Chapter Eight - Part One

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CHAPTER EIGHT

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Later that evening, I didn’t listen to Adelle’s reprimands as I packed. And I also showed no interest in the many texts and phone calls that Ethan bombarded upon my phone. His pleas went unanswered, just as her admonishments went unnoticed. Because while I pretended to listen, all I really thought of was getting on a plane to New York, of starry skies beyond a backdrop of skyscrapers, and possibly visiting Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to look at all of the absurdly famous pairs of feet.

“Will you at least admit that you have a thing for him? Because we all know that’s the real reason you’re going.”

Adelle was busy unpacking items as I re-packed them. We walked back and forth and around each other in circles. And at the moment, she was currently coming from the suitcase as I was going back to it. I rolled my eyes as I passed by her, clutched a pair of Vans that she had just removed.

“You’d really like that, wouldn’t you?” I said stubbornly, stuffing the shoes back where they belonged.

“You don’t have to say it because I already know it’s the truth.” Adelle shot back, and I slid the suitcase away from her, as this time she attempted to remove a shirt.

“Addy, you don’t have to worry so much. He’s made it pretty clear he’s not interested in anything serious.”

“Yeah, but you are.” my friend replied, in a firm, but not unkind tone. “And that’s bad – really bad.”

“Why? It’s not like it’s against the Rules of the Red.”

“You’re right.” Addy replied, taking a seat on the bed. “It’s not against the Rules to fall for a Vampire. But creating half-breeds with them? That is against the Rules. And you’re a Leader now – so how do you think it would look to the Garou if you go around breaking the same laws that you’re supposed to be enforcing?”

“Vampires can’t reproduce.” I replied, remaining obstinate.

“That’s very true, yes, but try thinking outside the box. Naomi, haven’t you ever wondered what would happen if a Werewolf was turned by a Vampire, or if a Vampire bit another Werewolf?”

“No…” I said guiltily, looking down. “Not exactly.”

“Oh, well, that’s too bad.” was Addy’s snide reply. “Because it’s some fucked up shit, but at the same time kinda interesting too. Let’s say – just for shits and giggles – one day Tidus decides to get a little rough during some foreplay in the bedroom. Who knows, maybe he’s got a serious thing for BDSM. Anyway, he forgets his strength, he kills you, and then out of guilt, he turns you. Then what?”

Wordlessly, I shrugged.

“You wake up, and you start to mutate; I hear that part is more painful than endless childbirth. And the transformation might start out the same for every victim, but no two bodies are ever alike. And no one has ever survived the change, Naomi. That’s why it’s against the Rules of the Red for Werewolves and Vampires to mix.”

“That’s not gonna happen to me and him.” I assured, but avoided her gaze as I returned to the closet. “Tidus has had a million opportunities to kill me, and he hasn’t.” I reminded, returning with an armful of shoes. “He’s too smart to flat-out kill a Leader.

“Well for both our sakes, I hope you’re right.” Addy replied, grumpily. “I mean Tidus is super-hot – I’ll give you that – but if anybody starts thinking you two are together… I don’t even wanna know what could happen. I mean, the last time someone from his family got involved with someone from your family, the results weren’t exactly pretty, remember?”

“What do you mean?” I said, re-folding a pair of skinny jeans.

“You don’t remember all that stuff I told you about your grandmother? Or Caspian?”

Slowly, I turned to face Adelle, who was still sitting on the bed. She twirled a long lock of red hair between her fingers, not seeming to notice the impact of the bomb she had just dropped.

“Ok,” I replied with forced patience. “Now back up to the part where you made it sound like Caspian and Tidus are family.”

“That’s, like, old news babe. Didn’t I tell you that already?” Addy asked, finally looking up, and scrunching her face in thought. “Dude, my bad, I could’ve sworn that I told you Caspian was Tidus’ brother…”

“Holy shit. No wonder he’s pushing me away.” I said, raking troubled fingers through my hair. “He probably resents my entire family…”

“It would make sense...” Addy said vaguely, and I shot her a look. “Which is just another reason from a long list of why you shouldn’t go with him, Naomi. And I know you really want to because he looks like a fuckin’ dream, and he probably fucks like a volcano too – but no good will come from him… I fuckin’ know it.”

But even swallowed up in the mix of all these reasons to deny my trust to Tidus, I still clung to the hope that my expectations of him wouldn’t let me down. Because as of yet, there weren’t many people in my life who had proved to be as faithful a friend as Addy. Even through her uncertainties, the girl was loyal to the core.

And I knew her friendship happened to be worth plenty more than what Tidus had so far offered. I just prayed the day would never come where I’d have to choose between the two of them.

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Later, at the airport, I picked up my ticket early and dropped off my bags before choosing a lone seat in the terminal. I wanted to be isolated, so that I could discreetly panic about my decision to go with Tidus. Suddenly, I wasn’t so confident I was doing the right thing anymore. Because reason dictated that I had no business being there, and that I should have been sprinting for the nearest exit. But at the same time, something else held me rooted to the spot. There was an intrigue about him – a mysterious quality to our linked pasts – that left me with a craving for answers…

“Not having second thoughts are we?”

Tidus’ voice sent my heart into a frenzy. He stood behind me, in the aisle that separated the two groups of blue, plastic chairs. He had his dark, Ray-Ban shades to hide his eyes, but there was still a smirk on his lips, as if he knew exactly what it was I was thinking. That night, he was dressed in a pair of grey jeans with grey Converse, and a thin, pea coat, remaining as attractive as always. And still smiling, he reached up and plucked out his earphones, wrapping the cord around a small, white IPod.

“Funny, you didn’t strike me as an Eminem fan.” I said, ignoring his question.

“And you didn’t strike me as a flight-risk, and yet here we are…” he replied, removing his sunglasses. “I saw that look on your face thirty seconds ago. You aren’t sure you wanna be here.”

“I found out about my great-grandmother and your brother…” I said abruptly, skipping the formalities and going straight for the jugular of the conversation. “And I can’t help feeling, like maybe that’s why you’re so unwilling to trust me. Like maybe this is about more than just the visions.”

Tidus said nothing. He merely stood there, with his face unreadable as always.

“I just wanna know – are you planning on somehow using me to try and get revenge for Caspian? Is that why I’m here?”

“My apologies, Naomi.” Tidus replied in a slow drawl. “I assumed you knew about the situation that transpired between our families.”

“How well did you know my grandmother?” I asked, searching his face with my eyes.

“I think it’s safe to say that I knew her well.” he replied. “When Caspian and I first met Sully she was young – too young. Her father, Edward, was the Pack Elder at the time, and extremely involved in her life. He made a plan for her: she would graduate high school, attend college at the campus in town, marry an Alpha, and take over the Eldership when her father was ready to retire.”

“Sounds restricting.” I said quietly. “So how did Sully and Caspian get involved with each other? And why did Caspian…?”

I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.

“The only thing my brother was guilty of, was trusting her. He never attacked Sully.”

Tidus was finally starting to show emotion. It was the smallest flicker of sadness, there very briefly.

“Then what happened to them?” I insisted. “How did they both end up dead?”

For a few seconds, Tidus shut down completely and it didn’t seem like he would answer, but I waited patiently just the same. There was no rush here. I had all the time in the world for this.

“Cas had feelings for Sully, but she didn’t completely reject him. Instead, she capitalized on it, and used him just like she did James. But she didn’t love either of them. She wanted someone else…”

“Who?” I asked, leaning forward in my curiosity.

“Me.”

“You?” I replied, unable to hide my astonishment. “My grandmother was in love with you?”

“Mmm, strange, I know, that a woman could possibly fall in love with the likes of me.” Tidus replied, and for a few seconds there was the ghost of a smirk on his face. “But I never had any interest in Sully. I wasn’t really a one-woman kinda guy.

“So then you two didn’t…” I asked, feeling my heart sink.

“No,” he said firmly, unwavering beneath my gaze. “Not even once – I never slept with Sully. And when I finally told her that nothing she could do or say was going to change my mind about us she snapped. She attempted to stalk me, and wrote crazy love letters and left them in odd places for me to find. If she saw me with other women, she would cry and scream for hours in my bedroom, refusing to leave. The girl was… out of control. And when she realized that nothing was working, she gave me an ultimatum: either I would be with her and we would leave Harbor together, or she would find a way to make me pay.”

“Tidus… I…”

There were no words to describe the way I felt. It was like things were coming into focus, only to get blurry – but over and over. How was I supposed to make sense of this?

“At the time,” Tidus continued, staring into the distance somewhere above my shoulder. “I thought I was doing the right thing by refusing to take her seriously. But I misjudged her. I called her bluff and she called her father. The next thing I knew, my brother was dead, and Sully was missing. James found a note behind saying that she couldn’t live with herself, and that she was going to jump into the sea.”

“I-I can’t believe she would have done that. That’s horrific.”

“Time passes much more slowly for my kind than it does for yours, Naomi.” Tidus replied, returning his somber gaze to me. “A century is but the blink of an eye for me, and I’ve had less than that to mourn my brother. But even in that short amount of time, I’ve learned enough to know that using you for revenge would be… useless. It wouldn’t bring Cas back.”

“That’s good to know.” I said quietly, hoping he wouldn’t take offense at what I had to say next. “But now I have another question: I’m not saying that I think your brother was guilty, but there must have been some evidence left behind in order for Edward to have been able to back up his daughter’ claim… right?”

Tidus looked away for several seconds, and when he looked back again, his gaze was fierce, aggressive almost.

“I told you I never slept with Sully – and that was true. But my brother was younger than me, and a little more… susceptible to her charms. After Sully realized she couldn’t threaten me, she targeted Cas. She took advantage of him, and then went home and told her father that she had been raped. But it was all a lie – she was as treacherous as a snake.”

“Well,” I said, looking down at the floor. “This is definitely not the same version of the story that I heard.”

“Of course not.” he replied, looking back at me with disdain. “I told them what kind of a person Sully really was, but for some reason, the Council and the Leadership worked especially hard to keep that from coming out. They decided that it would be better for the Revenant and the Garou if Cas simply died the villain.”

“Then, I wonder if Charles even knows the truth.” I said, frowning as I mused aloud.

But Tidus merely shrugged, looking irritated and impatient.

“So what you’re saying, is that Caspian died on hearsay?” I demanded, once more looking to him for the truth. “Because if that’s the case...”

I grimaced, feeling nauseous.

“After she slept with Cas, Sully went home. But sometime between leaving, and showing up at her house, Sully was really attacked. She was beaten, with her clothes ripped – the girl was a bloody mess.”

I gave a sigh myself, dragging my hands through my hair in frustration.

“So who did it? Who really attacked Sully?

“Not. Cas.” Tidus replied evenly. “I don’t know who really did it, but my brother swore to his dying day that he never hurt Sully, and I believed him – still do. But I knew that my word alone wasn’t enough, so a few days after he died, I started doing some digging. And I found proof that my brother was innocent. But somehow, that proof managed to conveniently disappear before I could get it to the Council.”