Bella Notte (51 page)

“
Do not worry
about me, Em. I will always make time for you and work. But I am very
glad that they decided to join you. My family will, of course, be
much obliged if you stay with us for as long, or as short a time, as
you like.” Dom was being very polite.

“
Actually …
we'll be temporarily renting a villa close to the school. That way if
you two ever have a late evening on shore, you don't have to find a
neighbor to ferry you over to your house.” Grandpa's eyes were
lit with excitement.

“
You are so
brilliant, Grandpa!” I ran swiftly over to his side of the
table and kissed him on the cheek. “I'm so glad you're going to
be there. I'd miss you too much.” I clung to his neck.

“
Ah, no need
for this. We'll be there a few days after you.” He smiled
again.

“
Yeah! Isn't
that great Dom?” I squealed at him.

“
Yes, it's
wonderful, Emma. I am so glad that you won't have to worry about
being away from your family too much.” He smiled at me.

“
So, on to
another subject,” I giggled. “Chris told me that Kelly's
first location shoot will be in Italy! She, of course, will have
other stuff before that, but it's her first one out of the country!
She'll be able to visit about middle semester I think.” I
giggled with delight.

“
Oh, Emma
dear, that is wonderful.” Grandpa was pleased.

“
Then we can
show her around and maybe she'll fall in love with a nice Italian.”
Dom winked at me.

I laughed.

The evening turned
into a rather wonderful affair. I was really happy because the future
was looking brighter and I would have my awesome Grandpa with me in
Italy. I couldn't think of anything better.

And so I went to bed
dreaming about the school term to come, the new setting for both Dom
and I, and the adventures I might have with my grandpa.

The next day was
filled with packing. I wanted to pack my entire room up and ship it
to Italy, but it was illogical since I already had some of the stuff
there.

I stuffed all my
clothes and shoes into one huge box. In the next box went all of my
books and movies- even though I was sure Dominic had every movie I
had, plus about a million more.

I packed two other
boxes- the first contained all of my memory stuff and the second held
all of my stuff that made me feel better and comfortable. I felt a
little silly packing my childhood stuffed bear, but he couldn't be
left behind and he was the only thing that could
always
make me feel better.

It took me all day
and, by the time I was done, my room looked pretty bare. My bed and
furniture were still present, but all the junk that made it feel
lived in was packed into the four boxes that sat by my bedroom door.
It was really weird seeing my room like that. I was tempted not to
sleep in it, but I decided that since I was leaving the following
evening, this would be my last night in my own bed.

I knew that when I
left for Italy, I wouldn't be alone because my parents were flying
with us and then a few days later my grandparents would arrive at
their villa. Somehow though, I had a feeling that no one else would
understand what tomorrow was for me- the biggest change in my life;
being fully immersed in the vampire world. I was scared to say the
least and I had no idea what to expect.

I fell asleep
thinking about what my new life would be like and, as a result, I had
really freaky dreams.

The day dawned
bright and cheery. I got up early and lugged my boxes down to my
Jeep- yes; it was being shipped to me. It was strange to see
everything that was important to me being packed into my new monster.
I tried not to let the feeling get to me too much.

I went inside and
sipped on some hot chocolate, spiked with blood, and ate a cinnamon
roll.

When I was finished,
I walked about the house, memorized everything, and relived different
memories from each place.

Dominic got up at
noon and packed his suitcase and a small box of items he had amassed
while he was staying with us. Grandpa let me play chess with him and
I was positive that he let me win. I informed him that it didn't
taste as sweet when it was given to you. He laughed and played me
again- I was slaughtered, but happy.

My parents came home
around four and switched the contents of their suitcases for
appropriate and clean clothes. Everything was set, and we were going
to leave. I decided I needed to see my room one last time before I
walked out of my house for an unknown amount of time.

I climbed the stairs
and counted each step, memorizing the look of each one. There were
sixty-two and the middle one had a crack in it. I wasn't going to
tell anyone so that it would be exactly the same when I came back.

I opened my bedroom
door and closed my eyes. I thought of how it usually looked, and I
knew that when I opened them, there would be nothing familiar to me.

A breeze from the
window I thought I had closed caught my attention. It carried a smell
that was familiar to me.

“
It couldn't
be.” My eyes opened instantly as I pushed my door open further
… but what I thought I had smelled wasn't there.

I turned about my
room and felt a pang for what was. There would always be some holes
in my heart- for him, and for my life before.

I shut the window
firmly and latched it. I turned to leave when something cream
colored, on my pillow, caught my eye. I went to my bed and found a
thick cream envelope atop the book I had written to Mike in.

On the envelope was
one simple word; “Emma.”

Mike.

J
esse
now lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere. She moved from
the chaos of Los Angeles. Yes, she misses it. It is not uncommon for
her to be asked why she moved from such a busy place to the one horse
town- the answer is simply to allow her kids to grow up with their
grandparents.

Jesse has studied
anthropology and used her “education” as an excuse to
hang out with vampires- her masters' thesis was going to be modern
vampire culture. They really do exist. Vampires have been her
obsession since she was about five years old when she swears she was
bitten by one.

She enjoys reading
and writing. But most importantly being a crazy mom to her son, new
daughter, and ever growing pet family. Singing silly songs at the top
of her lungs and embarrassing her son is one of her favorite
activities. She considers herself to be an odd duck.

Discover
other titles by Jesse Kimmel-Freeman at Smashwords.com:

Brody
and the Skypirates

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/jesse.kimmelfreeman

My
website:
http://bellanottethebook.weebly.com

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jessekimmelfreeman