Never make a deal with a vampire

Chapter 5: It's a win-win situation

I gaped at him for a while before closing my mouth and speaking as calmly as possible,

"You honestly think that I would agree to this?"

"Hey, you keep your life, I get a slave, it's a win-win situation.

"In what kind of twisted world would I be a slave for a cocky, arrogant, rude, obnoxious, sexist, psycho killer, jerk ass of a vampire?" I ranted, my voice nearing hysteria at the end.

And once again, I was against the wall with a hand around my throat.

"Apologize," Dorian hissed, "Now!"

"Go ahead," I croaked, "I'd much rather die than be under your control!"

I expected him to slam my head against the bathroom tiles, but instead he just grinned wickedly and put me down gently,

"You're right. But I have to ask, what about Steven?"

My guard instinctively shot up, "What about him?"

"Well I was just wandering if you would want to be under my control... or if you would rather wake up one morning to the sound of your parents screams when they find Steven on the kitchen floor. Cold, still, lifeless, de-"

"Shut up! Just. Shut. Up!" I screamed, Dorian's words conjured up a horrific image in my mind, but beside Steven, were my biological parents, the thought of them all gone brought tears to my eyes and so much anger that I stormed up to Dorian and started pummelling his rock solid chest with my fists, punctuating each blow with either the word 'shut' or 'up'.

He grabbed my hands abruptly and brought his face inches from mine,

"So, do we have a deal?"

I nodded silently, refusing to cry in front of that... monster.

"Good," he threw me to the floor before climbing onto the window ledge, "And make yourself presentable, you're a mess."

*

"Hey sis, you alright? You seem a bit jumpy,"

I nodded slightly to indicate that I was fine and kept my eyes on the road, trying my best not to scream at every shadow I saw in the swirling snow.

"Are you going to talk at all today?" Steven pressed on and I felt my irritation rapidly increase.

"No."

From the corner of my eye I saw him scowl and slump in his seat, resembling something similar to a toddler who doesn't get any ice cream at the beach. Behind me, John chuckled and punched Steven in the arm in that annoying way that guys do to look tough and macho.

"Never mind dude, I'm sure you'll survive without Gab's company for ten minutes."

I smiled grimly. John was Steven's best friend since they were babies or something and were practically inseparable, they were always at each others houses or out together around town. But last year, at the end of year dance, John had confessed that he liked me as more than just his best friend's little sister. He looked so adorable and nervous at the time that I couldn't resist giving in to him and here we were, a year and five months later, still together and happy. I shuddered mentally at the thought of John's face if he were to find out about Dorian licking me that night in the forest, or the almost kiss... and the fact that I was now his human slave.

I pulled up on the side of the road outside the small corner shop where Steven and John worked part time and Steven hopped out of the car, probably eager to see Richelle, the new worker there.

"Gabs?" I turned in my seat and was surprised to see John still sitting there, "Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Erm... s-sure." We clambered out of the car and I felt my legs get heavy and my stomach twist uncomfortably. He couldn't know could he? It's impossible... Unless- no, there was no way he could possibly know.

He stood there, unmoving and silent, in the snow, a strange look on his face.

Could he be a mind reader?

I shouted in my head, "If you can hear this, cough!"

He cleared his throat slightly and I felt myself jump,

Was that a cough? It was like a half cough, does that mean he only hears half of everything I think? Maybe-

"Gabby," I jumped again slightly as his voice interrupted the little voice in my head, "I meant to ask earlier but Steven was there and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable," he stepped forward slightly and rested his hands on my hips,

Hang on, why is he holding me? Oh God! He's going to throw me into the road!

"Why are you so upset-"

"I didn't mean to I swear! I- wait, what?"

His brow furrowed at my minor outburst, "I was only wondering why you were so upset, I mean, have I done something wrong?"

My chest felt tight with guilt and I had to make an effort not to cry. He thought he had done something wrong, even though he obviously hadn't, he knew I'd been upset and instantly took it upon himself to take the blame. There was not a single suspicion in his mind that it was something that I'd done.

"I-" What could I say? Should I tell him everything?

A small part of my mind was fiercely shouting No! And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The less John knew, the less danger he was in. So, I forced a smile and wrapped my arms around his neck,

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream, that's all." I kissed him lightly and saw him instantly brighten up and a genuine smile lit up my face, small, but genuine.

"Great, as long as you're happy, I am."

This time, the smile was definitely forced. Was I happy? I wasn't sure anymore... how could years of having everything planned out and knowing exactly what I wanted and when and how to get them be just thrown away and replaced with this... Anxiety? Fear? Confusion?

"I have to go now, if I'm late again the boss is gonna kill me." He grinned and gave me a last, quick kiss before he hurried toward the small corner shop.

I wasted no time in getting into my parents car and getting as far away as possible from everything. The house, the shop and eventually the car. I clambered through thick, dense forest, climbing over long ago falling trees and side stepping large rocks.

I finally reached my destination and sat heavily on top of a nearby rock that was half covered with moss.

The thicket of trees had protected this part of the forest from the snow, which I was soon coming to hate, and I welcomed the dry, earthy feel of the trees and wildlife with open arms. I inhaled the fresh scent of the trees, the scent was so reassuring, and I started to forget about the mess my life had become in just a day. I opened my eyes, not realising that I had closed them, and looked around at my surroundings, not that I needed my eyes to know what every inch of the place looked like. I knew what was behind every rock and every tree in this small clearing, and I even knew that in the spring, this clearing would be so full of life... the trees leaves will have grown back, fluorescent and green, and small flower buds would grow. Rabbits and squirrels and possibly deer would visit and flowers would grow from the ground. Everything was so simple in this clearing, and I always visited whenever I needed to work something out, whether it was how to do a particularly hard maths problem or how to deal with a brutal vampire who had made me his slave that morning.

"Deja vu or what?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, I thought dryly as I whipped around to see Dorian leaning against the broad trunk of a tree. I noticed that he was wearing dress pants and a shirt, which was hanging out of his trousers.

"Don't look so angry darling, it doesn't suit you."