Dead Before Dawn: The Vampire Curse

Chapter 10 - Lies

"I don't remember," Max said for the fourth time in ten minutes, but the police officer was still looking at him as if he didn't believe him.

"You can tell us nothing?" the detective asked again.

"Look," he said, finally losing his temper; "a man attacked me in the alley, that's the last thing I remember until I found myself staggering down the road. I do not remember anything else, it's all a blank except for an overriding fear which isn't any good to you or me."

In his anger he half sat up and his side complained and he found himself sitting back with a gasp. It was his second day in the hospital. The previous evening he'd managed to avoid a proper chat with the police thanks to the drugs the doctor had him on. Apparently all he'd wanted to talk about was flowers and teddy bears, three of which had mysteriously migrated to his bed. However, the detective had been there first thing that morning after breakfast and he'd been talking to the man ever since.

Michelle, Darius' wife, had taken Cal out to buy some things, because Max knew that having his sister in the room when a police officer was asking him questions would not have been a sensible idea. Cal was in a very, very protective mood.

"This interview is over," Darius said very efficiently.

The detective looked as if he was going to argue, but one hard stare from Darius had the man standing up. Whoever the director knew, they had to be very high up and powerful. Normally Max didn't hold with such things, but, right about then, he was very glad. However, that didn't make him feel much better about what he was doing.

He was lying to everyone and it was driving him crazy; no matter what some of the tabloid press had tried to imply about him from time to time, he was a very bad liar.

"You need to relax, Max," Gian said, fussing over him as the police officer left the room; "the pain will lessen."

When Cal wasn't there, Gian seemed to have appointed himself a similar role.

"I can't," he said, feeling the tension through every muscle.

Gian looked distressed on his behalf; it sliced through his heart.

"I will get the nurse," Gian said resolutely and went to stand up, but Max put his hand out to stop him.

"It won't help," he said; the pain in his side was not really his problem.

Darius was hovering by the door looking worried.

"If you are in pain," his friend said, "the staff can give you something."

That actually made Max laugh; there was no way anyone in the hospital could help him.

"No they can't," he said, feeling like he was about to break.

"Max," Gian said, touching his arm gently, "why are you torturing yourself."

It was too much; he just couldn't do it.

"Because I'm lying," he said bitterly, "because I've been lying since the moment I woke up."

That made both his friends glance at each other before Gian turned back to him with those eyes that could make a puppy dog jealous. He heard Darius lock the door.

"Why, Max?" his friend asked ever so gently.

It was a question and a half and Max didn't know if he wanted to answer it, but he had started now, he could not go back. His hands were shaking slightly and he twisted his fingers together so it didn't show.

"Because if I tell the truth they'll either lock me up for being insane," he said at little more than a whisper, "or for being a monster."

He knew it would not explain anything, but the words were stuck inside, all he could do was look at Gian. Would his friends hate him if they knew the truth? Would they be afraid? He wasn't sure he could take either at the moment. His heart felt ready to beat out of his chest.