She Came From the Shadows (James and Tera: book 2)

20

I was surprised. Very surprised. Of all the visitors they could have gotten - Charles, Felipe, Cedric, even - it had to be one of my friends. I was so puzzled at why he was here.

"Hey, Victoria." Sage greeted her. "Leo said that he lived here and he kind of invited me." He explained. He looked past her and we made contact. I sat still, still trying to resolve what was going on. "James?" He asked, just as surprised as me.

"Come in." Victoria said politely. "We were just watching Nosferatu."

"Nosfer-what now?" He asked, stepping in as Victoria shut the door behind him.

He sat beside me on the couch, and Victoria sat beside him. "Dude what are you doing here?" I asked him in a low voice knowing I was still heard by Victoria.

"I should ask you the same thing. Is it just you up here with Victoria?" He asked.

I felt myself feeling flustered. "That's not the point right now." I told him. "Look, I'm about to leave in a second. I can drop you off at home if you'd like."

He let a sneer cross his face. "What are you talking about? I'm staying."

I looked at Victoria, and she caught my eye and understood, standing and going into the kitchen to give us the room. "What do you mean? Why are you even here to begin with?" Then it hit me. "You're here for him?"

He looked over my face carefully before speaking again. "What's your deal? Why are you so keen on keeping us clear of them yet here you are holed up in the living room watching a movie with Victoria. Are you trying to hide something from us?"

"What would I have to hide with them?" Besides the fact they're vampires, of course.

Sage smirked. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you didn't answer why you were here, especially all alone in the living room of a house that belongs to Victoria, a chick that you've been hanging around with lately."

"What are you talking about? You make it sound like I'm having some sort of little crush on her."

He laughed a little. "Don't play dumb. I saw how you two were at the club that night. You're into her."

I felt my body heat up. "What? You idiot, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Really? Because from what I noticed, you're giving her the same little glances you used to give Tera when she first came around. I wonder what she would think of this type of thing."

I jumped to my feet and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, him rising as well to stand face to face with me. "You're going a little too far with this fantasy, Sage."

He grabbed my wrist and yanked it from his collar and pushed me away. "Why are you so obsessed with my love life when you're sitting here giving googoo eyes to another girl? Let me live my life and make my own decisions."

I shook my head and let out an exasperated sigh, bringing my thumb and forefinger to the bridge of my nose. "Look, I want you to be happy. I do. But not like this." I looked towards the kitchen where Victoria was listening from somewhere. "These people, I don't completely trust them. I barely know them myself."

Sage and I stood still for a moment before he crossed his arms and let out a sigh of his own. "I know you're looking out for me. I get it, but let me make my own choices. I want you to understand that I'm happy and can take care of myself."

I wanted to tell him so badly. I wanted to shout at him, to yell 'They're vampires!', but I couldn't. Not every human is able to understand the world that they live in where not every human is human. They couldn't comprehend that fact.