Hey everyone here's the next chapter it feature I wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Housten for KristenLeigh. I hope you enjoy.
***************************************************Erik*************************************************************
Erik had been up half the day trying to find Clara. He had called her cell, both his parents, and the house phone. He still wasn't close to finding her. He couldn't believe he had not notice she never called him back like she promised. Clara always kept her promises. "Damn," He yelled and threw his phone, regrettably breaking it. "Please Nyx don't do this to me. Clara hast to be okay."
Erik decided to put on the concealer the school had given him to cover his mark and tattoos. He grabbed his jacket and immediately went to find Roxanne. He had no idea if she was home, or doing something random around the city. Then he remembered their imprint. Maybe if he tried hard enough he could talk to her telepathically. He came up to a red-light and decided to give it a try. He could sense her, and that she was happy where ever she was, yet he had no idea where that was. Behind him an angry driver blew his horn and yelled something obscene out his window.
Erik decided he was better off sitting on the side of the road while he figured this thing out. He tried harder to connect to her. He needed her find Clara. Roxanne, can you hear me. Now he felt like she was in the car sitting right next to him. This had to work Roxy, its Erik. Try to talk to me.
Umm, this is weird, Erik's heart flutter the second he got a reply. Are you okay? She asked, and he could feel her concern flittering into his being.
I'm fine, but I really need to see you. Where are you right now? He didn't want to worry her too much. A huge part of his spirit said he was being crazy and she'd laugh at him, but the other nagging part assured him that he needed to find his sister.
I'm at the country club Clara brought you too. I'm there doing a show with Davey. Erik swallowed his distasted but he didn't have to hear the laughter melting from her mouth. He could feel it all around him.
Davey isn't that bad. He sorta likes you. He didn't care. Don't be so frowny.
I'll be there in a few minutes. Erik drove to his destination not wanting to think the worst, yet he couldn't help it. Neferet despises humans and if she did that to Jack what could have happened to Clara? "Nyx, if Clara is okay I promise you that I'll never join Neferet, and I'll do whatever it takes to help Zoey get rid of her. I know Clara isn't a fledgling and not yours to protect, but she's my sister and I love her. Please let her be okay." Erik felt something like a warm breeze kiss his cheek and was sure it was Nyx.
"What are you doing here?" Danny asked. He was valeting in front and Erik was really unsure if he wanted to hand over his key to someone that hated him so much. "What happened to your tattoos?" he asked reaching for his keys.
"It's a long story. See yah," he said going into the huge Ballroom. Roxanne was right where she always was center stage singing her heart out. Erik guessed he had entered a wedding reception looking at the decorations and the lovely bride and groom. Their moves were laughable compared to Roxanne's. She was singing I Want to Dance with Somebody and was hitting ever note out of the park. He thought it was pure luck. Roxanne's voice was too real and soulful for the pop crap she kept trying to pull off. Of course it sounded good-hell it was great, but not her.
He saw her face light up in a way only he recognized. Her face glowed with the sheer recognition of his presence. He smiled and waved at her as she put on a show for him. He enjoyed bring out the competitor in her. She was doing Whitney better then he'd ever heard before. It was if the diva was their singing it herself.
Somebody oh, somebody oh
To hold me in his arms oh
I need a man who'll take a chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls, my lonely heart calls
Oh, wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh, wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Hoo, hoo, dance, c'mon baby he, he, he, he
Woo yeah he, he, he
Don'tcha wanna dance with me baby?
Don'tcha wanna dance with me boy?
Hey don'tcha wanna dance with me baby?
With somebody who loves me
Don'tcha wanna dance? Say you wanna dance
Don'tcha wanna dance?
Don'tcha wanna dance? Say you wanna dance
Don'tcha wanna dance?
Don'tcha wanna dance? Say you wanna dance uh, huh
With somebody who loves me
Erik found a quiet table in the back to watch Roxanne discretely. Soon the couple were cutting the wedding cake, and hearing horribly long drown out speeches from family members. Roxanne used this time to sneak over and talk to Erik. "Here, you like surf and turf?" she asked sitting a plate with steak and lobster in front of him. Her plate had two stakes two crab cakes and a lobster tail.
"What do you do with all that food?" he asked admiring her curvy figure. Roxanne had the prefect portioned body. The kind every girl should have. She was built almost like an athlete, but her body had softness to it. Her muscles weren't too noticeable, and her stomach was flat and soft. Her boobs were bigger than he thought they should be. Yet, everything worked for her. She was perfection to a tee.
"Hey, I need to catch up on my protein intake. What are you so worked up about?" she asked as she devoured her steak like a champ.
"When was the last time you talked to Clara?" he asked worried.
"When I got out the shower yesterday she said the bus had a flat and she was waiting for a different one," she said inbetween bites. "Why?"
"Something happened at school and I think she might be in trouble. I've called her and my parents a thousand times and no one answers. I don't know what I'm going to do if someone hurt her," He said. He unknowingly snapping the metal fork he had in his hand.
Roxanne looked up at him and froze with her fork in the air. If he wasn't so wound up Erik was sure he'd find the look on her face hysterical. "Okay, please calm down. I'm sure she's okay. It's a two hour bus ride between here and OC"-
"Don't you think I know that? I know I sound crazy and I shouldn't be worrying about my sister, but I am. I'm terrified that I'll never see her again, and that it's all my fault she had to die so young," he practically yelled at Roxanne.
"Look I'll call her," Roxanne said pulling out her phone. Erik was hoping she'd pick up, and was relieved when Roxanne started to talk to someone. "Clara?" she said more like a question. "Oh you found this phone. Where did you find it? At the bus depot. Oh can you leave it at the lost and found or something. Thank you so much."
"See I'm not crazy. I have to find her," he said getting up, but Roxanne grabbed his arm.
"That doesn't mean something is wrong with her it just means she lost her phone. Let me call someone else." Erik sat down and waited for Roxanne to finish her call. "Hey TJ is Clara nearby? Oh she is, is she? Can I speak with her really quickly? Thank you. Hey sweetheart you're brother has been looking for you. Yah, well the next time you forget to call him, don't make me suffer with you," Roxanne laughed at something Clara said and handed Erik the phone.
"Clara if you ever scare me like that again I'll kill you," he said through clenched teeth.
"I'm sorry I lost my phone and mom and dad were mad at me," she said like it wasn't a big deal. Erik was furious.
"I can't believe you were so irresponsible after all you were saying to me about being a big girl now and how I should trust you. Never again," he said and hung up.
"Harsh much," Roxanne whispered into her plate.
"Don't, not now," he said making her laugh. Maybe it was a bad thing she hadn't changed at all over the last two years. He could do without her enjoyment of his anger.
"You're so adorable right now," she giggled at him.
"For the last time, that is so emasculating!" he yelled at her. "God you can be so annoying sometimes."
"If I weren't you'd probably tire of me." The sad part about that was the truth in her statement. You never knew which Roxy was coming out to play, and not knowing was the best part.
"No one likes a tease," he said tickling her.
"Stop it," she cried curling over in his arm.
"I'll stop for a crab cake," he said momentarily stopping.
"Not on your life," she said cradling her plate to her chest as if it were a baby.
"Please," Erik said attacking her plate with his fork.
"No way José."
*****************************Roxanne*****************************************
"So she slept with the teacher right out in the open," I asked. Erik and I had been catching up over the past few weeks and we even went back home to Oklahoma City to visit his parents. It was weird to stand outside my old house and realize that I'd never see my room or family again. Of course I had my dad, but that's when he isn't sailing around the world with his whore-I mean wife.
"Yeah, it was terrible, but we're working through it, I guess. She in my class, and we have the same group of friends, so we make it work." He shrugged it off, but I could tell it was something he still held on too. I was getting better at reading his emotions, and thoughts due to our imprint. I guess it was getting annoying too him, because he had been looking up ways to undo it. Somehow I convinced him to let me stay with him at his place. He wasn't going for it at first but I warmed him up to the idea, and now we were sitting in his loft googling imprinting. Well, he was I on the other hand was on tumbler, and IM-ing Miles.
"What about Aphrodite, she give you an 'I told you so' speech?" I asked as he tried to peek at my computer screen.
"No, she and Zoey are kidda friends now. Are you going to help me or not?" he asked sitting his huge Mac on the coffee table.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think us being imprinted is bad. I like it, and I know you like it too," I said kissing him gently.
"Stop, you promised you'd help me figure out a safe way to undo the imprint if I brought you here," he said scolding me like a child.
"But I don't wanna," I wined. "I wanna have fun," I said crawling over to him and pinning him down on the couch like prey. "Don't you wanna play with me?" I asked kissing his neck.
"Get off of me," he said sitting up.
"Party popper," I said frowning.
"What happened to Skyler?" he asked me picking up his laptop.
"I never talked to him again so I don't know. Clara said he was working at Sear's a few months ago. I don't know if he still does." I shrugged picking up my laptop.
"Why did you decide to fix things with your dad?" he whispered the question like a dirty word on Sunday morning.
"He's my dad and all I have," I shrugged not wanting to argue about this again. Erik wanted me to pretend like my dad didn't exist. I couldn't do that. My dad was all I had and I wasn't going to lose him too. My mom's family was all in Haiti. When she turned fourteen my grandmother sent her only daughter to America with some strangers. My mom was smart and had gotten a scholarship for a private school in New Orleans where she met my dad. My dad was adopted and never wanted to find his real parents. My dad had a hard time being raised by a white family and going to private school.
"You have me," he said with a devious grin.
"My dad would move heaven and Earth to get me away from you. And you don't even want me around," I pointed out.
"They started hiring humans to help out a little around the school, if you were my assistant I'd always be around to protect you," he said with a gentle smile. Erik didn't need to protect me. I wasn't the one he should be worried about, but as usual I fought the urge to tell him the truth.
"I'm not going to abandon my dad and let that bitch take everything my mom worked for. She's just a golddigger."
"Babe it's not like you and your grandparents haven't told him that. He's just hard headed, just like you," he shrugged.
"You're only saying that because you don't like him, and I'm not hard headed-just strong willed," I said as the alarm on his phone went off.
"Come on so I can sneak you out," he said grabbing his coat and briefcase. I loved that he was pretending to be all professional. It was sexy.
"I'm always sexy," he said lifting up his shirt and making duck face. He looked like some little girl's facebook picture. We both couldn't stop giggling as we tried to discretely make it down the hall. Once we were in the parking lot I held on to Erik not wanting to let go. We had up graded to open mouth kissing a few days ago and he openly called me his girlfriend a whopping four times. So we've made past his crazy just friends stage.
"You need to go before someone sees you," he said kissing my nose. "I'll come by the club later and we'll hang out."
"You should cancel class and have fun with me. I'll make it worth your wild," I said teasing his lips and not allowing them to latch on mine. "It'll be fun."
"Get in your car please," he begged holding onto my hips.
Why not just give in, I whispered in his mind. We both know it's what you want. I immediately flooded the mind thread we shared with all my yearning and desire. He grabbed my thigh and pushed me up against the car. I knew he was going to give me hell for this, but I didn't care.
"You can't keep doing this," he whispered once he gained control over himself. He still kissed me though. I love you, he didn't say it or think it, but I just felt it throughout my being.
"I'll see you later," he said opening the car door for me.
"You're always so mean to me," I whined.
"I'm just merely honest. The next eight hours will fly by like it always does," he said kissing me. I got in my car and drove home to get ready for my long night at the club. McKenzie had the night off so tonight was going to be awesome. When I got in it was only 8:30 so I decided to take a little nap.
"Mommy, wake up," Isis called, the mark of Nyx clear on her forehead. I knew it was the dream again. And I knew the only way to get out of it was to go with the flow. I couldn't escape "Mommy come on," she demanded. My side hurt the second I tried to get up. "Please don't make me do this alone," she cried.
"Sweetheart, run," I said but she just smiled at me. Her eyes glowed with that familiar warm knowing.
"I'm not going to run away. If this is my fate it is my fate," she said, and just like that two men came, one that was human, and another a vampire. "I love you," she whispered with a smile and a gentle kiss.
"Please don't take her away, please," I begged as they ripped my little girl from my arms. "She just a child"-
"She's a monster." The human said.
"Her blood is filthy," the vampire spit not at me, but the other guy. Their problem wasn't with me or my daughter. They just hated each other too much to admit humans and vampires could love each other. I loved Erik and we made a beautiful little girl. One that Nyx deemed her own with the lovely mark on her forehead, the one that no matter how hard we tried we couldn't hide it.
I watched as she went away with the men. They were going to kill my daughter like a bunch of crazy barbarians. She was barely six and so sweet and kind. Then I heard Erik's voice call to me from behind. "I could have helped you protect her. Why didn't you tell me the truth?" he asked. Even though his voice was strong and demanding I could tell there were tears streaming down his face. "You should've trusted me."
"I love you so much," I said not able to look at him. "I wanted to be able to love you both," I confessed. "I'm so sorry," I cried and ran after Isis.
Nyx blocks my path. For a while we just stare at each other. I know what she's going to say, and she knows I'm not going to change my mind. "Trust me my child," she whispered. "I need you to let me guide you to the right path."
"I'm not going to give you my daughter. Please don't take her away from me," I begged and fell to my knees. I never felt this hopeless before. Usually by this point in my nightmare, I'm furious with Nyx.
"Hush my child," she says kneeling down and wiping my tears. "All I asks is for you to trust me and the one's I bestow my gifts upon. They will take you in and you shall be one of them," she smiles at me.
"Are you going to let Isis be?" I asked looking into her eyes.
"I'd never hurt her. She's my child and we all pick our own paths. You'll see that as she gets older. No matter how much you want to protect her, you can't save her from everything."
She made me think about my mom. She told my dad that a lot when Roz relapsed. "Your family is so proud of you. They're not in my world, but I visit where they are a lot. They want you both to be happy."
"It's my fault there dead."-
"No it was darkness and miss fortune that took them away from you."-
"I promised my dad that I'd never leave him. When my mom died it destroyed him," I cried. I couldn't be thinking about giving into Nyx. I had to protect Erik and Isis. I couldn't give in.
"Just because you are a part of my world doesn't mean you have to give up your past. All the people we love are never Forgotten their love stays with us through life and beyond death."-
"Please give me more time," I said not knowing if I was ready to let my dad go, or give up Erik.
"You have forty-eight hours to decide what you would like to do. After then I shall mark you, or your daughter shall bare my mark indefinitely."
"Please give me more tim,"- I said being jolted out of my dream. My eyes flew open to see Morgan standing over me.
"When are you going to tell Erik the truth?" she asked for the umpteenth time. Morgan and my dad are the only ones that know about the creepy Nyx dreams. And besides Miles there the only ones that know Erik's Isis's father. Besides his blue eyes she really looks like a creamier version of me. Her red hair was darker than mine.
"What time is it?" I asked sitting up. I had to get ready for tonight, and then I got the strangest feeling in my throat. I was like I swallowed liquid fire. My lugs tightened and I started to cough.
"Ohmigod you're sick," she said and if I could laugh I would have. "You need to perform with me tonight you can't lose your voice." Morgan was an amazing singer she just had the worst case of stage freight I have ever seen.
"Morgan I'm fine," I said in-between coughs. I want to the kitchen and cooked up a series of home remedies.
"It smells like rotten sneakers," Morgan said smelling one of them.
"It doesn't matter," I said my voice was almost back to normal, but I was going to kick this things ass. I put the green puree Morgan was frowning her face at in a thermos, and pushed her out the door.