“How long do you plan to read?”
“As long as I want, Vincent.” I mumbled, not drawing my eyes away from the book and I could feel his intense staring across the table. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Damn, now I kinda wish I never showed you this place and no, we have somewhere to be, remember?”
“Don’t be too surprised if I moved in here.”
“Let’s hope you don’t take it that far.” His words dripped in sarcasm, his blue eyes gleaming at the thought and I simply rolled my eyes before returning my gaze back on my book. It’s already been three days and I’ve done nothing but visit the library often, more than I should to be honest, but I couldn’t help myself. Books were my daily dose of happiness.
“Adriana, come on now, we have to go or else we’ll be late.”
“God, can’t I just stay? Swimming is one thing but a beach party? No, I’ll pass.”
“Not like you have a choice anyways, Draven’s going to drag you, one way or another, you know that right?” I groaned and looked at Vincent as he placed his lower arms on the table with a grin. I sighed in annoyance and decided to keep reading.
“Speaking of Draven, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?”
“About Lianna and him…” I started and I watched Vincent bite his bottom lip hesitantly before leaning against the chair while shaking his head, clearly not liking where this conversation was going but I didn’t care. “Were they like, I don’t know…happy together?”
“I am not supposed to talk about it.”
“Come on, just tell me? I promise I won’t say anything.”
“No, if Draven wanted to tell you, he would’ve have done so himself and I am in no position to-god, no.” Vincent muttered at the end when I stood up and walked up to him, sitting right next to him.
“I want to know, Vincent, it’s bothering me.”
“Well I can’t, alright? It’s his private matters and I can’t disrespect that.”
“It’s not even like that, Vincent.” I whined and groaned when he shook his head and turned away, resting his head on the table, extending one of his hands in the process. “Come on, just tell me?”
“Why do you have to nag so much?” I huffed at his words and went silent for a while.
“It didn’t seem like he was happy with her. I could mention her name and he’d get mad-”
“Adriana, he was in love with her. They were in love, alright?” Vincent looked up and it didn’t even take seconds for my heart to drop all the way to my stomach. “Draven wasn’t Draven when he was with her. He was different, kinder, caring and didn’t even have temper issues back then, and that’s saying a lot. He never lashed out or hurt anyone unless he had to.” The lump on my throat tightened as he kept going on. “He was just…different.” Vincent finished with a sigh and for the next few seconds, I just sat in silence, my mind slowly accepting the reality. He was in love with her. He was different around her. He was a better person when he was with her. So why does he act the complete opposite around me? How does he see me? Why hasn’t he shown his good side to me? The answer to my questions were all too simple, no matter how I add them up. He wasn’t in love with me. He didn’t and probably can never love me the same way he loved her. I wasn’t her and I could never be her. And I don’t expect to be loved the same way he loved her. I can understand that, but nevertheless, it hurts. To finally accept the fact that he doesn’t see me that way and will most likely never see me the same way he saw Lianna. I was different. I wasn’t better, just different. He could never love me and it’s not like I expected him to, right? Did I? Was I expecting something more? Was I the only one who was expecting more?
“Adriana!” Vincent raised his voice and I gasped before looking at him as he stopped waving his hands across my face. “Damn, I’ve been calling you for a while now, you alright?”
“Ye-yeah, hey, let’s go. We’ll be late.”
“I thought you didn’t want to go?” I shrugged off his question and practically marched out of the library, leaving the book I was reading on the table, something I thought I’d never do in a million years.
x-x
We arrived at the beach party that evening and I was more than glad that Draven hadn’t tagged along with us. Apparently, he had something to take care off and would join us later, thank god for that. I shivered as I stepped out of the van, a cold breeze brushing against my exposed skin and I couldn’t help but regret the fact that I was only wearing a white sports bra with a long flowing turquoise skirt. But then again, this was a beach party and what else was I supposed to wear?
“Fuck off before I rip your eyes out, mate.” I heard Raymond hiss at some passing males who were staring at me before. They exchanged glances and only left, not really wanting to go up against Vampires. Nobody did and there was not a single person in town who couldn’t recognize the Ardelean brothers. Guess that had its perks. The party started seconds after we arrived and everyone was now throwing and hurling beer cups everywhere as the music blasted through some speakers, almost making my ears bleed. This was getting too wild already.
“Be careful, alright?” Vincent mumbled, tangling an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to him.
“I’ll be fine, thanks.”
“I know, just saying.” He suddenly leaned to kiss the side of my forehead and I was a little taken back by his gesture but decided to brush it off. I watched him leave into the crowd and get immediately surrounded by some hot girls as they pulled him into a dance, twerking and shaking god knows whatnots.
“You know you’re missing out on all the fun, right?” Ferra said out loud as I passed her by and I let out a sigh. “The whole point of this whole experience is to enjoy while it lasts…for you, of course.” she showed off her pearly white teeth and I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Why not join us?” Jason was already dancing behind Ferra as she swayed her hips and I shook my head but then started to have second thoughts. Enjoy while it lasts, hunh? Of course that was true. What else was going to happen? A vampire was going to start having feelings for me? And of all the vampires, Draven Cruz was? What the hell was I even thinking…?
“Screw it.” I muttered and pushed my way right into the crowd before dancing to the music myself. And for once, it felt amazing. To dance and enjoy myself without getting drunk. I was in my right mind and I was…enjoying myself. After dancing for more than 15 minutes straight, I squeezed myself through the crowd and made my way to the table of drinks, grabbing a coke and gulping it down. I scanned around my surroundings and my eyes landed on none other than the infamous asshole, who was now walking towards the beach, wearing a black leathered jacket with a white plain shirt under it. I watched him come to a stop halfway and swiftly slip off his jackets and shirt, then his pants to reveal a knee length short. I had to rip my eyes away from his toned arms and muscles, my heart slightly skipping a beat at the sight. Seeing that he was now scanning around the place, I quickly averted my gaze, turning around and taking a deep breath, trying to calm down my nerves. Just as I took a step forward, my nose bumped against something hard and I looked up to face Draven, who was now narrowing his eyes at me, swiftly scanning me from head to toe as I let out a sigh.
“What’s with the outfit?” Of course the first thing he’d do is get upset with me. After all, I wasn’t Lianna, right? No, no, he wasn’t so kind and caring around me.
“What about it?”
“You’re barely wearing anything.” He mumbled and I simply rolled my eyes ignorantly, grabbing another drink.
“And?”
“And, I don’t like it.” Draven took a step forward and grabbed my cup away before I could take a sip and I let out a huff in frustration.
“This is no better than what everyone else is wearing, Draven. Stop trying to find reasons to argue with me and leave me alone,” I raised my voice and my eyes caught on some girls who were now taking pictures of Draven, making my blood boil even more. “Now if you’ll excuse me, people are waiting for me.” I lied before he could even speak and was about to walk past him when he grabbed my arm.
“You’re not going anywhere wearing that. Wait here, I’ll bring my jacket.” And with that, he left but I didn’t even waste a second to bolt towards the crowd again. It was already starting to get dark and I made my way towards Vincent and a bunch of girls, who were now surrounding him as he simply danced to the music as well. His eyes immediately caught mine and I watched him smile a little before mumbling something between the lines, “sorry, but I have to go.” to the girls. I heard them groan and whine as he walked up to me and I couldn’t help but blush a little. I know for a fact that Vincent would choose me over anyone in a heartbeat and to be honest, that’s the type of guy I wanted in my life.
“Can we dance?” I asked and watched his eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
“Really? Adriana Reed wants to dance? Shocking.” He teased and I rolled my eyes with a chuckle before wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. His body was now pressed against mine and I took in his warmth as we moved slowly, even though it was a pop music that was now playing on. I didn’t care and I’m guessing he didn’t either. Before long, I was just hugging him, my face burying in the crook of his neck as I breathed in his cologne and I could feel his body get more tensed at my reaction.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I lied and gasped when someone gripped my wrist before I was practically ripped away from Vincent. I spun around to look up at Draven, who was now glaring at Vincent, causing goosebumps to rise all over my body. His jawlines were locked, his eyes flickering in anger and I attempted to brush away his hand but he only tightened the grip.
“We’re leaving.” He turned around along with me and I was about to say something when Vincent spoke.
“Draven-”
“Brother or not, I’m warning you. Don’t screw around with her.” Draven suddenly spun around, taking a step forward towards Vincent and my heart raced at the sight.
“I wasn’t screwing around.” Vincent’s voice turned all serious and I watched Draven’s hands ball into a fist, causing me to panic. Why was he getting so mad anyways?
“Draven, let’s go,” I held his upper arm, tugging it but he didn’t even budge, instead he just glared at Vincent, his eye growing a shade darker but Vincent stood his ground, his eyes showing nothing more than sincerity and loyalty. “Draven, please, I want to talk.” I mumbled softly, squeezing his arms slightly and I caught him glance down at me before turning around and dragging me along with him. I could only glance back at Vincent, who was now giving me a small smile as he shook his head, a sign that he was alright.
“What’s your problem, Draven?” I raised my voice, jerking my hand away and stumbling back to bump against the table of drinks.
“What’s my problem? What’s your problem?!” he shot back, bolting towards me and placing his hands on either side of my waist on the table, making sure that I had no chance of running away. Ha, fat chance.
“I wasn’t the one who got mad over nothing now was I? Is it fun to get mad with me for no reason, is that it?”
“And I wasn’t the one fucking around with someone else the moment you turn your back on me for only a split second.” he cocked his head to a side and my jaws dropped open at his words.
“What is your problem, Draven?!” I couldn’t find anything better to say. I was just shocked and confused as to why he would exaggerate the situation this much.
“You, you are my problem, doll face!” His tone only got colder and I watched his eyes grow a shade darker. “I’m trying to make us work, Adriana. I’m trying to make things work with you.”
“Make things work-there is nothing to work out between us, Draven.” I folded my hands across my chest and frowned at him in both confusion and annoyance.
“Stop-just-” Draven huffed in frustration before covering his face with his hands and letting out a sigh in exasperation. I was about to say something else too but stopped when I heard a few girls groan and my eyes snapped towards the crowd. I noticed Edward, Raymond, Finn and Alaric digging their fangs into some girl’s neck, sucking them hungrily and I could feel my eyes widening at the sight. They were doing it in public? Why? It was already getting dark, we were supposed to go home.
“Draven, what are they doing?” I asked softly, my eyes not leaving the girls as I watched the painful expression grow on their faces as they just stood still, letting them do as they please.
“Feeding,” Draven murmured shortly, standing up straight and glancing at the crowd as well. I noticed that almost all the Ardelean brothers were now feeding off of someone, let it be a girl or boy, they didn’t care. “They must be drunk.” Draven sighed and my eyes widened when I noticed how the people just stayed still as they were preyed on.
“Ca-can you stop them?”
“No, we were talking-”
“Please, I-I don’t like it.” I started to stumble on my words and I know that this isn’t the first time I’ve seen them feeding, but it was a lot more ruthless and I knew that weren’t holding back like they did before. They didn’t even hesitate to dig their fangs inside anyone’s neck and for the first time, it felt like they were feeding to kill.
“Doll face, look at me when I’m talking to you,” I felt hands grip my cheeks and turn to meet piercing blue eyes. “It’s not nice to ignore someone who’s standing right in front of you.”
“Can you tell them to stop? Why isn’t anyone running away?”
“They are all compelled, alright? Now can we talk about it and-”
“How can they just do that?! Tell them to stop, it’s not right!” I gripped both his hands that were still resting on the table and I heard in huff in frustration before standing up straight.
“It’s none of my business. I can’t stop them from feeding, it’s already dark and plus, the people came here on their own free will. Nobody forced them to be here.”
“You know that it’s still not right, they wouldn’t have wanted this. And even if they did, it’s still not right.” I argued and I watched Finn suck on some random guy’s wrists, blood oozing out of his hands as the painful expression on his face was now making it hard for me to even keep staring.
“How sad, nothing I can do though, so let it go.”
“But-”
“I said let it go, Doll face.” I took a deep breath and bit my bottom lip hesitantly before looking at him with slightly teary eyes, causing him to flinch a little.
“No, don’t do that, don’t put on that face.” He groaned and I kept silent, my eyes only growing wider at his words and he let out another groan before resting back his hands on either side of my waist on the table. “What do you want me to even do, Adriana?”
“I don’t know? Ask them to stop?”
“We can leave somewhere else until it’s over. Maybe grab something to eat and-”
“No, I want you to stop them, alright? They’ve had enough to drink and enough slaves or blood bags or whatever back at home so just please, tell them to stop.” I begged and I watched him give me a long look before sighing.
“Fine, what’s in it for me though?”
“Nothing.” I held in a breath as he closed his face to mine.
“Too bad for the people then.” He whispered, his eyes not leaving mine and I frowned at him before biting my lip angrily. Seriously, this guy is all about give and take isn’t he?
“That’s not fair!” I said softly yet harshly and my breath hitched when he leaned in even closer, his lips brushing against mine, causing shivers down my spine.
“Life’s not fair, doll face.” He mumbled, his eyes flickering onto my lips and my eyebrows tightened at his words.
“Draven, please-”
“I already said no, I ain’t changing my mind, Adriana.”
“Please, it would really mean a lot to me if you do.” I closed my eyes at the sound of another painful scream that was now barely audible due to the music. I found myself reaching up to rest my palm on the side of his cheeks and I noticed him slightly flinch at my touch, making my heart skip a beat as well.
“Come on, Adriana, can you just let it-”
“Please.” I mumbled out for the last time and Draven stopped to look at me, his eyes not leaving mine for even a second and I watched them soften slightly.
“Damn, alright.” He leaned back, standing up straight and my heart raced at his words. “But stay here and don’t move till I come back.” He warned and I nodded, watching him leave into the crowd. I smiled a little and mentally gave myself a pat in the back for not giving in until I got what I wanted. I guess Draven decided to let it go this time too or else it wouldn’t have been this easy. I turned to grab a drink and was about to take a sip when my eyes caught on someone literally getting dragged through the beach, only a few distances away from where I was standing, causing my heart to drop. Wait, what’s going on?
“Hey…” I choked out, my breath suddenly hitching when I noticed the figure who was getting dragged, her arms and legs throwing up everywhere as her kidnapper roughly jerked her to a side. There was no doubt, it was Ferra, and I squinted my eyes to see who was dragging her but it was too dark now and the shadow hid his face too well at this distance.
“Help!” I heard a faint sound of her voice and my eyes widened as I took a step forward, ready to start running but I couldn’t move. My feet refused to move. I was scared and shocked, it all happened too fast and I am still trying to figure out if this was real or not.
“Somebody help, get off me!” I could barely hear her faint screaming and without warning, I screamed for help too, darting my eyes at the crowd of people but they were too busy to hear me out, some of them still drinking and drunk dancing while the rest were being fed on by the vampires. I could feel my stomach tie itself to a knot before I finally made a decision, realizing that there was no time to lose.
I ran to help her.
xxx
