12. Twelve
Twelve
A s far as Erin is concerned, I took a bit of a turn last night. She still thinks my problem is a stomach ulcer. As you can imagine, it utterly ruined the mood. I sent Erin home with a quick peck on the cheek and a promise to see my doctor.
My mood has never been lower than it is right now. I feel like I can’t do right for doing wrong. I get close to her, and it hurts, which in turn hurts her, or at least scares her. The look on her face as she tried to soothe me last night was unforgettable, and not in a good way.
Barging through my parents’ front door, I bark for the doctor. I know he’s still here. There is a flurry of movement, and sure enough, my family comes running. The urge to roll my eyes at them all is overwhelming. Why are my siblings still here? They all have lives to lead. Their presence isn’t solving anything.
“Amelia, what’s wrong?” My mother asks in her usual panicked state .
“Where is Dr. Mendhi?” There will be time for conversation later.
A door opens behind me and the doctor hurries over. “Amelia?”
“This isn’t good enough,” I bark. “There has to be some way to help stave off these infernal side effects. I can’t go half an hour without pain when Erin is with me, and it is seriously dampening the mood. How the hell can I woo her when she thinks I’m going to fucking keel over?” My voice is loud and commanding. I get that from my father.
The entire family is silent, and Dr. Mendhi is squirming. “There may be something,” he says reluctantly. I want to spit fire. Has he been holding back on me? If so, I am about to lose what’s left of my composure.
“What do you mean? Spit it out, man!” my father barks.
Dr. Mendhi’s eyes are darting from person to person. I have never seen someone look so uncomfortable. “Well?” I demand.
“Amelia,” he begins, but I cut him off. Advancing, I tower over the man.
“Speak, Doctor,” I growl.
“There is an experimental serum,” he chokes. “It’s possible it could help you with the side effects.”
“Why the hell haven’t you said anything before now?” Lucille hisses.
“Because it’s not exactly sanctioned.” Doctor Mendhi is visibly shaking now. Not surprising considering he has ten very pissed off Lochs looming over him.
“Illegal experiments?” my mother asks.
The doctor simply nods his head. Under normal circumstances, the Loch family wouldn’t be caught anywhere near something illegal, but as I look at my parents doing that wordless conversation thing, I know the lines are about to be stepped over.
My father steps forward. “I don’t care what you have to do, Dr. Mendhi, you look after my daughter. Is the serum safe?”
“So far, there have been no serious issues.”
“And what is the serum for exactly?” Jacob asks.
“We’ve been working on a cure for the fallen. To stop the madness.”
“A cure?” Mother repeats.
“Yes. However, the elders refused to grant us permission to carry out the experiments needed.”
“What experiments?” Aliah asks.
“Experiments on the fallen. Live participants.”
Once again, silence falls. We all know what he means. Somewhere out there is a lab with crazed vampires having God knows what done to them. “How can this serum help Amelia?” Marcus has stepped forward, his shoulder leaning into mine. It’s a show of support.
“So far the serum can’t stop the change, however, we have seen vast improvements in the vampires injected. I believe the serum is powerful enough to stop Amelia’s side effects temporarily.”
“A bit like an insulin injection?” Maria asks.
“Yes, similar. Amelia would need to have the serum several times a day.”
“Well, what the hell are we waiting for?” My mother demands.
“Doctor, do what you must. We want Amelia to have the serum by tomorrow.”
He doesn’t protest, he just leaves. Turning from the doctor, I face my family. They are all observing me carefully. All except Lucille, who is grinning at me. I scowl at her, and she laughs because she’s a bitch. “Why are you staring daggers at Luce? What’s she done this time?” Jacob asks.
“No reason,” I reply coolly. From the lack of questions, I gather Lucille has not told the rest of the family about my date. But with the look she’s giving me now, I know it’s about to come to light. God, she is—
“How’d the date go?” Smug doesn’t cover how Lucille looks.
“Date?” mother gasps.
“You went on a date? With Erin?” Laurence clarifies.
“Yes, I did.” The collective cheers are enough to make me scream. I understand their elation, but they have no idea how far from perfect it was, or how screwed I still am.
“Stop yelling,” I shout. “It was a disaster, so you can calm down on the celebrations.”
“How the hell did you fuck it up?” Lucille sighs.
“I had an episode in the middle of dinner.”
“I bet that was attractive,” Lucille deadpans. I have to smirk. She’s not wrong.
“Oh yes, totally turned Erin on,” I chuckle.
“Explain what happened, love,” my father says, pulling me into a side hug.
“What’s there to say? I was near her, she mentioned leaving and the next thing I know I’m nearly doubled over in pain. Again.”
“What did Erin do?” Marcus asks.
My cheeks heat. Why am I embarrassed to tell them what Erin did? Maybe because it felt so intimate, I don’t want anyone else to know.
“She comforted you, didn’t she?” Jacob supplies .
“Yes, she did, and the pain vanished.”
“Oh, Amelia,” my mother coos. “It’s going to be okay. I know it.” I wish I had her faith. I really do. “When will you see her again?”
“She’s working tonight, but then has two days off. I presume she will see Mack.” My heart aches knowing that Erin is still spending time with Mack. “We didn’t set a second date. Erin was too worried about me.” Another punch to the love muscle.
“Then phone or message her. Why are you fucking about?” Ah, Lucille is such a wordsmith.
“She’s not wrong,” Aliah adds.
I can’t believe I’m going to say this. “You know, for once, I agree.”
Lucille gives a mock gasp, making everyone chuckle and me roll my eyes. I need to do something now, if I’m ever going to get Erin to look past my health issues. Sending her a message asking if I can have an hour of her time tomorrow puts me back in the running, especially when I get an instant reply saying she would love to see me.
“Done,” I grin.
“Let’s eat,” my mother shouts. It’s ten-thirty, but that doesn’t matter. If Victoria Loch tells you it’s time to eat, you eat.
Date two has to go better than the first date. Dr. Mendhi moved heaven and earth to procure me a month’s worth of serum in under twenty-four hours, which makes me believe he is at the center of those experiments.
My moral and ethical compass will have to take a back seat for the time being. My body needs a respite from pain. I’ll donate a bunch of money to a charity as soon as I can. Hopefully that will help balance the scales.
Dr. Mendhi was clear that I have to take the serum regularly. My body will become reliant, which I’m not happy about, but what else can I do? He was clear that missing doses would be a bad idea. I did not ask for the specifics. I’m intelligent enough to know it would likely cause either a significant amount of pain, or worse. The injection site has to be my ass for some reason. Guess who volunteered to jab a needle into me?
“Stay still,” Lucille growls.
“I am,” I reply just as testily.
Lucille gives my ass two sharp slaps. “Just prepping the area,” she says.
“You’re an asshole.”
“An asshole with a giant needle.”
Gritting my teeth, I wait for the sharp sting, but it doesn’t come. “Done,” Lucille announces.
“I didn’t even feel it.”
“Why do you sound disappointed? Do you want me to really stab you next time?”
“Obviously not.” Pulling up my jeans, I turn to Lucille. “Thanks,” I mutter. She nods and packs away the serum.
“Have you decided where you’re taking Erin?”
“Up the coast on my bike. ”
“Excellent choice, sister. Beautiful views and you in tight leather. Well played.”
“I try.”
The weather is perfect for a cruise on the bike. I didn’t tell Erin what I planned, so I hope she is pleasantly surprised. Her apartment is twenty minutes away, which gives me plenty of time to settle into the ride.
As I pull up, I see Erin step out of her building. She’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt, which is fine. I’ve brought my spare leather jacket and helmet with me. I can’t read her expression. It’s a mix of excitement and apprehension.
The door to her building opens moments later and out steps Mack. Given the hour of the day, I can only conclude she spent the night. Now, this is usually the time I start to feel a little unwell. Seems that Dr. Mendhi’s illegal vampire juice is doing its job. I barely feel any discomfort.
Mack eyes me with a smirk. Leaning in, she whispers something in Erin’s ear and then kisses her deeply. I’m still sitting on my bike. Kicking the stand down, I make a spectacle of de-straddling the seat. Mack might have taken Erin’s breath away momentarily, but her eyes are firmly on me. I remove my helmet and run my hand through my hair. That move never fails.
Plastering a smile on my face, I step toward Erin and Mack. “Good morning. Isn’t it a beautiful day?”
“Amelia,” Mack answers flatly. I take it she’s no longer pretending to like me. That’s fine.
“Hey, hi, sorry. I thought I had a few more minutes.” Erin is flustered. She’s looking between me and Mack .
“No worries at all. I’m a little early. The traffic wasn’t as bad as I thought.”
“It’s fine, so, um, yeah, okay, I’ll see you soon, Mack.” Mack eyes me a second longer before leaning in for another kiss. I chuckle silently. I have to give it to the woman. She’s a fighter.
Erin looks utterly uncomfortable. Her eyes keep straying to me as Mack continues the kiss. Finally, after a ridiculous amount of time, Mack pulls back. “See you later, babe.”
Erin and I watch her leave. Mack peers over her shoulder and I offer her a little wave. “So, are you ready to go?”
“We’re going on your bike?”
“If you’re okay with that. You said you’ve always wanted to try it.”
“God, yes, I can’t wait.”
Pleased we aren’t dissecting the show that I was just subjected to, we head to the bike. I help Erin with the jacket and helmet. When she slides behind me and grips my waist, I have to admit it turns me on instantaneously. I think I need some alone time with my vibrator this evening. There is only so much sexual frustration a vampire can take.
Nothing beats a ride, but with Erin on the back, it’s perfect. She is a natural, leaning when I lean, shifting her weight when necessary. After an hour, I pull off. There is a beach I love that is usually quiet.
“It’s beautiful here,” Erin says.
“It’s one of my favorite places.”
“I can see why.”
We fall silent, but it’s comfortable. Both of us are taking in the sun, smelling the sea air .
“I’m sorry about Mack,” Erin sighs.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You guys are dating.”
“Yeah, but that was a bit much this morning.”
“Taking a wild guess, Mack isn’t totally happy you’re dating me too, right?”
“She said she was fine with it. But, no, after that display, I think she’s finding it hard.”
“Do you want me to back off?”
“No!”
I grin at how fast she answers. “Are you sure? I don’t want to cause you hassle, Erin.”
“I like Mack, but I like you too. I’ve been honest about that. I’ll talk to her.”
“Don’t do that on my account. Really, it doesn’t bother me.”
“It bothers me.”
Time for a little honesty. “I am kind of jealous she gets to kiss you, though.” Erin turns away from the ocean to look at me.
“I never said you couldn’t kiss me, Amelia.”
Bingo! Turning to face her. I take a small step forward. Her chest is rising fast, and I know she’s excited. Hell, I’m excited. I can’t explain what my body is feeling.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, I let my fingers glide down her jaw, stopping at her chin. Lifting her head slightly, I slowly draw in. I want her to remember this. I want her to see the want in my eyes as we share our first kiss. I want her to feel the raw power of us.