God, but her little hiccups as she talked about her dog nearly fucking broke me. Made me want to plead with her to stop, for I didn’t know how much more I could have taken. My brother included, because one look at his face and I knew it mirrored my own. But we let her continue on, regardless. Because it was our duty to take it. To ease her pain and take the memories of rejection and hurt away. To replace them by the love we so desperately wanted to give her.
She was ours to mend.
Her heart, fractured pieces we wanted to heal. And I swear that if it took me ten fucking lifetimes, then I would spend them doing just that. We would make her feel so loved that she forgot what it was ever like not to be.
And we didn’t give a shit about announcing it to the world either. Which was why we had broken a rule. We had taken her out in the daylight hours, something made vastly easier thanks to the cloudy day. We hadn’t even needed sunglasses. With one look up to the sky to see there was no chance of direct sunlight to irate our eyes or our skin, we had decided to take her to the park.
But it wasn’t just the chance of sunlight that would have normally held us back. It was letting our enemies know it couldbe done. Of course, we weren’t the only vampires that did this, but we were of the few who could do it without magical means. And the less our enemies knew, the better.
Now as for the nights, these were ours to rule over.
“Oh no, we look like the last people to arrive,” she said the moment we stepped from the limo to find no one else on the red carpet that led to the iconic Plaza hotel. Known as the castle in the heart of New York, the Plaza was a landmark in the city, and had been since the beginning of the 1900’s. Situated on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, it was prime real estate and had hosted some of the most prestigious parties the city had to offer.
It was a building immersed in French Renaissance charm, with its rich heritage keeping up that elegant standing for those that could afford to stay here.
When she saw the white brick building with its grand entrance, she started to look panicked.
“Don’t fret and try to smile, sweetheart, after all, we don’t want the world thinking we kidnapped you,” I said with a wink, tucking her arm in mine as my brother did the same. This at the same time as the cameras started flashing as we knew they would. The press went crazy at our appearance, and the gossip column would have its fill after tonight.
And to give Vanessa her credit, she composed herself well, smiling graciously as the reporters called out to her, asking for her name, and questioning if she was our date. She never spoke a word, just put on a brave smile for them all. The way she gripped our arms tighter as if we were her shields against it all gave me a sense of pride. I even heard my brother lean down and praise,
“You’re doing great, not much further now.”
She swallowed hard and nodded, her smile never slipping as we made it the rest of the way to the doors.
“Well done, baby,” I told her when she released a big sigh and admitted,
“I don’t think I took a single breath.”
As we stepped inside the building she gasped, thoughts of the intrusive reporters a thing of the past.
“Wow, this place… it’s amazing.”
I glanced around the lobby and saw it with fresh eyes as she did now. What with its gold crown moldings, white paneled walls and beautiful mosaic floor, I questioned if there were many times she had seen a place like this. From the looks of it, I guessed not.
I was now captivated with her big eyes, as the blue and green flecks danced under the crystal chandelier. A large display of flowers at the center added a pleasant aroma to the room, but not one powerful enough to mask the delicious scent of her.
But if she thought this was elegant, then I couldn’t wait to see what she would think of the Plaza’s fabled Grand Ballroom. One that had been the location for numerous extravagant events. This including Truman Capote’s famous 1966 ‘Black and White Ball’. An event we attended all that time ago as it was to honor Washington Post publisher, Kay Graham. The hotel still quotes to this day that Capote said that he chose The Plaza ‘because it has the only beautiful ballroom left in New York.’ And in many ways, he wasn’t wrong.
But for quite some time now, I had grown tired of the stuffy social events my brother still had no choice but to attend, seeing as he was the face of the family. And as for me, I had been more than happy to let him.
“I don’t suppose any of you have my phone, do you? I would love to take a picture and send it to Stacey, she would freakin’ love this place!” she said excitedly, making us both tense next to her. Because of course my brother had informed me what had nearly happened to her friend. Meaning that it had beena good job Andras had been there. Good job he had taken to stalking her. The kidnappers had gotten close enough to break into the apartment and attack her before Andras had taken care of the situation. Of course, none survived, as his rage had been uncontrollable the moment he saw the attack on his Fated. Something confirmed when my brother had accused at the time,
“And you didn’t think to leave any alive to interrogate?”
“She’s my fated. So, no,” was Andras’s reply. Something my brother had to concede, replying with a short,
“Fair enough.”
This had all been said on a phone call with him, once we knew our own Fated was in the shower and out of hearing distance. As we didn’t think telling her would do any good. Not yet anyway, as it would only worry her more.
So, we had instead agreed to Stacey being taken to a safehouse, where Andras refused to leave her side. He had also refused to rid her memories of it, as he stated that it was a line he would no longer cross. His words spoke volumes, considering I had been convinced the brutal asshole had no heart.
Clearly, we were wrong.
Because it had started beating for the first time for his little gothic Fated. As for Stacey, she had been hit a few times, received a busted lip and a black eye, but other than that, it could have been much worse. As for the ones stupid enough to try and use her as leverage of some kind, they were in pieces and the apartment in need of a clean-up crew.
Not surprising seeing as Andras was a different breed to us.
