I started out watching the 1970 version of Dracula, but it was too depressing. Of course, not as depressed as me, but still. Dracula probably hadn’t been the best thing to watch, considering that my ex-boyfriend was running around the South as a blood-hungry maniac. Then I’d moved on to the 1939 adaptation of Wuthering Heights. It was pretty good. I’d always liked it. When I was little, I would imagine myself as Cathy. The idea of running free among the English hills had been euphoric. As a little girl, there was hardly anything I could imagine as more romantic. I would have loved to own a horse, to ride upon the hilltops. My 1940s suburban childhood hadn’t been the same as that of a London girl. But looking back, it had been just as magical.
I missed my Georgia home. Of course, I’d hardly lived anywhere else my whole life. We’d only come to Texas to escape Pansy in her mad rage. But now that James was gone, we didn’t know what to do. Would we go back to Georgia? I didn’t know what I wanted. It might be too overwhelming.
No one had talked to me. They didn’t know what to say. Nina and Anya had knocked on my door several times, but I’d never answered them. I didn’t want to talk. I just wanted to pretend as if I didn’t exist. The TV and old movies drowned out my thoughts. As long as I didn’t think of James, it would be all right. Of course, avoiding my memory of him was more complicated than I’d hoped.
Once the credits had rolled, I began watching Gone With the Wind. It was therapeutic. It wasn’t my Georgia—not from my 1940s childhood or 1950s teenage years—but it was somewhat reflective of the place I’d come from. Sweet tea and sugar, cookies and cakes. I could taste the cherries and peaches, soft strawberries on my lips. The women with their swirling dresses, the men in dashing suits.
Just as Nina kept little statues, woven rugs, and sparkling jewels from India, and Anya kept leather satchels, clay vases, and earnings made from bone from her Cherokee heritage, I kept the memory of my Georgia. We had to hold tight to them. If we didn’t, they would fade away. This was what we had. If I let it slip, I’d lose it forever. This memory was precious. To me, it was better than diamonds.
A plain white blanket was spread over my pink, cotton nightgown. I wouldn’t sleep in it. That certainly wouldn’t happen. After all, I was a creature of the night. But just the idea of sleep and its allusive beauty was enough to comfort me. My black curls fell down around my shoulders like a curtain made to conceal my porcelain skin. I heard Scarlett’s voice on the TV and turned my attention back to her. We looked a little alike. The black hair, light skin, and blue eyes made us have a clear resemblance. She’d lost her love just like me. Maybe we were more similar than I’d once thought.
I could hear hushed voices in the other room. Everyone else seemed to be in the kitchen. The telltale sound of knives chopping lemons and limes on the counter gave away their location. Nina’s voice traveled through the air as a soft giggle escaped her lips. I imagined that Roy was attacking her with kisses or wrapping his arms around her waist. Anya and Arthur were discussing something, though their voices were too low for me to hear. I wished that I was as happy as them. If only James hadn’t forgotten everything, I would have been.
The smell of blood mixed with citrus enveloped my senses. Nina knew it was my favorite, but I liked cherries too. Though they were both my sisters, Nina had always been more of a maternal figure. She’d found me at my lowest and rescued me. Nina had taught me how to be a civilized vampire rather than a ravenous creature. Anya followed her lead, attempting to comfort me as much as possible.
Moments later, I heard a knock on my door. Before I had a chance to reply, it opened. I was expecting to see one of the girls, but when I looked up, I had a totally different surprise. Albert Jefferson, in his perfectly arranged suit, stood in front of me. He held two glasses in his hands. I didn’t know what to say.
Albert had told me he loved me, but I’d turned him down for James. Everyone had thought I was crazy for rejecting a rich, Victorian bachelor for a teenage boy. Though I hadn’t wanted to admit it, my heartstrings grew tight every time I saw Albert. The memory of his lips against mine was clear and precise. It was like watching a movie in my mind. I saw the way he’d held me, his strong hands against my waist.
“Hello, beautiful,” he whispered.
My eyes grew wide as I examined his immortal face. Deep brown eyes, dark, messy curls, and a small grin. My heart gave a little thud. How did he do this to me? My soul was shuddering.
“Hey,” I whispered.
He walked toward me as I made room for him to sit. Our bodies brushed against each other as he sat beside me. He gently lifted my knees, so they fell over his lap, and the blanket was draped over both of us. He’d never seen me like this before. I looked sick, though that was impossible for a vampire. Albert handed me one of the glasses he’d brought into the room.
“Nina and Anya called me,” he said. “I wanted to come. I had to see you.”
I took a tiny sip. “I’m sure you don’t like what you see.”
He smiled. “You’re as beautiful as ever.”
I lowered my eyes. The ache for James within my heart was still strong. “Thanks.”
“I’m sorry,” Albert whispered. “I know how much he meant to you. You gave him everything.”
I nodded. “He left.”
Albert pulled me against his chest. “I know, dove. I know.”
I let myself fall into him, a few tears dripping onto his jacket. He didn’t seem to mind. Albert wrapped his arms around me. Our glasses of blood had ended up on the table beside us, still mostly full. This was better than drinking. His scent and hard body gave more to me and my senses than blood could. He was overwhelming. How could one man distract me so much?
He smelled so fresh, so clean. Yet there was still a gentle touch of musk in his scent. We melted together into what felt like a puddle of stone. Two hard bodies wrapped in an embrace to create a jumbled mesh of marble. He seemed so relaxed as I lay on top of him. My face was buried against his body.
“It’ll be all right, princess,” he said.
“Why did you come?” I asked.
“Because I love you,” he whispered.
It wasn’t the first time he’d told me he loved me. Albert had fallen for me long ago. But then I’d met James, and my whole world had shifted. I’d never known a teenage boy could change my world as much as James had. He’d been a bright star in my otherwise desolate night. We had been beautiful.
“I’ll take care of you,” Albert mumbled with his cheek pressed against my head.
I thought of James, the way our lips had touched, and how lovingly he had looked at me with his soft, human eyes. He’d taken my heart. Every single cell of my body had been devoted to him. It had been real, true love. But now that he’d abandoned me, what would I do? Was it necessary to hold a devotion to him?
And Albert, I knew what he wanted. He’d never stopped pursuing me. Albert had given me space, but he’d still been waiting for my heart. I didn’t know how I felt about him. At the moment, my heart was torn. James had lost his memory and didn’t want me, but I couldn’t simply transfer my affections. It didn’t work like that. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t rid myself of my thoughts of James.
“I don’t know what I can give right now, Albert,” I whispered.
His hands grew tight around my waist. “Nothing, love. I don’t expect you to give anything.”
I relaxed into him as his lips pressed against the top of my head. It was as if my body, wrapped in my cotton nightgown, had somehow become molded to his. He didn’t seem to mind but rather pulled the blanket up tightly around us. His hands floated gently across my hair and down my back.
I let out a soft sigh as I heard the TV continue to play and Rhett Butler say, “You should be kissed and often and by someone who knows how.”
“But just so you know,” Albert said, “in the morning, I’m taking you to London.”
I didn’t have the strength to argue.