Path of the Vampire forum

“Goodmorning Anais. This is your mother.”

Ten more hours. Anais had ten more hours of freedom that she was investing in sleeping to catch up on the rest she had missed through the long work week. At the sound of the familiar voice she wiggled just enough to appreciate the sweet, peaceful clouds of high count cotton and quality mattress that were supporting her. Luxurious yet costly manufactured formations held her so comfortably in her current position that she didn’t allow the initial annoyance of her phone ringing at her bedside to disrupt her. A fresh cool breeze flowed over her and she moved just enough that the comforter was stretched over her head so that she was shielded from the blinking light of a voicemail being played out to the master bedroom for anyone that happened to be within earshot. It was unacceptable. A fast intervention was in order. Just in case the comforter couldn’t handle the job the pillow beneath her head was pulled free and positioned over her face.

”I am feeling much better today, thank you for asking. Where shall I begin since you feel my talking to your machine instead of you is acceptable? Oh yes, You will be relieved to know that I do believe I am over the taco sangria terror that your father subjected me to courtesy of that ridiculously expensive egg shaped grill he purchased at Lelow’s Outdoor Supply last month at your urging. Leave it to you to be so helpful. My garden party guest’s made bets on what dinosaur would most likely appear from it when it finally cracks like Bethany’s did two days ago. Her hellion grandchildren knocked it over and it tumbled down the stone wall the city gave them hell about putting up. You probably don’t remember that because you were in... where was it again, Fitz?”

Only the briefest of silence played out while her father was called into the conference.

“Fitz! Turn down the t.v.! I asked you a question. What was that? Your father said Aruba but I think it was when you were doing that tour on the coast with your flying buddies. Fitz, please! Can’t you see I am talking? Anyways, your father wants you to know that his back flared up while helping me move the canoes you and your sister forgot to put away the last time you were here. No need to worry about it. Yes, we covered them and they will be fine for the winter in case they don’t see you until next spring. And in case you are wondering you missed your cousin’s bridal shower last evening. I thought you would want to know that it was a success even if you happened to be expected to be there but forgot completely about it. No Fitz, that is not mean to tell her!”

Anais couldn’t help but cling to the last of the information that was shared as the duration of the time allotted for messages left clicked off the call. It was as if a straightline wind raced over the bedding above her as well as the pillow and sent it flying with the scramble of her swatting hands.

“Holy ****!” The comforter was fighting back and winning. “Oh my god!”

The woman was in a panic as she kicked to get free of the material wrapped around her bare body. It couldn’t be. No way. If it was true then she was in serious trouble. Cori’s bridal shower! How did she miss it? They changed the date?!

"No! No! No!"

While she protested againt the impossible her hand made contact with the clock radio next to her and she tugged it to see what time it was. Minute, hour and screw that. What day was it? Instead of giving her the clues she needed to get reoriented it came free from the wall it was plugged into. Useless as it now was she tried to toss it only for it to become another obstacle as she rolled over to get a hold on the phone. Just as she grasped the receiver the phone rang once before she placed it to her ear.

“Hello!” Her legs went up in the air with the plan of her upper body rocking to a sitting position once she dropped them over the side of the bed.
“There you are dear. Your mother shouldn’t have told you that. It was a lie.” Her father’s voice sounded regretful at the news he was delivering.
“What?” The right leg executed the first part of the combination move that went wrong and had her tumbling off the edge of the bed and to the hardwood floor.
“Cori’s party isn’t until next month.” The pause was filled with the background sounds of clanking pots in the kitchen. Padget Reneau was in a mood and taking it out on the teflon again. “Since you are up would you like to come over for breakfast? Your mother is cooking…” A few hard to ignore cracks of wood kissing the cupboards they were attached to echoed. “Or declaring war. Not quite sure yet.” While she gets off the floor and climbs back into the bed the sound of a hand muffling the phone has her hesitating on hanging up. A whisper comes through. Fitz could be equally dramatic. “If you are there, Anais, save me.”

Ten hours were left. The call ended and the pillow went back to its original position over her head. A few seconds later a hand surfaced from beneath the comforter and knocked the receiver off it’s hook. Ten more hours.

The intrusion of the call would have been missed had Anais still been committed to the whole catching up on lost sleep. Instead she had made the mistake of putting the receiver back on the hook out of a sense of guilt on her way back from the bathroom. While slipping into a barely there chemise she managed to give to the wave of ‘what if’ while slipping back into bed. Her parents were typical for who they were. It was nothing new and what if they really needed her? They certainly weren’t getting any younger. Two hours later the call found her in the kitchen digging in her fridge that truth be told needed a deep clean. She ignored the ringing and waited to hear who was calling. A sharp click sort of surprised her but not enough to close the open door which was providing a cool source to her bare legs and arms.

“What the hell is this?” She didn’t expect an answer to the question but it still was worth asking given the green fuzz covering what had been left in her sister’s tupperware. It had evolved into a peculiar dome shape leaving it’s original source a mystery. “I give up.”

With the flip of her wrist she tossed the bowl into the nearby sink. Bending over and debating on breaking through the upper growth of mold to discover what was waiting inside took up the seconds of silence. She gazed into the sparsely furnished fridge and discovered she had not shopped in nearly two weeks. Her options were not looking promising and they declined considerably when she set her eyes on the sink. The return of the familiar ring had her stepping away from the kitchen setting her focus back on the hallway that would lead her back to slumberland. The sound of a demanding voice that was impossible to ignore blasted through the room.

“Oh hey now…” She had the cordless phone in her hand as she spoke. Riled up and ready to tell him like it was she hiked in a quick pace towards the front door. She had five hours left. Or ws it four? That meant retrieving newspapers from where they typically were piled outside her door and finding something to eat from somewhere that was kind enough to deliver. “Just calm down. Does it ever occur to you that I have a right to sleep?!” The guy really had some nerve. He was getting her loud and clear through the phone grippedtight in her hand. “A day or night off perhaps?” She released the series of locks that provided her the security most should consider when living alone in a city like Harper Rock. She pulled the door open with the sound of her question. “Hmmm?”

She looked ahead expecting empty space. That was all it took for her to get the shock that would have her nearly jump out of skin and throwing the phone at him. Instead of grabbing the newspaper or closing the door she spun on her heels while brushing back her hair with her shaking hands.

“I HATE HATE HATE when you do that!” She shook her head feeling her heart pounding all the way in her ears. “Damn you, Chuck!” Her hands brushed her forehead and pulled downward on her face. “You scared the hell out of me!” She glanced around for something palm size and solid to send his way since he deserved it. “If you are still looking for your wallet I told you it wasn’t here. If it was I would have burned the evidence. Trust me. I don’t want anyone knowing any more than you do.” Her eyes narrowed at him. They were the only two that knew what happened. Now it was a matter of life and death? Her brow sharply arched as she took what that sounded like into account. “Did you tell my parents? Hmm? Is that why they are trying to get me over there? No wonder Padget is slamming her cupboards.”

Anais appeared relieved if a woman ever could be in the seconds that passed while he spoke and said what he did. He was full of ****. Mostly. He never knocked her up. It was the reason his wallet was out to begin with that night as well as a few other things. A promise wrapped in foil managed to live up to all its claims and guarantees. Then again several things came in tightly wrapped foil. That particular night most things found their way back with him, others obviously didn’t. She shook her head trying not to smile as she reflected. It was great to see his sense of humor over it all wasn’t as lost as hers was. She was grateful it was him that happened to be the one. He knew it and said as much when she wasn't sure she should. He offered her a wink and said one day she would get over it and move on. Then again he said they all did. Maybe one day he would finally be right.

There was no wonder as to why Fitz adored the guy she was looking at. The one that didn’t have a pulse but had a hell of a lot more that made up for it. Padget said more than once with all company present that if she had not met Fitz and had a window of opportunity and a streak of better than average luck with the younger men that Chuck would be listening to her complain all the years she had done so. Fitz was quick to add he would have been left in peace living it up with the island girls he was forced to leave behind when his tour of duty traveling the world ended. It always offered a laugh in good humor but there was far more to it and they both knew it. Just as she knew that as soon as he mentioned there was an emergency he wasn’t kidding.

“Fine. I am coming.”

Her words were left in the wake of her disappearing out of view down the hallway. The chemise was peeled from her body and dropped to the floor. Drawer by drawer the items were pulled out that went on her layering in firefighter speed. She pulled her flight bag out of the closet and tugged it over her shoulder in a cross body fashion. A sweep of her hand claimed the glasses resting on the top of the dresser as she passed it by. A lift of her hand had the pricey and needed lenses on the top of her head in case the sun found them before the mission was over.

“Good thing I left her fueled and ready.” She announced over her shoulder as she pulled the keys from the counter and tugged her jacket off the coat rack that left the nearby Ikea piece wobbling. She glanced at the clock to the left of the doorway as she stepped through it. Only a couple hours left. “Can you lock it up?”

“Well that explains it.” The tips of her fingers brushed over the necessary switches that were responsible for the last of the start up. The quality of her voice influenced by the use of radio had parts of what she was saying coming out grainy. The clip board was in her hands and once used was set in the holder. “How did he take it?” Adjusting the settings and making sure radio contact was clear with the tower she glanced over to him.

At first she ignored the question of giving his number to her sister. Parciante is a piece of work in a visually devastating package. Fair haired, eyes that are so blue she could always tell a lie and serve it up as the truth. Her laugh is infectious, her personality off the charts. She walks in a room and people watch, she speaks and the world listens.The woman has it all going on and she knows it. Not only that, she uses it for all it is worth. Her sister, fondly known as ‘Peege’, was born five years before Anais but really had not matured beyond her early twenties. High School had her wearing the homecoming crown, sliding by on perfect grades with her commercial worthy white smile and her peer approval. No one could say no to Parciante Reneau. Except one. She looked to Chuck who appeared comfortable in the headset he was wearing.

“I won’t ask how she took it.” Anais didn’t smirk. Her lips were relaxed and free from amusement.

Being blocked likely did wonders for her incentive at trying other methods to gaining contact. The last decade had Peege in and out of treatment for more issues than any single doctor could manage alone. She collected primary care providers like they were nothing more than the business cards she stuffed in her oversized wallet. The names of specialists were in a data planner toted along everywhere she went. Louis Vuitton held all the woman needed except perhaps the link to a true cure. Nothing was spared when it came to her parents trying to get her the help she needed. Peege was an addict after the pills didn’t work at bridging the frayed wiring in her brain. They had long names for everything that was ‘not quite right’ with the woman whose face could launch a thousand ships and a smile that could light the darkest nights.

To Anais none of that mattered. Peege was her sister and that was more than enough to encompass everything about the woman that had yet to be fully diagnosed or explained. No matter what she was family. The suicide attempts, the O.D’s, the fire set to her parents house was all part of her too. Supposedly she was safely locked up in a cozy exclusive treatment center in sunny Malibu. For the first time there were signs of promise. She was doing really well from what her parents noted from last reports.

As the helicopter was cleared for take off she pulled the tower feed off her mic briefly. She wanted to tell Chuck it wasn’t his fault. He could come to her anytime and knock on her door just like he did that night and again today. She was tired, she was caught by surprise. She wanted to tell him she was glad he blocked her sister. That some couldn’t be saved and that in the end, yes, he was right about that too. Instead she smiled just a little and initiated communication with traffic control and announced their departure.