15
“Hey.”
“I’m coming,” I responded, snapping myself from the thoughts. “Sorry.”
Vincent turned and began walking down the hallway. I followed after him without hesitation. The halls were completely empty like always as we traversed through them. A frown set on my face again. If there really were maids and menservants, where were they? Hiding? I almost snorted at the thought.
“I’m putting the child lock on, so don’t try to jump out of the car,” Vincent warned me as he opened the door that led to the outside.
A burst of freezing air met my face and I shivered instantly. Even though I’d only been out of it for three days, it was still surprising hold could it was. I hadn’t missed that at all. The sky was still a dark grey- a telltale sign of rain. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. Rain I was okay with. Thunderstorms on the other hand…
“Did you hear me stupid?”
I clenched my fist. “I’m not stupid. Yes, I heard you. I just chose not to respond.”
“You’re still stupid.”
“I wouldn’t jump out of a moving car,” I snapped at him.
“You’ve tried it before,” he responded smartly.
.
.
He had me there. I settled for giving him a disapproving look as he led me to the car. He went to the driver’s side, leaving me by myself. I stood still for a moment, wondering what would happen if I decided to run. There wasn’t any way I could make it very far, but the thought crossed my mind. Would Vincent chase after me?
A sharp blare from the horn made me jump in surprise. Vincent gestured with his hand for me to get in the car. Sighing, I opened the door and slipped in. Samuel turned to grin at me. “You ready?”
“Yeah,” I responded.
As soon as the words left my mouth I was forced back into my seat as Vincent slammed on the gas pedal. Terror washed over me and I quickly fumbled for my seatbelt. The forest whizzed by as Vincent sped down the road. Samuel stayed calm, seemingly unaffected by Vincent’s velocity as he searched through the radio stations. I clutched the side of the door, forcing myself to keep my gaze on anything but the outside.
Vincent glanced at me through the rear-view mirror. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of driving fast.”
“I’m not!”
“That’s not what you’re heart says.”
At first I thought he’d said some cheesy line until I realized that my heart was pounding furiously in my chest. I tried to calm it down, pressing my palm to it roughly. Samuel snickered from his seat.
“He may drive fast, but Vivi’s an excellent driver,” he apprised me. “Don’t worry.”
“Call me Vivi again and I will purposely crash the car.”
“But I won’t die.”
“It’s still hurt.”
I peered at Samuel curiously. “How do you know you won’t die, Samuel?”
He turned to me. “Vampires are pretty much indestructible. There are only a few ways to kill us.”
“How?”
Vincent jammed his elbow into his friend’s side. Samuel winced, rubbing his side. “Man, why do you have to be so abusive?”
“Why don’t you know how to shut up?”
“She asked a question.”
“A stupid one.”
I grit my teeth. “What? Is that the only word you know, Vivi?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I know plenty of insults that are close to that. Shall I list a few?”
“No-”
“Fool, idiot, ass, blockhead, dunce, imbecile, cretin, dullard, halfwit, flake, dipshit.”
Samuel smiled wryly at him. “I think she gets it.”
“Yeah, I do,” I added, giving him the same look as Samuel. “You really have quite the vocabulary.”
He abruptly took a sharp left, causing me to slam my head into the window. I winced, pushing myself away. Samuel laughed at me from the front seat.
“You’re funny,” he commented. “I like you.”
How was banging my head into the window funny? “Thanks… I think.”
“No problem,” he responded. “So how’s being kidnapped?”
“Terrifying at the time,” I responded slowly, confused at how relaxed he was about talking about kidnap. “Isn’t it illegal for vampires too?”
Samuel nodded. “Yep.”
I turned to Vincent. “Did you get in trouble for that?”
He stayed silent, ignoring me. Feeling a little put out, I turned back to Samuel. “So are you part of the royal family?”
.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
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Samuel shook his head. “No way. Even though the blood of Vincent’s family runs through mostly everyone around here I’m one of those people that come from a different blood line,” he informed me. “From Canada.”
“Really?”
“Really,” he told me. “I bet you never thought you’d meet a Canadian vampire.”
I smiled at him. “I never thought I’d meet any kind of vampire. I have another question though. Do you dye your hair, or is that your natural color?”
A smirk crossed his face. “You know there is a way you can find that out yourself…”
Vincent swerved roughly again, this time causing Samuel to crash into the window. “Don’t be a pervert.”
Samuel grinned sheepishly. “It’s true though. And hey, I can’t help but to hit on cute ladies.”
“You only think she’s cute because she’s a human.”
“Maybe…”
I blinked at the two. “Did I miss something? What did you mean before, Samuel?”
Samuel stared at me for a moment, his mouth slightly open. “Oh my… Vivi, you got yourself a keeper. She’s so cute! How innocent! If I could come back there and hug you I would.”
My gaze met Vincent’s in the mirror, and even he looked a little surprised. When he caught me staring he looked away, almost looking embarrassed. Now more confused than before, I leaned further up in my seat. “Samuel, what do you mean?”
“I’ll show you later-”
“No you won’t,” Vincent snapped. “Drop it.”
I squared my shoulders. “No, I want to know.”
“She wants to know, Vince,” Samuel repeated in an amused voice. “It’s her choice.”
“No, Samuel,” Vincent said with an air of finality. Suddenly his eyes lit up in amusement. “Ask Sebastian.”
Samuel’s jaw dropped. “That’s not fair!”
“Why Sebastian?” I inquired.
Vincent continued smirking, not bothering to reply to my question. Samuel fell back into his seat, looking unhappy. Silence settled in the car and I shrugged, turning to look out the window. Vincent was still driving at a dangerous pace, but I was used to it know. The rain started and Vincent switched on his windshield wipers, interrupting the silence.
Fifteen minutes later, we were driving through a place I recognized all too much. The downtown area about five minutes away from where my car had broken down and the creepy old school house. My heart began to pound a little harder in my chest when I saw the restaurant Leah and Alli would go to every Friday. Part of me was tempted to open the door to the car and jump out. Maybe it as a good idea on Vincent’s part to put the child’s lock on.
“Hey Vincent?”
“What?”
“What ever happened to my car? Didn’t someone find it?”
He shook his head. “No, after you passed out Joel brought it back to your house.”
“But it died…”
“No, it just stalled. And you put the wrong key into the ignition. Another reason you’re stupid.”
I blanked. Did I seriously put in the wrong key? Was that the whole reason? I’d been kidnapped because I was stupid enough to use the wrong key? I resisted the urge to slap myself. Vincent was right. I was stupid.
“Where are we going?” I asked, deciding to change the subject.
“Walmart.”
My eyes widened slightly. “You can go there?”
“Only you know we’re vampires,” Samuel informed me. “To humans, we’re humans.”
“But what about me?”
“You can wait in the car,” Vincent replied.
“I’m not a dog!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I’m not waiting in the car! Let me come in!”
He shook his head. “What if someone you know sees you?”
“I’ll… I’ll be careful.”
“No can do.”
I grasped the back of his seat, bringing my head closer to his. “Please, Vincent? It’s… What day is it? Monday? No one I know would be at Walmart at this time.”
He leaned forward in his seat away from me. “No means no.”
“I said please!”
“I said no!”
Samuel gave Vincent a sly look. “You’re afraid you might see someone you know, too, Vivi?”
“No,” he growled.
“Sure. That’s why you don’t want Emily to go in. You might get caught. Shoulda known you were a chicken.”
Vincent slammed on the breaks, causing both Samuel and I to jolt forwards in our seats. I scowled, removing my face from the leather I’d smacked into. I had to remember when driving with Vincent, he liked to make you smash into things.
“Fine,” he snapped, his gaze shifting to me.
“But if you’re seen, it’s your fault.”
I grinned.
“Okay.”
A Walmart adventure with Vampires. That could be fun.