The Vampire (THE VAMPIRE Book 1) (73 page)

“I’ve got to start applying to colleges, you know. I was hoping I might see some while I’m here,” she said, biting into a large shrimp and talking with her mouth full. “There are a couple of really good creative writing programs at several schools here. Remember how we talked about me applying to colleges in Boston? And you told me how much you had liked going to school here. I’ve been thinking about that ever since.”

Jason’s chopsticks were paused in midair. A morsel of shrimp he had speared from Carrie’s plate fell from his chopsticks onto his own plate a moment later, escaping his notice.

Now he did recall that forgotten conversation. Back in February. He had raved to her about Boston, and had practically sold her on the idea of going to college here. But all of that was from his other life: pre-Augere. Things were different now. She couldn’t come here, not to go to school. Not to live here. He looked at her in silence, thinking.

“Of course,” she continued, “I wouldn’t want to cramp your style. I mean, I’d be going to school—and hopefully dating, but we could still get together sometimes for meals; hang out together”—she gestured with her chopsticks —“I could come over and do laundry; we could watch movies together and I could cook for you. It would be so great, Jason!”

All of the full implications of her being here, and all the complications—hadn’t even occurred to him yet. He hadn’t been able to see past his immediate concern of her just being here briefly, never mind being here all the time. That would be extremely difficult for him. No. That would be impossible.

Somehow,
he thought,
I have to show her around, have fun, have a really good time together and let her see all the great things the Boston area has to offer—an experience that I can help to provide and one that she deserves—and then I have to convince her to never want to come here again
. Not to go to school; not to live here and to barely, if ever, come to visit him. He sighed heavily as he set his chopsticks down. The food was very good but suddenly he wasn’t very hungry anymore.

They had ordered way too much food, and Carrie got several take out containers and two plastic bags so they could pack up the rest to take home.

They took the subway to the Prudential Center and arrived at the Skywalk just as the last light of day faded over the city and the city lights and the stars became visible. They lingered there a while enjoying the views, each lost in their own thoughts: Jason, pensive; Carrie quietly content and peaceful.

They took a taxi home, as the evening had grown colder and they now had multiple packages to carry, arriving back at the house around 8:30. Jason made a pot of tea for them as Carrie selected among the treats they had bought for their evening snack. They ate in the living room while an old movie was showing on TV, but they were more involved in their conversation than with the TV’s entertainment.

“So what is it that you do, exactly, Jason? I know you kind of told us, but the answer just didn’t stick in my mind.”

He was finding this a difficult question to answer. He really needed to come up with a pat response to satisfy the curious.

“There are some scheduled routine things that I do. Like the car maintenance today for one. And then there are other tasks that come up. Like with traveling. The responsibilities can vary.”

She seemed to buy that. Or maybe she was just more intrigued by other aspects of the job. “You get to travel to London and Paris…and New Orleans! Venice! Oh, I really want to go there someday, to all those places! Are there other trips planned?”

“I don’t know, yet.”

“Is it a drag traveling with that boss of yours? Are you stuck with him all the time, doing things for him or just doing stuff he wants to do or do you get to have some time to yourself?”

Jason almost said “he pretty much leaves me alone” but then realized she might ask “then why does he even need you there?” He was finding he had to choose all of his words very carefully.

“I get a fair amount of free time.”

“And when you travel—your boss pays for everything?”

He nodded.

“And he owns this big house?”

Another nod.

“So, like, he must be really rich then…how did you ever find this job?…what kind of person is he, really? Is it tough working for him?”

Jason was starting to feel uncomfortable discussing Augere, even in vague terms.

“What—kind…?” He shrugged. “He’s okay.” A woefully inadequate comment. It would have to do though. Now she seemed to be waiting for more info. “He can be difficult to work for at times. You know.” He shrugged. “Like any job where there is a boss, I guess.”
Really, Jason?

“And where does he live exactly? Is it upstairs? This looks like a really big house—there is an upstairs, right? I’ve only seen a small part of it—can I see the rest of it now?”

The very thought of that made him nervous.

And yes, from the outside, it would appear the house did have a second floor. Except there didn’t actually seem to be one. Certainly there was no visible access. The view from outside had to be just a façade; an illusion of more space. At least that was what Jason had come to believe.

“My boss has his own quarters, of course. Very private. There will be time to look around, later. You have all weekend. It’s already kind of late. We shouldn’t be walking around, and making too much noise.”

“But—we are the only ones here, right? So who would care?”

Jason shook his head. “I mean, just in case he hasn’t left yet for the weekend.” He immediately regretted his choice of words; too late.

“Oh. So he could still be here then.” A gleam came to her eye.

“We should make a grocery list; we need to go shopping tomorrow.”

“Yeah, good idea.” She began to write things down on a sheet of paper he provided for her. He mentioned root beer, cheese, cereal, deli items. She added things of her own to the list.

“You know—except for all the junk stuff we bought to eat today—I mostly eat healthy, every day,”

She nodded. “Oh yeah, me too. Salad almost every day.”

“Yes. And fresh fruit and vegetables as often as possible.”

“Cutting out sugar.” She nodded.

“I even tried yogurt—can you believe it?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “You?”

They were both silent for several moments.

“So—what—should we get to munch on for tomorrow night?” she asked. There was a brief pause.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.

“Would that be…pizza…loaded…? chicken wings?” She shrugged.

“Cheesecake…Dove ice cream bars…fried chicken…”

“Mint Oreos…potato chips and French onion dip… shots of whipped cream out of the can…”

They both laughed, as they recalled the evenings spent at home as kids enjoying such bizarre feasts. She began to add all of those favorites and more to the list.

“About our itinerary for tomorrow: once the car picks us up—I know you’ve never seen the ocean before—”

“—but I will—on the cruise!”

“Yes—but you have to see the north shore at least if we can’t get to the Cape. We’ll drive to Gloucester—there is a real castle we can visit, right near the water. We can go to Marblehead, and then spend some time in Salem…there is a lot to see and do there.” He realized how great he was making it all sound. Just what he needed not to do.

“Jason—you know all the really cool places to go—this is going to be so much fun!”

He nodded, feeling glum, but not wanting to show it for her sake.

They stayed up late, talking, laughing and eating, and occasionally watching parts of movies or TV shows. He was realizing how much he had missed just hanging out with her. Or with anyone.

She finally headed off to his room to sleep. He showered and then decided to make up the couch for the night. He was asleep right after he got comfortably settled.

The living room was much brighter than his wonderfully dark bedroom and he was awake early. He yawned, then plumped his pillows, and buried himself in them again to linger a little longer. He lay awake with his eyes closed, idly thinking.

He’d been angry—no, more upset actually—with Augere because of the decision to have Carrie stay here. It was a family matter, one Augere should not have been allowed to interfere with. Jason knew her, knew the risk involved. Augere did not. He was irritated at himself for not standing up to the vampire. But he had to bury his resentment. Part of him was happy she would get to see Boston; pleased she could see his place, and how well things were going for him. More especially, after his recent ordeal. She would report all his good fortune to the rest of the family. And he was glad to be the older brother who was able to provide her with this experience and be able to buy her things. Clearly she still looked up to him. He snuggled back into his pillow; ten more minutes; then he would get up. He wanted to get Carrie away from the house as soon as possible. Just in case.

Finally he rolled over, yawned and stretched. He got into the shower and was toweling his wet hair as he approached his bedroom door.
I really should wake her up so we can get going
. The door was ajar. She wasn’t there. He stared at the casually re-made bed.

He dressed quickly, trying to reassure himself everything was okay. Then he remembered—this was Carrie. A vague sense of panic began to creep up on him. He hurried toward the kitchen.

The aroma of brewing coffee greeted him in the foyer before he reached the kitchen, and as he entered, she was pulling slices of toast out of the toaster. She began to butter the slices and paused to look up and smile when she saw him.

She piled the toast onto two plates of scrambled eggs as he took a seat. She set a plate down in front of him and then poured them each a cup of coffee before sitting down to eat with him. They both ate hungrily for several minutes. It had been a while since anyone had made him breakfast, and then enjoyed it with him. Maybe that made it taste so much better this morning.

“You know what?” she asked him, after taking a sip from a large coffee mug she held in both hands. “I don’t think your boss has left yet. Either that, or someone else is in the house.”

Jason froze for a few moments, just long enough for a forkful of scrambled egg to fall back onto his plate. He speared it again.

“What makes you say that?” He hoped he sounded nonchalant.

“I got up late last night; I was really thirsty—and I came out to the kitchen. I found a can of Coke in the fridge—oh!—I took your last one—we need to put that on the list. And as I was coming back, I heard—I saw—that door across the big hallway from yours closing.”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, well, I think he was leaving early this morning.”

Carrie took another sip of coffee. “Well, I’m glad I didn’t run into him.” Jason was too. “Although everyone is really curious about this guy. Wanting details and all. Just in case I did get a chance to meet him.”

“That is pretty unlikely.” Jason sipped his coffee.

“For some reason I picture him as some old banker type dude. Suits and thick glasses. Kind of geek looking maybe.” She looked at Jason as if for validation. His expression remained inscrutable as he gazed at her for a moment, and then took a bite of toast, as if to ward off further comment.

“What else do you have to do to get ready?” he asked after a few moments. “The rental car will be here soon and I was hoping to get started early. Lots to see and do today!”

It seemed she was already fully dressed, with makeup on and goth accessories in place, and she confirmed she was ready. Jason could be ready in another ten minutes.

As she cleared the dishes, Jason’s ever present work cell phone rang. It was Augere.

“I have to take this call,” he announced to her and then left to return to his quarters. Once he was alone, with the door closed, he responded to the call.

“I returned late last night. I did not realize she would be up and prowling around.”

“I did try to tell you,” Jason said tersely.

“She did not see me.”

“She saw your door close. She knows you are here.”

“No. I am not.”

“You’re calling from somewhere else?” Jason’s voice carried a hopeful inflection.

“No. I am here. But she will not know it…” There was a long silent pause. “Someone is knocking at the door—”

“What?” Jason paused to listen. He heard nothing. He glanced at the closed door of his apartment. “No…there’s no one knocking…” he said to Augere. But the phone clicked off just then. Jason sat staring at his phone for several moments, puzzled.
Why would he think there’s somebody…?

OH NO. He jumped up quickly and then ran out into the foyer.

There was Carrie, boldly knocking on Augere’s door. It seemed like everything happened in slow motion. He was moving toward her, believing he still had a chance to intervene because nothing had happened yet, while at the same time picturing and fearing the worst thing that could happen, which did happen then. Augere opened the door.

Carrie had already stepped back a little by then as Augere took a step out and stood in his doorway.

Carrie’s jaw dropped. She stood staring, taking in the full enchanting sight of him.

Why on earth would he open the door! He is not even supposed to be here! Damn it Augere! Damn it! Why would you do that?

And of course, Augere could not help but be just incredible looking right then. Dressed in slim black jeans and a black loose flowing shirt, casually open at the neck.
Fit for a poet, or the cover of some romance novel,
Jason thought with dismay. The dark waves of his hair framed the exquisite features and his large violet blue eyes appeared luminous, his skin even more pale in contrast. He wore black and silver cuffs on both wrists, and even to Jason, who was almost accustomed to seeing just such an appearance, he looked more radiantly beautiful than usual. Damn it. He could not possibly be a worse sight for Carrie to see.

“Hello.” He spoke tentatively, in a soft and mellifluous voice. Their eyes met and he was staring at Carrie with a somewhat nervous expression, which would have amused Jason to see, if he hadn’t been feeling so sick right then.