39
Once again a feeling of unease washed over me. “You mean like… kill?”
“Probably,” she said with a shrug.
I winced. How could she say that so easily? “Are there a lot of people following Ashton?”
Vincent scoffed. “He wishes. There’s no more than we can handle.”
“But, like I said, we don’t even have to worry about it,” Fiona added quickly. “Sebastian was just giving us a heads up. I’m sure you’ll be fine, Em.”
I grunted in response. Even though she said that, I knew better. If they figured out that I was a Blue Blood, how could they not find out where I was staying? They’d find my house and try to get me… I froze. What if they went after my parents? Or Jake? They had no idea vampires existed. They wouldn’t know what was coming. I violently shook my head. I’d have to trust the Rutherfords. If they said nothing was going to happen, I would believe it. I knew at least Sebastian would tell Vincent or me if I were in any danger. Solomon and Luella would too, if not him.
“Shoot!” Fiona suddenly cried, startling me. “I left my backpack in your house! Crap! Joel will be here any minute to pick me up and I told him I’d be waiting outside! I’ll be right back you guys!”
Before Vincent and I could respond, she took off toward my house. I looked around wildly, afraid someone might have seen her vampire speed. Luckily for her, it didn’t seem like anyone was out. I sighed, shaking my head. “She really needs to be more careful.”
“So do you.”
I looked up at Vincent’s serious tone. “Huh?”
He frowned at me. “There’s nothing about Ashton you can trust. While Fiona might want to keep you from worrying, I think you better know the truth. He’ll probably find you very easily.”
“A-are you sure?”
He nodded. “Ashton has his ways. I won’t let him hurt you though.”
“Otherwise Solomon will be pissed,” I said, making a face. I’d only briefly glimpsed a half-angry Solomon. That itself was pretty scary. I couldn’t imagine a full out pissed one.
“That and you’re my entertainment source.”
A smile threatened to appear on my face, but I managed to hold it back. I didn’t want Vincent thinking I enjoyed being his source of amusement. “And you can’t have it dead, can you?”
He shook his head. “No way.”
“What are you going to do if I get a boyfriend?” I questioned. “If I hung out with you all the time, he’d get jealous.”
Vincent smirked at me. “Who said I’d let you have a boyfriend?”
I gawked at him. “What if I want one?”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“You’re looking at your only contender,” he responded, tapping his chest.
My heart fluttered at his words. What did he mean by that? Was he just trying to be an ass? Or did he want me to choose him as a boyfriend? Did I want him to mean that? He was a vampire… I nearly slapped myself. I needed to stop thinking like that. So what if he was a vampire? They were basically the same as humans… Except they lasted a lot longer. But still. It was hard to take Vincent seriously. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and then have them crushed when I found out he was just taunting me. “And if I don’t want you as a boyfriend?” I finally spoke up.
“Then you are SOL.”
I sighed. “Stupid vampire.”
“Stupid girl.”
“I’ll just date Kai,” I started slowly, my eyes stuck to him to gauge his reaction. “We’ve always had a thing for each other.” That was a total lie. He was like my brother.
.
.
Vincent didn’t seem bothered by my words. “I’ll kill him.”
I made a face. “Don’t say that, Vincent. You sound like one of those psychopaths on T. V that want a girl that doesn’t like them, so they go around killing all the people who she does like.”
Vincent scowled. “I’m nothing like that.”
“That’s the point.”
“You’ll fall for me eventually,” he stated confidently. “Once I’ve taken an interest in something, I don’t let it go.”
I wasn’t sure to be flattered or annoyed by his words. “I don’t understand you, Vincent.”
“No one does.”
My eyes widened at his words, but I realized he didn’t say them with anger. He said it calmly, like it didn’t matter. It made me smile. “I like how un-dramatic you are, Vincent. Most people would be bitching about the fact people don’t understand them. I can’t tell you how many thins I’ve seen on the Internet that have those kind of slogans. You can’t understand me, no one does, don’t bother trying…”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “That shit is so annoying.”
I smiled wider. “Isn’t it?”
“Why are you grinning so much?”
My smile dropped. “Nothing, never mind.”
He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything else. “Can we go back inside now? I’m cold.”
“Sure,” I responded, turning on my heel. “Baby,” I added after a moment, unable to stop myself.
He shoved me to the side gently. Unfortunately for me his gently was my roughly. I stumbled over my feet, landing flat on my butt. He snickered while I scowled up at him. “Don’t call me a baby. I’m not the one who is afraid of thunderstorms.”
“That’s a legit fear!” I protested, pushing myself up off the ground.
“Oh no! Thunder!” he said in mock horror.
“Shut up!”
He smirked at me. “Of course, stupid.”
Before I could say anymore, a loud honk filled the air. I jumped, twisting around to the street. A black, window-tinted Rolls-Royce rolled up to Vincent and I, stopping next to us. I peered at it, trying to decipher who was inside. I didn’t know anyone rich enough to own one of those things.
“What’s he doing here?” I heard Vincent mutter in an irritated voice.
The car shut off, parking illegally in the street. Seconds later the driver door opened, and out stepped someone I was no stranger too. My mouth dropped open, and before I realized it, my feet were running toward him. “Sebastian!” I cried, throwing my arms around him.
He seemed taken aback by my action, but after a moment he returned my hug. “Hello to you too, Emily.”
Embarrassed, I quickly let go of him. “Um, sorry. I let my emotions get the best of me.”
He chuckled in that deep voice I missed so much. “It’s fine. I take it everything is going okay down here?”
I nodded my head. It was hard to believe it’d only been a day since I’d last seen him. I really had grown too accustomed to having him around. “Geez Sebastian, I didn’t realize how attached to you I became.”
“It’s the same with me,” he responded with a handsome smile. “Your presence is definitely missed in the castle. Yesterday Mother asked for you. You should have seen the look on her face when Father reminded her you weren’t there anymore.”
.
.
“Oh,” I responded, feeling my heart drop. They missed me?
“I think you should come back,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
I scratched the back of my head. “Haha, but I don’t belong there.” My eyes widened as the words spilled out of my mouth. The truth of them weighed upon me heavily. I really didn’t belong there. I was a human… they were vampires. I was where I belonged.
“Even if you don’t belong there, you’re welcomed,” Sebastian told me in a quiet voice. “Anytime.”
The tension in me broke and I grinned up at him. “Well thank you.”
He ruffled my hair. “Anytime. Vincent, are you just going to stand there and glare at me or say hello to your brother?”
“Hello,” Vincent responded. “No go home.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes. “I’m here to pick up Fiona. Where is she?”
“I’m coming!” Fiona cried, her voice sounding far off. Sebastian and I turned, seeing her running at a human pace down the sidewalk. “I had to get my backpack! Where’s Joel?”
“I asked if I could come pick you up so I could say hello to Emily,” he informed her, putting an arm around my shoulder. “Father said yes.”
Fiona beamed at him. “Ooh, well if it’s you, can we stop for ice cream before we go back?”
Sebastian smiled. “Of course we can.”
I nudged him in the side, giving him a knowing look. He gave me a disapproving look when I wagged my eyebrows.
“Please,” Vincent muttered loud enough for me to hear.
I laughed, removing myself from Sebastian. “You guys better get ice cream before it’s dark… Sebastian, you’ll come back soon, right?”
He nodded. “As often as I can. You can come to the manor too.”
“You should come do something human this weekend,” I pressed. “Ask Solomon to give you a day off so we can play together.”
“Play?”
“You know what I mean,” I said, crossing my arms. “Use the paddleboats or something.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Paddleboats?”
I blanked. “You don’t know?”
“No, I-”
“Get that day off, Sebastian. I have a lot to show you.”
He sighed. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”
I nodded. “Good. I plan on seeing you on Saturday then.”
“Didn’t you just hear me-”
“Bye Fiona! See you tomorrow!”
“See ya, Em!” she responded from the passenger seat. “Let’s go, Seb!”
Sebastian pursed his lips, shaking his head. “Fine. See you later, Emily.” He gave me another quick hug before climbing back into his fancy car.
As it rolled away, I returned to Vincent’s side. “That car is very conspicuous.”
He made a noncommittal grunt before heading back toward my house. I had to jog to keep up with his brisk pace. “What’s wrong now?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Sebastian.”
He scowled. “I’m not.”
“You so are,” I said with a grin. “Don’t worry. We’re just friends.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “I don’t care.”
Instead of replying, I settled on knowing that he was jealous. I was already recognizing the signs. It was pretty cute too. Vincent would have never pinned me as the jealous type.
“What is a paddleboat?” he asked after a moment of silence.
I gaped at the back of his head. Vampires were very ignorant creatures.
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