Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Gabe’s rough stubble grazed my cheek as he kissed me awake, a familiar warmth spreading through me alongside the gentle pressure of his lips.
I peered at his elated smile while his honey-golden eyes radiated enthusiasm in the gentle morning light.
Leaning on his elbow, his slick hair still perfectly in place, the blanket revealed half of his toned abs.
His usual demeanor was strong and silent, a quiet strength, but I was the only one who could coax out his playful side.
“Happy birthday, handsome.” He smiled at me, and the crinkles in the corner of his eyes deepened. “Officially.”
I pulled his face toward mine, engulfing my lips with his. Here we were, another birthday. I appreciated how he still got excited about these things because I found myself feeling disconnected year after year. Sometimes, I even forgot when his birthday was; he didn’t care, though.
“How old are you now?” He winked at me as a spirited glance danced in his eye.
I raised one eyebrow. “I’m officially twenty-one.”
“Hmm.” He pursed his lips and silently counted his fingers in faux wonderment. “So that makes you…eighty-six years old, right?”
“Asshole.” My fingers tightened around the soft cotton pillow behind my head as I swung my arm, making direct contact with the side of his face. I wasn’t expecting his sass so early in the morning.
“Hey, hey, be careful, old man!”
We both laughed at his stupidity, but he was somewhat right. Following the distribution of my blood, we observed a noticeable slowing of the aging process in those who received the cure compared to those who hadn’t. So technically, I’m twenty-one in vampire years but eighty-six in human.
A serious expression took over my face as I hooked my knees around his waist, mounting him. With my arm outstretched, I clamped down on his neck, pressure building with each tightening squeeze. “Stop with the old man shit.”
“Are you trying to make me horny? Because it’s working.” He licked his lips, and his fangs retracted. “But we don’t have time for shenanigans. You have an appointment with your dad today.”
Oh yes, my yearly scheduled meeting with my father—great.
I yearn for the comfort of our past, the days of togetherness and happiness, filled with sweet shared memories.
Now he’s strictly business. Even in our shared moments, a chilling sense of distance replaces the easy camaraderie we once shared.
He saved the world; he’s a worldwide treasure.
But even though he’s different, the dad I grew up with remains in my memory.
I long for those days, for that normalcy.
Gabe’s lips found mine one last time, a long, passionate kiss that left me breathless. “Hey,” I said after he pulled back. “I have a question for you.”
“Anything.”
“What’s The Carlton?”
A sudden rigidity seized him. He stood frozen, and the air was thick with tension. “How do you know about that?”
I shrugged and slipped out of bed. “I heard two guards talking about it at Louie’s yesterday. They said there’s a rumor people from other Elysiums would be there.”
“Who were they?” Gabe’s voice was a low growl, and his eyebrows furrowed in a deep frown.
“I…I don’t know. I’ve never seen them before.” It had been years since I saw him so taken aback and angry. I knew this must be something I shouldn’t know about. “What’s happening there?”
His eyes searched mine, a silent question hanging in the air as he struggled to find the right words. “It’s a party,” he admitted. “Anything goes at The Carlton. That’s why people like it so much.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“It starts as a club, so the normal debauchery: drinking, drugs, you name it. But then there’s the back rooms…” He paused, his brow furrowing as he considered whether to go on. “It’s all sex stuff, different rooms for different things.”
Saying The Carlton sparked my curiosity would be an understatement.
The idea of going to a club or a sex party sounded intriguing, even though it was something entirely new to me.
Cooped up on this floor, my life became monotonous, so any new experience, no matter how small, was appetizing.
I wouldn’t partake in any activities because I am committed to Gabe, but it would be fun to see it all. “Have you been to The Carlton before?”
“I need to know who those officers are. They aren’t supposed to discuss outside activities while on the job.” His face grew red, and his shoulders tensed. “Don’t ask about it again.”
I jumped in the shower, allowing the hot water and steam to cleanse my body, but my thoughts remained wild. Gabe’s reaction to The Carlton had me even more intrigued. I needed to find a way to sneak out—the idea of feeling alive again was too tempting to ignore.
“Hurry up in there.” Gabe banged on the door. “We can’t keep your dad waiting; he’s a busy guy.”
I rolled my eyes. Yeah, he was busy. Busy enough that I had to schedule time with him, his own son. Whenever I see him, the rules are simple: stand up straight, say what he wants to hear, and try to entertain him. Like I’m a fucking clown. As a reward, he’ll lock me away for another year.
I stepped out of the shower, the heat of the water still on my skin, and roughly dried my black hair before sweeping it to the side.
Wiping away the misty film on the mirror, I patted a tinted moisturizer over my cheekbones and forehead, and the cool metal of a cologne roller glided under my sharp jaw.
Adding a light pink balm to my thin lips, I smiled at my reflection, but my eyes immediately went to my fangless mouth.
Not having them set me apart from the other vampires. It was like a sick joke.
I slipped into a cream-colored turtleneck, tucking it into gray plaid pants. Fixing the sweater around my neck, my gray eyes flickered as I grazed my sharp chin. “I’m ready.”
We exited my penthouse, and the sleek chrome of the elevator doors remained closed before Gabe swiped his key card.
I wish I could have one—to be able to go anywhere in Elysium by myself.
Stepping into the cold, metallic box, his finger brushed a glowing button, and the elevator shuddered to life, carrying us to our destination.
You’d think annoying elevator music wouldn’t be a thing after an apocalypse, right?
My thoughts are permeated by the lilting music coming through the speakers built into the corner of the box.
I hated going to my father’s office—The Room of Empty Promises, I called it.
Despite my love for my father, I knew his pronouncements were often designed to please me, regardless of their truth.
Typical parent, right?
Once pressed, the elevator buttons glowed an eerie white, casting a dim light in the otherwise dark space.
The mirrored walls reflected my face as I shaped my lips into a smile, a bitter, rehearsed expression for the vows my father would soon break.
Despite the legends, a funny thing about vampires is that our reflections are perfectly clear.
The whole farce was nothing more than fiction.
Gabe’s gaze lingered on the noticeable bulge from my pants before quickly looking away when he realized I caught him. A smirk crossed my lips. “I was going for a hot teacher vibe with my outfit.”
“Then call me your student.” He shook his head, trying to recalibrate his thoughts. “I have to stay focused.” He straightened his stance and placed both hands behind his back. The elevator made the familiar bing, indicating we reached our destination.
The elevator opened, revealing a small, dimly lit lobby. A lone man in a tuxedo and black bow tie stood at the far end, his arms crossed, silhouetted against the dark wood of the two doors beyond. As we strolled toward him, I shook my head at the overly formal uniform he makes his staff wear.
My heart leaped as a massive painting came into view.
The canvas was alive with a ship tossed and turned by a raging sea, its colors vibrant and full of movement.
I’d loved this painting since I was a child; each viewing revealed new details.
Most recently, I noticed a tiny green bird perched subtly atop the crow’s nest, its green feathers almost blending into the background.
“We’re here to see Mr. Asposito.” Gabe reached into his back pocket and pulled out a crisp white card, flashing it at the guard.
It seemed as if the guard’s eyes hadn’t moved from their spot, but a flash of light glinted in his pupils before he turned.
The hinges of the large doors groaned as he opened them.
A shaft of brilliant white sunlight cut through the foyer’s cool fluorescent light, revealing the dark, opulent grandeur of my father’s office.
We trudged through the doorway, the ceiling lifting higher than the room we’d just left, revealing a breathtaking expanse of painted frescoes and intricate carvings.
My father’s office, designed as a pre-apocalypse grand study, boasted wooden walls lined with overflowing bookshelves, the scent of aged paper and leather filling the air.
A small, plush velvet settee and armchairs sat beside a bar overflowing with every imaginable liquor, the crystal cocktail glasses gleaming regally in their display case.
Sunlight streamed through the large, outward-slanting windows on the far wall, illuminating a massive mahogany desk.
Its exterior was intricately carved and dominated the center of the room.
My father sat behind the desk, never once looking up from a pile of papers he was reviewing.
We walked toward him, and as we reached the marker used to indicate guests to stop, Gabe cleared his throat. “Sir, I’ve brought Vincent to see you.”
When he heard my name, my father froze, his head snapping upwards, a look of surprise and excitement washing over his face.
He had a timeless look about him—a thin man in his mid-fifties with high cheekbones and dark-rimmed circular glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, just below his arched eyebrows.
The first thing anyone noticed about my dad was his impeccable style—a perfectly tailored suit, always complemented by a brightly colored bow tie and socks to match, creating a vibrant, eye-catching ensemble.
Today, he wore a mustard-colored jacket with a brown Burberry vest and a blue collared shirt underneath.
The deep navy of his pants echoed in a subtle border on the pristine white pocket square peeking from his coat.
My dad rose from his desk, the chair legs scraping against the wooden floor, and outstretched his arms. “Vinny! My boy! Happy birthday!”
He walked over and embraced me in a warm, affectionate hug. The familiar scent of musky cologne, mixed with the faint sweetness of bourbon, enveloped me. “Hi, Dad.”
His thin lips disguised the bottom row of his crooked teeth, and his green eyes twinkled in the light within the room. Crows’ feet line his temples, each ridge telling a tale of a time that has long since passed. “How are you, my boy?”
His words are soft and meaningful. He loves me.
A noticeable pressure builds behind my forehead, and I brush away the wetness gathering in the corner of my eyes.
Though time apart sometimes hazes my memories, his presence when I see him again is like a magnet pulling me in.
The sound of his voice was nostalgic, bringing me back to simpler times.
“I can’t believe I’m finally twenty-one; it feels like it took forever to get here.
” I laugh at my comment because it truly did take too long to reach this age.
“Well, you look amazing,” he cooed with a proud smile. “Since you’re finally of legal age, would you like a cocktail?”
We both smirk, sharing an unspoken memory of the old days when the legal age for the consumption of alcohol was twenty-one and how long ago that actually was.
“It is truly a blessing how fortunate we are to have each other in our lives for so long.”
I nodded, knowing what was coming next.
“Do you remember how all of this started?” His eyes became glassy. “Time has an interesting way of fading memories. Do you remember her?”
Of course I do. My mother was the light of his life and my best friend.
She introduced me to the best songs of the ‘90s and showed me how to bake the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Even now, the mere scent of their sugary sweetness brings an involuntary smile to my face.
Her laughter was as bright as the sun, and her smile could light up a room.
The haunted look on my mom’s face as she frantically scanned the backseat, searching for me right before she died, is an image seared into my memory, still haunting my dreams. It was the last time I ever saw my mother, and a piece of me and my dad died with her that night.
Since then, my father spent countless hours hunched over his workbench in the lab, the only light the eerie glow of his equipment as he examined my blood, a crazed look in his eyes while he studied how it healed him.
Over the next few years, he healed those affected by the pandemic, primarily politicians, world leaders, and influential celebrities.
This was the beginning of his monopoly, the start of his power. Little did he know, all the people he healed with my blood were turned into vessels that craved my blood to live.
I’ve always been proud of creating a race more advanced than humans, but as the years went by, my heart ached with guilt.
I helped to create the end of humanity.