I was initially alarmed. How did she find out? I gave Sam and Kyle strict orders not to breathe a word of it to anyone. Even the girls living in my house still had no idea that I let Sofia and Ben escape. Only Corrine was informed, but only because – for reasons I didn’t fully understand - Sofia insisted on letting the witch know. I then reminded myself whom I was talking to. Vivienne had a gift of prophecy and discernment. Of course she knows. She didn’t even need me to answer her question to realize that she’d just spoken truth.
“Is this why you’re doing all of this? To keep yourself from thinking of Sofia?”
I grabbed my sister’s jaw, every single one of my muscles tensing as I stared at her. I knew from the look in her eyes that she saw in me the Derek that existed more than four hundred years ago – the one whose ruthlessness built The Shade and all its fortifications over the spilt blood of thousands of humans. I took advantage of her fear and for the first time in a long time, I saw my sister cower.
I leaned closer to her, so that my mouth was directly in front of her ear. “Don’t talk to me about Sofia, Vivienne. Her name is never to escape your lips again. Not in my presence. Not unless I give you permission. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “Never again.”
I let go of her, red marks forming on her porcelain skin where my fingers gripped her jaw. She then said one of the most unnerving things I’d heard her say in a long time:
“This, Derek, is what you’re going to turn into without her in your life. You can only get worse from here. This is why you need her.”
Gaining back her composure she stood to her full height and gently caressed my face with her long fingers. To her next words, I couldn’t bring myself to react, much less disagree.
“You never should’ve let her go.”
Chapter 7: Sofia
Ben and I checked in to the same resort we stayed at with his family last summer. The moment we arrived at the hotel room, neither one of us could wait to get out. It mattered little to us how beautiful the suite was – in fact, it paled in comparison to the lavish penthouses of The Shade. What mattered more to us was the sun. We were in Cancun and we’d missed the sun for too long to spend that bright, sunny day indoors.
It became an unspoken rule between the two of us that for that morning, there would be no mention of The Shade, no mention of anything dark or heavy. For a few hours, we tried to be what we had every right to be – teenagers having fun on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Without us even noticing at first, we ended up avoiding any kind of shade. We wanted to feel the sunlight against our skin, so we stayed clear of umbrellas and roofs and anything that would block the sun. I was sure that by the end of the day, I’d be burnt to a crisp or end up looking like a bright red tomato, but I didn’t really care. I couldn’t even remember what sunburn felt like.
Breakfast consisted of fresh fruits and virgin piña coladas at an outdoor seaside restaurant. After that, we headed off to the ocean. At some point, I ended up building a sandcastle on my own while Ben remained in the ocean, enjoying a good, long swim. To my right was a pouch filled with seashells we managed to collect for a good half hour. Neither of us had any idea what we were going to do with the shells, but it seemed like a great idea at the time. A few feet away from me was a large, bright red towel we bought from the hotel store. Over it were a bunch of snapshots Ben and I took after squeezing into a photo booth and goofing off.
Each of the items surrounding me brought a smile to my face. We were making every effort to lighten up, find a reason to smile or laugh or try to make a connection to our former selves. We wanted to forget even though we knew how impossible that was. Still, it was worth the effort to try – if only to hear my best friend laugh and see that dashing smile on his face again.
I turned my gaze toward him and found that he was already emerging from the water and headed my way. I couldn’t ignore how hot he looked or how several ladies nearby were openly gawking at his handsome face and lean, well-built physique. With the sun shining down on him, making the beads of ocean water clinging to his body glisten, he looked like he’d just walked right out of a swimsuit catalogue.
Of course, I knew better. Beneath the white shirt he had on, his upper torso was still covered with layer upon layer of scars, evidence of what he went through at The Shade. My gut clenched as I shook away the thought, refusing to sink back to negative thoughts.
I shifted my attention back to Ben, trying to go back to those days when I would lose myself in daydreams about being with him. Strangely enough, I was quick to realize that he didn’t take my breath away like he used to. He looked incredible, but he no longer had the same effect he had on me before.