Revenge is a Meal Best Served Cold

                                        Revenge is a Meal Best Served Cold

The sequel to “The Impossible Love Story of Maxy and Trevor”                                        Chapter 1: In Sickness          

“Please, just shoot me,” I complained. I’ve been sick with the pig-flu for the past week. It hurt; a lot. Trevor, who was busy making me my 3rd cup of soup, smirked.

         “My love, I could never hurt such a pretty face. According to the doctor, you should be healed in a matter of a few more days.”

         “Trevor, this is the same doctor who asked me if ‘everything was alright at home, because I’m here to talk’ when I first got sick.” It’s true. Trevor and I went to the doctor-the same one from when I was shot-when my stomache started hurting. He pulled me aside and asked me that very question, after he took my temperature of 102.3. Seriously, I didn’t know how I didn’t slap him like I did to that pesky waitress! So, yeah, I didn’t exactly trust him, but appearantly Trevor did.

         “Honey, I’ll admit it: that was pretty stupid. But he is a doctor. Just give him a chance, Maxy. Now, open and say ‘Ah.’” I did as I was told and Trevor plunged the thermometer into my mouth. We both waited impatiently for it to beep. When it finally did, he took it out of my mouth, looked at it, and frowned. “101.8. Better, but not by much.” Kissing my forhead, he went back into the kitchen and returned with my soup.

         I grabbed the cup and began eating quickly, moaning at the taste. How is someone who is about 87 years old such a good cook? Yes, phyically he’s 27, but come on. Returning to my soup, I finally registered what kind of soup it was: tomato soup with herbs and crumbled Saltine crackers. Yummy. It was perfectly creamy and flavorful, without being too over the top. Wanting to end the silence, I said, “You know, when I was a little girl, I would always get sick with some sort of illness before something bad happened.” Trevor looked over to me, curiosity burning in his copper eyes.

         “Really? Was it always something bad?”

         “Yeah, it was. When I was ten, I got the chicken pox right before I fell off of my bike and broke my arm. At 16, I got strep throat before my grandfather died. 23, of course you know, I got a terrible cold…the day before I met Mark.” Trevor growled softly at the mention of my ex/deceased husband. I put my hand on his arm. “Hey, he’s gone now. Everything’s OK. Remember, if it weren’t for that d-bag, I would have never have met you.” His eyes softened and the smile I loved so much appeared on his face before he leaned down to kiss me softly on the lips.

         “It’s the only good thing he’s ever done,” Trevor said with a smirk. “Because of that scum, I have the most beautiful wife in the world.”

         “Who could that be? Bring her to me so I could punch her in the face for stealing my man.” He chuckled and rubbed his nose with mine.

         “Her name is Maxima Swordman. However, if you don’t call her Maxy, she might punch you first.”

         “I like her.”

         “Me, too.” Trevor took my now empty soup bowl to the kitchen when my stomache lurched painfully. I knew what would come next.

         “Uhh, Trevor? I need the bathroom, or sink. Now, please.” Immediately I was over the base of the toilet with Trevor holding my hair back as I puked out my delicious lunch. “Ungh,” I mumbled. Trevor was rubbing my back in soothing circles when the doorbell rang.

         “Trev! Max! Open this door before I go F.B.I on it!” Ah, my best friend Minny was here, and she brought her retched nicknames with her. Haha, retched. It’s funny because I retched. I crack myself up. Three seconds later Minny picked the lock, came into the bathroom, looked in the toilet, and said one word. “Gross.” She then went into the living room and turned on the television before lazily plopping herself down on the couch. “Call me when your done being gross!” I smiled slightly at her I-own-the-place attitude. She’s so small and cute, yet so loud and terrifying when she wanted to be.

         Once I felt a little better, I leaned back against Trevor’s chest and reached for my toothbrush.  While brushing my teeth to rid myself of the horrible puke-taste, I flushed the toilet and made sure no “bits” were on the seat. Finishing these tasks, I felt better than I had all day. Trevor appearently could tell because he stood up, taking me with him. But instead of letting me walk, he picked me up bridal style, earning a squeak from me, and brought me into the living room. We found Minny pretending to snore on the couch.

         I shook my head as Trevor smiled mischeviously. What was he going to do? Quickly, he disapeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a glass of water. My jaw dropped and my eyes grew wide as I realized the answer. My dear husband was committing suicide in the form of Minny. Trevor silently made his way over to the faking lump on the couch, and poured the entire glass of water on top of Minny’s head. “AHHH!!!! TREVOR WHAT THE HELLEN KELLER!?! I WAS AWAKE STUPID!” Minny screamed, suddenly “wide awake.”  I had to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. Trevor looked so scared. “DON’T YOU DARE THINK OF RUNNING, MISTER! VAMPIRES DON’T SLEEP! YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS! NOW YOU SHALL DIE!”

         “Please don’t kill me,” Trevor pleaded.

         “Oh, please Trevy. That would be too kind.” Minny smiled like an insane person as Trevor gulped.

         “W-what are you g-going to d-do?”

         “That’s for me to know and for your nuts to find out.”

         “No! He needs those!” I shouted in full panic mode before what I said actually registered in my mind. “Uhh, I mean…” Trailing off, I knew I messed up and settled for smiling, something I do when embarassed, and looking down. As if on que, the three of us bursted out laughing until Minny suddenly stopped.

         “But seriously Trevor, your nuts shall die.”

         “I want my mommy.”

         “Yeah, well, she’s dead so…SUCKS FOR YOU!” Ouch, I felt that. Trevor’s face contorted with annoyance and his lips twisted up into a snarl. In his eyes I could see he was joking around, but that didn’t stop him from pouncing on her. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I watched the two of them wrestle around the room. Only Trevor wouldn’t take offence to that, which, in all honesty, is why Minny said it. Normally she probably would have said something along the lines of “She’s not here right now, but my fist can take a message after impact.” Her corniness is why we loved her, though.

         Suddenly, the two stopped and hugged. “Minny, you are so lucky you’re like my sister,” Trevor said. Minny smirked.

         “Ok, use that as an excuse for your terrible fighting skills. That works.”

         “I can fight better than you anyday. Don’t flatter yourself. It’s wrong to lie.”

         “Why you little—,” I cut Minny off.

         “Ok, how about this. You can both fight equally. Ok? Ok. Good.” With that amazing speech, I pulled Trevor onto the couch and snuggled into him. I then realized that since their “fight” started, I felt almost completely better. So, I think I’ll be just fine.  The only bad thing was the strange nagging feeling that we were being watched, or followed.















                              Chapter 2. And In Health          

I was finally feeling better. After three more days of pain after Minny came over, I was finally healed. Trevor stared in amusment as I woke up, realized I felt fine, and jumped around the room in a very non-Maxy way. All the while chanting “I’m not sick!” over and over again before I got so dizzy that I fell atop Trevor’s stone chest.

         “Love, I’m delighted that you feel better, but let us not push it for the time being, as I just now got the stench of your vomit out of the house,” Trevor smirked. I knew he was joking, but he was ruining my I’m-not-sick-anymore high. So being the mature adult I was, I stuck out my tongue.

         “Go back to Italy,” I calmly stated, before walking out of the room, leaving Trevor dumbstruck. As I left, I thought I heard a chuckle from outside the house, but it was probably nothing.

         “Amore mio, non si comportano come se non mi piace essere un furfante arrogante,” Trevor called. I have absolutley no idea what that means, but OK.

         “Oh, yeah? Well I can speak Italian, too!” I cleared my throat for dramatic effect. “Meataball, Spaggetti, Garlica Breadeh.” My poor and comical Italian vocabulary earned a chuckle from Trevor.

         “ I said, ‘My love, don’t act like you don’t enjoy me being a cocky rogue.’”

         “I never said I didn’t enjoy it. In fact, it might just be the sexiest thing about you.” Trevor’s eyes widened.

         “ I’m the smartest being on the planet. Girls ogle my sexiness. You are hot. Because you are hot, you want me. Right now?” He said the last part with hope in his eyes. Instead of answering his question I made my way over to him and pushed him down onto the bed. Slowly, sensually, I climbed on top of him and straddled his waist. With a peck on the lips I spoke.

         “I want you, you furfante arrogante. Right now.” Trevor smiled and made me blissfully unaware of the rest of the world.

                                                            -----

         Two hours later we were both satified and content. I lied in Trevor’s arms as he rubbed soothing circles on my back, whispers of his love for me echoed in my ear. Those are the days I loved. No sadistic ex’s coming after me to shoot me in the chest, no pesky waitresses to flirt to my husband, just me and Trevor in our own personal bubble of love. But of course, happy days like those were normally followed by a wake-up call from reality, waiting to soil your perfect day with pain. The calm before the storm. The morphine before the surgery. The life before the death.

         We stayed in silence for about a half hour. During this time Trevor had a calculating look on his face, a look he got when he wanted to ask something, but it didn’t seem proper. Finally, he spoke. “Maxy, um, y-you don’t think anything bad will happen to us because you were sick, right?” That question was like a bolt of lighting to my heart; I hadn’t thought about it, but, I didn’t think I could answer to his approval without lying. Every other time I was sick or injured, something bad or unfortunate happened. So, I answered with as much certainty as I could muster.

         “I don’t know, Trevor. I don’t know. Our luck has never come to us easily, but I can only hope that this will be an exception. Maybe we should ask Minny if she feels anything out of the norm.” I looked down, now scared a little. These past three months have been the best of my life. We got married, Trevor brought me to an AC/DC concert for my 26th birthday, and just recently, ironically right before I got sick, Trevor promised to turn me into a vampire on our one-year anniversery. It would absolutley kill me inside if anything were to ruin these months of bliss.

         “I didn’t want to worry you, Amore Mio. I doubt anything will happen; it was just an errant thought. But, if it makes that beautiful face of yours less troubled, we shall visit Minny in the morning. But for now, sleep. Sleep and dream of a worse time than this, for nothing created by your mind could be better than my reality.” With that piece of poetry á la Trevor, I fell asleep with a smile on my face, all of my previous worries forgotten.

         True to his word, Trevor took us over to Minny’s house the next morning. It occured to me that this was the first time I’d ever been to her house. It was a small, two-story house in an orange-pinkish color. I chuckled quietly to myself. Only Minny would have that color for a house. Minny was already pacing back and forth on the porch, no doubt she had sensed the difference of the day. The thing that worried me was that instead of the playful smile on her face, Minny wore a worried, anxious expression. When she saw us, she stopped pacing and ran full-speed to us.

         “Oh, thank goodness you guys came. I’m worried.” Trevor and I shared a wary look. Minny continued, “ Something big is coming, and I don’t think it’s good.”

         “Minny, what is it?” Trevor asked.

         “I don’t know, Trevor. How the hell would I know? All I have are feelings, not visions. Despite what you seem to think, I’m not phychic.”

         “Then how did you predict our wedding?”

         “I didn’t! I had a sense that something special was going to happened the night you took Max to a romantic dinner, after she got shot. And I knew the resturant because she told me about it. And most of the time during her coma, you kept fiddling with your pocket! So I put two and two together; it wasn’t that hard to figure out.” Wow, I have never seen Minny so angry.  Her little fists were balled up against her sides and her eyes were narrowed as she competed with Trevor in a glaring contest. I decided to intervene.

         “Ok, guys, both of you calm down. Yelling will solve nothing, Trevor. Minny, it is not your fault you don’t know what will happen. Now, hug!” No one moved. “Hug her Trevor or I will cut you off for a month. Minny, hug back if you want to throw me a ‘Welcome to Immortality’ party when I get turned.” Instantly, they were hugging fiercly, but I could tell they were still angry with each other. Oh well.

                                    Chapter 3: For Better          

“Ok, Minny. So let me get this straight: you have the sense that something bad, involving an old foe, is coming to hurt both of us, and you minorly?” Minny nodded in agreement to my question. I sighed heavily and buried myself deeper into Trevor’s embrace. I so did not need this right now.

         “Well, all we can do is prepare. Maxy, maybe you should go to your parents house. I can’t afford for you to get hurt, Amore Mio,” Trevor said with a panicked expression on his ageless face.

         “Trevor, you can’t protect me from everything.” Trevor’s eyes hardened.

         “Maybe not, but I’ll die trying. You are the most important thing in my life, my love. If you were to get killed, I--,” his voice cracked a little, “ I don’t think I could live on. My life would have no more purpose.” His head lowered a little, as if in shame. I tilted his head up with my hand and gave him a long, loving, lingering kiss.

         “Trevor, it’s the same for me. I can’t run away with the possibility that I will never see you again. Also, you know how in the letter I wrote before I left Mark when I said my parents moved to a place he would never guess? Well I don’t know either; they came to the wedding, of course, because I found their neighbor and told him to deliver the message. I have no idea where my parents are.”

         “I’ll buy you a hotel room. I’ll buy you a house. Anything! As long as you’re nowhere near that creep.”

         “Look, they may not even come. Minny just has a feeling. Now speaking of Minny, we have been ignoring her for the past ten minutes.”

         “Thank you, Maxy! I’m so glad you remembered me,” Minny said, a little annoyed. She stood up and began pacing with her hands behind her back, as if she were in the army. “Ok, maggots! Listen up! According to my awesome sense this thing is coming soon! So we shall plan! And it will be a plan-y plan! Of plan-ness! Understood?” Trevor and I both shook our head simutaniously. Minny glared at us. She spoke in an eerily calm voice. “I said, ‘Understood?’” Scared, we nodded. In a millisecond she was back to smiling. “Ok! So, part one of the plan: Maxy, stay the crap out of the way you weak mortal!”

         “I agree completely!” Trevor shouted. I raised an eyebrow. “You know, the whole not-being-there thing, not the, er, weak mortal thing.”

         “You guys have to let me help in some way!” I shouted.

         “Ya,you’re helping by not getting your butt killed.”

         “Why you little—little...MEANIE!” Minny walked over to me, crouched down, and I watched as her face twisted into an evil grimace.

         “So, do you want to die or do you want to DIE?”

         “I’ll p-pick option n-number t-t-three!” I squeaked, shivering slightly. Like I said before, Minny can be scary.

         “That’s what I thought. Now, I know you are going to be difficult with this whole I-love-him-so-he-dies-I-die thing so we aren’t sending you away. Trevor interrupt and die.” She glared at him as he opened his mouth to object. “So when he comes, act totally indifferent. Remember, I fought with vampires before. I may look about sixteen, but I’m a thousand years of pure awesome! So yeah, and I was a fighter for a while. You know, ninja mode? Yes, I’m that cool. I remember one time wh—” Trevor cut her off.

         “Get to the point, Minny. No one cares that you went to school with Christopher Columbus.”

         “He was a jerk.”

         “Duh.”

         “Wait, you went to school with him? For real? You know what? I don’t care. It is so not what we are focusing on right now. So you were saying about the plan?” I asked. Minny continued as if she was never interrupted.

         “Trevor, show no emotion in your face, even if he does something to Maxy. That’s what they look for: a weak spot. A spot they can prod over and over again for their enjoyment and your pain. Maxy, if you can, act like you’re completley terrified of us. He will think you are lunch and might be on his way.”

         “But I thought vampires are only attracted to humans if they’re thirsty?” I asked, remembering what Trevor had told me almost two years ago.

         “Most vampires wait for that point so that they do hunt humans. It’s sick, really, but that’s what they call natural.”

         “Are they that sadistic?” This time, Trevor answered.

         “Sometimes, my love. They think, even though animals are our intended prey, that humans are below us and deserve to get eaten, killed, or enslaved.” I made a face of disgust and horror at how evil some people can be. Scratch that. They aren’t people; they don’t deserve that title. What they are is a beast, with no heart. They are just monsters. Minny nodded with a sad look on her face to what Trevor said. At the same time, however, she was confirming that one of those evil, sadistic beasts were coming after us.

         The next day me, Trevor, and Minny were crowded in our living room talking about everything and anything, trying to diffuse the tension that loomed in the air. Sadly, if you were to look at us from afar, you could have easily told how nervous and worried we really were. My hands were clenched together in my lap, Minny’s smiles were forced and small, and Trevor had his eyebrows furrowed together, dispite our airy conversation. I then heard a eery voice from outside say, “Enough of waiting; it is time.”

         Just then, the door bursted open and a figure came in. He was tall, dark skinned with a pale undertone, and looked positivley evil. His eyes were blazing and wild, the color of a starless midnight sky. Trevor’d told me black eyes meant human blood. It could only mean the obvious thing: this man was a vampire; a sadistic one at that. When he spoke, it was icy with a slight british accent.

         “Hello, my name is Jallim. You are Maxima, right? And don’t try lying; I know it’s you.” He winked at me. Trevor growled and Minny shifted into a fighting crouch. As if he was the owner of the place, he calmly walked in and put a hand to Trevor and Minny’s cheeks. I thought he was a projector, but that all changed as they collapsed on the ground, unconcious. I screamed.

         “What did you do to them!?” I yelled. He chuckled, a sound that chilled me to the bone.

         “My gift is that I can drain energy, which is exactly what I did to them. If you want to save them-well as much as a weak human such as yourself can-come to this address tomarrow at this exact time.” He pushed a piece of paper into my hands:

         334 Woodbrent Rd. 5:00 pm. Be there or they die.

         When I looked up, he was gone, my best friend and husband with him. Instead of crushing grief or unbearable sadness, I was angry and determined. Clutching the paper in my hand, I whispered the words that I would live by until they were safe. “No matter what, I will save you. If it kills me, I will die happy. See you tomorrow.”















                                  Chapter 4: Or For Worse          

I had set my alarm for 5:00 am. Not that I slept much anyway. The hour I did manage to force in, was full of “what ifs” and “buts.” I had exactly twelve hours to get everything I needed. So skipping breakfast, I hopped in Trevor’s way-too-flashy Buggatti Veyron Hardtop Convertible, hoping its unusual white color won’t attract attention, and drove into town. I purchased a GPS (I only knew the address) and black jumpsuit for blending in, running, and fighting. I did, however, force some food into my system for energy.

                                                   ---

         Changing into my outfit, I was ready to go. Instead of the Buggatti, I took the Subaru I used to escape Mark.  I drove to the location and it turned out to be an abandoned warehouse. I scoffed in my mind. How clichè was this guy? I ran in quietly and waited for any movement. I found a light in the main section. In it, Trevor and Minny were tied up in chains that seemed reinforced with steel. They both looked like they didn’t even have enough energy to keep their eyes open. I cleared my throat. Jallim seemed to appear out of nowhere as he sauntered over to me.

         “Ah, Maxima, you came. Good.” He smiled a sadistic smile. “You know, Trevor mumbles about you alot. Let’s go say hi shall we?” He walked, or dragged, me over to him. “Your wife is here, weakling.” Trevor looked up at me with dead eyes.

         “M-Maxy, n-n-no, t-trap.”

         “Shh,” I soothed him, “don’t talk. I love you.”

         “L-l-love you. Amore M-Mio, per sempre.” His head dropped again. Tears streamed down my face as I stared at his weak form.

         “Per sempre.” I repeated. Just then an evil laugh echoed off the walls.

         “Well isn’t this just heartbreaking! The pathetic human is saying goodbye to the pathetic vampire. Don’t worry, you’ll be here for a very, very long time.” Jallim’s creepy smile spread across his face as he walked over to me, a knife in his hand. Trevor, smelling the metal, mustered all of his strength and looked up, glaring at Jallim.

         “Don’t h-hurt h-her,” he stammered.

         “Oh, this won’t hurt much...that is, if I cut the right vein.” My eyes popped out of my head. This seemed to wake Minny up, as she and Trevor both began to thrash as wildly as they could against their chains. Jallim smiled and continued speaking. “I made sure they had nothing to drink, so you would be just that much more appetizing. I wonder if your dear Trevor is thirsty for you?” Just then, he pulled up my wrist, slid the sleeve of my jumpsuit down, and slashed my wrist, thankfully not virtically. I hissed in pain.

         Jallim practically shoved my wrist under Trevor’s nose, and I watched as Trevor’s eyes lit up subconciously in the presence of my blood. He licked his lips and his eyes squeezed tightly together. He kept chanting “No,no,no. Maxy,Maxy,Maxy” and seemed to be fighting an inner battle. After what felt like an enternity later, Trevor snapped his head up and said in the clearest voice he’d used all day, “No.” Jallim growled and shoved my wrist at Minny instead. She showed no reaction and just stared blankly at the wall behind us. Her face was one of indifference and hostility.

         Apparently, Jallim wanted me to suffer so he yanked back my arm and bandaged it up. I thought he gave up, but I knew the thought was in vain as I watched him slink over to a box on the floor and pull out a gun. Any color I had on my face left as I stared at the 33 mm pistol.

I expected him to pull the trigger right away, but today was full of suprises. He pointed the gun straight at me, and spoke in a deathly calm voice. “Maxima Lebowitz, I’m going to finish what Mark didn’t and couldn’t. You will live, but only if you cooperate.” Mark? What did he have anything to do with this. My face must’ve been confused because he laughed insanly and answered my unspoken question. “Yes, well, you see Mrs. Lebowitz, I was a ‘helper’ of Mark. And when your little friends killed him, I knew I had to act. So, I planned. For the past three months I planned a way to get back at all three of you. And I know you never saw me, but I was there in the backround, draining your energy when you fought against your Master.” I clenched my teeth.

“My name is Maxima Swordman.” His face twisted into an unnatural grimace.

“YOUR NAME IS WHATEVER I WANT IT TO BE!” he boomed. I lowered and nodded my head. Everything was so familiar to how I used to live. I was the pet and slave. I was the obeyer. Or I was punished. Jallim’s smirk made its way onto his face again. “Good. Now, my slave, strip.” Trevor’s head snapped up as he struggled and snarled.

“N-no! M-Maxy! P-p-please, no!” Jallim smiled wider.

“Oh, but she has to. Or, I could just kill both of you and then Maxima.” He shrugged casually, like he didn’t care either way. But I can’t lose them. I walked up to Trevor and kissed him.

“What choice do I have, Trevor?” I asked. I walked over to Jallim, and said the words that stole the last ouce of dignity I had. “Yes, Master.”

“Good girl,” Jallim sneered, lust evident in his eyes, “but I’m not going to make you strip in front of them. Be thankful for that.”

“Thank you, Master,” I said, my tears forever falling from my eyes.

“Now, follow me.” He led me into a room that seemed out of place in the rusty, old, dirty warehouse. It looked like a modern hotel room: red walls with weird floral designs, a large television, and a desk. But what scared me the most was the king-sized bed right in the middle of the room. It seemed to be glaring at me, taunting me, as if it somehow knew I would end up on it. “Now, my slave, strip. Slowly. In front of me.” And that I did.

Jallim’s eyes seemed to bug out of his head when he layed eyes on my naked form. I had certainly filled out since I got married. My hips were bigger, my waist was slimmer, and let’s just say the girls are quite happy and full. He beckoned me over, the usual one-finger flick. It felt like an invisible force was forcing my feet to move. When I felt his weight on top of me, I shut down like I’d done many times before. I shut out all feeling, sight, hearing, and most of all pain. Laying under him was not Maxy Swordman. No, laying under this man was the broken Maxima Lebowitz, who listened to everything and never complained. She knew her place. She knew her role. All she was a robot, zombie if you will. And zombies and robots have no feelings.

After Jallim was done, I layed sprawled out on the bed bawling my eyes out. I’d come here to save the two people I loved most in this world, yet I ended up back in square one, back where I was before I left....him. With disgust, I realized I couldn’t even think his name anymore.  There was a mirror directly in front of me, and I didn’t bother to look. I didn’t want to see the failure staring back at me with lifeless, hopeless eyes.

Jallim walked in a short while later, looking not as insane. He had sort of a sympathetic look on his face. Come to think of it, he also looked guilty. Walking over to me, he looked as if each step was bringing him closer to death. “Maxima, I’m sorry, this is too hard.” I stared at him blankly. “You were the third wife of Mark, and the only one to survive. When Mark first brought you home, I knew I had to have you.I wanted to be the one to cover your slender body at night. I wanted to be the one to sleep next to you everyday. But, of course you had to be stubborn, never noticing me unless I forced you to. So now I have you all to myself. You, however, being the stubborn, idiotic dog you are, didn’t even move. 

“ I can understand why Mark was so rough with you. You don’t deserve to live...but then again, neither do I.” He walked closer to me and carassed my cheek. “You can go with your friends. I got what I wanted. My life is done.” He walked away, and I heard chains being unlocked. Gasps of restored energy came next and in the next instant I was being dressed and carried by Trevor.

In the main room, Jallim had a nice fire going. I tensed. He wouldn’t kill himself, right? I wasn’t his biggest fan, but I wouldn’t wish death on anyone. With a last resolved look in our direction, he stepped into the fire, turning to ash immediatly. I hid my face in Trevor’s chest.

                             Chapter 5: As Long

The days after that terrible day were slow. I spent most of my time crying in Trevor’s arms. Jallim was right; I was just a stupid, stubborn dog. Trevor assured me it wasn’t the case, but I’m way to stubborn to care. I feel broken inside, not only at his words but at my rape. Everything made me jump.

One day, while I was moping in our room, Trevor walked in. He sighed and gathered me into his arms, kissing up and down my jawline and up to my forhead. “Maxy, please stop beating yourself up. It kills me to see you like this.”

“Trevor, don’t you get it? Everything he said was true! I deserved it all.” Trevor growled loudly, suddenly furious.

“Maxima Swordman I have had just about enough of this! You are beautiful and perfect and nice! How many times must I remind you of that painfully obvious fact? I swear, you are the first human to tire a vampire! I love you more than my own life, but come on!” I wimpered. He looked so much like Mark with that angry expression. What if he hits me, too? Trevor tried to make his way closer to me, but I edged away. I didn’t want to get hurt again.

“Please, don’t hit me. I-I’m sorry. I s-swear I’ll be better.” I casted my eyes down in a form of respect.Trevor looked appauled.

“What?! Maxy, I would never hurt you! Haven’t I proved that? Haven’t I shown you how much I love and need you?” Trevor’s eyes softened. “Maxy, I’m so so sorry if I frightened you, I just hate seeing you think of yourself like that. But you should know I would never touch you in a way that wasn’t loving! Please, Maxy, let me in. Let me help you.” Still not entirely sure of myself, or him, I answered.

“I will. I just n-need some space. I’ll be fine, as long as you don’t leave me,” I croaked.

“Never. I’ll never leave you, my love. What do you need?” I bursted into tears again.

“Hold me, Trevor.” He did, and I felt better.



                   Chapter 6: As We Both Shall Live

It was nearly three weeks ago that I got raped, and things were mostly back to normal. I was still jumpy, but I was better. Also, the very idea of Trevor hurting me made me laugh. How was I so stupid?

Minny had moved in, and just recently sold her house. The buyers of her house being my parents, who decided that since everyone threatening was dead-that still makes me flinch-they wanted to be near me. Trevor and I were even more in love than ever, and go out every night to a club or resturant.

We even did the sappy-romance-novel stuff; we have a “song” and even a “flower.” Our song is “Rhythm of Love” by the Plain White T’s and our flower is the Eidleweiss, which Trevor later told me was the flower to symbolize true love.

It was so romantic that I squealed and launched myself into his arms and planted a big kiss on his lips. That was my first real smile since the “incident” as we referred it as.

I still sometimes thought badly of myself. But everyday was like a door opening to that realization. Trevor broke me from my thoughts. “Hello, Amore Mio. Are you excited?”

“Of course I am!” I squealed. “Today is our one year anniversery.”

“Yep, exactly a year ago was the best day of my life.” He walked over to me and kissed my hand. “And now it’s time for your gift. Yes, I know you didn’t get me one because that’s what we agreed on, but trust me. You’ll love it.” Before I could protest, he shoved a little blue box into my hands. Wait, blue? Blue equals Tiffany’s. I opened the box and layed eyes on the most beautiful necklace in the world.

It was a ruby tear drop, the rim covered in diamond chips hanging on a simple 14 karot gold chain. “Oh, Trevor,” I gushed, “it’s beautiful!” I lifted my hair as he put it around my neck. It fit perfectly on my collarbone.

Just then, Minny waltzed in. “Maxy, Trevor, it’s time.” Finally! Today was the day I was going to be turned. Today, was the beginning of forever. I knew what to expect. Trevor and Minny told me it was like spending the night in the waters of Antarctica in the dead of winter. For ten days, I’m going to feel like I was a solid block of ice. But it was worth it.

Trevor led me onto the couch, which had been converted into a gigantic heatpack. He smiled at me broadly, ready for this just as much as I was. With a kiss to my neck, he bit down.

Fino a quando entrambi vivremo.

            The End