20. Sunlight

Chapter twenty

Sunlight

I 'm nervous at the idea that Oliver won't be able to perform with me. The last thing I need is for him to pull out because he can't bear to be around me. Since most of our scenes are together, we're already being told to sit in the corner of the hall and discuss our lines, rehearsing them until we get them down. It seems like Oliver already has them memorized, and I'm quite impressed.

Every now and then, while he says a line, he'll lean over and touch my knee, but then he will retract himself soon after. It seems like he's gone further backwards. He also seems completely distraught, rubbing his face with his hands and growling at himself.

“Alright everyone, listen up,” Mr. Fasoli announces, capturing the attention of the hall. “The practice hall will be available daily for the next two weeks, at this exact time. Unfortunately, the performance date has been moved up by a week, now set for two weeks from now. I apologize for the change; other classes need the hall for a science week.” Mr. Fasoli’s disdain for the hall being used for science instead of drama is evident in his tone. “Please ensure you have a soundtrack and practice your lines, songs, and everything else needed. In the week leading to the performance, we aim to run the entire play at least five times – that’s every day up to Friday night. Also, remind your friends and family to purchase tickets soon for charity, as they’re selling out fast.”

He then turns his attention to us. “Will you two be ready to present your duet by next week? I want it to be perfect for the play.”

Oliver, still seemingly on edge, responds with a hint of sass. “You’ve used most of my songs in the play already. You doubt this one won’t be perfect?”

Mr. Fasoli replies, “Mr. Pierce, it’s not about my desire to include your piece. It’s about when it should be played in the play, which I can only determine once I’ve heard it.” Mr. Pierce? Where have I heard that before?

Later, as Oliver walks me home, I can’t help but notice something peculiar about him, or rather, about what he is.

“So, vampires can go out in the sun?” I inquire, curious about the anomaly.

He gives me a look that suggests I’ve piqued his interest. “Not typically, no.”

“But you’re out in the sun right now.”

“Most vampires live in a communal household. It’s safer that way, ensuring no accidental exposure to sunlight. However, I’m a bit of an exception. I don’t live with my family because I don’t need to avoid the sun like other vampires.”

“Why is that?” I ask, curious about his unique ability to tolerate sunlight.

“I'm not sure, one day I just tried to go outside, and it seemed like I was able to go out in the sun without the usual severe effects. It still kind of hurts, but it’s not lethal,” he explains.

“It hurts to be in the sun?”

“Kind of. It feels itchy, really uncomfortable,” he says, slightly shrugging.

“So that’s why you prefer staying in the attic. It’s darker there.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Are there any other vampires like you, who can go out during the day?”

“There was one I met. He could only be in the sun due to a very unusual circumstance.”

“What was the circumstance?”

“He wouldn’t disclose it. If I knew, maybe I could figure out why I can withstand sunlight. He seemed almost normal, more human. His wife is human, actually. He didn’t have any visible difficulty with it. To an outsider, he would just pass as human.”

“That must be something in his tea,” I joke. Oliver halts and gently touches my face, a contemplative look in his eyes. I can sense his internal conflict. I’ve already reassured him that I wouldn’t fear him if he bit me, yet he remains hesitant, fearful of causing me harm.

Arriving back at the house, I notice dinner being set on the table - just takeaway tonight. With Oliver not cooking, the meal choices seem to be simpler. I find myself seated next to Byron and Hunter, two housemates I haven’t interacted with much due to their frequent comings and goings. They appear deeply engrossed in their own conversations. I glance around, realizing that Seth is absent. I'm guessing Nolan has noticed as well because he's not eating. So my mouth to him, ‘Where's Seth?’ And he looks up at me, shaking his head. I guess he doesn't know either. He takes out his phone and starts to text. My phone ends up buzzing in my pocket, so I pick it up.

‘ I haven't seen him since you guys came back from the mall yesterday. He disappeared shortly after that. I haven't asked the others, just in case that's something to worry about. ’

I look up at him. Firstly, I'm not sure how he got my number, but additionally I'm really worried about Seth, ‘ He's a psychic. Surely if there was a problem, he would have known it was coming? ’ I text back. Nolan puts his phone down and nods his head. I suppose he agrees. But I don't understand, where is Seth?

I hear voices in my head, and I assume it's a dream, except when I move around my bed they’re just getting louder. I open my eyes and check my phone. It's nearly one in the morning. What on Earth is going on downstairs? The arguing is quite loud and I can definitely hear a lot of voices, so I decide it's time to check it out myself. I slip a pair of jeans back on and pull over a large jumper. Sneaking out into the hallway, I try not to make too much noise, just in case there are guys who are able to sleep through this ruckus. I don't peek my head too much around the edge of the hallway area before I can see down the stairs. I catch a glimpse of Hugh and Nolan who are being blocked off from the conversation by a man. What is this guy? Some kind of bodyguard?

“I don't know what kind of game you boys are playing but fucking around at a frat party wasn’t part of the agreement. You know none of you are allowed to attend any of those kinds of things unless we say so.” I peek a little bit further around the corner. I can see Oliver is facing off with an older gentleman. It seems so obvious now. This must be Mr. Pierce and since Pierce is Oliver’s last name, does that make this man his father? He seems about the right age.

“What did you want me to do? Stand around doing nothing whilst some guys try to have their way with an innocent girl?” If I thought that Oliver looked pissed the other day, there is nothing compared to what he looks like now. Even from up the stairwell I can see his eyes are solidly pure and bright green. The correlation must mean that he must be either very angry or really on the edge.

“Girls at those types of parties are rarely innocent. And you killed someone. I don't care if it was an accident, and I don't care if you were trying to protect somebody. That was not your business. We agreed there would be no more incidents.”

“Fine, whatever, punish me for trying to do the right thing. I don't care.”

“We had an agreement that all of you would stay in line. The fact is, you have chosen not to follow my rules. Do you have any idea how much money I had to pay to make this whole thing go away?”

“Why not just let us handle it? We’re at the point now that we can't let you be the one to clean up after our mistakes.”

“Because I take care of my kind, Oliver, do you?”

“My kind? I'm pretty sure you'd rather see me fall off a cliff. The only thing you care about is appearances. And the only thing I care about are people that live under this roof.”

“Then why would you risk yourself for some stranger? Risk letting people know what you are, it's a complete embarrassment.” Oliver rolls his eyes and takes a step back towards where Nolan and Hugh are. The gentleman that was standing by them steps away and heads back towards Mr. Pierce. “I’m getting a little bit fed up with you boys keeping things from me. So, from now on, your little friend will stay with me until I get all the answers I want.”

“What?” Hugh comments, shock plastered on all of their faces. I hear footsteps behind me, and I can see that the three brothers are together and trying to overhear what they're trying to say. I guess they don't want to be involved either.

“Your little psychic friend will stay with me until I get all the answers I want. You are all clearly hiding something from me, and I want to know what it is, but I doubt you're going to tell me. Especially not without a little motivation.” I can't see Mr. Pierce's face, but the reflection in the nearby dark window shows nothing but hollow grey eyes. Given that this man is likely Oliver’s father, that would make him a vampire also, and definitely someone I don't want to piss off. I can see the three boys look at each other and exchange a glance. They should tell him about me, otherwise he's not going to let Seth come home. “Don't feel like sharing? That's fine, I'm happy to have a permanent houseguest. What was his blood type again?” Oliver shoots a filthy glare at his father and bares his teeth. Maybe a week ago I would have been afraid of this look, but right now I just feel so sorry for him. He’s stuck between a rock and a really hard place, between getting Seth back to this house and admitting that I am here in the house with them. They told me that I can't tell anyone that I'm here, and especially I can't tell anyone that I know what they are. Humans are meant to be turned or killed, aren’t they?

“He’s not a snack, he's a person. You can't just keep him for as long as you want.”

“I won't, just until he tells me what's going on. That being said, I'm not sure how long he will last, so unless one of you wants to come forward?” Each of them folds their arms and clenches their teeth. I look behind me at the brothers. All three of them shake their heads rapidly at me. I guess they know what I'm thinking. I take a deep breath and walk forward, pacing myself as I come down the staircase.

“Excuse me.” I say catching the attention of everyone downstairs. Out of my peripheral vision, I can see that Nolan, Hugh and Oliver have faces of shock. I know they definitely didn't want me to reveal myself, but I can't let Seth take the fall for me.

“And who are you, dear?” Now that he's turned to me, I can see him completely. The man looks to be about forty years of age, but he starting to get little wrinkle lines around his eyes and a slight tinge of grey around the edge of his hairline. But either way, he is definitely an older version of Oliver. His grey eyes certainly signified exactly who he was, a vampire. His question seemed sweet enough, but it was tainted with hostility.

“My name is Amelia. I'm sorry I didn't catch the whole conversation, but it seems like there's been a misunderstanding.” If I stay up here on the staircase, maybe I won't feel so afraid of him, but I can still feel my heartbeat rapidly thrashing across my rib cage. All of the guys have warned me that vampires are strong and fast. I can only imagine how much faster and stronger this man would be.

“Please enlighten me.” I swallow hard and nod.

“Oliver only went to that frat party because I went, and he was worried about me. If he didn't, I would have gotten very hurt. It's entirely my fault what happened. So if there's some kind of punishment that you have to deal out, it should be towards me.”

“And who exactly are you? What are you?”

“I came to San Francisco as part of a sorority, but I was too afraid of the sorority girls and I left. The guys found me on the street, they didn't feel right about leaving me there, so they offered me a place to sleep for the night. And I'm not anything, I'm just normal.”

“Not a witch or a psychic? Perhaps a medium?”

“No, sir.”

“So you know what all the boys are in this house, and yet you are still here? Do they not frighten you?”

“I've been given full and very thorough warnings about what each of them could do to me. I know for a fact that they could kill me in a heartbeat. But yes, I'm still here because they wouldn't if they had the choice.”

“Demons don't often get a choice in their actions, my dear.”

“So I've noticed.” He narrows his eyes at me and then looks towards three boys that are standing by his bodyguard.

“You know our rules. So which one of you did it? Or was it one of the others upstairs?” Nolan goes to open his mouth but is cut off by Oliver almost immediately.

“I did.” He says. “I acted irresponsibly, and somebody found out. That being said, not only has she been here, but she's been very loyal to us. There is no chance that she would ever tell anyone what we are.”

“The rules are very strict, so I’ll offer you a deal. I'll give you till Saturday to make a decision on what you're going to do with her, if you make the decision, you won't be punished for your stupid actions earlier last week. However, if come Saturday and you've done nothing, you will be the one that will be punished in her place.” I'm not really sure what he's talking about, but I don't like the idea that he might punish Oliver just because they're not willing to do something. Oliver tried to erase my memory one time. Maybe that's what he's referring to? The man doesn’t say another word. Instead, he simply turns to the front door, opens it, and disappears into the darkness. A moment later his bodyguard goes with him. The three boys are silent. Eventually, noise fills the room again when the three triplets come downstairs.

“What are you gonna do?” Richard questions Oliver directly.

“I'm not gonna do anything.” He hisses back.

“If you don't do anything Oliver, he might do the worst.”

“You don't think I know that?”

“We have to think of something.” Nolan comments as he starts pacing up and down the room.

“Maybe you should just grab a plane ticket now and get out while you still can.” Niles adds nodding his head up and down, as if he just thought of the greatest plan ever.

“That's not going to make a difference.” Hendrik sighs, “Even if he moved to Antarctica, I'm pretty sure his dad could find him.”

“Well, I don't hear you coming up with any plans.”

“I'd rather think of a plan where everything turns out okay. At the moment your plan is for Oliver to run away and hope that he somehow forgets all about Amelia.”

“What the fuck is going on?” I exclaim catching everybody's attention. I'm starting to get really sick of people having conversations around me and not telling me what's actually going on. The triplets look over to Nolan, who simply responds by pointing upstairs, gesturing for them to go back to bed. They do so without any argument. He looks towards Hugh as well, who gives him a nod goodnight and disappears. Oliver is just standing there looking at the floor, refusing to acknowledge Nolan.

“Do you want to tell her?” He whispers. Oliver exhales and shakes his head. Whatever it is must be pretty bad. Nolan ushers me to take a seat on the couch in the living room, so I do. “We told you a while ago that humans that know about us need to either be turned into a demon or killed. That's the only way the elders can know for a fact that no one is going to tell anyone else about demons living in their cities.”

“I remember.” I say to him.

“Right, so Oliver’s father has just given him an ultimatum. Either he does what he's supposed to and turn or kill you. Or he has to suffer the consequence of that same fate.”

“Oliver can't be turned to a vampire. He already is one.”

“Exactly, which leaves only one other option.” I can feel my face drop. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can feel my brain stop functioning altogether.

“But that's his son.”

“Trust me.” Oliver interjects, “The second he found out that I could walk in the sun, he treated me like I was a leper. I'm no more his son than the guinea pigs he eats for breakfast.” I'm thoroughly grossed out with the mental image that I'm receiving right now. I'm surprised that in front of Nolan he decides to sit down next to me, “I'm not going to turn or kill you.” He states firmly.

Nolan grunts, catching our attention. “If you don't think of something Oliver, he is going to kill you . Do you understand that? Why did you tell him it was you? We should tell him that it was me that she saw first. He might be a bit more lenient with me because I haven't been in trouble before.”

“I don't think it matters which one of us it was. But at least this way, he gets to feel extra guilty about it.”

“Guilty about what? Can't we just convince him I'm not going to tell anybody?” I can hear that my voice is starting to waver, but I must try hard not to cry.

“He's not that easy to convince. But we have an extra day. I'll think of something.”

“Why didn't Seth see this coming? Surely if he knew that your father was going to pick him up, then he would have warned one of us, right?”

“Mr Pierce also has a psychic working for him.” Nolan adds. “Unfortunately, psychics can't see each other or their next actions. Seth would have just been a sitting duck.”

“Your world is really confusing. But ages ago you tried to erase my memory. Can't you just try again?”

“Why would you want to forget?” Oliver looks directly at me and I know exactly why he's asking.

“I don't think in my heart I could ever forget what's happened here, but I know that if I didn't suggest something that was at least reasonable and something happened to you…I would never forgive myself.”

“Regardless, our powers don't work on you anyway.”

“Do they work normally because I'm not particularly special. There shouldn't be some particular reason they're not working on me.”

“The fact is we don't have to make any decisions right now. Why don't you just go back to bed?”

“Do you seriously think I can sleep after this? All I’m going to think about is some random vampire jumping through my window.” There is another suggestion I can make, but I'm not sure if anyone is going to go for it. I'm not even sure if I really want to go for it. “Out of curiosity is being a vampire that bad?”

“Yes.” Both boys exclaim in unison. I guess they knew what I was thinking.

“Would you feel more or less comfortable if someone stayed on the bed that's next to yours? Perhaps then you could get some sleep?” Nolan questions me. Truthfully, I think I would feel better. But I also don't want to throw Oliver under the bus any more than he already is.

“I'll be fine.” It's kind of a lie, but I'll deal with it. I look at the boys who are obviously going to stay up longer and discuss things. I can't help but think this is my fault. I shouldn't have accepted staying here. I shouldn't have gone snooping around when Nolan was turning into a werewolf. And I'm starting to really think that falling for a vampire was not a good idea either. Especially since now, he's going to have to choose between his life and mine.

I'm trying my best to fall asleep, but no matter how many minutes tick past, I'm just not getting there. I glanced over towards the door as I see this handle slowly turning. Under the cover of darkness, Oliver sneaks in through the door and closes it, locking it behind him. I lean up so that he knows I'm awake. He sits on the bed adjacent to mine facing me. “Are you okay?” He asks me.

“Truthfully, no. I don't know what's happening and that's kind of scary. Also, your dad scares the shit out of me.”

“Me too.” The moonlight isn't providing much light, but it does give a small hint of a smile away on Oliver’s face. “Listen, I know that you said that you'd be okay, but is there any chance that you'd let me sleep on the bed next to you?”

“Of course. I mean, I’d suggest that you could sneak under my covers, but I'm assuming you're not going to be doing that.”

“As much as I'd love to snuggle on a single bed with you, I really don't think that it's a good idea right now.”

“If you bit me, would that turn me?”

“No. But I still would like to avoid it.”

“If it won't kill me and it won't turn me, why you trying to avoid it?”

“I never said it wouldn't kill you. If I'm careful I won't, but you also have to remember I don't live on the same kind of diet as the rest of the vampires do. By the time I get around to having blood, I'm starving and I don't leave anything behind.”

“Unless it tastes fishy.” He gets up and sits on my bed leaning over me. He touches the side of my face and leans in to press his warm lips against mine. I don't want to provoke him in any way by grabbing onto him, so I just let him lead the way. I'm glad he's still trying. My lips barely get a chance to part as he breaks away.

“I’m sorry.”

“You need to stop being so sorry. You haven't done anything.”

“My ability to not really do anything is part of why I'm sorry. I don't want you to think it's you.”

“I'm happy to wait. Just don't stop trying.” He gets off the bed and lies down on top of the sheets on the other side. With everything going on, I'm not sure what he's going to do. Tomorrow when I get up, I'm hoping that I'll be able to help everyone come up with a new plan. The idea of either of us dying just doesn't seem very bright to me. Surely, there's another option. The question poses in the back of my mind. If the only other option to death is to be turned, can I really live my life as a vampire? There's probably a lot more to it than Oliver is letting on. But at least if I was a vampire he wouldn't have any trouble being near me, but that’s not a legitimate reason to be turned into something that you've been afraid of your whole life. All I know is that if I ever did meet the vampire that scared me so long ago, I'm not sure I'd be so keen to be one. The creature haunted my nightmares for years, the last thing I feel like I could bear is seeing it again. Yet, I didn't feel very afraid when Oliver bared teeth to his own father only an hour ago. I actually felt quite protected. I’m trying to think of a plan, I'm trying to think of anything that would get us all out of this safely. But my eyes are getting a lot heavier.