My Beloved (14 page)

“Wendy, wake up- What in the world? Why did you cover your windows?”

Wendy woke up with a start. The light from her ceiling fan hurt her eyes as sleep left her disoriented. “What?” she asked with a husky voice still thick from waking up. Her dad gestured to the side of her, making her look. She gasped softly to herself when she saw one of the blankets was nailed over the window, not a hint of light shining through. ‘Vincent!’ she thought with a brief scan of her room to see he wasn’t there. But she could feel him, he was close.

“I-I, uh… the light hurt my eyes. I had a headache yesterday.”

Her dad gave her a dubious look. “It was dark when we came home,” he stated as he crossed his arms.

“Uh… the moon was bright?” She thought she heard a snort but quickly dismissed it, only focusing on her father.

“Right… the moon was bright, when it was overcast. Okay, don’t tell me the truth. Get ready for school, I need to go.”

Wendy gave him a wide smile, too big of a smile that had him suspicious again, but he dismissed it and left. When her doors closed, she let out a big breath, then Vincent came out of the closet laughing. She threw a pillow at him in response. “Shut it! I’m not good at thinking when I first wake up. Plus I’m still extremely tired from lack of sleep.” She then gestured to the large, covered window. “Care to explain how you did that without waking me up?” Wendy asked but quickly got out of her bed and ran to the bathroom, leaving Vincent feeling confused.

“Firefly? Are you alright?” he asked through the door just outside her room.

“I-I needed to brush my teeth. Bad morning breath,” was her mumbled response, making Vincent want to laugh, but he held it in.

“To answer your question, and to put it lightly, you sleep like the dead.” Hearing her snort through the door, he chuckled and waited patiently for her.

“I need a shower so you better stay away!” she warned him as she started the water and took off her pajamas and glasses. Wendy took the quickest shower in her life seeing as there was a vampire waiting for her just outside the door. She growled at herself when she forgot her clothes and quickly wrapped herself up in a towel. “No peeking!” she said with clear warning. She didn’t hear a response when she opened the door. He was nowhere to be found. She all but sprinted to her room and saw he was lying on her bed with his eyes closed.

“I would leave you in peace but this is the only room that has no natural light.”

She could hear the smile in his voice, making her huff. “Fine, then I’ll leave. No good perverted vampire,” she muttered grumpily under her breath. She made him laugh as she slammed the bathroom door closed once she got her clothes.

She chose a white long-sleeved top that had a blue floral pattern on it and fit snugly, but not overly so. She matched it with a pair of dark-wash jeans. After throwing her hair up in a half-hazard bun, since her hair was still wet, she deemed herself ready for school. She was beyond irritated thanks to the lack of sleep.

“I’ll be waiting here for you when you get back. Please call out to me if anything happens. Darcy is working on getting someone in the school for you.” Vincent quickly kissed her goodbye as she walked her way to school.

Her messenger bag lightly tapped her thigh with each step she took. The cold morning air made her wish she had dried her hair better, but no matter. She was at the school within ten minutes. Jamie was there to greet her by the front doors.

“Hey, long time no see! How’s Mark?” Jamie asked, tucking a stray fiery curl behind her ear.

Wendy grunted in response. “Good,” was her only answer. She hated to be a grouch but sleep was her vice. She loved it and when she didn’t get enough, she turned into a Moody Mary.

“Wow, someone didn’t get enough sleep,” Jamie muttered and knew to stay cautious around Wendy today. It wasn’t often Wendy was like this, but when she was, Jamie knew to look out. Denise, the school ‘it’ girl, popped up in front of them, and Jamie sent a silent prayer that Wendy didn’t kill the girl.

“So like, we were wondering, like, why you never really like, talk to anyone else? Are you stupid?” she asked with a cackling sneer.

Wendy growled to herself and pushed past Denise and her ‘friends.’ When she reached the door to open it. she turned back. “Because I fucking hate you all.”

Jamie busted up laughing, only rarely heard the ‘pure’ Wendy curse. Leaving all of them behind, Wendy walked to her first period and hoped she didn’t fall asleep.

Wendy

“It’s not that funny! I can’t believe I said the F word,” Wendy muttered at the end, causing Jamie to go into another round of laughter. They were both sitting by themselves in the lunch room, poking at the questionable lunch meat.

Jamie hit the table with her hand picturing the entire scene over again. “Man, I love it when you don’t get enough sleep! We should pull an all-nighter tonight so you can punch Denise in the face tomorrow!” Jamie’s ideas were always rash and not well thought out, but that’s what made her so entertaining. Wendy grumbled to herself and set her head on the table.

“Stupid Vincent, making me stay up half the night,” she said into the table, half asleep. She heard a loud screech, causing her to look up and see Jamie had the biggest grin on her face. Wendy realized she had said that a little too loud.

“You were with a guy all night?!” Jamie shouted but calmed down when she saw people staring.

Wendy’s face turned an unsavory shade of red as she ducked down further in her seat. “I didn’t!” she denied quickly. Her eyes looked around to make sure no one really heard and her eyes connected with Denise. The girl glowered at Wendy with a nasty sneer, making her turn around in her seat quickly. Now that the fifth cup of coffee had kicked in, she had more sense.

“Yeah, okay, that’s not what I heard. C’mon, you can tell me,” Jamie said as she pouted. Wendy rolled her eyes and knew if she told her anything, it would have to be severely edited. Wendy bit her lip knowing she was going to have to lie to her best friend. Somehow that hurt worse than lying to her parents. Her fingers touched the necklace around her neck for comfort.

Jamie’s eyes looked to see it and smiled. “Whoa, cool! When did you get that?” her orange-haired friend asked, leaning closer across the table to get a better look.

Wendy quickly put it under her shirt, making Jamie frown in question. “Oh, I found it in the backyard along with everything else.”

Jamie nodded. “I can’t believe you found all that stuff in your backyard! How cool is that? Especially since we were reading a story about treasure! Are you going to answer about this ‘Vincent’ character?”

Wendy racked her brain for a plausible answer. “It’s nothing! Just reading one of my books and in it was a main character named Vincent.” There, that was believable. Wendy does read a lot of books.

Jamie cocked her head to the side. “Really? Oh! It was one of those dirty books you like to read, like ones by Nora Roberts and all that!”

Wendy was now red from the roots of her hair to the soles of her feet. Yes, she liked reading those books. They were her guilty pleasure. Only Jamie knew she read those kinds of romance novels. Playing with a stray piece of hair that fell out of her bun, she nodded shyly. She couldn’t believe she resorted to admitting to reading THOSE kinds of books, just so Jamie wouldn’t find out. Wendy gasped loudly when she remembered all of her books were in her room, where Vincent was currently at.

“What?” Jamie asked, concerned.

Wendy shook her head, feeling embarrassment flood through her. “Uh… I left a couple of them out. I’m afraid my dad is going to see them.”

Jamie snorted at that. “You have nothing to worry about! You said he’s going to be at the hospital with your brother. Oh man, can you imagine his face though if he did see any of the covers?! I’d be laughing for a week!”

Wendy had to shake her head at the thought. The covers always featured a strong man holding a poor damsel in distress. Her tongue burned with wanting to just tell her best friend everything but knew that wasn’t possible. Tears started to pool in her eyes at the thought that she can’t even really say goodbye.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong, Wendy Bird?” Jamie asked and quickly switched to sit next to her.

Wendy laughed through her nose and sniffled at the nickname her brother made up, but it stuck since she was little. Wendy shook her head and tried to play off like she was fine. “I’m fine, just Aunt Flow is visiting soon…” Wendy again wanted to slap herself. Was today just put her foot in her mouth day or what?

Jamie hissed through her teeth and nodded in sympathy. “Yeah, I had mine just last week. Being a girl sucks sometimes, huh? Let’s head off to class. I heard we got a new teacher.”

Wendy’s ears perked up at this new information. It wasn’t often this town got anyone new. “Really? Who would want to teach History in some boring town like this?” Wendy asked with a bemused look. This was a distraction she needed and welcomed.

Jamie shrugged and threw her food away before grabbing one of the many hair bands around her wrists and throwing her hair up in her usual messy bun. Jamie always had a tomboy, laid back type of look for her, but it suited her personality, even if she was more in your face. Pulling a face at the jellied meat that was left on her plate, Wendy followed suit and both were soon taking their usual spot in the back of the History class. “I wonder if the new teacher is a guy or girl?” Jamie asked out loud, but her question was soon answered once the class settled when a slightly older male stepped into the room. Wendy had to admit even to herself, he was good looking in a rugged sort of way. Wendy immediately pictured the six-foot something, tan man with a cowboy hat on and some used up pair of jeans. His lighter brown hair was falling into his dark brown eyes and even though most girls in the class probably developed an immediate crush or infatuation, for some reason, Wendy was unfazed. Her mind kept picturing Vincent.

“Good afternoon, class. I’m your new History teacher, Mr. Roberts.” Even his voice held a southern drawl that was only just noticeable.

“Holy. Shit. I think I’m going to fail this class…” Jamie muttered from beside her.

Wendy held in a laugh. “Why?” she asked and Jamie waggled her eyebrows.

“Because I’ll be too busy staring at his ass.”

Wendy couldn’t help it as she burst out laughing, causing everyone in class to look at her. Mr. Roberts quirked an eyebrow in question. “Something funny, Miss…?”

With a red face, Wendy coughed into her hand. “Uh, Wendy, sir. Wendy Garrett.”

Recognition flashed in his eyes, making her confused. “Well, since you think my being a teacher is so funny, you can stay after and explain why.”

Her heart plummeted. She had never been in trouble before and as the class ooh’ed, she felt like she wanted to cry. Not wanting to make things worse for herself, she nodded mutely and tried not to overreact. It was hard though, since she’s always gotten along with all of her teachers since Kindergarten.

“Okay, so now he’s not so hot anymore,” Jamie muttered next to her, making Wendy smile to herself. Always the protective friend. Wendy was lucky to have her as she tried not to focus on the stares from the others in class, but it seemed Mr. Roberts heard Jamie’s talk.

“Would you like to say that a little louder? I couldn’t quite hear you…”

Now it was Jamie’s turned to blush. Wendy felt angry that this teacher was picking on the both of them for not too bad of reasons. As if sensing Wendy was about to speak up, Jamie put a hand on her shoulder and subtly shook her head.

“Yeah, I said, ‘You’re not so hot anymore.”

Some of the students in class snickered as Jamie raised an eyebrow daringly. Wendy saw his hand twitch and that made her feel a little frightened. Did he actually want to hit her friend? What kind of teacher was this?

‘Firefly? What’s wrong? I can sense your distress,’ Vincent suddenly spoke in her mind, making her jump slightly in her seat. A boy next to her gave her a crazy look before going back to his work.

‘N-Nothing. Just a new teacher giving Jamie and I a hard time. I’ll talk to you later. I need to concentrate.’ She could feel his hesitation but heard him sigh mentally.

‘Alright. Reach out to me if anything happens,’ he spoke and then left her.

“One more crack like that and you’ll be going to O’Shaque-hennasie’s office! Just because I’m new does not mean I can be messed with,” he said, pointing a finger at her.

He was more of a grouch than Oscar, Wendy thought with a slight shake of her head. Jamie zipped her lips in a sarcastic way before he finally started to teach. It was a long period before the bell finally rang. Wendy did her work diligently, hoping that would lessen any punishment she might receive. “Tell me if he tries anything on you,” Jamie stage whispered and left her with a wink, but not before giving Mr. Roberts the ‘I’m-watching-you’ sign with her hand.

“Please stand up here, Ms. Garrett,” Mr. Roberts said with an authoritative voice.

Gulping, Wendy shuffled to the front of his desk. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to laugh, and it wasn’t even at you! I-”

He cut her off with a slight smile and shake of his head. “No, it’s fine. I was hired by Darcy West. Here…” He took out a bracelet with a heart on it. “Wear this. If you ever run into trouble, I’ll be there in seconds, okay?”

Wendy nodded dumbly as she shakily clasped it on her small dainty wrist.

“So… I’m not in trouble?” she asked hesitantly, making him chuckle.

“No. I just want to give off the impression of a hard ass. That way, when I eventually leave here, no one will care to ask.”

Wendy shuffled her feet and looked around the room. She was never good with people she hardly knew. “You really shouldn’t have taken the job…” Wendy said while biting her inner cheek.

Mr. Roberts cocked his head to the side with his eyebrows furrowed. “Why not? I was offered quite a bit, and you’re cute so that’s a plus.”

Wendy blushed furiously at being called cute. She wasn’t used to compliments and it was unexpected. It seems a lot of what this Mr. Roberts does is unexpected.

“Y-You shouldn’t say that! You’re a teacher! Well, sort of, but to everyone else you are!” she hissed under her breath, still not making eye contact.

He just laughed. “Okay, whatever, cutie. So why is it that I shouldn’t have taken this job?” he asked with genuine interest as he crossed his arms. His very large arms. Wendy looked at the clock and noted that if she didn’t leave, she’d be late for her last class. The ‘teacher’ noticed her distraction and took out a slip. “I’ll write you a late pass. Now answer.”

Wendy gulped and fiddled with her fingers. “W-Well you see, Mr. Roberts-”

He cut her off, “Please call me Asher when we’re alone.” She nodded jerkily and continued. “My last guard… she uh, she died. Protecting me. She was shot and I don’t want another person’s life taken because of me.”

Asher laughed in response as Wendy looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m sorry, but I already knew that. I get paid for a living to watch over people such as yourself. Even a couple of vampires. Yes, I know about them considering I’m a vampire hunter. Well… reformed vampire hunter.”

Wendy gaped up at him and stumbled back slightly to get her bearings. He chuckled at her response and Wendy couldn’t help but compare this side of him to the teacher part. He seemed so much more loose and care-free. “Vampire hunters are real?!” she whispered- shouted. Feeling a little sick from all this new information, she sat down at a desk.

“Yes, we’re very real. We have speed, so we can keep up with vamps. However, I don’t do that anymore. Well, unless it’s for a job like protecting someone like you, cutie.”

Wendy shook her head at the new nickname. “Can you stop calling me that?” she said when it was quiet after a moment. She didn’t feel comfortable with it and for some reason, she knew Vincent would be pissed if he knew.

“Oh, relax. I mean no harm, plus you’re a little too young for me.” That made her feel a bit better but suddenly he was in her face with a sultry smirk. “Of course… I can make an exception.”

Her eyes were wide and she was gaping like a fish with her heart pounding wildly. “W-What?”

He pulled away and started laughing. “Oh man, you should’ve seen your face!”

Wendy blushed with chagrin. With a twist of her lips as a sneer, she stood up and grabbed the late pass from his grip and was ready to storm out when he caught her arm.

“No, no, wait, I’m sorry. It wasn’t funny. Well, not that funny.”

After a moment, Wendy nodded and tugged her arm out of his grip.

“Thank you. And thank you for, you know, looking out for me,” she said awkwardly, trying to go back to a somewhat more calm atmosphere.

He nodded and flipped some hair out of his eyes. “This is actually going to be a pretty simple job. Mr. West already took care of the threat. I’m just here to make sure there are no more. Oh and your friend, Jamie, is it?” he asked at the end. Wendy nodded cautiously. “She’s pretty hot,” he said with a simple shrug.

Wendy gasped and lightly hit his arm, well to her she hit pretty hard, but she was sure he barely felt it. “She’s your student!” she reprimanded him and couldn’t believe Darcy hired him! This man could at least act professional! Not like some immature jerk! “How old are you?” she asked, suddenly wondering if maybe he’s younger than he seemed.

He gave her an amused look at the abrupt change in conversation but shrugged it off. “I’m twenty-five. Why, you like older guys?” he asked with wiggling eyebrows.

Wendy scoffed and shook her head. “I’m surprised you’re still alive if this is you acting professionally,” she muttered, but he heard and placed a hand over his heart.