The Sweetest Kill: A Young Adult Paranormal

by Amber Kalkes

  After getting dressed, I exit the bathroom to find Tobias waiting patiently for me by my desk, my sketchbook in his hand. Rushing forward, I grab it from his hands and hold it tightly against my chest. His dark eyebrows rise in surprise but he says nothing as he makes a gesture for me to head for the door. I eye him doubtfully for a second before moving past him to open the top drawer of my desk. Putting my sketchbook in there, I close the drawer and start slipping on my shoes and coat.

  “You draw very well.” He comments, as I start buttoning up my jacket.

  I don’t respond.

  “Did you study for it?”

  I turn around and look at him blankly, “Are we going now?”

  He frowns briefly before replacing it with his own impassive look, “Yes.”

  Nodding, I turn on a heel and head for the front door, a vampire stalking my every step along the way.

  Chapter Twelve

  Repartee

  Sitting across from Tobias, the vampire, in a rundown diner at two am in the morning, is not how I thought my night would turn out. The surreal atmosphere of the situation, isn’t lost on me. Although, it seems lost on Tobias. He looks completely at ease in this place but then again he looks at ease just about anywhere. It serves as another annoying reminder of his arrogant personality.

  He quirks an eyebrow at me, but doesn’t voice his reaction to my thoughts. I’m suddenly frustrated that I can’t read his mind like he can do to mine. It seems highly unfair that this whole mind invading is one sided. He drank my blood, twice now, and I didn’t get any weird abilities afterwards. As I said before, highly unfair.

  My annoyance with him has only built as we made our way here. On the entire way here, he had been shooting me aggravating little smirks and muffled laughs. He would look insane to most but I know he’s just finding amusement in my thoughts. The whole thing makes my knuckles tingle at the idea of punching him in his handsome face. From across the table, I hear a huff of a laugh before it’s muffled. I feel my cheeks go red as I glare at him.

  “Find me amusing, do you?” I ask him icily.

  He smirks. “You have no idea how amusing I find you, Shoshanna.”

  I mumbled “ass” under my breath and this time he doesn’t even attempt to hide his laughter. It’s that annoyingly seductive, husky chuckle he keeps doing, and I try desperately not to let myself react to the sound. Nope, it doesn’t affect me at all. I am immune.

  “Hey folks, what can I get you?” a raspy deep voice asks.

  I look up to see a woman, maybe in her mid-fifties, dressed in a worn out yellow waitress’ uniform, drawn on eyebrows, and gray ratted out hair. It’s clear from her voice she’s a heavy smoker and her tired smile has the odd black or missing tooth. She looks like a worn out woman, and I feel myself soften towards her. Believe me, honey, I know the feeling.

  “I’ll have some chicken broth and some crackers.” I say quietly.

  Both the waitress and Tobias give me an incredulous look, Tobias’s partially hidden behind sunglasses. I guess the sunglasses are a good choice, considering how unpleasant his eyes are. But the sunglasses still makes him seem strange, it’s pitch black outside, for heaven’s sake.

  The waitress, whose name tag reads ‘Ruth-Anne’, quirks one thin eyebrow at me, “You need something heartier than that, sweetheart, you're nothing but skin and bones.”

  Ruth-Anne gives a pointed look at my… thinness, I guess, and I squirm in my seat. Crossing my arms over my stomach, I stare down at the table. My stomach churns as my mind becomes a whirlwind of self-hatred. I’m too thin. Too thin to be attractive, she means. She probably thinks I starve myself for fashion.

  Tobias chimes in suddenly, “She’ll have scrambled eggs and two slices of toast.”

  I’m annoyed that he’s ordering for me but I’m also relieved, so I stay quiet. I’m too distracted by my own thoughts at the moment, to properly respond to her anyway. I turn my attention to the nearby window showing the street outside. The diner is on a corner, so you can see two roads leading in opposite directions. Since it’s so late, or early considering the perspective, the streets are empty. It gives the city a ‘haunted’ sort of look.

  “Alright, I’ll get that going for you real quick here.” Ruth-Anne says, “Anything for you, handsome?”

  “No, thank you.” He replies politely and slides the menus across the table, towards her.

  I close my eyes and clench my jaw as she giggles, “You just let me know and I’ll be here as soon as you call, honey.”

  Once I hear her heavy steps fade into the distance, I look at Tobias. His arms are stretched out across the back of his booth seat and a toothpick is hanging out of his pale lips. He’s looking around the diner blandly before he meets my annoyed gaze. Rolling his eyes, he sighs. He then sits forward, so he’s leaning with his elbow on the table.

  “What now?”

  “Do I get a choice in anything anymore?” I ask.

  He narrows his eyes. “Not if you insist on making stupid decisions.”

  I sigh and look out the window beside our booth. Apparently, he’s still pissed about the ‘incident’. Well, that’s fine. If he’s going to be upset about something as stupid as that, then I have nothing to say to him. I don’t regret my attempt. It was the right decision for me. Besides, are we just pushing off the inevitable? I mean the deal ends with him killing me. So why is he making such a fuss?

  “What’s your full name?” He asks suddenly, making me frown at him. He’s taken off his sunglasses now, so the view of his crimson eyes is clear. I squirm in my seat from the intense curiosity in them.

  “Why?” I ask skeptically.

  He shrugs, “I’d like to know.”

  I stare at him for a few minutes before responding, “Can’t you just read my mind to find out?’

  “I’d rather you just tell me.”

  “Well I’d rather you couldn’t read my mind at all.” I snap, “By the way, what is with that? Is that just some freaky vampire thing or is it just you?”

  He smiles a little, “Freaky vampire thing?”

  I scowl, “You know what I meant.”

  “I do. I just want to watch you get irritated. When you, frown you get this little line between your eyebrows.”

  I put my hand up against my forehead, shielding the alleged line from his sight, “You’re avoiding the question.”

  Tobias sighs and sits back in his seat, “All vampires have the ability to bind others to us. It is how we are able to keep track of those who we make and those who we wish to keep under our service.”

  The bell dings above the door as a few young people, dressed for the nightlife, come in. I close my eyes as the sound seems to reverberate throughout my mind, making my head pound. God, that’s loud. I drop my head into my hands and try not to vomit at the echoes of the sound still rolling around in my head.

  “Drink this, slowly.” Tobias orders as he pushes a glass of water towards me.

  I take it and do as I’m told. I blink my eyes a few times as the urge to vomit subsides. Kneading my forehead, I try to catch my breath. That really hurt. Like a migraine and a headache had a devil baby with colic.

  “What the hell was that?” I gasp, still clutching my head.

  He shrugs, “Side effect.”

  “Of what? The blood?”

  “Yes.” He says simply, “Vampire blood is not normal blood, Shoshanna. It healed your body, made you healthy and repaired some of the long term damage on your body. That’s why you slept as long as you did. Your body was repairing itself.”

  “Wait, did you…”

  He scowls at me, “You keep asking that and the answer is still no. I didn’t turn you into a vampire. Believe me, if I had, you would know by now.”

  “But you could, if you wanted to.” I accuse.

  “Yes but I won’t. Not with you.”

  I see sincerity in his eyes, but I don’t know if it’s real or manufactured. I decide to take these at face value for the moment and le
t it go for now. Turning my attention back to the front window, I let out a steady sigh. Might as well throw him a bone to keep him happy.

  “Shoshanna Akira Belle.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  I face him and repeat myself, “Shoshanna Akira Belle, that’s my full name.”

  He smirks quickly before leaning forward on the table, “Akira?”

  “It means ‘bright’, ‘intelligent’ or ‘clear’ depending on the context.” I tell him with a shrug, “My mother named us according to her hopes for us.”

  “Us?” He asks mildly, “Am I to assume you have siblings then?”

  I scowl at him, “I answered your question. Now drop it.”

  “I would but your reaction made me curious. Is it a brother?”

  I grit my teeth and look out the window, not responding.

  “A sister?”

  I tense, giving myself away. Tobias hums in consideration and makes a show of thinking about something, “My guess would be… younger? Five years younger, perhaps?”

  I don’t answer.

  “A very little sister, nine years younger?”

  “Seven.” I whisper.

  “Seven years younger,” He repeats with a wide smile before grabbing a flask from an inner pocket of his jacket, “What was her name?”

  “Charlotte.” I grit out.

  “And how old is darling Charlotte? You’re what, twenty? So she’d be… thirteen?”

  “She… was nine.”

  He stops unscrewing the lid of his flask to stare at me curiously, “Was?”

  “Yes, was,” I bite out. “She died of leukemia six years ago.”

  His face softens slightly, “That’s very young. How long did she fight for?”

  I reach up and brush away a tear, “Two years. She held on for two, very long years.”

  Ruth-Anne comes back with my food and I keep my face averted from her view. She seems to notice I’m upset though, because she sets everything down very gently. She even leaves without a word, and I’m thankful for it. I’m not in the mood to be called a series of pet-names, at the moment.

  “You might want to eat while it’s warm. I hear it’s best that way.” Tobias says quietly before drinking from the silver flask. Lowering it again, I see his lips are stained red and I swallow thickly. Well, leave it to a vampire to bring a flask full of blood to a diner, I guess.

  “Can you eat food?” I ask, still trying to get a grip with this whole situation.

  He arches a dark brow and shakes the flask a little, making the liquid swish, “I do.”

  I roll my eyes, “I mean human food.”

  “No.” He tells me with a shake of his head, “Not compatible with my digestive system. I’d just vomit it up and become dehydrated. Not the best thing to be when your diet is liquid based.”

  I nod and grab a piece of toast. My stomach rolls at the smell of the food, but I force myself to take a bite. I need to eat, especially since it’s been three days since I’ve had anything. That’s the maximum amount of time I let myself go for starvation. Anything past that, could get me in the hospital again and that’s not something I’m interested in doing again, ever.

  “You look like you’re in pain.”

  I chew the piece of toast in my mouth slowly, before swallowing it with a wince, “I’m just not used to food this… solid.”

  “Meaning?”

  Putting the piece of toast down and picking up the glass of water with shaky hands, “I usually stick to a diet of Ramen and soup.”

  “I could tell you how unhealthy that is, but I have a feeling it would fall on deaf ears.”

  “Most likely, yes.” I admit before setting my glass back down, “Speaking of diets, I have another condition to add.”

  He lifts a brow, “I thought we were done with conditions.”

  “This one, I think you’ll like.”

  “Intriguing. Please go on.”

  “No more playing Jack the Ripper downtown.” I whisper, very aware of the few people around us, “You have me now to feed off of. You don’t need to kill people anymore.”

  “Jealous?” He asks with a slight smirk.

  I’m not falling for it.

  “Tobias, I’m not screwing around here. If you agree to this one condition I’ll…” I trail off and sigh heavily, already regretting this, “I’ll be good. You can control me all you want, tell me what to do, whatever, just keep your word on this and I won’t fight anymore.”

  He sets his lips in a grim line as he watches me pick at the scrambled eggs with my fork, “Interesting proposition, but how can I be sure you’ll live up your part of the deal?”

  “Because they don’t deserve to die.”

  “And you do?” He counters evenly.

  That stops me short and I answer him uncertainly, “I-I don’t know.”

  He eyes me coolly for a few minutes before placing his flask on the table in front of him, “I’ll need you to run an errand for me tomorrow.”

  “What about the condition?” I ask, refusing to be side tracked.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “When will you decide?”

  “Maybe after you’ve completed your errand.”

  I sigh and feel a headache coming on, “What kind of errand?”

  “The kind that must be done tomorrow. I’ll be sending a car to pick you up in the morning with a package. You’ll deliver it to where the car takes you and that will be the extent of it.”

  I eyes him warily, “That’s it?”

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  “I’ll have the car come to your apartment at ten in the morning sharp, and I do mean sharp, Shoshanna.”

  My expression speaks of mutiny, “How would you know if I can be on time? You’ll probably be tucked in your coffin for the day.”

  Tobias smirks slightly, “I’d know, Shoshanna, simply because I know everything.”

  “Not everything.” I grumble.

  He pins me with his gaze, “Everything.”

  “Whatever,” I dismiss, “So, who am I taking this package too, exactly?”

  “Now, that would be ruining the surprise.” He says with a smirk. I glare at him and he winks at me, “Eat up.”

  I glower at him as I scoop up a piece of egg and stick it in my mouth, while damning him to hell in my head. He seems to hear me loud and clear, since he smirks at me before taking a swig from his flask. I don’t know why, but I start to smile as well. He may be an asshole but I’m stuck with him for seven more weeks. Might as well make the best of it.

  After the meal, Tobias pays while I walk out of the diner. I stare up at the clear sky and see a full moon shining brightly against the black velvet of darkness. I can see my own breath fanning out of my mouth, and my ears start to go cold from the chill in the air. I’ve always loved the winter, when everything is so clean and white.

  “Ten in the morning, Shoshanna, don’t forget.” Tobias says as he comes outside to stand beside me.

  “I won’t forget.”

  We’re quiet for a long time, but I know he hasn’t left yet. The whole right side of my body, the side he’s beside, is buzzing with awareness of his proximity. I can feel his eyes on me as well, but I continue to look up at the sky with awe. While most things lost their magic after Charlotte died, the moon never did. It just seemed too far away and pure to ever be bothered with the mess here on earth. Perfection, in its distance.

  “Shoshanna, why don’t you like to be touched?” Tobias asks, abruptly.

  I turn away from the moon and stare at him blankly. A broken memory flickers across my mind and against my intentions. I feel him trying to chase it in my head. I try my best to block him from it and it works. My head suddenly lacks the pressure I’m beginning to recognize as his influence. Forcing a shaky smile on my face, I take a step away from him and keep my voice quiet.

  “Good night, Tobias.”

  Turning on a heel, I walk away from him. He doesn’t follow.

&n
bsp; Chapter Thirteen

  Grindstone

  Just as the hand hits ten o’clock, I exit my apartment building. I come to an abrupt stop though when I see a black car waiting outside. It sticks out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood. In fact, if you sold it, I bet you could buy the whole neighborhood. I shove my hands in my jacket pockets and just stare at the car, hesitating to even take another step towards it. What if it’s not here for me?

  “Miss Belle?” A voice calls out, making me jump.

  I blink rapidly as I see a man standing beside the car, waiting patiently. The man is dressed in all black, sunglasses and leather driving gloves included. He looks to be in his late fifties with a downturned mouth and ruddy complexion. His white hair is thinning a bit on top but is slicked back to hide it. He just stares at me while I take him in. Realizing I’m being incredibly creepy, I try to think of something to say.

  “Y-Yes?”

  Opening the back door for me he stands up completely straight, “Shall we?”

  I swallow thickly and eye the visible interior suspiciously, but take a few hesitant steps forward. My hands are shaking, so I clench them in my jacket pockets, while forcing a smile. I’m not the best at big forced smiles, so I may look crazy for all I know. The man’s expression doesn’t change and he keeps himself facing forward as I stumble into the car.

  My hands caress the leather interior as I slide in. It feels rich and I feel uncomfortable immediately. I grew up in an upper middle class family, sure, but we were never affluent. My mom, on the other hand, grew up wealthy in Japan. Her family descends from a long line of war lords and eventually reformed themselves as aristocracy. She would be more comfortable in this setting. I am not, though. This extravagance makes me uneasy.