Being Human (25 page)

“Tommy, you okay? You look tense,” Rissa asked and I froze.

“How can you tell?” my brother chuckled.

I nodded, then did it again slowly. “I didn't rest well; think I'll go back downstairs.”

I hurried down the stairs, feeling guilty. I had never lied to my family before, but I was hesitant to let them see her. They wouldn't understand and want to send her back to her family. She couldn't go back to her family though. They couldn't protect her like I could. I could keep her safe from the monsters. She needed to stay with me.

She was crying when I reached her.

“What's wrong?”

She whimpered in reply. I pulled her onto my lap, searching for the problem. The bottom of my shirt she wore was wet, a foul odor soaked in. A small puddle lay where she had sat, the same odor wafting up. I moved her away from the puddle, tugging the soiled shirt off and offering her my fresh one.

How odd would it be if I asked for some of my niece's clothes?

“Why are you still crying?” I asked as I cleaned the puddle up and her tears continued. “Did you make this?”

She nodded, a mournful look on her tear streaked face.

“Did you mean to?”

She shook her head.

“That’s okay then,” I replied and gathered her up. I rocked her back and forth until the action calmed her.

“Tommy?”

I pushed her into the corner, making sure she was hidden before standing. “Yes?”

My brother slowly moved closer, eyes roaming over me. “Are you okay? You’re acting weird, like you’re trying to hide something.”

“I'm not hiding anything,” I said. “I just want to rest.”

“Okay,” he replied and headed back up the stairs.

“They can’t know about you or they won’t let me keep you,” I told her, once he was gone. “But you need to stay with me. If you go back to your family, the monsters will get you. I'll make sure you’re safe.”

“Safe?” Her voice was small, timid and delicate. But beautiful. The one word chimed like little bells. Her first word spoken to me.

I nodded. “Yes, I'll keep you safe. Forever. If you need anything, you only have to tell me. You can speak. I'd like to hear you speak. It sounds nice.”

She nodded and disappointment filled me. She settled on my lap again, head against my chest. I stroked her hair and touched her cheek, feeling the warmth and life in her. I wondered if this was what having a pet was like. A smaller being you took care of and kept alive.

So far I was doing well.

The door to the basement banged open. Feet scurried down the steps and my niece squealing with mischievous happiness. She jumped the last few stairs, landing with a huff. “Uncle, surprise!”

I pushed the girl behind me, growling.

My niece skidded to a halt, eyes widening in shock. Her lower lip trembled and moisture filled her eyes. Like a bubble, she burst and tears streamed down her face. “
MOMMY! Uncle growled at me!
”

“Tommy!” Rissa stormed down the stairs. “You better have...” Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “Jamie.”

I snarled when Rissa moved closer.

“Dan, you need to come down here,” Rissa called. She hugged my niece, consoling her crying as she stared at the girl behind me.

My brother’s face was pale as he rushed down. He skidded to a halt. “Jamie!” He jumped back when I growled at him. His voice turned gentle, hands held out in a peaceful gesture. “Okay, everyone calm down. Tommy, let us near Jamie.”

“No.” I growled the word, making him step back. “I won't let any monsters hurt her.”

“But you know Rissa and Mackenzie aren't monsters and neither am I. Right?”

I turned my gaze to my niece who was huddled against Rissa. My growl died, fangs sliding back in as I relaxed my crouch, ashamed. This was my family, I trusted them and they trusted me. And what did I do? I hid her from them, lied to them and refused to let them near.

“That’s right, Tommy, there’s no monsters here,” my brother said and moved closer to her. “Hey Jamie, remember me? I’m Mackenzie’s dad.”

She cringed and whimpered.

“Let me.” Rissa gave me lots of space as she moved forward, placing a friendly smile on her face. “Hi, Jamie. Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat? A grilled cheese, maybe?”

She nodded, letting Rissa pick her up.

“I wanna grilled cheese,” my niece whimpered.

“You can have one too,” my brother assured her.

I silently followed them, feeling my emotions torn. Part of me was tense, on edge that another human was touching her. When Rissa picked her up, I desperately wanted to place myself between her and the danger. The other part was ashamed of the fear I caused my family. Fear of me.

“I'm sorry,” I muttered.

My brother looked back at me, lips pressed into a tight line. “We'll get this smoothed out and everything will be fine.”

“I already fed her,” I added as we filed into the kitchen. “I made a sandwich last night. Bread and dead meat with a glass of water.”

****

“She's a little girl who has a family. You can't keep her cooped up in the basement.” My brother's voice grew more exasperated with each word.

“She doesn't have to stay in the basement all the time. Just during the day with me, where it's safe,” I protested.

“She's not your pet,” he sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.

“I know,” I replied indignantly.

“You don't know how to care for a child,” he persisted.

“I can learn,” I insisted. “I know she needs to eat and sleep. Those are the important things.”

“There's a lot more to raising a child than that,” Rissa sighed. “Children need to eat at least three times a day with snacks, they need naps throughout the day, and constant supervision. You need to be there for them, every second of every day, even when you need to rest.”

“I can do that.”

“You can only do that at the night. She needs to be sleeping at night,” my brother said.

“But–”

“Tommy, no,” he ordered. He gave me a long, sad look. “I know you want to protect her.”

“I can keep her safe from the monsters,” I replied.

“Even yourself?”

I looked from him to Rissa. “What do you mean? I’m not a monster.”

“You're a vampire,” he replied. “And she's human. Survival trumps everything. Survival will trump her. You get hurt badly enough and you won't be able to stop yourself.”

“I can stop. I did with you. Once.”

“Can you stop before you hurt her? Or kill her?”

I looked at the girl playing with my niece in the living room. She paused, a toy in her hand and eyes wide with trust. A smile filled and brightened her face. She looked so happy and safe.

I sadly shook my head.

My brother placed his hand on my shoulder. “You did a good thing, you found her, alive.”

I suppressed a growl at the word, remembering the fear in the monster's house.

“Who else did you find?” he asked.

I looked at him. “Giles Montgomery.”

A shocked silence filled the air. I never used names unless I felt had to. In all my vampire life, I had said my brother's name nine times, never used Rissa's name and my niece's name I had only said once. Her name was the hardest to say. The fact I said a human's name, showing no remorse about it, meant a lot.

“They just mentioned him on the news. He was found brutally murdered in his home,” Rissa whispered. “That was him?” She sunk into a chair, blowing out a breath of air. “How long did you look for him?”

“Last night.”

My brother snorted. “Maybe the police force should hire vampires.”

“But police would kill the vampires,” I replied.

He shook his head. “Forget I said anything. We need to take Jamie home.”

I darted into the living room and grabbed her. “No.”

“Tommy, she needs to go home. Would you want someone refusing to bring Mackenzie home?” he asked.

I looked at my niece, who looked annoyed. “No.”

Rissa reached for her. “Then we need to–”

“I'll do it,” I said, refusing to let her out of my grip. “Please.”

My brother and Rissa exchanged tense glances.

“You take her straight home, 415 Westwood Avenue,” he ordered. “Knock on the door and leave her before anyone sees you, okay?” He stopped me at the door. “Be careful, lil’ bro.”

As the door swung shut, I heard my niece mutter, “I don't like Jamie anymore.”

The address my brother gave me was only ten blocks away. Even moving slowly, the journey didn’t take long. Cop cars were parked outside the house I needed and cops stood in the doorway as they talked to the humans inside.

These were my last moments with her. After tonight, I wouldn't see her again. Even as her savior, her family wouldn't let me near her. I couldn't even let them know I was the one who saved her from the monster.

“It's not fair,” I told her. “I did something good, stopped him from killing you. No one will see it that way. All they see is a vampire who kills humans and hate me for it.”

She clung tighter, pressing her head against the nook in my neck.

The wordless action comforted me and I pressed my cheek against the top of her head. I set her down and gave her a soft push. She clung to me, shaking her head.

“Safe,” she whimpered.

The single word vibrated within me. I hugged her back, my voice stopped in my throat. She needed protection, protection I could provide. How could I let her go when she needed me?

I tipped her face up and did the only thing I could. The sparkle faded from her eyes as I pushed my will against hers. Her hands dropped from my neck and she turned towards the humans. When they noticed her, they grabbed her and rushed her into the house. The cops spotted me next and raced to their cars.

“Be safe,” I whispered and disappeared as the cop cars roared to life.

Home was dark, a lone light on as my brother waited for me. I trudged to the couch and sat. “Danny, I'm confused. I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to protect her, felt like I needed to.”

“Well,” he slowly replied. “She's been through a lot and it’s obviously affected you. When you first saw her, what did you see?”

“My niece, scared.”

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. His eyes held a familiar light, an understanding that said he knew how to explain everything. “You finally understood why Rissa and I were terrified of this man, what we feared.”

“But my niece was always safe.”

“Didn’t matter, you realized the possibility it could have been Mackenzie.”

“I didn’t drink his blood either, I let it waste.”

He leaned back, watching me. “Why didn’t you drink his blood?”

“What he was doing was wrong and he was planning on killing her like the other children he took. But it wasn’t for survival or fun or anger, there was no reason. His blood was tainted,” I replied.

“That's why you didn't want to drink it.”

I headed down the stairs and fell onto the couch. Feet kicked out, I slouched back and folded my arms across my chest. I sighed deeply, unfolded my arms and propped my chin on my hand. “I'm bored.”

A smile cracked my brother's face, an eyebrow raised.

“She told me to say it.”

Dan sighed. “Sometimes I wonder about that girl.”

“Why?”

He chuckled. “Is that eyeliner?”

“Yes.”

“Definitely wonder about that girl.”

“But why?”

“If I explained, you wouldn't understand.”

“Dan, have you seen where I put...” Rissa stopped short in the kitchen doorway. She stared at me, mouth hanging open. With a sharp turn, she faced the stairs. “Young lady, get down here now!”

Feet thudded on the stairs and a teenage girl skipped the last two steps. “What’s up, Mom?”

Rissa folded her arms. “Where do I start? You...” Her eyes slightly widened. “Did you pierce his ear?”

My niece flopped down next to me, casually mimicking the moves she taught me. “It's not like it hurt him. Probably heal if he takes it out.” She looked at me. “Uncle, don't take it out.”

“Okay.”

“How come he doesn’t ask you why all the time?” Dan muttered under his breath.

My niece hugged me. “Because he loves me, don't ya, Uncle?”

I hugged her back. “Yes, love you lots and lots and lots.”

“Mackenzie, don't try to teach him to talk like a teenage girl. It sounds creepy,” Dan sighed.

“Why is it creepy?” I asked.

“Still as clueless as ever,” Dan chuckled and picked up his newspaper.

Time had passed again and everyone in my family had changed. Everyone except me. My niece changed the most, surprising me on a daily basis. It had terrified me at first. I feared she would change into someone who might hate vampires. Dan laughed and assured me she was the same person, only bigger.