Chapter 69
The ocean waves crashed nearby, dark in the moonlight, the sand a pale swath against the night. Staring out at the ocean, she felt so tiny, so small. Insignificant. Lost, even.
Because I am lost. I don't know what I'm doing, or why.
Jorick turned his face to her, so that his lips were pressed against her forehead. His hand crept up to the back of her neck and tangled in her hair. He inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly, as though he were trying to hold some memory in his lungs. When he spoke his voice had an odd edge to it, "In the scheme of the world we are all small things."
She looked up sharply at his too perfect perception, but then realized that feeling small must be a common sensation when faced with such a view. She smiled at him, and he returned it, but somehow it didn't look right.
He turned away and she continued to gaze at him. The cold breeze blew his dark hair around his pale face and his eyes stared at something far away, perhaps something too far for her to see. His lips pressed together delicately and she imagined kissing them, but she wasn't brave enough. Still, he was too beautiful to ignore, so she settled for tracing a finger across his too smooth cheek.
He caught her hand in his and held it to his lips. Her heart pounded and she swallowed hard as so many feelings washed over her. Feelings she'd been missing only moments ago.
Slowly, he kissed his way over her knuckles to her fingers. His lips were soft and warm and just moist enough to make her think of other things; other places he could kiss. Goose bumps raced up and down her spine and her eyes drifted closed. She bit her lip in anticipation. She needed this more than she'd realized. She needed to feel wanted and attractive and-
"Ow!"
She jerked involuntarily as he nipped her finger. The surprise on his face showed it was an accident, and she was willing to overlook it, but he wasn't. He dropped her hand as though it burned him, and took a step back.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's okay," she soothed and closed the gap between them. "It's not a big deal." She lifted her hands to his face, but he caught them and lowered them again.
"You're cold," he said flatly. "We should head back."
"I'm not that cold," she argued. However the grim look on his face told her it was futile. Whatever might have happened had disappeared into the hazy world of could-of-been.
Katelina walked back to the house, her shoulders drooped and her demeanor one of defeat. If Jorick noticed, he didn't comment, and once they were inside he muttered a halfhearted excuse and disappeared. She heard him unlock the white door and then shut it loudly. She didn't know if he'd locked it again or not, but she felt too dejected to go check.
***
Jorick resurfaced later in the night, and they had a strange, uncomfortable conversation. More than once she wanted to ask what the hell his deal was, but she was still afraid of the answer, so she stayed silent. After all, there was always tomorrow.
And tomorrow.
And tomorrow.
And soon a week had passed. Jorick disappeared into his locked room more than once, and never bothered to offer any explanation about what was inside it. Katelina spent a good portion of the week bored and lonely. She had only Jorick and Loren for company and felt that if she didn't talk to someone else she'd go insane. To their credit, they offered to take her to town when they went for more groceries, but she refused. She supposed she'd been childishly hoping Jorick would insist on taking her. However, he just brushed a kiss across her forehead and promised to return.
Yippy-ki-yay.
On the bright side, Katelina's wounds were healing, so she could actually look in the bathroom mirror again. Her black eye was just a yellow smudge, and the other scrapes and bruises were nothing more than pink spots. Her forearm was tender and she was pretty sure that the stitches in her shoulder were ready to come out. Except that she had no intention of going to the hospital again.
When Jorick and Loren came in the door, faces flushed and fresh from feeding, Katelina casually mentioned the problem.
Loren threw himself across the couch. "Just do it yourself," he suggested. "It's really easy. I had stitches once, when I was a kid, and that's what Mom did. She just snipped them and tugged the puppies right out with a pair of tweezers."
Loren's miniature story brought up an interesting question: Where were his parents? He was a fairly recent vampire, if she was any judge at all, so they ought to be around somewhere. Unless- But she didn't like to think that the teen would drink his own family dry. Not really.
"Then find whatever we need," Jorick ordered uncertainly.
"Loren do this. Loren do that. Fetch and carry, Loren." But even as he muttered he got to his feet. "Where am I supposed to get it from?"
"The first aid kit's in the bathroom. I assume it will be in there."
Loren trudged away obediently and returned with a tiny pair of medical scissors, tweezers and the miniature bottle of peroxide. The first aid kit and various tubes and bottles were Jorick's idea. He'd bought them on the last grocery run because he thought they should have some of "that sort of thing" around.
Katelina's neckline was too small to stretch, so she had to peel her shirt off. Loren turned around, after Jorick glared at him, but he refused to actually leave the room. When the shirt was off she managed to use it to cover herself, but her cheeks still burned at the too-near proximity to nakedness.
Jorick was quite deft with the tiny scissors. He snipped the stitches in no time flat, however they were harder to pull out than they were to cut.
Loren hunched over the proceedings with a keen interest. "You've left them too long," he commented. "They grew in."
Jorick grunted and gave an extra hard tug. The thread came free and, as Jorick discarded it, Loren smirked and asked, "You don't mind if I lick those do you?"
"Yes!" Katelina cried, horrified. "That's just sick!"
Jorick's voice was rumbling thunder, warning of an impending storm, "Loren."
He took a step back, his hands held up. "Aw, come on man, I was only joking. I swear. Really. I thought it was funny."
"Well it wasn't," Jorick muttered as he turned back to his task. "Now be quiet, or go away."
Loren stayed quiet for the rest of the procedure, and even turned his back obediently so she could put her shirt back on. He turned around, a joke in his eyes, when Jorick went stiff.
Katelina's ears strained, but she heard nothing. "What is it?"
Jorick motioned her to be silent, and sniffed the air. A dark, angry look took over his features and he glanced back at Loren. "Take her to the basement."
"But, why?"
"Just do it!" Jorick snapped as he moved towards the door.
Loren shrugged and motioned for Katelina to come with him. She stood, but didn't even make it to the dining room before the front door banged open. She stared in horror as two men, clad in long black coats, strode into the house as if they had every right to be there. One was tall and thin, with a ponytail of long golden hair, while the other was shorter and broader, his skin pale against a dark shock of shaggy black hair that stood at odd angles.
They weren't men, but vampires.
