Awakened (Vampire Awakenings) (14 page)

He froze as he stared at her intently. “Sera...”

“Where is he?” Her voice was slightly shrill.

Liam stared at her in shock. Shit, this was all going wrong. He knew that Sera had seen something in him when he’d turned to her. The fear that radiated from her, and the fierce beating of her heart, told him that. How much she had glimpsed he didn’t know. “He had a knife.”

“So you killed him?”

“It was an accident.”

“Why didn’t you call the police?”

“Sera please calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” she screamed, her eyes wild with fear.

“I panicked all right,” he said softly. “I just panicked.”

“You seemed pretty calm to me.”

“I didn’t know what to do.” He took another step toward her. “It was an accident.”

That was a lie, he’d had every intention of killing of Jacob, and he had enjoyed every moment of it. But he couldn’t tell her that. She was already looking at him like he was a monster. If she knew the truth, she would run screaming into the woods, and never look back.

“Then we’ll go to the police now,” she whispered.

“Sera, I can’t do that.”

“Why not? If it was an accident...”

“They’ll say I tried to cover it up, they won’t believe me,” he said quickly.

“They’ll understand that you panicked, that it was an accident. They’ll know that you stabbed him in self defense; he had a knife, and he was attacking me, and you had to stab him.”

He sighed and moved a step closer. “Sera, I can’t do that.”

She lifted her eyes to meet his. They were full of anger and despair as she gazed at him in wild confusion. He wanted to ease the pain in her gaze, and make her forget everything that had happened tonight, everything she had seen. “My life would be over. I’d go to jail. Everything I’ve worked for would be gone.”

He stopped before her and reached out to touch her arm. A sudden spark rolled through her eyes, a sudden acknowledgment that made his stomach heave, and his heart hammer. She stared at him in dawning horror. “Sera,” he whispered.

“If you stabbed him,” she whispered. “Then where’s the blood? My sheets are clean.”

He tried to grab her, but she took a step away from him as her hand flew to her mouth. Liam closed his eyes against the revulsion and fear in her gaze. “Sera...”

“My God,” she whispered. “What are you?” His eyes flew to hers. His jaw clenched tightly as his arm fell limply to his sides. Her eyes searched his face pleadingly, but he made no move toward her. “Liam...”

“Let’s go.”

Her gaze flew wildly to Mike. He stood silently, his arms folded over his chest as he stared at her in resignation. It felt as if a sledge hammer slammed into her stomach as the breath rushed out of her. Mike knew what was going on, what Liam had done. He had helped him afterward; that was why he was here. He would be of no help to her.

Her legs turned to Jell-O. She panted heavily as she hung her head and fought desperately against passing out. Hands seized hold of her and lifted her up. She couldn’t offer a protest as Liam swung her into his arms and carried her down the steps of the gazebo. She was certain that she was being carried to her death, but she couldn’t find the strength to fight against it.

CHAPTER 10

Mike opened the door to Liam’s room and stepped back to let him enter. Liam carried Sera swiftly into the room. Her body was stiff and unyielding against his; her hands were curled in tight fists in her lap. He shifted his hold on her to pull the blankets on the bed back. Sliding her easily in, he pulled the covers up around her as she lay unmoving. “Just get some sleep,” he whispered. “We’ll talk in the morning, all right?”

Her eyes were dull and glazed as she looked at him before turning away to look out the window. She hadn’t spoken a word to him since the gazebo. He didn’t know what to say, or what to do. He had naively thought that somehow he could avoid all of this.

It wasn’t the kind of a secret that you could keep from someone that was as close to him as Sera was. Deep inside, he had known that. He just hadn’t wanted acknowledge it. Now it was slapping him in the face.

He turned away from her. Mike was standing in the doorway his gaze intense as he studied Liam. “We need to talk.”

“Tomorrow.”

“Liam...”

“Tomorrow Mike!” he snapped.

Mike’s gaze was intense and angry as he studied him. His eyes closed as he nodded briskly and left the room. Liam stood for a moment in the quiet room, unsure what to do. Finally, he strode across the room and slid wearily into the easy chair. He sat silently watching as she continued to stare out the window, hoping that she was not afraid of him. Certain that she was. How could she not be?

“You’re safe here,” he told her.

“Am I?” she inquired softly.

He winced at the words. “Yes, you are.”

He turned to look out the window, unable to stand the horror and revulsion in her gaze any longer. The moon had finally risen; its pale light spilled in to illuminate the room. He looked back at her as she lay motionlessly. He watched her for a long time as her breathing became slow and steady. He knew she was still awake.

***

Liam woke with a start and nearly toppled out of the chair. His neck and back ached, he felt as stiff as a board. He groaned as he straightened his aching joints, and opened his eyes slowly. The sun was just touching the horizon. His bones cracked as he walked over to shut the blinds before it woke Sera. She was sleeping on the bed, her head buried beneath the blankets. His heart and body longed to hold her as he watched her for a minute.

He forced himself to turn away and head for the door. He opened it slowly and made his way to Mike’s room and pounded on the door. “What!?” Mike yelled.

“Open up,” Liam grated.

He listened as Mike stormed over to the door and swung it open. Mike glared at him from bloodshot eyes. “When I want to talk you tell me to go away, but it’s all right to wake me up at six thirty in the morning!” he snapped.

Liam glowered at him as he swept into the room. A young brunette sat up in bed, blinking sleepily at them as the blankets fell down to expose her nude body. Liam scooped her clothes off the floor and threw them at her. “Get out,” he ordered.

“What!?” she gasped, scrambling to gather her clothes. “Michael...”

“Go on.” Mike collapsed onto the couch.

The girl cast him an angry scowl as she tugged her shirt over her head. “You’re an asshole!” she spat.

Mike laughed and draped his arm over his eyes. “Bye sweetie,” he drawled as Liam opened the door, and closed it behind her.

“You know, one of these days I’m going to come barging in on you and Sera,” Mike mumbled. “Kick her out of the room naked.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Liam warned.

Mike removed his arm from his eyes and looked up at him. “Then again, I doubt that she’ll be sticking around for much longer. You’ve messed up Liam, bad. What are you going to do about it?”

“I was hoping you’d have some suggestions.”

“You could make her forget, take the whole night away from her.”

Liam sighed and closed his eyes as he slumped onto the bed. He absently rubbed his temples in order to ease some of the pressure in his skull. The idea was completely and utterly tempting, and the easiest thing to do. He could make her forget about Jacob’s body and everything that had followed afterward. He wished that he could take everything about Jacob away from her, but that would take more power and capabilities than all of them had. Plus, he would have to change Kathleen, Danielle, and Michelle’s memories. It would be too much, but he could make her forget enough so that she was no longer frightened of him.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Why not? You have the power and the ability to do it.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

The truth was, he wanted her to know, he wanted her to know it all, and he wanted her to decide what she was going to do. If she left him, than he could and would deal with it, but if she stayed... If she stayed there would be no barriers between them. He wouldn’t have to worry about her finding out, wouldn’t have to worry about losing her.

Liam lifted his head to look at him. “I don’t know if I want too,” he admitted.

Mike’s brow furrowed as he swung his legs off the side of the chair and planted them on the floor. “What do you mean?” he asked slowly, his eyes dark with anger.

“I want to tell her the truth.”

Mike’s mouth gaped as he stared at him in stunned amazement. What he had just said went against all the rules, rules that he had made in order to keep them all safe. At the moment though, he didn’t care about the rules.

“Why?”

Liam blinked in surprise; he had expected Mike to explode. Instead, he was still staring at him in shock. “Because I can’t do that to her, I can’t change her memories, I can’t invade her mind like that. I won’t do it.”

Finally anger started to cross Mike’s features. “You don’t have a choice Liam,” he grated through clenched teeth. “You’ve screwed up bad. I don’t know what you want me to say, but you’ve got to do something. There are other people that need to be protected. You know that. If you can’t do it, then one of us will.”

“No one,” he said firmly. “Is going to harm her, in any way, do you understand me?”

Mike looked away from him to stare angrily at the poster on his wall. He sighed as he ran a hand through his disheveled blond hair. “There may be no other option. You have to understand that. I know how you feel about her, but...”

Liam launched to his feet, his hands clenched into fists as he glowered at him. “No! You don’t know how I feel about her,” he spat. “If you did, you would realize that what you’re suggesting is not, and never will be, an option.”

Mike’s eyes snapped back to his. “You need to talk to her. See how things go, but Liam you have to realize what all of this could mean.”

“I do realize what it could mean Mike.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” Mike’s eyes were suddenly weary and resigned.

“Yes,” Liam hissed. “I do. What you don’t understand is that I will kill anyone who tries to hurt her; that includes you.”

Mike’s eyes widened in surprise, Liam had never threatened any of them but he would kill them in order to protect her. “Go talk to her Liam, see what she says. Maybe there’s nothing to worry about, but if there is...”

“No!” he interrupted. “I’m not kidding Mike, you stay away from her; do you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you,” he muttered. “I couldn’t hurt her anyway, you know that.”

“Don’t tell anyone else about this.”

“Yeah, whatever, you’re the boss.” Liam nodded and strode to the door. “What are you going to say to her?” Mike asked as he opened the door.

He turned to look at him and shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know yet. The truth.”

Mike snorted as he shook his head. “We don’t have to worry about what to do with her after that, she’ll be locked in the loony bin.”

Liam shot him a scathing glare as he slammed the door. He moved quickly back to his room and opened the door. Sera had rolled over so that the blanket fell away to reveal her exquisite face. She looked angelic and peaceful in her sleep. His heart ached for the pain that she had already experienced, and the hurt that he was going to inflict on her.

He sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched her shoulder. Her eyes opened slowly and she stared up at him, a soft smile spread across her beautiful face. Then, suddenly, it was gone. Remembrance crashed over her features and shuttered through her eyes. She bolted upright; her hair tumbled wildly around her face, and shoulders. Her eyes were huge, and a vivid, startling purple.

“Sera, we need to talk.”

“Are you going to be honest with me?”

“I never wanted to lie to you.”

“Really? Because it’s all you’ve ever done. I feel like I don’t even know you. You’ve been this one person, this person that you’ve let me see, or wanted me to see. This person that I fell in love with, but you’re not that person. And now this. This! Who are you Liam? What are you?”

Tears spilled down her cheeks and she wiped them angrily away. She was mad at herself for crying, and she was furious at him. “I’m going to be honest with you, about everything.”

She laughed and shook her head despairingly. “How am I supposed to know that?” she demanded.

Her words cut into his heart and he winced involuntarily. “I deserve that, but it will be the truth Sera, I promise.”

She snorted and looked away; she rubbed her hands along her arms to ward off the chill that was wracking her. “I hope so Liam, I really hope so.”

He reached out to stroke her cheek. She jerked away from his touch, her eyes burned with an anger that bordered on hatred. He dropped his hand quickly. He was going to lose her, no matter how much she loved him she wouldn’t be able to deal with this. She was going to walk out of this room, and never look back. But, she was going to hear the truth first, she deserved it, and no matter how much he had never wanted her to be, she was involved now.

He stood up and walked across the room, he paced rapidly as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I told you why I didn’t tell you about Michelle, but I didn’t tell you about all the circumstances surrounding her...”

“Don’t you think you should tell me about last night first?” she cut him off sharply.

“No. Last night happened because of her. It will be best to explain her first.”

“Fine.”

“I met Michelle two days before school started. We were throwing an end of summer party here, and she came to it. I didn’t pay much attention to her at first, which I don’t think made her very happy. But it was a game that I was playing. I knew that by not paying attention to her, she would want me more. She was a challenge to me. She wasn’t as hard to get as she pretended to be. By the end of the night, I’d had too much to drink, and I had her. It was quick, it was over with, and it didn’t mean anything, not to me anyway.

“Apparently she thought that it meant more, which I am sorry for. She came by here a couple of times after, but I didn’t talk to her. When she confronted me on it, I told her the simple truth. It was a fling, a one night stand, nothing more, and it was never going to be more. She didn’t take it well, and I can’t say that I blame her. I was a jerk, I know it, but I can’t take it back. But, I wasn’t by myself, she was there too.

“Then, a couple of weeks later, you showed up. I saw you before you saw me. Everyone was talking about you, and guys were fluttering around you like moths, but you didn’t notice. I didn’t know what to make of you. Some said you were stuck up, mainly the girls, but then I noticed you with Kathleen and Danielle, and how open and happy you were with them. The guys said pretty much what guys say. They wanted to sleep with you, they wanted this, or they wanted that. Except, for Mike. He actually told me to stay away from you. To leave you be. For Mike to say something like that… Well it just amazed me, and piqued my curiosity. I had to meet you....”

“Did I become a challenge too?” she asked as her chin lifted defiantly.

He stared at her for a moment and sighed as he ran his hand through his hair again. He didn’t want to tell her this, but she wanted the truth, and he was going to give it to her. “Yes,” he admitted. “You weren’t a challenge in the same way that Michelle was, but you were a challenge.”

“Good to know,” she mumbled bitterly.

“You wanted the truth.” A jolt of anger made his voice tight. “I’m giving it all to you Sera. You were a challenge simply because I had to know more about you, not because I just wanted you in my bed like Michelle...”

“This is just getting better,” she muttered.

“Don’t do that!” he snapped. Her eyes widened in surprise as anger flashed across her features. “All I wanted from Michelle was a one night stand. I wanted more from you, otherwise I would have gone to any of the many willing girls around here after the first night we met, but I didn’t. You were not, and are not, just a stupid conquest, you never have been. That first night, I saw what Mike had been talking about. I saw the hurt in you, the fear, and I knew that I shouldn’t become involved with you, that I should stay away. You had been hurt, and I could do nothing but bring you more hurt.”

“Then why didn’t you leave me alone?” she asked quietly.