Chapter 18: Chapter ☾ XVIII ☽

“We’re lucky we get to do this at your house cause our parents would kick us out.” Cina said, tossing a can of beer to one of his brothers.

“Your mom is actually really nice.” I said.

“Yeah, when there’s people over.” Brendan snorted. “Last night I got a shoe thrown at me because I wouldn’t wash the dishes.”

“That’s your fault.” Jackie said, opening up the can.

Tonight is the only night where I might be able to have friends over. My mom’s working a night shift at the hospital, and my dad has a work trip so he’ll be gone for three days. The fact that they actually didn’t lecture about behaving is completely shocking considering how I haven’t been able to leave the house. I was standing with a group of boys who were laughing and smiling, and each of them getting a can of beer to drink.

The Martin brothers had some good news tonight. Not only was it Cina’s birthday, Channing got accepted to three colleges and he and Brendan found out that they’ll be able to graduate this year.

So since they all wanted to drink to the overwhelming positivity, they decided it was okay to do it at my house. There really wasn’t anything wrong with that. As long as they’re out by the morning then there’s no problem. I hope they don’t leave a mess of beer cans in the backyard.

I should’ve thought this through better...

But how was I going to tell Channing no? There is no valid answer to that question. I wasn’t going to tell him. Plus he got some really good news, so he was...pleasant when he asked me. He was actually...polite about it.

Candice was here, too. And she brought brownies.

“Alright,” Channing got up, opening up his drink, too. “This year has been absolute shit.” He said, lifting his drink. His brothers agreed rather loudly. “I hope that once all of this is taken care of, we never have to go through it again.”

They all drank to that without even a second of hesitation. Even Leo chugged a drink, and I had asked multiple times if it was okay to let him drink. I was less surprised that Ty had downed his beer as quickly as his older brothers, but still a little stunned to say the least. Candice and I weren’t drinking.

We had this feeling like we’re going to be driving tonight.

Someone’s going to have to get these boys home safely.

“Wait, wait.” Candice stepped up next to Channing. They are complete opposites, and it’s apparent any time they stand next to each other. Candice is a ray of sunshine and Channing...isn’t. She was smiling widely as she waved her hands, getting the others to quiet down so she could say her piece. “I also want to add that I found a rather nice apartment in the city with a doable rent and my lease starts in August.” She was so excited to tell us.

Again, the Martin brothers drank -whatever was left of what they had- and Cina began tossing more unopened cans to them.

Since we’re all giving out good news, I might as well say something. “I didn’t fail my SAT exam.” I added since I got my score this morning. They all shouted and drank some more.

“I finally got my driver’s license.” Jackie said.

Another drink.

“We’re going to prom with Monique.” The twins yelled excitedly.

At this rate they’ll be drunk within the hour.

I couldn’t ruin their fun though. They desperately needed a good night in their life. It was nice to see them all smiling and shouting. I know soon I’m going to have a whole group of brothers completely drunk, but at least they’re happy. That’s all that matters.

Ty was opening up another beer can. I think that one’s his third. I stared at him while he drank it, and he paused for a second, staring right back at me. Should I be shocked? I was. There was a chance he was giving in to the pressure of his brothers drinking. That or he was just so over that was happening that he wanted something reckless to do.

He finally moved the can from his face. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I smiled. “It’s just nice always having to take care of you.” I had this serious feeling like he was not going to control himself tonight. That’s okay. I want to take care of him.

“This is my last one.” he sighed.

“No, keep drinking. I want your inhibition as low as possible.” I can only dream. Ty was going to be the responsible one, which is fine of course, but if I think he’s ever going to go wild, I’ll be waiting for a long time. He gave me that look like I shouldn’t even try. So I guess I was caught. “Let’s go somewhere.” I suggested. “They seem occupied.”

His brothers were having fun, laughing and joking around with each other. To see them all happy was nice, but I wanted to spend my time with Ty while I could. This is the first time he actually wasn’t so tense.

“Where? The woods?” Ty scoffed. But I was serious about going off somewhere so we could be alone. His expression changed when he realized I wasn’t kidding. “Okay.” he seemed to agree rather quickly.

We tried to sneak away, but as we stepped closer to the boundary of the trees, we heard whistling coming from his brothers. They didn’t make nice comments either, so I figured they thought we were going to the woods to do something dirty...I won’t mind but I don’t need them to know that. Ty and I walked together, though he was leading the way for me.

He held my hand and guided me in the dark. I had an opportunity to use my phone flashlight but I liked how he was showing me where to go. I definitely liked letting him lead me. He should take the lead more often.

There was a very small clearing where the leaves of the trees weren’t blocking the view of the night sky. We sat down against one of the trees together. We could see the stars in the sky. It’s been a while since we’ve just sat together at night and watched the sky. With everything that’s been going on, we don’t take a lot of time for ourselves.

I’m worried about him.

“I’m glad Channing made all of you do this.” I told Ty quietly. “I felt like you guys were falling in a pit of despair.”

“I guess...” Ty looked down and sighed. “It’s just been a lot. And we want to make sure we keep everyone safe.”

I know that’s what he’s worried about.

My hand rested over his gently. He has me if he needs me. I will always be here for him no matter what and he knows that.

“So, you didn’t share any good news.” I said.

“You doing well on the SATs was my good news.” He said seriously, though I laughed. That should be the least of his worries.

“Ty, I’ll go wherever you go, okay. As long as the school has a good science program, I think we’ll be okay.” I said, hoping he wouldn’t stress out about that.

“You’re just going to... follow me?”

We’ve discussed this before but I think he gets a little shocked the more we talk about it. I know he’d follow me. If anything, I should be following him. Or...we can just make this decision together and we don’t have to feel like we’re following each other.

“I already planned on leaving. If you go, I’ll go, too.”

The town is great. It’s my home. I know almost everyone here and that’s what makes it so friendly. I just know that I wanted to have a future elsewhere. It’s not that I want to be here but I don’t plan to be here all my life.

It’s just that...

“Your mom thinks you shouldn’t worry about being able to leave.” I said. Since his mom is literally this big pillar of hope, I want to believe that it’s not going to be so bad when the time comes.

“When Channing went to pick up Candice today, he had a complete meltdown.” Ty wasn’t that hopeful and he had a reason for it. “As much as it’s gotten easier to leave and come back, it’s just really uncomfortable.” He said.

“When everything settles down, it’ll be better.” I had enough hope for the both of us.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and held his hand tightly. I wanted to ease his worry. Ty is always stressed about something. Most of the time it’s about me, and I want him to calm down a bit. It’s easier said than done, I know that, but he shouldn’t have to hurt himself for me.

“If we go to school in the city, we’ll be close to home.” I suggested.

“That’s true.”

“But, if we go far enough away, we could live together.” I also added because I’ve been thinking about it. “Think we can get as lucky as Candice?”

“And find an apartment with decent rent for two freshman college students?” He scoffed.

“My dad has been aching for me to get a job.” I sighed. “If I work during the summer and next year, I can get a head start on saving up.”

I liked my idea.

We have one more year left. And if we’re serious, we might be able to pull it off. To be honest, I think our parents might help, Ty’s more so than mine but they’d still help. It’s our future we’re talking about, I think our parents would want what’s best. I guess I wasn’t that worried because we have time to figure it out. Just one more year and we’ll finally get to start our lives.

Ty was staring at me, like really staring. There was a low glow of light on his face from the full moon, and I could see his eyes on me. I think I stressed him out again.

Does he not want to live together? I didn’t mean to scare him. “Ty, we don’t have to-”

“I love you.” He blurted out over me.

And here I thought he was getting frightened about what to do with our lives. He doesn’t want to be separated from me. In fact, he has this need to be near me. We’ve been handling it fine for a while.

I want us to stay together, not just because he has this unbreakable bond with me, but I love him and I want this to work. He’s the only person I want to be with and I’m okay with that.

I just know we can make it.

“I like when you have that look like you’d risk it all for me.” I smiled, though I could feel my heart flutter.

“I would.”

That’s nice to hear.

“So...” I started slowly, hoping to get him interested in doing something...dirty... “There’s a full moon tonight.” I got a little closer to him, hoping he got the hint.

He held his breath as I kissed him. He’s still tensing up when I get close to him, I could feel it right now. I’m glad that I can still put him on edge, even sexually. He got my hint, that’s for sure.

I could distract him for a little bit, but the second my hand moved between his legs I knew he was about to pin me down. I was practically leaning over him at this point. His hand was moving into my shirt, but I could tell he had other ideas at the moment. The way he kissed me, the way his tongue traced my skin, the way his teeth bit me, he had more on his mind.

So did I.

“I love you.” He said again against my lips. He kissed my cheek and said it again.

And again.

I loved hearing him say that to me. My heart flutters and my skin feels tingly. But I also get this burst of emotion all over me and I love feeling that the most.

He kissed my cheek again, and his hands pressed on my back, keeping me close to his body. His warm breath graced my skin just as he pressed his lips to my cheek. There was this heat rising to my face, like my blood was boiling. It wasn’t embarrassed, but I wanted to hide the blush that was coloring my skin. Though, I have to admit that I enjoy when he makes me feel this way.

My arms wrapped around him and I made sure to hold him close.

“I love you so much, Gabriel.” He whispered.

All of this felt right. I don’t know if it was my seventeen year old heart begging to find someone to be with early in life because of the slight fear that I never will. I’ve never thought about it before. What I feel now, it just feels...right. I feel like I’m where I belong, and that’s with Ty.

I don’t think I can be anywhere else. I don’t want to be anywhere else.

My eyes suddenly opened during the middle of the night. I let out a deep breath and shifted uncomfortably in bed.

“Hey...” Ty moved next to me, his hand brushing against my cheek. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t mean to wake him.

But I just got out of the worst nightmare I’ve ever experienced, and I have a feeling like Ty knew that.

My hands were sweating and my heart was racing in that unsettling way, like I was running for my life. I took a few deep breaths as I looked around my room.

I’m safe.

We’re all safe.

Nothing’s wrong.

There’s not a vampire chasing me. I’m not going to get killed. As much as my nightmare seemed real, everything is fine. Ty is here and he’ll protect me.

“I’m okay.” I was finally able to tell Ty. “Just a bad dream.” I laid back down next to him.

He didn’t say anything. At first I thought he fell asleep again, considering that I told him I was fine. But his fingers were tracing my spine to a slow rhythm and he didn’t stop.

“Last week...when Channing and I went to that place...” It was suddenly hard to talk about now. There was this dull feeling like I was being bitten by a vampire again. “Ty, I’m sorry.” I’ve apologized to him about it before but this is different.

Now I’m having bad dreams because of something I did. It hasn’t gotten that bad before.

“I could’ve been killed and I didn’t...” I swallowed thickly because my fear was creeping up again.

“I’ll protect you.” Ty said quietly. “We’ll...protect you.” He meant his brothers.

I’ve always believed they’d protect me. But I still had this pit of doubt in my stomach and it hurt worse than anything I’ve dealt with. Ty can probably feel how I felt, he just won’t say anything about it. It’s the first time I couldn’t describe what I was going through.

I’ve been injured before. I’ve been shot. But a vampire tearing into me with the intentions of killing me is a different threat.

Ty was quiet again, probably because he fell asleep. My hand pressed against his arm so I could wake him up.

“We have to take your brothers home.”

He groaned miserably.

“Ty, I think they’re passed out in the yard.”

They were drinking a lot, even by the time Ty and I came back from the woods. They were lively when I went to sleep, but now it’s quiet. It’s four in the morning and I had this strong feeling like they drunk themselves into a coma. It’s the fact that I couldn’t hear anything outside was what scared me.

Ty groaned again, but he started to move in bed, slowly getting up and putting his shirt on.

I wonder if Candice is awake. Not everyone will fit in my car.

Both of us went down to the basement and found Leo and Jackie passed out in the bed. They looked absolutely awful though they were completely knocked out. The others were sitting outside together in a circle. Candice had her head resting on Channing’s shoulder, her eyes closed. She was asleep.

The others were awake, but they weren’t drinking, thank goodness.

Ty and I went outside to sit with them.

They were calm. Maybe it was them being completely drunk, but there was a calmness in the air. They had drank everything all ready, bags filled with empty cans. No one really said anything even as Ty and I sat down with them.

It had to have been a good night for them.

They got rid of all that pent up energy they had, and now they were quiet.

“What now?” The twins asked quietly, looking towards Channing.

Everyone always looked to him for guidance.

And for once he just shrugged, not having an answer other than that. Channing usually has an answer, but this time he didn’t have much to say.

No one else said anything.

Then he spoke. “Lets get Leo and Jackie home.” He put his arm around Candice and gently woke her up.

The others had gotten up, too, except for me and Ty. I looked over to him as the others walked towards the basement door to get their younger brothers. Ty shook his head slightly so I wouldn’t ask anything.

I wasn’t going to ruin the night for them.

The days have gone by slower.

They blur together when nothing happens.

During the days I would sit outside with the wolves that would come by. At night, I don’t go anywhere or do anything. There’s at least one Martin brother near by to keep watch.

As long as someone’s protecting me, I don’t get that stressed out.

I just worry about them.

Channing has actually been forthcoming about what’s going on, telling me that the vampires feel threatened and might back off soon. Maybe he told me that to keep me quiet, but that seemed to settle my nerves enough.

Ty’s the one that tells me more, like the injuries, the near death attempts, how they’re just barely able to keep someone else from getting killed. That’s what makes me nervous again. He told me that Channing had to destroy what might’ve been keeping the vampires here and threatening them. He didn’t elaborate on that and I didn’t ask, which is a shocker for me because I always have questions to ask.

All I know is the apparent history that happened. They’ve gone back and forth destroying each others’ homes just to come out on top. The last of it was when the wolves ran the vampires off the land.

Is that what Channing is trying to do again?

Break down a whole society of vampires so they’re forced to disappear? He’s trying to remove a threat. Henri has definitely made it clear that the vampires want revenge for what happened, and they’ve been close to getting it.

It’s better if I don’t know.

I worry about my family, about my friends, about everyone that lives here. If I don’t know, then there isn’t this added weight of guilt and fear on me.

Yet, I couldn’t help but feel those emotions anyway.

“So...nightmares?” Brendan was sitting beside me on the front steps of my house.

Him speaking to me was what broke me out of my day dream. I had forgotten that I was sitting outside with him. I looked at him when I realized he was asking me something.

My...nightmares.

I didn’t think Ty told him about my nightmares, but then I realized that they know what’s going on in each other’s lives. The nightmares aren’t terrible, but when I’m waking up every other night and not able to get more than four hours of sleep, it can get draining.

“I have this feeling like a vampire will rip my head off.” I said plainly as I stared at the grass.

I have the scars to prove that I could’ve been ripped apart.

“Same.” Brendan had the same tone that I did. That wasn’t very reassuring though. I just rolled my eyes. “The other day, I saw one of them swipe this woman from her car. Sure it took me only a second to react, but that’s just enough time for them to get the upper hand and rip my limbs off.” He explained, though the way he described it didn’t have much emotion.

Again, that does not make me feel better.

I watched the wolves that were rolling over each other playfully.

“Lowell had a few ribs broken, Jackie got his leg snapped once, and don’t get me started on Channing.” Brendan continued, watching with me.

They’ve been getting hurt a lot. That does not make me feel good. I wanted to tell Brendan he’s making this worse.

“We’re literally still standing, though.” He added. No matter what happens the wolves are back out there doing what they do best. “For a bunch of teenagers who’ve been doing this for less than a year, you have to admit we’re kicking ass.”

I was a bit surprised that Brendan was being encouraging. I had to admit that I was a little proud, too.

I smiled at him. “I didn’t know love would actually soften you up.” He hit my shoulder and it was actually pretty rough. “Hey, I already have enough scars and bruises on my body.”

“Tell Ty to calm down then-”

“I can make a lot more comments about you being in love with my dad.” I warned him.

That’s what shut him up.

The white wolf had tensed up quickly when the black wolf made his way in front of him, growling sharply. Their demeanor had changed so fast. I don’t think anything happened in the past second, yet they were growling at each other like they were about to fight. This isn’t the first time this has happened, yet every time it does, I get surprised.

They just stare at each other and growl until one of them gives up. Usually, the black wolf never does.

“What are they doing?” I finally asked, wanting to know what it meant.

“Ty keeps trying to assert his dominance as the ‘alpha male’.” Brendan didn’t seem that interested in the subject until he thought of something else. “To be honest, he’s been really close to getting Channing to back down.”

I put my hand to my forehead. I tell Ty not to fight his brothers but he goes and does exactly that.

“Channing won’t physically attack Ty, though two days ago was really bad.”

“I told him not to do this.” I sighed.

“Like he’s going to ignore his instincts just because you say so. The bond isn’t that strong.” he scoffed dryly, making me roll my eyes. “I guess you can say we’re getting more into it as the weeks go by.”

“Do you think something will happen?”

He didn’t have to answer my question. There was a loud barking sound that came from the black wolf who stood much taller than the white wolf in just seconds. It was a threatening sound that came from him, one those rose the hairs on my skin and made my heart fall into my stomach. The barking didn’t stop until the white wolf finally lowered himself on the ground, going absolutely quiet and still.

“I don’t think something will happen.” Brendan answered after Channing’s display of dominance. “It just looks like Ty likes having his tail between his legs.” He laughed.

“How do I make them stop it?”

“You don’t.” Again, Brendan didn’t seem that concerned. “Just don’t get in between their little battles and you won’t get hurt.”

Could I say that’s what it’s like to have siblings? I wouldn’t know. There have been times where Ty wouldn’t get along with his brothers -because of me- but lately the aggression has been tolerable.

Ty remained on the ground, whining like he was wounded. I wanted to go next to him and make him feel better but by the way Channing was circling around him, I had a feeling like he wasn’t done getting Ty to be obedient.

In the distance, there was a faint wolf howl like it came from miles away. The two wolves were staring in the direction that it came from. Beside me, Brendan had looked that way as well.

“What-”

The wolves took off. When I tried to get up, Brendan sat me back down without so much as an explanation. It’s not like I was going to go anywhere, though I did want to see what direction the wolves were running off to.

“Your friend is here.” Brendan said, his voice monotone as he stared ahead.

That’s when I noticed Henri.

He didn’t have that usual smile on his face, so I had a feeling like something was wrong.

“What do you want?” Brendan asked, not exactly being nice.

“To warn you.” Henri said. “You’re going to have a blood bath on your hands for what you did.” He warned Brendan.

I was missing something. What did he do? I looked at him to ask what he did but I didn’t have the chance to.

A large mass of white came from the corner of my eye and tackled Henri viciously to the ground. The sudden growling wasn’t enough for me to react quickly. When I saw the white wolf standing over Henri, his jaw wide open like he was going to tear him to shreds, I shouted to get his attention.

Brendan put his arm around me to keep me from running over to them.

Henri was trying to push the beast off him, and with the strength he had he was close to doing it.

“Ty! Stop!” I yelled at him as Brendan kept me.

I know Ty wants to kill him, but Henri has been incredibly helpful and that’s not a reason to kill him.

Ty just barely listened to me. His paw pressed down on Henri’s chest with a strong enough force to keep him down on the ground. He continued to snarl at him, bearing his teeth, but he didn’t have that vicious look like he planned to kill him.

“What happened, Henri?” I asked in his direction, wanting to get closer but Brendan wouldn’t let go of me. Henri wouldn’t hurt me, but Brendan didn’t trust me to get near him and neither did Ty.

“They didn’t tell you?.” He asked. “X marked the spot, Gabriel, and your dogs took it off the map.”

At first I didn’t understand what he meant. I had to ask Brendan what Henri meant, but it clicked just as I was about to let the words out of my mouth. They destroyed that area the vampires were so attached to.

When did that happen?

I realized how bad this was. They’ve been enemies for centuries, going back and forth and destroying everything that they love. As much as the wolves felt connected to that place, so did the vampires and it looked like the Martin brothers really did take away the only reason the vampires had to be here.

Now the vampires were going to do the same.

“They just started a slaughter.”