Without a Sound

“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “You are not to blame.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he told me gently. “But it was my fault, damnit! Everything’s my fault, and I just kept making it worse!”

“I do not blame you for being angry with me,” I whispered, squeezing him tighter. “I do not blame you for killing your wife. I know how difficult it is at first. I never intended to hurt you, but I could not help myself.”

He shook his head sadly. “No. Your situation was different. You hadn’t drunken any blood in years. I was just new.”

“You said yourself that you weren’t in your right mind,” I countered. “I think you need to stop blaming yourself for this and realize it was an accident.”

“You sound just like them,” he replied coldly. “Like my brother, like Celia. ‘Get over it, Mikey.’ ‘Grow up, Mikey.’ ‘Forget about it, Mikey.’ ‘It wasn’t your fault, Mikey.’ It was my fault. How could I ever forget about it or get over it? I’ll never get to heaven, which is where I know they are. Even if I did, Ivy would hate me.”

I pulled away from him so that I could look into his eyes. “I think you’re wrong,” I told him, although I didn’t want to. “Maybe you will not make it to heaven, but I believe she had already forgiven you. I believe she is looking down on you right now. If she loved you as much as you claim, she doubtlessly knew – like the rest of us rational people – that she can’t blame you, and she wants you to be happy.”

He reached out and wiped the tears from my eyes. “I wish you were right,” he murmured, “but I doubt it’s true.”

I hugged him again. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Suddenly he looked confused. “Um… Charlotte? Why haven’t you bitten me? Or my family members, for that matter?”

I pursed my lips. Now that he mentioned it, I was extremely thirsty, but I could hold myself back now. It was like the more I resisted the easier it was. I shrugged, feeling like I had talked quite enough.

He smiled. “That’s very good.”

By then I was fighting just to keep my eyes open. “So what now?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied, releasing me. However, when I had to stand on my own, my heavy eyelids took over, and the room around me started spinning unnaturally.

“Whoa, no,” he mumbled, grabbing my shoulders to steady me. His hands made me feel very safe, and I let my eyes close.

“I think we’ve had enough excitement for today,” he announced, gathering me in his arms. “Maybe enough for the year,” he corrected. “I think it’s time for us to go home.”

“Sounds nice,” I agreed, but as he carried me towards the door, I felt like I was forgetting something very important. I hate that feeling.

“Hold on,” I mumbled, but he ignored me. I was trying to remember, but my mind felt so cloudy, and too much had gone on in so little time. Oh yeah! Celia!

“Wait,” I managed to say a little more forcefully, squirming in his arms and trying to pry my eyes open.

He finally hesitated. “What is it?” He seemed like he was in a hurry to get home.

“I have to, um…” I lost if for a second, but then I remembered. “I have to thank Celia! We have to wait for her to return. And your brother, Gerard… We have to stay until they come back. So I can thank them. And say goodbye to Adam.”

He shook his head, saying, “No, we can call them tomorrow. They’ll understand, Charlotte.” He started walking again.

He made it to the door before I twisted around again. “No, that’s not good enough, we have to wait,” I retorted irritably.

“We’ll come back tomorrow then,” he said quickly. “Just stop squirming, or I might drop you.”

“Fine,” I groaned, and I let him take me out the door.

I got a short glimpse of the car before he opened the door, and I was amazed. You would’ve been too if all you knew were original automobiles. This car was smooth and sleek, and just looked so… futuristic. Which is reasonable, seeing as how I had basically been transported into the future.

Mikey deposited me across the seats in the back. They were black, leather, and extremely comfortable. I sighed, and he closed the door to go get into the passenger’s seat. When he turned on the car, the engine was low and quiet.

Soon the steady motion of the car put me to sleep despite my efforts to stay awake.

I think I half woke up when Mikey lifted me out of the car. At least that’s when I was aware of things again, like how it was very dark out – probably midnight. The breeze was chilling, and his chest was warm.

He set me on the bed – Sylvia’s bed – and pulled the covers up over me. He stood over me for a little bit. I don’t think he knew I was partly awake.

Then he leaned over me and brushed his lips over my nose. I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a smile. Then he started to walk towards the door.

When he opened it, a draft came in and the air in the room shifted. The pleasing aroma of fresh roses reached my nose.

I turned onto my side, forcing my eyes open. “Wait, come back,” I whispered.

When he turned around, I thought his face was red. Yep, he had definitely thought I was dead asleep. Looking almost shy, he came back to stand by the bed, eyeing me questioningly.

“Thank you for the roses,” I stated flatly, grinning stupidly.

“No problem,” he replied, looking a lot more confident now. “I remembered that you liked them.

He stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, and I felt my eyelids droop. But when I saw that he was going to leave, I asked, “When will you be back?”

He thought for a little bit. “I think I’m going to try to get some sleep, although I never do. Then I’ll bring you some blood. I’ll be back before you wake up. You look like you could sleep for a good week.”

“Sounds nice,” I admitted. “Sweet dreams.”

He grinned and rolled his eyes. “Go to sleep, Charlotte. You’re delirious.” I was out before I could deny it.