Page 33 of Love Heals
Chapter Thirteen
Ifelt like crap. I had barely slept that day—again—and the little sleep I'd managed to get had been interrupted by visions of my sire and the life I should be leading instead of the one I was currently indulging in. If my vampire-body were capable of forming dark rings, I would have looked like a panda as I climbed into Jared's car that night. Since I was a vampire, though, I suspected I looked no worse for the wear.
Jared didn't say anything, at least, as he started the engine and then moved us onto the road. I was grateful for the silence as I rested my head against the window and closed my eyes again. I didn't want to sleep, but the darkness behind my lids felt welcoming anyway.
It wasn't until we'd spent a good fifteen minutes on the road that Jared started speaking. "How are you feeling tonight?"
Coming from him, I knew that wasn't a platitude. He actually wanted to know. Fine. "I've had better days," I told him, blinking my eyes open. "I've had worse too." Days so much worse I didn't even want to think about them. Honestly, aside from the lack of proper rest, I didn't have much to complain about.
"We're almost there," Jared informed me.
I looked out the window again. It was a nice neighborhood, with houses that all had their own yards. Some even had picket fences. This wasn't an area I was well-acquainted with. Most vampires were assigned partners and then they went on various missions for the coven, after which they were allowed to roam free for the rest of the night. I'd always been stuck with Nicolai, though, and I only went where he wanted me to.
There were months I never left his house.
Months when I'd told myself to be happy I had a roof over my head as I stared out of the windows.
Youwerehappy, a voice inside my head insisted. But there was another one too, a smaller one that wondered if I even knew what happiness was anymore.
Before I could come up with an answer, though, Jared pulled into a driveway and parked the car.
I followed him as he climbed out and approached the front door, staying two steps behind. A dog was barking up a storm inside the house. Animals didn't usually like vampires. They sensed that we were unnatural—and that we were predators. Sadly, dogs were no exception to that rule.
Jared knocked on the door. It opened only a few seconds later. A red-haired man stepped out.
And then the source of the barking—a black-haired mutt—came flying at me.
I cursed, because hadn't I seen this coming?
"He's harmless!" the dog's owner yelled even as the mutt was jumping at me. I knew better though and backed away, evading the dog thanks to my vampire reflexes. No matter how much I secretly loved dogs, I wasn't going to let myself be bitten. I may not have been much of a vampire, but I hadsomepride.
At least, until I noticed that I had seen this dog before.
It was the dog from Jared's memory.
Drizzit.
All my thoughts stopped short.
The dog used my confusion to gain the upper hand, jumping close again and pawing my upper thighs while wagging his tail and barking as if this was the absolute best day of his life.
Without thinking, I fell to my knees and hugged the dog close, breathing in the smell of his fur as he slobbered all over my face. Not biting me, kissing me. Before I knew it, the strangest feeling loosened all the tight areas inside my chest. It was foreign and strange and oddly bubbly.
This, that tiny voice inside my head said.This is happiness.
My eyes stung, so I buried my face in Drizzit’s fur.
"It's really you," I whispered, as if I'd seen this dog in my own memory rather than Jared's. But it waskind ofmy memory too, wasn't it? And if this dog existed, maybe the rest of it wasn't fake either.
I peered into the dog's eyes. Deep brown pools filled with excitement. He was happy to see me. "You remember me?" I asked.
"Of course he remembers you!" The red-haired man said, surprising me. While I was busy with the dog, I'd kind of forgotten that he existed. "There's no way Drizzit wouldn't remember you. Shit, Michael, you taught him all his best tricks!"
I squinted at the man. He'd been in the memory too. He'd been the one who ended up with piss all over his pants because Drizzit had nudged him.
"We all thought you were dead," he said. "Well, most of us thought that, anyway. Tiffany claims you ran away with that one rich guy who was always loading you up with cash, but..." He stopped as if suddenly unsure how to go on.
I didn't know what to say either. I had sort of run away with a man, hadn't I? This was awkward, though, meeting people from my old life I had no memory of. I'd never even suspected that these people existed. Any time I imagined my old life, any time my sire told me about it, I pictured myself all alone, fending for myself until my sire deigned to rescue me. It was an image incongruous with what I was being shown now, and I had no idea how to mend the disconnect in my mind.
