Chapter 2 The Women Before You

• I hadn't been in school for a total of three weeks, and honestly, it was the last thing on my mind. Silas had a job now; he was planning to build a real estate firm from scratch without his father's support. It would take a while before he saw his dream through, which meant Octavia was mostly my responsibility during the day.
• When I got the call from my father, I didn’t think it would be about me missing classes. I couldn’t help but think, after all that has happened, is that all my dad cares about? He hadn’t come to see me even once since I was brought home. I had a feeling he was avoiding me, and when he finally called me, it was to scold me about missing classes.
• "Are you kidding me?" I asked, anger and genuine shock evident in my voice.
• "I'm serious, Kerina. I know you're dealing with a lot, but school is important. If you want to study something else, we can figure it out."
• "Dad, school is the last thing on my mind right now."
• "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you need to put your life back on track."
• I scoffed at his words. I already had my life back on track. I didn’t need to attend some stupid school to prove this. My father sighed on the other end as if he could hear my thoughts.
• "Alright, you don’t have to start attending classes immediately. But come see me—I think we have a lot to talk about."
• "Fine, I’ll be there."
• We exchanged a few more words, mostly him inquiring about my health and surprisingly about Mom. I held back any questions about the nature of their relationship. Mom and Bill had gone back a few days after I was brought home. Mom would have stayed longer, but I doubted she was in the right mental state to take care of me. Bill must have noticed it too, and that’s probably why he convinced her to return home.
• I set the phone aside and went down to the kitchen, where Silas was bottle-feeding Octavia.
• "Hey," I greeted him with a smile. He glanced back at me with a slight frown, no doubt having picked up on the sourness of my mood.
• "What’s wrong?"
• "Dad wants me back in school. I told him I had better things to think about right now, but he disagrees. Apparently, all he cares about is me getting a degree."
• "Kerry, of course, you're going back to school. I just thought some time to yourself would do you some good."
• Honestly, I wasn’t even surprised by Silas siding with my dad.
• "Who’s going to take care of Octavia?"
• "I can work from home long enough for us to figure something else out."
• "But—"
• "It’s okay, baby. Seriously, I’ve got your back."
• "Then... it’s decided?"
• "I mean, yeah. You’ve healed completely, and though I’m not entirely comfortable letting you out of my sight, you’re sure he wouldn’t come after you again, right?"
• "Yeah." Almost certain, anyway.
• When I arrived at the school, Dad happened to be in one of his classes, so I had to wait for him in his office. When he finally came to meet me, I at least expected a hug. All I got was a simple nod of acknowledgment, which I tried not to let bother me.
• "Thank you for coming," he said.
• "It’s fine. But just so you know, I’m coming back to school in a few weeks."
• "That’s alright. I’m glad you’re considering it."
• He looked at me briefly and sighed. I knew immediately that whatever he was going to say wouldn’t be good.
• "I’m moving to California tomorrow."
• "What?! Are you kidding me? Dad, we just got back together! I thought at least we’d get to spend some time together before you ran away again!"
• "It’s not running away, Kerry. I’ve explained this already. We can’t be close to each other—it won’t be good for either of us. The reason you haven’t made any progress with your abilities isn’t because you’re not trying enough. It’s because I’m here. Soon enough, we’ll both start getting sick, and it could lead to death. I can’t take that risk."
• "Surely there’s a way to fix it. We can—"
• "Kerina, I’m sorry, but there isn’t. The only solution is for us to get as far away from each other as possible."
• "But I want you here... so badly. I’m confused and scared..."
• "I know, sweetheart."
• He reached over the table to hold my hand. The touch stung; it didn’t bring any comfort at all. I understood what he meant now, and it was just so unfair. The one person who might have understood me, who might have been strong enough to protect me, couldn’t even stay with me.
• "Is this about Asher? Didn’t you say he wasn’t coming back—that he had what he wanted?"
• "It’s complicated."
• I pulled my hand away and leaned back in my seat. The room suddenly felt too small at the mention of that man. I remembered him looming over me, holding Octavia and claiming her as his.
• "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Call me if you want to."
• "Kerina—"
• "Dad, please, I need time."
• "Right." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. But Dad had always been good at controlling his emotions. "I’ll call you later tonight."
• I walked out of the office, rubbing at my hand to dispel the discomfort that seemed to be spreading. I got into the car I had borrowed from Silas. He probably wouldn’t be happy to find out I was out driving without a license, but I had needed the alone time to think while coming here. I settled into the driver’s seat and dug through my bag for the keys.
• "Anxious?"
• "Oh God!" My heart nearly burst out of my chest in fright. I glanced at the rearview mirror and saw him nestled in the back seat with his legs crossed casually. He grinned at me, displaying a pair of sharp fangs that would forever haunt my dreams. My body was trembling, and I was tempted to get out of the car. I tried to get the door open, but it was jammed.
• "Calm down. I'm not here to hurt you."
• "Y...You said you would stay away, until..."
• "Your daughter was older? Yes, but I'm not going to lie and say I am that patient. It gets boring for a man like me. You can serve as my entertainment until your daughter can take her rightful place by my side."
• "Leave my d...daughter out of this! I'm warning you!"
• "Look at you, shaking like a leaf but still trying to act tough. You are truly very entertaining."
• I opened my eyes to curse at him but quickly noticed the way the blue of his eyes dimmed to a dark scarlet color. I had only ever seen a vampire's eyes get like that when they intended to feed. My mouth closed of its own accord, and my fear once more overwhelmed any anger or protectiveness I might feel on Octavia's behalf. Asher laughed cheerfully.
• "Relax, I have no intention of taking your brat from you—not now, anyway. Drive."
• "My...hands are shaking, I...might crash the car."
• "Well, it’s good that neither of us is human. And I’m sure your lover has enough money to replace a car. Now drive."
• Seeing no way out of the situation, I started the car with shaky hands and pulled out of the school driveway. Right now, I wished I had at least stayed with my dad for a bit longer, if that would have even made any difference.
• The drive back home felt like it stretched for eternity. I kept my eyes solely on the road, afraid that if I glanced at Asher even once, I might actually crash the car.
• Finally, the car pulled up in front of my and Silas's house. I was prepared to get out of the car, but Asher's hand was placed firmly on my shoulder. I only managed to hold back my scream due to the fear of making things worse. Asher didn’t breathe, and he was much colder than Silas. His scent, sweet and metallic, assaulted my senses.
• "Why are you so eager to run away?" he asked with no small amount of amusement. "I remember how sweet you were with me before. What changed?"
• "You are disgusting!" I spat.
• To think that this loathsome monster had been disguising himself as Matt all that time made me feel revolted. To think I had slept with Matt, and I... Oh God! We slept together! I felt like throwing up at the thought. Why would he do this?! If he only wanted my daughter, what reason could he possibly have to play with my feelings like this?!
• "Don’t think too hard, darling. My time with you was fun. I pray your daughter grows to look just like you. You are gorgeous, my love."
• I flinched away from his touch. Asher scoffed and withdrew his wandering hands. I kept my eyes closed for several minutes, trying to control my emotions. When I finally opened them, Asher was nowhere to be found. He was gone as fast as he had come.
• I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. For the first time, I noticed the Mercedes parked in front of the house. Who could it possibly be?
• "Hey, baby." Silas was in the living room with Octavia nestled in his arms.
• A beautiful woman sat next to him on the sofa, with her hand placed on my boyfriend's lap. I paused at the door to take in the scene before advancing forward.
• "How did it go?" Silas asked, not seeming to notice the way my eyes narrowed at the manicured fingers on his thigh.
• The woman touching him did notice. She flashed me a smile that looked too forced to be real and didn’t bother taking her hand back. I took in a deep breath.
• "It went fine. Dad’s moving to California. Who is this?"
• "Wait, why is your dad moving?"
• "Because he has to. Silas, who’s your friend?"
• "Oh, this is Molly. She’s a classmate of mine, also a coworker. Molly, this is my girlfriend, Kerry."
• "I see. She seems a bit familiar, though," Molly said, her eyes trailing over my form. "Have I seen her before, Si?"
• Silas smiled stiffly. "Probably not. I’ll go bring you those papers you wanted."
• I reached out to take our baby from him. He placed a small kiss on my cheek before heading upstairs.
• I settled on a sofa a good distance from the guest and coddled my daughter. I was still shaken from my interaction with Asher.
• "She doesn’t look like Si," Molly’s words drew my attention back to her. She was looking at Octavia with narrowed eyes. "Not even a little bit."
• "What is that supposed to mean?"
• "Nothing. Just that I’ve never heard of vampires and humans having children. It’s not biologically possible. And your daughter looks nothing like Si."
• "You are trying to imply what, exactly?"
• Molly's red-tinted lips curled up in an aggressive smile. "Girls have claimed to be pregnant by Silas back at school. You know, he was a playboy back then—slept with a lot of girls: humans, vampires, succubi, you name it. Those dumb bimbos thought that once they claimed to carry his children, they would actually get something more than a quick fuck out of him."
• "What the fuck?!"