Forbidden Love 06

CHAPTER SIX...

Belle sat quietly, her hands gripping Claire's tightly as she stared at her bedside clock. It was nearly 12 a.m. Aleksander still had not come.

'He did say he was coming, didn't he?' Claire asked.

'Yeah, well what he said was if he didn't come last night then he'd be here soon.' Belle replied biting her lower lip.

Claire rubbed her back slowly, 'He might still come. I mean, I can wait up here with you all night if you like.'

Belle shook her head. She had all but screamed his name as piteously as she could in her mind but he still was not here. All she felt was worry. Was he still okay? Had he been found out and punished? What was going to happen to him then? A small voice in her mind berated her and told her to think about herself instead. What was going to happen to her if found out? She pushed that thought away. She knew that they could never find her because Aleksander would never tell them where she lived. She trusted him that much.

She sighed again and stood up to stretch the kinks in her back. 'I'm just gonna go get a glass of water. I really don't think he's coming and I'm sorry for making you wait up with me.'

Claire shook her head and smiled at her, 'Any time my darling. And we could still stay here, I mean it. I haven't really got anything to do, well apart from work tomorrow but I've slept for fewer hours so really....'

Belle shook her head; a part of her was happy that Claire cared so much, but the cynical part of her knew that Claire, as lovely as she was, was partly humoring Belle. She did not believe that Aleksander was a vampire or would come in through the window. She probably thought Belle was having some minor breakdown and was simply on hand to rush her to the nearest hospital. She knew that Claire definitely had her best interest at hand but she just wished she trusted and believed her, Belle, a bit more.

Belle turned towards the door to get her glass of water from the kitchen and heard a sudden gasp from Claire. She whirled round quickly and saw a white faced Claire pointing at the window. She bit back a smile of part relief, part 'I told you so' from her face as Aleksander nimbly landed on the window sill.

Belle could not stifle her smile any longer as she saw Claire gape and stutter.

'I should definitely have made you start using the front door.' She giggled.

Claire turned wide eyes at her and started, 'Did you see...did you....' Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.

Belle snorted with laughter and bent to pat Claire's face gently, trying to revive her. Aleksander stared at both of them confused. As Belle revived Claire, Aleksander asked in a puzzled voice, 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not your friend from the club, Claire is it?'

Belle nodded not looking at him as she was concentrating on the prone body next to her, 'Good memory you have there.'

Aleksander nodded to himself still looking confused, 'Right. Okay. Can I just ask what she's doing here?'

'Well, at the moment she's unconscious.' Belle replied sarcastically.

Aleksander refrained from rolling his eyes and said in a voice devoid of emotion, 'Yes. I can see that. And you know that's not what I mean but if you want it spelt out for you then I shall. What is she doing here, seeing me fly in, when we both promised that we wouldn't tell anyone about this?'

Belle whirled round to look up at her from her squatting position and retorted angrily, 'Well, that was before this new problem cropped up. I don't have your stoic temperament and 'can do' spirit. I needed, no, I need someone to be with me. To help me decide what I should do about...well you know. And just so you know, we never promised each other not to tell anyone about anything. It was more like an unconscious decision we both took to keep schtum. I had to tell my best friend as I really need help deciding on what to do, and anyway you can talk. You told your dad or how would he have known where I lived?'

Aleksander kept quiet at this. Belle shook her head in anger and turned back to Claire. Claire's eyes were already open and staring at her.

'Was that guy flying or have I been popping pills unknowingly?' She croaked.

Belle couldn't suppress a quick bark of laughter, 'I really didn't want to say this, but I have to – I told you so. I mean Claire, have you ever known me to be so fanciful that I'd make up a story about vampires? Really?'

Claire shook her head as she gingerly raised herself to a sitting position. She tried not to look at Aleksander but it was impossible. He bent to help her stand up and she had to stop herself from flinching but he noticed as his jaws became clenched.

When Claire could stand by herself without swaying, Belle clapped her hands firmly. 'Fine, now that that's sorted we need to talk about something important. And I for one need a strong cup of tea, so tea anyone?'

Claire shook her head as Aleksander stared at her expressionless. Her seemingly firm spirit wilted and her shoulders slumped.

'Look,' She whispered, 'I'm trying to hold myself together so that I don't break down in tears because that's all I've been able to do throughout today and I'm tired of crying. I'm a strong girl, or I thought I was and I want that strong girl back. So even if I'm doing a piss-poor job of it, please, I beg you two, let's sit and talk about this like three adults.'

Claire looked at her with sad eyes and nodded, 'Sorry, Belle. I mean, this is all a shock to me. Or it shouldn't as you did tell me but I didn't believe, and I know you're about to make one of the biggest decisions of your life and I'm here being a numpty. Come on, let's go make a hot, sickeningly sweet cup of tea.'

Belle smiled at her thankfully and turned to Aleksander. Aleksander stared back at her with a set face for a second then closed his eyes, 'Your friend is right and I apologise for being a, ahem, 'numpty'.' He moved back a second, 'Lead the way.'

In no time, they were all gathered round Belle's small dining table with steaming cups of tea in the girls' hands and nothing in Aleksander's.

Belle sipped her tea and gulped quickly ignoring the burn at the roof of her mouth. She cleared her throat and looked at Aleksander.

'I have something really important to tell you, Aleks.' She started.

Aleksander interrupted immediately, 'Belle, if you're about to do what I think you're about to then I won't agree.'

Belle looked at him in exasperation, 'Well if you think I want to break up with you then, yes. I do. And you know it's for your own good.'

Aleksander shook his head, 'No. I disagree. And you are not breaking up with me because I won't accept it.'

Belle looked at him incredulously, 'What century are you from? If I break up with you, you don't have any choice but to accept it. That's just the way it is.'

Aleksander folded his hands, 'Well, that's your opinion.'

Belle made to open her mouth then shut it with a huge snap. She sighed, rolled her eyes to the ceiling as if asking for prayers then looked back at Aleksander. This time she started in what she hoped was a clear and sensible tone, 'Aleksander, I love you. I really do, but we have to be practical here. It's pretty obvious that we can't continue this relationship. You heard what your father said. One of your parents will be killed, Aleksander! Do you want that on your head? I don't mind ending this. It will hurt me, it definitely will, but I love you too much to have you remain with the death of your parents on your head.'

Aleksander looked at his tightly clasped hands. 'I understand what you're saying Belle. I really do, and I thank you for being so considerate. But I'm too selfish to let you go. You're the first person I've ever loved in three hundred and twenty two years. Three hundred and twenty two years, Belle! No, I can't. My parents found love and I know deep down they want it for me. And I know they can take care of themselves, anyhow. Please Belle, let's find another way like...like...running away. Yes, let's run away.'

Belle had been staring at him with unconcealed horror. 'Have you gone mad?' She shrieked so loudly that Claire jumped beside her. Claire looked at both of them uneasily and stood up, 'Maybe I should leave so you guys can talk in private, you really don't need me here...'

'Sit.' Belle hissed at her so vehemently that Claire plopped her bum down by her immediately. She turned to a stunned Aleksander and continued, 'Are you listening to yourself, Aleksander? Your parents can take care of themselves? Your parents found love? How many times have your parents probably sacrificed their joy for you without you knowing? And what about your sisters or you don't think their lives could be threatened? You know, the ones you claim you love; well have they found love yet? Have they lived their lives already? How selfish can you be? And you expect me to run away with you? Simply run away without telling my parents, my family about this whole situation? Who are you?' She ended with a disgusted look on her face.

Aleksander looked at her in shock then dropped his gaze to the table in despair, 'I'm so sorry.' He whispered brokenly. 'I don't know what's gotten into me. I just don't want to lose you, Belle. I'd rather die than be without you.'

Belle shook her head still angry, 'So the best idea you decided to come up with was 'run away'? Don't be childish, Aleksander, these are vampires we're talking about. They have eternity to find us no matter where we hide. And for how long are we going to run anyway? A year, two, twenty, fifty? Let's assume we last that long. By then I'll be in my seventies. How are you going to log my old, decrepit body around then? And once I die, what are you going to do? Go back to the dead family you've left behind due to our stupidity...no, your stupidity?' She shook her head wiping a tear that had escaped down her cheek angrily, 'No, Aleksander, I don't think that's a good idea at all. I don't even have the words to describe how not good it is.' She sniffed and looked at him with reddened but determined eyes. 'I say we end this as quickly as possible. It'll hurt, God it hurts already, but this way we are all safe. Your people and mine. Just do what your elders require of you. Right now you're too upset to see how sensible this is but you'll realise it later.'

Aleksander smiled at her bitterly, 'Just as you've realized it now, I suppose? I never thought you could be so cruel. Look at you, all matter-of-fact and put together. If you truly love me how come you're sensible already?'

Belle burst in with a cry, 'Because one of us has to be the mature one, Aleks, can't you see that! If I cry and wail and basically act the way you're doing then nothing will come out of it, except death and more tears. Stop doing this, Aleks, please.'

Aleks grit his teeth and his eyes welled, 'You do realise that this is the same as sticking a knife in me?'

Belle dashed a hand over her face to wipe the tears that were flowing freely now, 'Oh stop being over dramatic, Aleks. How on earth is trying to save you and the family you have which I've never seen by the way, how is that sticking a knife in your back? Infact this is proof that I love your stubborn arse. What more do you want from me? You should be thrilled that I'm not hanging on to you and forcing you to choose between me and your family.'

Aleksander sneered, 'Maybe it's because you already know that I've chosen you. So you're sticking the knife in and twisting it as cruelly as you can.'

Belle gasped at him, 'How can you say that? How can you be so...evil?'

Aleks looked away from her stricken face and at some spot over her shoulder, 'I'm sorry.' He said not sounding apologetic at all, 'I see that you are determined to push me out of your life. And I will kindly take my leave if that's alright with you.'

Belle looked at him with a tear streaked face then sniffed once more trying to pull herself together, 'Look Aleks, you're upset, more than upset I can see that. I'm willing to forgive all that has come out of your mouth because I know you aren't thinking straight right now. But surely, you must see that I'm doing this for you? I love you, I don't think I'll be able to ever stop loving you. I've loved all the times we spent together and these are memories I will cherish till I die, but I have to let you go so that you can be safe. Why can't you do the same for me?

Aleks replied with a clenched jaw, 'Because if you truly love me, like I you, then you would be as reluctant to let go as I am. You would look for a way for us to remain together no matter how preposterous the way seems.'

Belle shook her head with a sad smile on her face, 'Oh Aleks, no matter how much we claim we love each other we clearly don't know much about each other. You certainly don't know much about me. Because if you did, you would know that I have thought about it from every angle and this is clearly the only sensible reason I ended up with. I may seem hard hearted to you, seem unemotional but you have to know that there is no other way we can do this and that's why I'm trying as much as I can to resolve myself to this scenario. Us splitting up. If you really loved me Aleks then you would let me go and save the numerous lives that are at stake.'

Aleks replied just as quickly, 'If you really loved me, if you have really checked from every angle possible, then you would know that there's one more action to take.'

'And what's that?'

'Becoming a vampire.'

Claire gasped and glanced at the two of them with wide eyes. The situation had spiraled out of hand and landed in shits-ville. She was too scared to contribute anything as she didn't want her head bitten off, maybe literally even, but there was no way she was going to stand by and let Aleks change her friend into a vampire.

She opened her mouth to say something but was stunned into silence by Belle's retort.

'Do you think I didn't think of that? That was the first thing I considered you extremely stupid boy.'

Claire and Aleksander gasped at the heat in her voice.

Belle continued in a furious hissing tone, 'Then I remembered what you told me, with all that pride and smug arrogance in your voice. You're a pure bred. If you change me, will that make me a pure bred? No! So all we'll succeed in doing is making me more estranged from my family and friends and making me much harder to kill. So what else, Einstein?'

Aleksander looked at her in wonder, 'You would have done that? For me?'

Belle opened her mouth then shut it before saying dully, 'It doesn't matter anyway does it? The problem won't go away regardless of what I would have done.'

Aleksander's eyes nearly glowed, 'Would you have done it? Would you have changed into a vampire for me? Answer me, Annabelle Flemingway!'

'I don't know, okay.' She screamed back, 'I don't know if I would have. I thought about it but once I realized it won't change anything I didn't dwell on it any further. IF it could change something then who knows, maybe. But I don't know. There's your answer.'

Aleksander made a face that was meant to be a smile but it ended as a grimace, 'So this was all some novelty to you wasn't it?'

'Aleks!'

'This was all a game then, the thrill of being in a relationship with a non-human and at the first signs of trouble you bail. When it all comes down to it, you aren't loved up enough to change to what I am. A monster.'

'What the fuck are you talking about? You know I'm right about us splitting up and now you're trying to find a fight out of nowhere, why are you being so unnecessarily mean?' Belle asked in confusion. She had never seen this side of Aleks before. This stubborn, bitter, mean side of him. 'I'm the one who's gonna end up sacrificing a lot for this, Aleks. You may sulk all you like now, but you have eternity to live. So you'll inevitably snap out of it and start enjoying the new family you're going to have. A nice pure bred wife and some itty bitty cute purebred kids. But me, I've got, what...another fifty or sixty years? I'll probably never get over this and if I ever do, then it will be too late for me to start looking for love again. So I remain a bitter old lady thinking about what was but could never happen. Why the fuck did you come into my life in the first place? You must have known that nothing could ever come out of it, what with you being a vampire and me being human. Yet you came in and made me fall in love with you. You have no bloody right to be upset or angry about this, Aleksander. No right at all, so jump off that fucking high horse of yours.'

Aleks shook his head, 'I can't deal with this. Not right now. I'm leaving, Belle. When you're in a better frame of mind, I'll come back but right now...I can't do this. I came here at the defiance of my family, at the risk of getting killed and this is how you thank me? By not fighting harder for our supposed love?'

Belle stood up startling Claire to no end and grabbed her hair in annoyance before letting out a loud shriek, 'You, Aleksander are a fucking psycho. You have no ounce of reasoning in that undead body of yours. Why or how the fuck do you expect me to fight a losing battle? How am I to win something that cannot be won? Are you that thick? Were you home-schooled and taught in the ways of the vampires but nothing about logic, is that why you're being so thick? Bloody, fucking hell, Aleks! I'm a fucking human, a mere human who could get killed just like that if I start kicking up a fuss. This is probably why you wanted this relationship secret in the first place.'

Aleks stood up as well and planted his fists on the table ignoring a whimpering Claire who was now wringing her hands in fear, 'Now who's the unreasonable one? You bloody well know that the only reason I wanted to keep this a secret was to keep you safe.'

Belle folded her arms together as she let out a sharp mirthless laugh, 'Ha! And you don't think that this is more deadly, not letting me go? You kept this a secret because I am human and could be killed for being in a relationship with a vampire. But you don't think that remaining in said relationship especially with a pure bred and daring to end their dream of mating all their purebreds will make them angrier than just dating a human? For this, they'll probably change me to a vampire so that I can be tortured forever. Think, you stupid man!'

Aleksander scowled but did not say anything. It was clear from his expression that he was beginning to see that there was truly nothing they could do. That Belle was making sense. But he was too angry to say out loud that he agreed with her. Too hurt.

'I'm leaving.' He said abruptly and Belle let out an involuntary gasp. This time he was serious, he was truly leaving. And Belle knew that for all her bravado, she had been hoping that he could change everything and they would remain together. But that was not going to happen.

She put a hand to her chest and made a fist as if she was trying to grab her heart and stop it from bursting out of her body.

Then he said in a spiteful tone as he if wanted to leave her with the hurt that he was carrying away with him, 'Clearly coming here was a waste of my time as you don't want to continue this so fine. I free you. This is over.'

Belle gasped out in shock as Claire glared at him, 'You can say that after all you've put my friend through, you ape?'

Belle just stood there with her mouth open and watched him go into her room presumably to fly out. Her knees buckled and she would have hit the floor if Claire had not rushed to grab her.

'Oh my God.' She whispered over and over again as she stared at nothing.

She had tried to end things reasonably. Had tried to make him see the sense in splitting up. Had given him all the reasons. Had even considered becoming a vampire, all to please him, and this was her reward? To be spoken to so callously? She knew that he was saying all these as an outlet for his frustration that he could not change anything. She knew that he loved her and was angry he could not protect her without them ending their relationship, but that did not give him any right to end it in such a terrible way. She could not believe he had flown off after emitting such horrible words.