ALVAH'S POV
"Well he is my friend. I get to decide what happens to him and I decide we are not going to compel him to forget anything!" Nate yelled at me, making anxiety trips around the three seater leather couch Max lay on. After witnessing the neck snap and the half transition, the pretty boy passed out.
" You don't know what this kid is capable of. What if he reports you? What if he tells Ruby?" I challenged him,lowering my voice to keep this dialogue from turning into a screaming match. " The only way is to compel him and stay away from him! " I felt ridiculous just having to tell him this, like reading the instructions on the conditioner bottle, they never change and they're always the same. What would I have to do, write for him a new vampire guide for dummies?
" You've taken everything away from me, you don't get to take anymore!" His eyes fell to Max and a frown crept to his face. I knew that look it was a 'what if' look. What if he had hurt Max, or worse?
" Imagine if...wait, what?" My head shook in disbelief and a sardonic laugh forced its way out of me. I watched him intently waiting for him to tell me what he'd just said was a joke but no, nothing was said. He did believe that all this was my fault. I sat squarely, suddenly feeling attacked and highly unappreciated.
" I saved both of you. Imagine if I hadn't appeared right when I did?"
Before Nate would throw words back at me Max stirred on the couch. His eyeballs twitched behind his lids frantically before he finally could flutter them open. Nate immediately sat himself on the arm rest, assuring him. Acting all supportive and pure as if he hadn't just tried to bite Max's head off a while ago. Technically it wasn't him but it would be fun to see him try to convince Max, especially when he didn't it understand himself.
He struggled lift himself up and Nate helped him up and even tucked two fluffy black pillows behind his back. Max's eyes were half open. It seemed like a powerful ache struck the back of his head because of how he hissed and immediately held the back of his head. The part that had hit the floor when he fainted.
Nate stretched over to the table and picked a half empty glass of water with some pills served in a flat lid and passed them to Max. He was, gentle, even in the way he handed the glass, making sure to give him a minute to gather enough strength to lift a glass and not break it. Noticing the pills, Max looked away completely appalled by them.
" You need it for the headache. " Nate softly reminded. I couldn't tell if it was just me but he seemed to be overdoing it. I could see right through his mother teresa facade. Even though he was the one that was literally just a strand of a hair away from ending Max, he was kissing ass and reviving himself. When the realization of everything that had happened to him would dawn on him. it would be easy to make me the bad guy. I fail to understand the human logic.
He pushed the first pill past his lips and quickly washed it down with water in continuous and surprisingly huge gulps for someone who'd Just gained consciousness. He reached the glass to the table but Nate caught it and asked him to just relax. My eyes rolled heavenwards as my mind played out how this sop opera was going to turn out in just a few minutes. I would be defending myself for saving both of their lives. Humans, right?
"Anything else you might need?" Nate offered. I could not tell who he was trying to prove his humanity to. Max or himself. You know it's going away when one is clinging to it like that. The stronger Emi got, the more 'good' he'd try to do, to convince himself that he wasn't a monster. Funny, is what I find that to be. He made it look as if that's all that humans were. The truth is I had heard his thoughts, before. Presented with the right conditions he'd have snapped into a monster with or without Emi's help. They aren't too different from us, they just don't have an instinctive blood lust.
" He might need answers. " I decided why not just speed it up. " I would want to know why my best friend tried to kill me. " Nate threw me a dirty look, and I arched my brow in response. I needed him to know that the curtains had finally dropped the excruciating performance is over.
The wheels began to turn behind Max's eyes, his brows thickened and worry shaped wrinkles lined up just above them as the events from earlier trickled into his memory. Piece by piece. But by bit. In just seconds all of Nate's efforts would go down the drain. I needed Nate to know, am the master of deception here and it would take a lot more than nice guy charma to dethrone me.
In three...he suddenly froze...
Two...his head started to shake in denial...
One...he jumped on his feet, and scrumbled for the door, only reason he didn't leave in the next millisecond was his inability to teleport. He desperately tried to grab his back pack off the hook, taking glances at us occasionally to see if we were coming for his dear life, like that horror scene. You know it, the one where the door refuses to open and the predator is stalking towards the victim. Except, Nate and I were just standing there, waiting for him to calm down and listen.
" HEEEELP ME!!! PLEASE!!! SOME...." he slapped his hand in the french door while yelling. He probably thought his life was in danger.
Nate and I exchanged looks from opposite sides of the room deciding which of us was going to shut this whole freak out fit down. I would do it, he already hated me, I had nothing more to lose. I zoomed off towards him, grabbed him from behind and put him back on the couch before he could refuse to be touched and start stating his rules of personal space and consent.
" HE.." I held my index finger an inch away from his lips. That was enough to shut him up, his dislike of being touched was working to my advantage.
" Shhhh....you're not in any danger, not right now. I promise." I assured him.
" If you ever fucking touch me like that again, I swear to God..."
" You'll do nothing." His eyes widened, shocked at my audacity. I could see his jaw stir with the desire to spit on my face but just a second of my very best intense stares reminded him that his life was like on the line.
His gaze left mine, brushed across me and, landed into Nate's. Who watched from a distance unsure how to help in the situation. Lots of unsaid words hung between them I had to aside before they would make a hole through me. I plunked myself onto a one seater couch and felt it's cushion sink beneath my weight while I fitted perfectly into it.
" I'll be here after you guys talk it out."
" Am calling the cops am not talking it out. "He patted himself looking his cellphone and felt it in light washed jeans pockets. Held it unstably between his shaky hands. It toppled over his butter fingers and fell face flat on the smooth rug dark brown rug. He picked it up again and before he could dial again Nate tried to stop him. Such an amateur. Part of the appeal of being a vampire, is the remaining calm even with sparks flying.
"Max, listen to me that wasn't me, I would never hurt you like that. You know me Max. Am the same Nathan you knew. Just a bit different."
He shook his head to disagree, and squinted his eyes at Nate, possibly trying to look for the old him in there. Nate slowly walked,towards him, hands up where Max could see them and being the most humble I had ever and would probably ever seen him. This wouldn't happen if we had just compelled Nate. But I guess it prickles him right in the balls when a girl is in control of the situation.
" I also don't know what's happened to me. But Alvah here..." The sound of my name coming from Nate's mouth made my feet freeze over the carpet. I had just decided to massage my toes in it while their bromance filled the air and now they threw me into the mix. " ...has a better explanation."
" Well..." I started.
" Yes please, go ahead, tell him how you thought I needed your help. How you turned me into a vampire. Tell him how the vampire is a bad guy, super annoying and tries to take control all the time and has murdered uncountable people including...."
" He gets it!" I interjected. It came out so sudden I choked. Everything was flowing so well and I had to interrupt them just to watch me cough out saliva out of the wrong pipe. The prize I had to pay to prevent Nate from saying way more than he needed to" Wow, both of you really couldn't care less if I died right now. " I attempted at sarcasm, my hand still on my chest. No? No reaction,okay. " He gets that you're a vampire now and I turned you, it's all my fault."
" How could you be that! What so am just a peace of meat now? Is that why am here? you used your vampire charmd to trap me here so you'd feed off me!Like Brad and...Oh My God that really was you! Oh God...You have any idea where Ruby's dad is?"
" I..." the desperation of Max to believe him hung on the brim of his eyes, " I am learning to control the impulses. Am still here this is hard for me. I don't want to do these things. However horrified you feel, I feel worse..."
Good call Nate, just dodge the question and make it emotional. The tearworks , ten out of ten. Exquisite.
Max blinked, like this was too much for him. And it was. Like he was giving Nate that one chance to revive himself. Sucking in a sharp breath and blowing it out, he looked back at his phone.
" What are you going to tell them when they pick up?"I wondered.
" That there's vampires out here."he shot back in a matter of factly tone. His responses were always laced with so much venom whenever they were directed to me. This hate thing wasn't a phase, he really did just hate me.
" You sound stupid." I informed him because Nate wasn't going to.
" I feel worse, I need to do the right thing."He grumbled. I hope he didn't really expect us to be shaken by that. My head fell on my palm. if I didn't give it a few rubs I would have lost my mind. I hope Nate had seen what happens when he takes charge. He'd blown it. Now there were other cops that were going to go missing.
Max slammed his phone on his left ear, having dialed and waited for the ring on the other end. He held up his finger and pinched his brows together, as if tryjg to silence us and inevitably directing our attention to it. And that's when we knew we were screwed. A muffled annoying blast followed by aggressive vibrations filled the air. How could I have remembered to take the shoes off Mr Williams feet and left his phone in his pocket?