68: As Much As It Repulses Me To Think about

Silence fills the room. An awkward, unpleasant silence. There’s Gretchen with saddened eyes. Monty who slowly nods her head as everything falls into place for her and her cards. Avery arrived while I was out cold, she’s the only sympathetic one as she kneels beside me, hands gripping my shoulders. Avalos is beside Quinn, who I was not expecting, both have slack jaws and wide eyes, completely taken off guard.

Caleb’s stare is the worst. Appalled. I sicken him. My chest ignites with a wild fire of guilt even though it’s unnecessary. We may have grown apart for the time being, but he still matters to me. His repulsed look as he stares down at me makes me repulsed with myself.

How could I have been so wrong about Gabriel?

I don’t have to stare into those full dark eyes for long, because he lets out some overused, generic curse word and marches away, his hands yanking at his hair as he tries to comprehend what’s happened.

We all can hear him argue with himself as he paces the shop floor. “Fucking vampire.” “God damn it.” Can’t believe it.” “I’m gonna kill him.”

My hands scrambling to adjust my shirt to cover my extended stomach. I don’t even look that pregnant, but after weeks of not eating I don't have enough fat to hide the perfectly rounded pooch. My back sore, my head is throbbing, it takes a minute for me to lift myself up off the floor.

“Here let me help you.” Avery says as she helps me to my feet. “I got here seconds after you went down. I saw it through the window. How's your head?”

“Not the greatest.” I can see the question on her face, on more than just her face. Am I okay? “Gabriel. He’s been using old magic to...visit me.” As I hear the words said out loud, I hear how crazy they are. Visiting me. Like some kind of alien.

Avery’s lips form an oh, but the word doesn’t come out. It’s Gretchen that shouts in my ear. “What.”

“He and Phillip, they were in the old country preparing, gaining fellowship. He found something, learned something. I thought they were dreams...or nightmares when I was sleeping, but then it happened when I wasn’t asleep.” My words die off. “Jezmin told me and she’s right.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do to change anything, so let’s prepare.” Monty says using my own words.

We all give seldom, tight lipped smiles before veering off in different paths.

Monty says she’s going to the basement to plant a seed. “We’ll have fruit in a couple days...hopefully.”

My eyes shoot to Gretchen. This time she can hear my question in her head before I get a chance to speak it. “We’ll stay as long as we have to.”

“We’ll line the doors and windows.” Avalos says as he takes Quinn’s hand. They each have vials in their hands that I hadn’t noticed before.

“I’ll make more.” I offer.

“I think it would be best if you just sit down, rest.” She pauses. “Maybe I can take a look, see if everything is fine.”

“Everything is fine. It’s was just Gabriel's little mind games.” I march away, arms aggressively swinging. This is what I didn’t want to happen.

I didn’t want everyone to coddle me, have concern for me or treat me any differently. Things would be better if they all were furious at me for my stupidity in trusting a vampire. My own rule, broken.

I quickly mix up a batch with Avery’s eyes on me the entire time. “Did they do the door yet?”

“I don’t know, why?”

“The vials don’t have…” what is the word I’m looking for, “the fail safe. The component that lets someone allow someone inside.”

Avery mumbles that she can check and bolts from the room. She’s only gone a few seconds before she returns. “Door’s done.”

“And?”

“I guess no one else is coming in?”

Great. “Tell Avalos to leave a window or something open for Icky, otherwise tell Gretchen to tell him he shouldn’t come.” I hand her the fresh vial. “And make sure someone adds a drop of blood to that. If we ever have to leave, even we won’t be able to come back.”

She hurries away abiding by my words. The only bad thing is, Caleb stands in the doorway after she exits. We stare at each for a few minutes before I realize that I’m the one to break the silence. “He’s coming and we have a lot of work to do, so if you-”

“I’m sorry.” The words cut me off and take me by surprise. “I freaked out and it was wrong of me. I’m sure you’re already freaked, but…” He runs his hand through his hair with a heavy breath. “I just don’t like him and it rips me apart from the inside out that you see something in him.”

I could do two things. Argue with him, stick up for Gabriel or I could let it go. “I don’t know what to say. It’s complicated.” I go with the latter and avoid as much confrontation as possible.

“I won’t let him have you or the baby.” That’s the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth. Before I have a chance to reply, he says, “because for all we know it could be mine.”

“What.” It's a lazy 'what'. A word that just slips from my lips.

“You know it could be. As much as it repulses me to think about, you’ve been with both of us round the same time...roughly. It’s possible.”

My head shakes from side to side in a panic. It isn’t that it didn’t cross my mind, but a part of me doesn’t want it to be Caleb’s, but maybe that’s just the residual blood talking. “It would-”

“It could kill you, but a vampire baby may kill you too. We don’t know. There’s a reason for that. That thing-”

“Is none of your concern.” I snap at him. “I appreciate it Caleb, but I can’t right now.”

His mouth smacks open to argue with me, but a scream sounds from just outside, then another and another, all blending together. It travels down the street getting louder as it gets closer. We all flock to the front of the shop. Avalos and Quinn dumbfounded with vials still in hand, Monty breathless from trekking up the steps, Avery just lingers behind the counter, Caleb just behind me.

It’s in slow motion as we watch people scatter, running down the street. Quicker, faster beings chasing after them. Some are caught and pulled to the ground, some are dragged away to the shadows, some escape. Their screams die out as their throats are ripped out and those that escape into nearby houses or business are merely replaced by some other unfortunate soul.

We all become startled as a young teenage couple slams into the shop doors. They jiggle the knob, but it’s locked. Their eyes are wild and desperate as they beg for us to open up. To help them. I mindlessly take a step forward.

“Hazel.” Caleb says sternly.

I unlock the doors and throw them open. They try to come inside, frantically pounding at the invisible barrier that I completely forgot about. No fail safe. I can’t even invite them in. I don’t have to listen to them question and yell for me to help them for long. They get yanked aggressively away as if they're ragdolls.

A group of blood thirsty vamps prey on their helpless bodies. Car tires screech to a halt on what sounds like every street in the city. Police sirens, fire truck horns, and crushing metal all blend into a chaotic, disturbed symphony. It’s happening.

The doors are slammed shut seconds after one single vamp runs at us. He collides with the barrier and my heart leaps from my chest even though I know it’ll hold. Our eyes meet through the window pane in the door. A smirk on his face.

If Gabriel doesn’t know where I am already, he does now.