🌷ROSES FOR RACHEL
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#EPISODE_19
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Flames.
All around me, I’m surrounded by strange blue flames. My heart is racing, but I don’t feel any pain or heat, I only feel fear. Fear of the flames, fear of dying. The flames are coming closer and closer by the second. I look down and see that I’m n-ked, and when I glance back up, the flames are gone. Now I’m in the middle of the cavernous dungeons, just another n-ked b©dy among the hundreds. I turn around to run for the big black doors, but they’re blocked. By Fern. She stands in front of the doors, n-ked like the rest of us, and waving me over to her. I look around and then step towards her, avoiding the bodies of the slee-ping on my way. “Miss Rachel…” She whispers my name and it echoes off of the walls. “Never safe…” I hear her say and I st©p walking to stare up to her. Her face looks afraid. “Danger is everywhere…secrets…” Her words continue bouncing around the room and ringing in my ears. Then she screams. High pitched enough to break glas-s, eyes round like marbles. Suddenly she’s broken. Her b©dy is torn ap@rt and stacked in a pyre. I scream her name and run to her, reaching my hand out to t©uçh her icy skin. The blue flames come back, engulfing her b©dy, but when the flames t©uçh my hand it isn’t blue anymore. It’s just fire. h0t, burning, agonizing fire.
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I wake up thrashing around in the be-d, screaming nons-en-se about Fern and secrets.
“Rachel!” His voice pu-lls me from my terror. “Rachel, wake up.”
I feel his cold hands on my shoulders shaking me. I sit up straight, bringing my hands to my face to make sure they aren’t burnt. I check both sides, sighing that they are just my regular slender hands, not the charred mess I was sure I’d find. I turn my b©dy quic-kly, wra-pping my arms around Calvin desperately and cry into his n£¢k while he ru-bs my back and shushes me. After a long while, Calvin lets me go just enough for him to pu-ll back the covers and crawl un-der the blankets with me. He la-id back on his back, fluffing the pillows, then pu-ll-ed me down to him so that my head was resting on his che-st. “I’m sorry.” I said throu-gh my tears.
“For what?” He asked surprised.
I sighed. “For crying, and waking you up, and stealing half of your be-d, and-.”
He tilted my chin up, looking down into my we-t eyes. “Never apologize for feeling things, and you didn’t wake me, I haven’t been able to sleep at all, but it’s not your fault that I can’t focus on going to sleep with someone as beautiful as you lying in be-d beside me.” He k!$$£d my forehead sweetly. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I thought for a moment, tracing little circles on his che-st with my f!nger. “Blue flames.” I whispered.
“Ah.” He said with a nod. “You saw her then?”
“Yep.” I replied. “I’ve never seen a dead person before.”
“I’m so sorry about all of this, Rachel.”
“Why was it blue? The fire, I mean.” I asked looking up at him.
He was looking straight ahead, staring blankly at the TV that was off. “When you burn a vampire, the flames look blue, and it has a sweet smell instead of the burning smell of a normal fire.”
“I didn’t know vampires could be killed.” I admitted. “I have a pretty limited knowledge on you still, but I thought you were invincible.”
He sighed and smiled a little. “Mostly, but not entirely.” He told me. “You alre-ady know we can be weakened by juniper, but we can be killed too, if you know what you’re doing. The heart has to be pu-ll-ed from the che-st, and then it and the b©dy must be dismembered and burned.”
I sat up on my elbow, turning to face him. “So someone could kill you?”
He looked at me strangely, pu-lling together his eyebrows. “Yes.” He replied. “Why?”
I dropped my gaze from him. I was just surprised by the fact that as strong as he seems, that he actually is still vulnerable, even if it is just a tiny bit. I hated the thought though, it made me feel a little helpless, but I couldn’t pin point why I felt that way. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” I admitted sheepishly. I decided if there would ever be a future with Calvin, I want to be honest with him, even if it’s a little embarras-sing.
“You’re worried about me?” He asked surprised. When I nodded my head slowly he blinded me with one of his beautiful, heart pu-lling, smiles.
I couldn’t resist bringing my hand up to his face and trailing my f!ngersover his de-ep dimples. “These are adorable.” I whispered.
He sat up, so fast that I g@sped, then he leaned his forehead against mine. “You’re the adorable one, worrying about your vampire b©yfri£nd, even though you are the one with the threat to your life.”
“b©yfri£nd?” I said with my eyes wi-de.
He looked down. “Did I say that?” He asked and I nodded, chewing the inside of my cheek. “Well, then, I feel like I’d like for you to be my girlfriend…if you want to.”
“What about the competition? Are you asking all of the girls to be your girlfriends?”
He sighed and titled his head. “Have I not alre-ady made it pretty clear that I don’t give a $h!t about the stupid competition? None of that was my idea, but I can’t be too angry anymore since it did bring you here.”
“From a feeding school.” I reminded him.
“Rachel…” He muttered my name, leaning away from me and adjusting the covers in his l@p.
I shook my head at myself. “I’m sorry, Cal. I just…I can’t forget so easily that the reason I’m here is because I was kidnapped and f0rç£d here.” I leaned into his face, trying to get him to look at me. “That doesn’t mean I’m not happy when I’m around you, because I am.”
“Only when you’re around me?”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed, pushing the blankets away and getting out of the be-d. He walked to the foot of the be-d, putting his hands up behind his head, and he paced back and forth. “You just said you are happy when you’re around me. That’s great, but what about all of the time you aren’t with me? Are you miserable here, Rachel? All the time?”
I brushed my hands throu-gh my hair, trying to find the right words, but there weren’t any. “If you’re asking if I like it here, then no, not really. I miss the outside, Calvin. I miss the sun, and hearing birds, or running in tall gras-s, feeling it tickling my legs. I don’t love it here,” I told him, climbing out of the be-d and walking to him, then forcing him to st©p pacing and look down at me. “I love being with you though.” I said staring up into his eyes.
He huffed, pu-lling me to him. “I love being with you too, but I want you to be happy, Rachel.”
I gr@bb£d his face, and ignored his shocked expression, as I stood on my ti-ptoes to k!sshim ha-rd . It took him a second, but he finally gr@bb£d my face too, holding me to him to make the k!sslonger. “Can we plea-se not talk about this anymore?” I asked sweetly as I pu-ll-ed away.
“Fine.” He whispered with a slight grin. I knew he wasn’t over it, but at least he was willing to move on for now. “You didn’t answer me, you know?”
“Huh?”
“I asked you if you would consider yourself as my girlfriend, and no, I haven’t asked any of the other girls that. I only feel this way about you. In the morning I’m going to ask my father that we just do away with the whole stupid charade. I want to pick you.”
I stared dumbly up at him. I thought I had months to get used to the idea of possibly spending my whole life here, and then there was the p@rt about me having to give an heir to the throne. Would I have to get to getting pregnant right away, or do I have some time? I know I can’t be turned until I turn 20, but even then, I don’t think I want to be a vampire. I’m pretty sure I want to be with Calvin, but I thought we had more time. I was hyperventilating on the inside, and just blank staring like an idiot on the outside. “I, um…”
“Rachel.” He mumbled. “Don’t think of anything else right now except whether or not you want to be with me.” He said seriously, holding both of my hands in front of him. “If the answer is no, then I nee-d to know.” He looked down at the ground. “But if the answer is yes, then we will figure the rest out later.”
“Yes.” I said without thinking. “I want to be with you.” I had done what he said. I pushed everything out of my head except how I feel about him.
“Yes?” He asked excitedly and I nodded. He scooped me up from the floor and spun me around twice.
“Woah, woah!” I laughed. “You’re going to make me sick.”
“Human.” He chuckled, placing me back on my feet before planting a fat k!sson me. “You don’t know how happy you just made me.” He smiled from ear to ear.
“Have you had a girlfriend before?” I asked without thinking.
“You’re trying to ruin my good mood, aren’t you?” He joked. “No, I haven’t.” He said seriously. “I never intended on having any type of relationsh!pwith anyone. I was going to be the eternal bachelor.”
I cut my eyes away from him, and back to the be-d, unable to keep another question from popping into my head and right out of my mouth. “Have you ever…?” I asked pointing over to the be-d.
He followed my gaze over and then looked back at me with a ha-rd expression. “You can’t let anything slide, can you?” He asked.
“I just want to know.” I said, crossing my arms over my che-st.
Calvin sighed, gr-abbing my hand and pu-lling my over to his side of the be-d. He sat down in front of me, looking up into my eyes while he held both of my hands in his. “Yes.” He said solemnly.
“I’ve been with other girls, but had I ever known that you’d come along one day, I wouldn’t have.”
I tried not to let the sick feeling in my gut show throu-gh my words. “How many?”
“Rachel.” He said. “Come on.”
I sighed, shifting my weight. “I just want to know, Calvin. If you want me to be with you, I have to know things.”
He leaned his head back, looking up at the ceilings. “I don’t know, Rachel. I don’t remember.”
I pu-ll-ed my hands from his grasps and took a step back. “You’ve sle-pt with so many girls that you don’t even remember how many?” I asked in a jealous tone. “Did you bother to remember any of their names? Or were they just like servants that weren’t worth remembering?”
“Where did that come from?” He asked sounding annoyed.
I rolled my eyes. “Fern!” I yelled at him. “She had been here so long, and she’d been around you before and you didn’t even remember her! She’s dead and I don’t know if anyone other than me and Master Pedro even noticed.” Tears were threatening to fall from my eyes again.
Calvin stood up and shockingly fast, he gr@bb£d me by the shoulders and f0rç£d me to sit down on the be-d, then he knelt on his knees in front of me. “You’re right, Rachel!” He yelled. “I was an as-s. I haven’t cared about anyone in a very long time. Not girls I sle-pt with, people I interacted with, servants,
no one . I know it sounds terrible, but that’s how it was.” He gr@bb£d my face with both hands. “It’s different now. I’m different now. I don’t want you to think of me the way I was, I want to be better. That day on stage, when you all had to make introductions, and Lexton got so nervous and upset, do you remember that?” He asked. “You went out of your way to protect her from the crowd and the c@m£ra, just out of the goodness of your heart, Rachel. I saw you do that and I knew I wanted to be better. I can’t change the way I was before, but I can change the way I am from now on.” He said as he leaned his head against mine. “I’m really sorry about your friend, Rachel, and I wish I would have known her, because anyone who is important to you is important to me.”
I started crying all over again. This time it was just a trainwreck of emotions. I was still upset about Fern, scared and worried from my dream, anxious from the idea that the whole competition might be over tomorrow, and then on t©p of all of that, I was just stupidly happy. “I’m sorry I keep crying.” I said trying to hide my face.
Calvin wouldn’t let me get my hands to my face. “Don’t be sorry.” He whispered to me. “You are the most beautiful crier I’ve ever seen.” He chuckled, wiping tears from my face. “Now come back to be-d with me.” He said lowly. “I’ll hold you this time so no more bad dreams come for you.”
I snorted a laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s why you want to hold me.”
“Fine, you’re right.” He admitted with a grin. “I just selfishly want you as close as I can get you.”
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🔋TO_be_Continued📖