SERIOUSLY, ALWAYS YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL Chapter 19
Sorry for the long delay. I was sick along with all of my family and then I got a secondary infection, but on the mend. If anyone is still reading, here is a chapter.
ADULTS ONLY.
CHAPTER 19
JUSTIN’s POV:
I can’t get over how different everything is. I feel like I’ve been living under water and suddenly I popped up and all the noise, smells, visual cues I missed have flooded my senses. I see stars beyond the veil of ambient light. I smell blood coursing through the veins of people we pass, and hear their hearts beating. I’m so strong, I feel like I could leap up to that roof and I am not afraid of anything. I’m also really hungry and yet the smell of all the great food New Orleans has to offer makes me feel queasy. I tug on Eric’s sleeve as he leads me into a bar on Bourbon Street
“I’m hungry.”
He orders two Tru Bloods and we sit in a back booth as an overweight and not very pretty brunette slithers on a polished pole, her boobs drooping sadly south. The Tru Blood takes off the edge but I’m still hungry
“You like that?” I ask, motioning towards the dancer. He gives me an inscrutable look
“How do you mean, ‘like’? As in want to fuck? As in like the dancing? As in want to bite?”
I shrug and he shakes his head. “No to all of the above.”
“So why are we here? The music is so loud.”
“You have to learn to filter your senses or you’ll go nuts. We’re here to meet someone. Why? Do you have something important to do?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Stop saying that. Go up to the bar and get another couple bottles of Tru Blood.”
“I’m sick of it.”
“You better get used to it. Go.”
Reluctantly, I obey.
ERIC’s POV:
I watch him walk away and I am not the only one watching. Men, women, vampires, humans, they all watch him. He is a tidy piece of ass. Still has that new vamp glow about him, hasn’t had time to become cynical and jaded like the rest of us. Time is a terrible burden. But many new vamps die in the first few months because they are not bonded to their maker and they do stupid things with the vain idea they are immortal. Well, they aren’t. And neither am I. I have a responsibility to keep him with me at least until I feel certain he knows enough to survive
He returns with four bottles of Tru Blood and I roll my eyes at him. “You’ll bloat up. You better slow down. Projectile vomiting blood, even synthetic blood, is no joy. Give your body time to absorb it.”
“I’m a growing boy,” he beams at me and I shake my head.
“You’ll never grow another inch. This is it for you. You are frozen in time.”
“Will my skin still breakout?”
“No.”
“Will my hair grow if I cut it?”
“Yes, your cells renew otherwise you would become a falling apart corpse like a zombie.”
A man walks up to our table, sits down, glares at us. He is tall and wan and pretty fucking scary looking, for a human. “Your dime, Eric. You called me.”
Justin scoots closer to me, rightfully frightened of this man. “Look at the kid.”
He gives Justin a long once over. “I see him. So?”
“We need someone, a corpse, to double for him. He needs to die. Something fiery, maybe, or just badly obliterated facially. Same size, same hair color, I’ll supply clothes and ID.”
“Wait, wait,” Justin intervenes. “What are you doing?”
“Killing you off, as far as everyone who knows you is concerned. Has to be done. You’re still at an age where your parents will get nosey. We need to give them something to bury.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“If we don’t, they’ll keep looking for you. They have money, no?”
“I’ll call and tell them I ran away.”
“You’re underage. They won’t give up that easily.”
“Let me think about this.”
“It’s the cleanest way.”
“I haven’t thought about not going home again. My friends, Daphne, my sister, and what about Brian? He knows. I’m not willing to say I’ll never see Brian again.”
“Look, being a vampire means a series of goodbyes to people you care about. They get old and die. You go on. You have to learn to be self-sufficient or you will mourn yourself into early true death. Get it? You died, Justin. You no longer exist in their world. Let them have the grace of closure. As for Brian, I’m not yet sure what to do about him. But I’m your maker. I’m your family now. And you will do as I say.”
He puffed out his lower lip and crossed his arms at his chest in a defiant gesture, but I know he has to obey me, unlike how he ignores his parents, so I don’t care. I glance at my provider of corpses. “I’ll be in touch.”
“You wasted my time.”
I hand him a fifty and he goes on his way, apparently satisfied. “We’ll try it your way first. You’ll call your parents and tell them you have gone off on your own to find your way. If it gets messy, we’ll figure that out later.”
He perks up at that. “Thank you!” He flings his arms around my neck and I shrug him off
“Control yourself. What did I tell you is the number one killer of vampires?”
“Stakes?”
“No. Boredom. The number two killer is light. Sunlight, UV light, we are creatures of the dark. We will go now and buy you a box.”
“I’m not sleeping in a coffin.”
“You don’t have to sleep in a coffin, but you need a coffin just in case. You can sleep in any room that is entirely dark and is in no danger of being illuminated. You’ll get used to the box, it’s comforting. Closes out the world. We put them in various places in case one is compromised. That’ s what we’ll do the rest of the night, and get a couple extra for when we return to Shreveport and Bon Temps. I’ll order a traveling version for you, too. They’re light and impenetrable.”
“You have that kind of cash?”
“Money is not our problem. I keep stashes in many places, and I have a black American Express card. Limitless.”
He puts his hand on my thigh and slides it up. I remove it. “Not now. We have work to do.”
“I’m horny. I want you.”
“I thought you were hungry?”
“I’m both.”
I smile at him. Oh, to be young again. “Later my eager little protégé. We have bigger issues to solve.”
BRIAN’S POV:
The next morning, the drugs have mostly worn off. I am told I have to take a cab out of here or have a driver or they won’t release me. Not sure I could work the stick shift in Eric’s Vette, so I let them call a cab. I give them the address Eric gave me. A room is waiting for me. I ask for some food and then go up to the room, which is graciously decorated with a period flair. The mattress is modern and quality and as soon as I stretch out on it, I’m asleep. The delivery of my food awakens me. I take it out on the terrace to eat it, watching the world on Chartres Street pass by. I suppose Eric and Justin are asleep now. Cuddled together in a coffin or a bed.
Whatever. I don’t know which one to be jealous of, so I decide not to be jealous of either one. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Eric tempted me with his power, his flawless and timeless beauty and his sexuality. Being young forever, beautiful forever appeals to me as I near thirty. Never dying? Not so much. And I saw a glimpse of the other side of it, too. His vulnerability. His isolation. Still mourning lives lost so long ago. The loneliness is killing. I was leaning heavily towards never wanting his gift, and now this happened.
My fault, I lured him here, I suppose. And when Eric did what vampires do, why did I push him to save Justin? Would he be better off dead? Faced with two horrible choices, I couldn’t let him die. But now what? What can I do now? My cell rings. I answer.
“Um. Hi Brian. This is Daphne, Justin’s friend.”
And so it begins. “Yeah.”
“Have you seen Justin?”
“Why?”
“He flew down there to meet up with that vampire guy, and you. He was supposed to be back today. I made up a story for his parents, but its only good for one more day. Is he ok?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.”
“Can I talk to him? He’s not answering his phone.”
“He’s not with me, but I’ll tell him to call when I see him.”
“He needs to come home, Brian. His parents are already suspicious.”
“I can’t live his life for him, but I’ll tell him. I have to go.” I hang up and then call my office and give them a line of bullshit on why I need more time down here. I think they buy it. Daphne is right. This can’t go on indefinitely, not for either of us. I go back in my room and stretch out on the bed, deciding to try and nap until sundown. When in doubt, escape. I don’t feel well enough to get drunk or drugged, and I sure as hell am not up to chasing boy ass. So all’s that left for me now is sleep. Luckily the residue of morphine is just enough to push me over into darkness.
ERIC’S POV:
At sundown, I call Pam. I can feel her seething through the telephone waves. “I need your help.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
I smile at that. You gotta love Pam. “I said I need your help. As your maker…”
“Shove it, Eric. I know you can command me. So what do you want? I decided to buy myself a new car to take the place of the one you still have down there. Nice little Mercedes. Bought it with your money.”
“Does that make you happy, Pam?”
“It’s blood red. I love it.”
“Are you through?”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to make a place for your new brother. The usual amenities, coffin, secure, near mine. Got it?”
“I hate you.”
“Pam, let go of it. It’s done, right? For better or worse, he’s in the family now.”
“When are you coming back? I am sick of running this place on my own.”
“I think tomorrow.”
“I hope you drive into a tree and a limb goes through his heart.”
“How sweet,” I hang up. She sounds tough, she is tough, but she’ll warm up to him. She better. He wakes. He’s hungry. He’s still not ready to kill, or I’m not ready to teach him, so it’s back to Tru Blood. I’m sick of it too. I pack up and tell my house sitters we’re hitting the road. It’s time to gather up Brian and head for Shreveport. That means my newbie boy will have to drive one car or the other, because I rather doubt if Brian can manage it with one arm and a litany of drugs in him.
We go the hotel and he’s dressed and groggy. Still feeling very little pain with whatever opiates they gave him from the hospital. “We’re driving back to Shreveport tonight.”
“Okay,” he gives Justin a long look. Justin smiles at him. His baby fangs gleam and Brian winces. “Do me a favor, Eric.”
“What?”
“Turn me. I decided. I can’t let him go through this alone. He’s my responsibility.”
“Shut up and head downstairs. Your suitcase is in the car.”
“I’m serious.”
“You’re seriously doped.”
“I’ll do it!” Justin cheerfully volunteers. I just sigh. As if he could turn someone when he hasn’t even had his first kill. There are times in my long life that I wish I were truly dead. Many times. And this is one of them.
ADULTS ONLY.
CHAPTER 19
JUSTIN’s POV:
I can’t get over how different everything is. I feel like I’ve been living under water and suddenly I popped up and all the noise, smells, visual cues I missed have flooded my senses. I see stars beyond the veil of ambient light. I smell blood coursing through the veins of people we pass, and hear their hearts beating. I’m so strong, I feel like I could leap up to that roof and I am not afraid of anything. I’m also really hungry and yet the smell of all the great food New Orleans has to offer makes me feel queasy. I tug on Eric’s sleeve as he leads me into a bar on Bourbon Street
“I’m hungry.”
He orders two Tru Bloods and we sit in a back booth as an overweight and not very pretty brunette slithers on a polished pole, her boobs drooping sadly south. The Tru Blood takes off the edge but I’m still hungry
“You like that?” I ask, motioning towards the dancer. He gives me an inscrutable look
“How do you mean, ‘like’? As in want to fuck? As in like the dancing? As in want to bite?”
I shrug and he shakes his head. “No to all of the above.”
“So why are we here? The music is so loud.”
“You have to learn to filter your senses or you’ll go nuts. We’re here to meet someone. Why? Do you have something important to do?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Stop saying that. Go up to the bar and get another couple bottles of Tru Blood.”
“I’m sick of it.”
“You better get used to it. Go.”
Reluctantly, I obey.
ERIC’s POV:
I watch him walk away and I am not the only one watching. Men, women, vampires, humans, they all watch him. He is a tidy piece of ass. Still has that new vamp glow about him, hasn’t had time to become cynical and jaded like the rest of us. Time is a terrible burden. But many new vamps die in the first few months because they are not bonded to their maker and they do stupid things with the vain idea they are immortal. Well, they aren’t. And neither am I. I have a responsibility to keep him with me at least until I feel certain he knows enough to survive
He returns with four bottles of Tru Blood and I roll my eyes at him. “You’ll bloat up. You better slow down. Projectile vomiting blood, even synthetic blood, is no joy. Give your body time to absorb it.”
“I’m a growing boy,” he beams at me and I shake my head.
“You’ll never grow another inch. This is it for you. You are frozen in time.”
“Will my skin still breakout?”
“No.”
“Will my hair grow if I cut it?”
“Yes, your cells renew otherwise you would become a falling apart corpse like a zombie.”
A man walks up to our table, sits down, glares at us. He is tall and wan and pretty fucking scary looking, for a human. “Your dime, Eric. You called me.”
Justin scoots closer to me, rightfully frightened of this man. “Look at the kid.”
He gives Justin a long once over. “I see him. So?”
“We need someone, a corpse, to double for him. He needs to die. Something fiery, maybe, or just badly obliterated facially. Same size, same hair color, I’ll supply clothes and ID.”
“Wait, wait,” Justin intervenes. “What are you doing?”
“Killing you off, as far as everyone who knows you is concerned. Has to be done. You’re still at an age where your parents will get nosey. We need to give them something to bury.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“If we don’t, they’ll keep looking for you. They have money, no?”
“I’ll call and tell them I ran away.”
“You’re underage. They won’t give up that easily.”
“Let me think about this.”
“It’s the cleanest way.”
“I haven’t thought about not going home again. My friends, Daphne, my sister, and what about Brian? He knows. I’m not willing to say I’ll never see Brian again.”
“Look, being a vampire means a series of goodbyes to people you care about. They get old and die. You go on. You have to learn to be self-sufficient or you will mourn yourself into early true death. Get it? You died, Justin. You no longer exist in their world. Let them have the grace of closure. As for Brian, I’m not yet sure what to do about him. But I’m your maker. I’m your family now. And you will do as I say.”
He puffed out his lower lip and crossed his arms at his chest in a defiant gesture, but I know he has to obey me, unlike how he ignores his parents, so I don’t care. I glance at my provider of corpses. “I’ll be in touch.”
“You wasted my time.”
I hand him a fifty and he goes on his way, apparently satisfied. “We’ll try it your way first. You’ll call your parents and tell them you have gone off on your own to find your way. If it gets messy, we’ll figure that out later.”
He perks up at that. “Thank you!” He flings his arms around my neck and I shrug him off
“Control yourself. What did I tell you is the number one killer of vampires?”
“Stakes?”
“No. Boredom. The number two killer is light. Sunlight, UV light, we are creatures of the dark. We will go now and buy you a box.”
“I’m not sleeping in a coffin.”
“You don’t have to sleep in a coffin, but you need a coffin just in case. You can sleep in any room that is entirely dark and is in no danger of being illuminated. You’ll get used to the box, it’s comforting. Closes out the world. We put them in various places in case one is compromised. That’ s what we’ll do the rest of the night, and get a couple extra for when we return to Shreveport and Bon Temps. I’ll order a traveling version for you, too. They’re light and impenetrable.”
“You have that kind of cash?”
“Money is not our problem. I keep stashes in many places, and I have a black American Express card. Limitless.”
He puts his hand on my thigh and slides it up. I remove it. “Not now. We have work to do.”
“I’m horny. I want you.”
“I thought you were hungry?”
“I’m both.”
I smile at him. Oh, to be young again. “Later my eager little protégé. We have bigger issues to solve.”
BRIAN’S POV:
The next morning, the drugs have mostly worn off. I am told I have to take a cab out of here or have a driver or they won’t release me. Not sure I could work the stick shift in Eric’s Vette, so I let them call a cab. I give them the address Eric gave me. A room is waiting for me. I ask for some food and then go up to the room, which is graciously decorated with a period flair. The mattress is modern and quality and as soon as I stretch out on it, I’m asleep. The delivery of my food awakens me. I take it out on the terrace to eat it, watching the world on Chartres Street pass by. I suppose Eric and Justin are asleep now. Cuddled together in a coffin or a bed.
Whatever. I don’t know which one to be jealous of, so I decide not to be jealous of either one. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Eric tempted me with his power, his flawless and timeless beauty and his sexuality. Being young forever, beautiful forever appeals to me as I near thirty. Never dying? Not so much. And I saw a glimpse of the other side of it, too. His vulnerability. His isolation. Still mourning lives lost so long ago. The loneliness is killing. I was leaning heavily towards never wanting his gift, and now this happened.
My fault, I lured him here, I suppose. And when Eric did what vampires do, why did I push him to save Justin? Would he be better off dead? Faced with two horrible choices, I couldn’t let him die. But now what? What can I do now? My cell rings. I answer.
“Um. Hi Brian. This is Daphne, Justin’s friend.”
And so it begins. “Yeah.”
“Have you seen Justin?”
“Why?”
“He flew down there to meet up with that vampire guy, and you. He was supposed to be back today. I made up a story for his parents, but its only good for one more day. Is he ok?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.”
“Can I talk to him? He’s not answering his phone.”
“He’s not with me, but I’ll tell him to call when I see him.”
“He needs to come home, Brian. His parents are already suspicious.”
“I can’t live his life for him, but I’ll tell him. I have to go.” I hang up and then call my office and give them a line of bullshit on why I need more time down here. I think they buy it. Daphne is right. This can’t go on indefinitely, not for either of us. I go back in my room and stretch out on the bed, deciding to try and nap until sundown. When in doubt, escape. I don’t feel well enough to get drunk or drugged, and I sure as hell am not up to chasing boy ass. So all’s that left for me now is sleep. Luckily the residue of morphine is just enough to push me over into darkness.
ERIC’S POV:
At sundown, I call Pam. I can feel her seething through the telephone waves. “I need your help.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
I smile at that. You gotta love Pam. “I said I need your help. As your maker…”
“Shove it, Eric. I know you can command me. So what do you want? I decided to buy myself a new car to take the place of the one you still have down there. Nice little Mercedes. Bought it with your money.”
“Does that make you happy, Pam?”
“It’s blood red. I love it.”
“Are you through?”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to make a place for your new brother. The usual amenities, coffin, secure, near mine. Got it?”
“I hate you.”
“Pam, let go of it. It’s done, right? For better or worse, he’s in the family now.”
“When are you coming back? I am sick of running this place on my own.”
“I think tomorrow.”
“I hope you drive into a tree and a limb goes through his heart.”
“How sweet,” I hang up. She sounds tough, she is tough, but she’ll warm up to him. She better. He wakes. He’s hungry. He’s still not ready to kill, or I’m not ready to teach him, so it’s back to Tru Blood. I’m sick of it too. I pack up and tell my house sitters we’re hitting the road. It’s time to gather up Brian and head for Shreveport. That means my newbie boy will have to drive one car or the other, because I rather doubt if Brian can manage it with one arm and a litany of drugs in him.
We go the hotel and he’s dressed and groggy. Still feeling very little pain with whatever opiates they gave him from the hospital. “We’re driving back to Shreveport tonight.”
“Okay,” he gives Justin a long look. Justin smiles at him. His baby fangs gleam and Brian winces. “Do me a favor, Eric.”
“What?”
“Turn me. I decided. I can’t let him go through this alone. He’s my responsibility.”
“Shut up and head downstairs. Your suitcase is in the car.”
“I’m serious.”
“You’re seriously doped.”
“I’ll do it!” Justin cheerfully volunteers. I just sigh. As if he could turn someone when he hasn’t even had his first kill. There are times in my long life that I wish I were truly dead. Many times. And this is one of them.