Beautiful Monster 2 (Beautiful Monster #2)(5)
Author: Bella Forrest

I hadn’t wanted to fall in love with a student. I had never been in love in all my life. In lust, yes, but never in love. But Amy was irresistible, adorable and attractive, with her sweet smile and sparkling eyes. The connection that we made the first time our eyes met was unshakable. Of course, it helped that her blood was rotten, tainted with HIV and did not tempt me at any stage in my transformation. Amy was a breath of fresh air, and now that Porsche was gone, she was my only salvation.

Finally my cell phone rang with Amy’s ringtone, when I was in the dorms, sorting out a housing problem.

“Hey, I’m here. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

“I’ll be right there,” I said, snapping the phone shut and turning to the two students and dorm mother who stood before me with a grumpy body language. “Sorry, guys, emergency. Just um… flip a coin.”

Moving as fast as my human legs would carry me and wishing that I had vampire speed during the day, I rounded corners and power-walked down the hallways.

And then suddenly, there she was, right in front of me. She was wearing shorts and a baggy tee-shirt, with no makeup on, her hair hanging down her shoulders in waves. Her suitcase was beside her and she was looking down at her phone.

When she looked up, I saw her eyes light up, and she flung herself into my arms, half with a shriek and half with a laugh.

“LIAM!”

“AMY!” I cried, wrapping my strong arms around her.

Finally, all was well with the world. I buried my face in her neck. I could feel her pulse beating strongly, and smell her shampoo, filling my nose with the scent of lavender and chamomile. She was kissing my neck, clearly overwhelmed and forgetting about public displays. Uncaring myself, I kissed her back, pulling her a fraction of an inch away from me so I could kiss her full on the mouth.

She responded immediately, closing her eyes and nipping at my lips. Touching Amy was like coming home.

Finally, we pulled back so she could breathe, although we didn’t let go of each other.

“How are you? How was your train ride?”

“It was good, but sad,” she replied. “It’s weird, thinking that I won’t stand on that stage again and say those lines.”

“But there will be other stages and other lines,” I promised her. “And eventually, it doesn’t hurt so much to walk away from a show.”

“So they say.” She smiled at me and then stifled a yawn. “How was your day?”

“Agony, waiting for you,” I replied, shifting to put my arm around her shoulder. With my other hand, I grabbed her suitcase, dragging it behind us as we walked down the hall to the dorms. “I pretended to work all day.”

“Which you can do, being headmaster,” she teased me “Did you get any groupie new kids?”

“Yes, unfortunately. I’m going to start wearing a disguise.”

Amy shrugged, as we reached her new dorm room. I reached into my pocket for the keys that I had picked up earlier that day.

“I was like that.”

“What? No you weren’t!” I unlocked her door and pulled in her suitcase for her.

Her dorm room looked just like all the others, with the small rehearsal room, the mirrors and lights, as well as the fluffy bed and minuscule bathroom. But somehow, I knew Amy would make it her own. I also knew I’d be spending a lot of time on that bed.

My heart skipped a beat at the thought of it, as I watched her close the door.

She looked taller, and older, even though it had only been a few months. She had gone out in the world, experienced things, learned to be independent, and it had aged her. And I liked it.

“I have to take a shower. I feel disgusting,” she said, as she locked the door.

A devilish smile came over my features. “Can I join you?”

Slowly she moved forward, took my hand and led me towards the bathroom.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she said.

I needed no more prompting. It was going to be a good evening. At least until I transformed. But whatever hurdles came our way in the future, I knew that Amy and I would weather them. Because no matter what, I couldn’t live without her.

Chapter 3: Amy

For some reason, I was nervous about going to see my father, which was strange. I had missed him so much and whenever I was homesick, he was just a phone call away. Sometimes that meant he growled at me from the kitchen phone and told me he was working, but it was basically the same thing. But today, as I put my hair up and put on a nice skirt, I felt nervous.

Maybe it’s because now I felt truly like a grown-up. I was living away from home, now in my second year, and it was unlikely I would ever move back home. I was taking him to a fancy restaurant with my own money, which made me feel even more like a grown-up.

Or maybe it’s because Liam was coming with me. They had met before, of course, but this felt like a real adult thing, with the two most important men in my life.

"Have you told him about Sarah yet?" Liam asked, as we met in the lobby.

I grinned. "No. He thinks Sarah is the most annoying thing on the planet. I mean, he doesn’t hate her or anything, but when I lived at home, I was always talking about her. Sarah says this, Sarah says that. Because Sarah’s awesome. But he thought she was a bad influence on me."

"Well, then he must think I’m the worst influence in the world for you.” Liam grinned as he held the door open for me.

"I think he likes you, mostly," I replied as we walked out into the warm September sun.

"Are you going to audition for the year-end show?" he asked me, changing the subject.

I shrugged, giving him a mischievous smile. "Depends. Are you on the casting panel? Also, isn’t it a musical?"

"Right, but it’s not a strong musical. We revised half the songs and made them lines. And no, it’s completely impartial… not that I think that should impair you in any way."

"We’ll see then."

The restaurant was a short walk away, a place that I considered fancy, especially on a modest theater salary, even with the school allowance. It had been part of my scholarship, and I was grateful for it. However, you grow up fast when you grow up poor, and money worries were a very real concern for me. When school was over, if I didn’t get a show or a role somewhere, I had no idea what I was going to do.

My father was already inside, having gotten a table for three. He was reading the menu, no doubt criticizing it to no end, and didn’t notice us until we were practically on top of him.

“Amy!” He threw his arms around me, giving me a giant hug. I hugged him back, beaming. I had missed him more than I realized. “And Liam, good to see you.” He reached out to shake Liam’s hand.