Beth swallowed and peeled the bandage back. She twisted her neck to get a better look and pulled her snarled hair out of the way. Dark flakes of dried blood crusted her neck and fell away, fluttering into the sink. What remained was two swollen red bumps on her neck with dark scabs in the center of them. The spots were an inch apart, the same distance that Penny's fangs would be.
Beth lowered her hand to the sink just in time to keep from falling. Her legs trembled and her stomach lurched. She bent forward and gagged, heaving on an empty stomach. Her body sagged and collapsed, leaving her lying on the tile floor and feeling nothing but how hard it was beneath her.
"What have I done?" Beth whispered. She reached up and ran her fingers over the wounds on her neck. She felt the dry scraping of the hardened blood and then the bulges of the swollen bite marks. She jerked her hand back as though she'd been burned. She shook her head and let out a sob. She really was a vampire, or at least turning into one. But what did that mean?
Was she already dead? If so, why did her heart still beat? Would it always do that? Would she never grow any older? What about her hair, could she grow it out or was it stuck where it was? Or if she cut it, would it grow back?
What about children? She couldn't do that now, not if she was dead. Real vampires didn't have babies, just like they didn't sparkle. No more periods, but that meant no more of a lot of things. She couldn't get a tan, couldn't go out for ice cream, couldn't have a beer, couldn't even say hi to her friends or her family.
She'd been rushed. Penny gave her an ultimatum, be like her or die. What kind of choice was that? It wasn't fair! Of course she was going to choose to live, even if living meant not really living. But what if it wasn't worth it? Penny said she was old and lonely. Is that what Beth wanted? To live forever and never be allowed to be with anyone except the bitch that tricked her into being like her?
Beth took a deep breath and slowed her racing thoughts. She had options. She hadn't seen Penny yet. The sun was still up, in fact. Maybe Penny wouldn't wake up until after it set. That meant she could still do something about her situation. She could still get away. Heck, she could run down the hallway and throw herself into the sun. That would do it, wouldn't it?
She looked down at her hands and realized they hadn't changed from her brief exposure. Sure, they felt like they'd been dipped in industrial grade acid, but there hadn't been any real damage. Did that mean sunlight wouldn't destroy her, just hurt her? That meant she couldn't die, or at least not that way. She frowned and looked around. Maybe she couldn't die at all. A wooden stake in the heart or cutting off her head? Sure, but not an easy thing to do to herself.
Beth shook her head. "I don't want to die," she reminded herself. She was in her position because of that. She'd wanted to take control of her life. To be strong and in charge of herself. How would killing herself prove any of that? No, that wasn't the kind of escape she wanted.
Her eyes settled on the robe on the floor. Clothes. She needed clothes so she could get away. She could figure things out on her own, but she needed to get away first. She couldn't do that naked and dirty. Beth looked to the shower and she nodded. She'd get cleaned up, get dressed, and get the hell out of wherever she was. She'd figure the rest out later.
Beth crawled to the shower and cranked the water on. The temperature didn't matter, she knew she wouldn't feel it. She stood up and stepped under the falling water. It was lukewarm, the same as the air around her. She sighed. Being a vampire sucked if it took all the little pleasures out of life.
She turned and saw an old and dried up looking bar of soap in a soap dish. She scowled, but at least there weren't any hairs stuck to it. She grabbed it and lathered it up. She had a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. The sun was setting and she wanted to be away before Penny woke up.
Chapter 3
Wrapped in a blanket and fighting the urge to run, Beth backed down the hallway one slow step at a time. She had to keep her feet covered by the blanket or she'd risk getting burned. That meant kicking the comforter back with each step or stepping on it and falling. The entire time the heat from the sunshine soaked through the blanket and made her back itch.
She felt like she was boiling on the inside by the time she made it to the open doorway of the bedroom she'd been in. She stepped into it and let the comforter drop to the floor. Her body cooled as soon as she was out of the hallway but the way her heart and lungs were straining forced her to sit on the bed and struggle to catch her breath.
After she recovered enough to move without fearing her heart would explode she rummaged through the dresser and found some things to put on. They were lacy and racy. Totally inappropriate for wearing for anything other than an attempt to turn on a man. Beth could see through the filmy material— all of it, there wasn't even liner in the crotch.
She tried a few of the bras in the dresser but gave up when she realized none of them were large enough to fit her. Both her breasts and her chest were too large. Rather than waste time and what little energy she had, she moved on to the armoire and rummaged through the clothes looking for a suitable outfit she could wear without being arrested.
Beth ended up in a black leather skirt that was too small for her. Even with her rapid weight loss the week before her hips stretched the material to its limits. She had to make a choice whether she exposed the top of her borrowed underwear or the bottom. She chose the top and tried to hide it beneath a sheer black peasant blouse that she was certain would hide nothing in a well-lit area. She tied a dark red corset around her midsection and did her best to shove her boobs into the too-small shelf bra that left the bottom of her stomach exposed.
Beth looked down at herself and frowned. She needed a mirror to be sure. From her point of view, her outfit would be unacceptable in public. The only stockings in the dresser were thigh high and wouldn't reach the bottom of her skirt. She'd be advertising sex. In fact, if she bent over or tried to walk up or down some stairs she'd be doing more than advertising it, she'd be broadcasting it.
She turned back to the armoire and pushed and pulled a few more pieces until she found a matching black lace bolero jacket. The long sleeved jacket was all but transparent, but by positioning it so that the solid black hems rested over her breasts it made her look almost decent. She stared down at herself a final time and sighed before grabbing her blanket and draping it over her body again.
Beth made her way back down the hallway and noticed that the floor wasn't glistening with light anymore. The sun had dropped enough her feet were safe. She relaxed for a moment and then realized what that meant. The sun was nearly set. Penny would wake up and come after her. She clenched her teeth and shuffled faster down the hall.
She'd wanted to check her hair before leaving. She towel dried it after the shower but she could feel how damp it was. She didn't have a brush either, forcing her to use her fingers and leave it limp and stringy. It was a bad hair day to end all bad hair days. With the sun nearly set she didn't have time worry about it.
Beth made her way around the kitchen and into the entryway. She tried on several pairs of shoes until she found a pair that were the least painful to wear. They were open topped heels that had been designed with punishing women for not having pointy feet in mind. She winced as her toes were crushed together by the sides but stood up in them and teetered for a moment. The heels were modest for Penny's collection at a little less than three inches tall.
Beth spread her feet a little to help adjust and sucked on her dry lip. Her legs were going to get tired pretty quick, but she didn't have a choice. Running around barefoot would draw too much attention. And, with her luck, she'd step on something sharp and cut herself.
She let go of her lip and gathered her blanket again. She had no idea where she was, the brief glimpse of sunlight had done nothing but blind her and send her crawling away. She pulled it tight around her and unlocked the door before squeezing her eyes shut. She opened it slowly and waited, expecting blistering pain to strike her at any moment.
She stepped out into the hallway and hesitated. She couldn't very well walk through a building huddled in a blanket. She turned and dropped it inside, then looked at the three coats hanging on pegs and grabbed a long leather one. She slipped it over her shoulders and glanced down. It fell to her mid calf and left the shoes that doubled as mousetraps for her toes exposed.
She pulled the door shut behind her and took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart. After several seconds she gave up, her heart was a lost cause. She walked down the hallway, her fingers brushing the wall to help keep her focused as she approached the alcove. Her hunch proved right, a single elevator waited with brushed steel doors closed.
Beth pushed the only button available and started when the doors slid open. She stuck her head in and looked at the room. It was in good shape and clean, more than what she was used to. No passed out college kids or carpet stains. She stepped in and turned around. The penthouse light was lit up. The panel held two other buttons, the lobby and a garage.
"Where am I?" Beth breathed. She pressed the lobby button and stepped back so she was leaning against the wall while the doors slid shut. It started down a moment later, making her reach out and press her hands against the wall. The ride was smooth but she could sense how quick the elevator moved. Her guess proved right when the elevator slowed to a stop and made her knees tremble. She straightened before the doors slid open and revealed a professional another hallway that ran to her left and right.
Beth followed it to the right and soon emptied into a professional lobby with two more elevators behind an artificial garden. At the far end several glass doors emptied onto the busy street. She gasped and reached out for the wall to push herself back. She stopped, her heart thumping like a heavy metal drummer on amphetamines. Not only were the doors in the shade but she couldn't see any sunlight through them.
Beth relaxed and shuffled across the lobby. She was halfway to the door when she sensed someone ahead of her to her left. She looked up and saw a man in a security uniform sitting behind a small desk watching her. She staggered to a halt and stared at him.
"Have a good evening, miss," the guard said in a rich voice that matched his dark skin. "It's getting busy with the hockey game, would you like me to try to get a cab for you?"
Beth gawked until she realized her mouth was hanging open. She clamped it shut and wondered if she might will her heart to finally burst and end her misery. How could she have missed him? Now that she knew he was there she could practically feel him. There was something warm and bright about him, like he stood out from the lifeless building around him.
"What? A cab?" Beth stammered. "No— um, no thanks. No thank you, I mean. I just, uh, I was in the penthouse and—"
"Miss Minovici notified us you would be staying indefinitely," he said.
"You— she did? She can do that?"
He chuckled. "Your cousin owns the building, she can do anything she wants."
"My…cousin," Beth said and nodded. "All right, um, thank you."
He smiled and nodded and then returned his attention to the monitor in front of him.
Beth stared at him a moment longer and then turned her focus back to the doors. She had a better angle to see out of them now. The cars and the streets were shadowed but she could see sunlight higher up on some neighboring buildings. She squinted, not from the sunlight so much as a sense of having been here before. The buildings looked familiar. She licked her lips, dry tongue rubbing over dry skin, and made her way to the lobby doors.
She paused outside and looked around. The sunlight was bright but as long as she kept her focus away from it she could bear it. The light was coming from behind her, on the other side of the building. That meant she was facing east. She looked up and around, squinting against the reflected light, and gasped. She was in downtown Detroit. The casinos and Greektown were nearby, as well as the Renaissance Center.
Beth's eyes widened, forcing her to drop her gaze to the sidewalk. She turned and shuffled along the sidewalk as fast as she could until she reached the corner. She sucked in a deep breath and held it before leaning around the corner. The sunlight was far above her but the reflection off the windows of neighboring buildings sent a hundred tiny knives into her eyes. She pulled back and squeezed her eyes shut until the pain faded.
She'd seen what she needed. The entrance to the strip club, Paradise Lost, was in the same building that Penny lived in. The same building Penelope owned.
Chapter 4
Beth had to get back to school. She couldn't have learned everything she needed to there. That and change out of her ridiculous clothes. She'd already had one jerk roll down the window of his car and shout out a lewd comment. At least he hadn't asked her what she charged, that would have been too much.
She slumped against the side of the building, Penny's building. She had to get to Ann Arbor, which was thirty miles west, give or take. Straight into the setting sun. And her car was already at school.
People were walking on the sidewalks, though most were on the other side of the street. A few groups passed by her with little more than a glance. Those that did look were either curious or disturbed. Typically men fell in the former category and women in the latter. Beth thought about asking someone for help but couldn't bring herself to do it.
She sensed something and looked to her right. Nearly everyone was walking past her from her left to right, heading towards the action downtown. Everything from casinos to restaurants and clubs and even Joe Louis Arena was that way. The only people walking away from it had something else in mind. In this case, that something was protecting the public.
"Shit," Beth muttered as she saw one of the two policeman look her way and do a double take. He nudged his partner and nodded towards her.
Beth looked away, hoping for something miraculous to happen. She pushed away from the wall and turned, ready to risk ducking around the corner and staring at the ground. She'd only taken two painful steps towards the corner of the building when the faster policemen reached her.
"Excuse me, miss?"
Beth swallowed and turned around. She looked up at the two man and focused on the one on the right, she could see blond hair under his hat. He had pretty green eyes too. "Yes?"
"You look a little out of place," the other cop said. His brown eyes were squinty and his nose was flat and spread out across his face like he'd been punched a few times. "Kind of cold out here for a skirt like that."
"Tell me about it," she said. "I'm waiting for my friend to pick me up so we can go to the club."
"Any friend in particular, or were you just waiting for anyone to pick you up?" Officer Smashnose asked.
Beth stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"My partner looked at you and you turned away. Dressed like that it seems to me you're looking to meet some new friends."
Beth's heart thumped stronger in her chest. She glared at the man and demanded, "Are you calling me a prostitute?"
"Are you?" he asked without backing down. The green eyed cop glanced back and forth between them and took a step to her side.
"No," she snapped. "I'm having a really bad day, but not that bad."
"What's wrong?" the officer with green eyes asked.
Beth glanced at his chest for a name tag but only saw his badge. She shook her head. "Just a bad day."
"Got any ID on you?" Smashnose asked.
Beth glanced down at herself. She bit off her sarcastic response and shook her head.
"What's your name?" Officer Green asked her.
Beth glanced between them. Was this a good cop, bad cop routi
ne or was the blond cop young enough to not be a complete asshole like his older partner was. "Liz," she answered, drawing on a nick name her parents had called her until she was in third grade and told them she preferred Beth. "How about yours? I'm already calling you Officer Green in my head."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"You're eyes. They're bright and pretty. Sorry, manly. Handsome. Not pretty, I know guys don't like being called pretty."
Smashnose snorted and seemed to lose the chip on his shoulder for a moment.
"I'm John. Officer John Retkin."
Beth frowned. "Officer Green sounded better."
Smashnose cleared his throat. "You sure you're not trying to find a trick?"
Beth turned a glare on him. "No! I'm not. I'm being nice because your partner isn't treating me like something he stepped in. Maybe you should try it sometime."
Smashnose's eyes narrowed. He glanced at his amused partner and scowled. "So far I'm not seeing a reason to. You're dressed like you're advertising a good time to the highest bidder and you're flirting with my partner. You've got no ID on you either. Why shouldn't I take you in?"
"Is this the part where a hooker would offer you a blow job to get out of it?" Beth snapped before she could stop herself. She winced and held up a hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm just— look, it's been a long day and I'm not feeling well. Ask the security guard in the lobby, I was visiting my cousin. Except now I need to get back to U of M."
"You a student there?" Officer Retkin asked.
Beth nodded. "Freshman."
"How'd you get down here?" Smashnose asked. Even his voice was starting to sound nasally to her.
"I got a ride from a friend," Beth said. It wasn't a lie, even if she wasn't sure what she thought of Penny anymore. Was she a friend, a savior, or just another monster? And what did that make her?
"Where's your friend now?" the ball-busting cop asked.
"Jesus, don't you have drug dealers to bust or something?" Beth complained. "She dropped me off last night. I was going to have my cousin take me back, but she had an urgent business trip she had to go on."
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