Coleen: Forever (Waking Forever Series Book 5) Read online

  Laying her forehead against the steering wheel, Coleen felt weak. Worse still, she felt helpless to stem the tide of grief that threatened to drown her.

  You will move. A militant and insistent voice pricked at the center of Coleen’s mind.

  It pushed her hand up to the door handle, and willed her arm to open the door. You will move. The voice gave her the strength to fling her legs out of the car, and for her to stand.

  Walking through her house, Coleen felt for the first time in millennia the passage of time. Faced with the absence of Isla, the seconds seemed to be creeping by, promising her a prolonged grieving of her loss.

  Coleen walked into her bedroom, and locked the door. Turning her phone off, she tossed it and her purse onto the bed. She wished she could sleep. She wanted hours to pass without this tremendous sense of loss.

  Instead Coleen sat down on the floor next to her bed, and for six weeks she didn’t move.

  ***

  “Ms. Andrade?” Rosa was standing in front of Coleen, a concerned expression on her face.

  Coleen looked up, her eyes lifeless. Rosa had a crowbar in her right hand. Looking past the maid, Coleen could see the locked bedroom door had been forced open. “What?”

  “Are you okay, ma’am?” Rosa looked around the otherwise immaculate bedroom. “Do you need anything?”

  Coleen was having trouble understanding the words Rosa spoke. She sensed something was off, and that her housekeeper was worried for some reason.

  “No, thank you.” Coleen’s gaze fell back to the floor.

  “Ma’am, would you like to sit in the chair?” Rosa pointed to the leather chair near the end of the bed.

  “No.”

  “Can I call someone for you?”

  Coleen looked up at her housekeeper again. “Who would you call?”

  Rosa shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m asking you.”

  Coleen looked down at her forearms and hands. The concern in Rosa’s voice was warranted, as her skin had taken on a slightly gray hue. With everything that had been happening, Coleen had not fed in nearly two months.

  She choked back a sob as she thought about Isla, and the small amount of her blood Coleen had enjoyed. More than the sex and the bloodlust, Coleen remembered the intimacy.

  Rosa bent down, and reached for Coleen. Her brow furrowed as she registered the coldness of Coleen’s arms. “You’re like ice.” The woman pulled a reluctant Coleen to her feet, and then sat her on the edge of the bed. “When did you eat last?”

  Coleen chuckled softly to herself. “It’s been two months.”

  Rosa shook her head. “I’m going to get you some water, and make you some eggs.”

  Coleen felt her stomach sour at the thought of either. “I’m fine. Please leave me alone.”

  “I can’t do that, ma’am.” Rosa took Coleen by the shoulders and gently laid her back on the bed. “Unless you give me someone’s number to call for you, you’re stuck with me.” Rosa took the wool throw from the foot of the bed, and covered Coleen with it.

  Coleen turned over, effectively turning her back on Rosa. “Leave.” She closed her eyes, and allowed the listlessness of her hunger to consume her, welcoming the cold and dark.

  “Coleen. Wake up.” Coleen’s body ached and her ears were ringing as she slowly opened her eyes. Isla’s voice seemed to be coming from a hundred miles away, and Coleen knew she must be imagining it.

  “Coleen, please wake up.” The warmth of a hand on her cheek burst through the darkness and frigidness Coleen had cocooned herself in, and the back of her throat began to burn with hunger.

  “How are you here?” Coleen’s throat felt like sandpaper, and her voice hollow and strained.

  “Your housekeeper found my number on your call log. It was evidently a toss-up between me and your friend Rachel. I answered first.” Isla carefully rolled Coleen onto her back. “What have you done?”

  Coleen managed a weak smile. “I’ve decayed.”

  Isla pressed her hand to Coleen’s forehead. “You’re even colder than usual.”

  “Leave me, please.” Coleen knew she was past the point of feeding herself, and by refusing Isla’s help she was resigning herself to a slow rot.

  “Not an option.” Isla leaned in, her voice was low and hushed. “Rosa is in the next room – ah, how long since you’ve had blood?”

  “Clearly too long.” Coleen managed.

  “A smartass, even in this state.” Isla pulled the blanket off of Coleen, a quiet gasp escaping her lips as she took stock of an emaciated Coleen. “Jesus.”

  “He was a nice man.” Coleen tried to turn back over, but her arms weren’t working properly.

  The sound of a door closing and a lock being flipped reached Coleen’s ears. Isla was sitting on the bed next to her. “I don’t know how this works, but here.”

  The scent of flowers and oranges ran through Coleen’s body, and the burning at the back of her throat began to rage. Opening her eyes, Coleen could see Isla had her arm extended, and her dripping wrist was a few inches from Coleen’s mouth.

  “Don’t.” Coleen closed her eyes, willing the urge to take Isla’s blood away.

  “What do you mean, don’t?” Isla hissed. “Do you think I’m just going to let you die?”

  Coleen was finding it difficult to follow the conversation. “You hate me. Why help me?”

  Isla cupped Coleen’s cheek with her hand. “I don’t hate you. What happened was terrible and I can barely look Cory’s mother in the eye, but I believe you didn’t encourage Claudio.”

  Isla lightly stroked Coleen’s cheek with her thumb. “And I know what it means that you killed him to save Julian.”

  “He’s in the garden.” Coleen muttered.

  “Who is?” Isla laid her hand on Coleen’s chest.

  “Claudio. I buried him there.” Coleen smiled. “I might plant a tree in the fall. He liked trees.”

  “That was more detail than I needed, but I’ll chalk it up to you nearly being dead.” Isla leaned over and gently kissed Coleen on the cheek. “Evidently for a vampire that’s something like being drunk is for a human.”

  Isla pressed her wrist to Coleen’s lips. “Please do this.”

  Coleen felt the faintest glimmer of hope begin to blossom within her. The darkness she had willingly embraced was cracking around the edges. She wanted to go on, now that she had reason to believe she might continue with Isla.

  As Isla’s life giving blood began to run down the back of Coleen’s throat. The incessant burning diminished, and Coleen could feel the cloud of confusion begin to lift. Careful not to take too much, Coleen pulled away from Isla once she began to have feeling in her arms and legs again.

  “You’ll need to take it easy for a day or two.” Coleen sat up in bed, and shifted so Isla could lay her head in Coleen’s lap. “I’ll have Rosa go out for some orange juice and iron tablets.”

  Isla looked pale, but otherwise Coleen could hear the steady beat of her heart, and knew she would recover from the blood loss in time.

  “I fainted once after giving blood my freshman year of college.” Isla held her hand against her forehead. “This feels about the same.”

  Coleen bent over and placed a soft kiss on Isla’s hand. “I’m sorry you had to do this.”

  Isla closed her eyes, and shrugged. “Relationships are about compromise and sacrifice.”

  “Are we in a relationship?” Coleen needed to know if Isla and she were going to be friends, or if they were going to attempt a life together.

  Isla smiled, her eyes still closed. “If you play your cards right – maybe.”

  Epilogue

  “I think he would have enjoyed a party more.” Coleen reclined on the wicker frame daybed in the garden.

  It was after nine o’clock at night, and the South Texas sky was clear. The heat of the August day had given way to a relatively cool evening, with a light breeze stirring the fragrances of the honeysuckle and Mexican orange shrubs that ran t
hroughout the garden.

  Isla laid with her head in Coleen’s lap looking up at the sky. “Except what you were talking about was a gala in his honor, and no eleven year old needs to be the center of that much attention.”

  Coleen absently ran her fingers through the silky strands of Isla’s hair, a grin on her lips. “You deprive him."

  Isla tilted her head back, and looked at Coleen. “And you indulge him too much. You have to save some stuff for later.” Isla looked across the garden at Julian. All of his attention was focused on the Meade Star Navigator telescope Coleen had bought him for his birthday.

  “You have to admit, though, he loves the gift.” Coleen shifted as Isla sat up.

  Leaning into Coleen, and resting her head on her shoulder, Isla nodded. “You are a master gift giver.”

  Coleen kissed the top of Isla’s head, the nearness of her sending shots of electricity through Coleen. “Speaking of gifts, have you thought any more about what we discussed?”

  Isla lifted her head, and looked closely at Coleen. “Yes.”

  Coleen frowned. “And?”

  Isla turned her attention to Julian. “Hey, Jules, can you pop to the kitchen and grab me a Diet Coke please?”

  Julian looked up from the telescope. “Sure.” He walked quickly toward the house before stopping. “Coleen, do you want anything?”

  Coleen shook her head. “No thank you, but Rosa got you chocolate ice cream. It’s in the freezer if you want some.” Julian practically skipped into the house, a broad smile on his face.

  “I’m glad you don’t sleep. You can come back to the house, and stay up with him all night.” Isla playfully pinched Coleen’s arm.

  “Don’t try to distract me.” Coleen took Isla’s hand in hers, pressing her cool lips against Isla’s palm.

  A contented sigh escaped Isla. “You’re distracting me.”

  Coleen let Isla’s hand go, and got up. “The gift?”

  Isla shook her head, and scooted to the edge of the daybed. “It’s funny that you call it that.”

  Coleen crouched in front of Isla, and placed her hands on Isla’s knees. “Having Julian and you live here would be a gift.”

  Isla’s eyes filled with tears as she placed her hand on Coleen’s cheek. “I think we should wait.”

  Coleen looked down. “Is this about turning you?”

  Isla wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Yes. I don’t think it’s fair to any of us that we live together before we decide if you’re going to turn me, and that’s not going to happen until Julian is an adult.”

  Coleen stood up. She took a deep breath in hopes it would abate her frustrations. “You and I agreed to wait until Julian was old enough to understand, and we wouldn’t have to worry about him speaking out of turn.”

  She sat down next to Isla. “I don’t see why it matters where you live in the meantime.”

  Isla closed her eyes, and exhaled. “I wouldn’t live with a human after only knowing them for five months.”

  A mischievous glint shot across Coleen’s eyes. “Good thing I’m not a human.”

  Isla stood up, and began pacing. Coleen had come to recognize this as a sign Isla was about to get worked up.

  “My point is we don’t really know each other that well.” She stopped and looked intently at Coleen. “Don’t confuse me knowing about what you are with knowing you.”

  Coleen leaned back on her hands and crossed her legs. “What do you want to know?”

  Isla laughed. “It’s not a quiz.”

  Coleen frowned. “Well, maybe it should be.”

  Isla shook her head. “No. You can ask me a hundred questions, but those are facts and not feelings.”

  Before Coleen could respond, Julian came out of the house, a Diet Coke in one hand and a bowl of chocolate ice cream in the other.

  “Thanks, Jules.” Isla took the soda from Julian. “How much of that ice cream did you eat out of the carton?”

  Julian grinned, his mouth ringed with chocolate ice cream. “A little.”

  Isla nodded. “Right. We’re leaving in an hour so you can get to bed.”

  “But I don’t have school, so why do you keep making me stick to a bedtime?” Julian spooned ice cream into his mouth as he spoke.

  “First, don’t eat and talk at the same time. Second, we’ve talked about keeping you on a schedule so when you are back in school you’re not a nightmare to get out of bed in the morning.” Isla sat down next to Coleen.

  “You repress me.” Julian declared as he walked back toward the telescope, ice cream in hand.

  Isla gasped. “Where does he hear that crap?”

  Coleen chuckled. “I blame the video games.” Her eyes widened when Isla turned an icy stare in her direction. “Which – I clearly am responsible for the purchasing of.”

  In spite of her best efforts to be irritated, laughter erupted from Isla, and she pulled Coleen toward her. “I love you.”

  Both women froze, and Coleen’s eyes flashed a brilliant blue as she stared at Isla. It was several seconds before she could speak. “Please, say it again.”

  Isla blushed, and looked down. “I love you.”

  Coleen took Isla’s face in her hands, and kissed her softly on the lips. “I love you.”

  “Were you waiting for me to say it?” Isla wrapped her arms around Coleen’s shoulders.

  “No. It crept up on me.” Coleen whispered.

  Isla leaned back, her eyes fixed on Coleen. “Me too.”

  Coleen knew she would move forward at whatever pace Isla needed. She was certain they would be together, even if that meant she had to wait until Julian was old enough to participate in the decisions that inevitably would have to be made.

  “Can we stay over tonight?” Isla placed a series of light kisses along Coleen’s jaw.

  Coleen nodded, and turned her head. The touch of Isla’s lips to hers, and the quiet moan that came from her, sent a charge through Coleen. She pulled Isla closer, the intensity of the kiss deepening.

  Isla turned her head away, her breath coming in short bursts. “Julian, finish your ice cream and go get ready for bed. We’re staying here tonight.”

  “But you said an hour.” Julian asserted.

  Isla leaned her forehead against Coleen’s chin. “If you go to bed early tonight, you can stay up as late as you want tomorrow.”

  Julian started running toward the door, and stopped short when Isla called after him. “Julian, take that empty bowl into the kitchen, wash it, then wash yourself in the shower, get dressed for bed, and then go to bed.”

  Julian disappeared into the house, and Coleen immediately laid down on the daybed, pulling Isla with her. Isla shifted, and straddled Coleen’s hips, running her hands under Coleen’s blouse. “Listen for when the shower gets turned off.”

  Coleen closed her eyes and nodded, enjoying the smoothness and warmth of Isla’s touch. Coleen wondered if she was happy for the first time in her life, or if she had finally reached a point where she recognized the blissful feeling for what it was.

  More than anything, Coleen felt nourished by the happiness she had found with Isla. Each passing second with Isla not only sustained Coleen, but it made her appetite for her all the more limitless. This was joy, this moment, and every one that would follow… forever.

  ###

  Also by Heather McVea:

  Fallen Elements

  Waking Forever Series

  Waking Forever (Book 1)

  Ela: Forever (Book 2)

  Becoming Forever (Book 3)

  Dying Forever (Book 4)

  Coleen: Forever (Book 5)

  Short Story

  Turn Darkly

  Wayward Destiny (September 2015)

 

 

 
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