Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 34

Anna tossed and turned during the night. She could not make herself comfortable on the thin cot. She had a chill from the damp basement. The chorus of snoring did not help either.

Lucia left the church and Calvin and Drew brought Huxley back into the building. He did not say a word as Anna switched the bags that sat on their cots. She wanted Huxley between herself and Rhys.

When Anna woke, for what felt like the hundredth time, and she rolled onto her side. She squinted to see in the dark the Drew's cot was empty. She sat and looked around the basement. She raised the blankets and placed her bare feet on the cold cement ground. She rubbed her arms as she tip-toed around the sleeping vampires.

She climbed the stairs and walked around the dark church. She followed the faint glow she could see coming from the altar. An 80's romantic comedy was playing on the white sheet that was hung.

The light from the projector showed Drew sitting in one of the pews. He was leaning back on the bench with his foot on the pew in front of him. He straightened as he watched the shadow when Anna walked in front of the projector.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep," she said. "Why are you up?"

"I have a lot on my mind."

Anna sat down on the pew next to him. Her arms were still crossed over her chest. Despite the upstairs being warmer than the basement, she still struggled to stop her teeth from chattering. Drew took notice of this and unzipped his sweater.

"Hopefully you did not catch a cold from being outside in those wet clothes," he said.

"Vampires can get colds?" she asked.

"Yes, but they do not last nearly as long as humans."

Anna nodded. Drew passed her the sweater. She hesitated before putting it on and zipping it up. The soft inside felt nice against her cold skin and she took in a deep breath of Drew's scent.

"I have thought about what you said the other night," Anna said.

"You have?" The corner of Drew's lips tugged into a smile.

"Yes," she said. "Watching Huxley be around Lucia was like a reality check."

"Now you understand why you have to leave."

Anna closed her eyes. A big part of her wanted to go downstairs and crawl into Rhys's cot. She wanted to be in his arms and nuzzle into his chest. It disgusted her that she wanted to do that with someone who ruined her life. She knew if he was awake and saw her missing he would go looking for her.

"Anna, you are such a beautiful, kind, and smart woman," he said. "I hate to see you lose yourself because of Rhys."

Anna looked down at her hands as her fingers fiddled with each other. Drew put his hand under her chin and lifted her head so that she was staring at him.

"Rhys and I have been friends for a couple hundred years," he said. "I would throw that all away to take care of you."

Anna pulled his hand off of her face.

"No one needs to take care of me," she said. "I can make it on my own."

Anna could not imagine being on her own and on the run for the rest of eternity. Even if they killed all of the Nightingales, she would be on the run for Rhys. She knew that if she left he would hunt her down.

"I want to be with you," he said. "I couldn't imagine going on and knowing that Rhys forced you to leave the group. If he never fed you his blood you could stay with us. God, I feel so guilty. I knew he was feeding you his blood while you were unconscious. I should have made sure he would not do it again."

"You can't blame yourself," Anna said. "This is Rhys's fault."

"So let's go."

Drew tucked a piece of hair that had escaped Anna's bun behind her ear. He kept his hand so that it was cupping the side of her face. Anna's chest tightened as Drew leaned in close. He dropped his voice low so that no one could hear them, despite them being the only two around.

"I know where Rhys keeps his keys," he said.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Everyone is asleep, so let's go now. We can take Rhys's car and get far away from here. We will go where no one will find us. You will be free from Rhys's hold and we can be happy."

Anna bit down on her lip. She did want to get away, but this was too soon. She wanted to say goodbye to Huxley. She wanted to stay and fight Jonathan and his army. She wanted to help.

"I want to stay and fight," Anna said.

"Are you sure?" Drew asked. "I do not want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry about me."

"I am always going to."

He brushed the back of his fingers along Anna's cheek. She looked into his dark eyes. He leaned in to close the gap between them. Their lips pressed together. Drew grabbed the back of Anna's head as he deepened the kiss. His tongue swept along her bottom lip and she granted him access.

Drew grabbed Anna's waist and pulled her onto his lap. Her knees were on either side of him. His hand ran under Anna's shirt and goosebumps broke out across her skin.

Anna's lips tingled as they kissed, but the tightness in her chest did not go away. Her mind was stuck on Rhys. The thought of betrayal laced through her brain. Rhys had no claim to her, but she felt like she was cheating on Rhys by kissing Drew.

She wanted to get over this feeling. She had managed to walk away from Rhys, so she believed she could get over this pull. She had to stop letting Rhys take over her mind. Anna ran her fingers into Drew's hair and pushed her lips harder against his. Drew let out a soft moan and it encouraged her to keep going.

The thoughts of Rhys still consumed Anna. The image of Rhys roaming his hands all over her body overtook her mind. Part of her wanted Rhys to be making out with her instead of Drew. She had to fight the temptation to get off of Drew's lap and get into the cot with Rhys.

Drew flipped her over so that she was on her back on the pew. He leaned over top of her and broke their kiss. He kept his face inches from Anna's as he analyzed her face.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Anna hesitated. Drew bit down on his lip, closed his eyes, and shook his head.

"It's Rhys, isn't it?" he said.

She nodded and he sat up straight. Anna pushed herself up with her hands.

"I will not kiss you again unless you want it," he said. "I just want you to try and stay away from Rhys."

"I am trying to," Anna said. "My mind is just so messed up right now."

"If he kisses you then it is over," he said. "You will probably officially succumb to what he wants if you kiss him."

Anna nodded her head. She stood and unzipped the sweater. Drew put out his hand to stop her.

"Keep it," he said. "I want you to be able to sleep in that cold basement."

"Are you coming downstairs?" she asked.

"No." He broke his eye contact. "I want to think a little bit more."

Anna gave him a soft smile.

"Have a good night," she said,

"Goodnight, Anna."

She tiptoed back down into the basement. She was careful not to wake any of the sleeping vampires. She squinted to see Rhys lying on his back. His eyes were closed. Did he notice that she was gone?

She stopped and closed her eyes. The feeling of wanting to sleep next to him rushed over her. This was the first night that they were not sharing a bed in over a week. She should have felt happy, but the cot seemed so cold and lonely.

Anna forced herself to crawl into her own bed. She rolled on her side so that she was facing away from Rhys. She fell asleep while smelling Drew's scent from the sweater.