The Darkness Within (Sanguine Series: Awakening Book 1)

by H. M Reilly

  “Oops,” he said.

  “I wasn’t paying attention. Sorry, Michael.” she said. She gave him a smile as he gestured to the booth. She slipped on to the crimson leather seat right.

  “I’m gonna get us some drinks. What do you want?”

  “Let me get a bourbon on the rocks.”

  “Cool. Be back in a few.” He turned and slipped away. Charlotte slipped out of her jacket and draped it over the back of the seat. She rested her elbows on the table as she waited for Michael, watching people enjoy themselves on the dance floor and the band playing on the stage. From the corner of her eye, she noticed an especially amorous couple sitting in a booth nearby. A pale woman with blonde hair sat on the man’s lap, slowly licking his neck, and Charlotte quickly turned her gaze away. She wasn't curious enough to confirm what she was licking.

  She turned her eyes back toward the band playing on the stage. She was never a fan of gothic rock music like theirs. It was dark, mysterious, and exotic all at once, and all the same time, she found it oh so intriguing. Her amber gaze narrowed as she watched the musicians on the stage, the melodies of their music weaving through the crowd, the heavy bass vibrating through her as music poured from the speakers.

  For a moment, as the music flowed through her, she thought of Julian with his dark eyes and messy curls. Music was an important part of his life, and he liked to go on about his plans to make it big one day in the Big Apple. He played every night until the late hours. Some nights, she would wake up to the sound of him plucking away the strings on his guitar.

  Those were the nights when the world was simple. Back when the two of them were happy together. He had been her first real relationship, and she had been his. She had been naive enough to believe nothing would ever tear them apart.

  Michael returned, carrying two glasses. He set Charlotte’s drink down on the table. “Wasn’t gone too long, was I?”

  “Not at all.” She smiled in his direction, reaching for the glass of bourbon and taking a sip. “Where are we, Michael?”

  “Viper’s Cavern. Kinda different, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. Never been to a place like this before.” Charlotte lifted the glass to her lips, the ice cubes hitting her teeth as the music started up again. The band’s music caught her attention again. The singer’s voice came over the speakers accompanied by a heavy bass line. Her gaze fixed on the frontman as he moved with the beat of the drums, the lyrics leaving his lips. The beat floated to her core, leaving her in a momentary trance.

  “Charlotte.” She snapped out of the silence of her memories when Michael said her name. Her old lover’s face still burned into her mind.

  “Yes?”

  “Did you want another drink? Or something to eat?”

  “Oh. Yes. Another bourbon. And a glass of water.” Charlotte looked up at the scantily clad waitress standing at the end of the bar. She scribbled a note on the pad in the palm of her hand and stepped away. Charlotte lifted the glass to her lips and finished the last few drops of her drink.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just kinda…got into the music.”

  “Did you wanna go out on the dance floor with me? Enjoy the music a little closer,” he said. She glanced up at Michael with a smile curling across her lips, still red from the lipstick she applied earlier. She nodded and licked the bourbon from her lips, taking his hand when he approached. Come on.”

  She rose from the seat and followed him across the room. The pulsing rhythm of the music rippled through the room as they stepped on to the dance floor. The overwhelming fog of body heat surrounded her.

  The music changed to a slower tune. Michael placed a hand to her waist and pulled her closer, catching her off guard. Her breathing hitched, her heart racing in her chest. The feeling of his hand moving slowly along her curves excited her. She let Michael’s hand move to her rear end without any objection.

  He leaned in closer with a crooked grin appearing at the corners of his lips. His breath smelled of beer, and he mumbled something she was unable to hear over the thrumming in her ears.

  The song faded away as their lips met in a gentle kiss, which lingered between them. She felt his lips part, and she pulled away, apologizing. Michael was moving too fast for her, but her body screamed for more, and once she gave in to desire, she would have a hard time controlling her urges. She bit her bottom lip and looked up into his eyes.

  “It’s okay, babe,” he whispered. “We can take it slow.”

  She slipped her hands around his neck and enjoyed the slow movements of their bodies, trying to ignore the feeling of his warm breath against her neck, goosebumps rising on her skin. When the song ended, she stepped away for a drink. Thankfully, she still had a tall glass of ice-cold water sitting on the table.

  Before long, the two were sweating alcohol. Her head spun, and she stepped away from the dance floor to catch her breath. She grabbed her phone to check the time; it was already half past one am. She stepped over to Michael, and he slipped an arm around her, but she started to pull away. “I should head home, Michael.”

  He feigned a pout as he lifted his gaze in her direction. The hint of a smile curled over his lips. “Do you have to, sexy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re gonna leave me all alone here?” he said. Michael gave her another pout, then took her hand to lead her toward the table. Charlotte knew that the longer she stayed, the more she would drink, and she wouldn’t remember anything by the time the sun crept over the horizon in the morning. She looked up into his dark, bloodshot eyes, trying to ignore her heightened urges fueled by the alcohol flowing through her veins.

  “I really should get going, Michael. It’s getting late.”

  “Maybe you can take me home then? I could use a ride. I think I’ve had more to drink than you.”

  “Only if you can give me directions.”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “Well. Let me go use the restroom before we leave.” She swung her purse over her shoulder, draping her jacket over her arm, and pulled away from Michael. His hand fell from her waist as she left to find the restroom down a dark corridor. When she came back out, she found Michael leaning against a nearby wall. They headed out to the parking lot.

  On the drive home, Michael leaned against the window, ready to pass out, but he muttered directions to her. He only lived a few miles away from the strange night club, and the drive took less than ten minutes on quiet streets. She glanced over at him, hoping he was still awake when they stopped at a stoplight, his eyes barely open. He grunted in response when she called his name. “How much farther is your place?”

  “Still a few blocks from here. Think you could stop at the Taco Stand on the corner? I’m fucking starving.”

  “Sure,” she said. Charlotte was starving too, and Hollow’s Creek was almost another hour up the mountain. The last thing she wanted to worry about was food. She pulled into the parking lot of the nearest taco stand, and Michael ordered a bag to share.

  When Charlotte pulled out of the parking lot, Michael had her take a turn off to the left. He pulled out a taco and unwrapped it, lettuce spilling to the floorboards. Charlotte rolled her eyes. Several apartment buildings were clustered together just up the road. Two lights before the underpass, Michael glanced over at Charlotte. “The one on the corner. Evergreen Oasis.”

  She pulled into the parking lot and drove around as Michael directed her. She parked in the far corner of the parking lot, right beneath a light. A chain-link fence separated the property from the highway. Several bare trees hung over the chain-link fence.

  Michael reached over to open the passenger’s side door before turning his attention back to Charlotte. “Did you want to come on up, Charlotte? Eat tacos, watch a movie or something together?”

  Charlotte bit down on her lip and lowered her eyes. Her heart fluttered in her chest, making the decision difficult, but she shook her head. She had enough experience to know how a night like this would en
d. She was a grown woman, but that’s not who she was anymore.

  “I can’t, Michael. I have a bunch of stuff to do in the morning. Maybe another time?”

  “Yeah. Sure,” he said. He reached into the bag of tacos and pulled out a handful, setting them down on the seat. He took the handle of the bag and pushed the passenger’s side door open, hopping down. “I’ll text you later, Charlotte.”

  “Have a good night, Michael.”

  “Yeah, you too.” Michael shut the truck door. She sat and watched him cross the parking lot, then disappear behind the side of the building.

  When she pulled out on to the street, she wondered why she didn’t just go upstairs with him. She enjoyed sex, and maybe the physical release would have helped clear her mind enough to sleep. She only drank enough to feel that energizing buzz, and it wasn’t going to get rid of her new sexual frustration.

  I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.

  She rolled down the windows to let in the cool breeze and pulled out onto the highway, making her way up the mountain. The scent of an impending rain found her further up the mountain. Soon she lost herself in the music flowing from the speakers, keeping her mind occupied on something other than her self-induced sexual frustration. For a moment, her problems seemed irrelevant, if not nonexistent.

  She was only a few miles from her grandparents’ house when she pulled off the highway, needing to clear her mind before she arrived back at home. She pulled into a well-kept lot of sand, sitting on the edge of a small neighborhood park, knowing she would be left alone. The evergreens danced in the breeze brushing through the sky. The merry go round rotated slowly just a few yards away. When she turned off her truck, she was greeted by the silence of the night, and the quiet night vibrated in her soul. She felt free and more alive with the darkness surrounding her. That feeling was the one she craved more than sex and one she never shared with another.

  The breeze blew past her as the night seemed to whisper to her, saying things she could not quite make out, but still, she heard them. The merry go round moved slowly still when she stepped up and reached out to steady the movement. She pulled herself up and sat at the edge, hanging her leg over. Another breeze pushed past, and the merry go round started to move. She laid back against the faded surface, letting the movement take her away. Here, she could finally drift off to sleep, feeling safe with the stars and clouds hovering above.

  A few drops of rain kicked from the dark clouds. The quiet night was interrupted by a distant thunderbolt cracking across the sky. She lifted her head, and her long, dark hair fell over her shoulders in a waterfall of waves. The breeze grew stronger, and before long, rain fell on her face.

  She crossed the park and went back to her truck, almost skipping across the sand. A pair of headlights appeared on the road and passed by. Thunder popped and cracked across the sky, destroying any notion of the quiet, clear night that had been. The moonlight slowly disappeared as dark rain clouds moved in.

  CHAPTER 7

  Charlotte wasn't tired at all. The nighttime always made her feel more alive, more awake. She drove right through Hollow's Creek toward the mountains. She drove past several stop signs until she reached the last crossroad. She glanced both ways and looked toward the mountain, making an impulsive decision to turn on to the unpaved road and following the base of the mountains. The forest was much denser here where the evergreens outnumbered the houses. She followed the unpaved road until she reached the edge of the forest, blocked by an old gate.

  She hopped down from her truck and stepped over the gate, glancing back at her truck. It was a silent night; she didn’t even hear an owl hoot. Clouds floated across the waxing moon, about a week from full. She walked along the cleared forest path, following the road straight up the mountain. Her breath misted into the air as she climbed higher.

  A small stream flowed quietly nearby, but she couldn’t see it from where she stood. Suddenly, the trees became thicker, and the road stopped right before another gate, rusty with age. The stream finally came into view. An old rickety bridge stood fixed several feet away. She pulled the gate forward, and a chain dropped to the ground.

  The sound of silence was swallowed by the sound of running water as she stepped further into the forest. She walked closer to the river and up to the bridge as water fell from the cliff in a deafening rush. An owl screeched across the forest, and she froze in her steps, her heart leaping into her throat. She glanced up in the treetops but couldn’t see a thing. Darkness had already settled into the forest.

  She stepped on to the bridge, taking a few small steps at a time as her heart thrummed hard in her chest. She glanced over the side of the bridge as she clutched the railing, watching the rushing water fall down the mountain. A glint of light splashed across the small lake down below. The waters appeared black under the cover of darkness. She continued slowly, following the bridge to the other side.

  She stepped off the bridge to another path. Several large bushes lined the path leading her through the woods. She approached the bushes. Under the light of the moon, the leaves appeared almost black. Perfect blooms stood proudly among the leaves; large roses with dark petals of a red so deep, it faded to black.

  She reached for the largest bloom, and in grasping the branch, the razor-sharp edge of the thorns bit into her fingers. With a gasp, she pulled her hand away, lifting her fingers to her lips, blood rising to the surface. A sudden fog, too thick to see through, floated between the tree trunks. Several yards away, a faint red light appeared, the glow cutting faintly through the fog.

  The leaves rustled behind her. Her heart leaped into her throat, and Charlotte glanced around the darkness surrounding her. All she could see was the forest surrounding her, squinting to see. The fog broke to reveal another path ahead. Without thinking, she took a few steps toward the path.

  An old building stood farther ahead, just beyond the bridge. None of the windows were boarded up or broken as far as she could see, yet the building appeared abandoned. She took a few steps forward. A large cluster of bushes grew against the right side of the building, blocking windows from view. These bushes looked just like those fixed along the path leading from the bridge.

  More fog slithered through the trees and curled around the building as she stepped closer. A chill sent goosebumps rising on her arms, brushing against her jacket. She approached and pushed the branches aside to look inside the building. The thorny bushes clawed against her hands. Another snapped under her foot as she stepped closer.

  An outdoor lamp flickered on a few feet from the building, startling her. Still, she peeked inside. She investigated the dark room, which appeared almost bare except for an old ripped couch and matching chair. A fireplace stood in the corner, blackened logs sitting in the hearth. Several broken floorboards were on the floor, revealing patches of black. A set of stairs led up to another floor. Charlotte backed away. She saw nothing of interest inside, but she could feel something enveloping the house, and it did not feel welcoming.

  She turned to walk away, but she stopped when she saw the rose buses leaning against the side of the house. She wanted one of the beautiful large blooms. The petals appeared a shade of dark red, which faded to black. The perfumed damask drew her closer. She leaned in and pulled out a small knife from her shoe. She cut herself a large bloom, the thorns pricking her finger. They sliced the side of her finger once more, and she sucked the blood from her finger. She lifted the rose, inhaling the deep scent hidden within the petals.

  She made her way back down the mountain. When she arrived back at her truck, the moon hung low in the sky, and the cold had grown. Dawn was only a few hours away. She placed the rose on the dashboard and started up the engine. She headed home, suddenly feeling exhausted.

  Sleep came easy that night, but her dreams seemed so vivid they were almost unreal.

  The trees surrounded her. Their shadows fell ahead of her as Charlotte followed the path. The hoot of an owl echoed through her mind, and she jerked her head in its d
irection. Nothing was there. Everything appeared out of focus, and the trees seemed so far away. She was alone, and all she could see were the dark shadows of the forest.

  That abandoned building appeared, yet it seemed so far away. As she walked towards it, the building only seemed to move farther away. A gust of wind passed, tossing her hair. She glanced away, lowering her eyes.

  The shadow that approached her from ahead was growing blacker as it moved forward. She took a step, and it disappeared as she felt a prick on her finger. She lifted her hand to see dark blood beading to the surface of the wound, and she brought it to her lips. The black shadow came right up behind her and reached out to touch her.

  The cool air swept through the mountains. Fall had made her first appearances. The smoky smell of a fire climbing the chimney after a crisp rain became much more common as the days started to grow colder. The green leaves hanging from the trees had started to fade to shades of yellow and orange.

  Charlotte was driving on her way home from work when a call came through the car stereo. She glanced at the touchscreen, seeing Michael’s social media icon. She had already ignored his call twice this week, but something compelled her to answer this time. “What’s up?”

  “Hey. What ya doing tonight?”

  “I’m on my way home right now. I’m exhausted.”

  “Ah damn. I was gonna see if you wanted to hang out,” he said. “That’s cool, though. Maybe another time?” Michael said.

  She wondered why she even answered the phone, but she knew. Deep down, she didn’t want to sit at home alone in her room again. She wanted the physical attention she felt Michael was willing to give her. She felt how he wanted her the first time she looked into his eyes. She bit down on her lip.