Chapter 33: The Bridgeport Chronicles, Part 2
My head is just reeling. I can’t even catch my breath. I’d taken a bit of a ‘me’ day so I could see about getting things arranged to make a visit home. So I headed to a park called the Butterfly Esplanade. The guys at the precinct told me about it. There’s a biodome there that houses some rare species of butterflies.
No sooner had I gotten there then I saw him… It was like bolt of lightning right to the temple. He came walking down the path, looking a bit parched in the sun- that was another surprise. Seeing a vampire out in midafternoon like he was. But as he got closer, I saw his eyes. They were the same eyes that had haunted my dreams since I was a kid.
I must have looked like an idiot, just standing there in the middle of the path. But he stopped and smiled at me. “Hi there. You ok?”
I blinked and must have blushed. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks. Sorry, just uh… enjoying the scenery.” I put my hand out. “I’m Luna.”
He took my hand and shook it. “Roark, Roark Donovan.”
I boggled. “Wait, Roark Donovan?” I began to laugh. “Well, then… that’s certainly interesting. I do believe that you’re my landlord.”
His eyes widened and he began to laugh. “You’re Luna Wyvern? How’s the apartment treating you?”
“Very well, thanks.”
We chatted a few moments longer before I noticed he was, um… smoking a little. “Whoa! Shouldn’t we get you out of the sun?”
He looked down and grinned ruefully. “Yeah… might be a good idea.” He grinned. Man, that smile… I’d never really quite believed it when someone talked about going weak in the knees, but boy, his smile sure did that. “There’s a coffee house down the street a ways. Feel like grabbing a cup of coffee?”
“I’d love to.”
So we hopped in his truck and left. The little coffee house was cute; it was one I hadn’t been to yet. We walked in; I couldn’t help it when my gaze kept roving over him. Was I dreaming again? I hoped not. Roark was a very hot vampire… and I don’t just mean from the sun.
I don’t actually know how long we talked in there. We talked a lot about the city, about what we did. He thought it interesting that I was a PI. He, apparently, is a military man. The Air Force, in fact. He’s a Squad Leader, on leave for an extended period of time. Our coffee cups were long since drained, but we stayed there till the sun was actually beginning to set. Finally, he sighed and stood up. I followed and we went out the door. “I should get home. My sister will wonder where I am before too long.”
“Sister?”
He nodded. “Yeah, my sister Cyn lives with me.” He hesitated just a little. “She’s… special. She can’t live on her own so her and I share the house we grew up in.”
The love in his eyes as he spoke about his sister reminded me of my brother and I. Touched, I took both of his hands in my own. “That is incredibly sweet,” I murmured, looking into his eyes.
He laughed a little. “She’s my sister.” It was said so simply and with such love, I had to swallow before I could speak again.
“I’ll let you get back to her then.” I paused for a moment and tilted my head to the side. “Why don’t you give me a call sometime? Maybe we can get more than coffee?”
“I’d like that,” he murmured. “Until then, Luna.” He took one of my hands and brought it to his lips, brushing them over my knuckles before walking away. Oh My Watcher… my knees almost did buckle then. I found him… I found my Vampire Prince. And during our entire conversation, I hadn’t gotten one reading off of him. None at all. It must have been because he’s a vampire.
From: thelonewolf @ MonteVista.net
To: eclipsesshadow @ Bridgeport.net
Subject: Hey!
Hey Sis,
I know you’ve been busy. But thought I’d check in on ya, find out what’s been going on. I don’t know if Mom told you, but I decided this year to do the homeschool thing. Being with so many other people just takes a toll, ya know? It’s pretty easy. I can move as fast as I want. I’m actually due to graduate early. I simply download the homework, do it, then upload and turn it in that way.
When I need help, Dad’s been giving me a hand.
By the way, thanks for the laptop. I love it. It even handles the modded games I’ve installed on it. Because of all my free time with homeschooling, I decided to get a part time job. I know, I know, I can see your jaw dropping to the floor already. Sorry to disappoint, but I got one at the mausoleum. Perfect for me, right? At least I’m with people… even if they are dead. Then again, for me, that still makes them very much “alive”.
Speaking of that… Guess who paid me a visit again? I haven’t seen her in a long time. But today, she came walking in and sat down next to me.
She kept talking about going to University. Isn’t it bad enough that you badger me? Now I have our dead great-grandmother doing it too… Yeesh. I’m going, just so you know. Gonna try it out. Plus, there’s that recruiter that keeps calling me. We’ll see how it goes.
Oh, mom’s started me on the ol’ self-defense training. It’s not half bad, actually. Though, uh… trying to attack my own mother just feels weird. I made the mistake of telling her that, though. She made me try… mind you, I say try, to attack her. It didn’t end well for me.
Anyway, think that’s about all. Hope everything’s going well for you. Miss ya, sis. Love you.
-Alduin
From: eclipsesshadow @ Bridgeport.net
To: thelonewolf @ MonteVista.net
Subject: Re: Hey!
I know I’ve been terrible with communicating the last little while. Just been busy. Cases are starting to pile up. It’s great, but at the same time, makes it hard to really do much else. I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately.
Other than that, there hasn’t been much. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come and visit. I’m just swamped. Maybe I could try to convince mom and dad to let you come visit me here? I know mom’s not gonna wanna come, but maybe you can crash here for a bit with me.
Oh, gotta go little brother. I’ll call you guys later this week, ok? Love you all!
Luna
Alduin looked at his computer screen, reading his sister’s email.
Something wasn’t quite right there, he knew. Though Luna still called faithfully and sent an email every now and again, he had the feeling that she was hiding something. When he talked to her, she seemed happy and perfectly content, but he also knew her well enough to know when there was something else on her mind. He was half tempted to do a bit of hacking and find out. But the violation of privacy stopped him. Certainly nothing was wrong, so he’d let it go. Luna’d tell him eventually, he was sure. He did miss her. It had been ages since he’d seen her. There had been that one little mini trip almost two years ago, right after his birthday. But she’d only been able to fly in for the weekend and hadn’t been able to stay long.
He seriously considered the invitation to go and spend a few days with her in Bridgeport. He wasn’t overly fond of the thought of all those people, but the photos and stuff she’d sent made it seem really cool. He’d have to ask his mother, though he winced at that. He didn’t think his mom would want both her children there, even if it was only for a few days.
As he sat there, contemplating a course of action, his phone rang. He’d set it beside his computer earlier when he’d come downstairs. He picked it up. “Captain Wyvern here, at your service,” he greeted the caller, looking smug.
The smug look faded though as soon as he heard the voice on the other end.
“Have you thought about our offer, Mr. Wyvern?”
“I have,” Alduin answered after a moment. He checked around him, making sure there was no one else around. “I’ll do it. I’ll join your agency and this new team of yours. But I want assurances. This won’t come back on my family, right?”
“Of course, Mr. Wyvern. You’re training begins now.” There was a click as the caller hung up. Alduin stared down at this phone and then a steely look came into his eyes. He was a Wyvern. He’d been given this gift for a reason. He was going to use it.
I told myself that I would be as honest in this journal, this chronicle of our family, as I could be. The truth is, I hate not being honest with them. I lied when I told my little brother that I was too busy working cases. The past year has been good for business, it’s true. But that isn’t what kept me busy. What’s kept me busy is a certain red-eyed vampire.
I hadn’t heard from him for a couple days after our coffee date. Then one night, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and I swear, I giggled like a school girl when the readout showed his number. I like to think that my voice was calm when I answered the phone, but I honestly have no idea if it was!
“Hey, Luna. How would you like to go to the Aquarius tonight? We can have a drink, maybe a little bit of dancing?”
“I’d love that,” I murmured. Inside, I was dancing and shaking my booty. After we agreed on the time, I hung up… and proceeded to dance around the apartment. Though I was always more outgoing than my baby brother, certain things never appealed to me. I’d never gone on dates, hadn’t even attended my own prom. This was something new for me.
He arrived promptly when he had said he would. I opened the door for him and just had to admire him. He was a handsome man, but seeing him in his formal attire made my mouth water. His eyes had widened when he saw me and I saw appreciation in them. “You look beautiful,” he murmured.
“You don’t look too bad yourself.”
Boy, I could have looked into his eyes for ages. We must have stood there for a long time, just staring into one another’s eyes. I was fascinated and attracted and all manner of things.
Grinning, he finally said, “Shall we go?”
I could only nod. I don’t honestly remember a whole lot from that not. I was on Cloud 9 and it was all such a haze, like some sort of a dream. I do remember dancing with Roark though. I remember one hand on my shoulder, the other holding one of mine, my other hand resting at his waist. And I remember the melody of the music as we swayed, the lights dancing over our bodies.
We must have danced for hours. The Aquarius actually was closing by the time we left. Roark walked me up to my apartment. “Would you like to come in?” I asked. What was I doing? I was inviting a really handsome man- vampire- into my apartment. That’s what I was doing.
“I’d love to.”
I’m not really sure who actually made the first move. Maybe we both did at the same time. All I know is, I found myself being kissed like I’d never been kissed before.
I was drowning. Drowning in sensation. Was this what happened between my parents? And between my grandparents? Did they experience almost a loss of self when they held each other in their arms? These questions and more ran through my head so fast, it was like warp speed. After a moment, we parted and Roark gently sat a hand on either side of my face.
“I don’t know what this is, Luna,” he murmured. “But I want to find out. And-and I haven’t had that urge in a long time. I want to tell you now, that I haven’t felt this way about a person in many years. I… There was someone else once, but I lost her. Cancer. It’s an old wound, one I haven’t really looked to open again. But I’m drawn to you, Luna. I want to see where this goes.”
“I do too, Roark. I have a confession to make. I’ve had… dreams since I was a child. You were in those dreams.”
“Me?” he asked, looking surprised.
I nodded. “Yes, you were. When I saw you that day at the Esplanade, I was so shocked. But I wanted to know you then. And I still do.”
“Good. But I want to take things slowly, if that’s ok with you.”
I nodded again. “Yeah, slow might be best.”
He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Have a wonderful night, Luna. And sweet dreams.”
That was over two months ago now. Unfortunately, I did get busy for a bit with cases. Ended up at a stake-out for three nights in fact.
But we talked on the phone almost every night. I was talking to him more than my own family… and the guilt of that is pretty high. I need to tell them, but I think I might be a little afraid to. Well, maybe not afraid per se, but… hesitant? I can’t really say why, honestly. Maybe I’m enjoying being on my own. I’ve never really kept any secrets from my family before. Maybe it makes things more exciting, I don’t know. Maybe I just want to keep him to myself for a while longer. Is that wrong? I’ll tell them soon. I want to find out where this is going first, I think.
I’m writing today in a very unusual spot. I’m in Roark’s home… in his bedroom, actually. Well, I guess it isn’t unusual, since we’ve been dating, well, I guess you can call exploring one another dating. Anyway, sorry. Trying to keep things straight. Been hard of late. Still feels like a dream at times. About a month ago, a pipe burst in the wall and flooded my apartment. I heard the noise coming from the bathroom and walked in to find water all over the floor and spreading rapidly. I’ve always been good at fixing things, but since I couldn’t really see where it was coming from, I made a call.
“Roark… my apartment is flooded.”
He promised to send a crew over as soon as he could. Then he says, “You can’t sleep in a flooded apartment, so why don’t you come stay the night at my place? There’s plenty of room.”
“Sure.” It was that simple.
He gave me the address. I packed an overnight bag and left.
When I got there, I saw someone outside, in the rain. It was his sister Cyn. I spoke with her for a moment and she smiled at me and told me to go on in.
Wondering what she was doing in the rain, I shrugged and went inside. She seemed normal enough, though being out in the rain was a bit odd. As soon as I got in, there he was. “Hi.”
“Hi yourself.”
He pulled me close and there we were, kissing again.
I was expecting it to be… duller than the first time. After all, once you’ve done it once, any time after is just a repeat, right? No, no that is utterly wrong. It was the same, yet so much different. Before, we had no idea about the other one. This one had heat to it, but also tenderness.
Roark stepped back just a bit so he could frame my face with his hands once more.
“I think I might be falling in love with you,” he murmured. There was a hint of sadness there, though. I couldn’t pinpoint it. Not being able to read him was still a bit odd. “And I think I’m happy about that.”
“Good,” I murmured, “because I think I may be falling in love with you, too.”
I’ve been at Roark’s for a week now. I’m fairly sure the work crew has finished with my apartment, but I really don’t care. I don’t want to leave. There is one very good reason for me to stay here.
I think I might stay here longer. We’ll see what unfolds.
*****
