Post by silent.lullaby on Aug 10, 2010 19:07:37 GMT -5
Dusk .::Chapter 22::. End Sentence
“You didn’t come home last night.” Olivia said, her arms folded over her chest, she wore nothing but her white silk knee length housecoat, decorated with a cherry blossom print. She tapped her foot. “Where were you?”
“Out.” Calum responded pulling at his tie, loosening it, but his throat still felt closed in.
“Yes, I noticed that.” Olivia responded hotly. “It’s six in the fucking morning Calum! I’m going to need a better answer than out, and are you drunk?”
“Please, stop yelling,” he responded rubbing his head. He really just wanted an aspirin, that and to have not been caught sneaking in by his wife.
She threw her arms in the air, “un-fucking-believable!” He winced, his brain felt like it was trying to beat it’s way out of his skull through his temples. “Are you sleeping around on me?”
“No.” He walked into the kitchen and opened the drawer taking out Advil and grabbing a can of coke from the fridge, popping the top he downed three of the pills. Olivia followed him in and took the can from him and threw it into the sink, the brown liquid splashed and flecked the white marble of the counter. She stared at him, and he at her. She was angry, her hands in fists which were shaking at her sides, her beautiful eyes narrowed and her mouth in a tight line. He was calm, leaning against the counter and just wishing she’d keep quiet and let him go to bed.
“Promise me Calum.” She said after a long moment tears welling in her eyes.
His jaw tightened painfully. He just couldn’t watch her cry. He stepped forward and pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head and then tipped her head back and kissed her softly, “I promise Olivia.”
She nodded and splayed her fingers over his chest. “Why were you out drinking all night?”
He was quiet for a moment. All he could think about was Maverick, and his taunting words. ‘She’s just hanging out.’ His gut wrenched at the thought of Aerabella at the hands of a monster. “Work just got to me,” he said quietly.
She took his hand gently and gave it a slight pull, “come on, let’s get you to bed.”
***
Michael insisted that Tobias and Angelique go to school rather than come with them to pick up Aerabella. Despite their protests, Michael demanded it and they went. Neither he nor his wife knew how Aerabella would be after three days and nights in the basement. After watching Tobias drive off, and Aerabella walk off into the distance he returned to the kitchen and found his wife, hands on the counter top and shoulders slightly shaking. He walked behind her and gripped her shoulders tightly, “we will take care of her.”
“I know,” he heard her sniff. “But she’s... such a quiet girl to begin with,” she turned in his arms and pressed her forehead against his collarbone. “What if this really messes her up.”
“She has good friends to fall back on,” he replied. “And she has us.”
Vivian nodded. “Lets go get her back,” her voice not much more than a whimper.
They drove in silence, Michael kept his eyes on the road most of the time. He kept looking over at his wife in quick glances, she was just staring out the window. He touched her hand and she gripped it like she had when Aerabella had been pushing her way into the world, it hurt, but he left his hand there. As a father, there was nothing worse than having something horrible happen to your child. He already knew that feeling well.
He pulled in to the Vampire Council’s complex and found a parking space. They walked into the lavishly decorated space and went to the front desk. “We are here to pick up our daughter.”
“Her name please?” The receptionist asked.
“Aerabella Williams.” Michael responded.
“One moment, please sit, make yourselves comfortable.” He lead his wife to one of the chairs and sat her down. He stood by her rubbing her shoulders lightly, “it will all be over soon babe.”
***
Calum, despite his two hours of sleep and a bitchin’ hangover still made it to work on time. Any other day, he would have called in sick. No one would have said anything, he was the grandson of an elder after all. He couldn’t do it though. He had drank the entire night before to try to drown out Maverick’s taunts, to try to kill the image of Aerabella’s tiny body hanging swinging oh so slightly. His stomach clenched and he had to stop for a moment, lean against the walls of the elevator and focussed on his breathing until the sickness faded away.
The elevator dinged, and he stepped into the basement, he could smell venom, urine, burnt flesh and vampire blood in a sick concoction. Maverick stepped up to him, “you didn’t bring anyone down for me.”
“I’m here actually to take someone back.” Calum responded angrily. “Aerabella’s family is here to retrieve her.”
Screams echoed against the basement walls. Maverick sighed, “here,” he held out a key, “I have to attend to Miss Balisa, she’s such a drama queen even in this state.” Calum stared at the key for so long Maverick waved it in front of him in boredom. “You going to take her? Or you going to let me keep her.” Calum snatched the key. “Pity.”
Slamming past Maverick, Calum looked into each cell to see if it held Aerabella. Finally he found her and he shook as he stuck the key and unlocked the cell, he took the key with him as he entered the small space. She hung on a chain, a metal lock around her neck. “Jesus,” he whispered lowering the pulley till she was sitting on the floor. He rushed to her and unlocked the contraption around her neck. She looked at him, her eyes hazy, blind. He couldn’t help the sudden emotion that enveloped him and he hugged her close to his body. He never wanted to see anything happen to her again.
He smelt her blood only a millisecond before he felt the pain of her teeth ripping into his jugular, he instinctively tried to push her back and her teeth shredded the flesh on his neck, she held fast and was back into his vein in a second, having pushed him onto his back and was straddling him. He tried to get her off in a panic and could see Maverick’s shoes in his peripheral vision.
“Vampires in bloodlust are usually stronger than vampires with centuries.” Maverick said. Calum looked up to see the other man leaning against the wall studying his nails. “Guess I should have warned you about that.”
“Get her off me.”
Maverick sighed dramatically, “oh fine.” He grabbed Aerabella by the hair and ripped her off shredding any skin left on that side of Calum’s neck. His hand went to quickly cover the wound and could already feel the healing process starting. Aerabella wiggled, and screamed. Her eyes were bright again, alert.
“Aries,” Calum whispered as he stood, “your parents are here.” Aerabella paused in her tantrum for a moment staring at him. “I’ll take you to them.” She managed to turn her head enough to glare at Maverick and he let go of her hair.
“My parents?” Aerabella whispered softly.
Calum nodded, “yes, they are here, they’ve come to get you, your punishment is over.”
Aerabella was panting slightly, “everything’s all red,” she whimpered. “I’m so hungry.”
“I know, we’ll get you something.” Calum extended his clean hand to her, but her eyes were on the blood still spilling over his fingers. He snapped his fingers and she looked to his clean hand and before he knew it she’d grabbed it and bitten into his wrist.
“I’m not helping you this time,” Maverick responded. “Once is a mistake, twice is stupidity.”
***
Wolfgang awoke with a headache, naked, and in the middle of the woods. He looked around and sighed, “fuckstockings.” He stood and stretched, dusted himself off the best he could. This sleepwalking bullshit had to stop. Maybe he should talk to Hayden about it, or maybe Skyler. He sighed and decided to into wolf form in case he was to be seen before running off toward his house.