Chapter 15

Monday, Connor picked me up, though he wasn't driving the Spyder; instead, he pulled up in a little Honda Civic painted a dark red with no ostentatious adornments.

"My Pride is a little too conspicuous," he answered as I surveyed this car. "Besides, I'd likely have to mangle somebody if they scratched the paint; these country bumpkins don't know how to drive or park most of the time."

The skies were overcast, as usual, and the temperature dropped back down to its normal cold levels for the week, which just meant that I got to spend more time with Connor.

We attracted attention with his car, though not as much as his Spyder would have, and were subjected to astonished stares when he put his arm around me as we crossed the parking lot. I don't know why they were so surprised, rumors had been flying pretty good about us for a while.

The rest of his family climbed out of the Hum-Vee as we passed and he tightened his hold on me.

"I'm going to hell anyway, I might as well burn," he said quietly as his family stared, Morgan and Davis smiling, Chadwick in his usual zoned-out state. But Halibell's eyes blazed with fury as we passed, reminding me of an angry cat.

But they said nothing, not even Morgan, all week. Connor picked me up every morning and dropped me off after school, though he left me alone at work, for which I was grateful; I knew everyone in town probably knew about us but I really didn't want to make a fool out of myself in such a public place.

A couple of weeks passed and we became more comfortable with each other, though we still got stared at. It was now mid-March and, as our relationship strengthened, we decided to bring our families into it.

It was Saturday and Connor had decided that today I would meet his family. Rather than drag out the event, I asked him to stop by and meet Claire; getting things over with in one fell swoop was my logic. I asked Claire to stick around the house a little later than she normally would, though I didn't tell her why, making up some excuse or another that seemed innocent.

"Um, Aunt Claire?" I asked hesitantly as we finished washing our lunch dishes. "I was thinking that maybe you'd like to meet my boyfriend?" It wasn't like she didn't already know who I was dating, but I'd never posed this question, or come across this dilemma, even with my father. But then again, no other relationship had been like this.

"Sure; actually, I was wondering when you'd bring him around." She gazed at me, shrewd intelligence in her eyes. "That's why you wanted me to stick around?" I nodded and she smiled. "I wondered. Well, when will he be here?"

"How about now?" I heard the gentle rumble of his engine stop out front, easily made out for the lack of any other sounds in the house.

"You silly girl, why didn't you tell me earlier?" She was excited and nervous, like me. She quick-stepped to the front door as a solid knock sounded. I was right behind her, my face flushed with nerves and excitement.

She opened the door and there he was, tall, dark and brutally handsome in the weak sunlight, his outfit one of casual comfort but not dressy.

"Ms. Halbert," Connor's voice was oozing charm as he took a step forward and held out his hand. "I'm Connor Hawkins." He smiled and I rolled my eyes, already knowing what his smile could do to the unsuspecting.

"Nice to finally meet you," she said, a little breathless, clearing her throat before continuing. "Please, call me Claire. Would you like to come in?"

"Can't Aunt Claire," I already had my coat on and was darting around her, "we're meeting with his family for lunch." I was hoping that she wouldn't remember that we just had lunch, or maybe she figured I'd be too nervous to eat in their company. In either case, she ignored my slip.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Connor," she smiled at him and I told him to go on ahead of me.

"He's very handsome," she told me and I blushed. "I've never actually met any of the Hawkins kids. I'm glad you finally brought him around. He seems very sweet." She gave me a hug. "You look fine, so don't worry; I'm sure they'll love you." I was wearing a long-sleeved gray sweater, black slacks and some nice shoes I'd picked up on sale. She'd helped me French braid my hair and I'd applied a little eyeliner.

"What about dad?" I asked, my face dropping slightly.

"I'm sure he'll approve." Her smile, while genuine, was also strained. We hadn't heard from him in a couple of days and he hadn't answered his phone. "I'm sure he's just very busy; for that matter, he could have just misplaced his phone. Don't worry, go have fun."

"Thanks Aunt Claire." We shared another hug and I hurried out to the car, feeling nervous despite her assurances. "Do I look okay?" I asked as I buckled up, waving to Claire as we drove off.

"You look great," he said, grabbing my hand and kissing the back of it. We shared a smile as we passed out of Harpers Roe.

"So where are we going?" I asked, trying to get a grip on my wild emotions.

"My house." He glanced over at me quickly as my nervousness reached new heights, bordering on fear. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought that we'd be meeting somewhere not so private." I took a deep breath. "It will be okay though."

"You're afraid." His voice was quiet, but I could hear the sorrow.

"Yes." I stopped and thought about it. "NO! It's not because of what they are," I told him quickly, " I'm just afraid to embarrass you." He gave me a blank look. "I get clumsy and start babbling when I'm nervous and I don't want to make you look bad."

"You weren't that way at school," he pointed out, obviously not understanding.

"Yeah, well, that's different. I don't care about the kids at school, but I do care about making a good first impression."

He turned off the highway onto a driveway that was barely visible but for the mailbox. We followed its paved curves for what felt like a mile or two and I wondered how the Hum-Vee managed to navigate its way out.

"Very carefully," he told me and I could easily understand now why Connor usually drove.

Monster trees lined the long drive, overhanging all but the middle and so entwined that, except for the trunks, I couldn't tell where one ended and another began.

We came out of the trees suddenly, a ray of sunshine gracing the very large house set in the middle of an equally large field. We followed the pavement around to the side of the house, where the Hum-Vee shared space with Connor's Spyder, a beautiful Mustang, a Porsche and a few other cars in a very large garage.

"Wow," was all I could say. He tugged me outside and along the stone path to the large front door, complete with a dark wood wrap-around porch. The house itself was built from a sand-colored stone and looked sturdy enough to withstand just about anything nature could throw at it.

There were large windows covering the front of the house, though I was coming to think of it as a mansion, it was so vast. He pulled me inside with him and I felt nervous and out of place.

"Father," he called, "Mother, we're here." It was obviously a signal and just as obviously for my benefit; they would have known we were here the moment we hit the driveway.

Doctor Hawkins and a pretty woman walked into the entryway, which was larger than Claire's entire second story, from what looked to be the living room, judging from the furniture I glimpsed as they walked in.

"My dear young lady," Dr. Hawkins came forward and grabbed my hands, "you look lovely and, I dare say, a lot better than the last time I saw you." He gave me a brilliant smile and stepped back, releasing my hands. "This is my wife, Josephine." He gestured to the woman beside him and she, too, came forward, grabbing my hands. "You must call me Marcus." It was close to an order, so I nodded.

She was a little taller than my five foot four self, her skin once-golden, shimmering curtains of brown hair flowing down her back. Her face was round, her features in perfect proportions and she showed signs of age, like maybe she was turned later in life. She, too, had the vampire effect of bedazzlement, but she wasn't achingly beautiful, not like the rest of them; the only difference it made to me was that I didn't feel so out of place.

"Welcome," she told me, kissing each cheek, "we have been waiting." Her voice possessed an accent, but it was faint and I couldn't place it. There was more to her words than the obvious, like the time frame she was talking about was more along the lines of years not months.

I was feeling a little dazed when Morgan came bouncing down the stairs, the others standing at the top. I couldn't really see her but I could make out their excitement in the bright glowing of their eyes.

"We couldn't wait anymore," Morgan said as she claimed my hands as well, then hugged me. "I see what you mean," she spoke to Connor over my shoulder, sniffing my hair. Connor had given me special shampoo and soap to use and special detergent for my clothes and asked that I not use anything to scent myself with all week. He wanted to let his family understand what he meant by "untraceable".

Davis jumped straight over the banister and I let out a squeak when he hit the floor.

"Quit trying to scare her," Morgan released me and smacked him on the back of the head with a loud crack that echoed around the stone entryway. "Show off."

"I wasn't trying to," Davis replied, rubbing his head.

"He didn't really scare me," I told them, "I was afraid he'd hurt himself." I could see the mirth dancing in their eyes before they started laughing, the whole group relaxing.

Everyone came forward and held my hands in what I was beginning to think was a ritual, though Connor snarled softly when the boys sniffed me. His father twitched his lips and I heard a low buzzing sound, but Connor stopped.

"I know you know all of them already, but these are Davis, Morgan, Chadwick and Halibell," Josephine introduced them when they'd all greeted me, though Halibell did so with reluctance. "Marcus and I have heard about you, but its hard to believe." She glanced at Connor, who grabbed my hand.

I stared at all of them; they all looked so different than they did at school. Davis stood by Morgan, who kept smacking him, which looked like typical behavior. Halibell's scowl wasn't as deep as it usually was and she actually smiled at whatever caused Morgan to keep smacking her brother.

But the biggest change was Chadwick. He no longer stood with a vacant expression, rather his face was very animated and he, too, was amused by the others.

"Children," Marcus said and they stopped. "How about we move out of the doorway and into the living room?" The boys and Morgan took off, but Halibell didn't move.

"She stinks of fear," she said, her tone angry. "She can't love you if she fears you." She walked back up the stairs and slammed a door shut.

"I thought she was going to behave," Connor said through gritted teeth. "That was uncalled for."

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Halibell, among other things, thinks you're a threat," he told me.

"Because I'm human?" Marcus and Josephine looked down. "I'm not going to tell anybody, why would I?"

"Fame, fortune some unknown event in the future," Davis said as he and Chadwick came back.

"She won't," Morgan said, suddenly beside Josephine. "I've read her countless times and she will never betray us." She smiled at me. "Halibell will see that one day, just as everyone will come to see how important you are to us." She, too, went up the stairs after rounding up the boys.

"Does she see the future?" I asked, my eyes on the retreating figures.

"She has been known to have waking visions, but mostly she sees things about people," Marcus said softly. "Sometimes she knows what they mean, sometimes not. But she's never wrong."

"We're going to my room," Connor told them. I heard the buzzing sound again and watched his lips twitch. Marcus nodded, the sound came again and they went down a hall. He tugged my hand, which he still held, and led me up the stairs.

We passed two closed doors, stopping in front of a third. The hallway was done in grey-striped wallpaper with antique brass lamps hung between each dark-wood door.

He pushed open the door and ushered me through first, bumping into me when I stopped just inside.

His room seemed to take up more space than Claire's whole house laid flat, but the real shock was the outer walls: they were glass. From the plush carpet to the ceiling on the wall straight ahead, there was nothing to obstruct his view and a pair of sliding glass doors let out onto a deck on the left.

I took my eyes away from the view and looked around. The two interior walls, on the right and the wall with the door, were decorated with shelves filled to the brim with books and music. I sank into the dark blue carpet as I took a step forward, catching myself on the small table by the door. There was a large, four-post bed to the left, a pile of mismatched pillows and blankets in the far corner, a couch and table facing the landscape straight ahead and the largest stereo system I'd ever seen outside of a store dominating the center of the right wall.

"Wow," I whispered, almost expecting my voice to echo. I took a deep breath and felt myself relax as his scent filled my senses. I kicked off my shoes and scrunched my toes in the thick carpet as I walked farther into his room.

He tossed his keys on the table, kicked his shoes off and threw his coat on the coach. He was completely comfortable here and it was a sight to see. He went to his stereo and turned on some music; I didn't recognize it but I liked it.

"So, what do you think?" Connor asked me as I continued to gaze around his sanctum, his tone light, but his eyes revealing the importance of the question.

"Your home is beautiful," I began, "your parents are sweet and this room is awesome!" I twirled around laughing, my arms outstretched.

"They didn't frighten you?"

"Of course they did," I told him, "but I'll get used to it, won't I?" I stopped and stared at him. "I've never seen people who are so comfortable with themselves as you are. They are so vibrant and charismatic compared to what I've seen that it's a shock. Especially Chadwick. Why does he act like that anyway?"

"He's always been that way," Connor said with a shrug. "It has something to do with hearing everyone's thoughts, I suppose."

"How does he eat if he can read minds? Wouldn't that be kind of distracting?" I said without thinking, knowing that it was a tactless question, but I was curious.

"Oh, I'm sure it would be if our food was intelligent," Connor chuckled at my confused expression. "We call ourselves 'vegetarians'; we only feed on animals."

"Oh." I blushed with embarrassment, but how was I supposed to know?

"This world has become too advanced for us to feed off humans," he sat on the back of the couch as he spoke. "Marcus has taught us to survive off wild animals; its easier to hide and easier to live with. Some say its not as satisfying but those of us that know no different?" he shrugged.

"Let me get this straight," I started pacing; it helped my brain work. "No one in this house drinks human blood?" He nodded. "Isn't it hard to live around your natural prey and resist?"

"For some; mostly we just ignore them."

"And you've never been tempted?"

"Just once;" his eyes were glowing like amber when he looked at me.

"I'm not afraid," I told him and he smirked.

"You shouldn't have said that." He launched himself across the room and tackled me, knocking us onto the bed. Laughing, I weakly pushed at him, wrestling around until I made him fall off.

"Victory is mine!" I laughed, my arms above my head in triumph before he tackled me again. A few minutes later, weak from laughter, we collapsed and laid there, panting.

"I love you, Connor," I whispered to his chest.

"I've waited a century to hear those words," he said, just as quietly, and I propped myself up so I could see his face. I kissed him softly for a moment, my fingertips gently rubbing his cheek.

"You're welcome," I told him with a smile, then jumped when his door slammed open.

"Did we interrupt?" Morgan asked cheerfully, climbing up onto the bed with us.

"I sure hope so," Chadwick was right behind her, kicking the door closed before flopping across the foot bonelessly.

"I have a question?" I said to the intruders.

"Shoot," Chadwick rolled over so Morgan could stretch out beside him. It really was weird to see him so animated.