Chapter 9 The gateway

Demitri followed Isabella into the house and was surprised by the ambience. It was bright, with picture frames in some corners of the room, and the kitchen seemed even more welcoming. He felt at home, even in a place obviously inhabited by humans, a family.

"Is that your mother?" asked Demitri, as he picked up a picture frame next to the sofa, which had a small little girl, very similar to Isabella, on a man's lap, who was being held by a very beautiful young woman. The light, curly hair was obviously inherited from her.

"Yes. She died when I was little... shortly after we took this picture actually," replied the human, smiling at the picture. In her voice there was only longing, but Demitri regretted having touched on the subject just the same. He didn't want his companion to be sad or in pain, ever.

"Sorry, for asking. I didn't know that..."

"It's okay, it's normal to ask, you didn't know."

Isabella smiled as she saw his guilty look, carefully putting the picture frame back in place, looking afraid of breaking it. It was different having him there with her, in her home, on her turf. Demitri seemed almost like just any human boy visiting a friend, not some super-strong vampire who could kill anyone he wanted.

Isabella made her way to the kitchen, listening to his footsteps behind her, seeming content to stay silent and watch her in her own place, more at ease than anywhere else he had seen her so far. There weren't many of them, but Demitri didn't need to think too hard to understand that there was her safe place. And she let him be a part of it, in a way.

"So, how long do you intend to stand there and watch me?" asked Isabella, placing a plate with two large slices of pizza on the table and a glass of refreshment, sitting down facing the vampire.

"Ah! I was just watching you in your house, walking around like you owned the world. It was fascinating," Demitri said, making her laugh and smile along with her. He was not considered a fun person, but it seemed that Isabella found him very funny, by the number of times he had made the young woman laugh.

"I was just heating up pizza. How does that make me look like the boss in the world?"

"It does to me. Isn't that enough?"

"Just this once."

"Done!"

He smiled, satisfied. They were able to keep the situation extremely comfortable, which made him believe that they went on like that from then on as well.

"So, when are we going to get serious about you being in town? The real reason you're here?" asked Isabella, taking the first bite of her slice, filled with ketchup, ignoring the vampire's obvious sneer.

"This isn't the right time to talk about it," Demitri said, though he doubted himself, not quite knowing why he still didn't want to tell her about what had happened, about the connection that would exist between them and already affected him in a very painful way when they were apart.

"Why not? It's obviously about me, we can just leave the suspense aside."

"I don't know. I just... I think it might put everything at risk."

"Why do you say that?"

Demitri denied it, not wanting to dwell on the subject and looked desperately for a different, safe subject.

"So, tell me, what is it like to live here?"

"Why do you want to know that?"

"Because you seem to be waiting for something. I don't know, it may be stupid, you haven't said anything that would help me get to that, but it's just that seeing you in here..."

"I can tell you after you tell me what you came here to do, but it looks like it's going to be a while, doesn't it?"

Demitri sighed, but nodded.

"What's safe to talk about now?" the vampire asked, in doubt about how to proceed at that moment. Things were getting complicated too fast in his opinion.

"I don't know. I realize we managed to talk quite a bit yesterday" said Isabella, getting up to drop her plate in the sink, leaving it there, lazy to do anything else.

Isabella then led the vampire into the living room and the two of them settled on the couch.

"We seem to be able to understand each other and talk very easily."

"Yeah...I've never been able to get to that point with anyone before, not even my best friend. We went through a few phases involving fights, hair pulling, and mud wars before we gained each other's trust."

"I want to know what that means?!"

The human laughed, realizing what her description might sound like. But her friendship with Kevin had begun when they were still children, who fought a lot. She didn't remember exactly when they became inseparable, but she still remembered him defending a small, crying Isabella from a bigger child who teased her. She missed that Kevin sometimes, even though she never let it go completely.

"We met in childhood" Isabella explained then, realizing she had let her thoughts travel.

"Ah! You must have an amazing friendship. I also have a long friendship. Not since childhood, that would be impossible, but it's been a few decades."

"Really? How long?"

"Just over 100 years now, I think. Sometimes it is hard to count the time, but I met David when he had just turned. He turned when he was only 18, but he soon showed himself to be a vampire and an amazing person."

"You two seem to have a very nice friendship."

Demitri shrugged, as if he didn't care, but Isabella could see his eyes, which seemed to glow at that moment. He could convey that feeling of power and invincibility, as if he didn't need anyone, but it was interesting to see how he still kept important people on his side.

"That's why you didn't disown it?"

"What?"

"I just... I wondered why you agreed to help me get Arvin away for good by agreeing to pretend we were together."

"I don't like Arvin, and I liked you. I think that's answer enough."

He laughed, but Isabella just smiled, being sure that there was much more behind every conversation that took place between them.

"So... 18 are you too young to be a vampire?"

Demitri stared at her, surprised by the sudden change of subject, and analyzed her, trying to understand where that question would lead them this time. Nothing that came out of Isabella's mouth was by chance, curiosity, or a trivial matter. She wanted something, and this time it might be something of interest to her, if what crossed her mind was even close to the truth.