The Violet Line (18 page)

Navigating my way through town was simple; I was out just before the rush hour traffic and nothing had begun to back up just yet. Finding a space just down from the coffee shop, I walked back up towards its brightly coloured exterior. I could see Annie waiting for me outside, two steaming cups in her hands. I hurried over to her and took the proffered one.

“
So what happened last night?” She began her questioning straight away.

“
What; not even a hello?”

She looked at me crossly before answering. “Hello. Now tell me.”

I smiled and began the long fill in, leaving out the part about how Aidan had hypnotised her, saying instead it was another vamp. I also edited down the bit in the club, but left in Lorcan’s part in the whole situation. I finished by explaining about the message I had written on the mirror in the hopes that somehow my aunt would contact me. I watched for her reaction as she sipped thoughtfully on her drink; waiting was not my strongest trait and I couldn’t help the sigh of impatience that escaped my lips. At length she spoke.

“
So do you really believe Lorcan; do you think he was telling the truth? About your aunt, I mean; do you think he really knows her?”

“
Hmmm, I’m not really sure to be honest. It’s not impossible; I just don’t know what I should believe anymore, you know? But at this point, I’ll give anything a chance. I just wished I knew if Sam was alive or not; it’s the not knowing that I can’t stand. I wouldn’t mind anything, just some sort of sign. If trusting this Lorcan guy is the way to go, then I don’t mind; I’d do anything to get him back.”

Annie nodded as I spoke. “I know how you feel,d I she answered, her voice filled with feeling.

“
Annie, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She looked at me. “Jade, it’s fine; really. I can understand your drive and your pain; you don’t need to apologise for something I’d do myself. I mean, you don’t know what’s happened to Sam, but sometimes knowing doesn’t make it any easier. I know what Aidan is and I still love him, but knowing doesn’t allow me to be with him. That hurts. We were always so close; we did everything together and now...” She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “Now I can’t even see him; even being close to him is too much of a risk. I don’t want to cause him upset, but he has this whole new life that I have no real part in and I just don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with all that. I know how I feel about him; I’m just not sure if he’s going to continue feeling the same way about me. How do you stay loving someone who you’ve outpaced?”

“
Annie, I don’t know what you mean. Outpaced; how has he outpaced you?” I couldn’t hide the confusion from my voice at her choice of words.

“
Jade, think about it. We did everything together and now he’s a vampire; how can I compete with that? He’s faster and stronger – God, Jade he even died – and I’m not any of those things. Is he really going to want to stay hanging on to his human girlfriend, the girlfriend he can’t even come near? I don’t think I could make him do that and I don’t think I could handle the gradual distance and silence as he realizes he doesn’t want me anymore.” Her voice cracked at this point and I wasn’t sure what to say to comfort her.

“
You can’t know that’s how it will turn out. I think you’re running ahead of yourself. Aidan loves you very much; he’d kill for you and I think he’d die without you. You belong together. Look at Sam and me; we made it work even though I’m none of the things he is. I’m not as fast or as strong; I can’t hypnotise people so they can no longer think for themselves. I haven’t lived as long as he has and I haven’t experienced or seen the things that he has, and yet we still work. I think the same thing will apply to you and Aidan, but it requires some patience. It’s going to take a long time for it to work out between you two and I think for now, you both need some time to try and figure out what is going on between you.” I spoke as honestly as I could, trying to make her see what they still had even though Aidan was different.

“
I suppose. I think I’m just scared, Jade; I don’t want to lose him.”

“
I know you are, but we’ll fix this, ok? I promise somehow we’ll fix it together.”

I smiled at her, trying to feel and believe what I was saying myself. She gave me her best watery smile before changing the subject.

“
So what are you going to do today? Nobody has been in contact with you yet, have they?”

“
Well no, but I’m hoping soon. I don’t really have much faith in my aunt contacting me like that; I think I’ll really have to wait until Lorcan pops up again before I can ask him about it all. But I am hoping Graham contacts me soon; he said he would in the note.”

“
Yeah, but what are you going to do if he does contact you?” she queried.

“
Obviously, I’m going to go see him. I have no choice; he says he might have the information I need about Sam.”

“
But Jade, can you trust him? I mean, he is a vampire; maybe you should bring someone with you like Lorcan or maybe Aidan?” Her nervousness was evident in her voice as she spoke.

“
Trust me, Annie; I’ll be fine and I’ll take precautions. You know the usual ‘no eye contact’ and holy water. I’m still not fully certain if I can trust Lorcan yet; I’ve only just met him. What if he’s not who he says he is? I mean you didn’t see the way he threw that vampire across the room last night; it was unreal. I’ve only ever seen Sam do things like that. It surprised me; I’m not sure what he is. I think he might be a werewolf, but how am I supposed to ask him that? It’s not exactly polite. ‘Hi Lorcan, just wondering; are you a werewolf?’”

Annie looked thoughtful at my pretend conversation with Lorcan.

“
Annie, I’m not just asking him is he a werewolf.” My tone held a note of warning. She had a tendency to run away with her own imagination and the last thing I needed right now was her imagination going into overdrive about what Lorcan might be or even how I should broach the subject with him.

“
Fine, fine.” She held her hands up in surrender. “It’s just, you know the most direct and obvious way to get it out of him; that’s all I was thinking.” She glanced at her watch. “Damn, is that the time? I gotta dash; I have a lecture in ten minutes. Let me know how it all goes, ok? Keep me posted; I want regular texts!”

I smiled as she jumped up and gave me a quick hug. “Of course I will. See you later!”

I hugged her back and watched as she hurried away. Slowly finishing up my coffee and draining the dregs from the bottom of the cup, I watched the people as they passed by. All of them hurrying and going somewhere, grabbing coffees and some trailing young children behind them; I envied them the simple tasks they were going about. I wanted to be rushing off to work, kissing Sam as I headed out the door, spending my day behind my desk daydreaming about when I would be finished. I wanted my old life back. Not this half-life I seemed to be existing in now; not really getting anywhere but trying desperately to go there. I missed Sam, his constant and unfailing love and affection; I missed the way he looked at me as though I truly was the only person on earth that he cared about. I had never coped well with loneliness and this time around was no exception; I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and get on with the task at hand. Looking down at the time on my phone, I jumped. I was going to be late if I didn’t get moving and I needed to keep my job; it was the only stable thing I had left in my life now. Getting up, I jogged back to my car and hopped in, all the while trying to frantically think up of a suitable reason for missing so much work and not having a sick cert. I really hoped the boss swallowed my story of prolonged and incapacitating food sickness that stopped me from ringing anyone, let alone actually going to the doctors to get the cert in the first place. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t, but for the most part I was a good worker. I certainly typed the fastest in there; without me, none of his letters would go out on time and the phone would never be answered. I just hoped it was enough. I crossed my fingers and said a little prayer as I pulled into the parking lot. Pulling into the space nearest the door, I checked my hair – still damp. I hadn’t worn any make-up today, opting instead for the ghostly pale look; it should add some credence to my story, I thought as I got out and prepared to face the music.

Sitting in behind my desk, I kept my head low as my boss passed. Not one word had been said to me; so far, it seemed I was safe. For now at least, I thought, glancing up at the open office door. I’d been here now for over an hour and files had been placed on my desk just as normal. Catherine had asked where I had been and I had given her my story on the food poisoning; she did not seem convinced, but had chosen to say nothing to me on the matter. I typed as quickly as I could, my fingers flying over the keyboard, easily catching up with the work I was given; I really was the fastest typist.

As I sat there, I had a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t painful, more a subtle type of uncomfortable. I shifted in my seat trying to get comfortable so I could continue typing, but as I moved my vision became slightly blurred and a buzzing erupted in my ears. Suddenly, a vision of Sam chained up against a cold dank wall invaded my head. Blood poured from his face and he seemed to be having difficulty in keeping his head upright. I watched as a small blonde child came into view, her fingers leaving deep scores across his abdomen. My vision cleared but the pain in my stomach had worsened. I sat clutching my stomach as blood began to drip from my nose onto the desk. I gasped, my shaking hand pressed against my face as I stood up from the table. One hand still clutched the pain in my stomach while I held the other one pressed against my face. I stumbled into the bathroom and into an empty stall. Frantically, I pulled the jacket off and lifted my blouse. Deep scratches lined my skin; blood ran from some but they didn’t look as deep as Sam’s had. I pushed some tissue against them, cleaning them as best as I could, and then tended to the blood that dribbled slowly from my nose. I hadn’t had a nosebleed in years and I really couldn’t explain what had happened in the office; it was too strange for words. Dreams I could understand, but actually getting visions while I was awake was new and it wasn’t something I really wanted to be getting used to.

Another spasm of pain tore through my body I tried to muffle my howl of pain with the tissue I had pressed against my face, but it ripped through me again and the blood poured more heavily from my nose; it felt like I was dying. An image of Sam danced before my eyes again, the small child torturing him. Her high pitched giggling sent chills down my spine and the pain of her assault on Sam’s body caused me to cry out again and again. My breathing became more laboured as I felt all that Sam endured. Through it all, Sam did not utter a sound; he simply grimaced with each lash of her whip or the dreadful wounds she dealt him with her nails. I wasn’t as strong as Sam and as each spasm rocked me. I cried harder. She stopped and Sam looked straight at me; his face became anguished.

“
Oh God, Jade, please. No!” His cry was all I heard before he shut me out. I awoke lying on the cold tiles of the bathroom. Catherine crouched down over my body as she shook me, trying to wake me.

“
Oh god, Jade, what happened? You’re bleeding; I didn’t believe you really were sick, but now look at you. You shouldn’t have come in.” She prattled on as she helped me to my feet. I touched my face; my nose had stopped bleeding but I could feel the blood dried onto my skin. My stomach and back felt tender but I ignored it all as I tried to get a grip on my bearings.

“
Jade, I think you should go home or see your doctor; you’re as white as a sheet,” she told me sternly, standing over me as I splashed the cold soothing water from the tap onto my face. I finished cleaning myself up. I had to agree with her; I was in no fit state to work after this. All I could see dancing through my head was images of Sam and that little brat hurting him. But now I knew he was alive; the voice in my head kept shouting it out over and over again, ‘He’s Alive, He’s Alive!’ I flinched as I walked back out of the bathroom, following Catherine to my desk. She grabbed my bag and keys and handed them to me.

“
Go home, Jade. It’s alright; I’ll explain everything.”

I smiled; maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. I had always pegged her for the back-stabbing kind, but she seemed genuinely concerned with what had happened to me; I couldn’t fault her kindness. The boss, Kevin, sat in his office and watched me leave through narrowed eyes. Catherine’s story would need to be very good for me to be forgiven this indiscretion, but I was beyond caring at this point. My body ached all over and I had the beginnings of a killer migraine. At this point, all I really wanted was go home and crawl into bed and try and recover. Settling in behind the wheel of my little Corsa, I began the trek home.

Pulling up outside the flats, I killed the engine and rested my head on the steering wheel. My head was thumping. Maybe the visions had caused it or just simply the beating I had taken had caused it; whichever was the cause, I just wanted it to go away. Lifting my head, the world swam in sickening circles but I dragged my heavy bones out of the car and locked it. The sky was overcast and even the grey hurt my eyes, but I hurried as fast as my legs would carry me to the front door. I noticed the note stuck to the door and the red rose lying on the ground. Picking it up, it all clicked into place and I ripped the note from the door and hastily read over it. The same neat handwriting covered this page and I knew instantly without having to read the name that it was Graham.

“
My Dear, you wouldn’t believe how hard it was for me to find you. Meet me tomorrow at eleven at the quay. I know you were there the other day and I’m so sorry to have missed you, but I’ll be expecting you then for our little chat. Eternally yours, Graham, The Chemist xxx”