Be Careful When You Bite Me

Chapter 16

The morning rolled around quickly and I woke up to realize Damon had left. I tried to dismiss the uncomfortable feeling of disappointment and was hit with the sudden sense of déjà vu when I caught sight of the breakfast tray on my dresser. I nibbled on the sandwich after taking a quick shower and changing into a fresh pair of pants and a t-shirt. I grabbed Luna's phone that I had stashed under the mattress and turned it on.

3 missed calls.

The calls were all made from the same number who I could only assume was Luna. I called the number back and waited as it rang.

"Hello," I recognized the voice immediately.

"Luna, it's Holly."

"Holly, are you back at the castle."

I sighed," yes, I'm getting ready to go out into the village now."

"His fruit shop is on 23rd avenue. Have him meet you tonight at 8 pm at the castle gates with a fruit delivery, don't tell him out loud just hand him a note or something."

"What happens when he comes to the gate tonight?"

"Nothing, not yet, just call me, I'd like to talk to him."

"And then? What will happen after that?"

"Call me tomorrow morning and I'll let you know the plan. I'm still trying to get some details sorted out with a couple of friends in Oakridge."

"Okay, I'll talk to you soon."

"Holly..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Just as I was about to hang up, she spoke again," Holly!"

"Yes?"

"Ask for strawberries...he'll understand."

I smiled gently although she couldn't see," no problem."

I made sure to turn off the phone again so it doesn't ring whilst I'm with Damon. I searched my dressers for a pen and a pencil and scribbled down a note.

Dimitri,

I'm Holly, a friend of Luna's.

Meet me at the castle gates

tonight at 8 with a fruit delivery.

I read over the note a couple of times and decided it was as good as it was going to get.

I ran out into the hallway and began to make my way upstairs to Damon's room. When I had finally reached the door, I couldn't help the flashback of the last time I was here. I had witnessed him and Isabelle in a very compromised position.

I heard the sudden muffled voices of two people arguing and leaned down to be eye level with the small envelope slit. I pulled down to reveal about half of an inch of sight but could hardly see anything. In the far corner, I could make two figures.

"I was the fool that didn't see it coming, and you took advantage of that," I recognized the voice immediately as Damon's.

"I don't know what she told you, but it was clearly to create a wedge between us Damon, she's a human, a foreigner, listen to yourself," this was with no doubt, Isabelle faking her way into yet another conversation with Damon.

"A foreigner that had nothing to gain from telling me the truth. You and Seth want my place on the throne and that's going to happen over my dead body-"

"Damon please, listen to me, that pathetic girl likes you, she was jealous-"

"And you thought that if Seth couldn't have the throne, you'd at least have me hooked, either way, you'd be Queen, I must admit I underestimated you, but you're a worse than those slimy cousins of yours."

"That's not true Damon, I love you, and when I get my hands on that lying filthy Holly-"

"Get out!"

I jumped up at the sound of Damon's roar and felt the goosebumps line my skin. I've never heard him so angry before.

"Damon-" Isabelle began again but he cut her off.

I seen Damon's hands flash up faster than I could have imagined and grab Isabelle by her throat," If you ever come near her, I'll bury you dead with a stake right through your heart."

Isabelle struggled to get Damon's hands-off. I got up and quickly ran down the hallway and back down the stairs to my room before anybody could tell I was there.

I didn't know how long I should wait before I went out there again and part of me feared that my scent would have lingered in the hallways. I replied what Isabelle had said about me in her head. She was clearly planning something and I had to get out of here before she does. I thought of Damon and how angry he had gotten at her for making that threat about me.

Does he care? Do I?

It was becoming more clear that Luna had been right about Damon having a soft spot, whether it was for me or it was the fact that he was a good guy, in general, that was beyond me. Part of me wanted to believe that it was strictly the fact that he's a decent person, just like he tried to spare the jester, he was trying to spare me. Part of me knew that I was only trying to believe this to make it easier on my heavy conscious when I finally break out of here with Dimitri.

Whatever the case may be, I needed to get out of my feels and focus.

A light knock on my door brought me back to reality.

"Come in," I replied and to the irony of the situation, walked in Damon.

"Hi," he greeted, watching me as if I were made out of glass," I just wanted to check on you."

The same feeling of guilt rose yet again and I tried to stabilize my breathing," I'm alright, thank you for last night."

"It was my pleasure," he smiled softly, making my heart melt just a little bit. I wondered what it would have felt like to fall asleep in his arms," I'm getting ready to go to the village now, are you ready?"

I quickly nodded and stood up," yes I am."

I followed behind him after fingering my bra to make sure the phone and the note were both in there.

We got downstairs to the main garden where the same black car was waiting, two guards standing as if waiting for us.

Damon did something that sent me both speechless and surprised. He leaned down and opened my door. I couldn't manage to find a way to break eye contact with him. I tried to blink my eyes but they were caught in the golden rays of his gaze. I pursed my lips to make out the words,"t-thank you," but for some reason, my feet wouldn't move.

It must have been a couple of seconds until I regained control over the movement of my body and looked down at my feet before hurriedly getting into the car. Damon got in on his side and I could feel his gaze on mines. I avoided it completely for the entire car ride and kept my eyes out the window. When we finally neared the village, I began to memorize the street signs glued to the pavement brick walls that made the small shops and houses.

4th street....6th street.

I remembered that Luna had said Dimitri's fruit stand was at 23rd street. The car finally came to a halt at 17th street and Damon began to exit the car.

I quickly reached into my bra and took out the note I had made for Dimitri and shoved it up my sleeve.

I mirrored then Damon's actions and walked to his side," Do you mind if I browse the shops?"

His face wrinkled in confusion," why would you want to do that?"

I resisted the urge to swallow,"I'd like some fruit, the maids always bring me a sandwich, it kinda makes me wish I had something fresh."

Damon nodded," alright, don't go far."

He gestured for a guard who stepped out of the car and joined me," stay with her."

Shit.

"I don't need a guard, it's not necessary-"

Damon was already walking away," it's not negotiable."

Before I could utter another word, he had already disappeared down the street. I wondered what he was up to or what he was doing but I convinced myself that I didn't care. I looked up at the guard who was glued to my side and smiled," okay."

I just have to be slicker.

We walked up the slightly uphill street and I couldn't help but feel sorrow for the people strolling the streets. They looked like something out of an olden day movie, hauling carriages with fruit and vegetables, dressed in rags for clothing, the main purpose of their life is to keep the vampires fed.

I wondered if they knew that there were other humans who didn't have to live like this.

A lady holding hands with a toddler passed by me, her small son looking up at me and smiling.

I smiled back despite the sudden feeling of dread that captured my throat.

We kept walking until I caught sight of the street sign that read 23rd street. I did a 360, trying to examine my surroundings and there it was. A small, sodden carriage with two wheels, the end of it was balancing on the wall. The carriage held apples, pears, oranges, and bananas. Standing beside the carriage, speaking with an elderly lady, was a lean but slightly build Dimitri, who reached up to push back the shaggy blond hair from his eyes. He wore a sleeveless t-shirt that had stains on it. On the side of his neck was a shiny new scar that resembled the ones I had.

I took in a deep breath and thought of how I might do this. I eyed the guard beside me who was staring off into the distance somewhere.

At least his eyes aren't glued to me.

I took a couple of casual steps towards the carriage, keeping my eyes leveled with the fruit. I felt the guard beside me mirror my action.

"Hello," said Dimitri. His voice was deep although he looked young. His bright blue eyes were almost as bright as his hair," what can I get for you?"

I remembered what Luna had said about asking him for strawberries.

"Hi," I replied," I was wondering if you had some strawberries?"

He took a second to register, his face had gone from blank to confusion to a sudden realization and he said," n-no, but I can get you some."

I nodded," I'd like that. I live in the castle, I'd need it delivered today, at around 8."

He nodded and looked up at the guard nervously," Okay, sure thing. I can do that."

I fiddled with my sleeves until the note dropped to the palm of my hands.

With my other hand, I poked the guard.

He looked down at me with big black eyes and said," Yes?"

"I want to go back to the car, do you remember the way?"

He looked to his right and pointed and as he did that, I dropped the piece of paper in the direction that Dimitri was standing.

The guard looked back down at me," this way, let's go."

I nodded and hurriedly walked behind the guard. I only looked back to see that Dimitri now had the note in his hands and was reading it.

When we got to the car, Damon was still not inside. I finally released the breath that I had not realized I had been holding. I wiped the droplets of sweat off my forehead and attempted to slow down my breathing. I had to remind myself that that had been the easy part. The hard part was yet to come.

I wondered if Luna had figured out a plan yet. Isabelle didn't seem like the type of person who would break their word and if she has something planned for me, it's going to happen soon. I knew I had to keep Damon close until then. For now, he was my only protection.

One more day, I reminded myself, just one more.

Damon finally got back into the car.

He looked down at my hands," you didn't get anything?"

"No, I-I really wanted strawberries and the guy at the shop said he could deliver it tonight, is that okay?"

He stayed silent for a second and I began to panic that I had just given the entire plan away.

Was I not supposed to mention that they were strawberries? Did he know?

I felt as if I was on the verge of vomiting when Damon finally broke the silence with," what is it with girls and strawberries?"

My heart still thudded abruptly through my chest and I tried to calm myself down.

I took that as a sign that it was alright and maintained my gaze outside like previously.

When we got back to the castle, I practically ran out of the car and down the hallways, back up into my room. I clutched my covers and tried to push back the urge to vomit. Sweat poured down my face and I realized that I felt worse than I had initially thought.

I took the phone out of my bra and turned it on. Seconds later, the Home Screen flashed white with the words;

1 missed call.

I threw the phone onto the mattress and thought of all the ways this could go wrong. The guard could have noticed me dropping the letter or Damon could have picked up on the fact that I had said strawberries. I wondered if Damon even knew about Dimitri and Luna and hoped that he didn't.

I heard the phone buzz and grabbed it.

I recognized the numbers on the screen as the first number Luna had called from.

"Hello," I answered, hitting pick up," Luna?"

"Holly, did you do it? Did you see him?"

"Yes I did, he knows. I gave him a note that said I was a friend of yours."

"Was he..did he look alright?" Luna's voice was shaky with concern.

"He was alright, he had a scar on his neck, it looked new."

She was silent for a couple of seconds," he turned 18 a couple of months ago, they must have already started feeding off him."

"I'm not sure, but he's coming to the castle tonight at 8, he'll meet me at the gates, how am I supposed to have him call you if the guards are with me?"

"You have to find a way to ditch the guards-"

"I can't, Damon won't have it."

"At 8 pm, the guards all leave to feed. They leave one guy in charge at the main gates, not the doors where they keep the car but the door before that. You have to do it in a way that he won't notice."

"What about the plan, how are we going to get to you?"

"It won't be tonight, it will be tomorrow. But for today, when the guards leave to feed, they leave the car keys inside of the car, you have to get the keys and give them to Dimitri-"

"What!" I exclaimed," that's not possible, even if it will just be one guard, he'll see me for sure-"

"No, he won't Holly, be smart! Find a way to distract him, it's the only way to get you and Dimitri to Oakridge."

"Can't you pick us up, or have someone send us a car?"

"Woodbridge is protected with borders that don't allow anybody in without prior permission from the royal family, however, you can leave in a castle car, they are heavily tinted, no one will stop you-"

"So we're going to leave it to chance that the guards at the borders don't stop us?"

"They won't, they never have, they won't start now, that's why you need those car keys."

"And when I have the car keys? How will we get to the car tomorrow? Even if they go out to feed again at 8 pm, that one guard will see us-"

"He won't, the car is always parked outside the main gates, Dimitri will drive it behind the castle where there is a tunnel that connects to the inside. I'll guide you when it's time, but for now, get those keys to Dimitri and have him call me."

She didn't give me a second to interject before ending the line.