Page 26 of Resurrecting His Soul
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“Thatsmells amazing,” Lisandra said when she walked through the French doors into the kitchen of the guest house.
Allison was bent in front of the opened oven, and when she stood the steam from the casserole wafted through the air, filling the room with the smell of green peppers, sausage, and eggs. It was the first time Lisandra thought about regular food since she was turned, and she suddenly missed eating.
“Want some?” Allison held up a spatula full of steaming casserole, ready to be plated.
“You know, I never thought to ask Ricardo if we can eat regular food.”
“Won’t hurt to try it,” Allison said, and she pushed a plate full of casserole across the kitchen island towards Lisandra.
She put a forkful of the cheesy sausage and egg combo in her mouth and immediately spit it back out and shoved the plate away.
Allison laughed. “Well, I guess you’ve got your answer.”
“Damn,” Lisandra pouted. “I always loved your breakfast casserole.”
Allison laid her fork down on her plate and turned in her seat so they were face to face. “I know you have a special connection with Ricardo, but you need to consider that you’re not safe here… we aren’t safe here.”
“I was worried about that, too, but he sent Melina away. He finally recognized she’s not ready to change; that she was a risk to all of us.”
Allison leaned closer to her and rested a hand on her knee. “I know you’re smart enough to see that Melina won’t just give up that easily.”
She looked away. “I know, but I’m hoping that he will stick to his word with her. Who knows? Maybe if she sees that he isn’t going to budge, she will rethink her ways and make some real changes. Sometimes it just takes the right motivation for someone to grow up, right?”
She wasn’t surprised when Allison just rolled her eyes.
“Yeah,” she said. “I didn’t really believe that either. That girl is evil to her core.”
“Yeah, she is,” Allison agreed. “I guarantee that evil streak started before she was turned into a bloodsucker.”
“Hey!” Lisandra smacked her friend in the arm, but Allison just laughed.
“Oh, don’t turn all soft on me now.”
It didn’t take long for their laughter to die back down, and Allison’s worried gaze was like a knife cutting through Lisandra’s fantasy world. “Lis, we cannot stay here. You know it. Just like you knew that staying with Jameson was a bad idea. I can’t sit back and watch you make the wrong decision and put your life in danger like that again.”
“This is different,” she insisted. “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, Allison. I can defend myself now. I won’t sit back and become someone’s victim. Not this time. I’m not letting Melina take away what I’ve just found with Ricardo. I’ve been through too much in my life in the name of supposed love. Now that I’ve found the real thing, I won’t be run off by some jealous little vampire.” But even as the words came out, she couldn’t deny the truth in Allison’s words. Not deep down.
Allison hopped off her stool so fast it toppled and almost fell to the ground before righting itself. “Just because you’re stronger than you used to be doesn’t mean you are stronger than her. She’s been a vampire longer than you.”
“So,” Lisandra stood her ground. “Ricardo said that new vampires are incredibly strong, too.”
Allison threw her arms in the air. “Yet he hasn’t had a problem stopping the majority of your attacks during your training!”
“He’s had centuries of practice. Melina hasn’t.”
Allison closed the space between them and gripped Lisandra’s arms in her hands. “She’s had more practice than you. She is a killer, Lis. And from what you’ve told me about how you ended up becoming one of them, she enjoys it. Hell, if we are being completely honest, Ricardo does too.”
“Shut up,” Lisandra seethed through clenched teeth.
Allison threw her arms up. “You can’t just ignore his past and give over your trust completely. I’m not saying dump the guy, but you have to be careful. I would think with your past you wouldn’t need me to say that to you.”
“I am not ignoring his past!” She covered her face and drug her hands down slowly, walking away from Allison, back out the French doors to stand on the patio. She needed some air, but she knew Allison followed her even without turning around. She sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it, Allison. This connection we have. It’s some kind of deep, on a level I cannot put into words. I just. I can’t walk away from him.”
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Allison. The anger was gone from her friend’s eyes, but not the worry. Allison’s brows were drawn together, making her nose look pinched. Lisandra hated being the reason for the worry creasing her friend’s forehead, but Allison had always worried about her. She was afraid that might be something she would never be able to make stop.
The two of them walked back inside and over to the couch in the adjoining living room and sat down. Allison turned to face her, and Lisandra followed suit. “I need you to try,” Allison started, then took a deep breath. “I need you to try to explain this connection. Help me understand why it makes you trust him. I get that he saved you from Melina at the fair. Hell, I’m sure his actions also kept me alive, and I will forever be grateful to him for that. Still, it doesn’t wipe away the people he killed before that day, and it doesn’t mean he won’t do it again. He’s a vampire.”
