The Source (6 page)

Rick and Sarah both
stand to leave. I fumble in my seat a few moments because I’m still trying to
figure out what had just happened here.  As I place my hands on the table to
push myself up from my chair, I happen to catch Tucker’s eyes as he was talking
to the researchers that he would be observing.  I shift quickly and turn toward
Rick who takes me by the elbow and literally escorts me from the conference
room.

When we made it to
the hallway I firmly remove my arm from his grasp and say, “What the hell was
that?”

He smiles, “Such
sweet words from such sweet lips...”.

I stop and stare at
him.  I can no longer rely on my usual reaction to run in the other direction. 
I’m going to have to work with this person, so a different tactic is needed.

“Okay, cut the crap. 
I can almost get the whole ‘men-in-black, don’t ask questions because I can’t
tell you’ in front of our archivist.  What I don’t get is you feeling the need
to ‘reel me in’ by squeezing my knee.”

He looks a little
shocked, “I recognized that you were about to pursue a line of conversation
that not only would have gotten nowhere, but would have also been a complete
waste of time.”

My eyes widen at him,
“Let’s get this straight.  You do NOT know me well enough to know what I was
about to say to her.  Nor do you have the right to decide what would have been
a complete waste of time for ME.  If it’s a waste of time for YOU, fine. 
Excuse yourself from the table and leave.  But don’t fool yourself into
thinking that you have earned the privilege of putting even one hand on me.” 

As I turn and walk
away I hear Rick exhale and whisper “wow.”  Whatever that’s supposed to mean. 
I continue walking, but hear his footsteps quicken as he follows me.

After entering the
research suite, I walk over to the whiteboard and take a couple of deep
breaths.  Rick slowly walks to the center island. 

“Look, Emma,” he
begins, “I didn’t mean to offend you in any way.  And believe me, I have no
delusions that I somehow have a free pass to touch you for any reason.”

He walks around the
island until he’s facing me.  “It’s just that I could tell that Ms. Montgomery
was not going to be forthcoming about
anything
so I thought that the sooner things ended,
the better.  I didn’t want to see you get yourself turned around in a losing
situation where questions would be asked, but not answered.  I’m really sorry I
took away the experience of making that mistake from you.”

My mouth drops open
as I look at him.

Rick quickly
backtracks, “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.  You know that from what I
have told you that I can sense things that a human cannot.  I didn’t realize
that you wouldn’t view that as a benefit of having someone like me around.”  He
runs his hand through his hair, “I’m sorry.  It’s obvious that you’re not the
only one who makes assumptions.”

I try very hard to
hold onto my anger, but the look in his eyes reminds me of an animal that has
been kicked.  Scratch that.  He’s a vampire, but he’s definitely not like an
animal.  The look in his eyes shows that he’s upset with himself over how
things had went. My anger dissolves, and I find myself wanting to wrap my arms
around him in comfort.

I stand a bit
straighter, but my voice sounds meek with abashment. “Apology accepted.  And I
didn’t realize that you were reacting purely from what you could sense with
your special abilities.”

He sighs then smiles,
“Well, we have a couple of hours left to work.  Shall we get started?”

“Sure,” I nod.  I
clear my throat, “We had been discussing the vampiric form of empathy.”

“And other strengths
and vulnerabilities,” he adds.

“What still needs to
be added to our list?”

Rick looks at the
whiteboard, intently studying it as he slowly fingers his bottom lip in
contemplation.  I bet those hands were capable of so much more...

Dammit.  Stop.  Don’t
slip into thoughts of erotic pleasure with a man who has thus far been an
aggravation to deal with because I simply do not understand him.

He sighs, “My mind is
drawing a blank so why don’t we concentrate on each characteristic and come up
with ideas of how we could basically exploit them for our nefarious, but
government approved, purposes.”

“The sun.”

“I beg your pardon?”
Rick asks.

I stare off into
space, at the point beyond the whiteboard, “I still can’t get past the sun.”

Rick tilts his body
toward me, his brow furrows, waiting for me to continue.

I shake my head, “I
still can’t get the fact that the sun is so deadly out of my mind.”  I begin to
pace back and forth in front of the whiteboard.  I stop in front of the phrase
“sun exposure” and tilt my head.  “Something’s there.”

“On the sun?” Rick
asks in disbelief.

I actually roll my eyes
at him.  There’s the angst-ridden teen again.  I turn to look at him, “No,
that’s not what I meant.  My mind keeps being drawn back to the sun.  I think
the solution to our problem lies there.”

“How so?  We round up
all of the murderous vampires and throw them out into the daylight?”

I shake my head, “A
little too late at that point.  We’re trying to prevent human deaths, not come
up with the best way to punish those that cause them.”  I begin pacing in front
of the whiteboard again.  “No.  There is something about the sun and its
effects on vampires that we can use to develop a safeguard.  I’m sure of it.” 
I slowed my pace, “I’m just not sure of exactly
how
...yet.”

Rick walks to stand
in front of the whiteboard and said, “Well, what we know is that sun exposure
causes an accelerated sun burn and a type of dehydration process.”

“Dehydration is
normal with prolonged sun exposure as our body fluid basically evaporates
through the work of the sweat glands.  But the process is faster with vampires,
correct?”

“Much faster,” Rick
responds.

“And sun burns are
something that also happen to humans, but at a slower rate.”  Lowering my head,
I rub my temples as my brain begins to throb.  “A sun burn is basically a skin
reaction to overexposure.  The body’s natural defense against overexposure is
melanin.”  I stop massaging my temples and look up at Rick.

He looks at me,
slowly nodding, “But there’s no difference between humans and vampires when it
comes to melanin levels.”

I close my eyes,
“Then that’s the wrong direction.”  I try to envision the path that I need to
take to arrive at the desired destination.  I can clearly see where I need to
go, but the road to get there is confusing and congested with different ideas
and false impressions.  I need something to clear my way.

“I need to dream.”

“Beg your pardon?”
Rick asks.

“My mind is too
full,” I explain.  “I need to sleep and give my conscious mind a rest.  What
usually happens is that I dream about something that seems trivial, but when I
wake up I feel refreshed and my ideas, my thoughts are better, more in focus. 
For me, dreaming is like a decongestant for the brain.”

Rick chuckles.  “I
think we better call it a day then.  My mind is drawing a blank, too.”

I nod, “Okay, then I
guess I will see you this evening.”  I begin to walk to the table to get my
notebook and purse.  I hear Rick turn then quickly walk toward me.

“Do you need me to
walk you to your car?” he asks.

I twist around giving
him a deadpan glare. I’m confused. Does he want to protect me or is he trying
to court me?

“Let me re-phrase. 
Would you like some company walking to your car?”

Mentally kicking myself
for overanalyzing his intentions, I try to approach the question logically. 
Going by myself may not be such a good idea because Tucker may try to catch up
with me.  Walking out with Rick would provide a good shield.  Would I be using
him?  Yes.  But hey, he offered.

Rick smiles and walks
toward the door.  I put my purse on my shoulder, clutch my notebook and subtly
shake my head.  So many misunderstandings could come of this and I don’t want
to be tempted by any of them.  Then again, I don’t want to NOT be tempted
because that would just mean that I’m not worth the effort.

The halls of the
facility are pretty much empty.  It seems like we’re the only ones leaving at
this particular time, which makes me reconsider.  “Maybe we should continue
working.  It looks like everyone else is still at it.”

Rick continues
walking down the hallway, “Quantity doesn’t mean quality.  Even if we stayed
here all day, we probably wouldn’t be any further along than we are now. 
Particularly if one of us is mentally exhausted.”

“Oh, so our research
is dragging because I’m tired, is that it?” I ask as I slow my pace.

Rick glances back at
me, “No, what I’m saying is that we’re a team.  If either one of us is struggling
in any way, we both need to be aware and do what is needed for the benefit of
the project.  If I’m completely distracted due to hunger, then it would benefit
both of us to take a break or else you’re going to be doing most of the work as
I night-dream about my next meal.”

We arrive at the
exit.  Rick walks through then turns to hold the door open for me.  I start to
clutch my purse to me in an attempt at extra warmth, but am pleasantly
surprised to find that the night air isn’t as cool as I had expected.  The
surrounding mountains and lush trees are keeping us warmer, guarding us from
the chillier air that sweeps over flatter lands.  I feel safer here.  Probably
one of many reasons why I will never leave my home.  I may not know much about
Rowan yet, but it’s still West-by-God-Virginia and that’s good enough for me.

I begin walking
toward my car as Rick continues in the same direction.  I get my keys out of my
purse as I step up to the driver’s side door.  Rick slows then says, “Have a
good day.  Try to get plenty of rest so we can make up any lost time that
you’ve caused us.”

I angrily spin toward
him, “What the hell?  What happened to all things for the benefit of the
project and we’re a team”?

Rick grins, “I was
joking.  I knew you would get aggravated if I blamed you for any lost time. 
That’s why I said it.”

I lean against the
door of my car in an attempt to keep from stomping my feet in a childish fit of
frustration.  “Thanks for letting me know that you’re so twisted that you get
joy from causing me stress and raising my blood pressure.”

He winks at me, “It
makes you smell better.”  He turns and walks farther down the row of parked
vehicles.

Huh.  Did he just say
that I normally stink?  I turned my keys around in my hand as I watched him
walk away.  What I should really be doing is using my science background to
develop a perfume that repels vampires from thinking I smell good.  I bet I
could make a lot of money.  And what, call it “eau de rotten meat?”  Ugh.  What
a repulsive idea.  I got into the car and closed the door.  I really need to
get some sleep before my behavior becomes more twisted than Rick’s.

I get out of my
relaxing, hot bath, wrap myself in a cotton bathrobe and go to the kitchen for
a glass of wine.  Everything that has happened that evening keeps playing over
again like a loop in my mind.  Why was Rick so confrontational?  Is this like a
schoolyard thing where he’s pulling my hair to show that he likes me?  Or is he
doing it because he’s a vampire and views me as a lesser being?  I mean, I am
food to him.  Maybe the stress of being around me so much brings out the worst
in him.  And what about Tucker?  Is he playing some sick joke like the guys in
junior high who liked to make fun of the fat girl to make themselves feel better
about themselves?  Or does he really like me and have the potential to turn
into a love interest? 

I need to let all of
this go and try to relax, but my brain will just not shut down.  I keep
thinking of all of the conversations and actions and what I should’ve said and
done.  It’s hard to react appropriately when you find everyone else’s behavior
confusing and are constantly second-guessing their intentions.  I would be
better off just accepting them at face value - both assholes of a different
flavor.

Ugh.  Another
repulsive idea.

I sit on the couch in
the living room with my glass of wine, ready to enjoy some mindless
entertainment on the boob tube when the phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Good mornin‘ Emma
Jean.  Did I wake you?” my mother says.

“No, mom.  I actually
just got home not too long ago.”

“Just got home?” she
asks.  “What in the world have you been doin‘ out at all hours of the night in
some strange town?”

“Working, mom.  My
new job is during the night, remember?”

“Of course I don’t
remember.  I don’t hardly remember what I had for dinner last night much less
anything else.  Do you like the new job?”