Diary of a Vampeen (22 page)

“So… how do you tell the
difference?”

“You can’t. The vampers dwell among us
in secrecy, remember? You will never know one distinctly unless
you’ve broken a rule. That wouldn’t matter anyways though since you
would learn of their service title only seconds before they
destroyed you.”

“Wow! I have so much to learn.” I
pushed my wallet and cell in my pocket.

“I’ll share what I know, but I’m still
learning like you.”

“You already are,” I smiled chancing a
look for the first time today into his beautiful green eyes. “I
love your eyes,” I commented absently. He stared at me for almost a
solid minute before I caught myself and broke away. He led the way
to his car.

“So, if the vamp army is hidden from
us, how does someone enlist?” I asked buckling my seat belt as he
sped off down my street. It’s not like they’d have an office if
they were a private entity.

“You can’t enlist, they only
recruit.”

“How do they know you’re right for the
job?”

“The vampers dwell among us. They see
our every move without us knowing. So I’m sure they choose
well.”

“Don’t laugh,” I pleaded before
asking, “But if the vamp army is secretly among us, then how do you
know about it?”

“Very overanalytical aren’t you?” he
stated with a smug smile showcasing his amusement and his adorable
dimple. I just shrugged awaiting his answer, but all I got was, “I
can’t say.”

“What do you mean you can’t say? You
just told me about it,” I whined.

“And I shouldn’t have,” he said
dismissing my question.

It dawned on me then, the light bulb
switched on. “You know one, don’t you?” That’s the only way. Kellan
wasn’t one to gossip sheer myth or perception; he’s a factual
person.

He sighed staring at me with regret
visible in every pore on his face. Knowing it was my last chance to
sway him into confession I put my best ‘you can trust me’ face on.
“I promise I won’t tell a soul. Notice I said a soul, which
includes every species and race.”

“I’m not getting out of this, am
I?”

“Nope,” I confirmed, smiling inwardly
knowing he was about to cave.

He looked around his parked car, as if
someone was eaves dropping, and said, “My dad.”

“Seriously?” I questioned but his
image came to mind from the other night and clicked as making
sense. He definitely seemed like he would fit into that secret army
category. Buff army body under a classic attire yet entwined with a
rugged charm. Without his story, I knew Al had seen things beyond
an average vamp. I definitely got the 1900s Sopranos vibe from him;
family in the front of the house and business around the back of
the house.

“Yes.”

“Wow. That’s really cool,” I added as
if I was talking to Mel. What else was there to comment? The guy
was James Bond army style.

“Let’s get your breakfast before it’s
too late,” he pushed, no longer wanting to discuss the subject. I
didn’t press; I’d mastered Kellan’s restrictions.

Inside I ordered my sandwich with a
sweet tea. We sat at a booth and I began to eat. Midway through my
meal the silence got to me; not because of the lack of noise but
because of Kellan’s lack of a distraction. He was gawking at me
while I ate, which was uncomfortable to say the least.

“Want a bite?” I asked holding out my
biscuit towards him.

“No. Thank you,” he answered quickly
backing away. He returned to observing me while I anxiously
observed the pictures on the walls.

“So tell me more,” I requested taking
another bite. Anything to lure his attention from my consumption
momentarily.

“I don’t think this is the best place
for that discussion.”

“Oh. Humans. Right,” I stated looking
around at the random customers and employees.

“What do you want to do next?” It’s
clear that he wanted to avoid all vampeen talk at this point. He
had sat relatively motionless except when I offered him food a
moment ago.

“Well, Barnes & Noble is next
door,” I replied looking towards the left side of the plaza where
my beloved establishment rested.

“Sounds good.” He reasoned, “You will
never read a book at this pace again so you might as well do it
once more.”

Knowing I would be stuffing my face
all day and realizing I wanted one more great tasting frappuccino,
I wastefully discarded the remainder of my breakfast.

“Does it bother you to walk slowly in
public?” I asked Kellan as we walked towards Barnes &
Noble.

“I’m used to it.”

“But do you want to run past them?” I
pressed.

“Sometimes. But then I stop and
remember that I have forever.”

“Makes sense,” I shrugged as he held
the door for me.

I walked up to the café counter and
just as I was about to order Kellan stepped in between and said,
“Your best grande, double-blended, coffee frappucino and hold the
whip.”

“You got it,” Joe said from behind the
counter. Joe was the epitome of a chess club and science-fiction
loving college kid. He bragged about seeing Star Trek in the
theatre twenty-five times. He was a nice guy though if you could
venture beyond the nerd-front with him.

Kellan paid before I could even pull
out my wallet. “You didn’t have to do that. You already paid for my
breakfast,” I said. “But thank you.”

“No problem. Today is on me. All of
it,” he emphasized the last words, but remained monotone when
speaking it somehow.

“Drinks up!” Joe called.

“Thanks. I hope it’s good,” I smiled
at him knowing my words and thoughts were in unison on this
prayer.

“Have I ever made you a bad one?” he
scoured with a chuckle.

“Guess not,” I shrugged taking a sip.
“You’re record is still clean. It’s good.”

“Have a good one Lex,” he smiled
turning to help a new customer.

“What do you want to read?” Kellan
prompted walking back out into the rows of books with
me.

“Research,” I answered heading
straight towards my goal section.

“Enlighten me.”

“Vampires,” was all I said. Looking
around the shelf of religious and cultural books for a minute, I
finally located the one I’d caught Kellan with the past weekend. He
watched me with intent as I retrieved the book from the shelf.
“What were you reading about in here?” I asked flipping to the
first page.

I waited patiently for a response as I
skimmed the first few pages, but received nothing. I looked up and
gasped when I saw how angry he appeared. His eyes encompassed a red
ring around the bright green that I loved and a fierce piercing
intent to kill dined within them; his lips were pulled over his
teeth a bit and in that moment I heard a low growl
escape.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t know this
stuff was off limits. I was just curious,” I explained anxiously
trying to defuse the situation; though I was confused as to what
I’d done that warranted this reaction. The last week Kellan had
been almost eager in sharing as much as possible with me. I didn’t
see how me asking a simple question could enrage him to this
degree.

He continued to glare and grumble. It
took me a moment of intense focus on his eyes to realize he wasn’t
fixed on me. I slowly turned around unsure of what to expect.
Standing no more than twelve feet away was a female with long thin
black hair hitting her mid back. She had thin lips, narrow black
eyes that glared the same; just as his were focused on her, her
eyes were locked on him and her body was slightly crouched prepared
to spring at any moment.

It didn’t take a genius to realize I
was in danger. I slowly started inching my way behind Kellan. And
though I didn’t want to, I caught myself glimpsing at the vampire
hedging so close to me. She stood about 5’5” and though she’s not
drop dead gorgeous like I suspected them all to be, she was still
somewhat pretty. She seemed an exotic blend of an oriental descent.
She was very thin, my guess is a size 00, but I still comprehended
the danger she could present to me.

Once I’d secured a solid two feet
behind Kellan, I heard someone coming. Peering towards the aisle I
saw a man walking with an employee towards our section. I froze
with panic. No longer than two seconds after this registered
mentally, I was whisked into arms and flying at the speed of light
it felt. A wind tunnel had nothing on this swiftness. The moment I
inhaled, I was relieved to smell Kellan’s cologne. At least it
confirmed I wasn’t in the wrong arms about to be killed.

Less than ten seconds and only one
breath after being pulled into his arms I was inside his car in the
center of the plaza, a good one-sixth of a mile from Barnes &
Noble. Kellan was driving before I could even grasp that we were in
his car.

“Buckle up!” he commanded.

The traffic on Rivers Avenue was
horrible any time of day, but somehow we were on the interstate in
less than two minutes.

“Who… Who was that?” I asked unable to
gage whether this was the right time to press for answers. His
demeanor was protective though his voice revealed unwavering
rage.

“Keira,” he stated.

“You know her?” I was
confused.

“No,” he quickly denied.

“Then how do you know her name?” I
felt uneasy.

“She told me. She spoke soft and
swift. Human ears would never hear her,” he explained in a hurry, a
notion I knew was to shut me up.

Kellan retrieved his phone and
attached it to an advanced speaker system on his dashboard. No
sooner had he connected it that it was ringing.

“Kellan,” the husky voice pushed in a
question-statement form, silent unease cracking midway.

“Gear up Dad. She’s located us. I’ll
be there in two minutes.”

Kellan repeated the same call to a
voice I knew all too well – my mother. Though she held tight to
sensibility, I felt the fear she was fighting.

“That’s my attacker, isn’t it?” I
whispered knowing Kellan could hear me still. I couldn’t look at
him, my gut already knew the answer, and I was just waiting for
confirmation. I felt his gaze locked on me from the side; he was
probably battling with telling me or not.

He quietly sighed, “Yes.”

I lifted my head, fidgeting with my
hands in my lap, to notice that we were in a driveway. One second
later Al was in the backseat instructing Kellan to go.

I looked between both men baffled. “I…
I thought you avoided the sun?” I stumbled.

“We common the day, it just weakens us
a bit. The sun absorbs your energy like a sponge. Think about a day
at the beach. Are you not exhausted by days end when you’ve merely
lied around most of the day?” Al clarified calmly.

“Oh.” So my attacker was weakened
during the day. At least I theoretically should be protected until
sundown. I was still alarmed; it was all so sudden. The last thing
I wanted was a meet and greet before I went to sleep. I couldn’t
even think straight to comprehend the drama.

We rounded the corner to find my
parents waiting in the garage with the door open. Kellan flew in
just as the door started to close. My door swung open prompting me
to almost fall out, but my mother had me in her death squeeze
before I could inhale once.

“Everything is going to be fine Lexi,”
she stated though it felt like she required more convincing than
me.

“Let’s get her inside,” Al
prompted.

My mother whipped me into her arms and
on the couch in a matter of seconds. I didn’t think I would ever
get used to the sporadic speed races. I was surprised I didn’t have
whiplash at this point. Once there, my dad sat on one side of me
caressing my arm and patting my hair in a reassuring manner. My
mother settled on the other side with my right hand in hers as she
carried on with her babble of conviction over my safety.

After five minutes of straight blubber
from my mom and non-stop physical contact on every side of me, I
began to feel claustrophobic. “Mom! Dad! Just stop!” I exploded
pushing them away. “I know you’re just trying to help, but you’re
only making it worse. Please.”

“I’m sorry sweetie,” they stumbled in
unison.

I sighed taking in their reaction.
Guilt panged me internally; I knew they meant well. “Listen, I’m
trying to cope but seeing you so distraught is making it
impossible. I’ll be in my room. I think we all need a breather,” I
said hoping to bring rational to the situation.

My dad looked at my mother with
obvious edge. I could only imagine how helpless he must have felt;
torn between comforting his wife and daughter but mortal and unable
to defend either. He didn’t say a word to me when I stood up and
moved towards the stairs.

I heard Al move in to level off the
emotional stress my parents exuded. He spoke calmly in a rather
soothing voice as I retreated to my room.

I felt his presence half-way up the
stairs and knew without turning that Kellan was behind me. I
entered my room, didn’t bother to close the door in his face and
plopped face-down on my bed.