Chapter 10
Je t'aime
"Andrea? Andrea, are you alright?" Blaize's frantic voice whispered.
My eyes fluttered open. I took in my surroundings slowly, for I wasn't absolutely sure what had just happened. I looked around to see what was going on and where I was. I was on the ground. Blaize was kneeling next to me, holding my head.
"What happened?" I asked in a dazed voice.
"You fainted…are you alright?" he was worried.
"I'm…I'm fine. I'm going home." I said, getting up off the ground…only to fall back into his arms.
"I don't think you're able to drive." He said quickly, still holding me.
"I'm fine, I just need a minute." I held my head.
"Here," he set me up on a rock. "It's cleaner than the ground." He shrugged.
I sat still on the rock, looking at everything but him.
"Are you still mad at me?" he asked.
"Yes." I snapped
"I hope you'll forgive me." He whispered.
"Why?"
"Cause I'm selfish like that. I shouldn't be near you; I shouldn't have asked you to come. I shouldn't have even talked to you that day in art. But it's you…I have this emotional draw to you…as well as a draw to your scent."
"I'm not following."
"Andrea, you make me question my ways. I feel human emotions for you…but I also feel those hunting instincts and they tell me to…."
He trailed off, leaving me hanging. I was so confused at this point. I didn't know much about vampires, other than what I read and all that was about their appearances. He fit the physical description, except for one minor detail. His eyes.
His eyes were supposed to be red; they instead, are a golden brown. Maybe they are contacts? But I've never seen contacts that look like that.
"To what?" I asked.
"To kill you." He murmured, looking up at me.
I took a deep breath. "I'm…I don't understand any of this."
"Andrea, my point of being is to kill. It's all I've ever known. But you make me question it."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know that my point of being is to kill anymore."
"I don't believe that you kill."
"I do,"
"You can't, it's impossible. Your eyes…they should be…"
"What? Red?"
"Yes…"
"Where'd you learn about that?"
"The internet." I blushed.
He chuckled. "Of course."
"So do you have contacts?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, they're my real eyes."
I nodded. "I still don't believe that you kill people…"
"I don't kill people. I kill animals."
"Oh,"
He laughed. "I guess you could call me a vegetarian."
I laughed with him. "Well, it's getting late; I should probably be getting going."
"Yeah, would you like me to drive you?"
"No, I think I'm fi—"I fell off the rock as I tried to step down.
He caught me and smiled. "I'll drive you."
"But what about your car?"
"I'll come back and get it." He shrugged.
"Wait…now how will this work?"
"I'll walk back here and get my car." He acted as if this was no big deal.
"That's a pretty far walk…"
"Not for me."
I rolled my eyes.
"Do you forgive me?" he asked.
I looked up at him; his eyes were gleaming with depression.
I nodded. "I forgive you."
"Oh, thank you Andrea!" he picked me up in his arms and twirled me around.
He set me down and took my hand. This was the first time he'd held my hand without gloves. The freezing temperature caused me to shiver. He looked down at me with a panicked expression.
"I'm okay," I said quickly. "It just startled me is all."
He took out a pair of gloves.
"No, no." I stopped him quickly.
"My hand will cause yours to freeze." He warned.
"They wont, and besides…I like how your hand feels." I blushed again.
He smiled. "If you get cold, tell me."
"I will." I wasn't going to.
He walked me back to the car, opening my door for me. He got into the driver's side and started the engine. He backed onto the main road and kept his eyes ahead.
"Will you still be my date to homecoming?" he asked.
I thought about it for a moment. "Of course,"
He sighed in relief. "Oh thank god, you've saved me from a night of checkers with the family."
I laughed.
Then he looked at me, his face serious. "No, really though. I'm very honored that you said yes."
I couldn't help but smile and that caused him to smile. When he smiled, it felt as though my heart was going to beat out of my chest. His teeth were perfectly white.
"Do I get to meet your parents Friday night?" he asked.
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope," he laughed.
"We'll see."
"What are you so afraid of?"
"Well, I've never introduced a guy to my parents…let alone a vampire." I eyed him up.
He winced.
"What's wrong?"
"This is so unbelievably wrong…"
"What is?"
"This…our relationship. Everything about us is wrong."
"I beg to differ." I stuck up my index finger.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, I think everything about is right."
He looked at me in a confused way.
The rest of the car ride was silent. My right hand provided a pillow for my head and my left hand rested safely in Blaize's hand. I didn't want to fall asleep, feeling that that would be embarrassing. We eventually arrived at my house. He got out and opened the door for me.
"You're sure you don't want me to ask my parents to give you a ride back to your car?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Andrea, four miles for you is thirty-seconds for me."
I raised my eyebrows.
"I'll see you tomorrow…would you like a ride?"
"I would,"
"Alright, seven-thirty."
It was already dark out. I knew I was probably past curfew and I was worried.
"Good night." He smiled.
"'Night." I smiled back.
Then, slowly, always so slowly, he leaned down and kissed me gently. The sound of his breath was agonized mixed with happiness. He pulled away before I was ready.
"I'll be asking questions tomorrow." I whispered.
"Alright then."
He walked into the woods and disappeared into the blackness. I walked back to my house and opened the door slowly. Helen was sitting at the kitchen table, thrumming her fingers against the marble. Her eyes widened when I walked in.
"You are so lucky you have an amazing sister like me." She hissed.
"What happened?"
I continued into the house, setting down my backpack next to the door.
"I told mom and dad your lie, they didn't believe me."
"Oh no, what'd you say?" I was on the verge of a panic attack now; I was already shaken up from the knowledge that I was dating a vampire.
"They insisted on calling Anneliese themselves. SO I gave them my friend's cell number and texted her the situation. She pretended to be Anneliese and luckily mom believed it."
"Where are they?"
"In bed."
"Wait…what time is it? Like eight?"
"Uh, try midnight going on one."
My mouth fell open. "Shut up!"
"No joke."
"OH my god."
"What did you guys…do?" she had a sly smile on her face.
"Oh no, we didn't…you know. "
"Then…what did you do?"
"We went for a walk and talked."
"Oh,"
"Thank you for covering for me."
"Sure,"
"Well we better get to bed before our parents come downstairs."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
We started for the stairs. I ran up with Helen right behind me. I gave her a hug and went into my room. I changed into some pajamas and then crawled into bed. I looked around my room. I'd never paid attention to it. You'd think I would, having the same room for sixteen years. My parents remodeled the house last summer and I was still getting used to this. They put in a balcony on the left wall. Helen threw a fit over it, saying that she deserved one as well. But since I was older, I got the balcony. I hadn't really wanted it and I insisted that Helen get it. They wouldn't hear of it, and told me that I would love it.
I've never opened the doors to that balcony, I hated it. I hated the idea of it. I always thought that I would wake up in the middle of the night and see some axe murderer standing there. I kept the curtains closed all the time and the doors locked. I imagine that those doors are probably pretty hard to open. They've been there for almost a year, but have never been used. Tonight looked like a good night to look at the stars. I didn't have to worry about a murderer; it was just an irrational fear of mine. I got up and walked slowly to the doors.
As I reached them, I pulled away the green curtain. I went to open the door, but it wasn't me that opened it. I wanted to scream, but a hand cupped my mouth before I could. Within a matter of seconds, the hand was gone and nowhere near me. I began breathing heavily, not knowing what just happened. I walked out to the balcony and looked around. There was no one there, no one next to me, and no one in the yard. I backed away and closed the doors, locking them behind me. That must have been a hallucination or something.
I turned around and gasped again.
Blaize sat laid casually on my bed, his feet dangling off the end, his hands folded behind his head. I stared at him, my eyes popping out of my head. He smiled at me.
"Did I startle you?" he chuckled a bit.
I was still on the verge of hyperventilation. "Startle? More like heart attack!" I hissed.
He laughed.
"What are you doing here?" I whispered.
He shrugged. "Talking to you."
I was still clutching my heart from the scare. "You have to leave; my parents are going to kill you if they find you here."
"The wont,"
"Won't what?"
"Kill me."
"Uh…Yeah they will. My dad has a gun downstairs."
"I'm bullet proof." He smiled.
"What…No, You can't be bullet proof. That's not possible." I rolled my eyes.
"Want to bet?"
"I'm not going to shoot you."
"Why not?"
"My parents will find out you're here for sure."
He got up from the bed and walked over to me. "Punch me."
"What? No! I'm not going to punch you!"
"Why not? It won't hurt…well me at least."
I sighed and balled my fist up.
"Put your thumb inside your fingers." He instructed.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
I did as I was told and threw a punch at his abdomen. His hand covered my mouth before I could scream. I shook my fist and fought back tears. IT was like punching steel or a bolder.
"You can cry, I won't laugh." He smiled.
"No, I'm fine." I turned around and let the emotion cross my face. Then I turned back around and smiled at him. "All good."
"You're such a liar."
"I'm not lying, I'm really okay."
He rolled his eyes. "Andrea, don't be brave."
I decided to take his advice and allow my pain to take over. I squinted and let a few tears out. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.
"Ah, you humans are so very weak." He smiled.
I pulled away from him. "Hey,"
"Sorry about your hand. Let me look at it."
He took my hand and stared at it for a long while, flipping it over and pressing in certain areas. He asked if what he was doing hurt at all, I said no. "You're sure that this doesn't hurt?"
"Well it hurts a little."
Then he pulled my hand gently to his lips and kissed the top. I immediately felt myself blush.
"How about now?" he asked.
"Much better." I giggled.
"I'm glad."
WE stood there, staring into each other's eyes for a while. I couldn't look away from the liquid topaz in them.
"Why do your eyes change color?" I asked, walking over to my bed and lying down.
He sat at the end of the bed and leaned against the bed post. He sighed before he answered. "They change with my thirst."
I didn't know how to answer to that. "Are you thirsty right now?" I asked, trying to be unaffected by the fact that my boyfriend is a vampire.
"It's tolerable."
"So…your eyes get dark when you are thirsty and then they light up when they aren't?"
"Correct,"
I nodded and looked around my room. "Okay, let me get this straight, you drink animal blood?"
"Yes,"
"Why not humans? Why haven't you killed me yet?"
He winced then opened his eyes. He leaned forward and placed his cold hand on my cheek. I rested my head into it. "Because if I killed you…"
I blushed bright red.
"If I killed you, I'd never be able to see that beautiful scarlet again."
I blushed even more. "I'm sure you could get a lot of girls to blush for you."
"I suppose I could, but none of them would be as lovely doing it." He smiled.
I sighed and felt my eyes become droopy.
"You need sleep." He whispered.
"No, it's alright."
He cocked his head to the side. "Andrea, I can tell you're tired. You've had a big day."
"Not really,"
He raised one eyebrow. "You found out your boyfriend is a vampire and can kill you in an instant, I'd say that's pretty big."
"I guess,"
"There will be more questions for you to ask tomorrow. But for now, sleep my love."
There was that breathless feeling again. He called me love.
We got off the bed and walked over to the balcony. I went through the doors with him. He turned back to me and placed his hand on my cheek again. Then he leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. I shivered from the ice of his lips. He pulled away when he felt that and looked me in the eyes, almost as though he was reading my soul.
"Je t'aime." He whispered in my ear.
I didn't know what it meant, but it sounded beautiful.
He kissed my forehead and jumped off the balcony. He ran into the woods with a grace that no one could match. With that, he was gone.
What did that mean? Then it dawned on me. I remembered the small amount of French I've learned.
It meant I love you.
