Tuesday.
Alby was almost rolling on the floor with laughter. I wanted to smack him.
It was a miracle, really, that I had managed to get him out of bed so early –it was barely five in the afternoon- not to mention out of the house. All right, so it was Tuesday, and I had wanted to see him straight away on Monday, but he had complained about a hangover of the century. Most likely he just hadn’t wanted to get out of bed.
We were sitting in a small sushi bar, my favourite restaurant in all of
But it wasn’t the raw fish that had made my pale friend so jolly: it was my hair, pointing into every direction despite my best attempts to smooth it down. Add to that several very visible love bites from the last few days, and it was no wonder I’d gotten more than one amused look that day.
Still, the bastard could have tried to behave himself.
“All right, all right. I’m sorry.” Alby managed to say between chuckles, his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. Five seconds later he dissolved into another fit of giggles, hiding his face behind his palms. At least he didn’t see the generous amount of wasabi I snuck into his food, between the raw salmon and the rice below it.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, until it burns your enemy’s throat.
“I didn’t ask you here so you could laugh at me.” I muttered, taking a sip of green tea.
“I know, I’m sorry.” He tried valiantly to keep a straight face, and failed miserably. At least he stopped laughing. “So. You have further vampire problems.”
I raised an eyebrow and glanced around us. I doubted anyone would listen in on our conversation, but he was still talking too loud to my liking. Alby got the hint and lowered his voice.
“Yeah. I think that the situation is not exactly what I thought it was.”
Alby’s hand –and the loaded salmon morsel- stopped halfway to his mouth, which opened in surprise. He soon had himself under control, though, and lowered the chopsticks. “Oh? How so?”
“I can’t swear on this, but I think that this Dorian is after more than just a chat with my client. I think he wants to turn her.”
Alby’s eyes grew wide and he smiled a little. “Could be. How did you figure that out?”
I explained to him what I suspected; that the vampire was going through too much trouble just to keep Kielo quiet, which could be achieved far more easily. Alby was soon nodding to my words, agreeing with me.
“Makes sense to me. You’re still going with the original plan to meet him on… Friday, was it?”
“Yes. And yes, that’s still the plan. I haven’t told her about my suspicions yet. Don’t know if I will, it might just upset her.”
“Could be.” Alby picked up the wasabi-laden salmon again, so I leaned back a little to watch the show. But to my disappointment he lowered the chopsticks once again. “Was that all you wanted to see me about? I don’t mind, of course. But I’ve got a busy schedule of sleeping and sexing to keep up with.”
“No, that wasn’t all. I thought you could help me figure out what Dorian’s friends are up to. They don’t seem too keen on leaving us in peace, you see. They were giving us trouble last night, and I haven’t been able to come up with a reason for it. Are they just stupid or what?”
Alby chuckled, lifting his dark sunglasses to a better position. Very stylish and expensive, of course. He believed in looking good whenever he went out. His trendy jacket and jeans followed suit, and the t-shirt he wore beneath was of course along the latest classic fashion as well. His dark hair was on a long braid in his neck.
“Most likely, yes. You know how obsessive vamps can be. If they’ve decided that this Dorian is their boss, their hero, their leader, of course they’re not going to react well to see him obsess over someone else than them. They’re jealous. Maybe they’re trying to scare her into doing something that will, at least in their eyes, make Dorian dislike her.”
“So they’re not necessarily trying to kill her, they’re making sure she won’t want to have anything to do with him?” I reasoned, making Alby nod again.
“That’s how I’d see it. But it still doesn’t mean they’re above hurting her, or making her life a living hell until Friday. So you better keep an eye on her.”
“Oh I intend to. Both eyes. And hands. Not to mention my tongue.”
Alby laughed and picked –once again- the salmon into his chopsticks. I prepared to have my turn at laughing at him, but a loud honking of a car horn distracted me and I turned around to have a look through the restaurant window behind me. I couldn’t see what was causing the noise on the nearby street, but I saw something else.
Her.
The girl from previous Saturday, the one who had seduced me and then shoved a crucifix to my face. She was standing on the street, staring up. Straight at me, as if she’d known I would be here right then. Her eyes were behind a pair of dark red sunglasses but I could feel them on my skin.
Alby was spared his burning fate once again as I shot up and ran from the restaurant. He was calling something after me but I ignored him as I raced down the escalator and out through the mechanical doors to the street, and to the other side of the building where I had seen her through the window.
Of course she wasn’t there anymore. I turned around and ran along the street past the restaurant, then back and towards the railway station behind the art museum, then back again. Nothing. She was gone, and this time had not even left a trail of beads for me to follow.
Swearing, I headed back to the restaurant, wondering what this new turn of events could possibly mean. Was she following me? Who the hell was she, and what was going on?
Alby was standing by the door when I reached the second floor and the restaurant. He followed me silently as we returned to our table and sat down. For fifteen seconds he managed to keep his mouth shut.
“All right. What the hell was that all about?”
He listened quietly as I told him about that night in the club, how this girl had danced with me and given every sign of interest in doing far more. And the strange way the night had ended.
“And now you just saw her on the street.”
“Yes. And more importantly, she saw me.”
“And you’re sure she’s not a vampire?”
“As sure as I can be.”
“Wow.” Alby stated oh so intelligently and toyed with his bottle of beer, deep in thought. “Your life is weird.”
“Thank you, I had not noticed myself.” I muttered and –finally!- got my revenge as he unsuspectingly picked up the salmon from his plate and shoved it into his mouth, chewing with contentment.
“Wha’?” he asked when the smirk on my face grew wider and wider.
“That’s for laughing at my hair.” I said. He frowned, not understanding. Then the wasabi hit him. I have never seed a person turn so red so fast. Alby dropped his chopsticks and grabbed his bottle of beer in desperation, drinking all that was still left in it in one go to wash the burning down. But wasabi is a very crafty enemy, my friend. I could imagine how his whole head must be burning inside, and did feel a bit guilty. Guilty enough to go and get him another beer after he ran into the small toilet, most likely to shove his whole head underneath the tap, or just straight into the toilet bowl.
“Too much wasabi,” I explained to the girl at the counter who asked if he was all right. She nodded in understanding and gave me a small smile. Something I didn’t see on Alby’s face when he returned ten minutes later, hair coming out of his ponytail, cheeks still red as apples, the front of his fancy t-shirt wet. I could feel his glare through his sunglasses as he sat down and tried to regain his dignity.
“Sorry.” I offered with a shrug. He stared at me for a good long minute before bursting into loud laughter.
“That was a good one. I’m gonna get you back, bad. But that was a good one, S. You’re so dead.”
I laughed as well and gave him the beer. He hoisted it into the air as a toast. “To friends like us. Who needs enemies?”
The rest of the meal passed in peace, even though I kept turning to look out of the window to see if she would be back. Of course there was no sign of her after that, and even thought I tried to convince myself that she was far gone after Alby and I parted outside the art museum, I still wandered around the area, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of her. The late afternoon sun was thankfully hiding behind clouds, so walking around the central, something I had always liked to do, wasn’t too painful to me. Quite the contrary; the weather was fine, a lot of happy people were walking around, laughing with friends and family. Summer was on its way, and
Kielo would also soon be on her way to my apartment, and I couldn’t wait either. I had walked her home last night, after something of a repetition of Sunday’s activities. She had come over to my place straight from work. No dates yesterday or tonight, so she had suggested she could come over today as well. Of course I couldn’t say no to that. I had even offered to cook for her!
…the lengths I go to please someone who wasn’t even in my life a week ago. The power of love is a curious thing indeed!
All right, so pasta and tuna salad is a very easy thing to cook, but it’s light and refreshing. Kielo arrived just when she had promised to, and we sat down to eat with a nice bottle of red wine. She told me about her day at work, and I told her of my meeting with Alby. I still kept to myself the idea that Dorian wanted to turn her, and the strange encounter with that woman, but explained why Alby and I thought the other vampires were after us. She agreed after a long moment of silence, and quickly changed the subject, not wanting to think of such dark things.
“I’m sorry but I can’t stay the night today.”
“It’s all right.” I said with a shrug. I was a bit disappointed, of course. “I thought you said you don’t have any dates this week until Thursday?”
“I don’t. But I promised to meet my friends tonight, the ones from Saturday. We did leave the club pretty fast.” Kielo said, twirling her fork a little as it guided a piece of pasta into her mouth. I just nodded, my eyes riveted to those soft lips as they closed around the metal. She smiled as she noticed me staring. “…but there’s no rush. They’re not expecting me for another hour and a half.”
I smirked.
We were still more or less naked when her cellphone burst into life about an hour and fifteen minutes later. Kielo almost threw herself to the other side of the bed to reach it, landing over my outstretched legs. I caressed her naked back as she answered, letting my fingertips trace her spine from the neck all the way to the small of her back, and up again. She shivered and laughed a little into the phone.
“Nothing, nothing. Where are you? All right, I’ll see you in fifteen. Bye!”
I pouted as she closed the phone and sat up, taking her warmth away. “You’re not really going to leave me, are you?”
She stood up and searched for her bra, laughing again. “Sorry sweetheart, but a promise is a promise. I’ll come by again tomorrow, all right?”
“I could come over to your place for a change…?” I suggested and pulled my knees up to my chest. I couldn’t help but notice how she stiffened a little at the suggestion, but only for a heartbeat.
“I don’t know. I’d rather come here. My roommate is there in the evenings, so it’s going to be a bit awkward if we jump each other like that again. I just… there’s more freedom here, you know?”
I nodded, thinking it better not to push the matter since this was already the second time she had declined my suggestion to come over to her place. Shouldn’t matter anyway where we were, as long as we were together, and my apartment was safer.
I didn’t bother to get dressed, just wrapped a blanket around myself as I got up to give her a kiss goodbye. It was quite late already, but her friends were picking her up from just around the corner, so she should be safe. Kielo had assured me that they would be in a public place all the time, and that she’d be delivered right to her front door. So I should have nothing to worry about.
“Think about it as a night off work!” she laughed, her hand already on the handle of my front door. I shrugged, the blanket slipping off my shoulder.
“Not like our usual nights are real hard work.” Kielo laughed in agreement. ”But you have fun, and call me when you get home. I’ll be up.”
”I will.” She promised and leaned over to kiss my cheek goodbye. Then she was gone. I wandered lazily to the window which would show me where she was heading, and I stood there watching as she waited for a few minutes before a grey car picked her up.
It was late, but nowhere late enough to crawl into bed. Besides, I couldn’t sleep until I knew she was home safe and sound. So I plopped onto the sofa after putting on a good movie. Buttercup soon joined me, and we had a lazy evening together, even though she soon fell asleep on my lap.
Around
Around
At
Kielo hadn’t called. The more sensible side of me said they were still out, having fun and chatting. Despite it being Tuesday. My imagination was painting out all kinds of horrible scenarios, from car crash to vampires to alien abductions. I wanted to call her, but I didn’t want to seem silly. Most likely everything was all right, she was still out or was just getting in or had forgotten to call or had turned her cellphone off or any of myriad things that could happen. Most likely there was nothing to worry about. Most likely she was just calling me…
But the phone didn’t ring. Not at
“The number you have dialed cannot be reached at this time…” was my only answer.
Ok.
Time to panic.
I had put on some panties and a shirt before, and now jumped into my jeans, jacket and shoes. Grabbed everything I need, and I was ready, my hand already on the door handle when I realized I didn’t know where I could go to look for her. I almost shook with hesitation and frustration.
Would it be better to stay in and wait for her to call? Maybe the battery on her phone had run empty. I had no idea where in
“Oh, hell…” I muttered with indecision and slid down against the door to sit on the floor. I dug out my cellphone and stared at it, willing it to ring.
Of course it didn’t.
“Right. Ten more minutes, then I go.” I muttered, staring at my wristwatch. After five minutes I tried calling her again, but only got the same recorded message. In three languages, even, to make sure I’d get the point.
She couldn’t be reached, and I had no idea what was going on. I was fighting down panic, trying to calm down, to be reasonable, but the heart is seldom that. It near ached with worry.
Really, how could I have fallen so hard for someone, so quickly? The thought amazed me, and even brought a small smile on my face, despite all the anxiety.
Two minutes later, to my immense relief, my will over the phone won and it started to ring. I was staring at it so hard that when it finally came to life, I barely registered it. Joy washed over me when I saw Kielo’s name on the screen. This time my hands were really shaking as I answered, feeling completely drained.
“About time, I was starting to get worried, you know.” I said with a smile on my face. The long silence on the other end wiped it off my face. “Kielo? Everything all right?”
She sobbed, and I was once again up and ready to run off to her.
“What happened? Are you all right? Did they attack you?”
“Umm, no. I’m fine. I just…” her voice broke and I could hear her cry a little. “It’s all right. They were just… trying to scare me. I think. But they were waiting outside my building. I’m so scared.”
“Wait there, I’ll come right over.” I said, already out of the door, not taking no for an answer this time. Kielo tried to convince me that she was all right, that her roommate was there, that it was late and it was dangerous outside. But I was already gone, trying to undo with one hand the heavy lock on the iron gate which was blocking my way to the street outside.
So concentrated on the phone I was that I didn’t see them coming. I felt them, but because of my worrying heart didn’t register it in time. So they managed to surprise me.
A splitting pain at the back of my head, and the dark blue of the late evening turned darker still.
“A friendly warning from Dorian: stay out of this!”
With my last conscious thought I hoped Kielo was really all right.
1 comment:
Oh, I hope she's alright too!
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