Vampire Bride

Chapter Twenty One - Part Two

Maxwell

She's exactly where Morgan said she would be. There she sits half asleep in a chair in an empty waiting room. Slowly I make my way to her side. With my hand squeezing her shoulder I wake her up.

Her blurry eyes quickly open wide in surprise. "Maxwell, what are you doing here? How did you know...who called you?" I can't tell if she's surprised or angry with me showing up.

"I know where you are at all times, but Morgan was concerned. I came here as soon as I could."

"And who might this be?" A slightly older version of Juliet walks up behind Charlie.

Charlie stumbles over her words. "This is Maxwell...a friend. Maxwell this is Janessa, Juliet's sister."

"I thought it best to take Charlie home. Since Morgan and Dave couldn't get to budge I thought I could."

"She's staying because I wanted her to, but you're right." Her eyes move from me to Charlie, "You should get some rest. Juliet will still be here tomorrow."

"But—" Charlie begins to protest.

Janessa doesn't need to say anything because she has a way with her eyes like Juliet does. And her eyes are telling me not to argue.

"Come on." I grab her up by her elbow and wrap it around my arm. "Thank you." I tell Janessa before leading Charlie down the hall. We make it down the hall, out of earshot of any one before I express my anguish. "To be honest, you should've been the one to call if someone were to telephone me."

Like the typical Charlie, she interrupts me. "I don't have your number. I didn't even know you had a phone."

"There are other ways besides a phone to let me know you're distressed about something, although it would help to let me know about what it pertains to."

"What's that supposed to mean? Why are you here? You don't know Juliet, so coming here to show concern for her is uncalled for."

"Is it really not that obvious? I'm here to comfort you, Charlie. I'm here because I felt your strain, your despair and when Morgan called I got here the second I could. It was tearing me up inside being trapped in my apartment all day while you were aching...anxious...terrified."

Her expression immediately changes as she thinks about something. "So if Morgan wouldn't have called you still would've known where I was? How?"

"It's something I can do, what every vampire can do. It's not important."

"No it is important. Is how you been sneaking around spying on me isn't it? Her tiredness quickly evaporates.

"You might not like what I have to say, but it's beneficial. Please hear me out till I'm finished." Her eyebrow perks up, urging me to continue. "The bond between a vampire and his donor is strong. They depend on-"

"The bond," she says mockingly, interrupting me when I told her not to.

"Charlie, I told you to hold your remarks back until you've heard me out."

"I have a problem with obeying orders. I thought you already knew that."

"This bond has saved lives. Many vampires and humans are thankful for this connection. Could you image if places were switched. You were attacked instead of Juliet. I would-"

"Oh, that will come in handy when Juliet's attacker comes back for me."

"What do you mean?" What happened to Juliet is awful, but I assumed it was just a break-in gone bad.

She takes a deep breath. "There was this man who came by my house last night while Juliet was over. She answered the door, was snobby, and he left. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but..."