Authors: Heather C. Hudak
Chapter 31 - Rude Awakening
I must have drifted into sleep at some point in the wee hours because light was creeping through the blinds when a light rapping on the door woke me with a start. I was still in a fog when I heard a murmur outside.
“Come out, please. You can’t stay locked in there forever.”
The knocking continued, along with the pleas, and I realized Eli was trying to get my attention. Perplexed, I pushed up off the bed and walked to the door. As far as I could tell, I had only been asleep a short while, and I most certainly had not locked myself inside the bedroom. I couldn’t piece together what Eli was getting at.
“Eli?” I whispered as I slowly eased open the door. I peeked through the crack expecting to see his face staring back at me.
He was there, outside the door, but not my door. He was sitting with his back against the bathroom door, his eyes red-rimmed from an earlier crying bout and hair tousled from running his hands through it nervously. At the sight of me peering through the bedroom door, Eli quickly sprang to his feet.
“Lia,“ his voice was high, and he was clearly shocked by the sight of me. “I thought you were sleeping. Um, I…”
“What the hell is going on?” I shouted, bursting through the door, which triggered Addie to do the same. Only instead of coming through the door of her bedroom across the hall, she stepped through the bathroom door.
My jaw dropped, and Eli struggled to his feet after falling backward into the now open bathroom doorway.
“Oh, my god, Lia,” Addie said, blushing bright red. “I can explain.”
“Oh, I’ll bet you can,” I said angrily, putting a hand up between us, giving the illusion of a wall separating me from them. I ran out of the suite and down the hall before I realized I was barefoot, wearing pajamas, and had no wallet. There was no place for me to go but the lobby or fitness room. I paused for a moment and then punched the button on the elevator, deciding any place was better than here. The sound of a door slamming echoed down the hall, and I knew one of them was coming after me. I punched the button again and again, willing it to bring the lift faster. It didn’t, of course, and before I could make an alternate plan--like taking the stairs or jumping out a window--I realized Eli was approaching quickly. The elevator door opened, and I was about to step inside when he jogged toward me and grabbed my arm.
“Why are you so upset, Lia? It’s not like you want more from me.”
“Don’t I?”
“You’re not seriously going to do this now, are you? I have wanted you for as long as I have known you, and now that I have found someone who will return my love, you’ve had a change of heart. Come on, Lia. Don’t do this. Don’t play this game.”
He was right. As much as I wanted to fall in love with Eli and have a normal life, I knew we were never meant to be. In fact, I was fairly certain I was spoiled from ever being with anyone other than Chaseyn ever again, but after what had happened in Paris, it wasn’t until now that I was ready to admit that to myself, or anyone else for that matter.
“I’m just surprised is all,” I said, stepping out of the elevator. Addie had now joined our conversation, and I struggled to look her in the eye. “And, Addie. I’m shocked. Truly shocked. What about Rob?”
“I wanted to be with Rob, but there‘s just always been something missing. You know that, Lia,” Addie said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “We’ve been fighting through text messages ever since we landed. Who am I kidding? We’ve been fighting since we first started dating in the ninth grade, but people kept pushing us together. We’ve been trying to make it work for years…and this stupid engagement was nothing more than that--us trying to make a square peg fit into a circular hole.”
She was right. For years, I had stood by and watched her and Rob break up and get back together. Their parents had introduced them in middle school with the hope of bringing together their two pedigrees. Rob and Addie were the epitome of the perfect high school sweethearts. He was the perfect jock that every girl wanted to date. But, despite the fact that Addie was the drop-dead-gorgeous girl-next-door, she had never been able to break into the “in” crowd like Rob had. She was a bit too over-the-top to make it work. For that reason, there had always been something holding them back from being the perfect for each other.
“Does Rob know?” I asked.
She nodded silently in response, a sob bursting through her otherwise pursed lips.
“I refused to take our relationship to the next level before she broke it off with him,” Eli piped up.
“Well, at least you’re still a stand up guy,” I said, tongue in cheek, recalling one of my favorite scenes from Hamlet. “…the wedding meats cold served the funeral feast…”
“What was that?” Chip said, coming down the hall to join our face off.
“Nothing,” I murmured under my breath. “Forget it.”
“So, our girl here must have learned what’s been going on under her nose,” Chip said, nudging me in the ribs with her elbow. “How’s it feel that you were the last to know? Your best friend betrayed you with this secret. I bet you don’t like how it feels, right? It’s s good thing you’d never do something like that to her.”
“Stop it right now,” Eli shouted. “That’s enough. Chip, this is none of your business. Go back to the room.”
“Finally, it looks like the football star is finally ready to trade his pretty boy image to fight for the love of his life…or should I say loves. Which will it be, big boy? Is Addie your consolation prize?”
Addie took off down the hall, whimpering as she ran.
“I heard the two of you this morning. Isn’t that what she was worried about--why she was balling her eyes out behind locked doors in the bathroom?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Chip,” Eli insisted. He squeezed my hand, and I winked in return. We’d work it out, but for now, I knew he needed to be with Addie. There was a spark there. It had been growing for weeks now, when I thought about it. They deserved a chance to see if it could grow into something more.
“Back off, Chip,” I said and followed Eli back to the room.
Chapter 32 - Alone-ish
It had been quite the start to the day. I had decided to leave Addie and Eli alone to work through any issues they were having. As much as I wanted to spend the day exploring Rome on my own, I knew that just wasn’t possible.
“Can you at least keep your distance?” I asked Chip when we left the hotel a few hours after the startling revelation that was Addie and Eli’s relationship. “I just feel like I need some space right now, and it’s not like you really enjoy being with me anyway.”
“You’re right. If it wasn’t for Balty…well, I’d have left you for dead ages ago,” she replied coyly, a smirk across her petal pink lips.
“Wow. I could have stood for less honesty.”
“You said it first,” Chip said. “Balty would have my head if he knew I left you alone in one of the most ancient vampire cities in the world, so I’ll be around, but I promise to keep out of sight.”
“Perfect,” I said, and I started on my merry way, guidebook in hand.
When I arrived at the Coliseum, a woman with an Australian accent approached me from behind. I must have jumped three feet in the air at the touch of her hand on my shoulder.
“Pardon me, miss, I didn’t mean to frighten you, but I am wondering if you would like to join our tour,” she said, pointing to a small group of tourists hovering at the base of the enormous structure.
“How much?”
“You would pay 18 Euros on your own just to enter. For only 7 Euros more, you can jump the line and have a personalized tour guide escort you through the Coliseum, as well as the ruins across the way.”
I had planned to keep a tight budget on this trip, which would have meant forgoing such luxuries as a guided tour. However, considering I had relinquished and let Addie foot the bill for the better part of the trip, I had a few extra bucks to spare. I passed the money to the girl, pasted the sticker on my chest she had given me to identify myself as a paid member of the group, and joined the others in wait for our guide. When he arrived 10 minutes later, I settled into the group as we toured the ancient building.
One hour. Two hours. Three hours. No sign of Chip. I knew she must be there. Somewhere. But I couldn’t see her, and to be honest, I wasn’t looking that hard. At the end of the tour--about five hours later--I was eager to dash across town for a quick glimpse at the Vatican. It was mid-afternoon, but if I was fast, I knew I could still make my way to the Sistine Chapel. The one with the painted ceilings.
I walked so fast that I thought my feet would fall off. And, I made it. Time was tight, but I got to catch a glimpse at so many artistic splendors that it was well worth the effort. It wasn’t until I was walking back toward our hotel that Chip finally appeared.
“You’re such a tourist,” she said as she came up beside me.
“Thank you,” I replied.
“Did you have to go to every clichéd tourist site in Rome?”
“Yes. I did.”
“Well, you missed at least one,” she said. “Follow me.”
For a moment, I questioned why she was being so nice to me, and I wondered if it was sincere. Regardless, I timed the rhythm of my feet to hers, and we walked in silence through the city streets.
After a while, the sidewalks became thick with people--tourists--easily identified by their white tube socks, Nike sneakers, funny hats, and sunburned skin. Souvenir shops lined the sidewalks, and cafes specializing in typical Italian fare were aplenty.
“What’s that sound?” I said when I could hear a loud humming in the distance.
“You’ll see,” she said as she dug in her pocket for something. “Here, hold these.”
Holding open my hand, I looked down to watch as she dropped a handful of loose change in my palm. Then, she grabbed my arm and dragged me forward. We had only walked about a block, but the strange humming sound had grown considerably in its intensity. Then, we rounded the corner, and I caught my first glimpse at one of the most impressive works of art I had ever been so fortunate to lay my eyes upon--the Trevi Fountain.
“That sound…it was the water,” I said. “Amazing.”
I took the change from my hand and ran to the base of the fountain. Chip snapped a few photos of me pretending to toss in the coins before I made any real attempts at it.
“I bet I know what you’re going to wish for,” she chided. “That Eli would forget all about Addie and plant a big wet one on your lips as soon as we get back to the room.”
I hit her shoulder playfully, realizing she was trying to make a joke. We were actually getting along for once, and I surprised myself by being able to laugh at the entire situation between Addie and Eli, as well as Chip and myself. Maybe things would work out after all. I turned then, closed my eyes, and tossed my coin into the fountain to make a wish. We both knew what I wanted more than anything--to find peace with Chaseyn, whatever that might mean. I didn’t say it out loud, and she never asked me to. Good thing too, because we all know that wishes won’t come true if you say them out loud.
“One last stop,” Chip said. “There’s one more thing that I want you to see.”
Things had been working out so far, so I decided to take my chances and follow her lead. It was quite the trek, and this time we were anything but silent. Chip asked me about my tour and pointed out lesser-known sites along our route. She was a regular chatterbox, and I felt a little bit guilty about judging her in a bad light. Maybe she was just moody. Because when she was in a good mood, she was a lot of fun to be around.
We had walked for what seemed like forever, over hills, through valleys, and around Circus Maximus before she finally came to a stop in front of a decrepit old chapel.
“Here we are,” she said proudly, bouncing on the balls of her feet and waving her arms at the less-than-stellar building in front of us.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to sound upbeat rather than disappointed. We had walked a long way for this, and my stomach was really rumbling.
“Come on,” she said, urging me through the entry.
“Hey, I know this place,” I said once we were just inside the door. “It’s from that classic movie with Robert Downey Jr.--
Only You
.”
“Actually, it’s from that movie with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn--Roman Holiday--but that’s a classic movie even by my standards,” Chip said with a laugh. “It’s the Mouth of Truth. Go ahead. Put your hand inside.”
The Mouth of Truth consisted of a stone statue of a man’s face. According to legend, it would bite off the hand of any person who didn’t speak the truth. I decided to take my chances and utter a phrase. One simple phrase to see if it thought I was being honest.
“I love Chaseyn Lear,” I whispered so quietly I could barely hear the words myself. I knew it wouldn’t matter. Chip could hear anyway.
Nothing happened. Looks like the Mouth of Truth had no doubt I was being honest. Good. I was.
“Very sweet,” she said, her voicing tinged with laughter. “Good to hear you’re still into him despite Sylvie. Balty would be so upset if we had gone to all this trouble to keep you safe for his beloved Mina and her boy if you were just going to dump him when you got back home.”
I smiled and urged her to try her hand inside the mouth, but she refused.
“I’ve played this game before--it always ends the same way, with me regenerating my lost limb,” she joked. “Besides, you don’t have to be a vampire to hear your stomach growling from miles away. Let’s get you something to eat.”
***
It had been a good day, and I was happy with how it ended, but I was feeling a little bit somber as I reflected on the day’s events. That night, I realized just how alone I was. Even before Eli and Addie had paired off, she had Rob. And while I had always questioned if they were really the right fit for each other, I had been a third wheel to the two of them for far too long. Only when I was with Chaseyn did I feel a sense of wholeness and belonging. There was a magic in our togetherness that sparked me to life.