Page 26 of Pity the Living, Not the Dead

“The only thing I can figure out, having just completed the exercise we did, is that whatever electronic signals pass through in a recording are unable to pick us up. Same goes for pictures. Watch.” Elijah leaned over, snapping a selfie of us lying in bed.

“There’s nothing there,” I said. “Not even a hint of the light we saw in the videos.”

“Seems where electronics are concerned, we are invisible. For a standard mirror with no special affects added, we are clear as day.” Elijah paused. “Wonder why I never tested these scenarios out before?”

“Stick with me long enough, and all sorts of weird, random shit will surface,” I laughed. “Honestly, the strangest things pop into my head, and at the most inconvenient of times.”

“Well, this time your mind worked in our favor. These are things I should’ve figured out decades ago. On a bright note, I think it’s time to visit your family.”

Oddly enough, his words filled me with joy. Maybe the old adage of absence making the heart grow fonder would work with my family. If not, I could drain them of their blood. Just kidding!Or am I?

After nearly four months of training Liam to control his wayward bloodlust and strength, we decided to take a big chance and visit his family, the ultimate test for him.

“Ready to go, my love?”

“About as ready as I can be. At least my pale skin can be masked as a side effect to the cancer treatment. Hopefully, that will keep the invasive questions to a minimum,” Liam replied. He was nervous, which I totally understood. I wasn’t completely sold on this going smoothly. Liam had embraced a darker side, one with a side dish of temper, since his transformation. It would only take a single negative comment from one of his asshole brothers to set him off, which would not be good for any of us. We fed on our way there, as I hoped a sated appetite would help alleviate Liam’s nerves.

We were barely out of the car before Olivia came bounding down the front walk and straight into Liam’s arms. His heavy sigh told me how much he needed this. Having been alone for as long as I had, such a bond was a foreign concept to me, let alone feeling so much love for another—outside of loving Liam, that is.

The happy tears she shed as she assessed every inch of him had me wishing someone had cared for and loved me as much as Olivia did her younger brother. My heart warmed as I realized I’d now found that in Liam. “You look great! A little thin, but you’ve always had a slender figure. I can’t believe you’re here and the treatment worked! You’ll need to give me all the details later.”

Liam cleared his throat. “Oh, um. Yeah, sure. Liv, I feel one thousand percent better. I’m not gonna lie and say it wasn’t a rough transformation to go through,” he shot me a side glance, “but it worked. I’m officially cancer-free!”

Much to my surprise, as soon as Olivia released her death grip on Liam, she flung herself into my arms and whispered, “Thank you for bringing my baby brother back.”

“No thanks are needed. I’d give my life to save Liam’s,” I assured her. No truer words had ever come from my mouth.

“I know you would.” She turned to Liam, taking his hand in hers. “Are you ready for the inquisition?”

“Nope, but I’m sure that will never change, so we might as well get it done and over with. Elijah,” Liam held out his other hand and I slid mine into it, “it’s showtime.”

“Liam!” his mother shouted as we entered the foyer. “My baby boy is home!” She pulled him against her, peppering his face with kisses.

“Mom, I can’t breathe,” he protested.

“Let me take a look at you. How do you feel? How was the treatment? Were the doctors nice? Are you eating enough? When did you get back?” she fired off in rapid succession.

“One question at a time, Mom,” Liam said, but I could tell he was enjoying the attention. “We got back earlier today, but were jet-lagged and crashed as soon as we got home.”

In an instant, his mother’s demeanor changed. “But this is your home, Liam.”

Liam drew in a deep, cleansing breath and slowly released it. “No, Mom, my home is with Elijah.”

We stepped into the living room where most of his family had once again congregated. “Liam!” several voices called out, each Aldrich stepping up to hug him in turn.

They fired off the same questions his mother had, but all at once. I whistled loudly and when they finally shut up, I said, “One at a time.” Liam winked and took the stage.

“We just got back this morning. Elijah never left my side. No, it wasn’t easy. There were good days and bad. Yes, the cancer is gone.” He responded to as many questions as he could remember.

“When can you start work?” his father asked. Liam looked as thrown by the question as I was. This was a subject, Liam’s job status or lack thereof, that neither he nor I had yet discussed.

Liam squared his shoulders and stood his ground. “Father, I won’t be working for the family.”

“Yes, you will,” his father huffed. “Who do you think paid for your education so you could do so?”

“I didn’t ask for any of that, I was forced into it. Working at the distillery was not a part of my life plan, it was a demand made by the family. My courses were chosen and paid for without me having any say in the matter,” Liam informed him. I was ridiculously proud of him for standing his ground.

As soon as the words left his mouth, all hell broke loose.

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