Love Nip (8 page)

“Ezra, this is not a good idea. Do you have any idea what this is doing to me? I feel so guilty
! If you die, I will always believe that I killed you.” I bit my lip to fight the tears back.

“Emily, I’m not going to die. I have a cold
, that’s all.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it
! You are dying. The doctors told Robert they don’t know how much longer you are going to hold on.” As I said it the tears started falling one after the other. “I can’t lose you, Ezra, please don’t do this.”

“I will be fine, stop worrying. I’m
doing this so I live out the remainder of my life as a human,” he stated.

“Maybe I don’t want a human
! I want a vampire, I want you,” I tried. The words felt wrong as they left my lips. I didn’t mean what I said, but he looked pitiful and sickly. All I wanted to do was help him. He looked like he was going to kick the bucket at any moment.

He turned his head in response
, but I could see the tears falling before he looked away. I couldn’t understand why he refused to be helped. He was going to die, and by the looks of him he didn’t have long to decide.

Leaving his room,
I went upstairs and grabbed my stuff. I was done for the day. I didn’t say a word to anyone before leaving. I stopped at the store and bought a six-pack, a bottle of cheap vodka, and a bag of beef jerky. As I arrived home I walked up the stairs to my apartment and saw a note tucked in the door. Shock hit me in a wave as I opened it up.

‘
Emily, I knew you were going through a lot at work so I stopped by to drop this off. Your bad feeling paid off. Here is the information on your neighbor girl.’ I continued to read up on Dee-Dee and her past. Her real name was Deanna Stevenson. She had a few misdemeanors for shoplifting when she was a teenager, but the thing that made my heart flutter was the words, Current Occupation: Witch

I walked around
the back of my apartment to the lake and sat down at on a bench. I let the tears fall as I drank my beer and ate my beef jerky. Working my way up to the vodka, I opened it and took a long drink. The burn felt like acid sliding down my throat. It didn’t take long before Dee-Dee found me. She didn’t make a peep as she sat down on the opposite of the bench. The sun was going down over the treetops, it was my favorite time of the day. Dee-Dee reached in the bag of beef jerky and pulled out a piece. I handed her the note that was left on my door. She chewed on her beef jerky while she read it. When she handed it back, I handed her a beer.

“So, you’re out here getting wasted and crying because I’m a witch
or because my real name is Deanna?” she asked cautiously.

“I wish
. That is only an itch in my ass. I’ve got bigger pains than that,” I stated. The moment she sat down I had begun to feel better. My waterworks ceased and I was feeling better about my situation. There was no way Robert would let Ezra die. He had to have a plan up his sleeve. I took another long chug of the vodka.

“So, what’s so bad that
you’re out here drinking by yourself?” she asked, and took another piece of my dinner.

“
It’s my boyfriend—err my, well shit I don’t know what to call him,” I answered, downing the rest of my beer before I took another drink of the vodka.

“That does sound like a problem,”
she stated.

“It’s hard to explain,” I mumbled while cracking open my fo
urth beer. I had a sudden urge to giggle or skinny dip. I was a cheap drunk, it was rare for me to have more than one drink.

“Maybe you should slow down on the alcoholic beverages
,” She tried to take my drink.

I stood to get away from her
. “I don’t understand men. They are so stupid and confusing,” I slurred. I was coming up with a plan quickly and didn’t know where to start. I pulled out my phone and texted Robert.

“Let’s get you back to your apartment
… or perhaps an AA meeting.” She tried to grab my arm, but I slapped her hand away.

“I’m a witch
, too. I’ve never told anyone that, I mean people know but I’ve never admitted it aloud,” I blabbered. I stumbled and almost lost my balance. Beer poured out of the bottle and onto the ground. I could feel the earth moving under my feet and I couldn’t stand straight. I took another gulp of the vodka and then drank the beer to wash away the taste. At least it was becoming easier to drink because my mouth was numb.

“Yep, that’s great
. Really, you should just stop drinking. Geez, you got drunk fast. You only had a few.”

“I’m a powerful witch too, but every time I do something great they keep me under wraps,” I stated as I started walking down the trail. I wasn’t sure where I was going
, but it felt so great to walk without a purpose.

“Damn the s
ystem,” she said, giving up her attempts and letting go of my arm.

“Seriously
! I flung my boyfriend’s ex across the room today and I probably can’t talk about it.”

“You just did.”

“And then I blew out the candles on my birthday cake, and they were trick candles.”

“Powerful,”
she stated sarcastically.

“Oh, and I totally exploded a vampire with my mind,” I
said, but once I saw her eyes get about ten sizes bigger and her color drained from her face I stopped talking. A thought crossed my mind, sending chills down my body. “What’s the name of your coven leader?”

“Uh, Ash
,” she stammered with fear in her voice. She belonged to the same coven we were investigating. I was beginning to think my initial bad feelings were correct.

I took a step back
. “Are you following me?”

“Why would anyone be following you?”
she asked curiously, the fear had diminished from her voice.

“Because I work for the FBI and we
’re investigating your coven,” I blabbed. I was beginning to realize I was a horrible agent.

“O
h shit! No, no, no, Emily. I didn’t even know until now. I know what you think but for reals I had nothing to do with Maggie and Charlotte. You have to believe me.” She started toward me with her hands up.

“D
ee-Dee this is a little too convenient for this be a coincidence,” I said, taking another step back.

“Emily,” Axle called out.

I looked to my left and saw him by my apartment building. He jogged over to us with anger written all over his beautiful face.

“What are you doing here?” I questioned. I knew from the expression on his face I had a lot of explaining to do.

“Robert called me and asked if I would come check on you. What’s going on here?” he demanded as he stood between Dee-Dee and me.

“
Nothing, we were just talking,” I lied.

“Yep
, talking.” Dee-Dee nodded.

“Honey, how
many beers have you had?” Axle asked as he turned to me.

“Enough to know you
’re sexy.” I giggled and poked his hard chest.

“That’s one too many, but I like where you’re going
.” He laughed. He grabbed my trash and my hand, pulling me back toward the apartment.

“Sorry
, Dee-Dee, got to go,” I yelled as he dragged me off. I took another drink of the vodka and tossed it into a nearby trashcan.

“No
apologies needed,” she said, nodding to Axle.

Axle didn’t let go of my arm till I was safely seated on the couch. He threw his arms in the air as if he was about to start
scolding me and shook his head. It seemed like he was trying to decide what the best approach would be.

“I got your note,” I slurred
. My tongue lost control; slobber ran down my chin. I threw my arm across my face cleaning the mess up with my sleeve.

“And yet you still went out there and talked
to her? Are you mad?” His voice was rising with every word he spoke.

“I had a bad day, I was out there by myself and she found me. She didn’t know who I worked for
.” My voice also got higher, reaching his pitch as I stood up.

“You drunk texted Robert something
about wanting to talk to Riley, which is why he sent me over here. He thinks you’re looking for a fight.”

“Oh yea
h, I completely forgot about my genius plan.”

“You are insufferable,”
he said, pointing his finger at my chest.

“I don’t even know what that means but I’m sure it
’s an insult and I don’t take kindly to you barging in and interrupting
my
talk with
my
friend and then insulting me,” I barked at him, moving closer. I could smell the aftershave on his skin. His chocolate eyes burned deep into mine. I found myself unable to be mad at him any longer; it was hard to hold his gaze. My stomach churned with the realization that he was just inches away. I swallowed the knot forming in my throat.

His eyes caught the action and he pulled me in by the back of my neck into a tight embrace. I wrapped my arms around him. Our fight was over.

“I know you’re going through a lot, pumpkin. I wish I could help, but Ezra is a big boy. You need to let him make his own decisions,” he offered, and kissed the top of my head.

“He’s making the wrong one,” I sniffled.

“So are you.”

Waking the next day after my drunken stupor was not an easy task. The room spun as I sat up in bed. After a very long shower and forcing down breakfast, I finally felt good enough to go into work. I was only an hour late when I walked in, my sunglasses still on my face. I didn’t want to deal with anyone; I put my things on my desk and walked back out. I quickly found Ezra’s room and sat down next to him. He was still sleeping and I didn’t want to wake him. His skin had become dry and loose, falling off of his bones. Except for the shallow breaths he took, he looked dead.

“I can feel you watching me,”
he mumbled. His eyes remained closed.

“I didn’t mean to wake you, I just wanted to see how you were dying
—I mean doing.” I forced myself to smile.

He looked over at me with a pathetic glare and began to sit up. “I’m still here.”

“Barely. Look at you, Ezra, you can barely sit up anymore. You look like hell,” I fussed.

“Says the girl wearing sunglasses inside,”
he joked.

“Ezra, I really can’t sit here and watch you die. I know this isn’t about me
, and maybe I’m being selfish, but seriously I need you to be okay,” I pleaded removing my glasses.

“Robert’s got the doctors working twenty
-four/seven and he keeps saying he’s got something up his sleeve.”

“That’s a lie and you know it. Robert can’t help you. Don’t you realize what this is doing to me? I did this to you and now you’re going to die and it will be my fault.”

“Em, this isn’t your fault. I’m so glad to have met you and all you did was free me from my prison.”

“Dear
Lord, don’t even try doing that. I’ve killed you, that’s what I did and I’m sorry.” I stood and walked out, I felt like crying, but didn’t even know if my body could produce any more tears.

I walked in and
went directly to Riley. She sat at Ezra’s desk with a confused look written on her face as she studied the computer screen. I pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. I could feel Gavin and Axle tense up.

“What is your plan?” I asked her.

“For what?” she said, playing stupid.

“
For world domination,” I stated sarcastically running a hand through my hair, my head felt as though it was going to explode. “To help Ezra, what else?”

Her eyes softened and I swear if a vampire could cry she would have tear in her eyes. “I’ve been
trying to research what exactly happened, but I can’t find anything. I don’t know what happened to you, but this is weird,” she finished.

“Ok
ay, so turn him back. He’s weak, you could force him to do it,” I stated. I figured it’s what everyone was thinking.

“I can’t do that to him,” she replied sadly and turned back to the computer monitor.

“You’re a vampire, you can do whatever you want. He’s going to die, do you not understand that?” I demanded and stormed out. I couldn’t decide what to do next. No one seemed to understand why I needed him to get better. Nothing online would ever tell Riley what was going on. I went down to Kimmy’s holding cell. I walked up to the gate guard and waved as if I had been there a million times.

“Whoa, you can’t go back there,”
he warned, catching me by the arm.

“Why not? She’s not a prisoner,” I questioned
, snatching my arm away.

He gave me a warning glare and reached for his gun holster.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Axle warned from behind me. “Let Agent Sullivan pass before you have to deal with me.”