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Chapter 40
Hours later, I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, not having moved from the chair that Rosa had led me to. The chair shifted beside me. I opened my eyes and Rosa was still sitting beside me. I closed my eyes again and leaned back. The tears had stopped, but I was at a loss for what to do next.
“You look like shit,” she said, trying to force a smile.
“Thank you very much,” I said, without opening my eyes. I smiled without humor. “That’s the best compliment I’ve had all day.” Then, I opened my eyes and looked at her. “You don’t look so good yourself.”
She placed a hand gently on mine. “Leila, I’m so sorry.”
I nodded, unable to speak as tears sprang to my eyes again. I took a deep breath as the magnitude of what had happened came to the forefront of my consciousness and the denial fell away. “Where is he?”
Rosa stood and held out
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Touched by a Vampire Chapter 41
On the drive home, my mind drifted to Steven’s parents. Steven’s father, Rodger, was a stern man with kind eyes and he was a bank president. He had been unsure of me, but in our first conversation, I had won him over. Soon, he became like a father to me. But Steven’s mother, Stephanie, was another matter altogether. She always scrutinized: my house wasn’t clean enough, my car wasn’t a Volvo. The fact that I owned a Mercedes was irrelevant. My hair wasn’t neat enough. Looking back, I saw where Steven got his demanding demeanor from.Now, I was about to tell them that their only son was dead. Not only was he dead, he was found with another woman. That part I would happily leave out until I knew what was going on, but I knew that I would never tell them. After all, was it something that a parent needed to know about their son? That he was caught being unfaithful when he died?Somewhere deep inside, I wished that it wasn’t true. Th
Touched by a Vampire Chapter 42
“Are you okay?” Rosa asked, her eyes filled with concern.I nodded, looking into the coffee mug. “Yes, I’m fine,” I replied, and then amended with a slight smile, “As well as can be expected.”Holding her mug, Rosa sat down on the couch beside me.“What was he doing with that woman, Rosa?” I asked as big, ugly tears coursed down my cheeks. “And how am I going to tell his parents about it?”“Shush,” Rosa cooed, gently patting my back. “You don’t have to tell them anything.” She looked into my eyes and forced a smile. “Besides, it could have been purely innocent. Was she his secretary?”“He doesn’t have a secretary.”“A colleague, then?” Rosa amended. “Maybe it wasn’t what it seemed.”“I don’t think so, Rosa,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Did you se
Touched by a Vampire Chapter 43
“Leila …” the forceful voice of a woman yelled into my ear. “Leila, wake up! We have to make the funeral arrangements!”Groggy, I forced my eyelids to open as sunlight streamed in through the window, too bright.“Leila!”“Leave her alone,” a male voice said. “She’s been through a lot.”Yes, that was Rodger, Steven’s father. I was suddenly wide awake as I sat straight up in bed. Suddenly, the events of the night before flooded into my mind. My God! Lance! I quickly looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. “What on Earth are you doing in my bedroom? How did you get here?”“Leila, stop being so dramatic,” Stephanie said, pulling my clean clothes from the closet. Then, she headed toward my underwear drawer. “Our plane just arrived and we rented a car.”“I would have picked you up …”“Now, Leila,
Touched by a Vampire Chapter 44
Rodger, Stephanie, and I decided on sushi, but none of us ate much. Then, we headed back to the house and I was already dreading it, knowing that Stephanie would take over my house. I took a deep breath.“Leila, dear,” Rodger said in a soft voice, bringing me back from my reverie.I looked at him in the rearview mirror and lifted my eyebrows.“Stephanie and I have decided to go to a hotel while we’re here,” he said apologetically. Then, seeing the look in my eyes, he added, “Now, before you say anything, it would be best for us to give each other a little space. Don’t you agree?”I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, if you’re sure …”“Yes, I am,” he said as he pulled the rental car up in front of the house … the house that belonged to Steven and me. As if reading my mind, he asked, “Will you be okay alone?”“I’ll be fine.”
Touched by a Vampire Chapter 45
“Excuse me,” a feminine voice said from behind me as I scooped a spoonful of casserole.“Yes? May I help you?” I asked, turning to see a pretty, young woman with stunning features standing near. I knew that I would have remembered her if I had ever seen her before.“I’m sorry for your loss,” the young woman said with kind eyes. At least they weren’t filled with pity.“Thank you,” I replied, placing the large metal spoon back into the casserole dish. “How did you know Steven?”She took a deep breath as she hesitated. “The woman he was with was my sister,” she whispered in a rush, and then looked away.I nodded, looking around to see if anyone had heard. Thankfully, everyone was lost in their own conversations. “Maybe we should go some place more private,” I said in a low voice, nodding toward the back patio.She nodded in agreement. I set down the
Touched by a Vampire Chapter 46
I didn’t do a lot over the next week. I cried, thinking of Steven and our life together; sat on the couch and watched television without really seeing it; and thought too much. Sitting on the couch curled up with a pillow began to be the norm for me.I hadn’t seen Lance since that last night when he held me, the night Steven had died. It was probably just as well. It had probably been a weekend affair, after all. I was just grateful that he had been there when I needed him, but thoughts of the erotic weekend that we had shared kept coming back into my mind, feeling like eons ago. Could it have been just a few weeks before?I also wondered about him. How old was he? How long had he been a vampire? Maybe I should become a vampire, too, but I didn’t want to feel this kind of pain for the rest of eternity. Then again, maybe the pain would go away.I pushed the thought aside as I flipped on the television and watched without really seeing it. I was
Touched by a Vampire Chapter 47
She set her plate down next to mine and took my hand. “You know you can tell me anything.”I nodded as a tear slid slowly down my cheek. “Rosa, I don’t know how to say this, but Steven and I had been having problems for a while …”“Well, no wonder, with him cheating on you like that …”“That’s not everything,” I cut her off. I took a deep breath, and then continued, “Rosa, I had an affair with another man the weekend before Steven died.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. Rosa just listened, saying nothing. “Then, Steven found out about it and confronted me right in the middle of having sex.”“He what?!”I nodded. “Yeah, that’s right,” I said. “I went in to work, mainly to give myself time to think everything through. Then, he went away for the weekend and so did I … with Lance. When I came back home, Steven never c
Touched by a Vampire Chapter 48
“Well, there she is!” Rosa greeted me when I walked through the hospital doors, ready for work. She had called me often while I was out, checking on me and making sure that I was okay, letting me cry or laugh when I needed to, in addition to dragging me out of the house this morning. If she hadn’t visited me the day before, I probably wouldn’t have been back at the hospital now.“Morning, Rosa,” I said cheerfully. I was surprised that I didn’t have to fake it. “What do we have going on this morning?”“Leila, are you okay?” Rosa asked, ignoring my question as concern filled her eyes.“Oh, no! Now don’t start that!” I said, reaching for a chart. “Who was it that came to my house last night, bearing Chinese food, telling me to get my ass back to work?” I joked. I looked at the chart and said, “I appreciate your concern, but please don’t treat me like I’
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