Forbidden Embrace (14 page)

“
What on earth is going on here?” Isaac asks rhetorically. Finally I see Danika laying on the sofa in the family room, watching TV and obviously pretending not to hear me. She does a little stretch and glances over her shoulder at me only to turn back to her program. With one swift motion, I grab her by her neck yank her to her feet.

With attitude she yells, “What the heck is up your butt Sophia?” Breaking free from my grasp, she steady’s herself.

“
Like you don’t know; would you care to explain why you seem to feel entitled to kiss my boyfriend?”

“
I…I…I’m sorry,” she stutters, slowly inching further away from me.

“
Sorry? It never should have happened! Do you see why I can’t trust you? You have zero respect for anyone; not me, not Nate, not even this family.”

“
Oh Sophia get over it, it was no big deal. Honestly, just let me explain.”

“
There is nothing to explain–you crossed a line here and I’m so done with you.” I feel my features begin to change as rage takes over…first the burning in my eyes and the ache in my jaw. I can’t restrain myself any longer; I’m going to kill this girl. At the same moment Alexander reaches for me, I lunge at Danika, tossing her to the ground. One fist after another I punch her square in the face, each hit bringing satisfaction. Blood spatters from one side of the room to the next. With one fist tangled in her short mess of fire red hair, I slam her head to the ground. Lifting my arm and tightening my fist I prepare to strike her again. Elijah, Alexander and Isaac pull me from the beaten young
vampire
and restrain me. Florence and Constance move in to help Danika.

“
Will you let me go? I want to deal with this once and for all.” I pull and push, but even my strength is no match for the two older male
vampires
. Through my peripheral vision I notice Nathanial and I can see the terror and what I perceive as disgust on his face. Immediately I begin to calm down, feeling the features of my face retracting, embarrassed and ashamed that he saw me in all my primal rage. “I’m fine, just keep her away from me for tonight; we can deal with this in the morning. I do hope that someone will discuss the issue of her behavior with her…I can’t promise I’ll stop next time.” I push the boys off of me and race back to my room.

Still furious and ashamed that I acted no better than her, I pace back and forth in my room, afraid of what Nathanial thinks of me now.
How am I going to fix this? He is always going to see that awful monster every time he looks at me now.
A soft tap on the door interrupts my thoughts, “What?”

Slowly cracking the door open Nathanial peeks in, and I turn away, unable to face him.

“
Sweetie, may I come in?”

My heart leaps…he called me sweetie!
He doesn’t hate me–or is he just treading lightly ‘cause he’s scared of me?
“Of course…I’m so sorry Nate. Can you ever forget what you saw and forgive me for acting like that?” I ask, nearly begging.

“
Come, let’s sit down.” Walking towards me, he takes my hand and leads me to the edge of the bed. “I have to admit I was shocked to see you react like that, but in all honesty, if someone else kissed you, I would have probably done the same thing. So you have nothing to be sorry about.”

“
But I do; I’m sorry you saw me like that, that I lost complete control and I’m sorry I was such a bitch earlier.”

Raising his hand to my cheek and turning me to face him, he said, “Sophia, this is my fault. I should have waited to tell you. You’re just coming down off the war with the Cerberus and your emotions are still raw. I just should’ve waited.”

“
No, you did the right thing, I’m glad you told me.”

“
But if I’d waited maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so out of control. ….Who am I kidding, you have been looking for a reason to go at it with Danika for as long as I’ve known you. You would have kicked her ass no matter when I told you.” He chuckles a little, and pulls my head to his shoulder. “Now I can think of something better to do than talk about your bratty little sister.” He flashes one of his crooked little half smiles and pushes me back on the bed as he begins to press his soft lips to mine, with even more passion than before.

Chapter 12

Danika Escapes

After Constance and Florence help clean me up from the beating Sophia laid on me, I go to my room, devastated that she didn’t even give me a chance to explain why I kissed Nathanial before she attacked me. The past 18 months since being Embraced and becoming a
vampire
have been trying for me…being fifteen for all eternity is going to suck. I would have been 16 by now, starting to drive, finding someone to love. That was all I wanted to do, to find out what I was feeling. I mean, how could I be sure if I have never even kissed a boy before? I never wanted Sophia and Nate together; I hurt inside every time I see them all huggy and kissy. I never knew what I really wanted, I just wanted to belong. Well now I’ve kissed a boy, and I know for sure what it is I am feeling. I’m not in love with Nathanial; I’m in love with Sophia.

With this new realization I know that I can’t stay here any longer. Picking up my phone I decide to call Drake. I think it might be time for me to return to Club VC and become a more active club member…time to party a little. Drake has always been kind and urged me to live as a true
vampire
, not like a pansy vamp as he calls it.

“
Hi Drake, it’s Danika.”

“
Hey kid, you ready to come and party with me again?”

“
Yeah, but I have to get out of here and…well, do you know where I can stay for a while?”

“
My apartment is just above the club; you are welcome at my place as long as you need. Want me to come grab you?”

“
That would be great, thanks. I’ll escape through the forest and meet you at the edge of town.”

“
Perfect: we’ll head straight back to Boston. Will an hour give you enough time?”

“
Yeah, and thanks again Drake.”

“
No problem kid, you know I wanna hang with you a little more.”

I set the phone on my desk and shuffle through everything looking for my note pad. I know they were worried last time, and I don’t want them coming after me. I’ll explain it all and hopefully they will forget about me the way they did with Caspian.

January 28

Dear Pierce family,

Thank you so much for everything you have done for me, but I feel my time is up here. Your family is so amazing, and I am only causing trouble for all of you. I will stay in contact when I can. You trained me well, so please don’t worry.

Sophia, I want to explain about me kissing Nathanial. I was feeling extremely jealous about your relationship with him and wanted to test those feelings. For me this test was a success. I don’t have feelings for Nathanial…I have feelings for you. I thought I was confused, but kissing Nathanial gave me a sick feeling and I knew for sure. During the short kiss, I found myself wishing it was you I was kissing. Yes, you are reading this correctly, I’m a lesbian. It’s because of this revelation that I need to leave. I need to find out who I am before I can be a part of this family. I know we have our share of differences, but I love you all.

Please, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.

X. O. X. O.

Danika

***

Leaving the note on my bed, I sneak out my window with a quick glance back, then run to the road where Drake will meet me.

“
Hey kid, get on in,” Drake greets me.

“
Thanks Drake. I just can't stay here any longer.” A single tear trickles down my cheek.

“
I'm glad you decided to come hang with me.”

I give him a small smirk as we head down the interstate to Boston. Drake takes his time and drives only the speed limit as I stare out the window with not much to say. The Pierce's are a great family; I just don't think I belong with them.

Before long, Drake pulls into the parking garage at his apartment and we take a secret entrance down to Club VC. The stairwell is narrow and dark, only lit by small lights imbedded within the stairs. A second door opens and the bass booms through the opening into the stairwell inside the club. Black lights shine down and the smell of blood is overwhelming. It looks as if there are hundreds on the dance floor, bobbing to the electronica music. Probably a good mix of
vampires
and their human minions that have been compelled or hypnotized to do as their master wishes occupying the dance floor and VIP areas of the club.

“
You look thirsty kiddo, let’s get you a drink,” Drake says as he grabs my hand, pulling me towards the bar. “Hey buddy,” he greets the bartender. “One shot for the kid and a tap for me.”

“
Sure thing Drake, this one's got an untapped vein right in her thigh. Go ahead and have at her. She is pretty tasty too,” replies the man as he licks his lips and passes me a glass of deep red blood.

“
Thanks, my name is Danika,” I shout above the music.

“
Is this your first time here, Danika?”

“
Na, was here on New Year's with Drake, but I think I'll be hanging around here a little more now. I don’t really have any place else to go and Drake is being real nice and is going to let me stay at his place.”

“
Sounds great, and my name is Hugo, but everyone calls me Buddy.”

“
Why Buddy?” I ask.

“
I man the bar, so I'm everyone’s buddy,” he chuckles.

I crack a grin; he’s nice looking with a long black pony tail, and he's fairly built. He's also got nice taste in girls–the one on the bar is quite a looker, but she'll probably be dead by the end of the night. I slam back the shot, tipping the glass upside down on the bar, and thank Hugo one last time before making my way out to the dance floor. I try to forget my problems and the fact that the woman I’m pretty sure I’m in love with just kicked my ass and hates me more than anything. I can’t see her ever forgiving me; will I ever be able to face Sophia, Nathanial or the Pierces ever again? My God, I wonder what they all think of me now…how could I just leave a note telling them I’m gay? Will they ever let me back? I mean, they are all from another time then I am, and might not be as accepting of a gay person as others might be. Will others be okay with it? What will everyone at school say? Will they accept me? Has Wenham even had someone with a different sexual orientation than most? So many questions, and no answers; maybe I will never have the answers. At least Drake accepts me and is providing me with a place to stay. It’s funny how I denied who I really am for so long, and now that I have realized my sexuality, I can’t help but wonder how I didn’t acknowledge it sooner. It feels good to want to be true to my feelings, so I guess it doesn’t matter what others think of me. Shaking off my thoughts I try to forget all my troubles, if only for a night or two. I just need to clear my head, so I start bouncing on the dance floor with so many of the other patrons.

Chapter 13

Missing

Nathanial and I both awake to the sound of Florence’s shriek followed by deep throaty sobs. Jumping out of bed, we both race out of the room to see what the commotion is. We find Florence kneeling on the floor of Danika’s room, holding only a piece of paper as the tears stream down her face. Constance and Matilda are already there, trying to console her.

“
What did the brat do now?” I question sarcastically.

“
Sophia, now is not the time for your petty little grudge. Can't you see Florence is upset?” Constance reprimands.

“
You're right; Florence, I'm sorry. What's going on, where is Danika?”

Matilda gently takes the letter from Florence’s hand, and passing it to me she explains. “Danika has run away, and I hate to say it Sophia, but it has something to do with you.”

“
With me? Why; just because I kicked her butt? Florence, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. She'll be back soon.”

“
Just read the letter…she explains everything,” Constance mentions, as she continues to comfort Florence.

Nathanial and I read the letter together and at the same time, we turn to look at one another. Complete and utter shock runs across both our faces as we look between one another and the letter.

“
Are you kidding me? Now she thinks it's me she's in love with?”

“
That appears to be what she thinks. I just do not understand why she thought she had to leave. I love her, no matter what. In such a short amount of time, Danika has become one of my daughters, and I would not trade one moment I had with her for anything,” Florence continues to weep.

“
Can I assume the boys are looking for her?”

“
Yeah, they raced out of here as soon as we found the letter,” Matilda adds.

Nathanial kneels next to Florence, and with his arm around her he helps her up to a chair. I've never seen Florence like this before, not even when Caspian left us. I can't help but wonder if what she’s feeling now is not just about Danika, but also about Caspian. Trying to think of something I can do to help I realize that maybe Ebony and Eliza can scry for Danika. Scrying is used by
witches
to search for something or someone. I've seen Ebony do this before and all she requires is something that belongs to the person they are searching for, a map, and the use of a pendulum which has been blessed and magically charged. This might work…I’m going to have to go and ask her right away.