Vampire Princess

Chapter Twenty-One: Artist

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Garret suggested.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Okay, why was he acting so kind all of the sudden? “Um, I’m not sure about that. If my parents see you…”

“Your parents are at work and wouldn’t be home until seven in the evening. It’s still four in the afternoon. They wouldn’t see you.”

I cocked my head to the side. “How do you know that?”

Garret shrugged his broad shoulders. “I used to work in the council.”

“Ah,” I said and smiled up at him. “Sure, you could walk me home.”

“That would be great,” Garret replied, returning my smile. He walked beside me, his hands in his jeans. The wind blew, disarranging his dirty blonde hair. He tried to comb it back with his fingers but I raised my hand to stop him. He frowned down at me. “What?”

“I like your hair disarranged like that,” I admitted sheepishly. “Well, if you want to… to…”

“If you like it this way, then fine,” Garret chuckled, ruffling my hair.

For the first few minutes the walk was silent. And then suddenly Garret enveloped my hand with his. I cleared my throat and wriggled my hand away. “Don’t,” I told him quietly.

Garret shot me a look. “Why not?”

“Just don’t.”

“You were fine with it when we had our date in the carnival.”

“We were not surrounded by vampires that time. But now, we are. They might see us.”

“Melanie—”

“Please drop it, okay?” I pleaded him, pursing my lips at him. “Let’s just talk about another thing, hmm? How-how is your job?”

“I don’t have any job,” Garret said shortly, looking down at the ground so he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

My mouth opened slightly in shock. I always thought Garret had a job that I don’t know. I mean, what else would he do in the morning? “Really?”

Garret nodded. “Unfortunately. I’ve committed a large crime, Melanie.”

“Crime? What crime?”

“Though it was my… mother… who kidnapped you and not me, I was the one who told her to. That’s my crime. I should have been killed, but your parents let me off the hook because they know how important I am to you. But they did things to punish me, of course. They took away my job in the council. They sort of banished me in the vampire kingdom, but I’m still allowed to live here because of my dad.”

I was silent after that. Even though I should not feel like this, I felt rather guilty. I mean, I’m pretty sure before Garret met me that he loves his work in the council. And now… all of that has been taken away from him.

“I’m really sorry,” I whispered to him.

Garret smiled at me reassuringly. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“I don’t know about that. It feels like it’s my fault.”

“It’s not,” he reassured me. “It’s mine. I was selfish and a conceited bastard then. Well, I’m still but not that kind anymore.”

“So you don’t have any job now?” I inquired.

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“And how do you pay the bills? I’m pretty sure your dad is not working anymore.”