Bella Notte (47 page)

I spent the next
hours dancing and laughing myself silly. Perhaps my laughter was a
little too loud and harsh, but no one noticed.

All around me the
people I had begun to care about were truly enjoying themselves and
that made all my pain worth it. I listened as Kelly told everyone how
she was going to be a top model right after graduation and she'd be
moving to New York. Everyone oohed and aahed their way through it. I
laughed to myself.

Dom and I danced
every song together- no one had the guts to ask to break up the
perfect couple. It didn't matter because he was happy. I could feel
it in his thoughts and his kisses were quick happy ones. It could
have been much worse for me, but it wasn't.

I didn't see Mike or
Acacia the rest of the evening- I assumed they left, which put a
little damper on my mood because they shouldn't have to leave their
prom for the issues between Mike and I. It didn't matter.

The evening drew to
a close and everyone was exhausted minus Dominic and I, but we're
special. Some of our group had fallen asleep inside so the guys
helped to carry the half asleep out to the limo.

We were all too loud
once we piled inside. I was surprised anyone could sleep through the
ruckus but they did. If I was asleep and got woken up, I would've
threatened death to all, but that was just me.

It took very little
time for us to get back into town. We all climbed out of the limo and
said farewells and gave hugs or helped drag the sleeping into Kelly's
house. Before we left, Kelly beamed the brightest smile I had ever
seen, right at me. I understood completely. I was glad she'd had a
great night and I smiled back.

A few minutes later,
Dom and I were dropped off. Dominic gave the driver an obnoxious tip
and then we watched him drive off.

You
really
okay?
He asked from behind concerned eyes.

Yes. Why don't
you believe me? It's not like I can hide anything
.
I felt my bitter self seep into my words and I was proud at how easy
it was when I was lying for someone else's good.

I don't know.
Something about your thoughts seems a little off and guarded
.
He shrugged.

I laughed and shoved
him slightly.
Ready
to go to bed yet?

Not really. Why?
Curiosity was to be his ultimate killer- like the poor kitty cat.

Well, it's a
clear night and I was thinking about sipping on some hot chocolate
while I stargaze, would you like to join me?
I purred the thought to him.

“
Sounds
lovely, Em. But let's put on more comfy clothes, okay?” He
smiled.

“
Sounds
perfect. I'll meet you in the kitchen,” I said as we walked
into the house.

Once I was upstairs,
I felt the weight of my decisions and I wished that I could come
undone right there, but I knew that he'd hear it. I'd have to wait
until I was alone.

I quickly slipped
out of my dress and hung it up. I pulled on some sweats and an
oversized shirt.
True
comfort.
I made a quick trip into the bathroom to undo my hair and makeup, and
then I meandered downstairs.

He was wearing
something similar when I walked into the kitchen. The tea kettle was
on the stove and two cups with the hot chocolate mix were sitting on
the counter. I wrapped my arms around Dom's waist and smiled up at
him.

“
Thank you for
a wonderful evening, and a great prom,” I sighed at him.

He wrapped his arms
about me. “No, my queen. Thank you.” He kissed me softly
until the kettle was whistling.

We made the cups of
cocoa and then went back upstairs. I led the way into my private
attic and widow's walk. It was difficult with two steaming cups of
hot chocolate, but we managed.

After I gave him a
quick tour of the place, I grabbed an old wool blanket and laid it
out on the walk. We sat down and stared up at the beautiful stars. We
told each other stories we had heard about the stars and how they
were formed. I told him everything I knew about every constellation.

Eventually, I got
tired and laid my head down. Dom did the same thing. The stars began
to fade and I fell asleep.

It was funny how
quickly time moved when you were busy doing other things. Prom was
the starting point for everything.

I decided that I
would move to Italy, after graduation, and had to start making
arrangements. Thus, Dominic had to inform the Italian school that he
had decided to accept the position there. There were many things to
negotiate because I wanted to stay at Dom's instead of the school,
and also the little details of our relationship.

Once all the fine
details were taken care of, we found other things to be involved
with.

I helped Kelly with
her studying for every one of her tests- even if I didn't have the
class; I studied the information before hand and helped her struggle
through it all. I also made sure that all the arrangements were taken
care of for her and her modeling career.

Chris had been true
to his word and sent the contract to my lawyers. They reviewed it,
made some corrections, and then sent it to Chris' lawyers …
then the ping ponging started. Eventually, they got everything
straightened out and Kelly had the best modeling contract that was
ever created- and she signed, willingly. The photo shoot date was set
up for after the finals were all finished. That way she wouldn't get
too distracted.

Finals came and
everyone was stressed out- well, except for Dominic and me. Kelly had
lost her gloss and her little pack of friends were extra snarly. Our
schedule was changed to give each class a three hour window to
torture its students. Those three hours became the most tiring hours
of my life because I was always done with my tests within an hour-
and even that hour was a stretch of my time limits.

After I finished, I
check and rechecked everything. I tried desperately to look like I
was still working on my tests- it was so hard.

You done too?
Dom was bored.

Yup.
I yawned.

How are you
doing?
He laughed.

I've checked my
test like a million times. I don't understand how it takes so long.
I sighed.

Try to remember
back to before you were a vampire, Emma. It took you that long and,
sometimes, even longer if the teacher would let you.
He chuckled.

I stopped to
remember the past, a time that felt so long ago. I saw myself
struggling to keep my pencil sharpened and fill in all the answers
that I knew. Three hours was barely enough time even on my fastest
day.
Yes,
I understand.

So, now you're
going to be a little more forgiving to those around you?
I could see his face in my mind with his brow lifted.

Yes, I will.
I nodded to myself and gave a forgiving glance to the rest of the
room- after all, it wasn't their fault they didn't have photographic
memories and could remember everything a teacher said. I sighed.

Dominic and I passed
every test session like this. He would finish, generally after me,
and then he would start talking to me. We talked about everything we
could think of. He was going to take another trip to Italy before the
end of the year- thus meaning he'd be gone soon for a few days. I
told him all about the photo shoot for Kelly and how I'd set it up
for his trip time. He thanked me for sparing him from the experience.
I laughed.

We discussed
graduation and how things would change and when we'd leave for
school. There was a lot of information passed. I enjoyed it greatly
though.

By the time our
final came in Art, Dominic and I presented Miss Ashley with our
master pieces; his was a painting of the most beautiful monastery I
had ever seen, and mine was a pencil sketching of my entire family-
and then we were excused from the classroom.

We went and had
lunch in town before we went home. Dominic was leaving that evening
for Italy and the next day Kelly would be over for her photos. I
suddenly felt like everything was slipping away too quickly and I
wanted to hold on to it.

Concern crossed
Dom's face.
What's
wrong?

Nothing. I'm
thinking about how it's all going to change.
I sighed.

He hugged me.
Don't
worry so much, you'll enjoy the changes that come.
He kissed me gently on the cheek.

The day ended with
me feeling sorry for myself. I really missed Dom from the moment that
he left. I was alone in the house because my parents were away, yet
again, and my grandparents were visiting friends a few towns over-
they wouldn't answer when I asked if these friends were vampires as
well.

I stayed in my room
all night as I sipped on my new favorite nutritious drink- of a red
nature- and watched the monster movies I had memorized.
God,
I hate being completely alone. Yeah, it's cool to have my moments of
thought without everyone being able to hear them, but it's too lonely
and quiet
.

And so I sat,
staring at my television screen as Bella Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr.
acted out my lifelong friends. I decided that I was a strange,
strange girl.

I fell asleep as the
sun was dawning. My dreams were blank and my thoughts empty. It was a
restful sleep.

When the alarm went
off two hours later, I was tired, but not as tired as I should have
been for only getting two hours of sleep.

I quickly got
dressed in an oversized black sweater and black leggings. I brushed
my hair and teeth and then pulled my hair into a pony tail. I ran
downstairs and got rid of the evidence of any blood and hid the
pitcher full of it in the secret compartment in the fridge. I really
didn't want to have to explain to Kelly why there was blood in my
kitchen, let alone my room. My mini fridge was currently pretending
to be a table, so it was clearly hidden and locked with the old
fashioned key worn around my neck like a necklace.

Just as I had
finished hiding all existence of vampires in the house, the doorbell
rang.

“
Coming!”
I shouted as I walked to the door. I pulled it open and found Kelly
standing there. “Hey, girlie. Come in.” I smiled at her.

“
It's so cold
out there.” She gestured to the door. I hadn't realized the
weather so I didn't bother to turn on the heat.

“
Let me get
the heat going in the room where we'll be having the shoot. I'll
bring in some food too.” I smiled at her and dragged her to the
back of the house and out to the sun room.

Since it was now
overcast, the entire room looked gray- not a good light for a photo
shoot.
Damn
.
I really had wanted this to go smoothly, but it looked like the gods
were against us.

I put Kelly in a
squashy chair and wrapped a blanket around her. I turned on the heat
so the room would warm up to a nice seventy degrees, and then I
walked off to the kitchen.

The phone rang.

“
Hello,”
I said into the receiver.

“
Hi, Emma.
This is Chris. I'm running late. Is Kelly there already? Has the
overcast landed by you guys as well?” He threw the questions at
me so quickly I barely blinked as I listened.

“
Hi, Chris.
Yeah, Kelly's here. Unfortunately, the overcast is here as well. How
late do you think you're gonna be? I setup in the sun room- like we
had discussed, do you want me to move it?” I asked him.

“
I should be
there in about an hour. I'm bringing hair and makeup with me, so they
couldn't be late. The clothing should be arriving any minute with my
assistant. No, keep the sun room … if the sun decides to break
through, then we won't have to move again. Okay, bye honey.”
Click. The line was dead.
Artists!
Such odd ducks.