Page 14 of Resurrecting His Soul
Lisandra huffed. “She’s here for Ricardo.”
Allison’s eyes grew wide. “What do you mean she’s here for Ricardo?”
“He was the one who turned her.”
She knew the moment Allison connected the dots because her friend’s nostrils flared, and her hands balled into fists at her side. Allison moved until she was right in Lisandra’s face and Lisandra held her breath. She hadn’t felt the urge to feed on Allison over the past few days, but after her loss of control with Melina, she didn’t want to risk breathing in Allison’s scent so up close and in her face. If Allison noticed the difference in her, she didn’t say anything and she didn’t back away, either.
“He was there,” Allison practically spit out the words.
“You know that. He saved me.”
“Don’t do that. You know what I meant. He was there with her, wasn’t he?”
Lisandra looked away. “Yes,” she whispered.
Allison threw her arms in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I can’t believe I didn’t put this together before. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You knew he took me from there. I thought you would have figured it out on your own. It doesn’t matter, though. He saved me.”
Allison sat down and took both of Lisandra’s hands in hers. “I know he saved you, but he was there to hurt people, just like that bitch hurt you. How can you be okay with that? Especially after everything Jameson did?”
Lisandra pulled her hands away and shook her head. “I’m not talking about Jameson. He is my past, and that’s where he needs to stay.” She allowed herself to take a breath. “And I know it sounds crazy to trust Ricardo. I know what he’s done. Why he was at the carnival. But I also know what it feels like to be in his shoes. I almost killed a waitress in a bar my first day. She got me a phone so I could call you, and I nearly ripped out her throat. He stopped me. There is a good man inside of him. I can’t explain how I know, I just do. I can’t walk away from him.”
Lisandra held her breath while Allison stared at her. It felt like forever, but after a few minutes Allison nodded. “Okay. I trust you, and I know you can take care of yourself.” She smirked. “I mean, damn, you took out that concrete patio with dumb twat’s head out there.”
They both laughed, but it didn’t take long for Lisandra’s mind to wander back to Melina. To the look on her face when she’d seen Ricardo kissing her.
“I’m pretty sure she’s in love with him,” she said, effectively putting a stop to their laughter.
“He told you that?” Allison asked.
“No, but I could sense her jealousy when she saw us kissing.”
“What do you mean?”
Lisandra shrugged. “I don’t really know. It was almost like I could smell it mixed in with her scent. It’s hard to explain. It was written all over her face too. I just knew that she hated seeing me kissing him and that only added fuel to the fire when I realized who she was; that she’d been the one to nearly kill me. After I realized those things, I lost control. The only thought in my mind was to keep her away from Ricardo and me, and the first logical way my brain determined I could ensure she stayed away was to kill her. It was more of a feeling than a thought process, though. Like my body reacted without my mind or conscience having any say in the matter.”
“Wow,” Allison said.
“Wow? Not sure that’s how I’d describe what happened.”
“No,” Allison shook her head slightly. “It’s just, that’s a lot. It happened so fast I can’t believe you had time to process so much.”
Lisandra chuckled. “Yeah. It’s kind of a vampire thing. It still shocks me how many things I can experience or think at the same time without getting confused.”
“Sounds like vampires would be the ultimate multi-taskers.”
“Yeah.” She smiled, but she didn’t feel it.
Allison must have sensed the unease that had settled back in her because she sat down beside Lisandra on the bed and wrapped an arm around her, and Lisandra leaned into her friend’s comforting touch. She was still careful to hold her breath so she wouldn’t be tempted by the enticing scent of Allison’s blood. But she needed her friend in that moment. Needed the comfort Allison was offering her, and if that meant holding her breath while Allison held her, then it was something she was more than willing to do. She didn’t need to breathe anyway. After all, she was a vampire and the only thing her body needed to survive was blood.
“You’re going to get better at this,” Allison said after a few moments. “It’s a lot to take in. I mean, we don’t learn how to be decent humans in a few days, or even a lifetime for some people. So, you can’t expect to have full control over your vampire nature so soon. It’s just like every other part of life. It takes time and patience, and most of all you just need to believe in yourself. You can be whoever you want to be, whether you’re a vampire or human. You just have to believe it to make it happen.”
Lisandra sat back so she could look her friend in the eyes. “You really believe that about people?”
Allison shook her head. “No, not about everyone. We both know that some people are perfectly fine with being the worst versions of themselves. But I believe in you. No matter what you’ve been through, and girl, you’ve been through the worst things life can throw at you. You’ve always come out on top with a smile and an optimistic outlook on your future. You’ve got this. Hell, you’ll probably be so good at all this vampire shit that Ricardo will be asking you for pointers by the end of next week.” She flashed a bright smile and winked at Lisandra, and they both burst out laughing.
“Thank you, Allison. I can always count on you to brighten my day.”
