The Worst Summer Ever

32: Where is the Bat?

"And he just left his room after that?" Nicholae asked.

"Yes," I said, "and Kaito didn't even question Rome that much, He just let him stay."

"Did you say that Rome's last name is Keeth?" Nicholae asked. "That's really weird."

"Why?"

"Because there is no vampire family with the name Keeth!" Nicholae cried. "That kid made it up!"

"Huh?"

"Kaito must have had some kind of a motive," Nicholae said. "Maybe he knew what the kid is plotting."

"Or maybe he's interested to find out," I said.

"There was someone with the name Rome Keeth though," Nicholae said, walking to the library, and taking out a heavy novel. "In one of my favorite novels as a kid, the main character was named Rome Keeth."

"What was the novel called?" I asked.

"It was called Starry Night," Nicholae replied. "It was a gift from my father from one of his travel expeditions."

"Maybe this Rome kid wrote the novel?" I suggested. "Or maybe your father met the writer who knew Rome?"

"I don't know," Nicholae said. "The boy could just be a wannabe who read the novel too."

"We should try to talk to this Rome kid," I said, "and try to figure out who he is."

"Ok," Nicholae agreed.

******

I walked to the dinner table and saw Kaito wearing his usual outfit of a simple white button up shirt, black skinny jeans, and a chain around his neck with an inverted pentagram. Rome was sitting next to him, and they seemed to be talking intensely about something. Vasile and Nicholae were quietly watching Rome, and for some reason George and Ana had been invited to sit next to us. I sat next to Nicholae, and Kaito glared at me.

"Rome, what do you think of this house?" I blurted out.

"It's lovely," Rome replied. "It's gotten prettier after I moved away from here."

"Wait, what are you talking abou-" Vasile started, but before he could finish his sentence, Rome took out a wooden stake and threw it at Nicholae's face. It went through Nicholae's left eye, and he let out an inhuman scream, falling to the floor.

"Nicholae!" I cried.

"Relax, he will be fine, vampires heal quickly," Rome said. "I couldn't help but feel compelled to visit my sons again."

"You have some nerve coming here after you killed Bora," Kaito hissed. "Didn't I promise I would kill you?"

"Please, you know that I'm stronger than all of you," Rome said. "None of you have the ability to transform into different ages. Plus, Kaito, you are as much as a monster as I am. You killed your own mother without mercy like some wild animal."

"She had to die!" Kaito cried. "Open your eyes, old fool! She tortured us and abused us, and you never noticed. I don't regret anything!"

Rome screamed and transformed into a bat and flew into the air vent.

"Fuck, he's going into another room," Kaito said, running out of the dining room.

"Well that was entertaining," George said.

"More like horrible," I said, running to Nicholae. "Are you ok?"

"I will be soon," Nicholae rasped.

"I'll take him to his room," Vasile said. "Aurora, you should go to your room and sleep. It is dangerous for you to wandering around."

"Ugh fine," I said.

******

I sighed, slumping in my chair. I wanted to go visit Nicholae, but Vasile had insisted that I was not to leave the room. The sun was starting to rise over the dark green trees, and I stared out my window until the sun had risen fully. I hadn't been awake for a while when it was bright and sunny, and I missed it.

I wanted to stay awake longer and enjoy the sun, but my sleep schedule was already too ruined. I yawned, walking to bed which was covered in a sky blue blanket and gray pillows. I was about to get into bed, but then I noticed something black in between the pillows. It flew up into the air, and I jumped back. It was the bat!

"Ha, don't think you can get away so easily!" the bat-Mr.Kinsberg- said.

I threw the pillow at him and ran out of the room. I ran across the hallway, and I saw George dusting a wall.

"George, where is Kaito?!" I cried.

"He gave up looking for the bat, so he went to sleep," George said. "You know him and the sun. They don't mix well."

I looked behind me and could see the bat flying towards me. I ran forward in full speed and looked at each door until I found the one that was labeled as Kaito's room.

"Kaito!" I shouted, banging the door. There was no reply, and I looked behind me to see the bat only a few feet away. Luckily the door was unlocked, so I quickly ran inside and then locked it behind me.

The room was very dark and in a center was a large coffin. I ran to the coffin and opened the lid. Kaito was lying inside, and he looked so dead that it sent me shivers.

"Kaito, wake up!" I said, shaking his shoulders. "Mr.Kinsberg is right outside your room!"

Kaito didn't even budge, and I pinched his nose and ears, but that didn't work either. Feeling desperate, I slapped him, but even then, nothing happened. He was as good as dead in his sleep.

I sighed, looking around. Come to think of it, this was the first time, I was in Kaito's room. It was actually a tidy room. There was heavy curtains over all the windows to block any trace of sunlight, and the walls were bare. There was a desk and a bookshelf besides the coffin. There were two picture frames on the desk. One was of Kaito and all of his brothers, and the other one was an old picture of Kaito and a boy with blonde hair.

I had never seen that blonde boy before, but he must have been a friend from a long time ago. They looked like polar opposites. Kaito was frowning and looked like a demon, while the boy was angelic and smiling. I walked to the bookshelf which was filled with all sorts of books. Most of them were written in Czech, but I was able to find one in English.

I could still hear Mr. Kinsberg pounding on the door, so I decided to sit on the floor and read the book. Before I knew it, I was drifting asleep...

******

I woke up in the evening to see Kaito sitting on a chair, glaring at me.

"Um, hi," I said, with an awkward smile. "Who would have thought we would find each other here?"

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Kaito demanded, snatching the book from my hands.

"Mr. Kinsberg was chasing after me, and I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't budge," I explained. "So I decided to wait, but then I fell asleep."

"Is he still outside?" Kaito asked.

"Who knows?" I said, standing up. "We should check."

I started to walk towards the door, but Kaito grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug.

"What are you doing here?!" I cried.

"Don't," Kaito whispered. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't leave me for Nicholae," Kaito said.

"What?" I asked. "But you are the one who said that you didn't love me."

 "I was just being immature," Kaito said. "I thought you were going to do something to betray me, but you didn't. Instead, you made the boring mansion full of life again. I felt like I had a purpose in life again. Rory, I love you. Please forget about Nicholae and give me another chance."

Tears welled up in my eyes. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" I cried. "You pushed me away!"

"I'm sorry," Kaito pleaded, "Please."

"No, I'm sorry," I said pushing Kaito and walking out of the room.