Chapter 96

Tessa’s POV

“What am I supposed to pack to meet his family?” I asked, rummaging through my drawers with a frown.

Ruby was standing in my closet, staring up at the dresses that I own.

“Oh my god, Tessa,” Ruby chuckled, pulling out a very short black dress. “You have to pack this.”

The dress was a gift and never worn. I never had a reason to wear it. Brian bought it for me for a cocktail party, but I didn’t feel comfortable wearing it, so I wore something else. I remember the look of disappointment on his face when I showed up wearing a casual dress.

“I’ll pass,” I told her, shaking my head. “Brian bought it for me.”

“It still has the tag on it,” she said, taking the dress out of the closet. “Who cares who bought it? It’s cute as fuck. It’ll make Professor Hottie go insane for you.”

“Since when do we call him ‘Professor Hottie’?” I chuckled.

She shrugged.

“Since you started your secret affair with him,” she replied with a sly grin. “Pack it,” she added throwing the dress on the bed.

“When would I even wear this?”

“Your first night together,” she said, wiggling her brows. “It’s hot and he’ll love it.”

“Fine,” I laughed. “I’ll pack it.”

“What time do you leave tomorrow?”

“I think he’s coming to pick me up around 6 tomorrow night,” I answered.”

“Why so late?”

I shrugged.

“He said it’s easier to drive overnight so there’s no traffic. It’s going to take about 12 hours to get there.”

“Wow, long drive. Where did you say it was again?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” I shrugged. “He said it’s a surprise. But I know it’s somewhere up north.”

“Well, make sure you stay in touch. I have zero plans this break so I’ll be around,” she said, sitting on my bed.

I grabbed a bunch of clothes from my drawer and brought them to my suitcase. After I packed, we made dinner and watched a movie. Curling up on the couch, I grabbed my phone and texted Joseph, “Goodnight. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

“You are so smitten,” Ruby laughed. “I can’t wait to find someone to obsess over.”

“What happened to that guy you were talking to?”

“Ugh. He turned out to be a total tool,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Not worth my time.”

I leaned my head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, girl,” I sighed.

“Don’t be. I was just using him to preoccupy my time,” she said in return.

I looked at the clock and frowned at the time. It was already 1 am.

“We should get some sleep,” I said. “I still have to clean and stuff before I leave tomorrow night.”

She nodded and stood to her feet, pulling me up with her.

“Dibs on the bathroom,” she said over her shoulder as she made her way toward the bathroom.

I laughed and shook my head.

“I have two bathrooms,” I reminded her, still laughing.

…

6 p.m. the next day came quickly. Ruby helped me clean my apartment and get my laundry finished. We ordered pizza for lunch and listened to music while we ate and cleaned. She left shortly before Joseph arrived.

“Ready?” He asked.

I nodded, grabbing my suitcase.

“Yes,” I answered, trying not to appear as nervous as I felt.

It was going to be a long drive, so I wore a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. We were planning on being there around 6 a.m. 45 minutes before sunrise.

Joseph gave me a gentle kiss and helped me bring my things into his waiting car out front. I slid into the passenger seat as he got into the driver’s seat.

Soon, we were on the road.

“Are you nervous?” He asked, peering over at me.

“No,” I lied. “What makes you ask that?”

“You are playing with your fingers, which is what you do when you are nervous,” he pointed out.

My face flushed. I didn’t realize he noticed that. I bit onto my bottom lip, chewing on it for a moment before releasing it.

“I guess I just don’t know what I’m walking into,” I admitted. “I don’t know much about the people I’m going to meet. I don’t know much about our village.”

“It’s mostly vampires,” he shrugged. “You’ll get to know them throughout the next couple of weeks.”

“Mostly vampires? So, not all vampires?” I asked, peering over at him curiously. I was under the impression that his village was all vampires. “Are there humans there too?”

He was quiet as thought about how to answer that. I thought it was a pretty straightforward question so I’m not entirely sure what he has to think about.

If humans were living in this village, what makes him think I wouldn’t be okay living there too?

“It’s complicated,” he finally answered. “You’ll see when you get there.”

“Are there humans there, or not? I don’t think that’s a complicated question,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Not in the way that you are thinking,” he answered, his voice sounding indifferent. “You’ll see when we get there. But just keep an open mind and try not to judge too harshly.”

A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t like that answer and I think he could tell I was uneasy because he sighed and reached his hand over to touch mine.

“You’re going to be okay,” he told me assumingly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

I gave him a small smile, still feeling uneasy, but I trusted him, and I wanted him to see that I could do this without a problem. I wanted to be with him, and I was determined to prove that to him.

Within a few hours, I found myself leaning my head against the window and sleeping. It was late in the evening, and I wasn’t used to driving this far. I offered to drive some of the way, but Joseph declined the offer.

“I’m used to staying up,” he had told me. “Get some sleep.”

I only slept a few hours though before my neck started to ache and the sensation woke me.

“How long was I asleep for?” I asked, peering over at him.

“A few hours,” he answered. “We will be there in about 4 hours.”

That nervous bubble returned to my stomach. We were so close to being there. So close to other vampires.

I have never been to the mountains before. I wasn’t even sure what to expect. This was a whole new experience all around.

His phone went off and I looked at the screen that sat on his dashboard. It was a text from someone named Carter.

“Carter…” I said, furrowing my brows together. “That’s the guy you were on the phone with before right?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “I talk to him a lot while I’m away from the village. He keeps me in the loop.”

“Have you known him long?”

A smile tugged at his lips.

“Actually yes,” he answered thoughtfully. “He’s one of my best friends.”

I knew Joseph must have had friends, even a best friend, but for some reason when he told me this, it came as a surprise.

“How did you meet?” I found myself asking.

He was quiet for a moment like he was trying to figure out if he should tell me or not.

“In the hospital,” he answered. “He was sick. Very sick. I was once domesticated but relapsed due to unfortunate circumstances. I was craving blood. I didn’t want to hurt anyone though so I would go to the hospital to steal the blood.”

I raised my brows at his story.

“You stole blood from a hospital?” I asked with a little amusement in my voice.

“Not my proudest moment,” he admitted with a grin. “But yes, I did. It was still early on in my new vampire lifestyle, and a few years after the academy. I relapsed and had to return, but this was during the time that I relapsed. I’d go to the local hospital and steal blood from the bags. But Carter was there, and he was terminally ill. He caught me stealing blood.”

“He caught you?!” I gasped. “What did you say? What happened.”

“I told him I was a doctor, and I was just doing my job,” Joseph laughed. “Again, I was still new at the vampire thing, so manipulating his mind wasn’t a thing I could actually do at that time. So, I had to come up with something. I stole hospital scrubs and pretended to be a doctor. He acted like he believed me, and we got to talking. I found out he’s actually really smart and very funny. He had me laughing and I found it difficult to laugh at many things back then. Humor was hardly a thing I was familiar with. I mean, I lost so much, and I was having trouble seeing the right side. But even when he was dying from a terminal disease, he still found the bright side of things.”

“He sounds amazing,” I breathed, reaching over and touching his arm gently.

Joseph nodded.

“He is,” he agreed. “After months of befriending him and talking to him, I finally admitted that I wasn’t a doctor and that I was a vampire. He laughed and told me he already knew. I only told him the truth because he didn’t have much longer to live, and it was nice having someone to talk to.” He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

“Then what?” I asked, staring at him intently while his eyes were filled on the road before us.

“I wasn’t ready to let him go,” Joseph admitted. “He was having trouble breathing and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he died. I didn’t want to lose someone I thought of as a friend. I was sick of losing people…”

“Oh, my god,” I said, staring at him with tears forming in my eyes. “It was you… you turned him into a vampire, didn’t you?”