DESI
The wedding planning was a blur,but at the same time, so painstakingly slow. Aleida wanted my input on every little detail despite us both knowing this wedding was a sham. Every time she grew irritated with my lack of interest in this or that, I would ask her what her Bloodshed boyfriend would have picked.
“I wish you would stop calling him that. And I wished you cared more to fight for me.”
“I guess I’m not the jealous type.” I pointed to some plain-looking orange flowers. “What about those?”
“Tigerlily’s? In the fall? Jesus, Desiderio. Remind me to never let you decorate our future home.”
My eye twitched at her words. There would never be a home that we would share.
It took everything in me not to end the engagement then and there. Each and every night that I was dragged out to another place for planning the words sat on the tip of my tongue. But keeping Scout safe and alive was more pressing.
I had it all planned out. Once I got her out of the state, I’d break it off with Aleida, and Scout and I wouldn’t return home for a year or so. By then, the Linottis would have found some other vampire to marry her off to.
There was only one problem with my plan.
Scout was still human.
I had no choice but to turn when my twenty-seventh birthday came, but Scout would remain as she was, aging each and every day past me.
That left few options for us. I could reveal the truth, and we stayed together until she either died of old age or found a human to grow old with, or, I could convince her to attempt to become a vampire.
No one knew exactly what it was about humans that allowed some to become vampires. We only knew how to do it. But the penalty for failure was death, and the community frowned upon that. How could you encourage someone to kill themselves in the random chance it worked? Was I prepared to gamble with Scout’s life? If she didn’t have vampirism in her blood, I’d lose her forever.
But if we didn’t try, then eventually, we’d have the same outcome.
Every single day since the car accident, I went over our options. I thought long and hard about the speeches I’d give her. I acted it out in the privacy of my living room. I would get down on my knees and recite the words I’d memorized, and yet, I still hadn’t gained the courage to say them to her.
After weeks of feigning even a slight interest in wedding planning, Friday the 13th came and Aleida left. I showered, shaved, and dressed in clean clothes. Toward the end of our wedding planning, I’d been purposely avoiding all three of those things in hopes that Aleida would stop inviting me. It hadn’t worked so far.
I hopped into my car to take Scout out to dinner and then the movies. The sun didn’t go down until much later now, which meant Aleida and all of our family were stuck inside.
I could still walk in the sun; an ability they no longer possessed.
Scout came running out of her house, dressed in all the grunge clothing I’d bought her. I thought she was stunning in anything she wore, but in boots and flannel, she was even sexier.We looked like we truly belonged together.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she squealed and threw her arms around me. “There was so much stuff delivered. I don’t even know how to use most of it!”
She was referring to the art supplies I had paid to be delivered the day after we had talked.
“Did they keep you busy while you waited for me?”
“Somewhat. I started painting the walls. Luis is not entirely enthused.”
We jumped into my car, and she directed me to a burger place. We sat outside on the hood of my car and ate fries and burgers, catching up on what we’d missed. She told me all about the new art she’d created and I… lied.
I told her I was away, off in New York, getting things done. I made up some guy and how I had killed him. “I had to stalk him for a while, he was smart, but eventually I caught him.”
“Well, I’m glad you got back in time to take me to the movies.” She leaned over and gave me a kiss. “I would have had to go without you.”
“Like hell you would have.” We finished eating and hurried to the theater, where we were lucky to get seats before it got packed. “I want to see The Crow just as much as you do.”
“That was epic!” Scout gushed after the movie ended. “And Brandon Lee in that makeup?” She pressed her hands to her heart and sighed. “That man was gorgeous.”
A small twinge of jealousy poked my ego. I frowned, and she nudged me with a grin. “Oh, don’t tell me I can’t admire a movie star. A late movie star.” She crossed herself quickly.
“I keep surprising myself with how much I don’t want you looking at anybody but me ever again.”
