Forbidden Blood

Chapter 18: Clara

I open my eyes and Vincent is staring at me. I look at him and let out a small laugh.

"What?"

"Nothing. I guess I just miss you, that's all."

"What do you mean you miss me? I'm right here." I laugh and turn on my side, closing my eyes.

"I just wanted to spend time with you. I feel like we haven't gotten to do that lately."

"I agree. Just time to ourselves..."

"Yeah." I open my eyes and look at him. His groggy eyes stare straight into mine.

"Um... I think I need to apologize for the way I've acted the past few days. I was a little... crazy..."

"What is it with you and apologizing?"

"I just... these past few days have been so crazy. I wasn't myself... Like when I asked you to turn me into a vampire, for example."

"Yeah, I was a little worried there. You definitely weren't yourself."

"I don't know what I was thinking." he smiles.

"It's okay. It's a normal response to a life altering situation."

"It is?" I question.

"Well..." I laugh.

"Yeah, it isn't."

"Yeah, it really isn't." We both laugh. I lean in and kiss him. Emotion begins to flood into me as he strokes my hair and brushes my cheek with his hand. As I break away, he looks at me with sadness.

"I wish there was some way to break the spell... I want to be with you so badly." he looks away, as if he is thinking very deeply.

"I know. I want to be with you too."

I kiss him again, trying so hard not to let my feelings get out of control. I move away and turn around. Wrapping his arms around me, he kisses my neck and then whispers in my ear.

"Soon."

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I wake up cuddling next to Vincent. His arms are still around me, but they are relaxed and soft. I look at him, and he looks so peaceful in his sleep. I move my body closer and let his arms protect me. This small movement wakes him, and he sits up in the bed.

"Good morning," he yawns, "Is it time to get up yet?"

"Yeah. I think we should go talk to Zarro, see if there's anything we can do tonight. Agatha and I might be able to perform a tracking spell on Adriana and Tarynn to see where they are. We can find them and... well I'm not sure what to do after that..."

"I'm sure Zarro will have a plan. He always does."

"He sure didn't seem prepared for yesterday..." he laughs.

"Yeah, I know." he smiles, "So, I'll go ask him what he wants to do. You can stay here if you want."

"No, I'll come. I want to be a part of this, too."

"It's just... I really think he'll want to hear this from me... No offense! It's just I've known him the longest."

"Oh, I gotcha. I'll go wake up Agatha so she can be a part of this, too. I think she'd kill me if I left her out of the scoop." I stand up and stretch, waiting for Vincent to get up and leave before I head towards Agatha's room. I walk down the hallway all the way to where Agatha slept to find her up and ready to go.

"Oh... hi Clara. I didn't think you would be awake already."

"Were you about to... leave?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"No, I just really want to make sure that I can help with this. I know I don't have as much powers as Adriana and Tarynn, but I want to make sure I'm a part of the plan."

"Don't worry. That's why I came to get you, to make sure you wouldn't miss anything!" I laugh, "I remember the last time I forgot to tell you something, you got so mad at me!"

"When was that?"

"You don't remember?"

"No... was it just the one?"

"Yes. I didn't tell you that I passed the exam to move on to the next level of power training..."

"Oh, now I remember!"

"Yeah. I vowed then and there to never forget to tell you anything ever again!"

We both laugh. She puts her head in her hands and sighs.

"Oh, I feel bad about that! I'm sorry!"

"Haha, it's okay. I had forgotten all about that until now."

"Yeah, me too." she looks upset. "Everything has been so different since you left. I've had no one to tell my secrets to, no one to hang out with..."

"What about Leesi, or, or Molley! Why didn't you hang out with them?"

"All they did was talk bad about you behind your back. I didn't want to be around them after that."

"Hm... some friends they turned out to be." I say, "I'm sorry I left. I should have told you where I was going, or at least--"

"No, I didn't give you the chance to explain. I see that now. I wish I could go back and do things differently. If I could, I would."

"It's fine, Agatha. Really. It was super hectic and I was in a bad mood. I was just so angry for being blamed that I wasn't thinking clearly."

"Yeah..."

"But it's all in the past now, okay? Don't worry about it anymore."

"Okay. Thanks for forgiving me, Clara."

"Of course! You're my best friend! I'll always forgive you." We hug each other.

"Ready to go see what Zarro has in store for us?" she grins.

"You bet." I smile. We walk out the door smiling and laughing all the way down the hallway.