I Want Her

"Like hell you are!" Deric reaches out to me, but Silas pulls me behind him. The tension between them was thick; I knew that if I didn't intervene, then a fight might break out.

I pulled my hand away from Silas's grip and stepped forward. "Let me talk to him."

"Suit yourself. But don't waste my time; I am not a very patient person."

I watched Silas walk away toward the direction of the door; he stood there with his arms crossed, glaring intently in our direction. I knew that if I kept him waiting, then he might come back and drag me away himself.

"What are you planning?" Deric asked, and he fixed me with a glare. Since vampires could read minds, I knew he already had a hint about what I was going to say, and by the expression on his face, I knew that he didn't like it.

"I'm going with him."

"You're kidding me. You are going with the guy who almost killed you?" Deric growled, anger evident in his voice.

"I'm not going because I want to. But I think this is the perfect opportunity to get closer to Silas; I might be able to jolt his memories back. If not, it would still be a good opportunity to find Bill and my mom. I promise that if something happens, I will find you."

"And how will you find me? Do you think things are as easy as they used to be? Humans aren't allowed to roam around freely anymore, Kerry, and Silas might decide to feed on you; no one will stop him if he takes too much blood and ends up killing you. Surely even you, with your few brain cells, can piece this together. If something bad happens to you, don't blog or crawl back."

I frowned at him, not liking the insult one bit. Deric seemed to have regretted his words immediately after he said them, but I knew him well enough to tell that his ego wouldn't let him apologize. Still, I understood that he was only worried about me.

I knew that going with Silas was indeed a big risk; the only reason he had even paid attention to me was because of the sex. Who knew what he would do if he grew tired of having me around? But I still needed to find my mom; no problem would solve itself if we just sat around and watched it. The vampires did something, and as the only human who had her memories, I needed to do my best to have a solution to it.

"Don't be mad. You've helped me a lot, and I owe you; perhaps I'll be able to repay you when things go back to normal. But for now, I need you to trust me. I'll be alright, so don't worry."

"Do you trust him not to hurt you?"

"He wouldn't hurt me, not as long as he wants something from me."

"Sure, that makes things a lot better."

Deric was reluctant; however, he knew that he couldn't change my mind. I had already decided. He reached forward and cupped my cheeks; my eyes widened in surprise. He was the one who said it wasn't alright for vampires to act intimately with humans, especially not in front of other vampires. I could feel multiple eyes watching us.

Deric leaned down and pressed his cool lips against mine. It was a soft kiss, and it ended very quickly. But it was enough to convey his sincerity.

"Be safe. I'll come find you in a few days."

"Okay," I smiled at him and turned around, walking towards Silas.

Silas had a displeased frown on his face, but he didn't say anything to me. He led me outside to his car; I was a bit surprised to see it was the same sports car he drove. He didn't help me with the door, just spat at me to put on my seatbelt, and said something about humans being weak and pathetic. It was clear that things had changed; it was hard to get used to this.

---

He parked his car in front of a large mansion, painted in grey colors and surrounded by a large fence. The only thing colorful about this place was the garden, which I saw some (human) workers attending to. They all looked at me curiously as Silas led me into the house; they must think I was a new servant or something.

I had no idea since when Bill had become the type to live in a big house and have workers; I knew he was loaded and he could afford to live like that, but he always said he preferred the cozy lifestyle.

"I will take you to meet my father first. Then you can have a room to yourself to rest properly."

"Are you taking me to see Bill?"

Silas stopped walking suddenly. He turned to look at me; his eyes were narrowed.

"Do NOT call him that. Or else even me having an interest in you won't have your petty life."

"You do know that you don't intimidate me, right?"

"Is that so?" He reaches out a hand to grab my jaw, tilting my face to look at him. "I remembered you begging when I bit you. You are not as brave as you make yourself sound; I can smell your fears."

"Is that the only thing you can smell?" I flashed him a smile; he snorted at my action, and he pulled away and resumed walking. I hurried after him, not wanting to be left alone in those empty halls.

Silas didn't say anything to me as we made our way through the corridors. We arrived in front of large metal doors, and there were two men standing guard outside. They gave a small greeting to Silas, which he barely acknowledged before pushing the door open for him.

It was a library, the largest I had ever seen. At the corner of the room was an oak table and a chair; a man was occupying the seat.

Bill looked younger than I remembered, and he wasn't dressed in those colorful sweaters he usually wore whenever he wasn't at work. It was the first time I saw him in black.

There was someone beside him, kneeling by his feet. He was leaning forward, whispering something into her ear. Whatever he said must have appealed to Mom, because she had a soft smile on her face.

It was like revisiting their wedding day. I couldn't forget how excited Mom had been then; as she wed my stepfather, she was all over him. They would whisper things to each other that no one else could hear; it always led to them exchanging affectionate looks. Most of the time I only got annoyed when I thought about it. But seeing my mom and stepfather like this after the world came to an end made me feel relieved.

Mom was alright, and Bill still looked at her with affection. So it must mean that they still had their memories. Maybe Silas was the only one who had his head messed with.

I stepped forward, wanting to run to my mother and hug her. But Silas held my hand and yanked me back. His grip was so tight that it caused me to hiss in pain, a sound that startled the other two persons in the room.

Bill quickly straightened his posture, his eyes turning cold, a huge contrast to how warm they had been earlier. Mom shuffled on her knees nervously; she bowed her head like she wanted to hide from us or from Silas, who was glaring at her in disgust.

What's going on?