Page 35 of Beasts

“I don't know what kind of game you boys are playing but fucking around at a frat party wasn’t part of the agreement. You know none of you are allowed to attend any of those kinds of things unless we say so.” I peek a little bit further around the corner. I can see Oliver is facing off with an older gentleman. It seems so obvious now. This must be Mr. Pierce and since Pierce is Oliver’s last name, does that make this man his father? He seems about the right age.

“What did you want me to do? Stand around doing nothing whilst some guys try to have their way with an innocent girl?” If I thought that Oliver looked pissed the other day, there is nothing compared to what he looks like now. Even from up the stairwell I can see his eyes are solidly pure and bright green. The correlation must mean that he must be either very angry or really on the edge.

“Girls at those types of parties are rarely innocent. And you killed someone. I don't care if it was an accident, and I don't care if you were trying to protect somebody. That was not your business. We agreed there would be no more incidents.”

“Fine, whatever, punish me for trying to do the right thing. I don't care.”

“We had an agreement that all of you would stay in line. The fact is, you have chosen not to follow my rules. Do you have any idea how much money I had to pay to make this whole thing go away?”

“Why not just let us handle it? We’re at the point now that we can't let you be the one to clean up after our mistakes.”

“Because I take care of my kind, Oliver, do you?”

“My kind? I'm pretty sure you'd rather see me fall off a cliff. The only thing you care about is appearances. And the only thing I care about are people that live under this roof.”

“Then why would you risk yourself for some stranger? Risk letting people know what you are, it's a complete embarrassment.” Oliver rolls his eyes and takes a step back towards where Nolan and Hugh are. The gentleman that was standing by them steps away and heads back towards Mr. Pierce. “I’m getting a little bit fed up with you boys keeping things from me. So, from now on, your little friend will stay with me until I get all the answers I want.”

“What?” Hugh comments, shock plastered on all of their faces. I hear footsteps behind me, and I can see that the three brothers are together and trying to overhear what they're trying to say. I guess they don't want to be involved either.

“Your little psychic friend will stay with me until I get all the answers I want. You are all clearly hiding something from me, and I want to know what it is, but I doubt you're going to tell me. Especially not without a little motivation.” I can't see Mr. Pierce's face, but the reflection in the nearby dark window shows nothing but hollow grey eyes. Given that this man is likely Oliver’s father, that would make him a vampire also, and definitely someone I don't want to piss off. I can see the three boys look at each other and exchange a glance. They should tell him about me, otherwise he's not going to let Seth come home. “Don't feel like sharing? That's fine, I'm happy to have a permanent houseguest. What was his blood type again?” Oliver shoots a filthy glare at his father and bares his teeth. Maybe a week ago I would have been afraid of this look, but right now I just feel so sorry for him. He’s stuck between a rock and a really hard place, between getting Seth back to this house and admitting that I am here in the house with them. They told me that I can't tell anyone that I'm here, and especially I can't tell anyone that I know what they are. Humans are meant to be turned or killed, aren’t they?

“He’s not a snack, he's a person. You can't just keep him for as long as you want.”

“I won't, just until he tells me what's going on. That being said, I'm not sure how long he will last, so unless one of you wants to come forward?” Each of them folds their arms and clenches their teeth. I look behind me at the brothers. All three of them shake their heads rapidly at me. I guess they know what I'm thinking. I take a deep breath and walk forward, pacing myself as I come down the staircase.

“Excuse me.” I say catching the attention of everyone downstairs. Out of my peripheral vision, I can see that Nolan, Hugh and Oliver have faces of shock. I know they definitely didn't want me to reveal myself, but I can't let Seth take the fall for me.

“And who are you, dear?” Now that he's turned to me, I can see him completely. The man looks to be about forty years of age, but he starting to get little wrinkle lines around his eyes and a slight tinge of grey around the edge of his hairline. But either way, he is definitely an older version of Oliver. His grey eyes certainly signified exactly who he was, a vampire. His question seemed sweet enough, but it was tainted with hostility.

“My name is Amelia. I'm sorry I didn't catch the whole conversation, but it seems like there's been a misunderstanding.” If I stay up here on the staircase, maybe I won't feel so afraid of him, but I can still feel my heartbeat rapidly thrashing across my rib cage. All of the guys have warned me that vampires are strong and fast. I can only imagine how much faster and stronger this man would be.

“Please enlighten me.” I swallow hard and nod.

“Oliver only went to that frat party because I went, and he was worried about me. If he didn't, I would have gotten very hurt. It's entirely my fault what happened. So if there's some kind of punishment that you have to deal out, it should be towards me.”

“And who exactly are you? What are you?”

“I came to San Francisco as part of a sorority, but I was too afraid of the sorority girls and I left. The guys found me on the street, they didn't feel right about leaving me there, so they offered me a place to sleep for the night. And I'm not anything, I'm just normal.”

“Not a witch or a psychic? Perhaps a medium?”

“No, sir.”

“So you know what all the boys are in this house, and yet you are still here? Do they not frighten you?”

“I've been given full and very thorough warnings about what each of them could do to me. I know for a fact that they could kill me in a heartbeat. But yes, I'm still here because they wouldn't if they had the choice.”

“Demons don't often get a choice in their actions, my dear.”

“So I've noticed.” He narrows his eyes at me and then looks towards three boys that are standing by his bodyguard.

“You know our rules. So which one of you did it? Or was it one of the others upstairs?” Nolan goes to open his mouth but is cut off by Oliver almost immediately.

“I did.” He says. “I acted irresponsibly, and somebody found out. That being said, not only has she been here, but she's been very loyal to us. There is no chance that she would ever tell anyone what we are.”

“The rules are very strict, so I’ll offer you a deal. I'll give you till Saturday to make a decision on what you're going to do with her, if you make the decision, you won't be punished for your stupid actions earlier last week. However, if come Saturday and you've done nothing, you will be the one that will be punished in her place.” I'm not really sure what he's talking about, but I don't like the idea that he might punish Oliver just because they're not willing to do something. Oliver tried to erase my memory one time. Maybe that's what he's referring to? The man doesn’t say another word. Instead, he simply turns to the front door, opens it, and disappears into the darkness. A moment later his bodyguard goes with him. The three boys are silent. Eventually, noise fills the room again when the three triplets come downstairs.

“What are you gonna do?” Richard questions Oliver directly.

---