Ghost Child - Chapter Three
This couldn’t be true! As much as I hated my “supposed” father, I was pretty sure he was a better Dad than the Grim Reaper. I didn’t have a chance to make a comment because Lex continued.
“They call you the Ghost Child because, like your memory, you were taken from your body and put back into it. Your necklace,” he touched my coal, “holds you…per say, abilities inside it. Since you were named the Ghost Child, you’ve had your abilities but they’ve been sort of retired…until Heath transported you to our reality. Since everyone in this reality is an immortal, you belong here. You, Ri, have the ability to send an immortal to Hell.
“Let’s say, I was incredibly evil. You could send me to Hell. Now, you mentioned the name Xander. Rina, your spirit has been alive for over 500 years but you don’t remember. Xander can send any immortal to Heaven. You two are said to be lovers, from the myth of course but that is as said.” Lex picked up my hands in his, “You have the strongest ability any immortal knows of. The meeting that Brad and Heath are going to tomorrow is about whether we should keep you alive or if you’re too dangerous to live. Don’t worry though, we’re defending you,” he kissed my hands.
“I seem so…horrible. I don’t know if I can take all this responsibility and…and guilt. Heck, I don’t even know what to say to an evil immortal.”
Lex laughed and pushed hair from my face. He kissed my cheek and I sighed so he asked, “What’s wrong, sweet?”
“I’m not sure I like this Xander guy being my lover. I don’t even know him! Shouldn’t I get to choose who I want to be with?” I eyed Lex to see if he got the hint. I couldn’t tell if he did but a smile played on his lips.
“Don’t worry. You’ll make the right choice in the end,” he tapped my heart with two of his fingers.
I groaned and flopped down onto the bed. He slowly lay next to me, “All this philosophical junk is giving me a headache,” I pouted.
Lex laughed to himself and grinned at my bottom lip that was sticking out. His left index finger ran across my bottom lip. He pulled me into a hug and I remembered he wasn’t wearing a shirt. I knew what was coming.
“I know something else we can do,” he smiled down at me.
“Oh?”
He leaned down and kissed me softly and I felt him smile. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled closer to him. His hands went to my waist but one hand fiddled with the strap of my cami. I grabbed his hands and intertwined my fingers with his. Finally, I pulled only an inch away. He smiled. God, he had a gorgeous smile.
I also noted he didn’t have pointed teeth. That was odd. Didn’t vampires have sharp fangs for cutting through flesh?
“Can I feel them?” I asked.
“Huh?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Your teeth. Don’t vampires have fangs?”
He chuckled and he ran his tongue over his teeth. I noticed that after he moved his tongue across the teeth became pointed and sharper. I reached over to touch his cheek when his hand grabbed mine.
“Just remember that I’m more lethal this way. If I do anything, I want you to get up and scream.” He told me.
“Okay,” I whispered and he let go of my hand. I ran my finger across the bottom of his fangs. I giggled, they felt like my canine teeth but ten times sharper and whiter than my teeth could ever be. My hand hit an extra sharp point and my finger dropped a single trickle of blood into his mouth.
“Crap.” I whispered and watched his blue eyes flash red. He groaned and tried to catch my hand as I scrambled up. He caught my wrist and smirked.
“Rina, you taste delicious,” he cooed.
I took his advice and screamed at the top of my lungs. Not only did it make a blood-curdling noise, get Brad and Heath to run into the room but it also sent Lex writhing on the ground. Heath looked skeptically at Lex being shirtless and me on the bed but he ran in and grabbed Lex. I stopped screaming and noticed my necklace had glowed when I bellowed. Heath pulled Lex off the ground and Brad shoved him against a wall, leaving a dent in it I was sure.
“Rina! Go grab a blood bag from the freezer,” Brad shouted over Lex’s growls. The last thing I saw were Lex’s blue eyes glaring after me as I sprinted to the kitchen. The freezer was packed with Lex’s blood bags. I ran back upstairs and threw a bag to Heath who held it to Lex. Lex struggled against Brad’s grip and I couldn’t help but softly say, “Don’t hurt him.” Brad sent me a knowing look but Heath’s eyes revealed envy.
Envy that by saying that small line he knew I liked Lex more, envy knowing that I was in Lex’s room and not his, envy knowing who I’d chosen. Heath’s eyes showed a hint of betrayal and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him even though I caused the pain. I squeezed my eyes shut and a bony hand landed on my shoulder, “Free with Xander or stuck with Lex.” I opened my eyes but no one was there.
Lex was in the corner, sucking down the blood hungrily and Brad walked up to me, “Promise you won’t get so close to him when he’s thirsty, ‘k?”
I nodded, “It was because I felt his fangs and they stabbed my finger. He tasted a drop of blood and this happened,” I waved to him in the corner.
“Yeah…don’t do that…” Brad rubbed the back of his neck.
“Lesson learned.” I sat on Lex’s bed. Heath walked past me and a wave of pain followed after him. Heath ran to his room and shut the door. Brad waited by me, “I’ll stay until he’s tamed enough. You go downstairs and get yourself food.”
I glanced at Lex one more time but left. I almost when into Heath’s room but I kept going until I got to the kitchen. I sat down with a Poptart and nibbled the corners of it. What seemed like centuries past until Lex and Brad came down the stairs. Lex wore a white button-down and his jeans.
I cautiously nodded to him and he kissed my forehead like any other day; like he hadn’t almost had me for breakfast. Lex sat next to me and cleared his throat. Obviously Brad had talked to him about me.
“Can I speak with you?” Lex asked me. I nodded and stood. “Outback,” he led me out onto the deck outside.
I leaned over the rail and could almost imagine what the next conversation would be like:
Lex: Rina, it’s not working out.
Me: But-
Lex: Stop Rina, I know you felt for me but there’s something to say.
Me: But-
Lex: Stop begging! I hate you Rina.
Me: But-
Lex: And stop calling me a butt.
Instead, he leaned over to my ear and murmured, “Ich liebe dich.”
I glanced at him. I didn’t speak German. He could have said I was an idiot for all I knew. But the way he said it made my heart melt. He must have said something good to me I knew he must have.
“I have no clue what you said but it sounded amazing,” I sighed happily. He laughed and pulled me into a tight hug. Inside the house and looking through the kitchen window, I saw the surprised eyes of Heath and then him sprinting away. I’d talk to him later.
“Want to know what I said?” he asked.
“There are only so many options. Give me a hint.”
“The first word is ‘I’ and the third word was ‘you’.”
“That could be anything. ‘I need you.’ ‘I envy you.’ ‘I hate you.’ ‘I like you.’” I told him.
“You forgot one.”
“Oh?”
“I love you.” He said with the same amount of passion that made my heart melt and jump for joy at the same time. I leaned my head to the left side of his chest.
“Lex?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you too.”
“Good to know,” he said casually but I heard a huge smile in his voice.
“Lex?”
“Yes?”
“You have two hearts.” I placed a hand on each side of his chest and felt both heartbeats.
“Seems that way.” He hugged me again.
“But don’t vampires only have one heart? And I thought you only had one before…” I trailed off.
“A vampire gets one heart for himself to live on but another, later in life, if he finds true love.” Lex answered me.
That just made my day! I reached up and kissed him deeply. Unless he secretly loved Heath or Brad, I bet you that I was his true love. We both pulled back and walked inside, smiling.
“Leave them alone!” that was Brad’s voice. Heath snarled. Lex put a hand on my shoulder and looked at me and quietly murmured, “I’ll deal with this.” And ran off.
I sighed and went to the edge of the kitchen to hear their conversation.
“What’s going on?” Lex demanded.
“Nothing.” Heath muttered, “What did you tell Rina outside?”
“I don’t think that’s your business.”
Heath paused and the room fell silent but then he snarled, “Oh you’re despicable.”
“What?!” Lex asked.
“You have two hearts. You knew how I felt about her!” Heath grunted.
“Well sheesh. I’m sorry that she doesn’t love you,” Lex said stubbornly and it sounded like he cross his arms.
I couldn’t take anymore of this conversation. Something told me that dinner was going to be awkward. How dare they talk about me when I wasn’t there! I ran to my room and snorted, they probably talked about me whenever I wasn’t there. I decided to take a long, hot shower. I washed up and turned off the faucet of the shower after fifteen minutes.
Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around my body. A hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. But nothing was there. I looked into the mirror and blinked. Behind me stood the Grim Reaper. I gasped and turned around to face him.
“Ghost Child, you are making a mistake. Soon a fork will come in the road and you must choose the correct path. Don’t believe that vampire is for you in this form.” And he vanished.
Lex must be the vampire. What form was I in? What road would I cross? Shaking my head, I knew only the future held my answers. A knock on my bathroom door scared me and made me jump a little.
“Yes?” I asked hesitantly.
“Rina I have to talk to you…immediately.” Lex said.
I threw on the black gown I had set out and opened my door. I walked to my bed and Lex followed. I was black and blue around on of his eyes.
“Lex!” I cried, “Your eye!”
He sighed and nodded, “Yeah, but I’m fine.”
“What do you need to talk to me about?” I asked.
“How much of our conversation did you hear?”
“Only until Heath noticed you had two hearts.” I told him. Lex looked at the ground and I took in a sharp breath, “Heath punched you!” Lex nodded grimly. “Where is he?” I asked and lightly touched Lex’s swollen eye.
“Don’t worry about it, okay?” Lex did a half-smile at me.
“Did you just want to know about what I heard?” it seemed like there was something else on his mind.
“Um,” he paused, “Yeah. Brad’s cooking dinner, let’s go downstairs.”
We walked to the kitchen and Lex grabbed a blood bag from the freezer. His blue eyes flashed red as he inhaled the scent. I took a step back and Heath was looking at me from the table. I sat next to him, worried about what to say. An awkward silence filled up a couple of minutes until I noticed the bandage around his arm and another I could see through his white shirt.
“Heath…!” I covered my mouth with my hand.
Heath looked away from me.
“Are you mad at me? I didn’t mean to do anything…” I quietly said.
He looked at me again and sighed, “I can’t be mad at you. You’re too great.” He deserved a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. I pulled back and brushed my hand over his arm bandage.
“Did Lex…?” I trailed off, but I didn’t need any confirmation to know Lex caused him the harm. I swung my head around to look at Lex who threw his bag into the trash.
“Rina don’t start yelling. We don’t want you involved in our, um, dispute.” Lex licked his teeth.
“Fight.” I barely heard Heath mutter.
“Fine.” I turned back to Heath, “How will you take a bath or shower with the bandages?”
“Oh, um…I don’t know…” Heath shrugged off my question.
“Hmm. I think I know how you can but first I need you to turn into a wolf and meet me upstairs in my bathroom in ten minutes.” I jumped up.
