Crimson, Clover & Honey

{ 9 }

"My only concern is when they find out Lorelei is not actually pregnant." Yvonne sat across from me in the apartment. All five of us were back in the living room. Xavier and I had descended back down after Theo interupted our chat and ordered us down for Samuel. We had to finish our planning, he said.

"If they are keeping her in a corner in hopes of a pregnancy, what lengths will they take when they realize she is without child? It sounds to me as if at least her father is involved and I do not think her going home is safe." She stared at me sympathetically, her hand gripping Samuel's that rest on her shoulder.

"We cannot keep her here, we cannot hide her." Samuel argues back, shaking his head. He stood aside Yvonne's chair, protectively resting on her. "She must return home. The sooner the better."

"She can stay with me," Xavier chimes, solemn and serious. The idea made me become anxious.

"I said she must return home. We can do our best to protect her but who knows what magic they have working within the house. They have had days to prepare at this point. So we stick to what we did in the past. Keeping an eye from afar."

"Because that worked so well last time," Xavier challenges him. "They had us right where they wanted, they played us, Sam. Can we afford to risk that again?"

"We will not hesitate on action because we do not have to anymore. But we cannot steal her away. You know what that will mean, Xavier. They will come for us." Everyone goes quiet for a moment.

"As for the pregnancy, we have a few spare months to get everything in line before it will be noticeable that she is not." Samuel continues, looking to me then.

"Or Xavier could just get her pregnant already and pretend it's Jeremy's for the sake of the game they're playing here." Theo brings me some water, looking back and forth between Xavier and I. I can only stay silent as I feel Xavier's eyes stare into me.

"This will take work on your part, Lorelei. Faking sick, avoiding any obvious signs of your monthly period, deterent from random or usual foods you like. The more open and obvious about your, eh, symptoms, the better. The longer we have." Yvonne tightened her hold on Samuel's hand, listening to him speak to me.

I felt nervous, I would be constantly keeping up an act even for my parents. There was no break from it. I couldn't even completely understand the fear I was supposed to have for these people, my neighbors, but I had a distinct gut feeling that things were rotting & getting darker.

I think to my father telling me he would not come for me. His daughter, his possibly lost in a coma, now wandering the streets alone and needing help, daughter. He told me no. The interaction still hurts me and confuses me. But it was clear everyone was being sneaky, hiding Jeremy away.

I wonder if they had even found his body. Had they had the funeral while I was gone? I think of his young sister and cannot wrap my head around convincing her to forget her older brother. Whatever it was these vampires were battling, were rivaling against, it was serious.

"What are these people even capable of? What is the point in all of this?" I ask the room full of people, but no one responds to me right away. They all share looks with each other.

"They are capable of evil things, Lorelei. You must be very careful." Theo speaks and it takes all of me not to call out his hypocritical relationship.

"I don't fully understand what I am up against here. You are vampires! What do these people have that you don't? Why do you fear them?" Again, my questions are followed by silence.

"They follow and support magics that are far beyond safe limits. These people have power in undefined places. We resume peace on our end, but they are always stirring the pot. They want us dead, all of us, for something no longer in our once guilty hands. Anti vampires, anti us, has just become their vocation."