Author's sneaky note
Hey guys,
Thanks for all the beautiful reviews I have been getting. I LOVE THEM! I look forward to what you think of this little story about Lorenzo. I absolutely love him as a character and just wanted to explore the possibility of what he was up to before Augustine, so make sure to let me know what you think.
As always disclaimer, I don't own any characters but i do own some of the story line. Thanks again for checking out my stuff and please please please please please let me know what you think. Another update coming real soon.
Love CJR
Chapter 7
Came into this world
Daddy's little girl
And daddy made a soldier out of me
Oh, oh, oh
Daddy made me dance
And daddy held my hand
Oh, oh, oh
And daddy liked his whisky with his tea
And we rode motorcycles
Blackjack, classic vinyl
Tough girl is what I had to be
-Beyoncé
Dear Elena,
I want to live in the 30s and the thirties and maybe even the forties!
As much as it pains me to say this but Enzo's story before tragedy (maybe after considering his family dynamics) sounds amazing. He didn't hold back on any details even the ones I thought he would hold out on. I liked it like that, it made more descriptive, more detailed and more appreciated.
"It was like I was appreciating a second chance at life." He said smiling looking at the fire. We were sitting with our back against the couch in front the fire. He had just opened a bottle of wine and he was just telling me a story. It was really actually very nice, as weird as it sounds, "Lily turned me and well I'm not going to repeat that story because you know it already?"
"I actually have too many details about that actually," I smile at him, "Details I probably could have lived the rest of my life without knowing."
"It amazes that you've gotten this far with all that sarcasm to be honest with you." He says grinning at me.
Here's another weird thing, generally I would have said something probably demeaning and sarcastic but I didn't. I must really want to hear the story, "Ha Ha Mr. Funny. Why don't you just continue with the story?" He smiles slightly as he continues.
"I found myself in Atlanta in summer of 1928." He looks into the fire like he can imagine it once more, "You should've seen it then. It was fantastic. Music was louder, parties were harder, woman were…well delicious." He looks at me with a mischievous look.
"In what aspect?"
"Well they tasty…in both ways." He winks at me. I roll my eyes and shake my head but he continues, "I actually went there because I heard of someone who could create a day light amulet for me. At that time I didn't know it was which, I thought it was just special that someone had manufactured. I could only travel at night and-"
"Where were you living for the last ten or so years?" I interrupt him.
"I jump from place to place in Europe." He shrugs, "See Love, due to my lack of education then, I didn't have a sense of direction. I was pretty much just going with instinct."
"Hence why you had the bloodlust?" I nod at him and he smiles in agreement.
"See why you're the college girl?" He smiles at me, "Anyway, I made it to Atlanta but it took five nights to find this bloody witch. I didn't find her, in fact they found me."
"They?"
"They were vampires…a group of them." He shakes his head, "They had heard word that a lustful vampire was in town and they didn't like that. Obviously being old and somewhat more controlled, they were stronger than me. They fought me and were about to kill me."
"Until…" I edged him.
"Until a woman named Maria stopped them." He says with a big smile, "She was…something else. She had the dark olive skin, big southern accent and bouncy afro. She told them not to kill me." He looks down at me for a moment and then back at the fire, "She didn't ask any questions or say anything she took me to some pub. The Crazy Haul it was called. That placed just bounced with energy, and bucket load of super naturals in one place."
"Sounds like a hoot." I say sarcastically. I'm not trying to be mean, but it sounded like a blood bath to me but I didn't say that out loud. Once again, surprisingly.
"It was actually." He smiles, "She took me to her father. Also a vampire. He was a big man though, full soul and light… He made his own bourbon best in his craft and he was a brilliant musician. Big Joe was something else."
"Big Joe?" I say and he nods, "The guy that sent you this guitar?"
"Yeah," He smiles, "Made that with his own hands actually. That same guitar is the one that he taught me with."
"He taught you how to play the guitar?"
"He taught me to play every single instrument." He smiles at me, "He loved music and I think saw somewhat a son in me…He used to teach me everything…From how to play instruments, to how to drink blood without causing a scene. Every lesson had a musical connotation to it though." He chuckles once, "I remember he used to say 'Son, your prey are like your woman, you woman are like instruments…you strum the right cord and play the right notes…you lure them right in. Then they're good for anything'." He looks down and laughs a little more, "Little to say that lesson got me laid…and fed. A lot." He then sighed, "It was easy though, the Crazy Haul was literally in a back all, full of just vampires."
"So Big Joe owned the Crazy Haul."
"Yeah," He smiled, "Everyone loved Big Joe and if you didn't love him, you envied him."
"What about Maria?"
"What about her?"
"Well if he's her daughter then, how did she feel about being replaced by you?" I ask and sip my wine, "Cause I happen to know first how it feels when a parent decided to replace you with a more humanly male version of you."
Enzo frown at me slightly.
"Don't worry about it," I swallow and realize I just ranted bitterness, "Maria?"
"Oh Maria?" He sighs, "The witch that I was talking about, it was Maria's best friend…Magenta. Magenta was skilled, talented. Worked a lot with loop hole magic. You know finding ways out of spells. She made my day light ring." Enzo looks at his hand where his ring is situated.
"Wait," I say looking at him, "Maria is Big Joes daughter, where's Maria's mother? Why didn't Joe turn her too."
"Well funny story love," Enzo scratches his head, "Maria actually turned Big Joe to prevent him from dying. She loves her father. Maria and her mother fell ill, a nurse wanted to give Maria's mother the blood but Maria's mother insisted she save her daughter first. By the time the nurse was done saving Maria, Sherly was gone."
"Oh." I look down and silently applaud this Sherly for selfless act to save her child, "Why'd you leave? Well I'm assuming you left."
"I did," Enzo sighed, "I didn't know, I didn't see that Maria loved me. She felt as though my feeling needed to be enhanced…so she had Magenta cast a love spell on me. You can't manipulate feeling like that, especially with Vampires. All it did was have a counter effect, it switched my emotions off." Enzo looked down, "Big Joe knew what happened because Magenta confessed and swore to find a way to switch it on…Before she could…" Enzo sighs deeply and looks into the fire.
"You killed Magenta." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. You and I both knew what it was like first hand for vampires with no emotions.
"I killed Magenta." Enzo says, "Maria's love turned to hate and she wanted me gone. Big Joe loved his daughter and couldn't choose. When he told me to leave, I switched my emotions back on. I guess it hurt because it felt like my old life all over again." I look at him with eyes filled with sympathy, "Big Joe said that one day his return home…I wanted to promise that but I couldn't. So I just left." He looks at me, "That was about 1950…I ended up in Virginia and was captured by the Augustine's."
"He sent that to you," I point at the guitar, "Since you've been free…have you seen them?"
"No," He smiles and walks over to the guitar and starts slowly strumming, "I Know Maria…she hasn't forgiven me yet for killing her best friend and for not loving her." He smiles at me, "That is the story fo Enzo after he is turned."
"It was actually a good story." I smile at him. He looks at me in disbelief, "What?"
"Did it sting complimenting me?"
"I was complimenting the story, not you." I glare at him and then look away.
Enzo starts laughing and then stops when his phone buzzes, "Alex?" He answers, "Ok…I'll be there…in my own time." He hung up and looks at me, "I've got to go."
"You've got to go." I smile at him and finish my wine and stand up, "Thank you for the story Enzo."
He smiled at me and as I walked to my bedroom, I heard him get into his car and drive away. Just like that, the cabin felt almost a little heavy again, almost dark. I will say however, hearing how open Enzo was about his past and talk about his time in Atlanta, makes me feel better. As I crawl into bed that night, I reply the story so I almost feel less alone.
B