Night Feast (10 page)

The doorbell rang and her stepfather who had been reading the newspaper answered it.  It was Libby, and he told her that she could go straight up to Amber’s room.  Libby almost laughed out loud when she entered Amberlee’s bedroom and saw her bending to and fro, trying to pull the zipper up of the dress, that was still two sizes too small.  She good naturedly rushed to help her, and between the two of them they finally won the battle against the stubborn zip.  When Amberlee slipped into her high heeled shoes she towered above Libby, who was wearing flat pumps.  Her friend seemed to be finding it difficult to walk in her heels, but she refused to change them.  She went into her en suite bathroom, just before her Mother came into the room.

“Hello Libby how are you?”

“I’m fine thanks Mrs Robinson” answered Libby politely.

“Can I see your dress,?  It looks like it’s a lovely colour.”

Libby obliged her and removed her coat.  She was wearing a beautiful, sleeveless, blue cotton dress.  It was an original, nineteen fifties vintage dress with a full, pleated and embroidered skirt.  Her long dark hair was tied up in a matching blue, silk ribbon and the whole ensemble really suited her petite frame.

“You look lovely, what a nice dress!” exclaimed Mrs Robinson, but the smile slipped quickly from her face when her daughter reappeared from the bathroom.

“Oh my God, Amberlee Robinson what are you wearing?  That dress is far too small for you!”

“No it’s not, it’s fine” said Amberlee defensively.  Her mother could see by her face that she was not going to win this fight, and when the doorbell rang she just shook her head and stood aside.  The two girls rushed down the stairs to meet their dates.

They clambered onto the backseat of Cora’s Chevrolet Malibu, and drove to Claremont college in near silence.  Amberlee was still a little upset by her mother’s comments, especially as she had heard the compliments that she had paid to Libby.  Amberlee despised Libby’s tastes for vintage clothing, she would never wear anything that her grandmother could have worn.  Then she caught Jay looking at the rear view mirror, and decided that he was looking at her, rather than keeping his eye on the traffic behind him.  Her mood lifted.

When they went into the building and hung up their coats, Kevin’s eyes lit up when he saw what his date was wearing.  He had a passion for nineteen fifties memorabilia, especially the Chevy Bel-Air and he hoped one day to own one.  Jay looked a bit shocked when he saw Amberlee’s too tight dress, but he gallantly told her that she looked nice.  The four of them went into the great hall, where the dance was being held.  There was a banner at the front of the room displaying the words ‘Happy Anniversary Claremont.’  Amberlee grabbed Jay’s hand as they walked through the hall, showing everyone that they were together.  Libby suggested that they should get a fruit punch, and so they joined a short queue of teenagers who’d had the same idea.

Amberlee decided that she wanted to dance, in the centre of the dance floor with Jay, where everyone could see them.  So she went up to the DJ and requested a rapping song called   ‘Look At Me Now.’ When the music came on she grabbed Jay and pulled him to the middle of the floor, and started gyrating her hips towards him suggestively.  He stood there in front of her, embarrassed and not quite knowing what to do.  Everyone was staring at them now, so Amberlee continued with what could only be described as a mating dance.  She moved closer to Jay, rubbing her body up against his, and forcing him to sway to the beat of the lyrically explicit rap music.  Such was his relief when Libby and Kevin joined them on the dance floor.  This annoyed Amberlee and she ceased her gyrating, and at the end of the song they left the dance floor and made their way to the buffet.

The cold night air still lingered on her face when she entered Portland’s Claremont college.  She could feel all eyes on her, devouring her exceptional beauty, wondering who she could be.  She was a vision in green and the envy of all the girls, when she removed her coat, and revealed her elegant and feline figure.  Lia spoke to no one and went into the great hall, with only one thing on her mind.  Everyone stopped eating, stopped dancing, stopped talking and stopped breathing, as she entered the room.  She held her head up high, and after seeing her own reflection in the mirror, she now understood why she had always caused such a reaction.  She looked around the room, searching the crowd of young people, for the only face that she wanted to see.  Then she saw him.  Jay, like everybody else was looking straight at her.  His mouth was slightly open, and his eyes had widened at the sight of her incredible beauty.  He trembled when he saw a faint flicker of a smile on her blood red lips.  Was that smile for him?  He was sure it had been directed at him.  Amberlee followed the direction of her date’s gaze ,and saw the vampire for the first time.  She had been so self absorbed, that she had missed the other girl’s dramatic appearance.  Amberlee felt suddenly threatened, when she saw the look on Jay’s face as he gazed at the stranger.  She knew that he had never looked at her in the same way.  This dance was going to be an epic bust.

Jay felt so drawn to her.  He had to find out who she was, he was determined to meet her.  Without saying a word to anyone, he pulled away from Amberlee’s possessive grasp, and walked straight over to Lia.  The tension grew in the room, as everyone watched Jay Patterson leave his date and walk up to the elegant young beauty, that no one had ever seen in Portland before.  Some giggled at the humiliated expression on Amberlee’s face , but their attention to that was briefly held , because they wanted to see what would happen between Jay and the new girl.  Everyone thought that they must know each other, by the way he was strolling towards her, and the expectant look on her face.  She was standing as still as a statue, as if she had been waiting for him all her life.  The DJ had momentarily stopped playing music, he was just as curious as everyone else.  Then Jay found himself standing in front of her and looking deeply into her big green eyes.

They stared at each other for a full minute, neither one wanting to ruin the moment.  Then Jay said a quiet ‘hello’ and saw the smile play once again on her lips.  He wanted to hold her, to kiss her.  To feel her red lips pressed against his mouth in the passionate embrace that he was longing for.

“Okay you two, we get it, and just for you I’m gonna play an old song from the seventies, by a brother called Al Green. ‘Let’s stay together.”

The DJ put on the seventies soul classic, and Jay took Lia in his arms.  He didn’t even flinch from the cold as held her close, but no words were spoken between them, as he danced with her until the end of the song.

By this time Amberlee had stormed off to the restroom.

“You’d better go after her” said Kevin.  Who had been standing next to Amberlee with Libby However he was still asking himself ‘what just happened?’  He had never seen his buddy like this before, sure the girl was hot, man she was on fire, but it was like he was in a trance or something.

Libby nodded and followed her friend to the restroom.  She was still stunned about how the usual super cool Jay Patterson, had melted to mush in front of the whole college.  It was awesome.  She couldn’t wait to tell Tori and Judi about it,  they had not been able to attend the dance.  Tori had been grounded for drinking half a bottle of her parent’s wine, and Judi had not been able to scare up a date.

She opened the door of the restroom and went in.  She looked around, calling Amberlee by name but there was no answer.  It became clear to her that the room was empty, they were all in the hall, enjoying the show, care of Jay Patterson and his smoking hot new friend.

Amberlee Robinson, however was gone.

Chapter F
ive

“Amberlee it time to get up, your breakfast is on the table” called her Mother tersely.  When there was no reply she sent Joey to wake his sister.  He came back and told her that Amberlee is not there, and when she went into her bedroom to investigate, she saw that her daughter’s bed had not been slept in.

It was  still quite early, eight forty five in the morning to be precise when the telephone rang in the Peterson household.  Candice, Libby’s mother, who had been up and about doing chores for the last hour, answered it.  She was very surprised when she found that it was Alexis Robinson on the line.  She sounded a lot different from her usual self-satisfied self, she sounded worried.

“Oh hi Corrine isn’t it?” Alexis felt that she was above remembering the names of the parents of her daughter’s friends..

“No, it’s Candice, what can I do for you Alexis?” replied Candice Peterson irritably.

“Is Amberlee with Libby?  Only she didn’t come home last night.

‘She probably spent the night in some boy’s bed knowing her’ thought Candice uncharitably.  She was glad that Libby was a sensible girl, and would not allow herself to be led astray by the likes of Amberlee Robinson.

“I don’t think she’s with Lib, I’ll have a look, hold on a moment.”

Candice went to the bottom of the carpeted staircase.

“Libby is Amberlee up there with you?” she called to her daughter.  Libby appeared at the top of the stairs, still wearing her pyjamas.

“Who is it Mom?” she asked, feeling a rising tension.

“Alexis, Amberlee’s mom.”

“I’d better take it” says Libby, and she rushed down the stairs and took the phone from her mother.

“Hello, Mrs Robinson?”  It’s me Libby. Amberlee left before us last night.  We figured that she’d taken a taxi home.”

“Why did she leave without you?”

“I don’t know really, she did say something about being bored” lied Libby, to get herself off the hook.

“Oh, okay, thanks Libby I’m sure she’ll turn up.”

“Will you ask her to call me as soon as she does please?”

“Of course, yes I’ll do that.”  Alexis Robinson replaced the receiver, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a strong, black coffee.

‘You are going to  have some explaining to do young lady!’ she thought as she tried to assure herself that Amberlee would be back within the hour, but Alexis was worried, very worried.

****************************************

Last night Libby had hurried back to Kevin and told him that Amberlee had disappeared.  Kevin had shrugged, he assumed that she must have gone home.  She certainly didn’t seem like the type of girl who would take being publically dumped on the chin.  There was no way that she was going to stay and watch. He was glad that she had decided to go, there had been enough drama for one night.  Kevin had pointed to Jay and Lia, still in each other’s arms on the dance floor.  They were swaying from side to side, and gazing into each other’s eyes.  Kevin and Libby had watched as Jay bent his head towards the beautiful girl, that he’d just met that very same evening..   Their lips had met in an explosive passionate kiss, that had seemed to go on forever.

“OMG, get a room already” exclaimed Libby as she watched the young love blossom.

“I think it’s safe to say that we just lost our ride home” said Kevin, and he had taken her by the hand.  At that point they left the dance after picking up their coats, and went home in a shared taxi.

“Where do you live Lia?”  Jay had led her away to a quiet corner, away from prying eyes.

“I’m renting a house in Westport” said Lia, her voice sounded so sweet to her own ears.  She felt so happy, she thought that she would burst.  Being so close to Jay was everything that she had imagined it would be, and more.  Lia was however, keeping her strong, vampire inclinations under iron grip control.  There would be a time and a place....

“Westport?”  Jay was impressed.  “That’s about an hour from here isn’t it?  I’ll give you a ride home but I have to find my friends because....”

“Your friends have already left Jay.”

Jay had looked a little concerned.  He had been so engrossed in Lia that he had forgotten all about them. He felt that he had abandoned them, Kevin would be cool, but Amberlee would be furious with him.  Jay had known that Amberlee had wanted them to become an item.  The thought had horrified him.  However he had intended to let her down gently, at the end of the evening.  He had not been relishing the thought of how he would have to fight off her amorous advances.  She had made it perfectly clear to him, during the time they had been together, that she was his for the taking.  She had been so eager, that he had started to think that she believed his standoffishness was some form of disguised encouragement.  He too was glad that she had left.  Kevin was a good guy.  He would see that both of the girls got home safely.

“C’mon we’re out of here” he said to Lia, “I’ll take you home.”

He was driving his mother’s car and he felt good about that, because this girl looked like she was used to travelling in style.

****************************************

Two days later Cora Patterson was still alone in the house.  Jay had called to say that he was staying with a friend in Westport of all places.  He still had her car but she didn’t mind, she wasn’t going back into work for a few days, and she knew that he would look after it.  It wasn’t unusual for Jay to stay out so she wasn’t concerned, he had done it many times before with Kevin.  That’s who she assumed that Jay was with now, and she so switched on the television to hear the morning news.

The familiar, longstanding newsreader confronted her with a very serious look on his face, and some news about a disturbing turn of events.