Suspending Reality (80 page)

He gazed deeply into my eyes. “No.”

“No?”

He smiled. “No.”

I cleared my throat. “Why not?”

“Why not?” he repeated. “Because I suddenly feel very shy. You’re treating me like a piece of meat.”

“Maybe the real reason you don’t want to remove your shirt is because you don’t have a scar from the bullet wound. I’m sure it healed very fast, and that’s why you didn’t want to go to the hospital,” I said.

He nodded, seemingly impressed with my insights. “Why?”

“Because I think you’re
special
.” If I was right, he would know what I was talking about. I didn’t want to risk our friendship by flat out calling him a vampire, just in case it wasn’t true. 

His voice cut into my thoughts. “Special? I’m glad you think so. I feel the same about you.”

Boldly, I held up the crucifix. “Cut the games, Jesse. I know what you’re hiding. You’re immortal.”

He laughed. “Listen to yourself, Taylor! Do you think a cross can actually stop me?”

“Maybe not, but apparently, you can’t come in without being invited.”

He shook his head.

I continued, “If necessary, I can also kick a leg off one of my mom’s wooden chairs.”

“To stake me?”

“Only as a last resort, if I need to defend myself,” I retorted.

“I’m a little curious about how you came to this interesting conclusion.”

The massive lump of dread thudded down into the pit of my stomach like a lead balloon. “I put the pieces together, and they all fit quite nicely. Why don’t you stop trying to hide from me when I know the truth? You can trust me to keep your secret. My bond is my word.”

“Those were my words.”

“And I mean them.”

He gazed deeply into my eyes, then slid his shirt over his head.

My gaze darted from his powerful shoulders to his rippling abs and perfect chest, sculpted with hard muscles. His hair fell in disheveled waves across his forehead, but I didn’t see any scars on his perfect skin.

“I knew it!” I said, gasping. “It’s gone!”

“Looks like we’ve got a lot to talk about,” he said. 

I tried to ignore the dry sensation inside my mouth. “How long did it take you to heal?”

“About twelve hours. It was a deep wound,” he said. 

My eyes widened. “What are you?”

“You’ve clearly already decided that. You’re holding a Bible and a crucifix and threatening to stake me.”

“Don’t forget the garlic. My pockets are loaded with it.”

His gaze narrowed. “I love a girl who’s always prepared for battle.”

“Are you going to answer me or not? What are you?”

“I think you already know the answer to that, Taylor.”

I fidgeted and tried to look away. “I don’t.” I gazed up as he loomed over me. Shivering, I was thankful for that invisible barrier that kept me safe.

His blue eyes began to glow, like nothing I’d ever seen before. I watched his teeth turn from normal to pointed fangs, right before my very eyes. My heart lurched, and I suddenly began to gasp for air. 

“Yes, Taylor. I am a vampire,” he said.

A cold chill shot down my spine as I stared into those glowing eyes and took in those sharp fangs. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Max snarled, then barked fiercely. I glanced up at the blue sky, then down at the lush green grass, then the open patch of woods. They were all real, and so was the creature standing before me. 

“Taylor…” he said.

My hand trembled as I rubbed my face, my brain still trying to circle around his shocking admission. I couldn’t believe my suspicions had been so spot on. I just stared at him, my feet frozen in place. Right there before me was a real, live, modern-day vampire, a supernatural, mythological, undead creature of the night—and, in his case, day. He was a dead person who existed by drinking the blood of the living.

I clenched my jaw and grabbed the doorway, trying to swallow the rising panic I felt. 

“It must come as quite a shock to see me this way,” he said.

“It’s more like a punch in the gut,” I said. I couldn’t stop staring. Part of me wanted to protect him, but the other part was totally freaked out and wanted to call 911.

“You can control when your eyes and fangs transition?” I asked.

He blinked. “Yes.” He looked scary, almost deadly, and completely unpredictable.

I took a step backward, my heart still racing. “Turn it off then!”

He did, and I was completely baffled as his eyes turned back to light blue and his fangs faded back into normal teeth. I had just eye witnessed a paranormal phenomenon, and I wasn’t even sure how I was supposed to react. It took every effort in me just to breathe. 

All of the sudden, my dog decided he could not stay indoors any longer, and he bolted out the door.

“Max!” I screamed.

Chapter 21

Max had run out of the house, and I had no way to protect them. Just like that, Jesse held all the cards, all the power. My breath caught in my throat as Max barked furiously.

Jesse bent down and stared into my dog’s eyes. “Stop barking and stay right here by me.”

Max immediately obeyed and lay down next to Jesse’s feet.

Jesse petted him, then smiled at me.

“Don’t you dare hurt my dog!”

“Why don’t you come out and get him?” he asked calmly.

“Can you promise me you’ll, uh…drink responsibly?”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not even thirsty,” he said.

We stared into each other’s eyes. It was if he was daring me to walk past the barrier that was keeping me safe. But then another thought hit me:
Mom and Dad will be home any minute.
I didn’t think he’d hurt them either, but part of me just didn’t know for sure. For all I knew, he’d use them to threaten me to come outdoors. I could only pray he wouldn’t resort to such a horrible tactic.

It was clear that he hated losing any confrontation and that he wanted to have control over the situation, but I needed to let him know I wasn’t an easy mark. It was almost as mentally exhausting as a game of chess. We stared at one another, each wondering what the other’s next move would be. It was a stalemate, with both of us refusing to budge. In the end, I was sure there’d be no clear-cut winner. 

He motioned for me to come out.

I glared. “You know why I can’t.”

He petted Max behind the ears again, as if taunting me. “You’d risk your dog’s life?”

“You wouldn’t hurt him!” I said. “You love animals.”

“But when he first ran out here, you thought I’d hurt him. You panicked.”

“I-I don’t know. I’m so confused! I can’t think straight. I mean, this is a lot to process.” My hands continued to tremble. “Why aren’t you trying to lie to me and get me off your scent? That’s what you should be doing right now. Instead, you’re showing me tangible proof that I can’t deny.”

“I would try to mislead anyone else, but I can’t lie to you, Taylor—not you.”

“But you…vampires are supposed to be different.”

He cocked his head in confusion. “Different?”

I blinked back tears, trying to calm my racing heart. “You walk around in the sunlight. How is that even possible for your kind?”

“I am a descendant of the Leyna, a rare race. The word itself means ‘bright and shining light’. We sleep, eat, and walk around in the daytime, but we’re still immortal beings. We can heal also, though not as quickly as normal vampires.”

“How old are you…really?”

“Seventeen.”

“Right. And you’ve been saying that for how many years to get teenage girls to fall in love with you?”

“I’m really only seventeen, Taylor. And so is Sam and Kierra. Our immortality has only begun.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all this sooner? I had every right to know.”

“I would have, but I was worried word might get out. I can’t have all those vampire fans at my doorstep, demanding me to give them the dark gift.”

I shook my head, then continued, “So you were you bitten by the Leyna this year?”

His gaze narrowed. “No. I was born a vampire.”

I gasped.

“Our race can bear offspring. There’s not many of us, and we’re very rare, only 100 in the world.”

“Do the other vampires know about you?”

“Yes, but we take great pains to stay hidden.”

“Are all the vampires here Leyna?”

“There’re only a handful of us in this town. The others are regular vampires. The ones you met at the party were from all over the United States, here for a weekend get-together. Most of them are beyond dangerous. You were invited to the party so they could feed on you, but some of them were so drunk that I’m sure they couldn’t have stopped. There were other humans there, too, all of them as clueless as you were about the dangers of a vampire-infested cabin in the woods.”

“And you condone that sort of thing?”

“Not at all,” he retorted, “but we’re sorely outnumbered, and most of them are hundreds of years old.”

“Why didn’t you get us out of the house right away?”

“If I would’ve dragged you out of there, they would’ve attacked me. I had to play it cool and pretend like I was enjoying the party. I was only there to sneak you guys out.”

“Why was that guy chasing us?” I asked.

“He wanted Julie. He had a taste of her blood and wanted more. He tried to fight it off because he didn’t want to worry about any fatalities being reported, but he couldn’t stop himself. I got shot trying to protect you from him and his kind.”

“What about the wolves?”

A serious expression came over his face. “I don’t trust them, but for one reason or another, they were protecting us.”

“When I tried to leave, one lunged at my foot.”

“They were only trying to keep you inside so Jonathon wouldn’t kill you or Julie. They knew he’d have to leave at sunrise.”

“So Jonathon survived the wolf attack?”

“He’s almost 1,000 years old and very experienced. He had no trouble outrunning them.”

Mixed feelings rattled in my chest. “Will he come back?”

“No. He went back to Washington, and he apologized. I’m sure he’s out hunting where he lives though.”

I just stared at him, almost unable to believe it. “I’ve got lots of questions.”

“And I’ve got plenty of answers,” he said.

“Do you sleep in a coffin or change into a bat?”

“No. Those are just myths. Besides, coffins are too industrial these days, not comfortable at all,” he tried to joke, but nothing about the conversation was laughable.

I couldn’t stop staring at him. Even though I’d suspected him for a while, the whole thing was so hard to believe.

Worry lines crossed his features. “Say something, Taylor. Anything.”

“I-I can’t believe I was kissed by a vampire.”

He stared at my lips. “Did you like it?”

“Yes. I’ve never felt anything so…sexy and arousing, and all you did was touch my lips.” I couldn’t even imagine what an open-mouthed kiss would be like. Pushing my fears to the back of my mind, I took a deep breath and tried to focus. “Do you…drink blood?” I finally found the courage to ask.

He inched closer. “Are you asking if I’m dangerous?”

My heart thundered. “Yes. Are you?”

His brow furrowed as he pondered the question. “I could kill you before you knew what happened. Yes, I can be very dangerous.”

“So…what kind of vampire are you?” I asked.

“I’m not sure what that means. I’ve already explained that I’m not a regular one.”

“Are you the sexy, brooding type with a troubled soul, seeking forgiveness for your sins, or are you more of the scary type, the one who rips into flesh without conscience, ready to devour the whole town? Are you a manipulative vampire or the kind that sparkles?”

“I’m just Jesse…and I refused to be labeled.”

“Point taken.” I gripped the doorframe and met his gaze. “Do you have to kill me now that I know your secret?”

“Why don’t you invite me inside and find out?”

My voice went flat. “You haven’t told me what you really eat.”

“Do you really want to know?”

I swallowed hard against my racing pulse and forced myself to stay calm. The realization was that I was completely and utterly attracted to a paranormal creature who could easily rip my neck apart, and that made me shiver. “I do. I want to know. I need to know, Jesse.”

“Come outside, and we’ll talk about it,” he said.

My breath caught in my throat. I wasn’t that dumb. Even though none of it seemed real and I felt like I was living in one of those B-movies I’d downloaded on my iPhone, I wasn’t about to take any chances. “I-I can’t accept this. I’m going through so many emotions right now. Maybe we should take a break for a little while. I just…I’m not sure what’s going on between us, if anything.”