Tattered Roses

Tattered Roses/I'm a Vampire's Slave. And Pregnant?! Chapter Four!

To read chapter one, click here.

Chapter Four

I woke up into complete darkness and snuggled Oliver closer to me, only to start panicking when I realized I didn’t have Oliver in my arms. I sat up and started to feel all around the giant bed for Oliver. Panic suffocated me as my search turned up hopeless. Where is he? What happened to him? I can’t lose him at a time like this. What if they took him from me? A cold hand touched mine, scaring me and making me scream. I scrambled off of the bed and ran towards the light that was outlining the door. I opened it and ran into the sunlit hallway, and smashing into a hard, cold body which made me fall back onto the floor. I looked up to see Liam, with a cigarette in his mouth. I squeaked as he grabbed my arm tightly and yanked me to my feet, “Watch where you're going.”

I was prepared to be hit and closed my eyes, warm tears falling over my cheeks as my eyelids closed. I felt cold hands on my shoulders, “Dad, let her go.”

Liam let his tight, painful grip on my arm go before taking a hit of his cigarette. Salem pulled me closer to him. Liam shoved his hand into the front pocket of his jeans and walked down the hallway and into a room. I looked up at Salem as he started pulling me into his room, “Oliver…”

“My mom is washing him for you.” Salem said as he closed his bedroom door, enclosing us in darkness again. I grabbed his arm, not wanting to be left alone in the dark. Salem sighed, “Do you want me to go see if he’s done, yet?”

“Mhm.” I said softly. I just wanted my bunny. Salem opened his bedroom door and pulled his arm from my grip before walking out of the room. I didn’t want to be left alone in the dark and followed him quickly. When he noticed I was trying to catch up to him, he slowed down and I caught up when he got to the top of the stairs. I wrapped my arms around myself, in an attempt to be comforted. Being without my bunny was like having a piece of me missing. And it was a feeling I never wanted to feel again. Salem noticed what I was wearing and pulled me back into his bedroom. He handed me a pair of boxers that I quickly put on, forgetting all I had on was his shirt.

Salem pulled me back out of his room and down the staircase. I followed Salem into a kitchen that was mostly white, the only colors being black on the counters and sea foam green on the walls with high ceilings. Blinds covered the windows, allowing a little bit of sunlight to seep through. Sunlight can’t instantly kill a vampire, but too much can harm them badly and if they are exposed for too long, they will die.

Serena was standing in front of a sink, her back to us. Salem stood beside her and looked down into the sink. Serena kissed his cheek, which Salem wiped off, “I washed him twice since he was so dirty. I didn’t think he would hold up in the washer, and I’m afraid the dryer can burn him, so he’s going to take a while to dry.”

I saw Serena lift up a wet Oliver and wrap him in a towel before cuddling him like a baby and rubbing him to dry. Salem rubbed his right eye before looking over his shoulder at me, “He’s going to take a while to dry. Do you want to go back to sleep so you won’t have to wait?”

“No.” I said softly. Serena turned around and smiled at me, continuing to rub Oliver as if it would help him dry faster, “You can have him now, but he’s wet.”

I held my arms out, indicating that I wanted him. I didn’t care if he was wet, Oliver is my other half. He is my best friend. Serena handed him to me and I cuddled him tightly. He smelled different, unlike how I’ve been used to how he smelled. He smelled like flowers. I looked up at Serena and Salem as Serena gave Salem a grimace, "Your father and I aren't very happy with what you did early this morning. You knew the rules."

Salem leaned against the counter, “What exactly did I do? I don't even remember coming home because I was so drunk.”

Serena looked over at me before sighing, “Take a small guess, Salem. It was the first rule about having a personal slave in this house."

"I was drunk, Mom. I obviously wasn't thinking about that." Salem said, never removing his gaze from Serena. Serena sighed, "I know. I don't want it to happen again. I know you will treat her better than most others would and I’m proud of that.”

Salem nodded before smiling at her. She smiled back and hugged him, much to his disliking. I smiled at them, wishing I had family that cared about me. I never knew my parents. Did I have siblings? Half siblings? I held Oliver tighter to me. Oliver was my only family, and I could be perfectly content with that. Salem looked over at me, “Are you hungry?”

I nodded. I hadn’t eaten since I was with my last owner. Atticus tried to get me to eat at the auction house but I was too scared to eat. Salem lifted me up by my waist and sat me on the black counter, “Is there anything you don’t like?”

“I haven’t tried anything I didn’t like.” I said softly.

Serena opened a door to a pantry, “I can make you some pancakes.”

“I wouldn’t mind pancakes.” Salem said as he leaned against the counter beside me and yawned. I knew vampires could eat human food, but it was weird to see a vampire who wanted to. Ramona never ate human food; her diet was strictly blood. I bit my lip and looked up at Salem. His black hair was everywhere and his blue eyes looked tired. Was he so tired because of what happened earlier? Serena turned and looked at me, “Would you eat pancakes?”

I nodded. Honestly, I had never had pancakes. I didn’t even know what they were. But they sounded nice. Serena smiled before grabbing a box and setting it on the counter, “What do you want in them?”

“I wouldn’t mind blueberries. Or vanilla cinnamon.” Salem said. He leaned down to me, “Trust me, my mom can make some amazing blueberry pancakes.”

“I like blueberries.” I said softly. I didn’t know what cinnamon was. It seems I have a lot to learn. Serena put a skillet on the stove, “Why don’t I make some blueberry, vanilla cinnamon, and some plain ones?”

Salem smiled, “That sounds amazing.”

“What sounds amazing?” Liam asked as he walked into the kitchen. I grabbed Salem’s arm, wishing he was wearing a shirt. What if he made fun of me for being scared of his dad? Salem placed his right hand on my bare thigh, which made an explosion in my chest as butterflies erupted. I guess it was an attempt to comfort me. Liam leaned in and kissed Serena as he wrapped her lovingly in his arms. As he looked at her, I could see the love in his eyes instead of the icy cold glare he gives me. I couldn’t help but wish I could have something like that one day. I looked up at Salem as he answered his father’s question, “Mom’s making pancakes.”

Liam smiled and kissed Serena again, “A perfect noon-time snack.”

Salem groaned, “It’s noon? Uggh.”

I looked up at him. I honestly liked the day better than the night. Liam looked over at us and sent me a smirk before walking towards us, “I think another nice snack would be fresh blood.”

Salem stepped in front of me, blocking Liam’s path to get to me. I leaned closer to Salem, afraid of Liam sinking his fangs in me. Salem growled slightly, in an attempt to threaten Liam. Liam chuckled, “I’m kidding, Salem. I prefer my blood to be cold.”

“Dad, I don’t want you to scare her. She’s already scared enough.” Salem said as he leaned against the counter beside me again. Serena started to pour batter into the hot skillet, causing a sizzling noise to erupt through the kitchen. Liam chuckled again before ruffling up my hair with his hand, “Don’t worry, shortcake here won’t be scared once she gets used to everything.”

I looked up at Liam. What happened to the vampire that’s been so rude to me? He’s being so nice. I held Oliver closer and buried my face in the now wet towel surrounding him, hoping Liam would go away. To my surprise, Liam pulled Oliver from me and unwrapped him. He examined him, “Where did you get this thing, anyways?”

“I don’t remember.” I said, my voice coming out in a squeak. Liam rolled his eyes before tossing Oliver back to me. I caught him and held him tightly, not caring the shirt I had on was getting wet. Salem grabbed the towel off of the floor and wrapped Oliver in it. Liam wrapped his arms around Serena as she cooked and kissed her cheek. I heard him whisper how much he loved her in her ear. Salem cleared his throat, “I’m right here, guys.”

Serena giggled as Liam sat on a black barstool at the island in the middle of the kitchen. I couldn’t help but once again be envious of their love. I was a slave. Slaves weren’t supposed to have love. Salem yawned again, which seemed to cause me to yawn. Salem walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a plastic bottle full of dark red liquid. I cringed slightly as he took a sip, knowing it was blood that he was drinking. A lot of humans that don’t get sold in auction houses go to blood banks, where their blood is harvested for vampires. I hugged Oliver closer to me. Would I be put in a blood bank one day when no one wants me?

“Sweetie, will you hand me the butter?” Serena asked as she piled pancakes on a plate. Salem opened the refrigerator again and pulled out a tub of butter before handing it to his mom. He grabbed a hot pancake and came back over to me. I watched him rip the round pancake in half and hand me half, “Try it.”

I took the pancake half and nibbled on it, afraid I wouldn’t like it. An amazing taste came over me as I chewed on the fluffy pancake. I quickly ate the rest of what was in my hand, “This is amazing.”

Salem smiled, “Yeah. This one is vanilla cinnamon. Just wait until it’s smothered in butter and syrup.”

I looked up at him and returned his smile. I was never allowed to have luxury foods like butter and syrup. All the food I had ever had were plain and dull, the type of stuff slaves are supposed to have, like rice and gruel. They were going to let me have luxury items. Liam stretched, “I think I’ll be going to bed soon.”

“I’ll be there with you after I wash the dishes, babe.” Serena said as she continued to pile the pancakes on the plate. Liam smiled, “I’ll help with the dishes.”

Salem rolled his eyes and shook his head. He glanced at me and noticed the spot on my neck where he bit me. He placed his hand on the spot, rubbing the scabs. The spot where the bites were was sore, which made me jerk back a little. Salem winced, "Sorry. I wasn't in my right mind and it won't happen again."

I looked down at Oliver, "I didn't mind."

It was true. I liked it. My body seemed to want it more than I did. I really wouldn't mind if he did it to me again. Even the bite wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be. I liked Salem being near me, and I liked the way his touch left a burning on me. Most humans don't get treated like this. Ramona didn't even treat me this nice. I liked it here so far.