Thank you to those who responded. I'm glad someone is interested in this story. This chapter is a little shorter than I would have liked, but I didn't have a lot of time during the day. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.
Now, without further ado, let's get back to the story:
The Newcomer Chapter 2
Natalie closed her car door with an angry slam and then winced as she realized destroying her own belongings wouldn't really make her feel any better. She glanced up at the top story of Nick's warehouse and saw that the lights were on. He was home.
She entered the building and the lift while trying to convince herself that he'd have a good reason for leaving the party early and, more importantly, not telling her where he was going and why. She waited patiently as the lift stopped on the top floor and breathed deeply when she pulled open the huge sliding door.
Nick stood in the middle of his living room, staring at her before briefly glancing to his bedroom door upstairs.
"Seeking refuge?" asked Natalie, indicating his bedroom door with her left hand.
"No," he answered simply.
Natalie set down her purse on the kitchen table and made her way over to Nick, who hadn't moved a muscle since she entered. "Well?" she prompted.
"Well," repeated Nick, absentmindedly, once again looking at his bedroom door, then sighing with relief when he heard the shower start. It was then that he noticed Natalie was looking at him like he had grown a second head. "What?" he questioned, clearly confused.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," stated Natalie, brushing past him and flopping down on the couch. "I guess you're so used to running off on me all the time that now you don't even feel like you owe me an explanation."
"Running off…" he started to question. His eyes widened as he remembered the Christmas party. It seemed like days ago. He quickly took the seat beside Natalie and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry, Natalie. It was not my intention to leave you and forget about the party."
"You forgot about the party?" Natalie asked, incredulously. "That's a mighty hard accomplishment considering how well you remember everything else throughout the years."
"I had more pressing concerns," he insisted, glancing again at his bedroom door.
Natalie turned to stare at his door again and then leveled him with a stare. "Is someone upstairs, Nick?"
Nick swallowed and nodded, cautiously.
"Who?" she asked, curiously. "Is this person why you 'forgot' about the party?"
"Sort of," he answered, honestly. "I went outside because I felt a vampire in the vicinity of the party. I didn't want one of us hanging around—a party is always an easy place to select a prey."
Natalie raised an eyebrow in question. "So, you decided to bring the vampire home and offer him bovine instead?"
"Not exactly."
Natalie waited patiently. She knew from experience that he would tell her—he was merely trying to figure out how.
Nick shook his head and finally stated, "A vampire was attacking a woman on West Pier. I killed the vampire, and the woman is the one upstairs," he answered finally.
Natalie's eyes widened. "I can see why you forgot about the party." She glanced back toward his bedroom as she asked, "And, she's okay? She doesn't need to go to the hospital?"
"I couldn't take her to the hospital even if I wanted to," he answered vaguely.
Natalie jumped up from the couch and said, "Nick, even if the vampire bite is hard to conceal, you can't let someone die! We can come up with something to tell the doctors. We always do." She quickly walked around the couch and headed for the stairs.
Nick was instantly in front of her on the stairs.
Natalie let out a small squeak of surprise. "Nick!" she admonished, "I thought I told you not to do that!"
"Sorry, just don't go upstairs!" he practically yelled, before trying to calm himself down.
Natalie backed up slightly and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why?"
"I'm not sure how she will react, yet. I don't want what happened with Rich…" He ceased his words when he realized he was about to bring up Natalie's painful memory of her brother Richie and Richie's brief life as a vampire.
Natalie gasped, already knowing what he was going to say. "She turned," she stated, more than questioned.
Nick nodded.
Natalie walked back to the couch and sat down, turning the revelations over in her mind. When Nick took his seat beside her again, she turned to him and stated, "I don't understand. If the vampire was turning her, why did you kill him? How do you know she didn't want it? And, even if she didn't, obviously, you were late in the process and now we have to figure out what to do with her."
Nick turned his eyes away from her. "He wasn't trying to bring her across. There was a fight…blood was spilt, and she swallowed some." He turned back to look at Natalie and grabbed one her hands and held it in his.
"I can't imagine what she must be going through," she stated, looking back upstairs. "From what you've told me, being a newborn fledgling is rough, especially on those whose master isn't close. For you to have killed him…" She shook her head.
"Her master isn't dead," Nick said, gravely.
Natalie shot her head up. "I thought you said you killed him."
"Oh, I killed the vampire who attacked her," he explained. He squeezed Natalie's hand and whispered, "Nat, the blood she swallowed—accidentally, mind you—was…mine."
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Ashley stepped out of the shower and heard a female's voice scream, "Yours?"
She grabbed a towel, started drying herself, walked through the connecting door to Nick's bedroom, and went to the dresser to find something suitable to wear for the night.
"How is that possible?"
Ashley shook her head as she heard the woman downstairs continue to bombard Nick. She took a deep breath as she selected a pair of silk pajamas to wear. "A girlfriend," she whispered. "It figures."
She quickly got dressed and figured she might as well make an appearance to introduce herself. She flung the door open and stepped to the railing. "Nick," she stated, getting his attention.
Nick immediately rose from his seat on the couch and stood where he blocked her eyesight of the woman behind him. "Ashley," he answered, slowly. "I would like to introduce you to a very good friend of mine."
Ashley could tell something was bothering him, but she wasn't sure what. She worked her way around to the staircase and walked down slowly. Once she reached Nick, he slipped a hand over her elbow and led her to the woman who stood by the couch watching them silently. He didn't let go.
"Nat, this is Ashley Durant," Nick said softly. "Ashley, this is Natalie Lambert. She's my…doctor."
Natalie glanced at Nick quickly at his introduction before extending her hand to Ashley. "Nice to meet you, Ashley, despite the rather unfortunate circumstances," she said.
Ashley lifted her free arm to meet Natalie's when she suddenly caught a whiff of a potent smell in the air caused by Natalie's arm movements. Her stomach immediately quivered, she felt something happening to her eyes, and, suddenly, she was seeing red. She quickly fixed her stare on Natalie's neck and heard a heartbeat fill the air. Having the foresight of knowing what she was about to do, she screamed, "Nick!"
Instantly, Nick stepped between the two women and wrapped his arms around Ashley and held her head against his shoulder. Ashley breathed deeply and turned her face to bury it into his neck.
Nick turned them, so he could look at Natalie.
Natalie's jaw was wide open, but before Nick could explain, she turned and grabbed her purse.
"Nat," Nick began.
"I know," she said, flinging her arms and heading to the door. "She's not ready to face mortals, yet." She turned around once she reached the lift and looked at Nick. Ashley was still in his arms with her face pressed tightly to Nick's neck. Natalie closed her eyes briefly to fight the pure wave of jealousy that washed over her. "You wouldn't want what happened to her to happen to you," she chastised herself silently. She stared back at the vampires as Ashley visibly tightened her hold on Nick's waist. She shook her head and said, "Call me when you can" before walking into the lift.
=) =) =)
Like I said, shorter than I would have liked, but I hope you enjoyed it, anyway.
