Roses for Rachel

Chapter 22.

I didn't have to wait more than 10 minutes for the knock on my door.

"Come in!" I called. I was half disappointed and half happy when Calvin walked in instead of Pedro. "Hi." I smiled, wiping the tears off of my face.

Calvin closed the door behind him and suddenly he was seated beside me on the bed, holding my face in his hands. "What's the matter?"

I shrugged. "What's going to happen to them?" I asked.

"Who?"

"Regina and Frankie."

"I thought you hated them?" He asked confused.

I leaned away from him. "I don't hate anyone, Calvin. I don't like them, but I want to know what will happen."

Calvin looked down. "Well, Regina will go with Sir Macontash." He told me. "He's a very respectable man."

"What is he going to do with her? And what about Frankie?"

Calvin let me go and stood up. "Why do you want to know this?" He asked, but when I didn't reply he sighed, running his hand through his styled hair, making it look wild. "You don't want to know, Rachel."

I stood from the bed, straightening my back and went to stand directly in front of him. "You have to get them back."

"I can't do that." He said trying to avoid my determined gaze.

I inched up closer, refusing to let him ignore me. "You're the prince, Calvin, don't tell me you can't." I countered. "Please, you can't let them be fed on, or used as slaves, or whatever other sick things they were sold for. They're people, Calvin! They don't deserve this."

Calvin grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes. "Rachel!" He shouted. "I love that you have such a big heart, and I know this is hard, but I can't just go changing the way the world works." He said. "If it's not Regina and Frankie, it'll just be some other girls!"

"But that's wrong, Calvin!" I shouted back, pulling from his grasps. "It's all wrong! There has to be another way to do things!"

"Like what, Rachel?" Calvin snapped, sounding angrier than I'd ever heard him be with me. "What's your grand plan to save everyone? Huh? I'd love to hear it!" He said sarcastically and I flinched at his tone. "Should I drink from animals? You think that'll work? It won't. The only way for me, or any other vampire to stay alive is to drink blood. I have to do it. If not I die, and I'm sorry I don't want to die and that I'm selfish for that, but it's the way it is. I can't change it, and neither can you." His voice was harsh and I was trying to hide my hurt, but I knew it wasn't working by the quivering of my bottom lip and my stinging eyes. I turned away from him and walked towards the washroom. "What are you doing?" He called as I walked in, closing the door behind me.

"Please leave." I said through the door, sliding the lock home, and sliding down to sit in front of the door.

He banged his fist on the door. "Rachel, open the door." When I ignored him, pulling my knees up and under my chin, I heard him leave.

I don't know what I had been thinking, or what could make any of this better, but I didn't feel like he should have reacted the way he did. I'm just worried about my friends, well, my acquaintances. He was right though, if not them, it would just be some other girls I don't know. My heart was heavy, replaying his words in my mind over and over. What he had said may have been true, but it didn't stop him from hurting my feelings.

I sniffled when I heard my bedroom door open and shut again. "Go away, Calvin." I called through the door, trying to keep my voice even.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Calvin's not here, open up." Master Pedro's voice came through.