Love Bites (Rewrite)

Chapter 20: Baggage

Lyssa sighed as Saturday morning came upon her. She wanted so badly to see and talk to Bex, but also knew that wasn't the best course of action at the moment. Had she really called Rebecca, Elizabeth? She couldn't remember.

This is why you don't get drunk, Lyssa concluded. Who knows what one might accidentally say? Just the thought of her letting the name slip to Rebecca made her insides knot together. Was it true? Did Lyssa only like Rebecca because of her resemblance in both look and character to Elizabeth?

She moved old boxes of finished art pieces that she worked on to the attic. Stacking the boxes four high as she walked down the halls and up the stairs. As she pulled the ladder down from the attic the top box came tumbling down spilling out many sketches of her, Elizabeth.

She put up the three boxes before kneeling down and picking up the sketches. The whole box was full of her. Of her signature smile, of those playful eyes. That carefree spirit leaping off the paper and crashing into Lyssa. If she closed her eyes she could still hear her laugh.

"You are cruel to me," Lyssa picked up a sketch of the girl laughing into a smile. "Always ruining my relationships. Always reminding me of your face. How very unfair."

She placed the sketch into the box and picked up all the others that had spilled out. Then she placed it in the attic with the others. When that was done Lyssa went back into the art studio to grab more boxes, she paused by her sketchbook which was sitting open.

She let her hand glide across the paper before grabbing it and sitting down to draw. Her hands moved back and forth rapidly as she used charcoal to shade in areas darker. She cleared her head of all that was bothering her and just let her hands move on their own. When she was done she stared at it.

Her first official sketch of Rebecca.

She had the hazel eyes painting but that wasn't of Bex's whole face. This drawing captures every little detail of Rebecca perfectly. Lyssa let her hands gently trace the curve of Bex's cheek, staring at the drawing for some time.

There was something about it, no something about Rebecca that intrigued her. The way she made her smile. That warmth Lyssa always got when she was around her. She thought of how cute Bex was when she was trying to get to Lyssa in one or another. How Bex protected her and offered her blood to her to save her. The way Bex would grab her hand and interlock their fingers. When she closed her eyes she could see Rebecca's warm and bright smile, hear Rebecca's heartbeat.

The landline to the house started ringing causing her to jolt in place and ripping her from her daydream. Her brows scrunched together in confusion before she walked over to the phone she hardly, if ever used, and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Found you," An overly sweet voice chirped through the line.

Lyssa tensed up; her lips creased into a thin line.

"You know it doesn't take me long to track you down when I need to."

"What do you want?" Lyssa spat.

"Wow, I don't even get a, how are you? How rude," The girl said in her natural English tone, similar to Lyssa's.

"Lacy, unless you tell me why you called, I'm hanging up," Lyssa threatened.

"As irritable as ever I see. Well, I suppose I should cut to the chase. I was ordered to do a check-in on you, so of course, I had to track you down first. Can you imagine my surprise when I find you with a blood slave no less? The pack had a field day with that information. Of course, I said surely not my Val. This had to be some kind of mistake. I know how you feel about the idea of blood slaves. Yet... while I was watching you, I saw her face, and then it all made sense."