Chapter 7
"Here, we need to go down this tunnel. According to the map, it leads right under the church." I said fumbling with the map. At least I hoped that the tunnel lead right under the church. I really hoped that we had access to the church itself and we weren't too far underground.
We had walked for about 5 miles. We had been gone a little while, but I knew that my friends had things in control. Otherwise Damien would have sent a message by now. I then started to feel my phone vibrate. I still had on my black dress from the ritual a couple nights ago. We were all starting to smell just a tad. I would be so thankful for a hot shower and fresh clothes. Maybe Sister Mary would have some. I made a mental note to ask her. I pulled my phone out from my bra, where I had been stashing it for safe keeping. I had 50 text messages and 10 voicemails. 25 of those messages were from Heath.
Z, WHERE ARE YOU?
Z, PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR OK
Z, PLEASE ANSWER! I'M SCARED!
Z, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, TEXT ME WHEN YOU GET THIS!
What was I going to do about him? I started to check my voicemail as we walked. As I had guessed, half of the messages were from Heath. All the messages were hysterical Heath yelling into the phone as if it was my fault that I couldn't answer my cell. Ugh, I think now I'm officially through with him. He was just too…clingy even when we weren't together anymore. I needed to put an end to it, forever. The next couple messages were my Grandma. Blessed be she was ok and safe and she even told us that there WAS an entrance to a tunnel under the church and she was going to unlock it just in case. She had some valuable information for us that she had been able to gather while she was staying with Sister Mary. She said to come quickly as soon as I could. This made me so hopeful.
The last message, not one I had expected. It thoroughly shocked me. A man's voice, deep, but gentle and familiar, Zoey, my darling, my little girl, how I have missed you so. I need to see you. There is much to discuss. I think once we talk that a lot of air will be cleared between you and I. I look forward to hearing back from you. Love, Dad
Dad? MY Dad? The same dad that abandoned my mother, my sister and I years ago. I had the most startled look on my face because I just stopped walking all together and Erik was jerked back.
"What's wrong Z? Who was the message from?"
"My….Dad." my browns furrowed. I was in complete shock. My dad, who had never tried to contact me before now, suddenly he wants to talk to me to clear some air?! "He wants to meet with me and talk."
"Are you sure it was your dad? Seems we should be ubber suspicious of anyone claiming to be allies."
"I don't know" I just shrugged. He was right. What if it was the Kalona trying to persuade me to come to him and trap me. But in my head, the voice just seemed too familiar to me. Could it really be?
"Come" Erik took my hand and started leading me towards the door at the end of the tunnel. We heard people talking on the other side. Not just people, I recognized these voices.
"GRANDMA!" I yelled, running towards the door swinging it open.
"Zoey?" Grandma turned towards me and her face lite up immediately. "My u-we-tsi a-ge-hu-tsa! Oh bless your goddess for keeping you safe!" she hugged me tightly. I just let go of all the tears I was holding and held her tightly. I never wanted to let her go. I missed my Grandma tremendously. "My beautiful u-we-tsi a-ge-hu-tsa, you have changed!"
My Grandma had not seen me since I took my transformation into an adult vampire. Now I had new markings. She touched my face and I leaned my cheek into the palm of her hand. "Yes Grandma, I have changed. I have new markings on my back as well. Oh Grandma, I've missed you!" I hugged her tightly. I heard the "Ahem" of Erik clearing his throat. "Oh, I'm sorry, Grandma, this is Erik Night, Erik, this is my Grandma Redbird."
"Pleasure to meet you. Zoey has told me so much about you. I had hoped one day to meet the woman that warms her heart so." Erik said as he held out his hand to touch my Grandmas.
"Bah! We don't shake hands, we hug." And she wrapped her arms around him. Erik didn't seem to mind, he looked very comforted. It made me wonder about his own family and if they were loving to him. "And I am comforted to know that a striking young man as yourself has been taking such good care of my u-we-tsi a-ge-hu-tsa."
"Sister. I can't thank more for staying with my Grandma. How can I ever repay you?" I said to Sister Mary. She was the most open minded nun I had ever met. I showed her what I could do by the fountain at the hospital when I asked her to come stay with my Grandma. She was skeptical at first that such magic existed, but she was not turned off to it when it was brought forth to her. She seemed to rather enjoy it.
"Oh Zoey, you know I told you that I would take care of her and that us nuns have a good way of persuading people to do our bidding." She smirked, "Anyways, you don't owe me a thing; it has been my pleasure to take care of your Grandma. Maybe when this is all said and done, you could come back in the evenings to work at Street Cats? Maybe some new fledglings would like some cats?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" It did sound like a good idea. I would forever be in debt to Sister Mary, no matter what she said. She has done me a great favor that I'm not sure I could repay. My Grandma meant everything to me. "Oh, Sister Mary, before I forget, you don't happen to have a change of clothes and a shower down here do you?"
"Oh, why yes we do have a shower and I can gather from clothes that were given to us by good will. I can't think of any reason this wouldn't be good will to give them to you. Take as much as you need and give to your friends. Here, I will show you to the showers."
I glanced back at Erik who was talking to Grandma. He winked at me and kept his eyes on where I was going. I followed Sister Mary to the shower room. It looked like something in a college dorm. Community Showers. Ick. However, I'd gladly take what I could get. Hot water and soap!
"Here's the soap and some shampoo and conditioner for your hair. The towels are right here on the right. Take as much time as you need."
This was some large basement. Not damp or dark like the tunnels. Very comforting and well lit. I turned the shower nob all the way to the left for the hot water and slowly started to undress. The shower was steaming now. Oh how I longed for this. To feel clean, fresh, and not like moldy, icky pizza. Shaunee, Erin and Aphrodite are going to want to know immediately where they can get showered and changed. I'll have to show them the way here.
I stepped into the steaming shower. The water must have been scalding to a normal human, but since I was a vampire now, variances in temperature don't bother me too much anymore. The cold isn't cold, and hot isn't really all that hot. I rested my head on the wall and shut my eyes. I let the hot water beat my chest and face. I was so exhausted. The walk, the fight with Elliott and Venus, this was all just exhausting. Just as I was feeling myself fall into a light sleep I heard the curtain to the shower open and Erik stepped in the shower with me.
"What are you doing! We are in a church!" I said to him covering myself with my arms.
"Why so bashful Z? And this is not a church of a god that I worship." He looked down at me and put his hands on the sides of my arms pulling my closer to him.
"I'm not bashful, you startled me. Plus, if Sister Mary finds you in here or my Grandma…oh god, what if my Grandma walks in on us!" I was blushing violet purple at the thought of it. Here I was in a shower, in a church, naked, with the hottest, sexiest guy I've ever seen in my life. He had a beautiful body too and he was quiet excited from what I could tell.
"Zoey, I told them I was going to check on you and take a shower myself. I don't think they would be very wise to come in and check on us. Your Grandma actually winked at me. I think she likes me." He said with a smirk. "Do you mind?" as he brushed past me into the hot water. "Oh my, that feels so good! Nothing like a nice hot shower right?"
"Ugh…yeah, I guess." I still had my arms wrapped around my top and my bottom. I was quiet embarrassed. I've never been naked with any guy except…Loren. Not even Heath saw me naked. Erik turned around to face me.
"What's wrong Z? You look tense?"
"No, I'm fine. Just a little….oh its nothing."
"What is it? You know you can tell me anything. Here, get in the water and I'll wash you up."
So now he was going to wash me. He had me face the water, which was a good thing. I was feeling kind of nervous standing face to face with him. After what happened with Loren, I didn't want him to get the wrong idea about me. I'm not a ho or easy by any standard. I just happened to have been caught in a vulnerable moment and the jerk got the best of me. Literally. Erik grabbed the soap and began rubbing circles around on my shoulders and massaging my neck. It felt so good. He ran his hands down my waist and to my hips. He never touched my butt though.
He spun me around to face him and I saw that he had a small little smile on his face. He seemed to enjoy this immensely. He took the soap again and washed my arms, being sure to lift each over my head to get my armpits. How embarrassing. A guy washing my armpits. He ran the soap around in circles on my stomach, never once touching my breast or looking anywhere but my eyes. I started to feel a little calmer as he got to my legs again. He never once touched me in any way that was inappropriate. He never looked or touched any part of me other than my arms, waist, hips and legs.
I stepped back into the water to rinse myself off. I ran my fingers from the front of my face back to the back of my head getting my entire hair wet. Erik grabbed the shampoo and put some in his hands and pulled my arms towards him.
"May I?" he asked as he put his hands into my hair, lathering the shampoo into thick suds. The more time we spent together, the more comfortable I felt being around him. It just felt so…natural.
When he was done with my hair he helped me rinse it out. He started to rub the soap on his own chest. That just certainly won't do. If he was going to wash me so intently, I was damn sure to return the favor.
"Let me take that for you" as I snatched the soap out of his hands. He looked a bit surprised. I ran my hands all over his chest, his big, muscular, perfect chest. I swear he was a Clark Kent look alike. Superman. That beautiful dark black hair, piercing beautiful blue eyes which were outlined by his knotted marks that framed his brows, muscular physic, and oh my, the best looking ass I had ever seen on a man in my life. Here we were, naked, in a shower together, just washing each other. Looking into each others eyes. Never for a moment did we try to touch each other in any other way. Suddenly, I wanted to.
When he turned around for me to wash his back, I put my arms around his waist and kissed the top of his shoulders. He moaned and tilted his head to the side which slowly started to roll back. He turned around to face me and kissed me hard on the lips. On hand around my waist holding me closer to him, the other under my hair holding my head close to his. His kiss was so deep, so passionate. If he wanted to have sex right there in the shower, I would have no complaints at all whatsoever.
"Zoey…" he said as he pulled away from my face.
"Yes Erik?" I felt like I was in a dream like state. My voice was low and deep like a seductress.
"We should probably think about getting out. It's one thing to wash each other in a church, a whole different thing to have sex in a shower in a church where in the next room is a nun and your grandmother."
Man did he just ruin the moment. Oh well I thought to myself. One day.
"Your right. We should get back, get dressed and head back towards the group. I know everyone will want to change as well."
He stepped out of the shower, picked up two towels and handed one to me.
"Here, dry yourself off and I'll go get some clothes. Be right back. Don't go anywhere now."
He was smiling like a fool that had just been stuck with an arrow by everyone's favorite winged baby. I started to dry my hair and then wrapped the towel around my body. It would have been really cold down in the basement, but I wasn't bothered by it so much. Though it was totally obvious that I would have been. Erik came back into the shower room and handed me a package of new underwear, jeans and a t-shirt. Bless him. Now I just needed shoes.
