Chapter Eight

"You look beautiful tonight," Hunter said to me as we walked down the street.

I'd gone out with him a few times, maybe once a month, nothing too intense. He still didn't know the truth about me and what I really was. We'd go out or hang out at either of our apartments, then finish off the night with some mind-blowing s.e.x. No commitments or expectations. It was perfect.

We were on another date tonight, going to the movies. We didn't know what movie we were going to see, we decided spur of the moment while having dinner that we'd walk down to the theatre. There were a few people in line ahead of us purchasing their tickets. While we were waiting for our turn, we both tried to read the marquee and times for which movie we could pick. As luck would have it, there was only one film we could see. Everything else had already started or didn't start for another hour or more. When I read the t.i.tle of the only movie available, my stomach lurched.

Hunter turned to look at me since we were next in line. "Are you ok with seeing 'Curse of the Vampire'?" he asked me. From the sound of his voice he didn't seem thrilled with the t.i.tle either, but it was literally our only choice.

"Ahh... sure, that sounds fine," I answered back as we stepped up to the ticket counter. I stepped aside as he purchased our tickets.

We walked through the theater lobby and found the auditorium where our movie would play. I let Hunter pick our seats, and sat down next to him. He slid his arm around me and I put my head back on him without even thinking about what I was doing. It was just the natural thing to do with him. The lights slowly dimmed and the previews started. It was after an endless stream of coming attractions that the actual movie finally started to play.

'Curse of the Vampire' was a terrible horror film; none of it had any sort of redeeming quality what so ever. There was a scene in the movie when a vampire slayer was fighting one of the vampires. It was a pivotal scene in the story, close to the end of the film. It was a b.l.o.o.d.y fight scene and the slayer was getting his a.s.s kicked in front of us. I could feel Hunter getting tense next to me and he kept fidgeting in his seat. When the main vampire killed the slayer on screen, I thought he was going to jump out of his seat and storm out of the theater. It was only a few minutes later that the movie ended and the house lights came back up. I knew he wasn't happy with what we had just seen.

We stood up to leave and he took my hand in his as we left the theater. He walked quickly down the street obviously upset and it was difficult for me to keep up with his long strides.

"Well that wasn't the best movie I ever saw," I quipped, trying to keep my tone light.

"That was one of the most stupid f.u.c.king movies I've ever seen," Hunter said angrily at me. "I can't believe they made it seem like the vampires were the good guys. Everyone knows all vampires deserve to die. And the way that slayer got killed was bulls.h.i.t, I mean I would've-," he stopped abruptly. "That is, if vampires and slayers really existed," he said, trying to cover what he had said.

I didn't say anything, gave no indication that I noticed his slip up. I hoped he would be as forgiving with me if I ever slipped up in front of him. "Well, you know maybe if vampires did exist, they all wouldn't be bad. I mean, like the ones who became vampires against their will. It wouldn't be their fault, they could still be a good person," I challenged him.

Hunter stopped walking and let go of my hand. He shook his head while frowning, letting me know he disagreed.

"If they did exist, it wouldn't matter how they were before they were changed. They'd be soulless creatures that are d.a.m.ned and needed to be destroyed," he told me firmly. "They kill people by drinking their blood. There's nothing good about that."

"Wow. It sounds like you've really got an opinion about something that doesn't even exist," I said sarcastically. Part of me always hoped that there would come a day that I could tell Hunter the truth about me. Now after seeing how he felt it didn't seem that was going to be possible.

Hunter came closer to me and put his arm around me. We started walking down the street again this time slower than before. My heart hurt that he hated vampires so much. His hating them also meant that he unknowingly hated me as well. He could never know the truth about me, ever.

"Babe, you feel cold," Hunter commented to me as he pulled me closer to him.

This time he was right, but not the way he meant. I felt cold on the inside knowing how much he hated vampires... and me. I was cold and alone.

Chapter Nine

The doorbell rang and as I walked to push the buzzer, I glanced at the clock hanging in my kitchen. Hunter was twenty minutes early picking me up to go to dinner. We had been seeing more of other, almost once a week for the past two months. It was amazing how well we got along with each other. Of course, the fantastic s.e.x helped. I was starting to have some really strong feelings for him and that frightened me a bit. When I first went out with him, I was aware that we could never get very serious. And that first night in my apartment, he explained he wasn't looking for any sort of commitment. For two people not wanting a relationship we were seeing an awful lot of each other. Sure, I felt bad that I wasn't being entirely honest with him by not telling him the truth about me, but I felt I had no choice. I was afraid of what his reaction would be if he found out that I was a vampire.

I reached my front door and opened it. "You're early to-," I stopped abruptly. Jake was standing at my door instead of Hunter. He never showed up at my place unannounced so I was surprised to see him there. "What are you doing here?" I needed to get rid of him fast. The last thing I needed was Hunter finding Jake at my place. I was pretty confident Hunter would have no problem identifying Jake as a vampire.

"I know I don't come over without calling first, but I wanted to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?"

I didn't want to turn him away since he must have something important to talk to me about if he didn't call me first.

"Sure I'm actually getting ready to go out, but we could talk for a couple minutes." I stepped aside so he could come into my apartment then closed the door behind him.

"You're going out? I'll only be a minute then. I wanted to talk to you about something. I don't want to freak you out or anything, but I'm going to going away for a few months."

"What? Where are you going? What am I going to do when you're gone?"

"I'm going to London for some business. I don't want you to be worried about feeding when I'm gone. I talked to a friend of mine and he said he'd help you while I'm gone."

"I never thought that you would leave the city. Are you sure you're friend will be okay with it? Can I meet him first before you go?" I was full of questions. The idea of getting blood from someone else was strange. I knew that my arrangement with Jake was supposed to be temporary but it had grown so relaxed and natural. Honestly, I never thought to have a back up feeding source.

"I just wanted to let you know now because all my plans were finalized today. I didn't want to mention anything until I knew for certain that I would go. I'll set it up so you can meet him while I'm still here, no problem," Jake explained.

"Thank you for finding someone for me while you're gone."

"Of course. Hey, you're looking dressed up tonight. Who are you going out with? Wait a minute, are you going out on a date?" he teased me. "It must be someone special if you're getting dressed up. You've never worn that dress out with me. I would have remembered that for sure. So are you sleeping with him?" he asked me as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's personal; I'm not telling you anything." I brushed away imaginary lint off my dress so I wouldn't have to look him in the eye.

"Yep, you're sleeping with him," Jake laughed. "Hey, you're blushing. I don't think I've ever seen you blush. So who is he? Anyone I know? And what happened to not wanting to commit to anyone? Could it be you've changed your mind? Are you ditching your rules about not getting serious with anyone?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I really like this guy a lot, but it's complicated." Complicated was putting the situation mildly, but I didn't want to get into details at that moment. Hunter would be there any minute.

"Is he married?" he asked me.

"No, that's not it. There's a lot to it and -," I started to explain, but there was a sudden knock on the door. I instantly recognized Hunter's knock. Jake must have left the foyer door open downstairs so Hunter was able to walk to my apartment door without ringing the buzzer. If Jake wasn't already dead, I might have tried to kill him. This was going to be bad; I could feel it in my bones "Is that him?" Jake asked as he started to go towards my door as if he intended on answering it.

I grabbed him by the arm to stop him. There was no way I was going to let him open the door to Hunter. "You have got to go," I whispered. I started to pull him down the hall in the other direction towards the back door. "You can go out the back."

Jake dug in his heels. I couldn't budge him, and he pulled his arm away from me. "No, I want to meet him," he said to me. "I've got to see the guy you're all dressed up for. I'll let you know if I approve," he said grinning.

Hunter started knocking on the door again, this time harder.

"No, Jake, please, go now and we'll talk tomorrow," I tried pleading with him. Jake was smiling from teasing me but he had no idea his death could be standing on the other side of the door.

Hunter started pounding on my door again. "Janice, are you alright?" he asked as he knocked. I could hear the concern in his voice and I knew if I didn't answer soon he'd start knocking the entire door down.

"Yeah, I'm coming," I shouted back to him through the door. "Jake, please go out the back. If he sees you here he's going to be really upset."

"Why do you want me to sneak out the back? You don't want me to meet him? Do you think he'll think something is going on? We'll tell him we're friends, it's no big deal."

Jake was determined to stay and I knew I had run out of time making Hunter wait for me at the door. I never was clear on how old a vampire had to be for a slayer to immediately recognize them. I guess I would find out soon enough. I turned to look at Jake one last time. He didn't say a word to me; he simply leaned against my hallway wall waiting for me to answer the door. I sighed and opened the door.

"I'm sorry Hunter, a friend of mine stopped by and we were talking," I said to him trying to smile and look as casual as I could. My smile felt more like a grimace on my face. He looked over my head and saw Jake.

When Jake saw Hunter, he stood up from leaning against the wall. Then things happened so fast everything was literally an out of focus blur. I heard Jake swearing a string of profanities behind me. Hunter pushed me to the side as he reached back into the backpack he wore on his back. I didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Hunter knew Jake was a vampire. Hunter had Jake pressed against the wall with one arm twisted behind his back while he held a wooden stake firmly in his other hand.

"Janice, you're dating Hunter Raintree? Are you crazy? Why didn't you tell me?" Jake asked me.

"What?" I asked him back dazed. I didn't know how Jake knew who Hunter was. "How do you know Hunter?" Clearly they didn't know each other because of their being friends.

"Remember when I told you about that family of slayers? Hunter is the older brother. Don't you remember?"

My mind was racing with what Jake had just told me. Of course, I'd remembered everything he had said about the famous slayer family. Jake never told me their name though, so I had no idea Hunter was one of the slayers he'd warned me about that night.

I thought about the night we had seen the vampire movie, and how upset Hunter was after. The scene with the slayer getting killed must have been terrible for him to watch, considering a vampire had killed his own brother. No wonder he was so p.i.s.sed off when we had left the movie theater. What we watched was exceptionally close to home for him, something not created by Hollywood, but very real to him. And I had stood up for vampires then, telling him that they all couldn't be that bad and his reaction had been so angry. Now I knew why. When I f.u.c.ked up, I f.u.c.ked up big, no denying it.

Hunter looked over at me. "What are you two talking about? Janice can you explain to me how do you know this guy and why the h.e.l.l you let a vampire in your apartment?" he demanded of me. He looked p.i.s.sed off more than the night after the movie when we argued.

"We're just friends," Jake said to Hunter.

"Shut the f.u.c.k up," Hunter told Jake as he bounced Jake's head off the wall with a thud.

"Don't hurt him. Hunter, it's true, we're friends. Please let him go," I pleaded. I tried to pry Hunter's hand from the back of Jake's neck, but it wouldn't budge.

"You're just friends? That's it? You're telling me there's never been anything between the two of you?" he asked me. "Tell me Janice, I need to know."

"Can you let him go and then we'll talk?" I wanted to get Jake out of my apartment before he got hurt.

"No, answer the question. Has there ever been anything between the two of you?" Hunter's eyes pierced through me with anger.

"Once there was," I admitted.

"Did you ever sleep with him?"

"I did. It was only one time Hunter and believe me it was the biggest mistake of my life. No offense Jake."

"None taken," he replied back with his face pressed against the wall.

"You slept with him. You had s.e.x with a f.u.c.king vampire?" he asked with utter disgust. "I can't believe you'd do that."

"One time, before I even met you," I said stressing the word one. I hoped that if I made it sound like it happened long ago, it wouldn't sound so bad to him.

"I can't believe you'd f.u.c.k a vampire," he said with the look of disbelief on his face.

"Ok, first of all I was with Jake once, that's it. And in my defense I didn't know he was a vampire when I met him," I started, trying to defend my past actions.

"That's still disgusting. You should have known there was something wrong with him. He needs to be destroyed you know." Hunter's knuckles were white he gripped his stake so tightly.

"You never seemed disgusted when were together," I whispered as tears started to roll down my cheeks. I knew there was no way I was going to get out of this unscathed. I hoped that Hunter would understand what I was about to tell him. This was the moment I had hoped would never come; the time I would have to tell him the truth about me.

"He's not disgusting. He's my best friend. And if you have to kill him then you're going to have to kill me too," I told him.

"What? What do you mean?" he asked me. "Why would I have to kill you too?"

I shook my head hating how I had gotten myself into this situation. Hunter was the first man I had let myself get close to in a long time, and now I was going to lose him forever. "Because that's what you do...kill vampires. I'm so sorry, Hunter. I didn't mean for you to find out like this. When I met you, I told myself that there could never be anything serious between us because we're so different. I didn't mean to get so close to you. I like you so much and there wasn't an easy way to tell you... I'm a vampire," I confessed.

He let go of Jake and took a step towards me. "What?" he asked in total disbelief. He took a step towards me. "No," he muttered as he walked closer, "You can't be."

"I was changed a few months before we met. I am so sorry," I said again. My voice quivered and my body trembled. Being so close to him all I wanted was to feel his arms around me, safe and warm. I longed to hear him tell me that everything would be ok and we would work everything out. Nothing went the way I wanted.

Hunter suddenly grabbed me by the front of my dress and slammed me up against the wall behind me. I closed my eyes and squealed, terrified at his actions.

"How long have you known I'm a slayer?" he asked me through clenched teeth.

"Since that night we met in the park. I saw you with the guy who stole my purse," I explained.

"You knew from the night we met and you still went out with me? You must be f.u.c.king crazy."

I opened my eyes and looked directly into his. "I guess I am," I agreed. There was no other explanation for me dating a man I knew was a vampire slayer. I had to be out of my mind.

Hunter held up his wooden stake so that it was directly in my face. "I should kill you," he spat at me. He moved his hand so the stake hovered over my heart.

"Hunter," I cried as tears rolled down my cheeks and I reached up to touch his face.

"Don't say my name and don't f.u.c.king touch me," he commanded. He looked away from me and shook his head while his jaw clenched. "All those times I thought there was something different about you, it was because you're a vampire. I just didn't recognize it though because you're so new. How could I have not seen it?" he muttered to himself. Finally, he looked at me as he licked his lips. "I don't ever want to see you again," he told me, "ever."

I didn't respond back to him, I simply squeezed my eyes shut again and cried. My entire body shook as I sobbed. Hunter let go of me and I slumped down against the wall into a heap on the floor. I heard him turn around and walk out my front door. My heart ached so badly I wish he'd used his stake on me so I wouldn't feel all the pain I now felt. I heard Jake come over and sit down next to me.

"Wow. That was pretty amazing. I can't believe we're still here," Jake said. "How the h.e.l.l did you ever end up with Hunter Raintree? It's amazing he didn't figure out you're a vampire and kill you" he told me.

"You told me slayers can't identify new vampires," I reminded him.

"Yeah, but that was Hunter Raintree. That's different. I'm surprised he couldn't tell right away. So how did you ever hook up with him?"

"It's a long story and I know getting involved with him was stupid. That was one of the reasons I never told you about him. I knew you would tell me I was insane for seeing him. But I was really attracted to him, and I thought he felt the same about me," I said back to him. "I can't believe I thought it could go on without him finding out," I murmured.

"That guy's a vampire's worst nightmare." Jake shook his head before he started to speak again. "I can't believe you were dating the guy. d.a.m.n, do you realize if his family finds out about you, they'll probably kill him?"

"Do you think so? G.o.d I hope not," I told Jake. When he left, I knew he was extremely p.i.s.sed off at me for hiding the truth from him. I never even thought of how his family would react if they found out about us. They might never forgive him for being with me if they discovered how close we had been. Even though he was furious with me and told me he never wanted to see me again, I felt the need to protect him. "Jake, do me a favor, please. Don't tell anyone about me and Hunter, ok? No one," I said. I also thought that if there was any chance of reconciliation between Hunter and I the last thing I needed was Jake going around ruining Hunter's reputation as a brutal slayer.

"I promise I won't say a word to anyone." He looked at me closely, then put his arm around me. "You know, I'm going to say something and I want you to promise not to freak out on me, ok?"

"What is it?" I asked looking at him.

"I think you don't just like Hunter, I think you really love him."

I nodded. "I do. I didn't want to admit it, but I love him more than anything. I wish there was a way I could try to get him back, but now he hates me," I said with a shaking voice.

"You know, I think Hunter is an a.s.shole for walking out of here on you no matter what you are. He doesn't deserve your love." Jake replied. His voice sounded angry.