Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 38

"Come in," Tobias said.

His voice sounded relaxed, and she had a feeling that he wasn't expecting her to be the one knocking on his door. She slowly entered the bedroom, trying to give him time to figure out it was her.

The bedroom was not what she expected. She anticipated something dark and broody, even though she knew Tobias wasn't like, that she still expected his bedroom to be more vampire-like, which it was not.

On the contrary, the bedroom looked light and positive in a quiet, non-flashy way of a man who has spent centuries alone.

There was a huge bed on one wall of the room, while the other wall was made of windows which allowed for the mesmerizing view of the flowering garden.

Cecilia didn't expect that from a guy's room, but it seemed like Tobias thoroughly enjoyed the look and scent of flowers. She guessed it had something to do with his late wife.

It would make sense to imagine her as a keen gardener, having in mind that they lived on a farm, and Cecilia couldn't help but think that it was so sweet that Tobias was trying to keep the memory of his wife alive.

The whole room was in warm brown colors that spoke of hospitality and comfort. There weren't many things in the room, except for the basics, but they were all so beautifully arranged that Cecilia was thoroughly impressed. Once again, he managed to surprise her and squash her prejudices against vampires.

She knew she had to learn to accept them as her people, but in her mind, she still saw them as 'the other' as HER versus THEM. Well, now THEM versus THEM because she saw Tobias as her family, vampire or not, he was always there for her.

One look at Tobias told her that he was feeling much better, at least physically.

When his eyes met hers, she could feel his emotional turmoil as a tangible presence in the room, and she knew she would have to find a way to convince him that she was there to stay, no matter what.

Whatever else happened, she would stand by his side, but she wasn't sure how to express that without his self-doubt and self-loathing getting in the way.

"Cecilia! I wasn't expecting you, yet," he said.

It was clear that he was nervous and scared about what she might say, and she couldn't understand why.

He saw her at her worst and just accepted her as she was. Why couldn't he believe she would do the same for him?

If she had to guess, she would say that years spent in dealing with the guilt, with the pain, had taken their toll and that he couldn't see what she saw. He couldn't see the great guy who was doing his best to be the best version of himself he could be and help the world in the process.

Many humans never even tried to improve, to become more than the sum of their parts, but Tobias, he was different. Even as a vampire, he tried to be better than he was with every passing day.

"Did you come here to tell me that I am a monster and that you want to leave? If that's the case, I'll understand." Tobias said quickly.

"Shut up," Cecilia said firmly.

"Just shut up for a second and listen carefully to what I have to say," she said sternly.

He was shocked by her words since she had never addressed him like that, but still, he nodded his head in agreement.

"I don't think that you are a monster and don't you dare say that ever again!" she said, with more passion than Tobias had ever seen on her face.

"You are the kindest, the most sensitive being, I have ever met. What happened in the past was horrible. The pain and the anger you must have felt is unimaginable to me because I had never had to face that kind of situation, but there is one thing I can say for sure.

It wasn't your fault. What happened was more awful than words can describe, but it is not and never was your fault. You weren't the one who killed her.

Those were the instincts, the uncontrollable part of our nature that you have learned to control now.

You can't blame yourself for not being able to control your basic instincts when once we are turned, instincts are all we have, all we are. With time, we might manage to get back a piece of who we were, but you, you did so much more. You helped people, saved lives by CHOOSING to go against the very nature of vampires and you succeeded. I am sure that Celeste would be so proud of you." Cecilia said.

He looked at her with hope but there was still a dose of uncertainty in his eyes.

"As for me, I accept you for who you are, the amazing person who saved my life, and stood by me even when he didn't believe in what I was doing." Cecilia went on to say.

Tobias couldn't believe what she was saying. It was surely too good to be true. He expected her to reject him, run away from him, or in the best case scenario stay with him out of pity.

What he didn't expect was for her to just accept him and everything that he did with an open-heart and understanding. She even tried to comfort him. The idea that she cared about how he felt made him feel so many emotions that he thought not even his vampire body could handle the overload.

His emotions needed an outlet, or he would burst out from the mixture of joy, affection, and relief, so they found it in the form of bloody tears streaming down his face.

Upon seeing his tear-stained face, Cecilia approached him gently cupping his cheek.

"I am here, and I am not going anywhere," she said with gentleness.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Tobias quickly wiped at his eyes trying to hide his tears from Helen.

"Sorry for barging in.." she started to say but stopped when she took in the situation.

Misunderstanding the situation, she glared at Cecilia, her eyes spelling out 'murder'.

Understanding the look in her eyes fairly quickly, having known her for such a long time, Tobias stepped in between the two of them.

"It's okay. They are tears of joy," he said before Helen had the chance to attack Cecilia.

"Oh. Well, that's good since I honestly don't have the time to murder anyone right now." Helen said.

It was noticeable from her tense posture that she was bringing bad news.

"What happened?" Tobias asked before she had the chance to say anything.

"The word got out," she said shortly.

"What?" Cecilia asked.

"The vampire society realized that Stanton is missing, and it is only a matter of time before the Vampire Council hears about it. Having in mind that I was looking into Stanton before all this mess, they will be coming to my doorstep." Helen said.

"You see, they don't exactly know who I am since I think some of those vampires who wanted to use me as a weapon are still out there, part of the 'high class'. They mustn't find me." Helen said.

"How is it possible that they don't know who you are? Haven't they seen you? It wouldn't make any sense to trust someone they have never seen." Cecilia said.

"They think they know the person they charged with investigating Stanton, but she is just a pawn I have been hiding behind. If they learn it is the Great Huntress herself behind the investigation, there will be more problems than we can handle.

I would go alone, but you two will be next on their list since, your scent, Cecilia, is all over Stanton's offices. I think it is time we all make a run for it." Helen said, resigned.

Although they knew that moment might be coming, it didn't stop Tobias and Cecilia from being shocked at the reality they were faced with.

They had to leave everything they had ever known and run away from vengeful vampires. That did sound dangerous and full of uncertainty, but Tobias had a feeling that as long as they were together, they would be okay.