Bound By Blood - 11. Chapter Eleven

“A date, huh? Have you been in one of those before?” Anthony asked as he his shoulder leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom.

“Funny,” I said as I looked at the mirror and tried to tie my bowtie of my newly rented tuxedo. “Very, very amusing. Anyways, so you’re going to stay behind and watch after the kids, right?”

“Will do! I also rented a couple of movies online for me and Austin to watch later if you don’t mind of course.”

“As long as it’s not porn, I think you’ll be fine… Damn it,” I swore as I tried for the dozenth time to form the knot on this freaking bowtie.

“Here. Let me help.”

“What do you know about tying bowties?” I said, turning around and letting Anthony’s fingers fumble with the damn thing.

“Hey, just because I’m from the country, doesn’t mean I never worn anything other than flannel shirts and blue jeans. I hoped you’d stay behind as well since I’m making a mean-ass lasagna that’s baking in the oven right now.” Tugging on the black piece of fabric a couple of times, I then looked down to see that he actually tied it in one shot. “There you go. Now turn around and see my handiwork.”

Looking back at the mirror, I saw that the bowtie looked perfect with the rest of the tuxedo that was smoother than when I first got from the store. “Anthony, did you…did you iron this?”

“Guilty,” Anthony said before chuckling. “Just thought I would do anything I can to help since you’re letting me stay here, rent free, and away from any psychopaths from my past.” Patting my shoulders, Anthony peeked his head above my right shoulder and said, “Ah! Look at my boy all grown up and ready for his date!”

I scoffed and turned back to my bedroom where my phone and wallet was on the bed. “Anyways, Mom, thank you again for offering to watch the kids. I know Austin has been handling that job for a long time, and I just want him to have a break, so he can focus on football practice. You should come to his first game this Friday.”

“That’ll be great… Now, son. You better behave on this date, you hear? So, no kissing below the neck and be home by eleven. You got that, Mister?”

“Jesus. Enough of that already,” I said as I put on my wristwatch. “Was that how your parents sounded when you went on dates?”

Anthony just shrugged. “Not many options back then for a gay boy in a small lycan reservation.” Looking up at me, he then said, “I’m sorry for not telling you about my past and who I really am. It’s just…”

I interrupted Anthony by giving my friend for over a decade a firm hug. “It’s okay, Anthony. I understand. I haven’t told you everything about my own past either, so I’d be the biggest hypocrite ever if I was mad at you for even a second.”

“Thanks, man. And thank you for always being a great friend,” Anthony gushed as he hugged me back.

“Just don’t tear up the kids in a blind rage, while I’m gone, okay?” I joked.

“Ha-ha, very funny. You should do standup.”

I chuckled and walked out of my bedroom. Entering the living room, I saw the girls were working on personal art projects while crouched down by the coffee table. It appeared that Will’s gifts to them was really meaningful since Joanna was cutting thick pieces of paper to create her own pop-up dollhouse, while Isabel was drawing multiple pictures to create a flipbook animation. My girls were always the creative type, several of their school art projects displayed on the refrigerator door as prime evidence. And I was very happy to know that their talent was only being fueled thanks to Will’s creativity of his own. I was really looking forward to this date and see what else Will was going to gift me.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and one quick look showed that Will sent me a text message, notifying me that he was at the driveway. I smiled, and I approached the girls.

“All right, you two. I’m off to my d—trip to the museum with Will. Anthony will be watching you two, so behave, okay?” I said, kissing each girl on the head. “Love you, girls!”

“Love you, Dad!” both girls said in unison, concentrated on their art rather than the television which was always great.

I smiled and began walking to the front door that suddenly opened, revealing Austin who had his sports bag slung over his shoulder and was reeking of sweat.

“Hey, son… Jeez, you reek. You didn’t take a shower back at your school?”

“Oh, sorry. Just thought I would take a shower at home instead… Your date is outside if you’re wondering.

I looked back at the girls who were still fixated on their art.

“It’s okay, Dad. I don’t believe the girls will mind,” Austin confessed.

“And you?” I asked, not really wanting to hear his response. “Do you mind?”

Austin sighed and tapped his fingers on the strap of his sports bag for a moment before saying in a low voice, “To be completely honest, I don’t know, Dad. It’s one thing that’s he’s a dude; I don’t mind that at all. But…how old is he? He has to be only in his twenties.”

I held myself back from saying that he was actually more than a century old and was in fact a vampire, but instead I said, “Yeah, I know. And to be completely honest with you, I don’t know where this thing with Will is going…but I really like him, and he really likes me… And he’s not a gold digger if that’s what you’re thinking. Not with my credit.”

That brought out a smile from Austin, and he playfully punched me on the shoulder. “I trust your judgement then, Dad. I guess we have more in common than I thought before.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at Austin, and that was when Anthony came down the stairs.

“Hey, Austin! My man!” Anthony greeted as he stopped beside me.

“H-Hey, Anthony,” Austin said, pushing his wet hair back.

“Anthony will be staying over the house for a while like I said yesterday. And he’s offered to watch the girls to lessen the load for you to carry, so you can focus on your upcoming football game.”

“And I got those movies I promised we’d watch together,” Anthony included.

“Oh, great. Looking forward to that… Well, I’m going to take a shower now. Have fun, Dad!” Austin said and began walking towards the stairs.

“Don’t drop the soap now,” Anthony joked.

Austin tripped on a step before scurrying up the rest of the stairs.

I narrowed my eyes at Anthony who just gave me an amused shrug before walking to the living room.

I just sighed and hoped the house won’t burn down before exiting through the front door. On the driveway was Will, wearing a similar tuxedo that included a blue vest that was all tailored to fit his body perfectly unlike my rental. He smiled back at me, and I approached him before leaning in for a kiss. Will kissed back and for a moment I was in total bliss.

After that moment, Will released my lips and said, “My, my, aren’t you strapping. This tuxedo looks great on you.”

“Nah, you’re the one who looks great,” I said, feeling the lapels of Will’s tuxedo.

Will smirked. “Well, we should get going then.”

I nodded and kissed Will one more time before I started following him to his car. But then I looked to my side and saw my neighbor, the same woman who watched my girls more than a week ago, looking back at me with an open mouth and a black garbage bag hanging from her hand. I chuckled nervously and waved back at her. She made a short wave in return, and I hurryingly went to Will’s car before more awkwardness ensued from the woman with the large cross hanging from her neck.

We were driven by the same chauffeur who greeted me with a smile before taking us to the museum at the heart of the city. During the drive, Will told me that he and my son had a small conversation at the driveway, a talk that involved what Will’s intentions were with me. I smiled as he continued by saying that Austin just wanted me to be happy and that he hoped that Will could provide that for me. I was happy to know my son was looking out for me, being much more mature than he needed to be at the young age of eighteen.

I in return told Will that the girls loved their gifts from him and that I did as well since their creativity was on full blast, which I hoped would lead to something much more significant. And even if it didn’t, I read somewhere that the arts actually helped children with other skills, so I told him I was forever thankful. I then asked where he found those gifts, and he told me that those two gifts were just one of many items that he collected over the world. He acquired the pop-up book and flipbook when he stayed at London which was during the very late Victorian period.

I wanted to ask Will more about his early life as a vampire, but the chauffeur then signaled to us that we have arrived at the museum. There were already other cars waiting behind as the chauffeur opened the car door for us. Will and I thanked him and began walking up the stairs that led to the main entrance of the museum. We were joined by other couples who also wore formal attire with the women holding the arm of their husbands. However, I just walked by Will with my hands by my side, not because I was afraid of other people’s opinions, but I didn’t know whether Will or I would hold the arm of the other. And the last thing I wanted to do was to assume that Will wanted to hold my arm.

I realized the museum looked much bigger inside that out once we passed the entrance and saw the tall pillars and a very high ceiling that accommodated for the all the historical artifacts. There was even a small temple from ancient Japan that was the centerpiece of the museum.

“Is this your first time being here?” Will asked.

“Yes, and I wish I had visited before. This museum is huge, and they must offer tours of this place, right?”

“Of course they do. And this museum will only get bigger when construction begins to connect an old law building that will house the most anticipated and controversial section of the museum,” Will informed.

“And what’s so significant about it?”

Will stopped and said, “Apparently it will be a section dedicated to the life of Jesus Christ."

With my eyebrows raised, I said, “Really? Well, I can see how that can be controversial. I know his existence has been debated for a long time. I mean, I know my parents told me I'm the descendent of one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, Paul. But I don’t even know if I completely believe them, not even when I was still living in their house. But you believe so as well.”

“Yes, I do. However, I based my belief on very obscure information…that was until you showed me you possessed an artifact similar to the ones that the Greek gods once wielded, the ones created by the cyclopes. The giants can be thought of as proto vampires since they were created by the spilled blood of one of the Titan gods. With that said, the cyclopes would eventually regret offering these objects since their people would start a war against the gods, which they lost and—”

“Were buried under the Greek islands,” I finished.

“Actually they became the islands,” Will corrected. “One of the one-eyed giants, a son of Poseidon, would escape from being imprisoned in Tartarus to northern Europe and become the supreme Norse god known as Odin.”

“Yeah, and wouldn’t most of the Norse gods die during the event known as Ragnarök and leave the giants to continue their legacy?”

Will chuckled. “Anyways, the giants created objects that would be passed down throughout the generations, and eventually the person known as the Virgin Mary would possess one of them that caused her to undergo a process known as The Immaculate Conception. You see, Damien, these objects contain the life force of many souls, granting them various powerful uses, like granting a virgin woman a child who the world would come to know as Jesus Christ.”

“So, Jesus Christ is like the literal human embodiment of these objects?”

Will nodded. “In the simplest of terms, yes. Rather than the son of God, he was the son of a very powerful conception device.”

I laughed, and Will joined in as he grabbed the crook of my arm, and we continued our walk in the museum.

“Next you’re going to tell me a lycan moved to the Middle East and became the jackal-headed Egyptian god known as Set.” I looked at Will who was just smirking. “Really? So that’s why the gods were portrayed with animal heads as well.”

“You can say that. You can get more information about Jesus Christ specifically from the director of the museum herself,” Will said.

“You mean…Annabella’s sister?”

“Yes. Do you want to meet her now? I’ve been told she’ll still be in her office, which I can lead you to.”

“Oh, uh…”

“But we can always meet her at the Aztec section of the museum where the fundraiser event is happening.”

“No, no… I want to meet her now…if you’ll lead me.”

“Of course.” Will rubbed my shoulder and led us to the museum director’s office.

We approached tall, double doors made of dark-stained wood and had a plaque that showed that we were standing in front of the right place. I was about to knock when Will grabbed my arm.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing… I just want you to know that any preconceived thoughts you probably have of Annabella’s sister, you might want to put them aside before you meet her. And any similarities they might have, they’re not the same person. Okay?”

“Yeah…thanks.” I moved my hand to knock when Will grabbed my arm again.

“And one more thing, Damien…”

“What is it, Will?” I asked, now feeling worried on who this person was at the other side of the doors.

“Well, Damien…she’s also a vampire.”

I felt like my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets from hearing that revelation. “What? Really?”

Will nodded.

“Why…Why did you wait until now to tell me this?”

“I’m sorry, Damien. I just got the information from the king’s knights, and I would’ve told you in the car but—”

“Can I help you gentlemen?”

That familiar voice, a voice that brought back so many memories that they almost felt like my life was flashing before my eyes as I turned to see…

“Annabella?”