Scent of a White Rose (16 page)

"I found out that vampires existed about seven
and a half months ago. I was coming to meet my mom after one of her
swim lessons and found a vampire feeding from her instead." I was
so nervous to reveal who that vampire was, that in that instant I
didn't know if I could do it.

But just then Evangeline moved off her desk and
came to kneel in front of me. "Rose, just tell us everything that
happened. I'm not angry with you and you are in no danger from
anyone in my clan."

Even though it was Christian that I needed
reassurance from, I was thankful to have received it from
Evangeline as well. "Thank you. I never meant to deceive anyone. I
was just trying to surprise Christian by becoming a vampire, so we
could be together forever."

I was hoping that little revelation would soften
Christian's opinion of the situation, and from the look he gave me
it had worked, if only slightly. The emotions warring across his
face were caught somewhere between love and complete disbelief.
"How were you going do that Rose? Evie is the only one who can
create new vampires."

"I know that now thanks to Justin, but before I
was told something different...by Terrance."

At that point Evangeline actually fell
backwards, flat onto her ass. "I knew it!"

I continued in a rush, "I'm sorry I kept it from
you, but he told me that if anyone found out that we knew each
other or that I knew that vampires existed, that he and I would
both be killed. I know now that wasn't true. As a matter of fact, I
think everything he told me was a lie. But I just don't understand
why he would lie to me. I'm so sorry that I didn't come to you
sooner."

Evangeline picked herself up off the floor and
leaned against her desk again. "Why don't you tell us exactly how
you two met and everything that he told you about us?"

By the time I was done relaying all the lies and
promises that Terrance had fed me, Christian and Evangeline both
looked completely devastated. Evie had found it especially
interesting that Terrance's price for this information was that he
be able to continue feeding from my mom.

"I'm sorry if you feel I've lied to you, but I
swear I had no idea that what he was telling me was a complete
crock of shit. I only found out the truth of how things really
worked tonight, and I have Justin to thank for that." I took a deep
breath because I had never felt so exhausted in my life.

Evangeline smiled. "Rose, I don't blame you.
Terrance was manipulating you, and I have a pretty good idea as to
why."

* * * * *

CHAPTER THIRTY

Next Step

(Jeremy/Dad)

"I've called Jillian's house and her parents
said that they haven't seen either of them." I didn't know what I
was going to do if I didn't find Rose soon. I was so panicked about
where she could be and all the bad things that could be happening
to her that I had almost called the cops. But thankfully Meredith
was there and was trying her best to keep me calm. She had made us
some Chamomile tea in an effort to settle my nerves and continued
to remind me that Rose was a big girl. Something that I had refused
to see for several months now.

"I just can't believe that she ran off. I never
imagined that she would actually leave and not come home." It was
only about 9 p.m., but it was dark outside and with her last words
ringing in my ears, "Maybe
I'll see you at home,
" I was
regretting everything that had happened

"Jeremy, I'm sure she's fine. It's obvious that
Jillian picked her up and since her parents said she hasn't broken
her curfew yet, I'm sure the girls will return soon. I know you're
regretting what happened today, but I really do think that
everything will be okay."

"Thanks Meredith. I know in my head that you're
probably right, but it's convincing my heart that's the problem." I
had started to calm down a bit and decided that I would try Rose's
cell phone again, when suddenly my phone started ringing in my
hand.

"Hello? Rose?"

"No, Jeremy, it's Adrienne Case. I spoke to
Jillian and wanted to let you know that the girls are fine. They
just finished having dinner with some friends and they asked if
Rose could spend the night. I told them that would be fine, but I
wanted to let you know in case you wanted to go pick her up
instead."

I sat there, relief flowing through my veins
like warm whisky. I tried to think what my next step should be. I
was so grateful that Rose was okay, but my first instinct was to
rush over there and pick her up immediately so that I could see her
with my own eyes and continue to explain about Meredith. Then I
realized that I should just be grateful Jillian had checked in with
her parents. Rose was obviously needing some more time to process
everything.

I turned to find Meredith beaming at me. There
was no
I told you so
look on her face–just genuine relief
and caring. "Thank you, Adrienne. I think it will help Rose to cool
down if she can spend the night there, so I appreciate the
hospitality. Please let her know that I will be by in the morning
to pick her up."

"Sounds good, Jeremy. I'll let her know, and
don't worry, I'm sure this will blow over soon. You two never fight
and are as close as can be," she replied. Her response was exactly
what I needed to hear.

Once I hung up the phone and reveled in the fact
that my only daughter was safe, I turned to face Meredith once
more. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with desire, and with Rose not
coming home tonight it looked like I was going to break my own rule
after all. "Thank you for staying with me through all of this. I
never realized how much having you around truly grounded me." I
walked to her, preparing to show her just how grateful I was.
"Would you do me the pleasure of spending the night with me? Here
in my home?"

"I thought you would never ask."

* * * * *

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Demon Downlow

(Rose)

I'm not sure exactly how many times I almost
passed out while listening to Evangeline. She explained what had
happened to Terrance, and the first instinct I had was to run
away.

Infected by demon blood? How the hell was I
supposed to process that? I thought I had handled the fact that
vampires existed pretty well, but demons...come on.

And from what Evangeline was saying it was
obvious they thought my mom was the zôt that had infected Terrance.
I actually think I threw up in my mouth a little bit at that
revelation.

"You have to be wrong! You have to be! There is
no way that my mother was a fucking demon!"

"Rose, please just calm down. We'll figure this
out." Christian was kneeling in front of me, rubbing his hands over
my thighs.

I loved that he wanted to help, but I was
nowhere close to being consolable. After lifting his hands from my
legs, I pushed out of the chair and started to pace. "How am I
supposed to calm down? You just told me that you think my mom was a
demon, but I'm telling you, there's just no way it's true. She was
just my mom. A normal, everyday, suburban mom who taught swim
lessons for a living and took care of me and my dad." My dad, oh my
God, I wondered if he had any idea.

"Rose, we had initially thought that the woman
who infected Terrance had done so maliciously, but from what you're
telling us, it seems like it was a simple side-effect from him
accidentally encountering her demon blood." I was glad that
Evangeline was no longer blaming my mother for what had happened.
"I know this will be hard to deal with, and I'm sorry for having to
put you through this, but it's obvious that Terrance is the one who
killed your mother."

I sank down to the floor and let Christian wrap
me in his arms. I had seen this coming from a mile away, but it
still devastated me. I just couldn't understand why he'd done it.
Terrance had always treated my mom like something he cherished, so
why did he end up killing her instead? Something just didn't seem
to be adding up.

Once I regained my balance, I explained that
even though he did seem to be the obvious choice, I just couldn't
believe that Terrance had been the one to kill my mom.

"Honey, you have to face the facts. Terrance was
addicted to the taste of your mother's blood. You said yourself
that he told you it was unlike anything he had ever tasted before.
He could have easily followed her home after feeding from her one
night and found out where you lived and then returned whenever he
wanted. I'm sure that as the poison spread, the need for her blood
became more and more prominent. He probably just broke into your
house to feed from your mom and finally lost control. Rose, I'm
sorry, but you have to agree that it's the obvious answer and makes
perfect sense." Christian had sped through his explanation. But he
was right. Everything that he was telling me had wrapped my mom's
death up in a nice little bow. Mystery solved.

After a few moments of silence, I resigned
myself to face the facts. "I guess you're right. But what I don't
understand is why he didn't come back for me."

* * * * *

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Regrets

(Jeremy/Dad)

Meredith's and my night had been a whirlwind of
passion, but when I woke up to find her sprawled in my bed with her
blonde hair spilling over my dead wife's pillow, it had sent a jolt
straight through my heart. We had slept together before and spent
the night with each other multiple times, but it had always been at
her apartment in Masen. So waking up here in the bed that I had
shared with my wife for years was something that I clearly hadn't
prepared myself for. I suddenly started to have
major
regrets and a
major
change of heart.

"Meredith, I have to go pick up Rose. I'm sorry,
but I'm going to have to ask you to leave." I knew it sounded rude,
and I realized that I was taking the coward's way out by using Rose
as my excuse to get rid of her. But in reality, I just couldn't
bring myself to look at the woman that reminded me of Loraine for a
moment longer.

I really don't know what I was thinking by
getting involved with her in the first place. Rose was right. I had
obviously gravitated towards Meredith because of her looks and how
she had reminded me of Loraine. I guess I had been using her to
fill the gap that my wife's death had left in my soul.

"I don't have to be back in Masen until
tomorrow. Are you sure you don't want me to stick around? I could
help explain things between us to Rose, if you'd like." I could see
that she was truly trying to be helpful, but I suddenly just
couldn't stand the thought of her being around my only
daughter.

"No. Thank you, but I really need to speak to
Rose alone." I was already heading towards the shower as I took in
the hurt expression on her face.

"Jeremy, is everything okay? Have I done
something wrong?" Her voice was filled with trepidation.

"Of course not. I'm just anxious to pick up Rose
and clear the air between us. I'm sorry if it offends you, but this
is something that I need to do alone." I was starting to get angry
that I had to justify the fact that this was between me and my
daughter. Yes, I knew it concerned her since she was part of the
reason Rose had run off in the first place, but since I currently
thought that our arrangement was quickly coming to an end, I just
couldn't muster up the energy needed to make her feel better.

"Look, Meredith. I'm grateful for the time we've
spent together, but after seeing Rose's reaction at the café, it's
clear to me that I have rushed into this. I think it would be best
if we stopped seeing each other until I can get things settled
between Rose and me and truly figure out how I'm feeling." I turned
to continue my escape into the bathroom, and that's when I heard
the crash.

Seeing the broken vase on the floor alerted me
to just how angry she was. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!
After everything that I have gone through to be with you, you're
going to let your daughter dictate how our relationship is going to
go?" She was kneeling on the bed completely naked, which should
have been enough of a distraction, but what really had my attention
locked in place was the glowing red color that was emanating from
her eyes.

* * * * *

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Nowhere To Go

(Rose)

"I'm not sure why Terrance didn't come back to
kill you, Rose. It's a completely logical question, but I'm not
sure that we will be able to get you an answer to it." Evangeline
explained that because of the poison, Terrance was unable to focus
on any of the time he'd spent with my mom, the demon. And now that
he'd drifted permanently dark and seemed to only have malicious
tendencies, Evangeline didn't think that he would be in a sharing
mood, even if he could access the memories.

"Couldn't we at least try? Maybe if he sees me
and realizes that his deception is no longer a secret, he would
open up about it." I couldn't imagine leaving here without some
answers.

After hesitating briefly, Christian stood up and
took my hand. "I'll take Rose down to question Terrance if you want
to stay here and explain to everyone what's happening."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. You saw how he
launched himself at me last night, and I know that he would have
attacked Tori earlier if she had gotten any closer." Evangeline was
clearly concerned that Terrance was a threat to both Christian and
me.

"We won't get close to the cell. Besides, he's
still in chains and has nowhere to go. I think it's important that
I be the one to escort Rose to see him." Christian's eyes narrowed
while he took in Evangeline's concerned expression. It was clear
that the two were having some sort of private communication.