Tears of the Broken (46 page)

I
rested my nose to the tip of my shoulder and sniffed. It’s the same
one I always use. “David? Are you okay?”

“
I’m
uh—I’m fine.” His tone softened to kindness. “I just need a minute,
okay?”

“
Sure.” I leaned back against my bedhead and watched the
midday sunlight break through a cloud outside and dance along the
contours of David’s nose and cheekbones.

He
looked so conflicted, yet, also so comfortable as he considered the
world below. The muscles in his arms, with the way he folded them
across his chest, looked bigger, more defined. To look at him, one
would believe he was a man—not an eighteen nearly nineteen-year-old
boy. He’s too lovely for me. How can he possibly be real, and even
better, how can he possibly be all mine?

“
Why
are you shaking your head?” David turned his body to face
me.

My
head stopped moving and I opened my eyes a little wider, a small
smile turning the corner of my lip. “I’m sorry. What?”

He
dropped his arms and waved his hand, motioning me over to him.
“Come on. I wanna show you something.”

We
stood together in the pouring white sunlight; David wrapped both
arms around my waist and rested his chin against the curve of my
neck from behind. “So, my smell isn’t bothering you now?” I
asked.

“
Huh?”

“
My
body wash? You said it—”

“
Oh,
um. No. It’s fine,” he stammered, then squeezed me tighter and
nuzzled his nose into my shoulder, drawing a deep, wistful breath.
“I love the way you smell.”

“
Then why did you run away?”

“
I
have my reasons.”

“
You
always do—but you never share them with me.”

“
Maybe it’s time to change that, then.”

“
Now?”

“
Yes.” A cool tickle of David’s breath sent a shiver down my
spine, allowing warmth to return only once my heat skipped a beat.
“See that rise of hills over there?” His finger aimed to the
eastern hills where the first rays of sunlight touch the earth each
morning.

“
Yes.”

“
There’s a garden on the other side. Blue roses grow there.
Have you seen it?”

“
The
Applebury Reserve? Yeah, I’ve seen it.”

“
It’s twenty miles away. How long do you think it would take
to run there?” He squeezed his arms tighter around me.

“
I
don’t know? Depends how fast you run. And then, calculating that
will involve math, so...”

David sighed, blowing the air out through his nose. “What
if?” He stared at the horizon. “What if I told you I could do
it—run there and be back before you had a chance to
blink?”

“
I
would say that you are very talented,” my voice trailed up with
humour, “and I would be jealous.”

“
Really? You wouldn’t be afraid of me?”

“
Are
you kidding? Afraid…of you? David why would running fast be
scary?”

“
People don’t understand it.”

“
Well, I’m not people. I’m person, and I love you. Look—” I
huffed, “even if you pinned me to the bed and said you were going
to kill me, I still wouldn’t be scared of you. I’m a good judge of
character.”

“
Not
that good,” he said, but spoke so quickly it was hard to
tell.

“
Pardon?” I turned around and looked at him; he shook his
head. “Okay then, Speedy Gonzales, show me?”

“
Really?”

“
Yeah.” I put my hands on my hips. “Let’s see what you
got.”

He
looked out over the hills, then back at me. “So, you know the
Applebury Reserve is the only place that grows blue roses,
right?”

“
Huh? Um, yeah—I guess?”

“
Okay. Don’t be scared.” He inched away, holding up his index
finger. “Please don’t scream when you see this?”

My
eyes locked to his. He smiled, standing so tall and so sure of
himself. It’s hard to doubt him when he looks like that. I almost
hope he
can
do
what he claims—I’d hate to think he’s actually insane.

He
scratched his temple for a second then held his palms up. “Nothing
in my hands, right?”

“
Right?” I said.

He
turned them over a few times; I nodded to confirm—again. “Now,
don’t move?”

“
Okay,” I started to say as a cold rush of air blew into my
eyes. I closed them, and a cool touch tickled my cheek. The sweet,
vibrant perfume of roses filled the air around me—flavouring my
breath with a walk in the garden.

“
Look,” he whispered his hot breath right against my ear.
David’s brow creased, and he watched expectantly as my eyes met
his.

“
Hu!” My quick gasp made him smile. “How did you get
that?”

“
I
told you. I run very fast.” His lips parted into a breathy smile,
and he smoothed the petals of the blue rose over my cheek
again.

“
Yes. That is fast. I am jealous.” My eyes narrowed with
scepticism and I rested my hands on my hips. “Now, tell me how you
really did it.”

David huffed and stepped back. “I can see this is going to be
a little more of a challenge than I anticipated.”

“
What is?”

“
You
know, if this was the early nineteen-hundreds you’d already be
screaming.”

“
Oh,
and you speak from personal experience, do you?”

Without even a smile at my joke, he placed the thornless rose
in my hand and pulled me along. “Come. Sit down.”

I
plonked onto my feather quilt and dug my toes into the carpet.
David stood before me, then looked over his shoulder—in the
direction of my wardrobe. “You ready for this?” He flashed a
cheeky, lopsided grin.

“
Ready for wha—” He vanished into thin air, appearing next to
my closet door with the rose in his hand. “How…?”

“
Do
you believe me now?” He sprung up again, right in front of my
face.

My
stomach jumped up and touched the inside of my throat. What on
Earth? How did he…I mean, he isn’t even puffed out. “Okay. Who
taught you to run, ‘cause I could really use a tutor
like—”

David grabbed my face and cut my words short with his lips.
He held me long enough to draw one long breath, then released me.
“You’re not afraid.” It was a statement. “Ara, I’m so relieved. I
can’t believe you’re not afraid.”

The
last few seconds of my life floated around on the surface of my
thoughts. I can’t comprehend what I just saw. I can’t say I’m not
afraid, but I don’t know
what
to think, either.

“
I’m
sorry, Ara. It’s just that—” David lowered his head as if solemnity
had swallowed him whole, right before my eyes. “I wanted to tell
you. For so long. I just…I was afraid I might lose you. I knew that
life with you in it, even if I had to hide my true self from you,
was better than to lose you—or to have you afraid of
me.”

“
So,
how can you do that?” I asked, awestruck. “How can you run like
that?”

David hesitated and his shoulders came up. “That’s…the hard
part.”

“
I
can take it. Whatever it is, David. I swear. I can take
it.”

He
smiled and took my hand, rubbing his thumb gently over my
fingertips. “I’m something different, Ara. I—I wish there was an
easy way to tell you. I just—” he bit his teeth together, “please
don’t be afraid when I say the word.”

“
I
can’t make you any promises, but I’ll try.”

“
Okay, here goes.” He took a breath. “Ara, I’m a
vam—”

Chapter
Seventeen

“
Come in,” I called, shrugging at David, who sent his words
scattering with a breath when someone knocked on my
door.

“
Ah,
Ara, you’re up.” Dad looked at David, then at me—his eyes
narrowing.

“
Yeah, I’m fine, Dad, really. I just need to talk to David.”
Hint, hint—go away.

“
Hm.” He pursed his lips. “Well, I just came to tell you that
if you’re okay now, your mum and I are going to pay our respects at
the Rossi’s. Would you rather we stayed?”

With
one brow raised, I shook my head. Dads, they worry too
much.

David stood up and let go of my hand. “I can stay with her if
you like, Mr. Thompson.”

Dad
looked at me, and my face broke into a toothy, hell-yes-grin. “Very
well. Thank you, David.”

Awesome. We’ll have the house all to ourselves.

David watched the door close behind Dad and smiled—that same,
soft curve of his lips that he tries to hide—his secret
smile.

“
Why
do you do that?” I stood up and rested my cheek on David’s
shoulder. “Like, really, what are you thinking when you smile that
way?”

“
I
was just thinking that your dad—he doesn’t trust me to be alone
with you in your room. But he was too polite to say it.”

“
Now, what gave you that idea?” I watched the space where my
dad had just been.

“
Call it—male intuition.” David grinned, stuffing his hands
into his pockets.

I
nodded, one slow bow of the head. “Okay. Fine. So—you were saying?”
I prompted David’s explanation. “You’re a...?”

“
Okay.” He sat me on the bed and knelt down in front of me.
“Now, you know I love you?” he said in a leading tone, his eyes
lifting his brows.

“
Yes.”

“
And you know I could
never—
would
never
hurt you?”

“
David, just get to the bloody point.” I laughed, rolling my
eyes. He waited, obviously requiring an answer. “Oh, fine. Okay.
Yes, I know. Now tell me.” I breathed out, allowing the frustration
to control my tone.

He
looked down for a second, then, with a loud sigh, closed his eyes
as his fingers tightened around my arms. “Ara. There’s a reason I
can run fast, and why I also know what people are
thinking…”

I
waited, tapping my fingers on my knee. Uh, yeah, not gonna come to
this conclusion on my own.

David laughed to himself, shaking his head, and in a smooth,
cool tone said, “Ara. I’m a vampire.”

My
body stiffened with a sudden rush of cool through my chest. “Oh.
Um. Okay.” So, either I’m currently in the arms of dangerous
predator, or I’m being punked by the guy who’s supposed to love me.
Strangely, I feel fear, and I have no idea why. I love him, and I
trust him, but I suddenly want to run. “David, this is a really
badly timed practical joke. Really?” I laughed and stood up,
pushing him away from me. Safe, on other side of the room, I spun
around, planted my hands firmly on my hips and glowered at him.
“You choose to play a joke on me on the day of Nathan’s funeral?
Don’t you think that’s a little distasteful?”

He
sighed and dropped his arms to his sides, still kneeling by my bed.
“Well, the cat’s out of the bag now, Ara. I can’t take it back,
and—” he stood up; not like I normally would, by stepping one foot
to the ground then the other and pushing up off the bed—he
floated
up, without
moving his feet, without pressing his weight to either side—like a
rope under both arms had lifted him.

My
mouth hung open and my chest tightened. Before the little bumps
even rose on my skin, he appeared beside me, took me in his arms
with his fingers wrapping softly around my shoulders and whispered,
“It’s not a joke.”

A
quick, half-breath reached my lungs before his hand covered my
mouth—my cry for help never reaching the ears of its intended. I
convulsed violently, wriggling to break free, but his hold
intensified.
Let me go! Get off me!
I tried to stomp on his toes but he moved his
foot, and my heel struck the ground with knee-jolting force—sending
instant tears into my eyes as I cried out under his iron
grip.

“
Ara! Ara! Look at me!” He shook me once, pinning the back of
my skull to his chest by the hand over my mouth, keeping his
forearm firmly around my collarbones. “Just stop struggling. Look
at me!”

Taking heaving lungful’s of air through my nose, I calmed
myself enough to stop struggling, but not enough to stop shaking.
David’s hold relaxed a little, but stayed firm. “If I let go, will
you promise not to scream?”

I
shook my head. He’s a monster. A killer. Oh, my God. How did I not
see this?

“
Ara, please?” His deep, milky voice entered my ears and set
my heart on fire with the hurt beneath his calm tone. I turned my
head and forced my gaze upward, meeting the painfully detached ache
behind the emerald eyes I love so much.

“
Mm-bm-mm-nn,” I muttered under his grasp. It came out
sounding like a jumble of words, but it was supposed to be, “David,
let me go!”

He
released me instantly. The air came into my lungs in a grateful
gasp. I folded over slightly, rubbing my chin. God, he’s
strong.

“
I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”