Fear and Blood

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

For a short time Ly sat with Rome on the small wooden bench that had been placed against the wall. He looked straight ahead, knowing that he had made a stupid decision to take her to the formal, but finding that, right now, with her sitting next to him, he didn't much care.

“I have class soon,” Rome said, breaking the silence, but making no attempt to leave the cold room. “Psychology, my tutor will yell at me if I'm late again.”

“And even thought you know you should go, you're going to stay here with me, in this cold, dark room and waist the rest of the night,” Ly replied, a small smirk appearing on his face. “Ha, I told you hanging around with me was a bad idea”.

Rome smiled and moved closer to the young man. “I've never been in this room before, where exactly are we?” She asked, looking up. The room was in one of the oldest parts of the university and Rome couldn't help but wonder what was at the top of that staircase.

“Bell tower,” Ly grunted, searching his pockets for a cigarette. “This part of the uni use to be a church when it was first built, about two hundred years ago. No-one really comes in here anymore.”

“Is there still a bell up there?” The young woman asked, still staring above them, even though it was too dark to see anything.

Ly nodded slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the wall and trying not to think about her blood. Her sweet, delicious, magnificent...Where the hell are my cigarettes! “Yeah, there's one up there,” he replied, hoping that this pointless conversation would distract him. “It's old though, and I don't think it's ever used anymore.”

“I would love to go up there one day,” the young woman said, still looking up, exposing the soft skin of her neck as she did so. “Can you imagine the view from up there? I'm sure you would be able to see almost the entire city.”

“Yeah, it would be something,” Ly replied stiffly, letting his eyes travel along the delicate curves of her neck. He caught himself before he reached out to touch her and shook his head to clear it.

“Ly,” Rome said quietly, suddenly sounding a little reluctant. “I have something I need to tell you, but I'm not sure how you'll react. I don't know if I should say anything, but, well...it kind of concerns you too and it has me a little worried.”

Ly suddenly felt uneasy. “What is it?” he asked.

“Last night a man named Tristan came to see me at my apartment,” Rome answered slowly, eyes fixed on her hands so she wouldn't have to watch Ly's expression, even if she could hardly see his face in the dark. “He said he was a friend of yours.”

The young vampire had clenched his hands into fists as soon as she said Tristan's name. What the hell was his brother doing? What right did he have to go to Rome's house? More importantly, what had he said to her?

“What did he say?” Ly growled, his voice low and menacing. Rome risked a quick glance, the look on his face making her shiver even through the gloom.

“He asked me if I would stop seeing you,” Rome replied, really regretting she had brought this up. Ly obviously hadn't known Tristan paid her a visit. “I told him that I wouldn't. I only brought this up because I wanted to know how he knew where I lived. I mean, I was quite startled when he showed up at my front door and...”

Ly cut her of with a sharp gesture. “Did he scare you?” he asked, in the same low tone. Rome shook her head. “Did he threaten you?” Again she shook her head. “What did he say? What did you tell him?"

“All he said was that he was worried about our safety,” Rome said, wishing more than ever that she had just let this matter go. “I told him was that we were just friends. He didn't seem to believe me when I said that though, because he asked me if I knew anything about you. He mentioned your full name, he seemed a little shocked when he found out I knew it.”