Page 7 of Blood Ties
“What the hell, Gaby!” Grayson complained as I scanned his body with my eyes and hands, but saw no sign of a burn. My relief was short lived replaced with annoyance.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I scolded. “You’re a vampire, Grayson. You can’t be in the sun anymore!” Realization flashed across his face. He began scanning his body as well. “Luckily you’re fine. And why the hell didn’t you listen to me when I told you to stop?” I scolded, hitting him in the shoulder.
Grayson face morphed to confusion. “I didn’t hear you until right before you slammed into me.”
“Yeah, but your vampire part should have responded to a direct order from me as your sire.”
He shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you, baby.” He looked over the Grayson shape dent in the wall, while I just stood there staring at him, almost like I was waiting to see if he would burst into flames. “Looks like I’m going to have to call up some contractors and get an estimate. Can you...?” My brow knitted with confusion. Grayson pointed to the window. “Can you close the curtains so I can get out of this corner?”
I winced, mentally kicking myself, before stepping away and doing as he asked.
“Make sure you’re more careful. The sun can kill you now.”
Staring at the closed drapes, Grayson nodded with disappointment weighing heavily n him. Giving him a few moments to absorb his current situation, I disappeared into the closet to get dressed. Before I reemerged, I heard the shower turn on. I wished there was something that I could do for him, but that was just the price for his immortality. My biggest concern at the moment was the sire bond. Twice I had given Grayson a command and both times he hadn’t done them. It wasn’t that I wanted to control him; I just wanted to keep him safe. I walked into the kitchen pouring myself a bowl of cereal before sitting at the bar.
I was so encompassed in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the shower had turned off or how much time had passed until my phone chirping in the bedroom summoned me back to reality.
Walking back into the room, horror paralyzed me. All my fears rushed to the surface. Grayson stood in front to the window with his arms outstretched and the sun beating down on him. The light spilled through the window flooding the room. He looked heavenly, glowing like a beacon waiting to set ablaze.
“No,” I whispered, realizing I had been right from the beginning. This life wasn’t something Grayson had wanted. It had been what I had chosen for him. Hearing me, he turned with a huge grin plastered across his face. I was shocked to see how happy he was. He should be in total agony.
“Gaby, come look.”
Skeptically, I was rooted to my spot gaping at him. He wasn’t burning.Why wasn’t he burning?Fumbling forward, I wobbled across the floor on shaky legs, not entirely sure if I wanted to get closer. Did I really want to be up close when the sun ignited Grayson on fire? To see his flesh melt? To smell it? But curiosity compelled my feet forward. I walked until I stood facing him. I looked over his visible skin and saw no burns or scorch marks. I stepped up to him, running my hands across him. He didn’t feel any hotter than he should from the sun caressing his skin.
“Ohmygod!” I mumbled to myself. It wasn’t possible, was it? Vampires didn’t walk in the sun. I’d seen them burned alive by the sun as punishment for crimes they had committed. I could be in the sun because my father. Even my changing Grayson wouldn’t make him a day walker. Or at least it shouldn’t.
“I know,” he smirked, waving his fingers through the sun’s rays. “I let my curiosity get the better of me. After you reminded me I couldn’t be in the sun, I just wanted to feel it one more time, even if it burned me. At least that way I’d have the memory scorched into my memory and I wouldn’t accidently forget about the sun again. I pulled the curtains open a crack and put my hand in the ray, but it didn’t hurt. Little by little, I put more of me in the sun until I was like this.”
“Does it hurt, tingle, anything?” I inquired and he shook his head. “This doesn’t make any sense, Grayson.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re a day walker, Gaby.”
“No, if that were the case, all vampires would be day walkers because they all branch out from the first.” As I spoke I was still amazed by the fact that he wasn’t burning. My hands kept examining him, looking for some sign of damage, even if it was microscopic. I didn’t have the answers as to why it was possible or if it was even permanent. I relayed these thoughts to Grayson.
“Gaby, I don’t care if it’s permanent. Every moment I can spend in the sun is an unexpected gift.” He pulled me into his arms until we both stood perfectly basking in the sun’s warmth. “We’ll just take it one day at a time, like everything else.”
After the sun descended below the horizon and night fell, there came a knock at the apartment door. Grayson and I were curled up on the balcony watching the sunset. We had never just enjoyed the mundane occurrence and since neither of us knew how long Grayson’s sun tolerance would last, or if it would last, we decided a day in the sun was a necessity. We’d spent the entire day there on the balcony. I’m sure if I’d been mortal I’d been cursed with a delightful sunburn. I read a book while Grayson made phone calls trying to handle business the best he could without being present. We took our lunch out on the balcony as well. I had suggested ordering in then quickly withdrew the idea forgetting that Grayson might try to eat the deliveryman. So instead, Grayson took a half hour reprieve from the sun to cook lunch. I wish I could have done it for him, but not wanting to force him to eat a PB and J or suffering my cooking, I let him prepare the food. When he was done, he stood just over the threshold of where the sun shrouded the floor in front of the door. Slowly, he dipped his toe into the rays, much like someone would test the waters. When he didn’t burn, he eased himself into the light until he was immersed. I wondered if it would always be like this for him, to be constantly afraid of the sun, but braving it just the same. We talked about our lives, our new existence and what might stay the same. I did my best not to damper him with things that would change and those that would never be the same.
I lifted my head from Grayson’s shoulder at the sound. “You expecting anyone?” I asked.
He shook his head. I cautiously stood from our perfect, safe bubble. We had all day alone just enjoying one another’s company, but it seemed the real world was beckoning.
I opened the door and stood there frozen.
“I no longer need an invitation to enter, Gabriella. I knocked merely as a courtesy.” I gaped as I took in my mother’s sudden manifestation. The way we left things the last time we spoke hadn’t been good. Grayson was kidnapped and she had just informed me she had been lying to me my entire life. She stood just over the threshold wearing dark, form fitting jeans and a blue and black plaid button up shirt. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her green eyes stood out like emeralds, shining almost as brightly. She looked more like my sister than my mother, a normal development in the vampire world among families.
I stood to the side gesturing her in, but not truly inviting her. I knew with Grayson being turned into a vampire, the apartment was no longer a human dwelling, but we hadn’t had a chance to test the theory yet. To my utter disappointment she walked in without an issue. My muscles tensed as her arms wrapped around me, hugging me tight. I was still furious with her. Grayson being alive didn’t change that.
“I am glad to see you are alright. I would have been here last night, but things were too chaotic for me to leave.” She pulled back cupping my face. “And your mate?” My eyes darted to the balcony door and Grayson walked in, almost like I had summoned him.
“Persephone,” he answered with a curt nod.
“Grayson, I’m glad to see you have taken to the change so well.”
“Thank you.”
She walked to the couch taking a seat, making herself at home. “Unfortunately, this is not a social call, even though I wish it were. The nest is aware of Anton’s demise.”
