Beautiful Monster (22 page)

Liam hissed, baring his fangs, and I took a step back. Porsche took the steps two at a time, immediately grabbing his arm. In seconds, I was amazed to see his fangs recede and his face start to gain color again.

"Whoa," I breathed, staring at him as the dark circles receded and he began to look human again. "That's what Shields do."

Porsche gave me a tight lipped smile.

"Among other things. We’ll go to a supernatural party sometime and I’ll show you. Liam?"

"Have you seen her since?" H
e asked, turning to me and at once seeming sober, his eyes focusing on my face.

"No...
"

"You think she knows?" Porsche asked and Liam shrugged.

"I don't know. Amy, Shannon offered you residence right? All of her performers get put up in a hotel if they need."

"Yeah bu
t I live here," I said and Liam shook his head.

"I'll tell her you need to stay there to focus. She'll love it."

"You think I'm in danger?" I asked and Liam took a step forward, taking my hand. The three of us made a strange chain of support.

"I think I want to be extra cautious. This is my mess, not yours." Even though the words were not meant maliciously, they stung. He was remind
ing me that I ran when he needed me. I felt horrible, my chest aching with despair. Liam had been nothing but supportive to me, and now, he was taking care of my safety before even his own. "You stay in the hotel until we figure out what this bitch wants. Porsche..."

"I'm staying with you," s
he said, and he gave her a look, but said nothing.

"Amy, I want you to go straight to your rooms and pack whatever you need for the next week. The school
has been on lock down for four hours and it's dark, so she can't wander unnoticed. She would never do anything that sloppy. Go now, and I'll be there shortly, after I call Shannon."

"But...." I started, and he waved his hand.

"Go. Please, Amy."

His eyes pleaded with me and I nodded, grabbing my bag and hurrying out of the
theater. My heart was hammering as hard as this morning, but I realized one thing: I trusted Liam.

As soon as Amy left, I turned to Porsche, who had already begun to talk.
"Do you think she's just hanging out again, or she's jealous? If she knows about you and Amy, then..."

"She's
probably just checking in," I replied, moving away. As soon as I did, I felt the pain of transformation return. "Listen, Porsche, you should go too."

"No," s
he replied, crossing her arms. "I've been here every other time, why would I disappear now?"

"Because it was ..
. different before." I gritted my teeth as I felt my heart stop pounding. After all these years, it was still a shock. "You're not as strong as before, Porsche."

"And y
ou know as well as I do that a Shield's power increases as their human body fails," she replied. "We really are an idiotic creation."

"Porsche..."
I sighed. “If something happens and I'm not nearby..." I took a step closer to her. "Maybe we should just do it now."

"No," s
he shook her head. "Not yet, Liam. I still have some life left in me. I don't need you."

"Yet,
" I said, with a soft smile.

"Yet,” s
he agreed. "But Amy does. And I could be blind, mute and dumb and still see that there is something happening between you two again. Call Shannon. I'll compromise with you. I spend all day at rehearsal anyway, and all night with you. I'll do double duty and keep you both safe."

"Thank you,
" I said, careful not to touch her. If Selene was looking for a fight, I didn't want to lose my vampire form.

"Anytime," s
he grinned. "Now, go get her and I'll take her over. Selene won't be able to find her if I take her."

"Even if she does, she'll be repulsed by the smell of you two." I replied, and Porsche lightly punched my shoulder.

"Go."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The phone call was quick. Shannon rolled her eyes so loudly I could hear it and told me where the performers were staying.

I snuck down the corridors, careful to stay in the shadows, and knocked on Amy's door. It opened immediately, and she stood there, bag in hand and ready to go.

"What about my Dad?" she asked, and I winced.

"It's best no one knows,
" I said. "Listen, Porsche is going to be your escort all day, ok? One of the effects of a Shield is that a vampire can't track you if you are touching her."

"T
hat's why you two are so touchy," Amy said. "Whenever I saw you two together...she was always touching you."

"Invisibility cloak,
" I said, taking Amy's hand and leading her down the hallway after she locked her door. “At their most powerful, they can shield a whole theater just by sitting there. Reduce everything in it to human."

"When?" s
he asked and I looked down.

"What?"

"When are they at their most powerful?"

I swallowed, looking both ways before going down another hallway. I was trying to pick the least populated corridors.

"When they are dying. That's why chronically ill Shields are great, they are always powerful. They gain the most power at the minute of their death both to protect their masters and, after death, to have the power transferred to the next in the blood line. They are a stupid creation." I echoed Porsche's words. "So powerful and yet wiped out in one stumble."

"Are you her Master?" Amy asked, flatly, and I shook my head.

"Deals like the one Porsche made with me are usually the reason for a life of service...but we never made any oath or anything. It's just an understanding."

"Liam,
" Amy said, stopping suddenly. "You aren't going to do that to me, are you?"

"What?" I asked. We were almost to the front entrance and I didn't want to stop.

"If something happens to me...change me..."

"Amy,
" I turned to her, shocked. "I would never do this to anyone who didn't wish it. I would never go against your wishes."

"
Because...I mean...I'm sick too," she whispered and I cupped her face in my hands, drawing her close. To her credit, she didn't flinch.

"Not unless you asked,
Amy. I will never hurt you."

She bit her lip, nodding, and we stayed a moment like that; looking into each other's eyes. Finally, she broke away.

"There's Porsche."

"Right,
" I pulled her closer, and then without thinking, kissed her. She, to my surprise, kissed back. "Be safe, Amy."

She nodded, finally breaking my grasp to go to Porsche. The dancer nodded to me.

"I'll take care of her. It'll be fine tomorrow. You'll see."

"
Sure. I'll see you at rehearsal," I said, even though I wasn't sure I quite believed myself. "Go."

Watching the two women in my life walk away into the night was probably one of the hardest things I had ever done. With a deep breath, I turned back to the school, which was powered down for the night. I went back down the hallway to face the darkness on my own. After all, this was my battle.

I ducked into my office, locking the door and opening a bottle of gin. It was going to be a long night and I might as well have some company.

Porsche pulled me along the sidewalk to the hotel at an alarming rate, chattering away as if we had just left a party.

"It'll be ok, Amy, really, you'll see. It'll help for when you graduate. You can't live at the school forever."

I nodded, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

"Do you live in a hotel in Russia?"

"Bal
let dormitories, fully furnished," she replied, with a shrug. "And fully serviced. Very luxurious."

"Right,
" I said, looking over my shoulder as the school got smaller and smaller. “Do you think Liam will be alright?"

"He's just over-reacting," s
he said. "Really, Selene is just annoying. She doesn't usually fight. Now, do you have everything?"

"I forgot my AZT,
" I said, suddenly, patting my pockets. I turned, but Porsche pulled me back.

"I have some. Wow
, bonding," she said. "You can borrow. Now, let's go."

"Don't you need it?" I asked, and Porsche winced, shaking her head.

"Nope. Let's go."

The hotel the performers were staying at was
lovely – far better than anything I had ever stayed at with my father on our rare family vacations. Porsche checked me in, and led me towards the elevator, all without letting go on my hand.

"They probably think we're lovers, che
cking in for a night of passion," I joked, trying to keep the mood light. She eyed me. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Oh." I said and then stopped, realizing what she was telling me. "
OH.
"

"Is that a problem?" s
he asked, and I shook my head.

"No, of course not. I just thought ...
you ... and men ... men stare at you all the time."

"
Either works for me," she said, leading me out of the elevator. "Although it’s not a well known fact."

"I won't tell anyone! Wow, Porsche, you're the
most interesting person I know," I blurted out as we reached my room. She laughed.

"You're dating a v
ampire," she pointed out.

"Dated. Past tense," I countered
as I stepped into the room.

"You sure about that?" S
he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Good night, Amy. Sleep well."

"You're not staying?" I asked, shocked. She shook her head.

"Double duty. Back to school to deal with your undead headmaster. Slash Boyfriend. Slash Vampire." She handed over her pill bottle and then, nodding, she closed the door. I was alone in the room, with only distant voices coming from another room to keep me company.

I wasn't going to cry, no
t this time. Porsche was right. This would be good for me, and good for Liam and me to not be so close together.  I had to leave school sometime, and what better time to do it than during my first professional production?

I got ready for bed, popping the pills she had given me.
Out of curiosity, I looked at the label.

“Porsche Caroline De Ritter" i
t said. So Porsche was her real name and not just a cheesy dance name. The dosage was the same as mine. We could practically be pill buddies. What surprised me was the date.

Prescribed: September 2012.
Refills: 0.

This was only a 3 month supply. So either she had switched doctors, prescriptions...or the more likely option
: she was done. Porsche was no longer in HIV positive status. She was in full blown AIDS and they weren't working anymore.

I sat down, staring at the bottle. Knowing that meant so many things to me. She had immortality, I did not. Her transformation would change our status.

To my surprise, tears sprung to my eyes. Vampire or not, the first real friend I made here, who understood, was going to die a lot sooner than I was. And I'd be alone. Alive and alone.

Hot tears poured down my face. I didn't have any memories of my mother, only feelings of warmth and comfort and safety. I had seen pictures and they were like looking into a crystal ball and seeing my future. No matter whether it was 10, 20,
or 30 years down the line, it was coming.

I curled under the blankets, my tears staining the pillow. My head began to pound, and I closed my eyes. This was a nightmare; all of this was a nightmare that I never wanted to wake up from.

But it was reality, and it was mine.

I waited for sleep to take me as a million thoughts ran through my head. But it never came.
I drifted into a doze around dawn, although I was wide awake when the alarm went off.

Sitting up, I went to turn it off when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I said groggily.

"Are you ok?" c
ame the voice on the other end.

"Liam?" I asked. "Yes, I'm fine. Are you ok?"

"Yes," he said. There was an awkward silence. "I'll see you at 1pm today."

"Ok,
" I said and he hung up without another word. Just then, there was a tap on the door.

"Geez, sensory overload,
" I mumbled, as I struggled out of bed and pulled my hair into a bun, before pulling it open. I realized I should have looked before I did that. However, it was just a room-service man standing there with a tray.

"Breakfast," h
e said, and I shook my head.