I awoke the next morning to the sounds of birds chirping. When I looked at my alarm, it read 7:00 A.M.
'Not bad for the day after your mother dies", I thought bitterly. As I sat up, I remembered everything about yesterday. The letter I wrote, trying to end my life, and then him…the boy (man?) who had been haunting my thoughts for the past several days. The monster who was slowly turning my life into a nightmare. I felt nothing but pure hatred for him. And yet there was still something about him that made my blood turn cold and my heart beat faster. But he was completely dangerous and I needed to stay as far away from him as I could. I would even need to possibly take extra precautions. Like dead bolting the window…and my door…and the front door…and the cellar door…
'Oh my God', I thought. It then dawned on me that Gregory could still be in the cellar. Maybe that is where he lives. How in the world did he possibly get down there? Does Tony know about him? Tony seemed a little fishy when he originally told me to stay away from the cellar. He must know something. Now it was time to find out.
With that final thought, I climbed out of bed and got ready for what I believed was going to be an incredibly long day. I dressed in a pink velour Victoria's Secret sweat suit. If today was going to be as long of a day as I thought it was, I'd need to be cute and comfortable. As I descended down the stairs, I passed the cellar and shuddered. The fact that Gregory could be down there right now terrified me to the point of trembling. But I can't be afraid. I must be brave. For mommy, and for myself.
I straightened up and walked into the kitchen where my uncle and Tony were eating breakfast, and my aunt was at the stove cooking bacon.
"Good morning, Rosie. How are you feeling?" Aunt Dottie greeted me softly.
"I'm doing okay. Much better then I was yesterday. I'm sure as time goes by, I'll feel much better." I replied.
"That's good, sweetheart. I'm glad to hear it. You know that we're all here for you. Your aunt and I love you as much as we love Tony. You're just as if you were our own." Uncle Bob consoled.
"Thank you. I really appreciate that." I said.
After breakfast had finished, I went upstairs and saw Tony heading into his room. I followed him into his room and knocked on his door as I came in.
"Hey, bud. Can we talk?" I asked.
"Sure, Rosie. Are you okay?" he replied.
"I'm fine, Tony. Or at least, I will be eventually. Now there's something that I'd like to ask you. That day that you warned me about the cellar…why is it that you didn't want me to go down there?" I asked.
Tony turned and I thought him mutter, "I was just trying to protect you…"
"What did you just say?" I asked, horrified that he knew the terrors that resided in the cellar.
He turned and then said, "You went down there, didn't you? Did anyone hurt you? I told them not to hurt anyone…Rudolph wouldn't have, neither would Anna. No! Gregory! Did he hurt you?" Tony asked frantically.
"Tony, I went down there because I was curious! It was like you held up bait when you told me not to go down there! And how do you know him-that monster! You need to stay away from him, he'll hurt you!" I cried.
"His brother is my best friend!" Tony blurted out.
"…What?" I asked, astounded.
"His brother Rudolph is my best friend. I'll show you! They're trying to become human like us! You'll see! I'll take you with me tonight!" he said.
"Take me where? Where are you going to go? And trust me the last thing that monster wants to be is human. He seems quite happy with his awful powers." I countered.
"No, really! His whole family wants to be human and I'm helping them break the curse!"
"Tony, you should NOT be sneaking off at night to go see a family of vampires. They don't need your help. They could kill you!" I scolded.
"Rosie! They won't hurt me! I swear! Please believe me!"
And then he looked at me with those great big eyes of his that I could never ever say no to and sighed, "Fine. But you have one chance to show me."
"YES! You'll see! You'll love Rudolph! It'll be great!" he beamed.
Later that night, as I laid in bed staring at my ceiling, there was a soft knock on my door, followed my Tony creeping into my room.
"Rosie! Let's go!" he whispered.
So, I slipped on some UGG boots and followed Tony to his room where what looked like to be a younger, gentler version of Gregory. I guessed that this was Rudolph and hoped that Tony was right about him being friendly and harmless.
As soon as Rudolph saw me, he bowed and said, "You must be Rosabella. I'm Rudolph. It's very nice to meet you."
'Well for one thing, he sure is much more polite than his brother.' I thought.
Then, Tony asked, "Dude! Can we go now?"
Rudolph took Tony's hand, and then offered his hand out for mine. I grasped his icy hand in mine and allowed myself to be pulled out the window and in to Scotland's night sky.
We soon landed in a cemetery that was dark and unwelcoming. I shuddered and soon became extremely anxious and fearful. I followed Tong and Rudolph through the cemetery until we came upon a hole in the ground. Tony and Rudolph jumped in without hesitation, and I wondered if they honestly expected me to follow.
I heard Rudolph shout, "Rosabella! It's perfectly safe to jump down here! We'll catch you!"
It couldn't have been that far of a drop if Tony dropped down without any trouble. With that final thought, I dropped myself down into the dark hole, only to be caught by a pair of strong, hold hands.
I looked up and there he was. The monster that had haunted my thoughts for what seemed like forever. He could sense that I was still afraid, and smirked.
He said in a dangerously low voice, "Hello, love. I've missed you today." His grip became tighter as he asked, "Haven't you missed me?"
I grimaced as the pain increased and retorted, "Why the hell would I miss you?"
His grip became even tighter as he lowered his head to mine and whispered, "Watch your tone when you speak to your master. Now act happy to see me, or I'll break you later."
And would you like to know what he did after he said that? He smiled. That BASTARD smiled. And you know what I had to do? Smile back.
I replied, "Of course I missed you, darling." I spat the last word out coldly.
Satisfied with answer, he put me down and led me into a room where Tony and Rudolph were speaking to a young girl and two adults. I guessed that these were their parents, and their sister. As we came further into the room, the parents looked up at me. I tried to smile politely, but it may have came out as a grimace. Gregory wrapped his arm tightly around my waist and said, "Mother, Father, this is Rosabella," I trembled as he said my name.
"Rosabella is Tony's cousin." Gregory finished.
The mother approached me holding out her hand and said, "It's lovely to meet you my dear. My, my. You are a beauty. We're so lucky to have you in our presence. I'm Freda, may I introduce my husband Fredrick, and my daughter Anna. I believe you've met Rudolph and Gregory already."
I softly said, "It's lovely to meet you all. Thank you for welcoming me so graciously."
Gregory then purred in my ear, "Good girl."
I quivered as his breath fell upon my cheek. What was going to happen as soon as we were alone? I didn't even want to imagine the possibilities of what could happen and so I vowed that I would just have to make sure that we were never alone together, and that he would never be able to find me alone.
I tried to fight my way out of his grasp, but he had an iron grip on my waist. I gave up fighting him, just for the moment.
The night went on just about the same, Gregory kept his eye (and his arm) on me while Tony and Rudolph talked to Anna, Freda, and Fredrick. When the night came to a close and it was time to leave, I silently prayed that Rudolph would take both Tony and me home. But of course, Gregory would never let that happen.