Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal ❯ Chapter 10

Crystal, Chapter 10:

 

 

School finally ended, the days got longer, and Scott got better. Johnny and I had to sneak around to be together like a couple of teenagers which, technically, one of us actually was. Paul was beginning to realize I really did have a boyfriend, and he wasn't altogether happy about it. He kept insisting he wanted to meet `Don.'

 

Johnny was all for it. I reminded him that it was his idea for me to get close to Paul. He still didn't like it, though.

 

Summer meant I could spend more time at the lake, although that, too, had its pros and cons. I wasn't exactly comfortable in bright sunlight anymore, so I sat on the beach wrapped up in my towel whenever I wasn't swimming. Today I was by myself. Mom had brought the boys back home but I wanted to stay a little longer.

 

My cravings for blood were as strong as ever, and the more blood I took, the more tired I was during the daylight hours. Johnny said the blood we ingest can only last so long, and, at least for him, it takes the place of other nourishment. The sun speeds up its depletion in our bodies. For me, it wasn't such an issue since I still ate regular food.

 

Whenever I got too overheated, I went for a dip. The sun didn't burn when I was underwater. It was a beautiful world down there, quiet, cool, peaceful. Was this how Johnny felt when he went under the lake waters to sleep? Or was it just darkness and the absence of time for him?

 

As if thinking of him conjured him somehow, I surfaced and there he stood, next to my things on the beach, in his ever-present hooded jacket and long jeans. He looked so out of place among the vacationers in their bathing suits. I had never noticed it so sharply before.

 

I waded to shore. Already, I could feel the weight of the sun on my shoulders. It didn't hurt, exactly, but it was hot against my skin. I could only imagine what Johnny felt.

 

He held out my towel and wrapped it around me as I hugged him. His face was too red. He should never have come here, but I was happy that he had. Ever since our night at the cottage, neither one of us wanted to spend time away from each other, much to Paul's annoyance. We settled down on the blanket, shielding ourselves from the sun as much as possible. Someone would pay for Johnny's indulgence later on. Only blood would heal his sunburned face and hands. My own pulse sped up at the thought of blood.

 

In spite of the pain, we stayed on the beach as the sun settled lower on the horizon and the vacation families around us packed up their blankets and headed for home. Soon, Johnny would be able to lower his hood. Maybe we would exchange a little blood first, before he brought me out hunting. I had clothes up at the cottage, and with Johnny around, I didn't need a key to get in.

 

The sound of a car driving down the hill to the beach made me turn around. Damn! It was Paul. I couldn't let him get close to Johnny. He would be able to tell right away that Johnny was a vampire. I glanced around. There was nobody else left on the beach. Paul was blocking the only exit.

 

I nudged Johnny. “It's Paul,” I whispered. “What should we do?”

 

Johnny shrugged. “Nothing,” he said carelessly. He pulled the hood of his jacket a little further down over his eyes and went back to staring at the sunset. “Are you going to go with him?”

 

“Don't be stupid!” I snapped.

 

Johnny smiled, and stood up. The sun was in back of him, putting him in shadow. He fully intended to meet Paul. Reluctantly, I stood up too. Paul got out of his car, dressed casually in khaki slacks and a golf shirt. With an anticipatory smile, he strode over.

 

“Don't touch him,” I whispered to Johnny before Paul got too close.

 

Johnny grinned viciously. “Why? Are you worried about him?”

 

I batted at his arm. “No, he'll sense you!” I hissed, and Johnny's widening grin let me know he'd known exactly what I had meant. I slapped at him again. “Oh, you!” I said in exasperation. I hurried forward to head off Paul, but Paul had already stopped a few feet away.

 

“Where's he from, the North Pole?” Paul asked, squinting against the light and shading his eyes. Johnny's sunburned face was obscured by the folds of his hood.

 

Johnny took one step forward, and I hurried back to him. He put one arm around my waist, and the other in his pocket so he wouldn't have to shake hands. Smart boy.

 

“What's it to you? Is that where you're from?” Johnny replied, commenting on Paul's accent. “You're not from around here.”

 

“Don,” I stressed the name, “this is my cousin, Paul Brown, from Scotland. Paul, this is my boyfriend, Don.” It felt good saying those words out loud. Paul wasn't really my cousin; he was Kenny's cousin, but I wanted to make a point. Paul got it, and he was not amused.

 

“Glad to finally meet you,” he said acidly to Johnny. “I was beginning to think you were a figment of Crystal's imagination.” He turned to me. “Crystal, I've come to take you home. Get your things.”

 

Johnny's hand tightened on my waist. I shook my head. “No, thank you, Paul,” I said. “Don will bring me home later.”

 

“How's he going to do that?” Paul's mouth tightened. “I don't see any other car around here. Is he even old enough to drive a car?”

 

“I'm old enough,” Johnny said softly. He still hadn't moved, and his body was rigid where it touched mine. I glanced up quickly to see his eyes, beneath the hood, go dark and dangerous. I tried elbowing him, to get him to back off, but all I got for it was a sore elbow.

 

“Paul,” I said instead. “Cut it out. It's none of your business how I get home.” I saw the sudden hurt in Paul's eyes. “I'll call you later, okay?” I bent down, ignoring the two guys who stared at each other without speaking from a distance of a few feet—thank goodness for that, at least. I shook out my blanket, and shoved it and my towel back into my big bag. “Come on, Don.” I took Johnny by the hand and led him in a wide circle around Paul and his car.

 

A few minutes later Paul's car roared past us, kicking up pebbles and dust.

 

Johnny savagely pushed back his hood, and his face looked terrible. “I'm done with them,” he muttered. “There are other ways to get the information I need.” He turned his eyes to me. “You don't need to call him later.”

 

Wisely, I didn't say anything. We walked in the gathering dark, and Johnny gave me his jacket to wear. When we passed a couple out for an after dinner walk to the bridge, Johnny immediately wheeled around to follow them. The man glanced back once, and then Johnny was on him and the woman both, pulling them into the woods. He tore both their throats and motioned for me to come over. I drank from the woman while he slaked his thirst on the man, although he had to drink from the woman again after I finished so that her torn throat would heal into a red rash. We left them sleeping at the turn-off, safely off the road. They wouldn't remember what had happened. Johnny looked better after that, but instead of going to the cottage, he brought me all the way home and stayed downstairs with the boys while I took a quick shower and got changed.

 

Mom was talking to Johnny when I came back downstairs. He still told her stuff he didn't share with me. They both stopped talking and stared at me as I entered the kitchen.

 

“What?” I said. “Did something happen?”

 

“Paul called,” my mother said. “Johnny talked to him.”

 

“Are you serious? What did you say to him?”

 

“To stay away from you.” Johnny's voice was flat.

 

“I think Paul was shocked that Johnny—er, Don—was over here, and that I knew about him,” Mom said. “Why did you do it, Johnny? Why did you let Paul see you? Wouldn't it be safer to just avoid him and his brother until they go back home?”

 

“They know more than they're saying,” Johnny said, and I nodded.

 

“We still don't know the whole reason they're here,” I said. “We thought maybe if I were friends with Paul, he might open up to me. But so far, he only wants me for my blood.”

 

My mother gasped.

 

“Not that way,” I quickly amended, and then explained Johnny's theory about the Scottish cousins wanting to obtain a stronger bloodline through marriage.

 

“But I changed my mind,” Johnny said. “Maybe I'll just ask them myself.”

 

“No!” My mother and I both echoed.

 

“Not yet,” I added. “Let me talk to Paul one more time.”

 

I could see that Johnny did not like that idea. Just then, my stepfather Kenny bustled through the back door. He didn't look surprised to see Johnny sitting at our kitchen table.

 

“What the hell, Johnny? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he asked. “I was just over at Robert's and I caught the tail end of Paul's phone call to the house and you.”

 

Johnny's eyes gleamed. “It's not me you should be worrying about,” he said softly.

 

Kenny pulled out a chair and sat down next to Johnny. “They're hunters,” he said. “They've been doing this a lot longer than we have. I was talking with Michael before Paul came in. They remember a lot more of the old rituals than we do, too. The blood offering. My uncle learned about it from their maternal great-grandfather. They know more of the old language, too.”

 

Johnny and I both started at that. I hadn't realized. “Do you think that means there are other vampires still alive in Scotland?” I asked. Johnny didn't say anything.

 

Kenny shook his head. “They all say no. Our ancestors came to this country to forget, but theirs made it a point to remember. Uncle Robert said he never found any evidence of vampires the whole time he lived there. They don't want to talk to me about it. They only came here to make sure our branch of the family wasn't getting any stronger, and to make sure our vampire was truly gone.”

 

Our vampire chuckled ominously. “And to strengthen their own bloodline,” he added.

 

Kenny glanced at me. “I didn't know Paul was interested in you,” he said. “Do you like him?”

 

Johnny snarled.

 

My mother rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you can be so---male,” she said to Kenny. “How could you not notice Paul was over here all the time? Didn't you notice he took Crystal out on dates?” Johnny's face grew stormier and stormier. “Crystal was just being nice to him. He's not a bad young man.” She finally caught Johnny's expression. “But Crystal loves Johnny, not Paul.”

 

“I can't believe you're acting like some jealous boyfriend when it's your life that's in danger,” Kenny said. “Aren't you too old for that stuff? Johnny, you're not just putting yourself in danger. We're in this with you. None of us want to see you get killed for real.”

 

Johnny sighed, and stood up. “I get it. Don't kill the Scottish cousins. Don't get too close to them. I'm not letting Crystal go on any more dates with that Paul.” He sneered the word `dates.' “They better leave soon.”

 

He left, to go off hunting on his own, much to my disappointment. I was hungry, too. Johnny hadn't exactly said I couldn't talk to Paul; he just didn't want me going out on dates with him anymore. I picked up the phone and brought it to my room. “Paul? It's Crystal.”

 

We talked for almost an hour. I flat out told Paul I wasn't interested in him romantically. He made a few disparaging remarks about Don, especially about his being immature compared to Paul, but after I didn't respond, he finally let the subject drop. “Why are you and Michael really here?” I asked him abruptly.

 

On the other end of the phone, I could hear him breathing. “Besides wanting to meet you?” He tried to be flippant, but it came out strained and a little bitter. “I don't know, to get reacquainted with our father, to see if . . .” His voice died out.

 

“To see what?” I prompted.

 

“It isn't important,” Paul said. “Crystal, I truly do like you. I won't push you right now, but when you get tired of your little boyfriend, and you will, please remember me.”

 

“I won't get tired of him,” I told Paul. “I love him. Sometimes I think I've loved him for longer than I've been alive, if that makes sense.”

 

“You're young yet,” Paul replied. “And don't underestimate the attraction of family. You will come back to me, Crystal.”

 

I shivered. His words had the edge of prophecy to them, and a shadow of my earlier vision. “Good-night, Paul,” I said firmly. “Good-bye.”

 

“Will I see you again?” he asked, but I didn't answer. I pushed the end button, and threw the phone down on my bed.

 

Suddenly I felt arms around me. There was only one person it could be. “Johnny,” I breathed, leaning back against his chest. I felt tired, drained. “Are you mad at me?”

 

I felt his chest shake as he laughed quietly. “No,” he said. “I couldn't have told him better myself.” He turned me in his arms and kissed me. I tasted blood on his lips.

 

“Stay with me?” I asked. He should go back under the water. He had stayed too long already, but I needed him tonight. I had just broken up with my not-boyfriend, and even though it shouldn't hurt, it did.

 

Johnny nodded, and drew me down to the bed.