Tainted Love ~Muke Clemmings~

Chapter 24

I stood in the middle of the city, the humans from the riot were in chains and are stood in line.

My father and brother were next to each, closer to the back. They kept glancing at me, almost expecting for me to do something. But even if I said that I did not want them hung, it wouldn't do much. Michael couldn't prevent them from being hung, it would show special treatment and weakness. He could never show weakness.

Even if he was the first vampire, if he had his guard down then he could be overthrown. And honestly, I would rather have him in power than someone else. He isn't the worst King you could imagine when placed into this situation. He allows humans to live in some form of shelter, have something close to a job, get paid, and if they acted out then they would orderly be brought to The Cages to live out their days.

I watch as one person gets hung and everybody cheers, and after they are dead they take them down and throw the lifeless body to the crowd for them to feed. It took about four people to die and be thrown in for me to puke.

"Luke, are you okay?" Michael asks, I was bent over holding my stomach. 

I didn't puke often.

I felt awful.

I nod and respond, "Can I be arranged to go home.. Please, Michael? I don't want to be here anymore."

"Luke.." He says, frowning.

"What?" I ask.

"You're not going home." He sighs.

I think about it for a moment. "I don't wanna go to that home." I reply, wondering if he thinks I meant the house I lived in since I was born.

"You're referring to the mansion as home?" He questions.

"Well, it is." I shrug.

He smiles, and kisses my cheek. "Let me get a driver for you." He says, walking away for a few moments.

I see another person drop, the rope around their neck and I look away. This was my fault. They are getting hung because of me.

He comes back with another man, "You can go with him. I will see you after the event." Michael explains, and goes to the front. I look at the man, who had a bright smile on his face. He was a darker man with no hair, he wore a white button down and black dress pants. His smile was wide and inviting.

"Name's Derrick." He informs me, holding out his hand.

"Luke." I say, shaking his hand.

We walk over to a blue car, and it was quite nice. I look at my father and brother once more, and the glare as I get into the passenger seat of the car. It had black leather seats, and was quite clean.

I keep looking at them as I close the tinted window door, knowing that would be the last time I'd see them. I should feel upset, I should feel something. But I didn't.

I just leaned back, closing my eyes.

The car ride was smooth, as we both stayed quiet for most of the ride. Derrick began to sing a few times, but we didn't have a conversation.

He stops at the front of the mansion and turns the car off. "It was a pleasure meeting you Luke, hope you get better." Derrick says to me, holding out his hand again. 

I give him a small smile and shake his hand again, "Same to you, Derrick."

I get out of the car and go up to the front doors. I open them and go inside. The vampires inside seem to stare as I go up the stairs to my room. I take a left and it begins to feel like a routine. I open my bedroom door and see Calum inside. 

"Calum?" I ask, confused.

He looks over, shocked.

"Luke!" He exclaims awkwardly.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" I question.

"It's not your bedroom." He hisses, looking at me.

I sigh, he will never get over this I don't think. "Yeah one day I'll probably just move into Michael's bed." I smirk. I love being rude and witty, especially with Calum. 

Ashton was okay, and seemed to like me more than him.

"You're extremely disrespectful, he is the king. He will one day get tired of you and rid of you, and that day will be most joyous." Calum seethes.

I glare at him and say, "I can be as disrespectful as I please. At the end of the day, he will drop everything to tend to me, not you."

He moves across the room and was now a few inches from my face, his eyes black. He takes a breath, and looks away. He pushes me back and leaves the room. Now the only thing left to wonder is why he was in my room.

I will have to ask Michael about it, and have him confront Calum for me.

I lay down on my bed, thoughts of my father and brother clouding my mind. I close my eyes, but the only thing that I could see was the merciful eyes of my family.

I led them to death.

For what? My own safety? The happiness of a vampire that has killed millions of my kind? 

I wasn't sure why I meant anything to him, but I regret not acting out more. Regret not staying in that riot and the vampires being completely helpless. I could have killed Michael instead of my own species. I could have been brought to The Cages, used for blood, and made my family proud. They would assume I was dead, but it would have been better than them dying and thinking of me as a massive disappointment. 

I hear the door open, and I keep my eyes closed. I hear steps coming over to the bed, and the end of it sinking down; signaling that somebody has sat down. "I know you're awake Luke." I hear Michael's voice and I open my eyes.

I look over to him, examining his features. "I'm sorry." I blurt out, not knowing why I was apologising.

"You did good, Luke. Thank you. But I came to tell you that I could not kill your family. I gave them steaks when people were not looking and they ran." He informs me, a frown on his face.

My heart race picks up, and so does my breathing. I don't say anything, though. He didn't kill my family for me.

"I understand you are confused. But even though they practically disowned you, you could not handle their deaths. So they ran, and are fugitives. I have no power over what happens to them now. I did as much as I could without being caught. But in return, I expect you to break up more riots like you did today. I'd send you home for the hanging of course, but I can't have anymore of my species being killed." Michael explains.

I slowly nod.

"I thought that we could spend the night in my room." He says, and I know that it wasn't very much of an option.

Once again, I nod.

He smiles, and gets up. He puts out his hand and I give him a small smile and take his hand. We walk out of the room towards his. He opens his bedroom door and turns the light on. It was getting kind of dark in his room. 

"If you feel better, I was planning on having the chefs fix us something to eat." He says to me, opening his closet. He pulls out a pair of thin plaid sweatpants.

He begins to unbutton his jeans, and I turn around to face the door. "Sure." I whisper.

I feel a pair of arms wrap around my torso, and his head rests of my shoulder. "I was also thinking that I should dye my hair. I'm debating between light green, dark blue and purple, and red." He says. 

I move from his grip and look at him.

I examine his hair and respond, "Dark blue and purple would look cool."

"I was thinking the same thing." He tells me happily.

He brings his hand up to my face and I close my eyes. I felt a warmth in my heart and a heavy feeling in my stomach when he did this. I reopen my eyes and his face was a lot closer to me. "May I?" He whispers.

I can't respond so I nod my head a few times, as he closes the distance between our faces.