Chapter 9
“Oh good. It worked.”
Sebastian walked into the manor and snapped his head at his blonde best friend. “What worked?” he asked, then pointedly looked to Charlotte. “Oh, you’re a bitch. Both of you, actually.”
“I was desperate!” Victor said as he put his hands up in defeat. “I don’t like it when you’re mad at me. It happens so rarely that I forget what it feels like when it does happen. I hated it.”
“So you sent your wife after me?” Sebastian whined, shaking his head. “Evil.”
“Drama queen,” Charlotte cooed, nudging his shoulder with her hand as she flounced past him. “You know you can’t say no to me.”
“Shut up,” Sebastian snapped. Was he really that angry or annoyed? No. They knew him inside and out, and this happened all the time, whether it be during a fight or even whenever they were trying to surprise him for his birthday.
Which he despised. Every. Time.
“Are you staying the night?” Victor asked, looking him up and down, seemingly for some kind of bag.
“Do I have a choice?” Sebastian said with a great sigh, as if it was the most inconvenient thing in the world. It wasn’t. Maybe Charlotte was right. Ugh.
“Well, it’s late and I am just exhausted,” Charlotte said while putting her hand over her yawn. Sebastian barely managed not to roll his eyes at her poor acting skills. She was the queen of all drama queens. “I’ll leave you boys to it. Play nicely,” she said, pointing at both of them. “See you in the morning. I’ll order breakfast for us.”
The men watched her disappear up the stairs, and Sebastian turned to meet Victor’s gaze. “Are you going to give me the same heart-to-heart Charlie did? Because I’d really rather not dredge back up my dead parents again while brooding over your imminent doom.”
“There is almost never a situation where I want to bring up your parents,” Victor said. His joking expression faded, and he placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Bas. I never wanted to hurt you. I know I did though. I hope Charlie was able to convey our feelings on this matter. It’s...”
“Complicated. I know,” Sebastian said. He was tired of hearing about it, quite frankly. Maybe he was just tired in general.
“I’m glad you came over.”
“Me, too.”
Victor pulled Sebastian in for a hug, which made Sebastian tense ever so slightly, before he relaxed. Physical affection was difficult for him. It always had been. Growing up, he had craved love and attention and acceptance, given he never got it from anyone who wasn’t trying to exploit him for some reason. Victor and Charlotte were both extremely affectionate and had nearly killed him on several occasions from their hugs, kisses, hair-strokes, or any other unnecessary touch that Sebastian wanted to rip his skin off after. He had gotten used to it over the years, but sometimes it still caught him off guard. Victor also wasn’t completely off the hook as far as Sebastian was concerned. Charlotte knew how to work him to her advantage though.
“Want a nightcap? A friend of Father’s sent me this aged bourbon. Apparently it was stored and aged below sea level for a decade.”
“You are so gullible,” Sebastian said with a light smirk, unable to help himself. He melted around these two. Every time. “Come on. I’ll try your ocean whiskey.”
They walked to Victor’s study, which was lined with books that Sebastian was positive were just for decoration. There was no way he had read any of these. It did look nice, he had to admit.
Victor went into a small cupboard and unlocked it with a combination code. Fishing around, he finally pulled out a fancy-looking bottle with ornate designs throughout the glass. Sebastian raised his eyebrows. That did look like something that came from Atlantis.
As they nursed their glasses, Sebastian distracted himself by reading the spines of all the books against the wall for the hundredth time.
“How are you doing, Bas?”
“Don’t start this with me, Vic. It’s, like, three in the morning.”
“I’m serious. This is a lot. Are you taking your medication still?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Sebastian drawled, rolling his eyes. He knew it came from a good place, but they did treat him like their child more often than not. He’d rather be treated like a brother.
“You don’t have to be like that. If you’re upset, tell me. I want to hear it. You spent a long time with Charlie talking to her, so give me the same courtesy.”
Sebastian clenched his jaw, then looked at him. “Fine. I’ll tell you what I told Charlotte. I’m worried about both of you. You’re going to have to kill people to survive. You’re going to have to take life. Do you think you’ll even enjoy being alive for that long? Surely at some point, you’ll have done everything.”
“Sebastian, think about it. You get to live forever. You don’t have to worry about trivial things like grocery shopping or waking up for work. We already have enough money to last an eternity. This life isn’t for us. We want to see the world, meet immortals like them, be part of a new universe. There are so many things we can’t even fathom when it comes to their way of life.”
“You don’t know that. You’re romanticizing it. What about a family?”
“You know Charlie can’t have kids.”
“Birthing a child isn’t the only kind of family you can have. You could adopt. You could get operations to try to make a pregnancy stick. There are options. Is that why you’re doing this?”
“No. Not the only reason, anyway,” Victor said. “Aren’t you even a little curious about the unknown?”
“No,” Sebastian scoffed. “It’s unknown for a reason, Vic. You don’t see me clambering into a rocket ship because I don’t understand exactly what a black hole is and want to fly into it. If you’re so curious, just read a book. Or two. Or three. There are multiple famous vampire novel authors who live within a ten-mile radius. Go pick their brains. Maybe they’re vampires too.”
“You don’t have to be a dick about it,” Victor said with an unimpressed look. “I’m not going to explain or defend this decision anymore. It is our choice, Sebastian. Not yours. I know you’re worried about us leaving, but I assure you, that won’t happen. We’re here for you. I promised you.”
“You sound like Charlie,” he said, cutting his eyes away from him. “What if this new life changes you? More than just physically. What if I lose you, Vic? The best parts of you. The parts that memorize the lyrics of a song I show you once, or that pick up a record that I mentioned wanting just because, or that save me from killing myself? All the shit I’ve forced you to endure over the years. I’m just… I can’t even make it up to you. I’ll never be able to. This is me trying.”
“Bas,” Victor said, putting his empty glass down on the table nearby. Closing the distance between them, his hands wrapped around Sebastian’s elbows. “I’ll say it a million more times if you need it: I’m not going to throw you away. I will never tire of you.”
Sebastian looked into his eyes, feeling his genuineness. His shoulders relaxed marginally, and after a few breaths, he nodded. “Okay.”
“Now this is the part where you say you’ll never tire of me and I’m the best thing that ever happened to you,” Victor smirked, laughing as Sebastian shrugged him away. “Come on. You and I have never been able to fight for more than, what, three days?”
“Three and a half, technically. When you ate my pasta in the fridge in high school.”
“Oh my God,” Victor groaned, tilting his head back. “You are never going to get over that, are you? Once again, how was I supposed to know that was yours? Your name wasn’t on it.”
“Once again, I told you when I put it up the night before that I was already looking forward to eating it when we got home from school. You knew,” Sebastian hissed, poking him in the chest.
“Was it really three and a half days?” Victor said with a big smile. Laughter bubbled from within at Sebastian’s nod and the blonde ran a hand through his hair, his pale cheeks rosy from the alcohol and his amusement. “How on earth did we not kill each other growing up?”
“It wasn’t for lack of trying some days,” Sebastian smirked. “Though... dying by a vampire would arguably be the coolest way to go. I’ll give you that.”
“See? Now you’re talking. I knew I could count on you to see the joy in our demise. Your depression really does work wonders for everyone involved.”
Sebastian’s cheeks hurt from laughing. The alcohol had relaxed him, and he was starting to venture into delirious territory from his lack of sleep, but he did feel better that he and Victor had made up. The issue wasn’t exactly resolved, but... Sebastian could table it for another day, hopefully at a better hour.
“I need to go to bed,” the dark-haired man said, putting his glass down. “My bed.”
“Why are you in such a hurry? You got a photoshoot or something in the morning?”
“In the evening, but...”
“But what?”
“I just want to be well-rested. That’s all.”
“You are the worst liar.”
“I’m not lying!”
“Okay, you’re the worst ‘omitting-the-truther.’ Spill. Hot date?”
“I wouldn’t call it a date...”
Victor’s face lit up. “No shit. No way is it Leona. Is it?!”
Sebastian made a noise of displeasure and blushed darkly. “It’s not a date. We’re just going to meet up and talk. Get to know each other. No need to submit an article to the paper.”
“Wow. Good for you,” Victor said, clapping him on the back. “You want a real good night’s rest because you’re going to be up all night again tomorrow, hmm?”
“No,” Sebastian said, walking past him and to the door. “Is that all you think about?”
“You don’t?”
“I mean, not all the time but... Shut up. It’s not a date. Just two friends talking. Like me and you.”
“You wish,” Victor teased.
“Goodnight,” Sebastian snapped, leaving the room to go upstairs to his area. Walking back home would be pointless, and honestly, he didn’t feel like it. He also didn’t feel like dealing with Charlotte’s wrath should she wake up and he be gone. He picked his battles when it came to that woman.