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Chapter Twenty
When the plane touched down in NY Anna braced herself for a long night. She had left Austin a message so she knew he would be waiting for her, probably with Jenna and the rest of the girls too.
You spent all this time thinking about so many different things, you think you could have worked out how you were going to explain any of this, she berated herself. She felt anxiety in the pit of her stomach which increased tenfold when she noticed the bathroom rendezvous guy looking over at her.
He squeezed in behind her as they exited. "I guess I fell asleep, my name's Jonathan by the way."
She glanced back at him nervously, "Uh, Krissy."
"So you live around here Krissy?"
"No, I'm just visiting."
"Think we can get together during your stay?"
"Um, I don't....” They were walking through the gate and into the terminal and she had to get rid of him. "Look, I'm sorry, but I told you it was just a bet thing." She spotted Austin first and then the girls and fast walked in their direction.
"Those your friends? Which one made the bet, I can confirm you won...
She whirled on him. "Please, no! Just I have to go, I'm sorry, please don't keep following me."
She turned around- smack into Austin's chest. He was looking past her at Jonathan.... he'd heard, damn it.
" 'Sup man." Jonathan fucking persisted, why wouldn't he just go?
"Who's this guy?" Austin’s voice was all edge.
"No one, just a guy on the plane, can we get going, I really need to go."
"Don't be like that Krissy, is this your boyfriend or something?"
"Yes, it is, and we're leaving, now."
But her friends were standing there waiting to be greeted, making it impossible to hurry away. Shit, like she needed this on top of everything! Please Jonathan, please don't say anything just go, she attempted to plead with her eyes.
"Krissy?" Austin was looking at her now, his brows drawn.
Jonathan snorted, "Not her name? I guess when you do dirty things with a random stranger you like to keep it anonymous, huh? S' all good, you'll live in my memory as hand job girl."
Her heart sank and she gave him a pained look as he saluted her and strode off.
She turned to see her friends gaping at her in variations of shock and reproach and she wanted to just...disappear. If only she hadn't made that call to Austin she could have seen them when she was ready, and certainly not like this.
Austin broke the silence. "What the fuck, Anna? Do I even know you? You disappear for a fucking week, leaving Jenna and I to imagine the worst…we were on a fucking plane to London when you called! Christ, I was dying inside these past few days…" his voice faded into pain and Anna couldn't look up from the floor.
"Say something!" He demanded.
"Can we please go," she asked quietly. She was on the verge of a total meltdown, and all she could think about was getting home.
"Maybe you should find another ride, I don't know if I can stand to be near you."
The disgust in his voice struck her like a hammer blow and she lost it completely. Great heaving sobs tore from her chest and she sunk down to her knees.
Jess knelt down next to her instantly, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Come on," she said, "we're going home, let's get your bags."
Anna shook her head, unable to speak.
"No, it's okay, I'm sure you can explain everything, even that guy, come on get up."
She let Jess help her to her feet and folded her arms tightly across her stomach, taking in shuddering breaths.
"I d..d...don't have any bags. Everything's gone." She stared at the floor, biting her trembling lip.
"What do you mean everything's gone?" Marina came over and grabbed her chin, pushing it up to meet her eyes.
"I guess Jake took it all and I don't know....I don't know what happened." She shook her head back and forth.
Jenna took charge. "Okay, let's get her home. Now."
They led her through the glass doors and when they reached the cars, Austin stepped up beside her.
"Look," he spoke in strained voice, "I guess I’m sorry. I don't know what's going on and I'm exhausted. I'll drive you and maybe you can just….explain a little?"
She looked up at his face and the pain and confusion she saw there made the tears start again. She turned to her girls, looking mostly at Jenna and her voice was thin and shaky when she addressed them. "I know you've been through a lot this week because of me. I'm sorry for that, I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. And I will talk to you. But for tonight, I just want to be with Austin. I can't handle anything more. I hope you understand."
They nodded reluctantly and Jenna spoke up. "Okay, then we'll call you tomorrow." Her facial expression suggested she was struggling against demanding more.
Anna cast her an apologetic look as she walked around to the passenger side and climbed in the SUV. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes as he started the engine, waiting for him to speak. He didn't, not until they were on the interstate.
"Anna?"
"Can this wait until we're home?" she asked softly.
"Yeah but....you didn't really do something with that asshole…did you?"
Her responding laugh was more like a sob. He didn't ask again, and after awhile he turned on the radio.
When they pulled in her driveway she felt her heart lift a bit. Home. She was home. Against all odds, she reminded herself.
She climbed out of the car and walked in the house, flipping on the lights as she went. She'd had enough darkness to last a lifetime. Austin followed and his presence was a conflicting thing for her. She didn't want to be alone, but the thought of telling him everything, reliving everything....and of his reaction…What if he was completely repulsed? What if he just couldn't handle it at all, confirming her fear that she was forever an outcast?
She sat on the couch and he sat down beside her waiting patiently for her to speak. He was nothing if not a patient guy.
"I lied to you," she whispered. "You and Jenna. Jake wasn't...he...." she felt her voice waver as the image of his head being thrown against the wall flashed in her mind.
Wasn't what?" His voice was all edge again.
"Human."
That wasn't what he expected. He blinked and waited for her to continue. When she didn’t he sighed and made a harsh sound in his throat. "What does that mean? Come on Anna, I need more. I don't mean to push you, but please, please help me understand what's going on. Where were you all week?"
"Hell."
He reared back. "Stop it! Not human, hell, demons…Anna stop. Make sense to me for a minute."
She looked at him wondering if she should just let him have it. It wouldn't take much. If she just concentrated on the vein pulsing in his neck, he would see what she was in a hurry.
NO! She commanded. She could explain it in a way that he would understand....So do it then idiot! But she kept hitting a wall when she tried to form the words.
She forced herself to speak. "Okay. It's just, I'm having a hard time deciding...
"Start with why you didn't get on the plane," he interrupted.
"I was drugged," she answered immediately, "Friday night. I tried not to let it happen, I ordered a bottled beer and refused all other drinks, but I put it down for a minute and that's all it took."
He nodded slowly. "Who drugged you? Jake?"
She nodded.
He swallowed hard and his voice was very quiet. "Did he rape you?"
She shook her head and once again, not what he expected.
"Then why would he drug you?"
“Because he is, or he was a vampire, and he wanted to get me to drink, what I think must have been blood. Not that he couldn't have just forced me to begin with…I don't know what all of his reasons or motivations were since he was ultimately a sociopath who is now dead."
Austin stood abruptly and strode across the room. He stopped at the fireplace and folded his arms across his chest, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "I think maybe they did slip you psychotropic drugs at that witches meeting you went to. And now you've been given more so your mind is unraveling. Or maybe you're still tripping. Maybe the shadow men are not even related, but I believe if your blood was tested right now it would turn up some LSD or PCP."
And that's why this was an impossible conversation. But she could still tell him everything before she showed him, then at least he would know she was still herself in a way.
"Austin, I know how crazy it sounds. I can show you something that will force you to believe me, but I wanted to talk to you before you ran screaming from me." Tears again.
He crossed the room and sat down putting his arm around her. "No matter what Anna, I will never abandon you. Whatever this is, I'll help you. I love you so much, and I'm scared, but not of you Anna, for you."
She smiled sadly. "You say that now."
"Anna."
"Will you let me finish my crazy story? Please?"
He sighed and sat back.
So she told him. Everything. About drinking the blood and being out for days. About waking up and what she saw. In graphic detail she described her transition and the rabid animal transitions of the others. Jake's death, and the male who killed him. Crawling under the stairs and waking up, catching a cab, the hotel and all of her things gone...and there she stopped.
He was staring at her with a mixture of deep concern and blatant disbelief. She knew the time had come to show him. Without evidence he would go on arguing the hallucinogenic induced nightmare theory, and who could blame him? No sane person who had not experienced serious paranormal happenings could accept such a story.
She expressed this last thought to him before saying, "I know I have to show you now, but I'm still afraid of the running and screaming."
"Anna...
"He turned me into one of them Austin. I don't know everything that means yet, but I'm not quite human anymore and I'm really, really scared. So please tell me that after I show you, you won't think I'm a monster, okay? I still feel like me inside, I still love you, and the girls and my dad. I still miss my mom…" Her voice broke.
He said nothing, just stared at her.
She took a deep breath and thought about the blood running through his veins. She felt a stirring, but it was slight. She moved closer to him and watched the little pulse on his throat and imagined drinking from it...that did it. She felt her eyes begin to flash and her teeth elongating. She opened her mouth so he could watch it happen.
His eyes widened until they were unnaturally big and she could hear his heart speeding up as his breath came out in little whooshes.
She vaguely thought that this would be a good time to turn it off, but it wasn't that easy. She wanted him. Then she remembered she hadn't explained that the bite didn't do any damage to the recipient and she squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to revert. When she was normal again she opened her eyes and regarded him warily. His eyes were still round with shock and every muscle in his body had tensed.
"I forgot to tell you that the biting process is not like in the horror movies,” she said quietly. “It doesn’t change the person. In fact they don’t even know what’s happening except that it feels really good." She looked down at her hands, waiting for him to say something.
He drew in a deep breath and let it out very slowly. Then he stood up and turned towards the back of the room putting his hands behind his head and stretching his neck. She guessed he could probably understand her fear of him screaming and running now.
He turned and looked at her, then away again.
Rationally she knew it would take him time to process, but she felt herself growing anxious as he remained silent. Maybe because he was rarely at a loss for words, or maybe because she desperately needed his acceptance. Either way she felt her emotional tightrope fraying again, and when he looked at her and away once more it snapped. The tears came and choked her. "I need you!" she cried. "Austin please, I need you, I can't face this without you, I can't do this alone," she pleaded with him as the tears came harder and blurred her vision. "Please tell me it's gonna be okay."
And then he was there, his arms engulfing her, bringing her into his lap, rocking her and murmuring in her hair as she cried like a small child. Sobbed the way she had after her mom died, with her heart breaking apart and her shoulders shaking.
After awhile it passed and they continued to sit there. She looked up at him and saw that his face was wet as well.
"We'll figure this out," he told her in a rough voice. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
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