As soon as Liz disappeared upstairs, Audrey collapsed on the couch. Life was cruel, she knew that by personal experience. She hoped that Liz would keep her word and not try to find that human. She had faith in her, which was good, because Liz was stronger than she was.
When she was twenty she met and fell in love with a human. She had no one to talk to, no one to warn her about the elders. She knew of the elders, but did not know what they could do. She did not want what happened to her, happen to Elizabeth.
She had not thought of him for two hundred years, but she could still see him in her mind. The memory of him was sometimes too painful to remember. So much blood, so much hatred, and so much love.
She met him near the river. It did not have a name yet, nor did the continent that she lived. He was handsome, with dark hair and hazel eyes. He was not afraid of anything, even her. He knew there was something unusual about her. He had befriended her anyways, despite all the rumors that claimed she was a witch. Like Liz, she parted ways with her parents early. She crossed the ocean and came to the land that is now known as America. There weren't many white skinned people then, only a handful of the brave made it across the sea. His name was Wesley. His family came from Great Britian, he was born in America. He was gentle, kind and fair. She fell in love with him immediatly. Whether he felt the same, she would never know. They spent only one month together, before the elders knew. It was a month that she wouldn't trade for anything and the way that he was, she would never forget. They were in the river, splashing around, when a group of people surrounded them. They were the elders, she could feel it in her gut. Wesley was not afraid. He pushed her behind him as if he could protect her.
Even with her supernatural powers she could not see them, didn't even hear them approach. From the darkness, she heard a voice. "Audrey," His voice, or was it her?, was deep and forboding. "You have broken the sacred rule. And for that you shall be punished." She didn't know how they knew, but she knew she was in for it. She stepped around him and prepared to fight.
"Who are these people, Audrey? And what rule have you broken?"
"Silence, human." A differnet voice commanded.
"I love you, Wesley." She whispered, they were going to die tonight and she wanted him to know it.
Wesley would say no more. Out of the darkness, one lone light shone, a bright red that blinded him, but bewitched her. It told her to destroy, destroy the one closest to her. Her features turned, she no longer looked human. She was in her true form. Her eyes sparkled with hunger, she had not fed. Her vampire instincts smelled blood. She turned and stared at him. He was trembling, he had never been afraid before, until now. He knew he was about to die, and he knew who would kill him.
She felt no remorse as she attacked him, the water splashed around as he struggled. She silenced his screams by a hard blow to the head. She drained him dry. As she swallowed the last drop of his blood, she remembered who she was, who he was. She cried out as she held his lifeless body in her arms. "What have I done?" She wept, as she stared helplessly at Wesley's frail form. She was covered with his blood, it would take hours for her to wash it all off.
"This is your punishment, Audrey. Remember this always and you shall never break the rule again." They left then, letting her mourn in solitude.
How she hated them then, how she hated herself for being what she was. They should've killed her along with Wesley. She had always believed that the punishment was death, she wondered why they kept her alive. She did not dwell on it long, for she held his body tight for a long time, not believing that she had done it, killed him. She has killed before, it's true, but no other death had affected her as Wesley's had. And no other ever will until Steve's. She had buried him in the river, under the sand. He had loved this place. She never went back to that spot, or that state for that matter.
Audrey snapped back in reality. She was surprised to find tears on her face. She touched them, atonished. Vampires never cried, at least none that she knew of. The memory of that night was so real that she had kept her vow and had never fallen in love with another human. She hoped that her granddaughter was smart enough to stay away from him. It would only bring her pain to be with him.
~~~ It was cloudy the next day, and Liz took the oppertunity to enjoy a summer afternoon. She went jogging, in human speed. She wandered aimlessly through the streets and ended up, where else, but at the park. Using her vampire hearing, she tried to find if he was here. She was disappointed, he wasn't anywhere nearby. That was just as well, she reasoned. It was easier to stay away if he was not near her.
Her thoughts to centered on the human that she did not hear an approaching figure and therefore collided with a young girl. The impact obviously did not affect Liz's balance, but the girl landed hard on her butt. Liz offered a her hand and helped the girl up. As a rule, Liz never fed on children. They were too defensless, innocent, she did not want to warp them.
"Sorry, I didn't see where I was going." The girl apoligized.
"No harm done." Liz observed the girl, she was petite, with long brown hair that reached her lower back. Her brown eyes were friendly, but gaurded.
She wiped off her pants and extended her hand, "I'm Lulu."
Surprising herself, Liz took it. "Elizabeth." She was not in the habit of making friends. Especially human ones, but she felt an instant connection to her. There was a lot of that going around lately, she thought ruefully.
"Do you want to run together?" Lulu asked.
"I keep a brisk pace." Liz warned.
"So do I." Was her reply.
"Okay." They went west, towards the trees. Lulu wasn't kidding, she was good, and Liz had to stuggle not to outrun her. They slowed as they reached the gate. Lulu panted, but did not look winded. They did some stretches and decided to grab something to eat. They went to this diner near the docks. Liz liked the smell of the water. It was a refreshing feeling to able to talk to someone, having a normal conversation.
They sat outside, enjoying the summer air.
"Are you new around here?" Lulu asked.
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean?"
"I was born here. We moved. I came back."
Lulu nodded, "I can understand why you came back. It is beautiful here, isn't it? I was born and raised here."
"Really?" Liz studied her as she took a sip of her coke. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"
"Fifteen."
Interesting, Liz thought she was older. "You run like a pro."
"I've been in track and field since I was ten. Running helps me forget my problems."
Liz heard a hint of bitterness in her voice and was intrigued. "I run because it makes me feel free." She took a bite of her sandwich and smiled.
She could eat food like humans but the only way to satisfy her hunger was blood. "This is good."
"You think so?"
"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true."
"My family owns this place." She said, picking up a french fry and nibbling on it.
"Then this is the best sandwich that I have ever tasted." Liz said dramatically.
They both giggled over that. They talked some more, Liz found out her last name, which school she went to, where she lived, her phone number. The basics. She did not talk about her family. In return, Liz answered very few of Lulu's questions, she gave her Audrey's number and promised that they would run again tomorrow.
~~~ Lucky was in the attic, going through a box that had 'Lucky' printed neatly on the side. He pulled out baby clothes, a bronzed pair of baby shoes, old pictures, a stuffed bear that he had cherished, old report cards, awards, and something that he found amusing, a cowbot hat. It was part of an old halloween costume that his mother had made for him. All of it brought back memories, some good, some bad. And at the bottom of the box was the letter he had sent them after he had left. He picked it up, it was worn, the creases in it told him that it was read and reread often. There were tear stains on parts of the paper, smearing some of the words. His heart ached as he pictured his mother crying, his father breaking down. He didn't intend for this to happen, it just did. He thought he was protecting them, the less contact he had with them the better. He put everything back the way he found it. Maybe a trip down memory lane wasn't such a good idea.
He stood and brushed off his hands. The attic was dusty, he wanted some fresh air. He went to the window and tried to open it. It was stuck. He wrestled with it for a few moments before giving up. He peered outside. His vision was blurred, the glass hasn't been washed in a long time. He saw his sister run up the drive way. He squinted, she was not alone. There was a female with her, she was pretty, he could see that much. She turned her face upwards and Lucky caught sight of her features. He gasped and stepped closer to the window. That was her, the vampire. He turned and raced down the steps, almost breaking his neck in the process. He threw open the front door and Lulu was alone.
"Who was that girl you were with?" Lucky demanded.
Taken aback, Lulu stared him down. "It's really none of your business." She said, trying to walk past him.
But he was not to be brushed off. He grabbed her arms and shook her, "Who was she? Tell me."
Lulu narrowed her eyes, "If you must know, her name is Elizabeth and I met her when I was jogging. Will you let go of me now?"
"Elizabeth?" What a pretty name. It suited her, whatever that means. "What? Oh sorry."
He let go and she went into the house muttering to herself, "What a loon. Two days back and he's already losing it."
"Elizabeth." That was her name. She made friends with his sister, did she know that Lulu was his sister? Did she know he lived here? It was possible, but not likely. In any case, he knew her name and he was determined to find her before he called SAF.
~~~ That night at dinner, the conversation was strained.
"So, Lulu what did you do today?" His mother asked.
"Went running." She picked up a piece of chicken and looked at it uncertainly. "Who made this?"
"I did." Luke answered, "Why? Are you a vegetarian now?"
"No, but after this meal I'm seriously considering it." She replied distastfully.
Lucky looked sharply at her, "That was rude, Lulu."
She returned his stare, "And what are you going to do about it, big brother? Kick me?" Lulu taunted.
"Lulu, please, can't we have a family dinner in peace?" Laura pleaded.
"Of course, gotta have these family dinners. It's pretty rare that everyone can be here right? Hmm, let's see the last time we had one of these. It was," She stopped and pretended to think it over, snapping her fingers, she said sarcasticlly, "Oh yeah, it was about five years ago, isn't that right, Lucky?"
"Lulu, that's enough. If you can't speak politely, don't talk at all. You're upsetting your mother." Luke said sternly.
"Sure thing, dad." Lulu took one more look at her plate and stood up, scraping her chair on the floor. "I'm not hungry anyways." She picked up her plate and carried it back to the kitchen. A minute later, they heard the back door slam shut.
"Sorry, Cowboy, she gets a little -- rowdy sometimes."
Lucky looked up. He hadn't noticed it at first but his father had deep lines on his forehead, probably caused by worry and stress and an unmistakable saddness seemed to surround him. He looks so old now, not the man that he remembered. His mother probably looked worse, she was always the worrier in the family. He couldn't bring himself to look at her though.
"I think I'm full too. I'll see you later." He went into the kitchen and leaned over the sink. What happened to his family? When did everything fall apart? He lifted his head and stared at his reflection in the window. "You're looking at it, Lucky." He whispered, answering his own question.
~~~ Lulu ran from the house, tears streaming down her face. She stopped and leaned against a lamp post, gasping. She was still wearing her jogging suit from earlier and was grateful for that. She had no desire to go home and change. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her sweater and was curious when her fingers touched a piece of paper. Taking it out, she unfolded it. On it was the address where Elizabeth lived and her phone number. For a second she wanted to run over there and see what she was doing, but thought better of it. They just met, and Lulu didn't want a stranger to know about her problems. She briefly considered finding her best friend Cindy, but she tossed that idea as well. They were close and Lulu confided in her, but there was a rift between them that only she could see. Cindy had a big family, three brothers and two sisters, a mother, a father and all of them were close. They even had family game night. Once Lulu joined them and seeing them so happy almost made her gag. It had been so long since her family was happy.
The crowd that she hung out with the night before wasn't her usual crowd, but she felt she was a part of them. They all had family problems, money problems, drug problems . . . all that didn't matter, they had fun, forgetting everything except having fun, for themselves not worrying about anything else.
She didn't know where to go to pass the time, she wasn't afraid of the dark and it wasn't that she had a curfew, but something gave her the chills.
It wasn't that late, maybe around seven. She went to the park and passed other late night joggers, seeing other people helped her not to be afraid.
Lulu stopped to rest for a moment, breathing heavily. She hadn't run so such in one day before and it was getting to her. She stared off into space, wondering what her brother was doing here. He had said that he missed them and wanted to see them again, but why now? He never gave a second thought about them before. And where has he been? He offered no information, just a vague answer about how he works for the government and it's confidential.
She would be lying to say that she didn't care for him, because she did. She remembered how close they were when she was younger, she remembered the talks, the tea parties, the hugs, the games and she was slightly sad that it wasn't that way anymore. But that was all an illusion, she knew better now.
Things were good when Lucky was here. It was like a dream, a fairy tale that she was allowed to live . . . but when he was gone, everything fell apart. He was the glue that held the family together. She knew that no matter how hard she tried to keep everyone together her parents wouldn't . . . or couldn't do it. They wanted their son back and it was the one thing that Lulu couldn't do. She thought of going to Nikolas' house but remembered that he was out of town on a business trip. Figures, she thought bitterly, but she was grateful for Nikolas though. He was the only real family that she had left. He would do all the things that her parents were supposed to do, take her places, go to her track meets, make her feel safe and happy, but even that couldn't erase the pain of her parents abandoning her.
Angrily she wiped the tears from her face. She hated self pity. It had gotten nowhere two years ago and it will get nowhere now. She can't change what can't be changed. She could only control herself. Making up her mind, she headed home. The gang was doing something tonight and she knew where they were going. She'd give one of them a call, it was better than hanging out in the park by herself.
An Impossible Love Index | Lucky and Liz Fanfic Index | Home