Trembling With the Strings

Rated "Arrr!"

The doorbell rang and I nearly fell flat on my face while racing Darius to answer it. He picked me up right before I could grab the handle and threw me over his shoulder, ignoring me as I pounded on his back and yelled at him. He opened the door and her face was entirely priceless.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted a sex game!” Marcy apologized, pushing her way in. “Is this like pirates or something? Do you hide the treasure somewhere on Gracie’s body and just lick around until you find it or—?”

“Children are present!” I screamed at her—well, I was staring in the opposite direction since Darius had yet to put me down, but she knew I was yelling at her. Darius finally took the hint and put me on my feet.

“I know! That’s why I’m wondering why you’re being all kinky,” she grumbled. “So I’m here to baby-sit!”

“What?” I asked, glancing at Dray. He grinned like an idiot.

“I thought we might like a nice night out to ourselves before we’re knee-deep in kid toys and baby blankets, so I asked Marcella if she’d like to baby-sit our little hell raisers.” He turned his attention to his sister. “Johnny shouldn’t be any trouble, but be sure to check on him, alright?”

“Yeah, I will. And, Gracie, don’t be so scared. I’m great at sitting on kids, I promise.”

The blood must have rushed from my face, but I knew I could trust her. What are best friends for, right?

“So go slip into something gorgeous and meet me down here,” Darius murmured, giving me a light push in the direction of the stairs.

I closed the bedroom door behind me, rolling my eyes when I saw a little black dress laid neatly on the bed. So much for picking something out by myself. It was a strapless cocktail dress that came down to my mid-thighs, and the black heels he had picked out would at least allow me to see eye-to-eye with his neck.

“Lovely,” I grumbled, pulling on the high-heeled shoes. As if I wasn’t already incapable of walking without falling on my face!

I twisted my engagement ring absentmindedly, but something was wrong: my ring was gone! I tore the room to pieces searching for it, but it was nowhere to be seen! I knew that I had been wearing it when I had passed out in Dray’s arm before my mother and her scene-causing... Where could it be?

“We have to go, now,” Darius told me, barging in and dragging me out of the room.

“But my ring—”

“Yeah-yeah, it’s lovely,” he muttered, buckling me into the car. “The reservations are for seven-thirty, and I already have to drive like a maniac to get us there in time.” He kissed me quickly before slamming his foot down on the gas pedal.

Though the ride there was less than calming, I really had to give him credit. The food there had probably cost more than I had to my name, and it was really amazing. I was going to miss eating food. I sighed.

“Oh, you won’t miss it after a while,” he promised, taking a sip of the blood the manager had kindly given him on the house.

If I had learned anything that night it was that Darius had connections.

He offered me the glass, but I turned it down. I had to be in the mood and right then all I had wanted was to stuff my face with human food. Dray told me how “cute” I looked when I was being a fatty. I didn’t know if that was a compliment or an insult, so I had just stared at him blankly before he broke the silence with a small kiss.

“You know I love you, right?” he asked me suddenly, his chin resting on his hands as his elbows were on the table. He was staring into my eyes and I swear I almost got lost.

“Yeah, and I love you, too,” I murmured, giving him a weird look. What was he up to?

“I just want you to know that. And I know that our ‘engagement’ was less than pleasant, but I can’t thank the heavens enough for what they’ve done for me. I honestly don’t know how I called my life complete without you.” I was blushing, and I knew it. But I couldn’t bring myself to look away from him. He reached out and caught my hands. “I bet you were freaking out when you couldn’t find your ring, huh?”

“Why?” I asked, eying him up and down. “What have you done, kind sir?” He smiled, holding up the small diamond-encrusted engagement ring that I had grown so keen on.

“You can have it back if you honestly want it,” he told me, a small portion of doubt on his face. “But I want to make sure that you really want to marry me. I love you, but I want you to be with me because you want to, not because I made you. So will you marry me?”

“You almost gave me a heart attack when I lost that thing!” I told him, making a face.

“I am pretty outrageous, huh?” he teased, smiling softly.

“Give it back,” I begged, kissing his cheek quickly. “Of course I want to marry you, you idiot.”

“Well, if that isn’t the understatement of the century,” he mumbled dryly, laughing as I glared at him. He slid it delicately onto my finger. “I suppose I should get you home before—oh wait, you live with me! The news just keeps getting better!”

“Oh, lord, what have I gotten myself into?” I asked myself aloud, grabbing his hand and laughing as I dragged him to the car. “Stupid sexy men and their dumb sexy egos.”

The ride home was a little less nauseating, and I thanked him for that. I took his hand in mine and laughed as I heard Marcy screaming, “How dare you eat my prized honey-baked ham before Saturn aligned properly with Venus? The Sabbath is ruined!” Darius smirked, kissing me gently before leading me to the door.

But then he froze.

He turned to me. “Maybe we shouldn’t go inside.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

He tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen.

I wish I would have listened.

There, on our porch, was the body of my mother. Her head was gone. Her neck had two distinguished bite marks on it. And, sprawled out in blood on the sidewalk was,

Not even a mother’s love can save you.
♠ ♠ ♠
I apologize for the terrible joke in the title! I had to do it; I'm such a sap =D