Protected By Vampires

Chapter 21

      The door opening interrupted the comfortable silence between Brian and I. Sam and Mark came into the room, Sam looking triumphant and Mark looking irritated. 

     "We've decided that the best way to keep you safe is for you to stay here with me until the baby comes, then we'll move and live under the radar." Sam said. 

     While I wasn't opposed to living with Sam, I didn't want to leave behind the few people in my life who mean the world to me. If I was stubborn and demanded to stay then I was putting my life at risk, and possibly my daughter's life too. If I wanted both of us to survive I had to leave everything behind. 

      This day was just too much, too much information, too much change, too much hurting. I prayed that I would wake up from this nightmare. 

      Sam was silent while watching all the emotions on my face. He knew me enough that I was going to break down into a crying mess, and he also knew me enough that I didn't want to do it in front of other people. 

     "We have several members of our clan that have agreed to come with you and protect you and your daughter full time. Sam was the first to volunteer, and I can't say that I'm thrilled about it. The others are on their way now, some of them you already know." Mark said after a long silence. 

     Sam stood up and walked toward me. I had heard Mark but didn't really process what he said. I felt numb, detached and I couldn't handle anything else right now. 

     "We have the details worked out, but right now they can wait. I think Viv needs a break, some food, and probably a nap." Sam took my hand and helped me stand up. I nodded and followed him out of the room, through the house, and into the kitchen. 

      "What do you want for lunch?" Sam asked as I maneuvered myself onto a barstool without falling over. 

      I just looked at him while thinking it was weird that a vampire had food in his house. Well, surely he'd have vampire food but he didn't need human food. Did he? Oh God, what if he was planning on feeding me blood? Stop being so stupid Viv, he's not going to feed you blood! I mentally slapped myself. I was losing it. 

      Just the fact that I had thought Sam would serve me up a glass of blood was hilarious to me. I started giggling while Sam stood in the kitchen with a confused look on his face. 

      "Anything but blood." I finally answered him. I started laughing so hard that I almost lost my balance. 

      Sam gave me a funny look before moving to the fridge. He used his vampire speed to make me a sandwich and within seconds it was in front of me on a plate next to some strawberries. A few seconds later it was joined by a big glass of ice water. 

      "Eat and then we'll talk." Sam said. He watched me while I ate everything on my plate and drank all the water, his eyes rarely leaving my lips. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. 

      After I finished he took me upstairs to his room. The walls were a pale blue and the comforter on his king size bed matched. There was a nightstand next to the bed and a dresser next to the closet door. I assumed it was the closet because the only other door in the room was opened, giving me a small peek at a bathroom. There wasn't any other furniture despite the fact that there was plenty of room for more. I noticed my suitcase was by the bed.

      "May I?" I asked, gesturing toward the bathroom. Sam nodded and I waddled in as fast as I could and closed the door behind me. The bathroom was big, it had a whirlpool tub plus a separate shower. I did my business and washed my hands. I was amazed at how often I needed to pee, and it had been a while. 

      I went back into the bedroom and Sam was sitting on his bed. I was suddenly very fatigued and all I wanted to do was sleep. I sat down next to Sam and scooted a little bit to rest my back against the wall so I was more comfortable. Growing a human sure does take a lot out of you. 

      "I have a million questions but I'm so tired. I can't even begin to organize my thoughts enough to ask anything and even if I could I don't think I would be able to process anything. Can we talk after I take a nap?" I started rambling. 

      Sam chuckled and nodded his head. He walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers back. He came back to me and kissed me gently on the forehead. 

      "Get some sleep, we'll talk later." He left the room, closing the door behind him. I scooted over to the side that he had turned down for me and tried to get comfortable. I was always hot, and my hips usually kept me awake. It wasn't exactly painful, they just felt uncomfortable. It also didn't help that my daughter started her water aerobics almost as soon as I got in bed every night. 

      Fortunately my brain was ready to shut down and I was asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. It was just what I needed, I woke up several hours later feeling stronger and refreshed. 

      I was glad my suitcase was in the bedroom so I could take another shower. It was already hot even though it wasn't quite summer and I sweated so much that I had started taking at least two showers a day. I dug through the clothes Sam had packed for me until I found a purple maternity shirt and a pair of shorts with an elastic waist. I grabbed a clean bra and panty set, blushing at the idea of Sam going through my underwear to pack my stuff. 

      I discovered that the shower was really high tech and it took me a while to figure it out. There weren't any knobs, just a touch screen panel on the wall just outside of the shower doors. I saw a setting called rainfall and was delighted to see that water started coming down from the ceiling. I had always wanted to try a shower like that. 

      I took my time and used Sam's soap, making me smell like him. I loved the rainfall option but it wasn't ideal to get all the soap off and ended up changing the settings a few times. I spent at least an hour in the shower, letting myself be distracted from the rest of the world. 

      When I got out and dried off I realized I didn't have any hair products or make up with me. My hair was an absolute disaster and I couldn't let it dry like that so I opened the drawers until I found a comb. It would have to do.

      I spent the next 30 minutes combing out my hair and putting it in a braid. Just as I finished the bathroom door opened and Sam took a few steps into the bathroom and stopped abruptly. The look on his face made me realize that even though I was wrapped in a towel, my baby bump was poking through and everything below that wasn't covered. 

      Sam quickly turned around and closed the door without saying anything. I had already gotten a few stretch marks and I was more embarrassed that he saw them than anything else. I got dressed as fast as I could without falling over and found Sam sitting on his bed. Apparently he had taken the time to make it while he was waiting for me. 

     "Sorry, the water had been off for a while and I hadn't heard anything so I was just checking on you. I'll knock next time." He said, not looking at me at first. 

     I could feel the blush creeping onto my face. "Don't worry about it, I just hope that you weren't scared away by what you saw. I was hoping I wouldn't get stretch marks, but it looks like I'm not one of the lucky ones." I attempted to joke. 

      "Uh, I'm definitely not scared."Sam said with a look I couldn't quite read. "Anyway, I was going to let you know that the three vampires who agreed to protect you will all be arriving tomorrow. If you want I can answer questions now. Or we can wait."

      "Now is good. I feel a lot better after my nap."

      Sam nodded and stood up. I followed him into his private office where we both sat down. 

      "Where would you like me to start?" He asked. 

A/N

I'll hopefully update again today. Get ready for some info overload lol.