Tainted Blood (57 page)

He popped the top off of one of his new “friends” with the bottle opener on his key ring then tossed his keys onto the coffee table with a loud clamor. It made my ears ring. He put his feet up on the table,
and
after his first swig, he looked up at the ceiling where my eyes were still fixed. “Something interesting up there?” He lifted my socked feet and put them in his lap. I shook my head very slightly once again.

“You find your phone?” Another slight shake of my head to answer yet another question. “You want me to call it. See if we can hear it and track it down?” I shrugged a little. I didn’t see the point. I was fairly certain that my phone was in the pocket of a madman. Carter tried anyhow, but like I figured, we didn’t hear it and nobody answered.

“Are you okay?” he asked once again.

“Nope.”

“Nope?”

I shifted my head so that I could see him. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “You know you got a bruise on your forehead?”

I sighed and stared back up at the ceiling. “Yeah, I know.” He asked me how I got the bruise, and I told him. He laughed, I didn’t blame him. I just didn’t find much of anything funny right then.

“You know, I could really use a wish or a fairy godmother or a magic lamp or something like that right now,” I said as I closed my eyes.

“Yeah?” Carter responded inquisitively. “And what would you wish for?”

“Like a million things.” I sighed. “But my top wish right now would be to get out of here with Oliver. For good, maybe.”

“Where would you go?” Carter asked with a hint of sadness in his tone.

“I don’t even care.” I really didn’t. I just wanted to get the hell away from all of the wacky vampires, demons, and seductive angels. Oh, and I seriously wanted to get as far away as possible from those damn Weslins!

In the quiet of the night, we sat there without talking for some time. Carter finished his first beer and had moved on to his second “friend” when I asked, “How was dinner with the grandma?”

“Brutal.”

“Super.” I could imagine that it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. “When you talked to Oliver did he tell you when he’s coming back?”

“No, he was just concerned about you since you weren’t answering your phone.”

“Ah.”

“What’s this on the couch?” Carter asked as he scratched at something with his stubby fingernail. I looked down at it. There was a faint memory surfacing. “It might be blood,” I said, dropping my head back onto the arm of the couch.

“What?”

“I’m not sure, but I think Oscar was here last night. I think he bit me. Oh, and Avery.”

“Laney,” Carter said very carefully, “are you sure?”

“Nope.”

I could feel him staring at me, watching me to see if I’d lost my mind. Eventually he turned on the TV. I felt my irritation return as he watched a really dumb show. I sat up and said, “You watch stupid shit. I’m going to bed.” And that’s just what I did.

Sometime later, I woke in the darkness of my bedroom.
H
e
was there. I don’t know how, but I just knew. I pulled my blankets tightly around me. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, and in that flash of light I saw him. I screamed just as another clap of thunder boomed overhead, rattling the building. Absolute terror shot through my body as I scrambled to sit up and press myself against my headboard. I hugged my knees to my chest, trying to control the tremors that were running through me.

He was in my face then: I could feel him, smell him. His cool breath hit me as he whispered, “Blood is life, Laney, and I need yours.”

I whimpered and covered my ears and closed my eyes tight. I knew I was being irrational when I did it. I knew that no matter how hard I wished Oscar away, he wasn’t going to leave, but I still tried.

In the dark of my room he pulled my hands away from my ears, and in a very sinister tone he said, “There’s nothing better than giving in to your inner demon. Drink from me, Laney, and let’s see yours.”

“No!” It didn’t come out quite as loud or as strong as it had sounded in my head.

Oscar flipped on my bedside lamp so I was sure to see what he would do next. His dark, sapphire blue eyes gleamed in the light. He was obviously enjoying my discomfort. “Look, pretty.” He opened his mouth so I could see his teeth and then he said, “You fixed me. I have control of my fangs again.” Then he opened his mouth once more so that I could see his razor-sharp fangs slowly slide down. He lifted my wrist to his mouth.

“Don’t,” I warned.

A chill ran down my spine as a wicked smile played on his lips. I don’t think I’d ever been that frightened in my life. Oscar being in my room right then made the previous night real, and the fact that I had felt like I was only hanging on by the final thread of my life all day was not a feeling I wanted to relive.

Just as he struck and his fangs sank into my wrist, I let out a scream that started in my toes and ended echoing off every wall in my room. My door flew open a moment later. Oscar was gone and Carter was standing in my doorway in nothing but his boxers once again. His hair was everywhere and he had a metal baseball bat in his hand.

“He was here!” I cried, tears blurring my vision.

Carter’s eyes went wide and he held the bat like he was ready to take someone’s head off. He searched my room, under the bed and everything, and then he stood beside my bed looking down at me. “There’s no one here, Laney. You sure you weren’t dreaming?”

I stared down at my unmarked wrist and shrugged. “I guess I was,” I said, defeated by my own unsteady mind. Carter patted my shoulder then headed back to his room, leaving my bedroom door wide open, again…

I sat there for a while, wondering if I was in fact actuality losing my mind. Then there was a whisper of movement out of the corner of my eye and Oscar was there. He was over me with his hand covering my mouth before I could scream. The apartment shook once again as the storm raged outside.

“You let my brother know that I’m going to keep coming back to visit you unless he gives me what is rightfully mine. And I do mean both of them, do you understand?” Bleary eyed I nodded. I’d tell him, but he wouldn’t do it. I knew Oliver wouldn’t give in to Oscar’s demands. I also knew that if Oliver was aware of his brother paying me visits, he wouldn’t stand for that either. Unfortunately for me, Oliver didn’t know any of this.

Oscar smiled slow and
evil
. With his hand still over my mouth, he lunged forward and sank his fangs into my neck. A cry had been rising up inside of me and was struggling to break free, as was I. It hurt when he bit me and it was almost like he was making it hurt on purpose. I’d lost the pride I’d had the previous night. I didn’t care if it was what Oscar wanted or not, I cried. I screamed against his hand as he drained the life from me. I struggled as he held me down and then, I just couldn’t anymore. I gave up. I couldn’t fight Oscar. I couldn’t win no matter how hard I tried. I closed my eyes and silently wished him away.

When I opened my eyes again he was gone. I was weak and tired as I crawled out of bed. I stumbled from my poorly lit room, into the dark of the apartment. I banged into a dining chair and caught myself on Carter’s doorframe. I flipped on his light and cried, “He was here again!”

Carter pushed himself straight up from where his face had been buried in his pillow. His hair stuck out in every direction, and
as he
tried to free himself from his tangled mess of blankets, he fell to the floor. He freed himself from the mass and scrambled for the baseball bat that was just out of sight under his bed.

“He’s gone,” I said, my voice nothing more than a whisper.

Carter’s eyes fell on me, and he took a step closer to where I held onto his doorframe. “Laney, what’s on your neck?” He got closer and then his eyes widened. “Bite marks?” he breathed.

“I told you.” I reached up to feel the bite and I almost fell. Carter caught me and held me up. “No, Laney. Those are
left over
from Oliver, right?”

“Oliver didn’t leave any bite marks and don’t you think you would’ve noticed them before now?” I rambled out in an unsteady breath.

“Shit,” Carter murmured. He scooped me up in his arms and took me to bed with him. “What should I do?” he asked.

“Call Felix,” I whispered, and I don’t remember anything else after that until morning.

I stayed home from school the next day and slept most of it away in Carter’s bed. He stayed home too, trying to get ahold of Felix and not-so-secretly watching over me.

We made plans to go to our paranormal class that night and figured that if we still hadn’t heard from Felix, we would talk to Amber to see if she could give us some insight into what to do about Oscar.

I was in the kitchen, trying to figure out what I wanted to eat before I got ready for class that night. There wasn’t much to choose from. Carter had suggested burritos but we didn’t have beans and I was torn between peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cereal.

Suddenly, I heard a very quiet voice from behind me and I froze, staring in the fridge. I heard a small, “Hey.”

I slowly turned and scanned the apartment. “Who is that?” I whispered.

“Over here,” the small voice called again but I still didn’t see anyone. “Over here, on the counter.”

I was pretty sure I’d lost my marbles because there on the kitchen counter was a black rabbit, and it was talking to me.

Holy shit! I grabbed the rabbit, stuffed it into the refrigerator, and slammed the door. I slowly backed away from the fridge. This couldn’t be happening. Rabbits don’t talk!

I quickly made my way to the bathroom door where I could hear the shower still running. I pounded on the door while keeping my eyes on the refrigerator. I could hear the rabbit calling my name.

“What,” Carter shouted from the shower.

“I need help,” I shouted back.

“Just a minute,” he called over the running water.

I had my back pressed against the bathroom door and I was planning my escape when I heard the rabbit say from inside the fridge, “I know about your friend and his
issue
. Is he a vampire? Is he a wolf? Could he be both? Let me out or I’ll tell everyone.”

I was shaking as I opened the refrigerator door. It was actually a very cute rabbit and I don’t know why I had been so afraid of it. “Here,” the rabbit said. “Eat this.” He handed me a Pop-Tart.

“No thank you,” I told him.

“Then we got a problem, you and me.”

“Why?” I asked as I pulled the rabbit out of the fridge.

“Because if you don’t eat it you’ll go blind,” the rabbit said.

“I will not,” I told him. This rabbit was crazy!

I sat on the couch with the rabbit and held him in my lap. He was a sleek rabbit and very smooth.

Carter came out a little bit later. His hair was still wet and he was drying it with a towel. “What did you need help with?” he asked as he crossed to where the rabbit and I sat. He stopped abruptly and stared down at the bunny. “Whatcha got there, Laney?”

“It’s a rabbit, silly.” For some reason Carter looked surprised. “Here,” I said as I stood and handed him the bunny. “I need to take a shower. You hold the rabbit.”

I headed for the bathroom. “Oh,” I said, turning back to him. “Be careful. He pooped on me earlier.”

Once I was in the shower, I realized that a talking bunny wasn’t normal.
Or was it?
Most of the things that I had come to believe were made up had turned out to be true. Like vampires, werewolves, demons, and angels. Those were just the creatures I’d actually seen so far. Who’s to say rabbits don’t talk? Maybe they just don’t talk to people. Normal people. ‘Cause me and my life, we were far from normal.

I was lost in my thoughts and busy wetting my hair when I noticed something on the shower wall. It was small and black and it actually looked like it might have been fuzzy, too. It was about the size of a dime,
and as
I peered closer to it to get a better look, I realized it was a spider wearing a top hat. I knew he was real because he tipped his little top hat to me and said, “Howdy!

Talking rabbits were one thing, talking spiders I could not handle. The last thing I remember was screaming before the world went totally and completely black.

Chapter 31
–
CARTER

So far, sharing an apartment with Laney has been exhausting. Our first night as roommates and I woke to her screaming. I rushed into her room and was thankful to find that she was okay. She said she’d had a bad dream but didn’t want to talk about it. I went back to bed but I couldn’t fall asleep. I laid there listening for her for a long while and eventually I heard her moving around the apartment. It must’ve been one hell of a dream. The sound of the TV ended up lulling me to sleep but I woke often.

Eventually, I got up and went for a run. It was my new passion. Running made me feel powerful. I’d gotten pretty fast and I loved the rush I got pushing myself.

It was pouring outside by the time I got back and Laney let me use her car for the day. She was the best! But I did need to get my own car. I was getting married in three months and I didn’t even own a freakin’ car!