It was something I hadn’t thought about. I’d imagined a life of darkness and mystery, but not one where I’d have to hide who I was. “I don’t know….”
“Think about it. Me, Sebastian, Jagger, even Luna. We’re all in a club that no mortal wants to join—except for you.”
“But—”
“Have you even told your own mother about me? Or Becky?”
“Of course not. I thought you didn’t…”
“I know. I don’t.” He wandered back to the mantel, stoked the fire, and gazed into the crackling flames shooting from the burning logs. “But sometimes I do.”
I was speechless. Alexander was so much more complicated than I could ever imagine. I did feel sorry for him. I never hid from others my thoughts and tastes, no matter how outlandish, and yet he had to keep secret everything about his lifestyle.
“Sometimes I want your parents to know,” he continued. “Just be able to be who I am. And not have them be fearful of me. Not have them run away.”
I couldn’t imagine my parents running from Alexander under any circumstances. Maybe this was my opportunity to let them into his world.
“Do you want me to tell them?” I moved toward him and drew him in to me.
“It will be the end of everything—of our relationship, of my living here.”
“What if it isn’t?” I asked excitedly. “What if they embrace it? Then neither one of us would have to hide it anymore.”
“You think your father wants you dating a vampire? A guy who drinks blood to exist?”
“They’re former hippies. They might think they were having a flashback.”
“I’m serious. They aren’t hippies anymore. They are parents of a teenage girl.”
“Well…”
He sat down on the sofa. “It’s been great having Sebastian here. And you. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to be myself, apart from being with you.”
It was quite the sight—Alexander, my once gothic prince, transformed into a handsome quarterback from a boarding school, living in a palatial mansion, pained with loneliness even as I sat right next to him.
“This is my life, Raven, whether I have to hide out in a Mansion, live among my kind, or hide out in the
Dungeon at the Coffin Club. It’s all about secrecy and survival.”
I’d never been about hiding or not getting in people’s faces. Maybe I couldn’t be a vampire after all. Could I take the solitude? Or wandering around like Sebastian, trying to find those who were like me?
I felt Alexander was pushing me away—not from him, but from the fantasy of being a vampire. So if I was to truly be with him, I’d have to show him how much I cared for him and push back.
“But we’d live together,” I said. “Like your parents do. I just want to be with you—and I just want everyone to love you for who you are, just like I do. But I understand…Alexander, I know I’m impulsive, but I want what’s best for you—no matter what that means.”
He turned to me, his eyes soulful and his shiny hair glistening. A gorgeous smile emerged from his serious face.
I fixed his collar so it rested flatly. “Besides, it is only temporary. But don’t be mad at me if I slip and call you Trevor.”
Alexander didn’t find my joke amusing, and he rose.
“I didn’t mean to—” I started.
He didn’t speak but shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I was just teasing.”
“No—you’re right. This isn’t how I live. And most important, this isn’t who I am. He unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, exposing a white Cure T-shirt.
I was startled and elated by his bravado. I ran to him and gave him a squeeze so hard I thought I’d pushed the air out of him.
“Jameson, we have some moving to do,” he called.
Sebastian and Jameson entered the room.
“We’re returning the Mansion and me to our original state,” Alexander declared.
“What happened?” Sebastian asked.
“It’s just not me. I don’t have to come out and say I’m a vampire, but on the other hand, I also don’t have to be ashamed of being myself.”
“So what do you want to do now?” Jameson asked.
“Reschedule the interview. We’re going to return the furniture. Immediately.”
“All of it?” Sebastian asked.
Alexander nodded.
Jameson shuffled over to Alexander. “Can we at least keep this rug?”
Alexander smiled. “Of course.”
“And my desk?” Sebastian pleaded.
“Yes….”
“Can we keep that outfit?” I whispered, coyly tugging at his brown leather belt. “Just for fun?”
“Fine!” he reconciled. “But everything else goes back. I have an interview to do!”
12
A Return to Disorder
The next day after sunset, I bounded over to the Mansion with a renewed sense of delight. I was eager to see the