Protector (17 page)

“What am I doing in here?” she asks herself out loud, horrified to find herself in this bed, in this room.  From the familiar signs of a hangover, she assumes she had a few drinks last night before stumbling in here to pass out.

She hugs her knees and looks around the room
, the same room she had shared with Dylan for many years.  It seems like an eternity ago now.  Everything is just as she left it all those months ago.  She is overcome with emotions from the familiarity of her surroundings.  She runs her hand over the fluffy white down comforter.  Dylan used to say it reminded him of a fluffy cloud. 

Carefully she gets up and walks over to Dylan’s closet.  She rests her hand on the door knob and takes a deep breath before slowly opening the door.  This is the first
time his closet door has been opened since the day of the funeral, when Anna-Marie’s mother searched out the perfect suit to bury him in.  All at once the familiar musky scents slam into her nostrils making her feel dizzy, causing her to have to grab the door knob to steady herself.  She smiles and closes her eyes and breathes him in. After a few minutes she closes the closet door and turns around.  That is when she sees the letter on the pillow.  She walks over to the bed and sits back down.  She reaches over and picks it up with now trembling hands.  She takes a deep breath before she opens the note and lets it out quickly once she reads the three simple words.

“I’m sorry
, Alessandro.”

“Alessandro?”
Alessandro whispers.

Like a flash of lightening, the events from the night before surge through her already achy brain like an angry storm.  She quickly drops the no
te and hugs her knees close to her chest.  She can’t fathom what happened last night and she desperately wants to not believe it, but she knows she has to.  Whether she likes it or not, Alessandro was telling the truth.  It doesn’t mean she has to like it.

“A vampire killed Dylan?”
she whispers to herself.  “There are really vampires?  How can a person go on like normal knowing such creatures really do exist?”

She lies back down and wraps the fluffy blanket close around her head.  She is sad to have lost her new friend.  He lied to her and deceived her about everything.  She is aware that he had to for the sake of his people, but it won’t make her trust him again. 

She remains in bed for the rest of the weekend as she tries to absorb all that she was told.  What do you do with the knowledge that everything that you once knew was all a lie?  

12

As usual, Anna-Marie goes about her days in a daze.  Time seems to go by so quickly; days soon become weeks and weeks turn into a month. On Fridays she sits in her car in her normal spot at the cemetery scanning the grounds, not for monsters or mad men, but in search of Alessandro.  At first it was so she could be sure to avoid him, even though she didn’t think he would come again since his cover was blown.  But as the weeks went by, she found herself missing him and hoping to see him. 

Today is no different.  She sits in her car for a few minutes before getting out.  Her heart has been pounding out of her chest all day with anticipation.  Disappointed to not see Alessandro, she gets out of her car and walks to Dylan’s grave.  She stands in front of Dylan’s grave, but is unable to take her eyes off Catherine’s grave. 

Lately she has missed their weekly chats, talking to Alessandro was once the highlight of her week.  Her brain keeps telling her she should still be mad at him for lying to her, but her heart won’t listen.  As each day passes, it becomes more and more difficult to remember she should be angry. 

She remembers the first time she saw him here.  He looked so serene and vulnerable in that moment
, as was she.  As time went by, she started to open up to him in a way that she hadn’t opened up to anyone in a long time.  On the last night she saw him while at the club, he was so comfortable in that atmosphere.  His beautiful almond eyes pierced through her soul every time she felt him staring at her.  Then when they danced she could swear her soul leaped out of her body.  It was a magical moment she has never felt before, not even with Dylan.

Sadly, she turns her attention back to Dylan.  She sits on the ground in front of his grave and tells her best friend everything
, knowing if he were really here he would be her friend and listen, even if it was about another guy.  At one point she finds herself laughing and at another moment she felt tears spring up in her eyes. 

As she is wiping the tears from her eyes a thought comes to her.  Excitedly she runs to her car and pulls out a piece of paper from her briefcase and writes a note, a short one like the one Alessandro had left her, and puts it in front of Catherine’s grave along with a couple of flowers that she had brought for Dylan’s grave.  She stares at the display and prays that he will see them.

***

Alessandro watches
Anna-Marie, as he normally does, as she walks slowly to Dylan’s grave.  Unbeknownst to Anna-Marie, he has continued to watch over her from afar.  Today she has confused him.  He watched her as she jumped up from the ground in front of Dylan’s grave and ran to her car.  His senses fired on high alert.  He thought his cover was blown and she knew he was there.  But she didn’t leave.  After a minute she got back out of her car and put a note along with flowers on Catherine’s grave.  After a few long minutes she said her good-byes and left.  Alessandro waited for a few more minutes to make sure she wasn’t going to come back before he went to read the note.

It was short and simple and made him smile for the first time in a month.  It said, “I’m sorry,
Anna-Marie.”

Alessandro takes out his phone to call Michael and cancel their plans for later, because tonight he has a lot of thinking to do.

“Hey, man, it’s Alessandro.”

“Hey
, dude, where are you?  I’ll come meet you.”

“I’m at the cemetery, but you don’t need to come.”

“The cemetery?  Why are you there?” Michael asks, then pauses.  “Man, did you follow her again today?”

“Yeah.”

There is another long silence before Michael speaks again.

“Man, what the hell are you doing?”

“I don’t really know to be honest.”

“Well, you better figure it the hell out before things get any worse.”

“Michael, don’t you think I know this?  Don’t you think that’s what I have been trying to do for weeks now?”

“Whatever
, man, it’s your life; just don’t pull the rest of us down with you.  I’ll see you later.”

Without a response
, Michael hangs up.  Alessandro has never had this situation come up in all his life.  His family has been all that has ever mattered to him.  He knew Michael wouldn’t understand.  Hell, he didn’t even understand it.

***

By Saturday afternoon Anna-Marie starts to wonder if it is too late to make amends with Alessandro.  At one o’clock in the afternoon she hears a faint knock on her door.  Her heart starts to pound in her chest and she quickly jumps up off of the couch and runs to answer it.

Anna
-Marie is unable to breathe as she comes face to face with the most beautiful almond eyes she has ever seen. 

“Hi
, Anna-Marie.”

“Alessandro
,” she says breathlessly.  She has been thinking about this moment for days, replaying over and over the different scenarios in her mind.  No amount of preparation can prepare you for the awkwardness one feels at a moment like this.  Then he smiles, which puts Anna-Marie at ease instantly.

“I’m so glad you came
,” she says to him.  “Please, come in.”

Anna
-Marie stands to the side allowing him to walk through the door. 

“So
, how have you been?” Alessandro asks.

“I’ve been good.  It’s been busy at work.”

“Good, I’m glad.”  Alessandro pauses, “Look, Anna-Marie, I’m sorry about what happened.  I’m sorry that I lied to you, but I hope you know it is absolutely imperative that I keep my secrets.  I wish there had been a different way.”

Anna
-Marie holds up her hand.  “Alessandro, stop.  I understand why you had to do it.  Just promise me that you will never lie to me again.  All of this has been a lot to take in, but I’d like to think I have a fairly open mind.  Hell, I’d have to, to believe all of this.”

“I promise.”

Anna-Marie takes a deep breath.  “Alessandro, you have saved me, not only figuratively but also emotionally.  I have been so disconnected for so long and I was content to live that way.  I have been living my life in a blur.  I can’t tell you anything about this past year, other than how I have felt.  Then you came along.  You didn’t know me or Dylan.  It allowed me to get out of my head and start over.  Then you went away and I felt lost all over again.”

Overcome with emotions for this woman standing before him, Alessandro slowly walks closer towards
Anna-Marie and grabs her hand and pulls her close to him.  Without thinking, he cups her face and kisses her softly. 

Anna
-Marie smiles and whispers in his lips, “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

Alessandro pulls away
.  “Would you go somewhere with me?”

Anna
-Marie looks at him curiously.  “Where?”

“I’ve told you about my world, now I want to take you somewhere special to show it to you.”

Anna-Marie swallows hard not knowing what to expect.  “Okay.”

A few minutes later they are driving through the country with the convertible top down.  It is a perfect sunny August day.  Fall is creeping in, but you couldn’t tell by the weather.  They soak in the heavenly views of the monstrous blue ocean, with its many boats resting on its smooth crystal surface.  The salty scent of the ocean air is intoxicating.

This town has always been so magical to
Anna-Marie ever since she could remember.  There’s no other place in the world she has ever wanted to be.  How can there be so much craziness and pain in the world on a day like this?

Anna
-Marie closes her eyes and soaks it all in, never wanting to open her eyes again.

When they come to a stop
, she opens her eyes to find them in front of one of her most favorite plantations in Wilmington.

“Oh, I love this place.”

“I figured you would.  Do you know the plantation’s history?”

“Of course I do.  I’ve come here many times
ever since I was little and I have researched as much as I could on it through the years.”

“But do you know the true history?  It’s secret history?”

“Umm . . . no.  What secret history?”  She stares at him, baffled.

“Come on, let’s go walk around and see what we can find.  I haven’t been here in a very long time so the details are a little sketchy.”

He gets out of the car and quickly rushes over to her side.  He opens her door and takes her hand to help her out of the compact car.

“As you know, this is the main house
,” he says pointing to the grand white mansion.

She
nods her head in acknowledgement.  “I know, isn’t it marvelous?  I have always had an irresistible draw to this place ever since my first visit when I was a child.”

Anna
-Marie stares up at the prestigious three-story white house.  This is by far the most beautiful house Anna-Marie has ever seen.  There are four enormous white columns that flank the entrance of a wide lazy porch.  Just beyond the porch is a row of bay windows.  Its enormity seems to fit perfectly with its wondrous surroundings.

“Did you know this isn’t the original manor?”

She quickly turns to him, looking confused.  She thought she knew everything about this place.

“No, I didn’t.  I never read that before.”

“Yep, the original was almost as big and just as beautiful, however it burned down many centuries ago.”

“Wow, I never knew that.”  She turns back to look at the house as if seeing it for the first time.

“Most people don’t.  The locals back in the 1800’s erased that part of its history from the books.  The only history that people remember about the plantation is the story that was made up, which isn’t entirely wrong; it’s just not the beginning.  Come on, let’s walk through the garden.”

They walk silently into a large garden, both lost in their own thoughts.  The sound of the river that runs alongside of the estate is hypnotizing and the hundreds of assorted flowers in bloom give off a sweet aroma.  There are so many different flowers here of all shapes and colors designed into all different patterns in the landscape.

Although she is by no means a flower connoisseur, she has been so fascinated with this place for such a long time that she has tried to learn their names with each visit though.  There are still many she doesn’t know the name of.