Seeing Red (The Dark Love Series) (2 page)

              My breathing starts to get heavier. My legs are starting to get weak and numb. I feel myself trembling inside. I can't let myself stop. I'm almost to my house. I can do it.

             
Gavin's face pops up in my thoughts, and I feel myself starting to run faster and faster.

             
I come to an abrupt stop, gasping for air. I finally make it to my driveway.

             
Why isn't Gavin's face leaving my thoughts? It now feels like the image of his face is permanently imprinted into my memory for the rest of my life. I don't want to think or have nightmares of a dead vampire, the vampire that sired my sister, the vampire that wanted me dead.

             
I go inside the house, straight to the kitchen to guzzle some water.

             
Where's my mom? I peak my head in her studio and she's working on another painting. It's a really dark one. It looks like a young girl, a young vampire girl. "What are you working on, mom?"

             
Ali turns around briskly. She definitely wasn't expecting me. "I'm trying to picture what Caroline looks like now. A sweet, innocent vampire." I think my mother is falling back into depression. This isn't a good sign, but at least she's trying to be optimistic in her own way.

             
I walk into her studio and make my way closer to her painting. It looks just like Caroline, but instead of a beautiful, white smile, she has the fangs of a vampire with blood dripping down her face and onto her shirt.

             
"Even with blood running down her mouth, she still looks so innocent." My mom looks at me, flashes a small smile, and then continues to observe her creation. I can see that Ali misses Caroline, I miss her too. I'm still hoping that Lilah and Ella find her before the Sulivic Brothers do.

             
I hug my mother tight. I smell flowers and paint clinging to her hair. Six months ago I thought I would never smell that wonderful fragrance again.

             
I hear a knock at the door. It must be Andrew. "I'll get it.”

             
I run to the door to answer it. "Hello, love."

             
"Andrew!" I reply. I run to him and hug him. "I've missed you."

             
"You're all sweaty," Andrew discovers.

             
"I've been running," I reply.

             
"You shouldn't be out of the house by yourself," Andrew says as his arms are still around me. "What's wrong?"

             
"Nothing is wrong," I lie.

             
"Nina, I know you better than that. Every time you decide to go for a run it's because you're stressed out."

             
My arms fall off of him as my head faces the ground. "I've been having nightmares," I admit.

             
"Of what? Why haven't you told me?" Andrew queries.

             
"Of," I pause. "Of Gavin."

             
Andrew stares at me with a sad face. Remorse flashes through his eyes. "He can't hurt you, Nina. I made sure of that."

             
"It's not just that. I had a part in ending his life and it's tearing me up inside," I whisper.

             
"I'm the one that ended his life. You didn't do anything at all. He was trying to kill you," Andrew disagrees.

             
"I'm the last person he saw before he turned into ashes. He stared right into my eyes and I felt his pain, his sadness," I breathe.

             
"Gavin sired your sister, love, it had to be done!" Andrew states with calm assurance. "Please, just don't blame yourself."

             
"The picture of his face when he died won't leave my memory, Andrew. I hate him for what he did to my sister, but why do I feel so sorry for him, so awful inside?" I cry.

             
"Come here, love." Andrew grabs me and gently pulls me to him. He wraps his strong, snug arms around me and I rest my head on his chest. I feel my warm tears fall down my face. Just when I thought I was taking one step forward in life, instead, I take five steps back.

             
Andrew picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist and lay my head on his shoulder. "Let's go on a trip," Andrew randomly states.

             
"A trip?" I ask.

             
"A weekend getaway. Let's just spend the whole time together in a stress-free place, cuddle, and just forget the world for a couple of days."

             
"Can we?" I ask. I sure would love to get away from this town for a while. Even if it's just for a couple of days. I would take a few hours away from here if that's all that was up for grabs.

             
"Of course, my love. We'll call it our weekend utopia."

Chapter 3

Weekend Utopia

Dear Diary,

              At first, I was beyond scared to tell Andrew about my nightmares. I thought it was embarassing and petty of me to make a big deal about it, but it was more like the other way around. When I told Andrew, it looked like he took it as a big red flag, danger. Honesty is the most important concept in a relationship. I have to learn to be more honest, even if I look completely vulnerable. It's just Andrew. He should be the one I trust to see me with my guard down.

             
Now, we're on our way to a secret location to spend our weekend in Utopia to try to relieve some stress.

Love, Nina

* * * *

Andrew refuses to tell me where he's taking me. All I know is Andrew wants to have a weekend away with me. He thought of this grand idea because I've been having extremely horrible and vivid nightmares about Gavin.

             
"Can I at least have one hint?" I whine to Andrew for information. I hate surprises. I always have. I'm going to find out sooner or later, so why not surprise me with telling me sooner rather than later.

             
"Why can't you just let it be a surprise?" Andrew whines back.

             
"You know I hate surprises," I inform him.

             
"One hint," Andrew smiles. My eyes go wide and I start to get antsy. "We're going to a place my mother used to talk about all the time. She called it her utopia."

             
"Where?" I ask.

             
"Nina, I gave you your one hint. Now, be patient," Andrew demands with a smile.

             
"That's impossible," I announce as I stare out the car window and watch the trees fly past me at a fast speed.

* * * *

Andrew turns down a dirt road and flashes me a smile. "We're almost there," he announces. I look around at my surroundings. All I see is trees and more trees. Where is he taking me? Is this his mom's place of happiness?

              We arrive at a small log cabin, out in the middle of nowhere. The cabin overlooks a huge lake with a dock.

             
I step out of the car and a sweet wilderness smell hits me right in the face. It smells like the Madsen house. The scents I'm smelling gives me goosebumps and the evening sky is beautiful.

             
"It's so," I pause in shock, "peaceful."

             
"It's nice, isn't it?" Andrew asks with a glorious smile plastered on his handsome face. I nod my head in agreement. “It's my parent's cabin. It's been here for like a hundred years. Every time my mom was sad or felt like giving up on life, she came here and suddenly all of her stress just disappeared.”

             
I watch Andrew as he speaks about his mother. He misses her. I can tell by the way he says her name. Even though Eva abanded him and his siblings, nothing will ever stand in the way of the love of a son for his mother. No matter what mistakes she has made, she will always be his mother and nothing can change that. Not even the distance between them.

             
“I'll grab our bags,” Andrew announces. “I'll meet you inside.” I look at him and nod.

             
I make my way up the squeaky wooden stairs. My hand glides against the rough, splintering railing. The porch has two rocking chairs on it, facing the road. They must have been Eva and Samuel's chairs.

             
I reach for the door and open it softly. The door begins to creak its way open. You can definitely tell that this cabin is old. I can't believe it has been here for over a hundred years. It's like I'm walking into Andrew's past.

             
As I peak my head inside, it looks like another home away from home for the Madsen family. I walk through the door and enter the living room. There is a brown couch with a rainbow colored quilt folded neatly over the cushions. In front of the couch is a fire place. That doesn't surprise me. The Madsen's are known for their fire addictions.

             
Off from the living room is the kitchen. I walk farther through the cabin and find three bedrooms. The first one I stop at must be Eva and Samuel's room, as it's the largest. The next one I peek into I devise is the one that Andrew and William shared. I went farther down the hall and see what must be Alex's room

             
I feel like I'm in Andrew's parent's house and I'm about to stay over for the first time, just without his parents present. I wonder where they are at this exact moment. I wonder if they're thinking about Andrew, William, and Alex. I wonder if they're ever going to make their way back to their kids.

             
“You like it?” Andrew asks as he startles me away from my thoughts.

             
“I love it. It's perfect,” I smile at him as I make my way back to the living room.

             
“I come here sometimes. When I feel sad or stressed out, I come here and it helps me just like it helped my mother,” Andrew speaks quietly.

             
“Thank you for bringing me here,” I tilt my head and flash him a smile.

             
He walks over to me and takes my face into his hands. His eyes meet mine and then, before I know it, my lips are touching his and I'm up in his arms. This is going to be a remarkable weekend.

* * * *

Andrew and I lay on the brown couch in front of the roaring fire. Our naked bodies are curled up next to each other, with only a sheet covering us. This feels perfect. I don't want to move. I want to press pause and stay here for a lifetime, maybe longer.

              After a while, Andrew gets up and begins to put his pants back on. I lick my lips and can't help but stare at his sexy, muscular body. “Caught you,” Andrew says with a laugh. “You like what you see?”

             
“Mmm, I sure do,” I murmur.

             
He walks over to me, shirtless, and leans down to press his soft lips against mine. “Get up. I want to show you something.”

             
I stand up and begin to wrap the sheet around my body to cover myself up. I look up at Andrew and smile. “You like what you see?” I joke.

             
“Is that even a question, baby? I love what I see.” Andrew pulls me close to him and kisses my lips.

             
He takes my hand and leads me out onto the back porch that overlooks the lake. The moon is shining brighter than I've seen it in a while, and the light from it is reflecting onto the flat surface of the lake. Millions of stars twinkle in the midnight sky. The cool wind is blowing, making me shiver. I tilt my head and breathe in the scent of the fresh lake water. “This is,” I break off into silence for a second. “This is so beautiful.”

             
"Just like you." Andrews winks. "Would you like to lay under the stars and talk?"

             
I give him a big smile, "I would love that."

             
He takes my hand and raises it to his mouth, kissing the black heart ring he gave me. "I'll be right back."

             
Andrew returns with a blanket, takes my hand, and leads me toward the lake. Arriving on the bank, he spreads the blanket out, lays down, and pulls me down with him. My head rests on his chest and I gaze up at the midnight sky.