This Is Where I Want To Be

16. Getting To Know You

Juliet

The day went by… I had such a good time with Louis. He was light-hearted and fun and made everything a joke. He touched me whenever the opportunity gave him an excuse. It felt great to have someone who wanted me. A person in my life who wanted to spend time with me. Who wasn’t going to turn out to be an idiot like Jerry. I took my mom’s advice and stopped asking Louis any serious questions. The things that bothered me stayed in the back of my mind. I had to stop myself from unloading on him, trying to stay in the moment.

We were taking a break sitting in the lounge. I was on the sofa, and he sat on the carpet, resting against the couch. He was in a serious attitude, playing with something in his hands, “Can I ask you a question?” He finally said. I pulled my feet in underneath me. Louis regarded my habit, “Can you answer me honestly?”

“Why would you say that?”

He shrugged, “Who was that guy last night?”

“You know him... he’s a teacher at the school.”

He turned to me... “Don’t use my tactics… Just answer the question.”

“You have to promise not to tell my parents. Ever! Not one word. If you ever do. I’ll probably never forgive you.”

His eyes carried a mixture of emotions, seeming to take in the seriousness of my words. “He means a lot to you?” Louis’s voice was strained.

I pouted my lips and shook my head. Louis’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Chris is a fantasy… one that somehow realized. I can’t explain it. I’ve had a crush on him for the longest time. I don’t know why, but I’m attracted to him.”

“Is he the one?”

Animated, my eyebrows crinkled at the corners, intrigued to know his thoughts on the subject. Surprised that he would ask that, “No... maybe...” I got up and paced the room, “The guy who opens up to me first will be the one. The one that loves me more... because I’m sick and tired of being the person to puts it all out there and then gets hurt.”

“I think you underestimate the power of attraction… What a person would do when the one… seems to be slipping through your fingers."

“Are you talking from experience?”

“No… but I feel I’ll be able to tell you soon,” Louis said with a straight face, piercing me with a stare.

I stopped pacing to see if he was being serious. The only time Louis wasn’t joking was when he was talking about us or me… What girl wouldn’t be pulled in by all of that? I was lucky in that regard. I wasn’t an ordinary girl... At that moment, I promised myself I would not fall in love with Louis Du Pont.

“My mom said there was a woman in the motel?” I said, trying to change the subject off of us.

“No! Never! She wanted to get together... Nonetheless, there weren’t any feelings from my side.”

“My mom said she was gorgeous.”

His eyes came up to meet mine, “No... not my type,” A playful grin played on his mouth.

“The bartender last night? Also, not your type?”

He slowly shook his head from side to side. I still didn’t understand why I was jealous at all and turned. Louis stood to his feet and moved over to stop my pacing, “Are you jealous?”

“I was last night,” I rubbed a hand over my face, thinking about how I felt. “Not that it matters,” I whispered.

Louis grasped my hand in his, “It does matter… you matter, Juliet! I’m angry that you didn’t ask me for help in the club. It hurt.”

“Then don’t flirt with other girls again! I almost manifested in the club… Yes, I was that jealous. And nothing is even going on between us.” Creases formed on his brow, but he held onto my hand, “Are you going to tell me if there has ever been someone out there who is the one for you?” I asked.

Louis’s frown deepened, and he held his breath. Hesitantly, I lifted my hand and rubbed between his brows with my thumb, wanting the lines away. He was reluctant to answer me. I raised my brows questioningly.

“There have been a lot of women.” My hand dropped, and I pulled my other out of his. “I’m not going to lie to you about that!” He took my hand again and squeezed it, “I didn’t believe in one soul mate out there... for every person. Love… is not for everyone.”

“Should that reassure me of your intentions... It’s not helping.”

He met my eye, “I also believe that we must choose when the time comes,” he raked his fingers through my hair, “And I have chosen… I want to be here and with you! I’ve never loved anyone. So far, it’s only you...”

His fingers ran down and traced my cheek. He slid his hand behind my neck, pulling me closer, hovering over my lips… “Can I kiss you?” Louis sounded almost desperate.

I was so scared that I shook my head. How could he say that he loved me? He didn’t even know me. Well, he was two hundred years old. I’m sure if he fell in love with me, he would know. “No,” I whispered, “How can you be so sure?”

He put his forehead on mine and moved it from side to side. I was frustrating him, and Louis would probably never push more than that. “Fine...! I’ll wait until you kiss me. Until you love me back….” He let me go.

“Good luck with that,” I sat down again. That time, he sat across from me on the sofa, watching me as we spoke. We talked for a long time, and then he took me home. My mom invited him to stay, and we watched a movie like an average family.

Sitting on the couch, I stared at him at one stage. He had changed before we left his house. A black leather jacket with a cream polo jersey underneath. Dark blue jeans folded at his ankles with black boots. His hair was messy, but it looked like it took him hours. He didn’t belong there… in that small town with me. I glanced down at my unkempt nails and a wrinkled shirt. He didn’t belong… I had so many issues. Louis smiled at something funny on TV. My parents were laughing, too, sitting a little in front of us on a lover’s bench. Louis turned his head towards me. His piercing blue eyes caught me off guard. I didn’t mind him catching me. He was serious again, “Did you ever open the gift I gave you?”

I frowned. I didn’t immediately remember. Oh yeah, that was the first day back to school after I almost turned into a zombie. So no… I wasn’t feeling so well and had to use all my faculties to keep it together. “At school?” I whispered softly to myself. I jumped up, bored with the movie, and ran to my room. I heard him coming after me. I laughed, going for my bag. He stopped at the room’s threshold, leaning on the door frame. I remember putting it away in a safety pocket in the back of my bag. Almost everything I didn’t want anyone to see was in there. The small box was wrapped in beautiful paper, “I don’t want to ruin it.” He approached me and took the package, ripping off the wrapping. He lifted the lid of the box inside. There was soft yellow felt… underneath a silver chain with a small silver-plated circle at the bottom. My brow furrowed. It was not what I was expecting. He took it out and tied it around my neck. I lifted it to read the few words engraved on it, “This is where I want to be,” it caught my heart again. The first time I heard it… it didn’t sink in… At that moment, it really felt that no matter what… I was enough, and that he would always be there. He was right in one regard… We had a real shot here. “Thank you...” I said, reaching for his cheek but couldn’t. Louis was standing on his toes, dodging me. I smiled up at him. He leaned down, and I planted a big, fat kiss on his cheek.

“I thought it would never happen. It was like an hour? You already kissed me.”

I laughed lightly, “That’s not a kiss. I think… warm, wet, and brutal… is a kiss.” I wondered if I had crossed a line. Louis’s tongue played between his teeth; he groaned and fell face down on the bed. I laughed, jumping up next to him, “Hey, you scared already. I don’t think you can handle this…” He laughed, shook his head, and rolled up on his elbow. He bit his bottom lip, trying to avoid smiling too broadly. Louis’s eyes held my gaze. Out of nowhere, the way I felt the first time I saw him came to mind. How I felt in that car, staring at him. How I wanted him was different. I hoped he would show up in that basement and save me. Louis was there; he was pushing himself into my life, pursuing me. It was a welcome relief. My gaze drifted to his mouth, and I thought about kissing him properly. The problem was I was looking for a reason to do it. I shook myself, “Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested. I let out a frustrated breath. Why was I not crossing the line? Oh yeah… my life. And I said I would not fall in love with him.

***

Sita

When I heard from our scouts about what happened between Juliet and Chris the previous night. I checked his feed immediately. I didn’t feel for him as I should, but I also didn’t want him to be with that vampire girl. It did hurt my feelings. And why would I give the vamps even more of an advantage over us? If they got together? If she and Chris had a baby… He would be on their side. The scouts also reported that the French teacher was at Juliet’s house, fighting with Chris. Louis du Pont was a vampire. The question was... what was he doing there? The news of another baby abduction a week ago startled the community. There weren’t many couples who had cubs, and when one disappeared—the information traveled fast. Usually, they were never found, but that time… a miracle happened. The baby was returned. Little Juliet seemed to have more guts than I gave her credit for. She unknowingly unearthed a syndicate of infected vampires. They were revolting against their oppressors... Infecting born vampires right back, creating something uncontrollable. What the guy was trying to do with the werewolves was still unknown. It was only said that the cubs all died in the process. The news was a blow to the few mothers who were hoping their kids were still alive. The community was in an uproar… Talks of creating a compound to protect the few cubs who were still alive were on the table.

Looking through Chris’s things… I still couldn’t find any trace of anything I wouldn’t like... No messages between them, no photos or online searches. He had given me the divorce papers, but I refused to let him off that easy. So, if he wanted them... he could go check his shredder. That evening, he was at a sporting event our school was hosting. He would probably come back late. I wanted to see this girl up close and do some surveillance on her myself.

So, later, I went and snooped about; walking outside their house in the darkness didn’t give away any secrets. They were like any other family… watching a movie on a Saturday night. Louis was on one couch, and she was on another. After they went for a walk, I quickly jumped through her window, closing her door slowly. I had a good look around the room. Luckily, vampires couldn’t smell as well as us, and they wouldn’t even know I was in there—not in human form, anyway. Our abilities only came out when we manifested.

I was searching for a journal but couldn’t find one. It irritated me because I knew she had to keep one. Someone like her would be obsessive about it, living in a fantasy world. She was always staring off into the sky, daydreaming. She would write down everything Chris had ever said to her and what happened between them. Jealousy fueled me. I wanted to hurt her. The sound of the Farrows getting up made me jump back out the window.

I walked down the road… Juliet and Louis had to be somewhere in the vicinity. I could only turn in the moonlight. It gave me more advantages. Agility, if I wanted to sneak up on someone. I would have to be very careful, but regardless, it was easy to find them. They were loud and made jokes, sitting on the grass. It was a famous lookout point over the valley. What was going on between these two? Was anything really going on between Chris and her? Had I misjudged the situation? Did her parents arrange a marriage for her like Nicolas would’ve had to do for me?

The familiar footsteps caught my attention. His smell wafted over the water and traveled right into my chest. I used the bridge and slid down the bank to stand underneath. Chris was above me, making his way over the steel. His steps were loud in the stillness of the night. What was he doing there? I growled. He was coming for Juliet... Was he falling in love with her?

***

Juliet

Louis manifested and quickly stood, pulled me up by the arm, and pushed me into a patch of tall grass, “Shh… werewolf.” I didn’t need to look at the sky to see if it was a full moon. We knew when it was… Born vampires didn’t go out on that one specific day. We’re no match for any werewolf on that particular evening. I kept quiet, waiting for Louis to tell me what to do. I didn’t have half the abilities he had, so I would let him take the lead. My hand was in his, “Should I disappear and go see what is going on.”

He turned on his heels, “You wouldn’t dare!?” He grabbed onto my shirt with two fists.

“I’m joking… calm down! It would be able to see me anyway! What would be the point?” He still didn’t look away, piercing me with a stare, “I’m not leaving your side, baby.” He snorted and watched me a moment longer to make sure I would stay put. “I didn’t know we had one in the neighborhood. Can’t you use your echolocation thingy to find them?”

“If you were quiet for a second, I’d be able to tell you just by listening.”

I giggled. We were moving through the long strands and reeds that lined the stream. “There is someone else on the bridge,” he whispered.

Parting the grass, we both took in a deep breath. Chris was walking over the blue steel, hands in his pockets, head down. I wanted to push past Louis and warn Chris. What if the werewolf was out finding its next meal. Louis held me back and pointed to the other side of the stream where Chris had come from. “Wow, you don’t see that every day,” I whispered.

The two-legged wolf stood almost two meters high with black grassy fur and a snarling ugly face. I wasn’t pretty when I manifested, but that girl had it bad. It was all sorts of wrong. “Will they go after Chris? We have to help him,” I pulled on Louis’s jacket—the zipper jingled.

“It knows we’re here. You’re so loud… It won’t do anything to Chris,” Louis pulled his jacket out of my hand. I smiled sheepishly up at him. “You can be glad you’re pretty….” he said, “Really pretty… Can I kiss you?” I pushed him forward. He grasped my arms. “Okay… I’m going… You stay here. Don’t move! Please, Juliet. I don’t want to worry about you.”

I pushed him again, “Go! Before something bad happens.”

The woman moved down the bank to hide under the bridge. I saw Louis take a detour to flank her from behind. I disappeared. Chris was almost over the bridge, taking the few steps onto the ground. He walked past me. I couldn’t resist. I fell into step with him, watching him with his head bent down. I wondered what he was thinking, wishing I could ask him, “Chris, why are you so serious?”

He turned right up the hill, “You’re going to my house… but why?” Maybe he wanted to know if I got a good night’s rest. I chuckled. I also wanted to stick my hand into his pocket. His hands were always in his pockets. I wanted to know how it would feel... I’d wanted to do that for the longest time, mingling our fingers in there.

***

Sita

All three of us were looking at Chris. The poor guy really didn’t have a clue. My husband was out there like a schoolboy going to a girl’s house. Louis and Juliet disappeared from my sight into the tall grass. I heard them whispering but couldn’t make out what the two were saying. I slid down the bank. I was going to follow Chris. I didn’t want to take the chance to cross the bridge behind him. My feet were wet. I saw the glow again. Juliet had disappeared and used her ability. What was she planning? I moved along slowly. Chris had picked up his pace. I had lost track of Louis, turning in a circle to scan the area. My curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know what Chris would do. By the time I treaded through the water and climbed up the other bank, Chris was already on his way up the hill. Juliet was walking next to him. An involuntary growl escaped me. My lips lifted. I would teach her a lesson. She was looking at his hand in his pocket. Would she make a move on him? Revealing herself? I saw her stretch out her hand. Not on my watch, deary! You won’t touch him. I jumped, putting my front feet on the ground to sprint and scare them. I wanted them away from each other. Someone grabbed my leg, and my face hit the dirt. Louis had caught me. He dragged me through the mud and threw me into the water. It all happened too fast to react. I had lowered my guard and paid the price. It didn’t seem he was going to do anything. Soaked and dirty, all I could do was stare at him, “How’s life, Sita?” I growled at him, showing him my teeth. “I’m watching you! Stay away from Juliet! If you come anywhere near her, you’ll regret it!”

All I could do was growl. I didn’t know what was going on.

“What I really hate about your primitive species… You turn into dogs and can’t even communicate with anyone… Tell your grandfather I said hello… Now off you go,” Louis lifted his head and screeched at me, making such a noise that all the birds woke up, squawking and flying off into the air.

***

Chris

I didn’t know why I was walking to Juliet’s house or what I would do when I got there. The school was empty. The last kids were clearing the equipment. Cleaners were busy finishing their work. I was going to get in my car and looked down the road. Knew it would only take me ten minutes if I walked quickly after dropping her off the previous evening—everything that happened consumed me. Juliet was right… I didn’t have a good night’s sleep. Walking over the bridge was more than halfway, but by the time my feet felt the incline to the hill, I was so close to her house that I hesitated, nervous, and had to stop in the street. As soon as I did, something made me look at my pocket. It didn’t startle me, but it made me think about Juliet… It was the familiar sensation of her skin. She was there, pushing her hand into my pants, sliding her fingers underneath mine. I wanted to stop her, say something. Her fingers laced with mine, and there were more feelings between us. She gripped and pushed me forward. Stupidly, I looked to my left like she would show herself. I pulled my hand free and stepped away from her.

What was I doing? Going over there. We crossed the line—again. The previous night, she cupped my cheek and wanted to trace my lips with her thumb—as if physical touch was important. The memory and the idea sent me spiraling out of control. I shook my head to where I thought I had left her. I couldn’t handle her crossing the line so easily. A noise echoed over the water. It was the worst sound I had ever heard in my entire life. It came up the bank in waves. I didn’t even have a word for what I heard. Is that what she was doing? Pushing me away from whatever was down there? Wanting to hold my hand when something like that happened. I nervously stared down the hill towards the bridge, waiting for whatever was down there to come galloping towards us. Nothing happened. The stillness of the night soon came back, and it was peaceful. Juliet still didn’t show herself. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have come,” I tried pleading with my eyes.

“Hey, Chris!” A familiar voice yelled from the bridge. Louis was resting his elbows on the side railing, “Why don’t I take you home?” I couldn’t really argue. My best bet was to team up with the French. I looked back one last time at Juliet and didn’t say anything. I just left.

“And you. Go to my house and wait for me there,” I heard him shout.

I turned around quickly to see Juliet running up the street. Louis grabbed my arm, “She isn’t really going to my house!” he snickered. “Although I live next door to them as of today.”

My heart sank. What? How could that be? Why was I so conflicted? Thinking about them was driving me up the wall. I rejected her over and over, yet I wanted to kill that cocky ass guy with his leather jacket and ruffled hair. Why couldn’t I let them be happy? I pushed past Louis and headed back toward the school. He walked with me up the next long hill, all the way to where I parked my car, not saying a word. He watched me get in and grabbed at the door before I could close it, “Have you done everything you could possibly think of… to make your marriage work?” Puzzled, I stared at him, “Maybe you’re so double-minded because you haven’t finished what you started. You don’t seem like the kind of guy who wants to give up on his commitments. And I respect you for that.”

It struck me like a brick. I had to decide and push through with whatever choice I made. I shut the door angrily. Louis was all up in my business. I drove off like a maniac. I was half-assing everything. It hurt Juliet and any chance I had with her in the future. If we were meant to be, we would be. If I went on like that… I was going to lose her. Letting her go at that stage might be the only way to have a future with her. Later, when she was older.

I got home determined to speak to Sita and have a good talk with her. Honest and straightforward, not beating around the bush. Saying what I mean! And following through on any ultimatums I was going to give her. Juliet helped me realize that I might not have been entirely open and honest with Sita. Letting her dictate our relationship was as much my fault as hers. I could’ve set boundaries years ago. Louis had helped me realize that being doubleminded was the worst thing a guy could do.

Juliet was unique. Heaven knew I was in love with her… But I was married first. What would she think of me if I cheated on my wife? If I left my wife just like that, not doing all that I could do and ruining one relationship to start another one with a young girl. Wasn’t that for guys who didn’t know who they were? Louis was right. I didn’t want to be like that.