The Vanishing by Karla Nikole

Thirty-Two

When Nino rings the doorbell to the high-rise apartment where the De Luca family lives on the top floor, Cellina’s younger brother answers… which is awkward.

Cosimo always acts as if Nino should have bonded with him—as if there was some unspoken understanding between them. Except Nino doesn’t understand at all. Yes, they grew up together, and they were sexually intimate a few times (the encounters stressful and finicky), but Nino has never once given Cosimo any inclination that he wanted to mate with him or offer his blood.

Nino keeps the stiff conversation short. He’s had enough tension-filled discussions tonight to last him the rest of his life. He knocks when he reaches Cellina’s bedroom, but there’s no answer. He turns the knob and peeks his head inside.

It’s dark. She’s lying in bed, unmoving. “Lina?” Nino whispers. Still no response. He walks over to the bed and sits along the side. He looks down at her. Something is off. Her normally rich, coffee-brown skin seems gray and the texture is rough. Nino touches her shoulder, panic rising in his chest. “Cellina?”

Her eyes flicker open. Instead of the haunting steel gray he’s accustomed to, they’re pale, almost white. She looks at him and gasps, scooting away. “N-Nino? What the hell?”

“I told you I was flying in today.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say you were coming here? Good Lord, you scared me.” She places her palm against her chest and takes a deep breath.

“Lina, why do you look like this?”

“I—I’m… well…” She attempts to smooth her coily, curly bedhead down with no luck. She lifts her chin. “I’m thinking.”

“About what?” Nino asks. “You need to feed. Who did this to you? Did Giovanni do this?”

Her face falls flat as she purses her lips. “Listen, Giovanni didn’t ‘do’ anything to harm me, alright? Fix your tone.”

“Sorry.”

“Yes, he fed from me… and it was intense,” Cellina goes on, pulling the length of her hair to one side. “But we decided that I shouldn’t feed from him until he talks to his father. I told him I would feed from my source, but…”

“But?”

“I don’t know…” Cellina sighs. “I don’t want to. He fed from me, and it was glorious. Now it’s like my insides are all twisted up and throwing a tantrum.”

Nino understands. There had been a time when Haruka was feeding from him but Nino couldn’t have his blood in return. He accepted the circumstance at the time, but the intense yearning for Haruka’s blood had been maddening—sometimes keeping him awake at night.

“We decided,” Cellina goes on. “But I just want him. So I’m thinking.”

“Did you tell G this?”

Cellina shakes her head. “Giovanni has so much on his plate already. I’m not going to add an extra layer of shit for him to deal with.”

Nino reaches out and holds Cellina’s shoulders, looking her dead in her translucent eyes. “Any layer of shit you have to offer, Giovanni will gladly accept. Tell him. Don’t worry about Father. We… we can figure that out later. You need to feed.”

“Yeah, I do. I feel like I’m drying up from the inside out. It’s not fun. Why are you here? What’s wrong?”

Dropping his hands, Nino sits straight. He runs his fingers into the top of his hair. “Why do you think something is wrong?”

“Because you show up in the middle of the night as soon as your plane lands, and you’re running your hand through your hair. What is it?”

“It’s nothing. I—I wanted you to know that I think it’s great that you and G are getting along so well. I want the two of you to be happy. He loves you.”

“I know.” Cellina smiles and shrugs. “He’s a good male. He needs to stop hurling himself on the family sword though.”

“Yeah… I’m going to try and help with that.”

“I agree with that choice.” Cellina looks at him. “I think we’ve given you space to grow and heal? And Haruka is wonderful support.”

Nino nods. “You have. He is. I’m sorry if I fed from you for too long. If I was a burden.”

“No.” Cellina smiles. “You were never a burden. You blossomed later than I expected, but that’s okay. Everyone has their own timing in doing things. You needed someone who made you feel comfortable and that you trusted. He was worth the wait, yes?”

“Definitely.” Nino smiles and nods. “Absolutely. When are you going to call G?”

Cellina shrugs, settling herself back down in the bed. “I’ll text him tomorrow. I need to sleep.”

“Text him now.”

She yawns. “It’s fine.”

Nino frowns. It isn’t fine. Within a moment, she’s asleep again. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, hands shaking. Taking a deep breath, he maneuvers to the messaging app.

[Where are you?]

He sits, waiting. It feels like an eternity, the way his nerves are jumbled up in his stomach, replaying the tense conversation in the car. A few minutes later, his phone buzzes.

[Why.]

[Are you at home?]

[No.]

[Can you send me the address to where you are? Please?]

If he focuses hard enough, Nino can sense and find his brother organically. But this is the easiest and fastest method, and it saves him from stalking around half the night like some creepy fictional vampire character.

Nino stands from the bed and moves toward the door, his temples pounding from anxiety. By the time he’s back down on the street and stepping into his taxi, the address to the hotel where Giovanni is staying has popped up on his phone screen.

* * *

Standingoutside Giovanni’s hotel room, Nino’s heart thumps in his chest.

He knocks on the door and waits. At least two minutes later, the door swings open and Giovanni is standing there. He’s still dressed in casual clothes, his wavy hair shining underneath recess lighting. He’s also wearing eyeglasses with a modern brown frame that suits his chiseled face.

Nino blinks, caught off guard. “Since when do you wear glasses?”

“The light from the computer screen bothers my eyes and this helps.”

“Huh, Haruka says the same thing about his smartphone… maybe I should get him a pair? I bet he’d look good in glasses…”

“Nino, what do you want?”

“Can I come in… please?”

Giovanni glares in a moment of pause, then sighs. He steps back and Nino walks inside.

There are papers organized into piles everywhere. His work laptop is open on a desk near the darkened window, and there are takeout containers on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Aside from the organized clutter, the suite is nice.

Nino steps over his brother’s bag and a stack of papers. “It looks like your office threw up in here…”

“It’s difficult to be organized in an unfamiliar space.” Giovanni walks toward the desk in the corner, then sits in front of his laptop.

Plopping down on the couch, Nino turns, folding one leg against the cushions and adjusting his body so that he can see his brother. “So… when are you going to tell Father?”

Giovanni concentrates on the glowing computer screen. “I don’t know.”

“I saw Cellina.”

“Right.” His brother stares at the monitor. Typing. Not paying Nino any attention.

“G, I apologize for the way I reacted in the car. I’m sorry—and I don’t mean to be selfish… I don’t.” Nino swallows hard, waiting. He knows that he’s played the role of innocent bystander for most of his life, never offering to help Giovanni with difficult aristocracy situations, or to assist in feeding their father. No one asked for his help, so he always shrugged and kept to himself. Did his own thing.

“Fine,” is all Giovanni offers, still focused on his computer.

“Tell Father tomorrow,” Nino urges. “Haru says he’s willing to help, too. I can try to take over the feeding. We know a good doctor who can do the blood draws in Japan—we’d just need to figure out reliable shipping if Father responds well.”

Giovanni stops typing and rubs his temple. “Just calm down, alright? I told you I’ll figure everything out—”

“We have to do things quickly,” says Nino. “You need to go and see Lina. She hasn’t fed from her source, so she’s at home lying in her bed, mummifying.”

“What?” Giovanni scrunches his face.

“She doesn’t want to feed from her source. She wants to feed from you, but like you, she’s being all nonchalant about the circumstance. Meanwhile she’s starving herself. So you need to go over there right now. Then let’s talk to Father tomorrow morning.”

“Dammit.” Giovanni frowns, standing from his desk. “Why wouldn’t she tell me this?”

Nino shakes his head, blinking. “You’re both too stubborn and self-sufficient. It’s okay to tell people that you need help… or be honest about what you want.”

Giovanni snatches the glasses from his face and rubs his eyes. Nino smiles, timid. “You’re both amazing. Like a vampire power couple… a vampower couple.” His smile drops and he mumbles, “That’s so cheesy.”

“Are you trying to butter me up now?”

“No. I’m being honest. You’ll be great together. This has been a long time coming. I’m sorry I got in the way.”

Giovanni rolls his eyes. “Alright, give it a rest.” He moves across the room and grabs his jacket off the back of the couch.

“Are you going to her now?”

“Yes.” Giovanni pats the back of his dark jeans pocket, distracted as he looks around the room.

“Good.” Nino watches him.

His brother moves to the desk, then grabs the key card and his wallet before walking across the room once more. “Close the door behind you when you leave.”

Nino nods. “I will… I love you.”

When Giovanni is at the door, he swings it open. He doesn’t look back, but his voice is clear. “I love you, too.”

Nino flops down backward against the couch the moment he’s gone, feeling a small sense of relief from the tension clogging his chest. He pulls his phone from his pocket, lifting it overhead as he sends a quick message.

[G is on his way to see Lina. I’ll be back home shortly. We’re okay.]

A moment later, his mate responds.

[Good. See you soon. xx]

Nino grins and scrunches his nose, his heart suddenly light.

[Be naked. xxxxxxxx]