A Cup of Restraint

Chapter 2

"Do you," he cleared his throat nervously, "I mean, um, would you like to go to dinner with me later? After work?" He anxiously ran his hand through his already disheveled dark hair.

"I would love to, David," I said softly, now slightly becoming aware of the entire kitchen watching our little interlude. None, thought, was more outspoken than our dear Kelley.

She made a very audible huffing noise and brushed past us pouting, making sure to bump my shoulder very hard. However, I knew it ended up hurting her more than me.

David and I casually went back to our appropriate stations, as the kitchen became alive again. Our distance, however, did nothing to restrain our thoughts. These thoughts were the most probable reason why we kept giving each other long glances across the room. He smiled with a particular lopsided quirk that I'd never seen before, and it made my heart (for lack of a better term) jump with excitement.

The rationalist inside me flared at this instant. How could you do this to him? This is wrong on so many levels, and you need to think wisely about what position this puts him in! One of absolute danger. It was completely unsafe for me to get involved with a human. The rationalist won that argument…temporarily.

But the memory of being in love was still strong in me. I remember every detail of that raw emotion, though it's been over eighty years now. I was torn away from that blissful and promising life all those years ago, and now the part in me that still longed to be a frail human in love was overpowering as I continued to stare at the beautiful David.

He was so…innocent looking. Even though he looked older than twenty-one. He deserved someone better than me. Someone who could give him life, not death.

But the way he looked at me! And there again, he glanced up, catching me studying him, and flashed that crooked grin. He looked back down, concentrating (or trying to) as he prepared to slice another apple.

I watched him, praying silently that he wouldn't actually cut himself. I don't think I would be able to resist the lure of his spilt blood after what emotions he's already stirred in my stone cold heart.

He sliced and was successful. I exhaled slowly, not realizing that I was holding my breath, and looked at the clock on the opposite wall. Just an hour to go before I could start to really enjoy myself. The romantic had officially defeated the rationalist for today.

Watching David eat had almost been as fun as watching his lips move when he spoke throughout dinner. He was even more intoxicating than I had realized, but not all because of his appealing scent. His mind and nature had me spinning too, which frightened me for his sake. However, I would cross that bridge when (or preferably if) I came to it.

He gallantly decided to walk me home through town, and though I had declared it wasn't necessary, I inwardly hoped that he would insist, which was just what he did. We strolled slowly in the moonlight, listening to the distant sounds of the city life on the main street. The sun had long since lost it's daily territorial dispute with the moon, and it was now basking us in a blanket of silvery glow. It could officially be classified as a beautiful night since it was not raining; an extremely rare occasion. That was why I lived in this city.

"That's amazing," David said in awe at the last thing I said. "I've played piano almost all my life too! I'd love to hear you play sometime!" He glanced at me sideways as we walked, and I smiled back at him, a mixture of feelings stirring in my head. I think I was falling for this guy.

"So, where's this illusive apartment of yours that you said wasn't far?" He joked lightly. We had been walking for quite a while. I laughed at his jest.

"Oh, it's actually just around the block, but this way's quicker if you want," I offered, gesturing to a shadowed alleyway up ahead.

We entered the alley laughing, but I sobered immediately. I sniffed the air surreptitiously and became sure of my assumptions. Vampires. And they were close. Next to me, David had stopped laughing, but was still at ease. He had no idea. My immediate instinct was to protect him. From whom though, I was still uncertain of.

I stopped walking abruptly as I heard faint footsteps that would have been undetectable to me a century earlier. David was about to question me, but I silenced him with a quick blur of a hand gesture. Too quick.

David started, obviously shocked at what he had seen, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly in question. At least he was stunned into silence. Crap! I had not intended him to find out about us this way. However, this was not the time to worry about that.

We hardly had any warning before they were upon us. Five cloaked men were suddenly in a tight circle around us and David gave a terrified shout next to me. I threw myself in front of him in a protective stance.

The first thing I noticed was that they all had red eyes, in contrast to my golden ones. Since I raised myself from the time I was changed I had never come across red eyed vampires before. Though, by instinct, I knew that red eyes meant human blood drinkers, which was opposite my 'vegetarian' diet. This wasn't good at all.

"Hello, Lucy Fairbanks," the voice nearest me said in a deep tenor. "We've been waiting up for you," he chuckled, followed by several others. The sound made the hair on my arms stand erect. I felt David start shaking behind me, as terrified as he should be, facing these monsters. When I glanced at him though, he had assumed a similar position to mine as if trying to protect me. He didn't realize that he didn't have a chance at saving us. Or perhaps he did realize and was blatantly ignoring that truth.

"What do you want?! Who are you?!" I demanded in my most aggressive voice, growling a bit for a little added gusto. I was careful not to be so loud as to attract passers-by. No one else needed to die tonight.

"We'll explain everything later, little one," another cloaked man teased in a sickeningly sweet voice. Before I could respond, the five rushed David and me, capturing us easily. Although, it took two of the five men to restrain me as we started screaming. For an instant, I caught David's eyes. The terror etched there was so evident, yet the rigidity of his toned body and the hard set of his jaw revealed that he would not go down without a fight.

I flailed with all my strength and managed to kick one man's head hard enough for him to let go of my legs.

"Restrain her!" bellowed the first man. "Get her to the plane! NOW!" Three vampires now held me, and I was now unable to struggle. "Kill the snack," he said half-heartedly, walking away.

"NO!!" I roared, tearing at my captors, growling fiercely. This got their attention. The man who was clearly the leader turned to look at me, and simultaneously held up his hand to stop the vampire who held his teeth bared against David's throat.

The leader looked from me to David curiously, and his expression became amused. He started to snicker.

"Well, I suppose we could bring him with us, if that is your wish," he chortled again, walking straight up to my face. I was being restrained from every angle and my attempts to free my arms were futile. "We wouldn't want to upset our esteemed guest." He was clearly mocking me. His offensive smell of dead blood and rot assaulted me then, making me shudder and become more infuriated.

"Let him go!" I shouted, an inch from his sneering face. I glared at him through narrowed and black eyes.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Luc, see, he obviously," he paused, looking back at a panic stricken David, "knows too much already. He's coming with us or he will die here on the street." His cool voice turned menacing once again. Already knowing my answer, he continued to guide us towards the far end of the alleyway.

As he passed David, he slammed the back of his fist into the side of his head with the force of a sledge hammer.

"NO!" I screamed again, watching as poor, defenseless David slumped down, unconscious, and was picked up like a rag doll.

In an instant, we were running and buildings became blurs past us. I was accustomed to these speeds myself, and I knew that no one would see us. Not that it would matter. No one would be able to save us.

It was times like these when I wished I would just pass out like I would a century ago. In a way, it was good that David would be unconscious for a lot of this. He would be terrified enough as it is, without having to see the horrors firsthand like I did.

In seconds we were in a different part of town, and in minutes, we were being thrust onto a plane that was already readying for takeoff. My fear spiked at that instant, due to the gut feeling that I would never see my home again.