Title: A Vampire's Word (Part 7)
Author: Love In Vein
Summary: The sequel to David's Revenge. Laddie is heartbroken after the Pack leaves Santa Carla. When they return, will they find themselves no longer welcome in his life?
Disclaimer: As we all know, the WB owns The Lost Boys and all of the characters therein. Anything else I mentioned in this story are also owned by other people, too. I still own Annabelle, Sela, Alex, Dr. Hansen *and* Charlotte too!
Part 7
Laddie paced nervously near his front door, debating whether or not to go out. He knew he would see David tonight, and he knew it could get ugly. This was really the night. The very night that Annabelle promised him David would come. What could he say to him that he hadn't already heard from the other members of the Pack? He had no doubt that the others reported their entire conversations to their leader and he probably knew exactly how Laddie would react to him. But Laddie really even didn't know how he himself would react, let alone how David would react to the words that would come out of his mouth. He reached into his jeans pocket for a cigarette, but realized that he was still in the house and his mother would definitely respond negatively to smoking in the house. With a sigh he opened the front door and walked down the front steps, sitting on the bottom step. He pulled his pack of cigarettes out and then started to fish in his jacket pockets for a lighter or maybe a book of matches.
"Well, need a light?" an unmistakable voice asked in the darkness.
Laddie jumped slightly and then shook his head, shoving the cigarettes once again back in his pocket. "I'm cool. Why don't you come out where I can see you, ok?"
Then there David was, smiling his usual cocky smile which might or might not have been hiding something. "Are they around?" he asked, meaning Lucy and Grandpa.
"No, they aren't. We don't have to stay here, though," Laddie replied, knowing how David still felt about the house. He got up and brushed the dirt off the back of his jeans.
David just grinned again. "No, here is just fine. It was a long time ago you know, Laddie, and the Pack has been resurrected for around ten years. You are comfortable here, so we will speak here."
Laddie looked at him with confusion in his eyes but finally relented. He turned and crossed the threshold into the house then turned back to David. "Uh, you're invited in," he said.
David walked past Laddie into the house and took in his surroundings, noting the changes that had occurred since he had last been in there. He walked across the living room and sat in a black leather recliner. Laddie rolled his eyes at David's presumptuous behavior and took a seat on the couch next to the chair. "Well this is it, I guess," he started.
"It would seem to be so," David agreed.
"Um...," suddenly Laddie was very nervous in the blond vampire's presence.
"Yes?" David asked with patience. He had no desire to fight with the boy now.
"What have the others told you?"
"Many things. A lot of which made me very confused. What have I ever done to hurt you?" David asked calmly and without much emotion.
Laddie scowled and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive manner. "What have you ever done? Hah, that's a good one, David. You really want to know?"
"Yes, I really want to know."
"How about either ignoring me or glaring and shouting at me, no matter what I did? You do remember that, right?"
David appeared thoughtful, then narrowed his eyebrows and growled lightly. "I remember yelling at you when I thought you were putting yourself in danger. I remember yelling at you not to play on the bikes because you weren't big enough to ride them alone. And yes, I do remember ignoring you, only because Star asked me to leave you alone and let you have the only fun you could have. I did not pay attention to you because if I did I would have to keep you safe, which was and is my duty as Pack leader."
Laddie eyed David skeptically. "So now the way you treated me was Star's fault? That's a bit of a stretch, even for you. You know that I sometimes dream about her? I dream that she's still here with me and I'm young again and she's holding me and comforting me. Then you know what happens?" Laddie had been speaking rapidly and staring off into space. Then he turned and faced David. "You come up behind us and I can't even warn her before you snap her neck and leave me there alone with her body. But you know what the sickest part is? That I don't hate you when the daylight comes and I'm awake and the dream is over. Not even knowing that you killed my Star has made me hate you."
David could do nothing but stare at Laddie in shock. Of everything Laddie could have possibly said, nothing could have prepared him for this confession. He had never known that Laddie still thought of Star, she was never spoken of after the night Annabelle usurped her body. He knew that Laddie knew nothing of that. "Laddie, why tell me this now? What has this got to do with our present situation?"
"You blaming Star for your actions is not the best way to talk things out with me, you know? She cared for me for a few very long months, and I loved her like I would an older sister. Just please leave her out of this."
"All right, Laddie, as you wish. I only brought her up to tell you why I didn't pay attention to you. That doesn't mean I forgot your existence or was trying to forget about you. I was simply honoring the wishes of the woman that I thought knew what was best for you. I knew and still know nothing about children," David replied. But how would he get Laddie to see that he belonged in the Pack?
Laddie still did not understand. "But you're Pack leader. If you were trying to keep me safe from dangerous things, why would Star tell you not to?" he asked.
"Because she felt that your life was so dark that you should be able to do the dangerous but fun things you wanted to do. Eventually I agreed with her but with an extreme amount of apprehension."
"And the others? What did they say?"
"That I was blinded by love," David said with a wry grin. "And maybe that wasn't so far from the truth. I *did* love Star for a time, especially in the beginning. I would have done anything for her. I was so sure she was my mate. I suppose I never really knew what that meant. Until Annabelle appeared, that is."
"But if you thought she was supposed to be your mate, why didn't you claim her? What stopped you?"
"She did. She told me she could never be my mate, she resisted me too much. She blocked me and detached herself from me in a way that Annabelle never did. Laddie, you have no idea how much I was hurt by that. I grew to have an enormous amount of animosity for her, though now that I look back on it 'hate' would be too strong of a word. I was bitter, very bitter," David explained with an amount of resignation in his voice. He had never intended to "spill his guts" about Star quite like he had just done.
"And you never tried to hurt her?" asked Laddie incredulously.
"Emotionally, yes. I did play games with her more than a few times. But I never, never physically hurt her. Physical punishment is only for the severest of crimes within your Pack, and she had really committed no such crime. Her true crime was when she betrayed her family and allowed us to go to our doom."
Laddie snorted in disbelief. "What could she have done? And if she is considered to have betrayed you, why not me?"
"Because *you* were a child, and totally dependent on her. We knew that it had not been your choice to leave us, but even if you had chosen such a thing, we would not have deigned it necessary to carry out a harsh punishment. What we intended to do that night was not only kill them, but to take you home."
"And you? You want me to be a part of your Pack?" Laddie asked plainly, leaning forward slightly. He needed to know the answer to the most important question.
David responded by putting his hand on Laddie's shoulder and looking dead straight into his eyes. "Laddie," he began. "You are Pack! This is what we have been drilling into your head since you were ten years old. Why have you chosen to forget this now? But since you need to hear this, yes. Yes I want you as a Pack brother. I want you to be of our blood again. In order for our Pack to be complete, you must be in it. There is no other way," David stated flatly.
"David...I need to think. You'll know my answer by tomorrow evening. I promise," Laddie said with some unease. He wasn't sure what David would do now.
But David just frowned slightly. "All right Laddie, I suppose I'll have to accept that. Tomorrow evening, though, no later," his tone had a slightly threatening edge to it, but Laddie just ignored it.
"Even ex-vampires can be bound by their word," Laddie replied, trying to lighten the mood. David responded with a gentle smile.
As David moved toward the front door it suddenly swung open and there stood Lucy and Grandpa with appalled expressions on both of their faces. "Laddie! Are you all right? What happened?" Lucy exclaimed in fright.
Laddie appeared from behind David. "Mom, I'm fine. Nothing happened, we had to talk is all."
"And you let him into *our* home? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous a move that was?" Lucy demanded angrily.
"There was no danger at all, Mom," Laddie said, and before he could stop himself he continued to speak. "I trust David."
Those three little words seemed like magic. All of a sudden Laddie knew that, yes, they were true. He actually trusted David. And in that instant he also knew that his relationship with Lucy might be forever changed. She had heard the words. She knew the truth behind them, too. "You trust him," Lucy stated softly. "How could you? After everything that we have been through, how could you?" It was more of an accusation than a question.
David was about to speak when Laddie glanced at him and just shook his head. David for once decided not to interfere.
"I don't know, Mom. I don't know how I can trust the one that killed people I cared deeply about. If I have to admit it to myself, though, it's blood. I still have their blood, *his* blood inside of me. Just because it has been so diluted that I can hardly feel them anymore doesn't mean it isn't there just the same," he tried to explain.
"So is that your decision then. You're going to leave us?" asked Grandpa who until then had kept silent.
"I don't know! I don't know what's right anymore! I just...I just need to think, please? I need to think," Laddie pleaded with the three most important people in his life.
David answered, "I understand, Laddie. You will know where to find us when you need us. But just remember, tomorrow night."
With that he was gone.
Lucy wiped her eyes and stepped close to Laddie, enveloping him in a loving hug. "I can only imagine how hard this must be for you. I wish that I could help you, take this burden away from you," she said when she pulled away from him.
"I know, Mom, and I wish you could too," Laddie answered and, after hugging Grandpa, he trudged up the stairs.
Even though it was still very early, Laddie was in no mood to see anyone. He pulled off his boots and crawled under the covers, falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.
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The next evening Laddie decided to make one short stop before visiting the Pack and giving them his final decision. He left a note on the kitchen table for Lucy to read, because she had told him that she did not want to know either way until it was done, either way. She did not want to imagine him drinking the blood or going through the change. It would hurt too much.
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He pulled up Alex's driveway and jumped off his bike. He rang the doorbell and smiled when Alex opened the door. "Laddie what are you doing here, man?" Alex asked and stepped aside to allow Laddie to enter.
Laddie shook his head. "Nah, man, I can't come in. I have to be somewhere."
"Where? Oh wait, let me guess...you're going to see those friends of yours, right?"
"Actually, yeah, I am. It's pretty important."
"So how come you're here and not there?" asked Alex.
"I needed to ask you something. And this is serious, okay?"
Alex frowned in confusion. "Okay, sure. What do you need?"
"If anything happens to me, you need to look after my mom for me," Laddie said very seriously.
"Happen to you? Dude, what the fuck is going on here? Why would something happen to you?"
"Alex just please let her know that I care about her and I'll always love her and that she was a great mom. Please, Alex, please," Laddie nearly begged.
"Ok, Laddie. I promise that I'll make sure she's okay," Alex said. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I don't know. I really don't know."
"Well, Laddie, just take care of yourself. Don't do anything unless you know it's right."
Alex gave Laddie a quick and embarrassed hug and watched with a somber expression as his friend departed into the night.
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Laddie allowed himself a carefree moment as his motorcycle roared along the Boardwalk. As he neared the steps down to the beach his stomach did a flip-flop with nervousness. But something happened. As he bike clunked down the steps, something he'd done many times before, he lost control. The bike spun out and his pant leg got caught in the front wheel. It slid down, pulling him along, dragging him hard on the rough steps. When the bike finally came to rest, Laddie was unconscious and bleeding heavily. His blood stained the sand around him deep and red.
Author: Love In Vein
Summary: The sequel to David's Revenge. Laddie is heartbroken after the Pack leaves Santa Carla. When they return, will they find themselves no longer welcome in his life?
Disclaimer: As we all know, the WB owns The Lost Boys and all of the characters therein. Anything else I mentioned in this story are also owned by other people, too. I still own Annabelle, Sela, Alex, Dr. Hansen *and* Charlotte too!
Part 7
Laddie paced nervously near his front door, debating whether or not to go out. He knew he would see David tonight, and he knew it could get ugly. This was really the night. The very night that Annabelle promised him David would come. What could he say to him that he hadn't already heard from the other members of the Pack? He had no doubt that the others reported their entire conversations to their leader and he probably knew exactly how Laddie would react to him. But Laddie really even didn't know how he himself would react, let alone how David would react to the words that would come out of his mouth. He reached into his jeans pocket for a cigarette, but realized that he was still in the house and his mother would definitely respond negatively to smoking in the house. With a sigh he opened the front door and walked down the front steps, sitting on the bottom step. He pulled his pack of cigarettes out and then started to fish in his jacket pockets for a lighter or maybe a book of matches.
"Well, need a light?" an unmistakable voice asked in the darkness.
Laddie jumped slightly and then shook his head, shoving the cigarettes once again back in his pocket. "I'm cool. Why don't you come out where I can see you, ok?"
Then there David was, smiling his usual cocky smile which might or might not have been hiding something. "Are they around?" he asked, meaning Lucy and Grandpa.
"No, they aren't. We don't have to stay here, though," Laddie replied, knowing how David still felt about the house. He got up and brushed the dirt off the back of his jeans.
David just grinned again. "No, here is just fine. It was a long time ago you know, Laddie, and the Pack has been resurrected for around ten years. You are comfortable here, so we will speak here."
Laddie looked at him with confusion in his eyes but finally relented. He turned and crossed the threshold into the house then turned back to David. "Uh, you're invited in," he said.
David walked past Laddie into the house and took in his surroundings, noting the changes that had occurred since he had last been in there. He walked across the living room and sat in a black leather recliner. Laddie rolled his eyes at David's presumptuous behavior and took a seat on the couch next to the chair. "Well this is it, I guess," he started.
"It would seem to be so," David agreed.
"Um...," suddenly Laddie was very nervous in the blond vampire's presence.
"Yes?" David asked with patience. He had no desire to fight with the boy now.
"What have the others told you?"
"Many things. A lot of which made me very confused. What have I ever done to hurt you?" David asked calmly and without much emotion.
Laddie scowled and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive manner. "What have you ever done? Hah, that's a good one, David. You really want to know?"
"Yes, I really want to know."
"How about either ignoring me or glaring and shouting at me, no matter what I did? You do remember that, right?"
David appeared thoughtful, then narrowed his eyebrows and growled lightly. "I remember yelling at you when I thought you were putting yourself in danger. I remember yelling at you not to play on the bikes because you weren't big enough to ride them alone. And yes, I do remember ignoring you, only because Star asked me to leave you alone and let you have the only fun you could have. I did not pay attention to you because if I did I would have to keep you safe, which was and is my duty as Pack leader."
Laddie eyed David skeptically. "So now the way you treated me was Star's fault? That's a bit of a stretch, even for you. You know that I sometimes dream about her? I dream that she's still here with me and I'm young again and she's holding me and comforting me. Then you know what happens?" Laddie had been speaking rapidly and staring off into space. Then he turned and faced David. "You come up behind us and I can't even warn her before you snap her neck and leave me there alone with her body. But you know what the sickest part is? That I don't hate you when the daylight comes and I'm awake and the dream is over. Not even knowing that you killed my Star has made me hate you."
David could do nothing but stare at Laddie in shock. Of everything Laddie could have possibly said, nothing could have prepared him for this confession. He had never known that Laddie still thought of Star, she was never spoken of after the night Annabelle usurped her body. He knew that Laddie knew nothing of that. "Laddie, why tell me this now? What has this got to do with our present situation?"
"You blaming Star for your actions is not the best way to talk things out with me, you know? She cared for me for a few very long months, and I loved her like I would an older sister. Just please leave her out of this."
"All right, Laddie, as you wish. I only brought her up to tell you why I didn't pay attention to you. That doesn't mean I forgot your existence or was trying to forget about you. I was simply honoring the wishes of the woman that I thought knew what was best for you. I knew and still know nothing about children," David replied. But how would he get Laddie to see that he belonged in the Pack?
Laddie still did not understand. "But you're Pack leader. If you were trying to keep me safe from dangerous things, why would Star tell you not to?" he asked.
"Because she felt that your life was so dark that you should be able to do the dangerous but fun things you wanted to do. Eventually I agreed with her but with an extreme amount of apprehension."
"And the others? What did they say?"
"That I was blinded by love," David said with a wry grin. "And maybe that wasn't so far from the truth. I *did* love Star for a time, especially in the beginning. I would have done anything for her. I was so sure she was my mate. I suppose I never really knew what that meant. Until Annabelle appeared, that is."
"But if you thought she was supposed to be your mate, why didn't you claim her? What stopped you?"
"She did. She told me she could never be my mate, she resisted me too much. She blocked me and detached herself from me in a way that Annabelle never did. Laddie, you have no idea how much I was hurt by that. I grew to have an enormous amount of animosity for her, though now that I look back on it 'hate' would be too strong of a word. I was bitter, very bitter," David explained with an amount of resignation in his voice. He had never intended to "spill his guts" about Star quite like he had just done.
"And you never tried to hurt her?" asked Laddie incredulously.
"Emotionally, yes. I did play games with her more than a few times. But I never, never physically hurt her. Physical punishment is only for the severest of crimes within your Pack, and she had really committed no such crime. Her true crime was when she betrayed her family and allowed us to go to our doom."
Laddie snorted in disbelief. "What could she have done? And if she is considered to have betrayed you, why not me?"
"Because *you* were a child, and totally dependent on her. We knew that it had not been your choice to leave us, but even if you had chosen such a thing, we would not have deigned it necessary to carry out a harsh punishment. What we intended to do that night was not only kill them, but to take you home."
"And you? You want me to be a part of your Pack?" Laddie asked plainly, leaning forward slightly. He needed to know the answer to the most important question.
David responded by putting his hand on Laddie's shoulder and looking dead straight into his eyes. "Laddie," he began. "You are Pack! This is what we have been drilling into your head since you were ten years old. Why have you chosen to forget this now? But since you need to hear this, yes. Yes I want you as a Pack brother. I want you to be of our blood again. In order for our Pack to be complete, you must be in it. There is no other way," David stated flatly.
"David...I need to think. You'll know my answer by tomorrow evening. I promise," Laddie said with some unease. He wasn't sure what David would do now.
But David just frowned slightly. "All right Laddie, I suppose I'll have to accept that. Tomorrow evening, though, no later," his tone had a slightly threatening edge to it, but Laddie just ignored it.
"Even ex-vampires can be bound by their word," Laddie replied, trying to lighten the mood. David responded with a gentle smile.
As David moved toward the front door it suddenly swung open and there stood Lucy and Grandpa with appalled expressions on both of their faces. "Laddie! Are you all right? What happened?" Lucy exclaimed in fright.
Laddie appeared from behind David. "Mom, I'm fine. Nothing happened, we had to talk is all."
"And you let him into *our* home? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous a move that was?" Lucy demanded angrily.
"There was no danger at all, Mom," Laddie said, and before he could stop himself he continued to speak. "I trust David."
Those three little words seemed like magic. All of a sudden Laddie knew that, yes, they were true. He actually trusted David. And in that instant he also knew that his relationship with Lucy might be forever changed. She had heard the words. She knew the truth behind them, too. "You trust him," Lucy stated softly. "How could you? After everything that we have been through, how could you?" It was more of an accusation than a question.
David was about to speak when Laddie glanced at him and just shook his head. David for once decided not to interfere.
"I don't know, Mom. I don't know how I can trust the one that killed people I cared deeply about. If I have to admit it to myself, though, it's blood. I still have their blood, *his* blood inside of me. Just because it has been so diluted that I can hardly feel them anymore doesn't mean it isn't there just the same," he tried to explain.
"So is that your decision then. You're going to leave us?" asked Grandpa who until then had kept silent.
"I don't know! I don't know what's right anymore! I just...I just need to think, please? I need to think," Laddie pleaded with the three most important people in his life.
David answered, "I understand, Laddie. You will know where to find us when you need us. But just remember, tomorrow night."
With that he was gone.
Lucy wiped her eyes and stepped close to Laddie, enveloping him in a loving hug. "I can only imagine how hard this must be for you. I wish that I could help you, take this burden away from you," she said when she pulled away from him.
"I know, Mom, and I wish you could too," Laddie answered and, after hugging Grandpa, he trudged up the stairs.
Even though it was still very early, Laddie was in no mood to see anyone. He pulled off his boots and crawled under the covers, falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.
----------------------
The next evening Laddie decided to make one short stop before visiting the Pack and giving them his final decision. He left a note on the kitchen table for Lucy to read, because she had told him that she did not want to know either way until it was done, either way. She did not want to imagine him drinking the blood or going through the change. It would hurt too much.
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He pulled up Alex's driveway and jumped off his bike. He rang the doorbell and smiled when Alex opened the door. "Laddie what are you doing here, man?" Alex asked and stepped aside to allow Laddie to enter.
Laddie shook his head. "Nah, man, I can't come in. I have to be somewhere."
"Where? Oh wait, let me guess...you're going to see those friends of yours, right?"
"Actually, yeah, I am. It's pretty important."
"So how come you're here and not there?" asked Alex.
"I needed to ask you something. And this is serious, okay?"
Alex frowned in confusion. "Okay, sure. What do you need?"
"If anything happens to me, you need to look after my mom for me," Laddie said very seriously.
"Happen to you? Dude, what the fuck is going on here? Why would something happen to you?"
"Alex just please let her know that I care about her and I'll always love her and that she was a great mom. Please, Alex, please," Laddie nearly begged.
"Ok, Laddie. I promise that I'll make sure she's okay," Alex said. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I don't know. I really don't know."
"Well, Laddie, just take care of yourself. Don't do anything unless you know it's right."
Alex gave Laddie a quick and embarrassed hug and watched with a somber expression as his friend departed into the night.
----------------------
Laddie allowed himself a carefree moment as his motorcycle roared along the Boardwalk. As he neared the steps down to the beach his stomach did a flip-flop with nervousness. But something happened. As he bike clunked down the steps, something he'd done many times before, he lost control. The bike spun out and his pant leg got caught in the front wheel. It slid down, pulling him along, dragging him hard on the rough steps. When the bike finally came to rest, Laddie was unconscious and bleeding heavily. His blood stained the sand around him deep and red.
