It was two days before I could get an evening where Daryl and Carrie were free to come for a visit. I framed it as a "cocktail" party of sorts, and mentioned that Beth would be there. They seemed to be looking forward to it. I was gonna hate to have to disappoint them later. This was really driving me crazy with worry. How do you break it to one of your best friends that you're responsible for their "death?" I guess no one has these problems unless they're a vampire.
Beth was there early, and I had really meant it about the moral support I needed from her. It wouldn't just be Daryl that would be mad; Carrie I know would be furious. I hoped that, even though Beth was human, she might have a calming influence. I know she was helping me to feel calmer. She kissed me consolingly on the cheek, and helped me set out glasses, alcohol, and blood. I always got a kick at how she cringed at the carafe of O neg I pulled out of the fridge.
"It'll be fine, Mick," she told me, wrapping her arms around my waist, laying her warm cheek against my chest. I stroked her soft hair, kissing the top of her sweet-smelling head.
"I hope you're right." Then, the knock came on the door. I could smell them through the door before I saw them on the monitor, standing in the hall. They'd brought a bottle of wine. I swallowed hard, and opened the door. They both smiled as they came in, Daryl shaking my hand, Carrie giving me a hug, and greeting me warmly in my head. Carrie was a telepath. She couldn't read minds, but she could broadcast her thoughts into the minds that she chose. In her previous life, she had been completely mute, and had only been able to communicate through signs. When she became a vampire, she could suddenly talk to people in their minds. I guess for her, this vampire thing might actually be a blessing.
I ushered them in and took the wine, probably overdoing it on the gratitude. Beth looked into my eyes as she took the bottle from me. Calm down, she mouthed. They seemed happy to see Beth again too. I went through the motions of asking and fulfilling their drink requests, which killed a little time. I didn't know if I could do this. We all sat down in the living room with our drinks. I should have known they would sense my inner conflict.
Is something wrong, Mick? Carrie asked me.
I looked at her beautiful face and hair. She had always reminded me of Snow White, which I'd seen in the movie theatre when it had first come out. Her skin was truly white as snow, but her shiny ebony hair was very long, and this was not a woman who would be afraid of anything. As a matter of fact, I'd seen her look downright scary when she was angry.
"Yes, there's something wrong. Something terrible I have to tell you both. Something that I've done." Beth reached over and gave my hand a squeeze of encouragement. I continued to hold on to it for dear life. "This isn't easy for me to say, and I didn't tell you sooner, because I only recently discovered it myself."
I paused, trying to find the words I'd already rehearsed a million times in my head.
"Just spit it out, Mick," Daryl said, a corner of his mouth lifting, even though he could feel how serious I was.
"Okay. I'll just rip off the bandage, then. Daryl, I was your sire. I found you that day on the docks, already near death because someone else had hit you over the head. I nearly drained you before I could help it, so, to save you, I turned you." There was more to the story, of course, but there it all was in a nutshell. Shock rolled from both of them in waves. Then, I could feel the anger in Daryl, starting out slowly, then building so rapidly that it brought him to his feet. The next thing I knew, he had me by my collar. Did I mention that Daryl is a big guy? Not to mention a very powerful vampire. I watched his fangs emerge, saw his eyes go silver with rage.
"Why the hell did you wait fifty years to tell me this? And why now?"
"I'm sorry Daryl! I didn't know! I would've told you—" Then the pounding commenced. I'd taken a beating before, from vampires who were much stronger and older than me. Then, I had fought back. But this was worse, because I knew I deserved it, and so I just let him punch me to a pulp. If being his punching bag could take away some of his pain and anger, I was a ready volunteer. Over the sounds of his fists, I could hear Beth screaming at Daryl to stop, screaming at Carrie to help. I don't know how long it lasted before Carrie finally managed to pull him off of me. He'd been in a blind rage, and when he stepped unsteadily away from me, he surveyed the damage in shock. Without another word, he grabbed his jacket and walked out of my apartment, Carrie following close behind. She stopped at the door and looked back at us.
I'm sorry Mick. I'll talk to him. Then she too was gone. I laid back on the couch in pain. I knew I'd recover physically from this rather quickly, but right then I didn't care. I knew my relationship with Daryl would probably never heal.
I could hear Beth sobbing while she ran to the kitchen for a wet cloth. She was cursing herself for suggesting I tell him. She was cursing Daryl for beating me up. I knew it must be hard for her to understand how men dealt with things, let alone vampire men.
She began the hopeless task of wiping my battered face. It was numb with the swelling, and I knew the only thing that would help would be blood and my freezer. I tried to sit up, and she continued to nurse me.
"Thanks," I murmured. "If I could just have some blood…"
"Of course," she said, getting a glass and filling it full from the carafe. I downed it in a gulp. "More." She brought the whole container, and before she could refill my glass, I grabbed it from her and drained it. I felt better right away. "Well, that wasn't so bad," I said softly. It hurt when I tried to smile though.
Beth wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I literally thought he was going to kill you," she said shakily.
"Unless he had a sword or a flamethrower on him, there's no way he could have killed me. It hurts like hell, but much less than I deserve."
"You didn't tell him the whole story, though. Maybe he would understand this better if you did. You were a newly changed vampire. I've seen with my own eyes how crazy they can be."
"Maybe when he has time to absorb all this, he'll have some questions for me. Maybe not. I don't have much hope that he'll ever forgive me now, Beth."
"Carrie said she would try to talk to him."
"I won't hold my breath." I laughed then groaned in pain at my mistake. Vampires don't breathe. Beth tried to find an unbruised place on my face to kiss me. She ended up planting a soft kiss on my neck.
"I need to take a shower, then get to my freezer," I said after another minute of her delicate ministrations.
I got up, a little wobbly, and let her help me up the stairs. She helped me off with my clothes, and I got in the shower, letting the cold water bring down my heightened temperature. After about twenty minutes, Beth came to check on me.
"Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah, I'm going to climb into my freezer for awhile." It was much earlier than I usually went to bed, but I knew that was the only way I was going to heal. Besides, I felt like crap.
"I'll come back in the morning to see how you're doing," she said, her tone brooking no argument.
"Okay. Thank you, Beth. I'm sorry you had to see that."
She opened the shower door a crack, reaching in to touch my back. I turned toward her, grabbing her hand and bringing it to my mouth. "I'm sorry you had to go through it," she told me, her eyes welling up again. "I love you so much, Mick."
"I love you too," I whispered hoarsely. I felt like crying, myself. "I'll see you tomorrow."
I was thankful that I was so weak, because there would have been no other way I could have fallen asleep as quickly as I did. I was grateful also for the oblivion, and that no dreams haunted me.