You're Overdue

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Ann’s POV

Brendon pulled me close and my head rested on his shoulder, “You can’t go home. It’s not safe.”

I spoke into his shoulder, “Then take me somewhere. Away from here.”

“No.” His body tensed, “Away from me. I’m not safe.”

I looked up at him, “I’m in danger with or without you. I’d rather be with you.”

He shook his head, “I’m a danger to you.”

I gripped onto his shirt harder letting my knuckles scream at me, “Brendon I’m not letting you go. I need you with me.”

He ripped himself away from me and looked at me through teary eyes, “I could hurt you.”

I took a step forward, “What happened while you were gone? At anytime you’d kill to have me with you.”

“I don’t know what happened.” Brendon looked at the ground and then up at me, “I have bits and pieces. I don’t know what is real and what is my mind getting lost in the years. And what I see when the memories are brought up I hope aren’t true.”

I bent down to pick up the knife and took a step forward, “Brendon, its ok.”

His voice elevated and I could hear him fighting his own sobs, “I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I’m not that man anymore.”

When I reached him and grabbed his hand. I cut a small cut into with the knife and he looked at me with curious eyes. His brown eyes looked so confused yet his sadness was present as well. I brought his hand to my mouth and I took a mouthful.

He ripped his hand away, “No! I don’t want you to see.”

If he didn’t know what happened I wanted to see myself what he was seeing. I have been through enough of these memory phases with the vampires I could pick away at what was a real memory and what wasn’t. I can thank Gerard for that.

The blood was hard to swallow. Tasted absolutely foul and I was kind of regretting doing so. I waited for a few seconds before I could feel a sickness rush to me. I felt my stomach heave and I spit up a little of the blood.

Brendon shook his head but walked away from me. I felt my stomach lurch and then my head started to get fuzzy. This wasn’t normal. Whatever he had been doing it wasn’t normal. Something in his blood was a lot different.

I closed my eyes and I saw the first scene in front of my eyes. I could see Brendon in the middle of a room. He was standing alone. At least that’s what I thought till I could see around him. There were bodies. Human bodies of all ages and sorts around him. All were clearly dead and fed upon.

There is no way Brendon could have done all that.

Maybe the old Dandie Brendon but not my one that cared for me and my family. Well, the one before the whole poison-rabid-phase I should say. I honestly didn’t know what he was capable of anymore. I did watch him kill Pete in front of me.

I knew he had drained William almost completely dry. I always feared the vampire in William would drive Brendon mad because I knew William. Even Brendon had seen William at his darkest like I had and if Brendon had to relive all of that? I would crack too.

The next few memories were weird. I had a intense failing feeling with them. I could see Brendon have different fits of behavior. He’d be calm and collected like how I was used to him being. Then in a snap he’d be the dark monster one I was so afraid of. It looked like they were separate from each other. Like one was a split personality.

It switched to another memory where Brendon was in a group of people. Hunters. They were human and ready to kill him. He closed his eyes and I watched him change from the fierce monster into the one I loved.

Brendon was blacking out. He had no control of the bad vampire in him. He clearly couldn’t tell when it came out. It was making him go insane. It explained why he couldn’t figure out what he had done. The other half wasn’t letting my normal Brendon see everything.

I watched another of Brendon in my apartment. It wasn’t the nice Brendon. I could clearly tell by how the body language was as he walked around the room. He was looking for me or something. I didn’t know but I now knew Brendon had been in my apartment. He just didn’t know about it.

Again, the bad Brendon wasn’t letting Brendon aware of what he had completely done.

I saw one last memory that confused me. Brendon had a bottle of small pills. I’d never seen them before. He took one when he was on the verge of the dark Brendon coming out. He was clearly struggling with getting the pill in his mouth. Though, when he did Brendon had calmed down. He stayed himself.

He placed the bottle in his pocket of his jeans and I could see him running. He was heading home. I had been in the spot many times. Near Metamora. This had to have been tonight.

I opened my eyes and Brendon was in front of me looking concerned. I reached forward to his jeans and let my hand slip into his pocket where I had seen the pills. I pulled out a thin container and I looked at Brendon.

“Where did you get these?”

Brendon shrugged, “I don’t know. But they help. With the urges.”

I waved them in front of him, “Take them. What ever you do, take them.”

Who ever had given him these knew a lot more about vampires then I did. I had a feeling there was going to be a night were I was going to have to make sure Brendon didn’t take them so I could face the big bad wolf Brendon and see what he knew. Clearly mine didn’t. Or at least he didn’t think he knew.

I reached for his hand and he let me grasp it. I squeezed gently and placed the pills back in his pocket. He smiled softly before letting me pull him closer. I didn’t want to upset him too much. I didn’t know what set off the other Brendon but I didn’t want to face it tonight.

I leaned up and let my free hand pull his head down for another kiss. I didn’t care if the other Brendon could kill me. I wanted my Brendon and right now I was going to indulge. It been six months too long and I needed Brendon more then ever.

I felt Brendon guide me backwards and I soon realized we were back in my apartment. Brendon had gotten so smooth with the dematerializing I hadn’t felt it. He pressed me against my bedroom wall and his lips traveled to my cheek.

His fingers dug into my hip bones before sliding up slightly. I felt them slip under my shirt and rest on my sides. His fingers were ice to my skin and I shivered. I heard Brendon chuckle lightly as I felt him smile across my cheek.

I felt his lips move to my neck and I froze. I could feel his lips brush here and there and I almost pushed him away. I was still scarred from the last time someone got bitten. I really didn’t want to go through that again. I had no idea how I even lived through it.

I felt Brendon let out a shaky breath as he kissed my neck, “Brendon…”

His voice was so soft and low coming out like a groan, “Ann.”

I’m not going to lie. I was a little scared. I felt like a little entrée because of his behavior. He was scaring me. I’m not going to hide it because I don’t think I could if I tried. He was still battling that bad guy in there and I really didn’t want to become in the middle of it even though I am now.

I ran my hands from his shoulders down to his stomach distracting him for a second. He pulled away looking at me with curious eyes. He was collected and quiet. I had no idea if this was my Brendon or the evil one.

“Brendon?”

I felt my heart stop when the smirk appeared on Brendon’s handsome face, “You could call me that.”

“Brendon, you’re scaring me.”

Brendon blinked a few times before backing away from me as if I had a plague. He backed into my desk and looked down at his hands before back at me. He looked terrified. He shook his head and mumbled something I couldn’t hear.

He gripped onto his head and screamed a ‘no’ before struggling to get the pills from his pocket. He fumbled to open it and I could see Brendon shaking like a leaf. He slipped a pill into his mouth and closed his eyes.

I stepped forward, “You alright Brendon?”

He nodded, “Yes.”

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