure everything tastes wonderful.” Will tried to correct himself.

“Oh, don't worry, dear. I know what you mean, and I think it’s good advice for Ashton.” Elaine smiled at the man sitting beside her eldest child, and she seemed to have a look of relief in her eyes.

***

Lunch was over, and Will had jumped up to help her mom clean the table. As the two happily chatted, Ashton looked at her mother, and could see a joy in her eyes that had been missing for quite some time. The past year had been difficult for her parents, her mother in particular.

“I know you're suffering. I'm suffering, too. I wish I could change this for you,” her mom called to her, but Ashton refused to open the locked bathroom door.

Ashton had shut herself inside after getting into an argument with Calvin. He had asked to check her mouth for fangs, and she'd become enraged at her family's casual attitude about her condition.

“You all act like this isn't a big deal, like I can just go on like before. You don't understand what it's like for me. I can't have friends. I can't ever get married or have children. My life is over, and you don't seem to understand. You don't have to worry every single day like I do!” Ashton shouted through the door.

“We worry. How could you think we don't worry? Children are supposed to outlive their parents, but they aren't supposed to live forever. The thought that you will be in the world, alone, for centuries…it terrifies me. Who will protect you? Who will love you? How can you have any true happiness if you force yourself away from the world? What peace can I ever have, knowing I have to leave you one day?” Her mother's words turned into unintelligible sobs.

Ashton opened the door to the sight of her father kneeling beside her mother on the floor.

“Honey, we are trying to go on as normal because we want you to go on as normal when we're gone. Don't you see? We're doing this because we love you.” Her dad grabbed her and pulled her down into his embrace.

After that night, Ashton had tried to soothe her parents’ worries by agreeing to their plans. She would go to school, and she would try to go about life in a typical way. Even so, she had continued to see the troubled looks in her mother and father's eyes. Somehow Will Leighton's presence was easing their fears, and for that reason alone, she knew she should try to get along with him.

As she watched Will roll up his sleeves and start washing dishes, he suddenly turned and flashed her a smile. A small, unexpected thrill flew through Ashton, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. As soon as she had the thought, she let it go. School girl crushes were never her thing, and gothic paranormal romances were not going to be either.

***

Will said goodbye to the Wallace’s and got into his car. He felt like the afternoon had gone rather well. There had been lots of questions. Most of them were myths he quickly dispelled. Frank had wondered about blood and remarked that Ashton hadn't had any since her change.

“It probably seems strange that a life which begins with the taking and giving of blood could ever continue without it. But the blood isn't completely necessary, as you've already discovered. I don't partake in it either, but from what I know, it makes you stronger and gives you more endurance. For vampires like Ashton and I, the lack of blood makes us tired, so we sleep at night to refuel. If we were feeding, we wouldn’t need to sleep and we wouldn’t tire in the sun as easily. If injured, blood is necessary to heal as well. We may be immortal, but it doesn't mean we can't get hurt. Something about the change makes it impossible to heal unless we drink blood.”

Ashton had questioned his knowledge, as he didn’t know any other vampires, and had already admitted to never drinking blood.

“I have a good friend. He is a professor in Athens, Dr. Henry Pike. We've known each other for well over forty years, and he is somewhat of an expert in vampires and other paranormal entities. Though I grant you, most of what I know was discovered through trial and error, and some of it is speculation. The important thing to know is that your life can be pretty normal if you just embrace the changes you have to, and choose to focus on the good things you still have.” Will had hoped his words would get through the shields Ashton had built around herself.

He had tried to broach the topic of how she became a vampire, but Ashton had quickly changed the subject. She didn’t even ask how he had changed. It was clear the entire subject was off limits for her. As he neared his house, Will remembered something he hadn't taken much notice of at the time. When he had mentioned Athens, Ashton had bristled slightly. Why?

Under other circumstances, he might not try to find out, but Henry was right. Her attack meant there was at least one vampire out there who could be a threat to others. Will needed to know more so he could figure out what to do. For now, he would leave it alone. Great progress had been made, and he had plenty of time to persuade Ashton to open up to him.

Will entered his home, loosened his tie, and took off his jacket. As he walked toward his bedroom, he stopped as he neared the kitchen. He looked through the doorway to the small breakfast table and wondered what it would be like to see Ashton sitting there in the mornings. For all her stubborn bravado, he felt things he had not experienced in a very long time. He hoped he hadn't given himself away, but from the moment he had entered the Wallace house, he had wanted to impress Ashton's parents. More importantly, he wanted to impress Ashton.

He quickly changed out of his church clothes, walked to the living room, and picked up the phone. He couldn’t wait to call and tell Henry about his day.

Chapter Ten

“Mama, are you seriously going to let him wear that?” Ashton was staring at her brother as he twirled around the living room in a long black cape. Halloween was just around the corner, and her brother was excited.

“Come on, sis, you should be flattered.” Calvin threw his caped arm across his face and slowly marched toward his sister.

“I vant to suck your blood.” He laughed an evil laugh and ran off before Ashton could grab him.

“Oh, calm down. He's a twelve-year-old boy going to a Halloween party. Besides, he’s just trying to get under your skin.” Elaine was working diligently on sewing medals onto a vest for Calvin's costume.

“You're doing a pretty fair share of helping him.” Ashton knew she was being prickly about the whole thing, but she really wished Calvin wasn't so gung-ho about the vampire stuff.

Halloween was a few days away, and Ashton was bombarded by images of vampires and monsters everywhere she went. She used to love dressing up and taking part, but this year she wanted no piece of it. She had a fleeting thought of asking Will how he dealt with the holiday, but she pushed the notion away. His presence in her life was still something she couldn’t fully embrace.

“What are you going to go as? Will said the students dress up at school, and the class with the most participation gets some sort of prize.”

Ashton was endlessly amazed at her mother's ability to act like everything was normal. Didn’t she see the sick irony of a vampire celebrating Halloween?

“If the goal is to dress up as something you aren’t, then I am going to go as an average teenage girl.” Ashton stood and walked out the front door. There was something appealing about a walk right now.

A breeze hit her the moment she opened the door. The weather was starting to become a little cooler. Ashton had always loved autumn. There was nothing as invigorating as a walk on a slightly chilly day. She pulled a sweatshirt on as she left her porch and smiled up at the overcast sky.

The signs of fall were dotting the small town of Belle Ridge. Every house was decorated with webs and ghosts and carved pumpkins. Some yards had scarecrows and haystack displays. As she walked, she passed Aimee's house. Even from the sidewalk she could hear music pouring out of her friend's window. For a moment, Ashton thought about stopping in to say “hello,” but kept walking instead.

As she wandered, her thoughts turned to the same topics that always occupied her mind. Questions about her life, her future, and her family were constantly swirling around in her head. There was one question she tried to stay away from though, because somehow it was the one which scared her the most. How long is forever?

Ashton walked without any particular destination in mind, and suddenly found herself standing in front of Will Leighton's house.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Ashton said out loud to no one. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Will's yard looked like something out of a nightmare. There were bodies hanging from the trees. A cemetery was placed on one side of the yard. A life-size mummy stood on the front porch, and there were at least fifty black bats stuck on the siding of the house.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” a voice called out.

Ashton looked for the source and saw Will was now on the porch, placing a large carved pumpkin on the top step. Once he'd set it down, he walked toward Ashton.

“I thought I couldn’t top last year's display, but the mummy really adds something special.” He stood next to Ashton now, gazing upon his creation with pride.

She stared at him in pure astonishment. There had been many moments where Will's behavior didn’t seem to match what she had thought a vampire should be, but this moment topped them all. A large smile was covering his face, and he moved his arm in a way that made Ashton think he was going to place it around her shoulder as they gazed upon the house together. The feeling of excitement she’d felt for him once before ran through her again, but was replaced by one of embarrassment when she realized he was simply shaking his arm to get some fake spider webs off.

“You like Halloween?” she finally asked, trying to drag her mind away from thoughts of Will's arm, and the fact that she wouldn't exactly have hated feeling it embrace her.

“Of course I like it. I love it. It's the one time of year where anything goes. When else can you have a bloody dummy hanging from a tree?” He turned to Ashton, his eyes full of mirth. “If I had a bloody dummy hanging from my tree in the middle of summer, people would think I was a serial killer.”

Ashton understood his point, but the dummy wasn't part of her confusion.

“No, I mean, how do you celebrate a holiday where people go around dressing like vampires? Doesn't it make you feel uncomfortable?” For once she wanted this guy to acknowledge that being a vampire was difficult and awkward, and not some sort of pleasure cruise.

“Last time I checked, I don't wear a cape. I also don't have fangs or a pointy hairline. So I don't see how anyone ever dresses up like a
real
vampire. But most importantly, some things are only as difficult as you choose to make them. I think Halloween is fun. I love handing out candy to all the little kids. I think it’s fun seeing grownups walk around dressed as superheroes and cowboys. What's so uncomfortable about that?”

Ashton hated to admit it, but he did have a point.

“So this is how you spend your time? Year after year, just going along like everyone else? Doesn't it get old? Don't you get bored?” Her desire for answers overrode her resolve to stay detached.

“I don't get bored. I'm a teacher, and by that virtue I'm also a student. The world is always changing. New discoveries are made every day, and I'm in a position to take advantage of the universe and everything it has to offer. I've read more books than I can say. I've learned to play the piano, the guitar, and the violin…well, I attempted to learn the violin. I speak two other languages, and on top of that, I've spent the last century meeting interesting people.” Will smiled. “The time is what you make of it. So you see, you will have no one but yourself to blame if you get bored.” He finished speaking and looked at her, slightly biting his lip, as though he were contemplating something.

Ashton wasn't sure how to respond. Even with his smiles and his teasing, she couldn’t escape the feeling that he was always trying to get inside her mind.