Authors: Samantha Towle
If I’d been left alone who knows what would have happened to me. And sure drinking animal blood is gross – not to me anymore it isn’t of course – but in general it’s considered disgusting, and anyway, you know what I mean, and it sure beats eating people. Or other supernatural beings for that matter.
Carefully I remove my dirtied top, my ribs still sore. Looking down I see a big purple bruise over my ribcage. I glance at the scar below it. I have two bitemarks on me now. Well, at least the one on my neck will go, even if it is taking its sweet time. That one I’ve got forever.
Then without warning a memory of me in bed with Nathan, him kissing my scar, looking up at me with those beautiful green eyes of his, flashes so vivid in my mind it nearly knocks me off my feet.
I grip the edge of the sink for support. Deep breaths, Alex. Deep breaths. It will get easier. You will get over him.
After my shower I put my pyjamas on and climb into bed, close my eyes and think of happy things, okay Nathan, because I can’t get him out of my head, until I drift off to sleep.
But I don’t sleep well because my dreams are filled with vampires and hunters.
The first thing I do when I wake, is get out of bed and check my neck has healed. I can’t exactly go to work with a wound like that on my neck. I could wear a scarf I suppose, but thankfully it’s healed. Gone, like it was never there, and so has the bruising on my ribs.
I take a shower, brush my teeth and dress for work. Sitting on the stool at the breakfast bar I drink a cup of coffee, eat my toast, and drink a bottle of blood.
I’m going to have to go hunting agaigo,n tonight after my less than successful night last night. Not a prospect I’m exactly relishing, and I’m going to have to get some more bottles to replace the ones I lost. Those poor little bunnies lost their lives for nothing. I hate that fucking vampire. I hope he’s gone straight to Hell.
Rinsing the empty bottle out in the sink, I grab my rucksack off the side and head for work.
I’m just ending what has been a very long day when Zeff shows up at the café. He’s wearing a pair of dark grey trousers and a white button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. Pretty much the same attire as yesterday. But certainly not the same clothes. I imagine he’s the kind of guy who has a shirt for every day of the year.
He always looks so smart, so well groomed, screaming of money. The complete opposite of Nathan.
I do find his appearance surprising now I know he’s a hunter. I just have an image of what a hunter would look like, and it’s not him. I mean, the clothes he wears are not exactly hunting clothes. He dresses like a businessman.
Maybe it’s his disguise. You know like Superman and Clark Kent.
“Hey, Bunny,” he drawls, approaching the counter, that same twinkle in his eye as last night. I get the distinct impression he’s enjoying winding me up.
With a sigh I ignore his comment, and ask in a lowered voice, “Any news on the passport?”
Leaning forward, I rest my arms up on the high counter.
He nods. “All good. I’ll tell you about it soon. What time are you finished here?”
I cast a glance at the clock on the wall. “In fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, pour me a coffee and I’ll wait for you to get off. We can go and grab a bite to eat and I’ll fill you in on the passport stuff.”
Feeling dubious about it, I hesitate. I don’t want to seem ungrateful but the last thing I want to do is eat dinner with Zeff. I barely know him for starters, and yes I know he saved my life and is helping me get a passport, blah blah, but to be honest, it just feels kind of … odd. Everything about this feels odd.
I know him killing a vampire to save my life would be considered ‘odd’ to most people, well pretty much everyone, but to me, unfortunately, that is fast becoming the norm. Going out for dinner, well, that’s now my ‘odd’.
He sees my hesitation. With his black eyebrow raised and irony in his voice he says, “You do eat don’t you? I know rabbit is more your taste, but I was thinking something simpler.”
“Sure I eat – it’s just …”
Smirk. “Just what?”
“Just … I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“It’s not a good idea to eat, or to eat with me?”
Bracing myself with a deep breath, I say, “You.”
If I hurtwan his feelings it doesn’t show. He lets out a short laugh and places his hands on the counter top, linking them together.
I move back.
“I’m not asking you out on a date, Bunny. I just happen to be hungry and I thought I could talk to you about the passport while I did that. You know, two birds one stone. But don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.” Then he pauses, “Actually, thinking about it, do you need to …” He gives a quick glance around, and leans in closer, lowering his voice, “Stock up?”
I nod.
Continuing in a quiet voice, knowing I’ll hear him loud and clear, says, “The woods surrounding my lodge are great for hunting. They’ll be safe for you. I can pick you up later so you can hunt and I’ll fill you in then.”
And then I just feel like a prize bitch. It practically comes up and slaps me in the face. Zeff is being nice to me. Going out of his way for me, constantly, and I can’t even accept his invitation to eat a simple meal with him while him updates me on the thing he’s kindly going out of his way to help me out with.
God, I’m such a bitch at times.
“You know what,” I say, quickly changing tact. “I am kind of hungry. Dinner would be great.” I give the clock another glance. “And my times nearly up now. Will you wait for me in your car?”
I hope I don’t come off as sounding rude, I just don’t want him hanging in here any longer than necessary. Celine has been eyeing him curiously for the last few minutes while we’ve been talking.
Zeff is the kind of guy who attracts attention from females, and quite probably males too, and I don’t want her talking to him. I’m sure he wouldn’t say anything about me, especially with him being a hunter himself. But Celine has got a pretty face, huge cleavage, and legs that go on forever, and men can lose all sense when around those things.
And Celine is also incredibly nosey. She knows the bare minimum about me, well the lies I told her, and I don’t want that to change anytime soon.
Zeff gives me a smile. “Sure. See you in five.”
“Wait.” I turn to the coffee machine and fill a to-go cup, and press a lid on it. “On the house,” I say handing it over.
“Thanks,” he smiles.
The second he’s left the café Celine totters over in her crazy heels for a job where you’re on your feet all day.
“Wasn’t he in here the other day?” she questions.
I shrug, a noncommittal response.
“Now that is one hot piece of ass,” she continues, eyes watching him through the window as he crosses the road and climbs in his car.
Celine doesn’t mince her words. I don’t know if it’s the American in her, or just her.
A small part of me does envy her straightforwardness though. I used to be like her, not as brash, but somewhere close. But now I have to keep all my doors tightly sealed shut. I can’t be the person I used t"0"o be.
“Can’t say I noticed,” I utter, turning away to wipe the coffee machine down.
She laughs, “Yeah, sure you haven’t. Do you know him?”
“Kind of. We just met recently.”
He saved me from a hungry vampire.
“You dating him?”
I stop wiping and cast a glance at her over my shoulder, “No.”
She quirks her eyebrow at me. “You intending to?”
“No.”
She purses her lips, smiling. “Well if you’re crazy enough to not wanna tap that hot tamale then I sure am gonna.”
With a giggle and a wink she waltzes off into the back, her heels clicking like an annoying tune, against the floor.
Ignoring her comment I finish cleaning up the coffee machine, grab my rucksack from under the counter, and make my way out to Zeff’s shiny black BMW X5.
Chapter 6: A Slice
It turns out dinner is pizza, and it’s the best pizza I have ever tasted. Seriously. I’m honestly considering a marriage proposal to the chef.
And no matter how much I may hate to admit it, I’m actually enjoying having dinner with Zeff. It’s been so long since I’ve sat down and eaten a meal with someone – so long since I’ve had a real conversation with someone. And he knows exactly what I am. There’s no hiding, no pretence, well apart from the fact my real name is Alex Jones, I’m on the run and am technically dead to pretty much everyone who knew and loved me. But yeah, apart from that, it’s great.
“So it’ll be a week for the passport and your friend can do it for seven hundred euros?” I echo the words just spoken by Zeff.
I pick up another slice of pizza and take a bite. Oh God, this pizza really is heaven; heaven with a capital H.
“That’s what he said.”
I swallow down my mouthful, put the half-eaten slice back on the plate and lean back in my seat. “Does he take payment in instalments?” I add a little laugh at the end, but it just comes out sounding weak.
Finished with his own pizza, he wipes his mouth with a paper napkin. The guy really does eat quickly; I’m only half into mine. I’d be surprised if his stomach has had time to digest it. He chuckles and throws his screwed up napkin onto his empty plate. “How much are you short?”
I do a quick count in my head. “Not so much short, this week’s earnings at the café, coupled with the money I already have will cover it, it’s just … I never travel without a set four hundred euros on me. It’d mean staying on another couple of weeks to earn the money to travel.e money
“That so bad?”
I pull a face, letting him know exactly how bad that thought is. I don’t want to be here for this week, let alone two more. I want to get as far away from this place as possible.
“So I’ll give it to you.”
“And why would you do that?” That came out sounding more like an accusation than a question.
He leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest. Contemplating me from across the table, he compresses his lips together.
“I’m sorry. That sounded … look I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.” I lay my palms flat out on the table. “And thanks all the same for the offer, but I can’t take your money. I’ll figure something out.”
“Fair enough.” He nods. “Just know the offer’s there if you change your mind.”
“I won’t change my mind. Just tell your friend to go ahead with the passport, I’ll have his money for him … and then I’m out of here no matter what,” I add on quietly at the end. I lean forward in my seat and set about my pizza again.
I’ll figure something out. I always do. I’ve got myself this far, I can and will keep going.
Zeff pulls a sleek black iPhone from his trouser pocket, dials, and puts the phone to his ear.
“It’s Zeff … go ahead with that thing we spoke about earlier … sure … okay … I’ll be in touch later.” He disconnects the call and places his phone on the table beside his water glass.
Catching my eye, he says, “He needs a photo. One of those passport booth ones.” His voice sounds slightly stilted.
“I’ll get one done tomorrow.”
“And he wants a deposit up front. Three hundred euros.”
“I’ll give that to you tomorrow with the photo.”
He leans back in his chair. I take a drink of water from my glass, washing my pizza down, then grab another slice.
Zeff is tapping his fingernail against the screen on his phone. The sound is kind of annoying. I look at him. He’s face is impassive but he’s glancing around the restaurant. Looking everywhere, but me, basically.
He’s clearly pissed off about something. I can see it in his moving eyes. Scanning my memory I recall what I’ve said in the last few minutes.
It must have upset him when I rejected his offer of money. Probably the, ‘I won’t change my mind’, pissy attitude that sealed it.
I didn’t figure him for the sensitive kind. But even so, he doesn’t deserve it from me. In the two short days I’ve known Zeff, he’s saved me from a vampire, patched me up, fed me, and has been nothing but nice to me. And I’ve bitten his head off at every turn, and all because of my own issues. Yet again, I’ve been nothing shy of a bitch to him.
I put my pizza back down on the plate, suddenly losing my appetite, and let out a long breath. “Look, Zeff, I’m sorry I’ve been a complete
He swivels dark eyes to meet my gaze, “I wouldn’t say you’ve been a
complete
bitch.” A smile starts to filter its way onto his lips.
“Only a partial bitch?” I raise an eyebrow.
He lets out a laugh. It eases the tension right out of the air.
I smile at him.
He leans forward, elbows resting on the table, and looks me straight in the eye. “Look, all I see is a nice girl who’s had a seemingly shitty time of things.” His voice is low, deep. “So, I think I can afford her a couple of bitch moments.”
He shrugs, lightly. His voice, the low tone, the words, I don’t know maybe all three combined, have this odd effect on me. I don’t even know why, or how to even explain it, because it’s not like he’s said something profoundly deep which will change the course of my life forever. It was just something small. Kind. And those two short sentences he’s just spoken have reached into me, like a healing hand, and soothed that raw wounded part of me. Easing the pain, even if for a short while.