Chapter 3: Love-filled Promises

I knew when Ulysses came home that something had happened. I could tell by the way his face looked haggard and drawn, and how his eyes were all red and puffy. His eyes looked extremely sad but relieved, as though he could be at peace with himself over something at last. As he went to go take a shower and change into pajamas, I put the finishing touches on the pasta I made for dinner, and put the cake I baked for desert in the oven. Then, I finished setting the table and I put extra pillows on the couch and put out some movies we could watch together after dinner. Something told me he needed to have a relaxing evening. Fifteen minutes later, he came back, looking a little better.

"Surprise! I hope you don't mind that I took the evening into my own hands. We have pasta and Caesar salad, with a chocolate cake for desert. Afterwards, we can go snuggle on the couch and watch something like My Best Friend's Wedding, Dirty Dancing, Sixteen Candles, or Pretty in Pink. Now, let me tell you, I LOVE Dirty Dancing. I also have a lot of other movies if you don't like those."

Ulysses managed a tired smile. I was beginning to become very worried for him, and I really wanted to know what had upset him this much.

"Dirty Dancing is fine. I used to watch it all the time with my cousin Sirena. Thanks for cooking and everything, I'm really beat right now. I doubt I could even lift a spatula."

The pasta was soon ready, and we sat down at the table. Dinner was a quiet affair, since we were both terribly tired. Soon, it was over, and Ulysses cleared the table. I checked on my wonderful cake, and saw that it was done. I took it out of the oven to let it cool. Since I am a terribly impatient person, I served it anyway, thinking that Ulysses would like a piece of warm chocolate cake. Ulysses had already sat on the couch, waiting for me to get my cake. I leaned back against my couch, savoring the warmth of the blankets and the comfort of the pillows. Suddenly, Ulysses crawled into my lap and huddled there, against my chest. I spotted his cake plate empty on the coffee table. I hurriedly ate mine, and put it there next to his.

I then realized that Ulysses was trembling violently against my chest. Lifting his chin up gently, I saw that he was weeping. No, not weeping, sobbing and wailing. My shirt was suddenly soaked through with all his tears. I wrapped my arms around his shaking body, and cradled him against my body, letting love, compassion, and warmth flow his body.

"There, there, Ulysses. It's all right. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you. You mean so much to me, Ulysses. Just let it all out. There we go. That's it." I muttered into his ear. When he wailed, my heart began to hurt. It was a wail that spoke of love and hate, trust and betrayal, desire and jealousy, lust and regret. Tears sprang to my eyes for the young man in my arms. When he finished sobbing and wailing, he began to tell me what happened with Cedric in his past. As his story became more and more depressing, I began to despise Cedric more than I originally had.

Ulysses, who was spent from all the talking and crying he did and his busy, emotional day, was almost instantly asleep. I laid him gently on the couch, and covered him with blankets. As I walked towards my room, I heard a small, muffled voice behind me.

"Thank you, Adrian, for listening to me and comforting me. You are the best friend I've ever had. I promise I won't ever betray you, or leave. I will stick by you, whatever happens. Thank you, and good night."

"Good night Ulysses, and sweet dreams."

After that little incident that one night, things were different between us. I couldn't really explain it, but we both knew it. I realized that since he told me of his sad past, I owe him an explanation of mine. A few nights after he told me his story, I got that nightmare again. I lay in bed, thrashing about until I woke up and started weeping. Ulysses, as usual, came in to comfort me. This time, I stopped him in his tracks. As he was coming in, I turned on my lamp on my bedside table.

"Ulysses, I owe you an explanation. It's really nice of you to come in and comfort at times like this, but you need to know the reason why this is happening." Ulysses looked perplexed, and a little sleepy. I motioned him towards the bed so he could sit down while I talk.

"You know, Adrian, if it hurts you to talk about it, then don't. Please, I don't want you to be sad on my account. I'm perfectly content to comfort you like this, without knowing what causes it." He is indeed a sweet boy, I thought as I reached out to stroke his hair. He gave me a sleepy half-smile as I did so.

Now, I steeled myself for the telling of this tale. I don't think I've told anyone except my therapists in college. Thoughts of Damian cluttered my mind, but I took a deep breath and sorted through them.

"You see, I have a little brother. His name is Damian and he is four years younger than I am. I pretty much adored him. He was always cheerful and nice. He made me feel better in my tough teenage years. My parents adored him, too.

Damian radiated a sense of calm and happiness that nobody could ignore.

But one day he went to a party, even though I was wary of him going. He had assured me that everything would be all right, but in the end that wasn't true. Earlier that evening, the news had reported that some vampires were sighted near the area of the party. I warned him, but he was fourteen at the time, and dismissed my warnings. A little after midnight, I got a call from the police saying that some of his friends reported that he was missing. My heart turned to ice as I realized who took him. Those stupid vampires I swore that I would find them and get Damian back, and that's how I came to be in this profession," I paused and tried to hold the tears of fury back. "So there you have it, my sad story. Damian always comes back to haunt me in my nightmares. I think once I find him that I will be free of them. Thank you for listening, Ulysses. It feels good to talk to someone about that."

Ulysses had watched me the whole time I was talking, his eyes never wavering from my face. He was looking at me with a mix of sadness, compassion, and something else I couldn't place.

"Gosh Adrian. Now I know why you look so sad sometimes. You were thinking about him, weren't you?"

"I'm sure I was," I nodded. Ulysses took my hand in both of his, and squeezed it, offering silent comfort. I squeezed back gratefully.

"Hey, Ulysses, if I were you, I'd go back to bed. It's pretty late, and you need your sleep. I'll be all right."

"Are you sure?"

I smiled. "Yes, I'm sure." But, even as I said those words, tears were already squeezing their way out of my eyes. In the end, Ulysses had to comfort me anyway.

"Mr. Connor! How dare you run away like that without finishing up your paperwork! I'm going to give you a piece of my mind, young man! I will-"

"Please, Mrs. Pullings. Stop yelling! You win! I'm coming back this instant, all right?" I hurried back through the door to my office. Mrs. Pullings was standing in front of my desk as I came in, scowling with her hands on her hips. She was a middle-aged, motherly woman who had a voice like a Banshee. All the people who worked in my office with me loved her to death, but knew we couldn't get away with anything if she was here.

"Here they are, dear. Now if I catch you forgetting again, you'll have no idea what hit you!"

I smiled a melting smile at her, knowing that she was only bluffing. A moment later, her face lost all its strictness, and she sighed.

"I just can't win with you, Mr. Connor. You're just too handsome when you smile like that."

"And you, Mrs. Pullings, look gorgeous when you are angry," I said, flatteringly. She chuckled and blushed, clearly delighted that I say so.

"So, Mr. Connor, where are you going off to for your lunch break?"

'Oh, I'm not sure. I don't really feel like eating out, but I forgot to make myself a lunch, so I guess I'll have no choice."

"It seems that you have forgotten that there are soups here that I bring that you can put into the microwave. They are a lifesaver at times like this. You, love, must have energy to work and to have energy you must have food!" she cackled triumphantly. I smiled my thanks and went to go grab some tomato soup.

After it was done, I went back to my desk. My office was cluttered and filled with posters, pictures, and notes of every kind. My desk was in front of the window, and when the sunbeams hit the back of my head and fan outwards, I feel like God. It works very well when I'm entertaining someone in my office.

He he. Recently, next to the photo of Damian, I put a picture of Ulysses. I caught him when he looking at the sunset and sitting on the porch, and I took it when he turned and blushed. He was smiling, of course, but it was a bashful and pleased smile. He was very happy when I framed it and put it in my office.

I started looking at the new paperwork lying in front of me. With it came a letter from a man named Jordan Gallson. In his letter, he stated that in an abandoned house near an old cemetery, there were some strange things going on. I sighed, and rubbed my temples. Not another haunted house job! In my profession, there was never a shortage of those. Only the amateurs took those jobs.

Usually they were all fake, and there was maybe the occasional weak ghost hanging out in them. Because of what I do, I have special senses that help me locate or destroy the Supernatural. Everyone has these senses, but they are only usable if one is trained to use them. They have to be tapped into, and then they would awaken.

But, something in the letter made me want to look into this. Mr. Gallson had written at the end that corpses were found in the cemetery, drained of blood. That made me think of vampires, but why would they leave the corpses in the open like that? Vampires are not stupid; they take great pains not be caught. But, it seemed as though they wanted to be caught. But why? I sighed again and scribbled a note, telling myself to call this Mr. Gallson. I looked at the clock. It seemed to be getting late. I must have taken longer than I thought with the papers lying haphazardly on my desk. As I started straightening them up, I heard a familiar voice.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but is Adrian Connor here? I'm working for him to finish work. I wanted to surprise him." That was definitely Ulysses' timid, sweet voice. I smiled. That was very kind of him to come here and wait for me.

"Of course, love! Well, I'll bet that he'll be plenty happy to see a sweet thing like you! Are you that nice boy who moved in with him? I certainly hope so! You seem to be doing him a lot of good. He needs someone to take care of, and someone to take care of him. I try to take care of him, of course. Well, he should be done soon. Why don't sit down and I'll get a nice cup of coffee?" I heard Ulysses' thanks to Mrs. Pullings as I put various things intomy briefcase and got my jacket.

I stepped out into the sitting area, and received a bright smile from Ulysses. I smiled back.

"I wanted to surprise you, but I think you heard me come in. Anyway, I'm taking you out to dinner. Ready?"

"Ulysses, are you sure? That costs money you know."

"Yeah I know, but it'll be my treat. I think I owe you, after last night." At that, he blushed and looked down to the floor. Last night I told him what happened to Damian.

"Ulysses," I began softly, "don't worry about last night. If I didn't want you to know, then I wouldn't have told you. I trust you, okay? All right, where do you want to go?"

"Hmmm, I don't know. I've never really gone out to dinner in a fancy restaurant because I never had a lot of money to spend in one. I'll leave the choice up to you; I'm so hungry, I could eat anything." I laughed, and Mrs. Pullings came back with Ulysses' coffee.

"There you are, love, nice and hot. Oh, Mr. Connor! You are so lucky to have a sweet thing like him living with you. He's an absolute doll. I'm sorry, but what's your name, dear?"

Ulysses was blushing furiously, probably for the tenth time today. I chuckled to myself, thinking how he would be horrible playing poker if he kept up like that.

"I'm Ulysses. And you are?'

"Ohoohoo! What a polite youngling you are! I'm Mrs. Pullings. My, what a beautiful name! Your parents must have taken the task of naming you into great consideration."

"Yes," Ulysses said gravely, " I'm sure they did."

We said good-bye to Mrs. Pullings, and left my office. As we got into the car, I asked Ulysses where he wanted to go.

"Adrian, I told you. I'm leaving it up to you. I don't care in the slightest."

"Okay Ulysses, but how much money do you have?"

'You worry about where we're going; I'll worry about the money." Ulysses said this so gravely that I laughed. He reminded me of a man in those romantic classic fifties movies; the ones with the really macho and brooding leading man. He must have caught on to what I was thinking about, for he smiled too.

"Well, how about a place called Mon Cher? It has a French name, but the restaurant serves many other things as well. It's also not too pricey. Sounds good?"

"Sure. Lets go."

I parked the car, and we walked up to the restaurant. It was very beautiful; not too fancy looking, but it still looked very distinguished.

Mon Cher had a homey feel about it that made me feel all warm and cozy inside. Of course, that might have come from going out to a romantic, classy restaurant with Ulysses, but I wasn't about to admit that to myself. We went inside, and waited to put our names on the waiting list. I looked at Ulysses, finally realizing what he was wearing. He wore black, low leather pants with a white dress shirt and a black leather coat. What really got my attention was his bow tie. It had a black and white checkered print.

"Ulysses, where on earth did you find that bow-tie?"

"Oh, at work. I bought one for you, too. It reminded me of you."

"Well, I must say, I love your taste. Thank you."

Ulysses smiled, blushing yet again. Man, this boy must have too much blood going through his face or something. But, I must admit that I found it terribly adorable and endearing. I shook my head, smiling. Mrs. Pullings was right; Ulysses was doing me a lot of good.

"Hello sirs. Welcome to Mon Cher. Just two for dinner?"

"Yes, thank you. Put us under the name Connor."

"Yes, sir. It will be a five to ten minute wait."

"All righty. Thanks again."

Ulysses and I found seats next to a warm fire to wait in. After my long day at work, I became very relaxed, almost sleepy. I turned to Ulysses, who looked very happy and awed to be in a place like this.

"Hey, how was your day? You look awake, unlike me."

He laughed. "Well, I don't know if you could call me awake right now. I had a pretty easy day. The art school didn't need me today; I'm actually thinking about quitting my career as a model." I looked over at him, surprised.

"Really? I think you should continue being a model, but don't do art school stuff. Just model for professionals. You would get paid good money."

Ulysses shifted uncomfortably. "I dunno. I guess I'll think about it." I was going to reply when my name was called out. We followed the waiter to a cozy booth near a fireplace. The waiter was a kind-faced man who looked to be in his

30's. He handed us our menus.

"Good evening, and welcome to Mon Cher. My name is John and I'll be your server today. What would you two gentlemen like to drink?"

"I would like a half-carafe of the house Merlot. Would you like some, Ulysses?" Ulysses nodded. "Bring two glasses."

"Right away, sir."

"Well," I said to Ulysses after John left, "What looks good to you? The roast duck with herb rice is delicious. I also recommend the beef stew, it's superb."

Ulysses looked through his menu. "Is roast duck good?"

I laughed. "Yeah, it tastes like chicken but is a little slicker than chicken. I mean it's not as dry." Ulysses frowned comically over his menu. I was still deciding between the roast duck or steak and French-fries. John came back with our wine. Ulysses made a face as he tasted his. I had forgotten how old he was.

"Have you made up your minds? Are you ready to order?"

"Yes. I'll have the Steak and Frites. Also, I would like a salad with vinaigrette."

"All right. And you, sir?"

Ulysses looked up, startled. "Oh, um, I would like the roast duck with rice. Can I have a salad too, please?"

John chuckled. "Sure. With vinaigrette, as well?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay," John said as he took our menus, "Coming right up."

You think I will like the duck?" asked Ulysses.

Sure. But, Ulysses, you're not 21 yet, are you?"

No," said Ulysses sheepishly, "But, I didn't think you would mind. I'm sorry."

I don't, but next time, warn me that you are drinking something, OK? I don't want you to get into trouble. Anyway, I don't think anyone will ask for your ID. You look older, but you still seem young."

Ulysses smiled, embarrassed. "Yeah, I know. It's my eyes; they make me look older."

I thought that over. "Most of the time, yes. But, sometimes they look young and innocent. But, it's nothing to be worri-" Suddenly, I froze. My special senses tingled and I knew that there was someone non-human here. Ulysses started to say something, but when he looked behind me, he stopped. Slowly, I turned around and saw the person I would come to hate the most in the world. His hair was blood red, long, and wavy with strands flopping into his eyes, but it was kept back in a ponytail. Piercing golden eyes lazily surveyed his surroundings, and his skin had a golden tan to it. He was dressed in a natty white suit with a salmon colored dress shirt, and his suit showed off his slender, lithe body. His walk was long and graceful, like a panther. He was followed by a few of his fellow vampires. I didn't recognize any of them; they all seemed to be new in town. But I only had eyes for him. I knew, without a doubt, that he was the most powerful vampire I had met yet, and he knew exactly who I was. I carefully tried to probe his power with mine, and was astonished. This man could do anything he wanted, and anything he wanted, he could have.

"Adrian, what's the matter? Do you know him? What's going on?" Ulysses said, panicky. I reached over and touched his arm.

"Whatever you do, don't look into that man's eyes. Do you understand me?" Ulysses nodded, frightened. I looked over at the vampire again. His full lips were blood red; he must have fed before coming here. How else could he look so alive and healthy? The vampire suddenly looked my way, and smiled a malicious smile. He sat down at the bar and flagged down a waitress. He then whispered something in her ear, and I felt nauseous. My worst fears were confirmed when she was walking towards me.

“Sir, that man at the bar requests that you join him for a drink before your meal arrives," said the young waitress. I looked over at him, sitting there so calmly. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.

“All right. Ulysses, I'll be back soon. You can start without me if our food comes. I'm really sorry."

“It's okay. Go ahead," he said, smiling up at me. But, in his eyes he was saying be careful! I walked over to the bar, and sat on the barstool next to the vampire. He regarded me lazily, languidly. I refused to meet his dangerous eyes.

"So, you are the famed Adrian Connor. We meet at last. Would you like a drink?" His voice held traces of an accent; maybe a French accent.

"No, thank you. I have wine at my table."

"Ah, of course. Excuse me, I was merely being polite." I eyed him suspiciously. I just couldn't trust him. He took a sip of his drink, and went back to looking at me. I shifted uncomfortably under his heavy gaze.

"Look, I'm out to dinner, and I finally have an evening to relax. Would you please tell me what you want, and what your name is?" I could barely refrain from yelling at him. Yet, when I spoke, my voice shook. Not very convincing, eh?

He held up his hands in front of himself. "Like I said before, please excuse me. I was just being polite. My name is Desiree Rose. I have recently moved here, and wanted to meet you. I hear that we have much in common. Am I right?"

I snorted. "I highly doubt that."

He looked at me, and his gaze said that he knew something that I didn't.