• Chapter V: part 4


    WE HAD just left the city boundaries when I turned to Vincent and asked, “So, when are we coming back?”

    Vincent’s lips twisted in thought, and he replied casually, “Tomorrow I guess.” I frowned and made an irritated noise.

    “I usually go to Mass on Sundays, with my Aunt.”
    I waited a moment for a reply, but when he didn’t say anything, I sighed and leaned against the window. “I don’t have a choice, you know. Trust me. I would much rather train than go to Mass.”

    “It’s fine,” he said tensely. “I’ll just…go with you.”
    I started at the comment.

    “Go with me? You’re Catholic?” I asked surprised. Vincent pursed his lips and gripped the steering wheel tighter. Maybe I’d hit a nerve?

    “My whole family is Catholic. We used to go to Mass every Sunday.”
    My mouth was frozen slightly open in shock. For whatever reason, I always believed that vampires were damned. You know…the whole can’t step on hallow ground sort of thing. To imagine a family of vampires walking into Sunday Mass…it was just ludicrous.

    “You’re probably thinking that it’s pretty crazy, right? How can vampires be Catholic?” He looked over at me slyly. “No one wants to go to hell, Kida.” His expression suddenly went very soft. It was strange to see Vincent that way.

    I averted my gaze away from his, a bit ashamed that I’d taken such an assumption.
    Vincent laughed softly. “You know. Any human has just as much of a chance of going to hell as a vampire does. It’s a common misconception, really. Why should vampires be exempt from going to heaven?”

    I bit my bottom lip. I’d never actually thought about it. After all, I’m half-vampire, and I’d attended Sunday Mass every week since I’d been adopted by the Roberts. To think that just because I was inhuman, I couldn’t be allowed to enter heaven, or even walk into a church, was a very solemn, and very lonely thought.

    “I-I guess you’re right.” I looked over at him timidly and was surprised to see the somber look on his face. Maybe I’d brought up bad memories. He mentioned his family and how they used to go to Mass every Sunday.

    Come to think of it, I don’t remember him ever mentioning his family other than his father and…
    Me.

    Did I go to Mass with them also? It was difficult to picture myself as a part of Vincent’s family. Perhaps it was because my memory was erased. But right as I was about to ask him about it, I held my tongue.

    There was a moment of awkward silence, so I made an attempt at conversation. “How many more times do you think we’ll be going to Chicago?”

    “Not too many more times. You’re catching on pretty quick, and I can’t stay here much longer.” My chest tightened at the reminder that he would be leaving.

    “You can stay as long as you want,” I said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. I turned my head toward the window and winced. I can’t believe I said that out loud.

    My face started getting hot when he didn’t say something immediately. He must have been as taken by surprise by my comment as I was.

    “I,” he began. “I want to leave. Soon,” he said slowly. Almost like he was trying to convince himself.

    I pouted and leaned my head against the window, allowing myself to drift off into a pleasant sleep.



    “OW!” I started as I felt my face poked really hard. My eyes shot open, and I looked over at Vincent with an incriminating glare.

    He shrugged. “You shouldn’t fall asleep so much.”
    “Driving makes me drowsy,” I defended. Vincent rolled his eyes and motioned toward the windshield.

    “We’re here,” he said. I looked over and saw all the cars parked along the street and in the driveway of Julie’s three-story home. Her parents were out for the weekend and granted her permission to throw me a party. There were a lot more people than I’d expected. I moaned and slammed my head against the dashboard.

    “You’re pretty popular,” Vincent said.
    “Not really.”
    “You’re too modest.”

    I looked up at Vincent and smiled wryly. “And you’re not modest enough.” He smirked and got out of the car, and before I could unbuckle my seat-belt, he was already opening my door. I quirked an eyebrow at his sudden chivalry and got out of the car. As I started walking toward Julie’s house, Vincent grabbed my elbow.

    “Hold on,” he said. When I looked over, I noticed the strange expression Vincent was wearing. “I…uh.” He cleared his throat. “I want to give you your gift before we go inside.” My eyebrows shot up with surprise.

    A gift? “You got me a present?”
    Vincent wrinkled his nose and looked over to the side uncomfortably.

    “Yeah, well, I figure since I went ten years without sending so much as a card, I could at least give my little sister a present while I’m here.” He smiled timidly, an emotion I’m not used to seeing Vincent show. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him calling me his younger sister. It just didn’t feel right. But nonetheless, it couldn’t have been easy for Vincent to say that.

    “Thank you,” I whispered.
    He cleared his throat and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small, wooden box, and continued to hand it to me. The box appeared to be antique, and dust covered the lettering on the front. “I guess I could’ve cleaned it,” he said, embarrassed.

    “It’s fine,” I smiled.
    I opened the box, and inside was a silver, crescent moon attached to a small silver chain. My breath caught at the sight of it. With my fingers, I gently held the chain in the palm of my hand, allowing the moon to dangle in front of my face. I could see my reflection in it from the moonlight.

    “It’s…it’s beautiful,” I managed to say. As I held the moon, I could feel indentions on the back side, and when I looked, I saw strange characters engraved into the silver.

    “What’s this?” I asked.
    Vincent looked at the engraving and smiled. “Servo ex periculum.” I looked at him confused. “It means ‘Protect from danger’ in Latin.” My eyebrows raised in surprise as I ran my finger over the engraving.

    “You speak Latin?” I asked curiously.
    Vincent smiled crookedly. “I speak many languages.”

    “How did you learn?”
    Vincent looked at me with a dazed expression, but just as quickly it was gone. “We had a teacher,” he managed to say. “She would come every night to give us lessons. Language was one of them.” He paused and held the moon between his fingers. “You’re mother, Celeste, was that teacher.”

    My heart soared.
    Celeste? My mother? Was Vincent’s teacher?

    Seeing the expression on my face, he continued, “She was a high school teacher in the Real world, so it’s not a big deal that she taught us. And Latin was her native language. It’s how they met, you know. You’re parents.”

    I swallowed, hard, and tried to get a good breath in, but my throat had become so tight that air couldn’t get through. So my mother was Vincent’s teacher. Then a sudden realization hit me. “Wait. So that means that she also taught me.”

    Vincent caught the surprise in my voice and smiled at me sadly. “Yes. She also taught you. Every day.”

    It was strange to think about. My mother, knowing that I was her child, and having to teach me every day. How sad that must have been for her.

    “You were her—” I looked up at Vincent to find him staring solemnly at the ground. “You were her favorite student.”

    I bit my lip. Her favorite student. It made me wonder how much the others knew. Did Vincent know who I was? And if he didn’t then who did he think I was? I was so confused. Then I had to wonder how the Council found out about our parents, but when I saw the look on Vincent’s face, I decided not to ask.

    “Turn around,” Vincent gestured.
    I looked at him puzzled. “Um…okay.”

    My breath caught when I felt Vincent’s cold hand brush against my skin as he reached around my neck, the necklace dangling elegantly in his fingers. I could feel him locking the necklace behind my back, until he said, “Okay. Done.”

    I took a deep breath of air and turned around. He smiled with a hint of reminiscence in his expression, like he was remembering something pleasant, and held the moon in his hand. “It looks good on you.”

    I averted my gaze to the side, hoping that he couldn’t see me blush. “Uh…yeah. Thanks, again.”

    “By the way,” he continued as he let the moon fall onto my chest. “That phrase on the back is actually a ward. It’ll burn anytime something poses you danger.”

    “Wait,” I said holding up my hands, a skeptical look on my face. “This is going to burn me?”

    He chuckled lightly. “Don’t worry. It’s not going to singe your skin or anything. It’ll just get a little hot. Keep it with you, okay?”

    I wanted to say something sarcastic, but Vincent looked so genuinely concerned. It actually made me kind of happy.

    I looked down and smiled subtly. “Thanks.”
    “No problem…now what do you say we go join the party?”

    I smiled as Vincent offered me his arm. It wasn’t a difficult decision to take it. We passed several familiar faces on the way to Julie’s front door.

    “Hey! Happy birthday, Kida!”
    “Thanks!” I yelled, unsure of which classmate shouted at me. Vincent shot me an amused smile as we approached the door, and right before we knocked, one of my female classmates walked out.

    “Oh! Kida! Happy birthday,” she said cheerfully and wrapped her arms around my neck.
    “Thanks,” I said awkwardly.

    “Kida,” I heard a familiar voice say from the side. “You’re finally here?” The girl spared me one more pat on the back and walked out the door to join some other classmates.

    “There are a lot more people here than I thought. Half these people I don’t even talk to,” I said to Julie as she walked over and gave me an excited hug.

    “I know, right!” She looked over at Vincent, and quirked an eyebrow. “Hey, Vincent.” There was more emphasis put into his name than I would’ve liked. I couldn’t help but blush. Vincent nodded in welcome, and Julie looked over at me with a bemused expression. “Did you two come here together,” she asked, pointing at him with her thumb.

    “Yeah,” I said. “So what?”
    She bit her lip and smiled impishly. “Well, then,” she said clapping her hands together. “Let’s go join the party!”

    After Vincent and I exchanged gauche expressions, we followed Julie to a table in one of her family’s dining rooms. Jeff was there waiting for us, and it’s not an understatement when I say that I was happy to see him.

    “Jeff,” I said relieved as he stood up and embraced me in his arms. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

    He held me at arm’s length and looked at me concerned. “Why? Are you okay?”
    I bowed my head and laughed. “I’m fine. Now,” I smiled. I heard Vincent clear his throat from behind, and we both turned to look at him. “Oh,” I said, suddenly embarrassed by the awkward situation. “Jeff, have you met Vincent?”

    Jeff pursed his lips. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced, no.” I watched as Vincent’s mouth slowly turned up into a smile. A very arrogant smile.
    “Nice to meet you,” Vincent said holding out his hand.

    Jeff returned the offer with a bitter smile and shook Vincent’s hand. “Yeah,” but right when their hands touched, Jeff’s eyes widened and he jerked his hand back. “Are you sick or something? You’re hands are freezing!” I looked quickly over at Vincent, forgetting that he was a vampire.

    Oh, no.
    “No. I’ve just always had cold hands,” he said, sparing me a quick derisive glance.

    I pursed my lips annoyed. I’ll definitely scorn him for this later. “Let’s sit down,” I said wearily. Everyone followed my lead and took the empty seats. For a while we all just sat there staring at each other. Vincent had the same arrogant smile, and Jeff resumed eating his nachos.

    “Hold on,” Julie said as she left the table and walked into the kitchen. It was awkward for those few minutes until Julie returned with a chocolate cupcake. She dimed the lights slightly, and her face illuminated from the flame of the candle. I couldn’t help but smile.

    “Alright,” she said as she placed the cupcake in front of me. “I figured this should be just between the few of us!

    I blushed when they all began singing me happy birthday, a few students around the table joining in. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t help but spare some glances at Vincent to see if he was singing, too. Unfortunately he wasn’t even looking in my direction. He was staring distantly off to the side, no doubt wishing he was somewhere other than here.

    Well that wish would be granted soon.
    “Okay,” Julie shouted ardently. “Make a wish and blow out the candles!”

    I bit my bottom lip. Usually on birthdays when I go to blow out the candles, I always pretend that I made a wish, but really, nothing ever came to mind. But for some reason, this time was different.

    I knew exactly what I wanted to wish for. With a deep breath, I blew the candle, just softly enough for the flame to flicker out. Everyone around was clapping. Everyone was cheering. I’m pretty sure someone grabbed my shoulder from behind.

    But the only thing that had my attention—was Vincent.
    He was still staring off to the side, with the same stoic expression. My heart clenched because I knew that my wish would probably never come true.

    If only I’d known at that moment how true my wish would actually become.

    Next Part