Eighteen…

Eighteen: Father’s Sins

This chapter contains F-bomb language.

As the days wore on, all Aubrey wanted to do was sleep.

She was mad at Shawn; he seemed nonchalant about biting her, and ignored her obvious anger.

She was pissed at Vaclav.

Lastly, she was pissed at her family. All the turmoil she felt made her sleepy… and sleep helped to numb the pain.

One night while she was sleeping, Vaclav came and tapped on the door.

“Aubrey? Are you awake in there?”

She got up.

I’m awake now, she thought in annoyance.

“Don’t get upset,” he began. “But I found your father an hour ago.”

“He came here looking for you and I locked him up.”

“My father is here?”

He nodded.

“Where is he? I have to talk to him,” she demanded trying to shove past Vaclav. He grabbed her around the waist, she struggled against him.  

“Let me go!” she shouted.

“No! Not until you calm down!” he said.

Aubrey fought against him, but knew it was useless. She stopped fighting.

“I just don’t want you to get upset in your condition,” he said. “But I had to tell you at some point. So if you’re calm enough, I’ll let you speak with him.”

“Okay,” she breathlessly said. “I’m fine. L—let me talk to him now.”

Aubrey followed him.

Once they reached the prison area, Aubrey peered in at her father.

He stood once he noticed her.

There were a hundred things she wanted to say, to ask him, but her mind went totally blank as she gawked at him.

“Aubrey, how are you? Are those nasty bastards treating you okay?” he asked.

Aubrey wanted to laugh.

“How could you lie to me all those years? You and Mom?” she said. “I thought you loved me! I know Mother never loved me, but you…” she fought off tears.

“Sweetheart, what are you talking about?”

“Stop! Stop acting like you’re clueless! Your father is a fucking vampire!”

“No. That’s not true—”

“Stop lying! Your father belongs to the Shadow Clan, and you took my baby to give to them! You stole him, lied to me, and had me committed to shut me up!”

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “You’re right. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t think I had a choice.”

“I don’t care! I just want to know where my son is. Tell me. Tell me, or so help me…”

“I’ll kill you myself…”

He stared at her, speechless.

Then he spoke.

“Your son is being cared for in the city… by your grandmother.”

“Grandma Cooper had him all this time?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes. But it’s still dangerous, since several vampires reside there with them. They constantly watch over the boy, ensuring Vaclav’s clan doesn’t snatch him.”

“Snatch him?” she echoed. “Like you did? Tore him out of my body, away from my heart and placed him with someone else who was supposed to care about me? Someone else who turned out to be a lying sack of shit?”

“Aubrey…”

“No, I don’t want to hear it!” she sobbed. “Fuck you. I hate you! Go to hell!”

She spun around, crying.

Aubrey didn’t care that Vaclav saw her tears. She didn’t care about anything; she just wanted to scream, cry and throw a fit like a two-year-old.

She earned it.

But apparently, Vaclav did care. He cared about her.

He knelt down before her.

“What?” she sobbed. “What do you want from me?”

“Aubrey, don’t cry. Everything will be okay.”

“No, it won’t be okay. It’s never okay. My life is a freakin’ mess.”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” he said.

“You have a baby coming. She’ll make everything worth it, I promise,” he consoled.

“And now we know where our son is. We’re going to get him back.” He smiled.

“Yeah. That—that’s true,” she said, her sobs getting quieter.

He embraced her.

…holding her close to him.

How could someone so cold be so warm at the same time? she marveled, feeling better already.

They parted, his hand drifting to her pregnant belly.

“I love you,” he said; then walked off.

Aubrey sat on the bed. Shawn’s side had been empty for four days and nights. She had no clue where he was, and no clue as to how he survived the sunlight; if he survived it.

Where the hell was that bastard?

Shawn burst through the doors.

His eyes were sunken in and dark, his body thin, his skin pale as could be.

“What happened to you? Where have you been?” she demanded.

“I—can’t do it. I tried for four nights to find prey, but every time some dude or woman got close to me, I couldn’t… feed.”

“Then how have you done it all the times before?”

“Either Lucius or Vaclav helped me, or there were enough blood packs in the mini fridge.” He paused; then said, “Vaclav is pissed at me and won’t get me blood anymore. He told Lucius not to give me any either. So I’m… fucked.”

Aubrey eyed him. She couldn’t believe how shitty he looked.

She also dreaded his inevitable question…

“Please Aubrey? Let me feed from you?”

“No. I’m still pissed off from the last time.”

“But I’m dying here! My fuckin’ hands are turning blue!”

“No! Learn to… hunt or something like the others!”

“I never asked to be turned into this! This is Vaclav’s fault. He had all this shit planned from the beginning, but I’m the one paying for it. I should be dead, not some zombie-like creature! This isn’t living, this is a living death!” he shouted.

Aubrey frowned.

Maybe he’s right. This really isn’t his fault…

“Okay. But not on the neck. Bite me on the wrist.”

“Thank you, babe. You don’t know what this means—”

“But I’m only doing it this one time. You have to learn how to hunt and feed on your own. I’m your wife, not your personal blood dispensary.”

She stood.

“It’ll just be this once,” he promised.

He grasped her arm.

Shawn’s fangs were like razors. The irony was unbelievable, considering Aubrey once cut herself on purpose. She still had faint scars from those cuts.

She bit her lip, watching in horror as he changed…

His veins popped out and the color returned to his face, his body.

Shawn dropped her arm, nearly collapsing.

“Thank you,” he breathed. “I feel so much better now.”

Saying nothing, Aubrey fell onto the bed. She’d never felt so tired.

Ever.

The following evening, Aubrey headed for the office.

It was the only room in the house with modern equipment: a laptop and internet access.

She was shocked to see Vaclav behind the desk.

He looked up at her.

“Aubrey,” he began. “How are you feeling? Any better?”

“Yeah, I’m better I guess.”

“You sure? You look pale.”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” she said gazing down at her stomach. “The pregnancy makes me look pale.” It was a blatant lie.

“Your father is being a pain in the ass,” he said. “But I don’t want to kill him. I don’t know what to do with him.”

And you’re telling me this because…?

“I suppose I’ll leave him down there for a while longer; at least until we get our son back. Then I’ll figure out what to do with him.” He cleared his throat.

“Anyhow, I wanted to ask you out to dinner. We’ll discuss plans regarding our son,” he said. “Now’s the time.”

Aubrey looked up, smiling.

Soon, she would finally see her son; for the very first time.

                                                     ****

Thanks for reading! 🙂 Chapter 19 coming this Monday.