Unknown (17 page)

We fell into awkward silence then, there was lots of shifting and half starts. I guess that explained the change in Garrett. I didn’t know what to say. I glanced back at my laptop, the little clock in the corner said 8:08 pm. Where did the time go? He smiled awkwardly at me.

“Did it hurt?” I finally
asked, it was something I had always been curious about.
How is it that you’ve made it into graduate school? Did it hurt? Really? Did the dislocation and relocation of cartilage, and the warping of bones hurt? Real intelligent question there, Autumn.

“Oh god yes. I’ve danced on broken toes, and a sprained ankle before
. And the change was just so much worse. I can’t even put into words how horrible it felt.”

“So… you’re a werewolf….” I trailed off again and he laughed awkwardly.
He said that already
.
For a handful of moments, I smoothed my skirt and blouse.

“I know this is a lot to take in, I just want things to be okay between us again. I know before my change I was an
ass. I was pretty much an ass to absolutely everyone who crossed my path. It was like being fifteen again only with a crazy amount of confidence. Also, I have an insane amount of respect for you because I think you’re the only person I propositioned that said no.”

“What about Leslie?”

“I fucked Leslie at the party celebrating Kendra’s part, in her defense though, she was really drunk.” Once again that nervous laughter broke his lips and he scratched the back of his head. I started nodding, the idea of Leslie sleeping with him didn’t bother me.
Could one of your friends sleeping with your ex really bother you after you got off to your boyfriend fucking your friend?
That is not what happened! It was a metaphysical connection.
A metaphysical connection that ended up with you standing naked in front of a window flashing your tits and your cunt to the whole world like a prostitute in Amsterdam.

“Are you okay?” His voice cut through the argument I was having with myself and I shook my head.

“Yeah, I’m f-fine. We ha
ven’t been together for a while. Whatever you do is your business.” I offered him a reassuring smile. “I was just thinking of something else.”

“Aleksi and Kendra?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t dwell on it, Angel Face. You’re better off without them in your life.”

“As always, it’s…it’s been fun but I have a panel meeting coming up and I’m a little behind.”

“Are we good?” He asked, and then wet his lips.

“Yeah, w-we’re good.”

My phone rang as Garrett stood. I snatched it off of the table and looked at the number, I didn’t know it.
It’s rude to answer the phone while talking to someone
.
I set the phone back on the table and Garrett arched a brow.

“You’re adorable. Next time you’re going to dance, give me a call I’ll help you with your form. Who knows, you might be able to get in on
one of the corps parts. I know for Alice’s Adventures, the vampires are borrowing from the dance school connected to the Westley. The idea of little kids dressed as porcupine croquet balls is too cute.”

“I’ll call you then… but I don’t want to be a dancer, I just want to dance to let off steam.” My phone started ringing again.

“Most people have sex to let off steam.” Silence.

The ringing of the phone seemed impossibly loud as that uncomfortable silence grew. The ringing seemed a thunderous crescendo of noise which only highlighted the lack of conversation. We had both used each other to let off steam, in fact, we had done it in the very room we sat in.
The most memorable thing to come from that was that you broke your laptop
.
It was years ago, but I could still remember him pushing me down on top of the table and afterward stuffing my ripped panties into my purse next to my broken laptop. The cheap thin plastic didn’t hold up very well under the combined weight of our collective bottoms, and it cracked, ruining the screen.

I lost myself in thought as the phone continued to ring. Did I enjoy sex with Garrett as much as I had the erotic forays I had experienced so far with Aleksi?
Nope
. I couldn’t help but to smirk as Miss Manners answered for me. I could almost see that part of myself, seated at an expense white wicker and glass tea table, sipping tea from a white teacup painted with roses.
Sex with Garrett was positively boring compared to sex with Aleksi.
Garrett cleared his throat and I jumped.

“Well I should go, I know you’re not going to answer that as long as I’m in here
. I’ll see you around I guess… Remember, don’t hesitate to call.” He said as he reached for the door.

“It was nice to see you again…and it’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back,
Angel Face.” He stated as he left, closing the door behind him. Once the lock clicked into place, I snatched the phone off of the table and answered it.

There was silence on the other end
of that call. Well, not complete silence as I could hear something that was soft and almost like a hissing noise.

“Hello?” I questioned, only again to be met with nothing but that soft hissing sound. “I’m sorry I can’t hear you.” I hung up the phone and turned back to my books and my laptop. With a groan I sunk into my
chair, spun back around and returned to working on my dissertation.

I stayed on campus until 2 am. I got a fair amount of work done, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I somehow had wasted my day. I didn’t get half as much work done as I usually did, and that was where my mind was fixed as I walked to the subway. I only made it half way to the station before a car pulled up beside me, and two figures dressed in all black got out. Before I could make sense of what was happening a rag was pressed over my face and my whole world faded to darkness.

I came to on a private plane, or at least that’s what I guessed it was—I could only go off of what I saw on television. I panicked for a moment and looked around franticly until I saw a familiar face.

      
Elizabeta was seated across from me with legs crossed and Lyra kneeling in a tight black corset beside her. That towering Titian haired woman looked smug and immaculately dressed as always. That bright red hair was loose for a change, it cascaded in delicate waves to her elbows. She wore a white pencil skirt with navy pinstripes and a navy blouse that hung off of her pale shoulders. For Elizabeta it looked to be as casual as she got, she even wore simple navy flats.

“Good, you’re awake
,” she positively beamed at me.

“Wh-where…
wh-where am I?” I inquired meekly as my gaze darted around the plane. Aside from Lyra sleeping with her head against the armrest of Elizabeta’s chair we were alone.

“On a plane headed for London.”
Come again?

“I’m…London? B-but… I have classes a-and… and why am I here?” The panic broke in my voice. My heartbeat thudded in my throat and not in a good way.

“I have friends in England who
work in academia. And for the exchange of an interview with me, they are willing to grant you access to some rare editions and some other nonsense at Oxford. You’ll also have an apartment, a group of Dons to look over your dissertation progress, and, of course, some spending money.” Her charming smile fell for an instant and I got a glimpse of a very stoic Elizabeta and it made my blood run cold.

“Why? Wh-what…what did I do?” I whispered, yes whispered, my voice was barely audible.

“Because
, Autumn, you and Aleksi disobeyed me. Were I anyone else I would snap that delicate neck of yours and be done with it. After all, you are only mortal and Aleksi is House Dracul. He is Vlad’s recognized heir. You’re the expendable one in the relationship, Precious.” I paled and swallowed. “Now you get it. This is temporary, Beautiful Girl, it’s only for three months.” She made a face and sighed. “Hopefully, if I put an ocean between you two he’ll think before he acts. Your apartment in Florence will be taken care of. You have an array of clothes in your suitcase, and you’ll get an allowance every Monday in the post. There’s a car service you just have to call if you need to go anywhere. I’ve pulled strings and neither you nor Aleksi will be allowed into or out of the States until the three months is up—so don’t think about trying to sneak back into the country. The flat in Oxford has everything you could ever need. Your family received word that you won a grant to study at Oxford for two months and your friends have been notified as well.”

My face felt hot, I had been managed. I was a problem and she had made me go away. I looked away and wiped my eyes, my fingers came away damp with tears I didn’t feel fall.
You deserve all of this. You didn’t think, Autumn. If you had been Ladylike, this wouldn’t have happened. Now cross your ankles, your legs are open like a whore.
I pursed my lips to fight against a sob and pressed my knees together crossing my ankles.

Elizabeta was unmoved by my tears. She tilted her head to the side curiously, but her face was unmovable and stoic. I tried my hardest to remain quiet and resist the urge to throw open the cover over the window as the plane whirred along. Her phone rang after a moment, The Dance of the Cygnets by Tchaikovsky. After the song repeated she answered her phone.

“…Oh, Aleksi you’re adorable when you grovel…No need for that darling, she’s here with me all safe and sound…No…You could try, but I might lose my temper and she’s rather expendable at the moment all things considered…I told you how tenuous things were…Gone does not mean out of influence…Three months…Yes, I am well aware that’s longer than what you had left…Perhaps you should have fucked her then… Alright, I’ll listen.” She paused listening, drumming her manicured nails on the armrest. I shifted uneasily still wiping away my tears. The conversation was one-sided for almost twenty minutes. The only breaks the in white noise
were the occasional “Mhm” from Elizabeta.

“Are you done now?” Her voice made me jump; in the minutes of
mhms I almost forgot she was there. “…Oh, Aleksi. I hate hearing emotional anguish in your voice…Shhh, I’ll arrange for Colette to stay with her, okay?...You know I can’t do that, as much as I hate hearing that in your voice I can’t do that…I know what I said, but situations change.”

“Fuck you, you fucking lying cunt!” I heard Aleksi’s voice blast through the headset. Even I could hear the pain in his voice breaking through the obvious anger. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Aleksi,
” She chided. “I know it physically hurts you to be this far from her…That’s because you over bonded, the time apart will be good for you…You’ve known her a handful of weeks and spent a handful of days with her…Psychologically speaking you might not even be that into her when she returns…You’ve never had to break from a bad habit, Aleksi. This is what it feels like…Mhm...Mhm…Fine…. Yes, I’m serious…Only on nights when you get a standing ovation, or after what you so magnanimously offered before…As an act of goodwill, I’ll let you tell her yourself.” Without a word she handed the phone to me, I couldn’t help but to hesitate before I took it. The charming smile had slipped back across her lips.

“H-h…hello
,” I finally hushed out, my tears near to audible.

“Autumn, thank
God,” Aleksi’s voice sighed out. “I was at Kendra’s last night, and I heard a noise, but I didn’t feel you.”

“Last night?” I couldn’t keep the shock out of my voice.

“You’ve been missing for two days. I didn’t know what…” His voice cracked and he fell into silence. “What matters is that you’re safe. Do whatever Elizabeta says. Of all of the people in the world, I’m glad you’re not someone who I need to really say
that to, but it bears emphasis. There is good news though. I can call you on occasion, and text you… I might even be able to convince her to let us video chat.”

“I…” I trailed off, I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to hear from him, but I had been essentially
kidnaped because of him. A heavy, heart heaving sigh passed between my lips. “I hope it’ll be enough.”

“With luck it will be. Colette is going to be there in a few days. Unlike Elizabeta, don’t do exactly what she says unless you think it’s okay. And if you think it’s something questionable, text me.”

“Okay… I miss you,
” I blurted out. I really did.

“I miss you too.” He took an awkward breath and let out a soft sigh. “I love you, Autumn.”

Those words in his voice, in my ear; made my heart jump and skip a beat. Again I could almost feel Miss Manners tripping over herself running down stairs to reach the megaphone to the rest of me.
Say I love you back, Stupid Girl.
I swallowed and the words caught in my mouth.

“I love you too
,” I whispered wiping my eyes again. Elizabeta cocked her head to the side and paused her fingertip tapping.

“I’ve never said that to anyone before. It almost feels odd to feel it on my
tongue; but it feels right to say it to you.” He paused again and I listened to the silence on his end. “When you’re back, things will be better. Nothing will come between us again, I promise.”

I couldn’t really respond to him, so I stayed silent. But sitting in an airplane after being kidnaped and knocked unconscious for forty-eight hours I was tempted to tell him that he shouldn’t promise anything. Something told me that it was a particularly lofty promise and I didn’t even fully understand the situation.

Time ticked at a crawl in England. Every day seemed to be exactly the same. I woke up at the same time, I went outside to the same overcast day. I went to the same building and listened to the same white haired, old man drone on and on about Jonathan Swift. Colette offered little distraction, she spent most of her time in London because she was on loan to the Royal Ballet. My nights were either spent working on my dissertation at the library or eating a microwave tv dinner and flipping aimlessly between television channels. My laptop hated the wireless in the flat, every time I closed the lid I had to reconfigure the thing, so it wasn’t worth it to even try. Nights, when Aleksi called, were rare; I got a call once a week. It was a glimmer in an otherwise bleak existence. To make matters worse I found myself craving him by the end of the first month, I was stir-crazy over him.