by Sammie J
Her face scrunches up with confusion, “Why didn’t anyone one tell me about the Café? I’m an owner too, someone should have phoned me.”
“I don’t know Lara, maybe because I answered my phone first. There wasn’t a lot you could do anyway. We cleaned up the broken glass and boarded up the window.”
She shakes her head at me, “I’m miffed Peppa, I still should have been told.”
“I’m sorry.” I halfheartedly laugh, “We seem to be saying that a lot to each other lately.”
She lets out a deep sigh, “I better say sorry now then before I tell you my next bit of news.”
My heart skips a beat and I take a big breath in and out and focus on Lara, feeling my heart sink already from what is about to spew from her mouth, because it is more than likely going to cause me distress.
She closes her eyes and reaches for my hand and I let her hold it. “Daddy thinks I should go back to work, he says it will distract me from thinking about Noah and because the Café has been closed for the week, we are losing out on money. Oh Peppa, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, he also thinks you don’t care about the Café anymore. That you are more interested in getting your hands on Noah’s money. He told me to tell you he will double the price of what Café Net is worth, if you sign it all over to me and walk away from Noah.”
I don’t know where my head is after hearing that shocking news. I should feel something, anger, pain, hate but there’s nothing. It’s like I have resigned myself to the fact that Donald will try anything to destroy me and I want to shrug my shoulders and say, “Oh well do your worst.”
Monica’s screech makes me jump out of my skin and back into the room, “I flipping told you not to trust her. You are a low life scum bag, just like your father. You are supposed to be a friend, you’re no friend. I suggest you get out now while your face is still intact.”
Lara is fuming. Her face has turned a bright red, her body has gone rigid and I swear I can see steam coming out of her ears. She stands, looks at me and then at Monica. I'm expecting a shouting match to erupt but Lara calmly says, “Listen you witch, I’m trying to help Peppa by telling her what my father is up to. I won't let her sign over anything to me because I know she loves that place. I also know she loves my brother and it will shatter Noah if she isn’t here when he gets home. So, back off bitch. I’m on Peppa’s side too, why can you not see that?”
Monica squares off with Lara and I jump up to step in between them, but Hans beats me to it. He rests his hands on Monica’s shoulders, “Come on Rocky, let’s go and make everyone a nice cup of tea.”
She glances over her shoulder at him and something unspoken passes between them and she turns and walks back into the kitchen with him, but not without letting me know to shout if I need her.
Lara spins on her heels and strides across the room, I thought she was leaving but then she turns and makes her way back to me and slumps back down at my side. “Why does she hate me? I’m trying to make everything right again between us. I’m going behind my father’s back for Christ's sake, so you know what is going on.”
My resentment for her father starts to rear its ugly head, he is not only using Noah against me, he is using her too. And for the first time I can see how much this is affecting Lara. “I’m sorry about Monica, she is just trying to protect me, like you are. I’m really sorry your father is involving you in his hatred towards me. I hope our friendship is stronger than him and I will see you at 9 am tomorrow morning to open up our business.”
She sits there with an expression I can only describe as well I didn’t expect that. She’s not the only one either, the last thing on my mind is going back to work, but maybe it is the distraction I need. Donald Blaise can kiss my white lily ass if he thinks he can get rid of me. Bring it on asshole, you just make me more determined to hold on and show you I’m not one to be walked over. I smile evilly to myself at those thoughts.
“Peppa, thanks for believing in me.” I smile at her and as I’m about to say something her phone goes, “It’s daddy, I should go.” She stands and smiles down at me, “I will see you bright and early in the morning.”
I nod my head and she starts to walk away. A feeling of bitchiness I never knew I had explodes out of my mouth, “Oh Lara, please thank your father for me. Tell him Hans is lovely and he has settled in well, tell him he can keep his money because I have something worth more than anything he can offer me. Oh while you are at it, if you see Jacob let him know it was really good to see him again, but if he sets foot in this house I will call the police. Tell him I have video evidence that should shut him up. See you in the morning Lara.”
I rise from the sofa and I put on the fakest smile I can muster. She looks at me, blinks a few times, opens her mouth as if to say something but nothing comes out. She nods at me and I watch as she shuffles away. When I walk into the kitchen I find Hans and Monica sitting together looking at the newspapers.
Hans spots me first, “Viper has made the headlines. Monica told me that Juan is your boyfriend, they have been having a rough time lately by the looks of it.”
I walk over to them and lean over Monica’s shoulders to see a photo of a vexed looking Cruz staring back at me. “Juan and Noah are both my boyfriends. I wanted to get that out there in case Monica didn’t tell you that part.” From the look they gave each other he already knew that. I wonder what else Monica has told him. “I will know more when Juan comes by later tonight.”
Monica snaps her head to me, “Have you phoned Juan to let him know about last night? I’m sure he will want to know.”
I shake my head, “I will tell him later, no point in disturbing him.”
“Bloody hell, he’s your boyfriend Peppa. He’s not going to get mad at you for letting him know about the Café.”
I ignore her and point to Cruz’s picture, “So does it say what Cruz did? He loves the limelight. I’m surprised he’s not naked.”
Monica lets out a big sigh and shakes her head. I wish I could tell her why there is no point in phoning him but for now, I have to make do with her being moody with me. Hans’ finger falls to Cruz’s eyes and taps them, “His eyes look weird, they look sort of supernatural.”
My eyes bulge out of my head and rise to find his. I swear I see understanding flash in them, but it’s gone when he smiles at me and says, “Maybe it’s just the flash from the camera.” Monica laughs, slaps Hans’ arm as if to say don't be silly and Hans breaks eye contact to look at her. I quickly make an escape telling myself, there is no way Hans knows what Cruz is.
Most of the day is spent watching Monica drool over Hans as we both sit and listen to him talk and play his guitar.
They also agree that it is a good idea that I'm going back to work. Monica also warned me, again, to watch my back where Lara is concerned. Monica’s phone rings out later in the evening and she has to dash out to see her sister, the baby wouldn’t settle. Hans asks her to drop him off at some local beauty stop so he can go for a run. He said it is his way of keeping fit and as it is dark, it is the perfect time to outrun the press. A little weird maybe but who am I to judge.
I have a bath to pass some time and I curl up on the sofa engrossed in the book I am reading. I didn’t even feel the connection flare when I jumped ten feet in the air because Juan made his existence known, “What the hell is that smell?” Holding my hand over my fast pacing heart I glare at him and say, “A hello would have been nice, don’t creep up on me like that Juan. And what smell? I can’t smell anything.”
He moves my feet and slumps down on the sofa resting them on his lap. He sniffs the air, “I don’t know, it’s sort of a wet dog kind of smell.”
I scrunch my face up in disgust, “We don’t have a dog you know that, but we do have a Hans.”
His head snaps back to mine and his eyebrows come together with confusion, “Who the fuck is Hans?”
I open my mouth to speak, then I notice his face change as he recognizes the name and blurts out, “Hans, as in the l
ead singer from The Duel? The one Jacob used to lure Noah to the club?”
I nod my head yes, “The one and the same, and oh speaking of Jacob. He’s back.” Juan looks at me flabbergasted and anger soon shows itself on his face and his fangs drop down. I scoot back a little at the sight of them and when he registers what he has done, he quickly stands and starts to pace.
“I think you better tell me what’s been happening around here.”
So I do, I tell him about the café, Hans and Jacob, but I began to wish I hadn’t because it causes an argument to erupt between us. After Juan finally shuts up, I push myself off the sofa and make my way to bed. He watches me walk past him, neither of us saying a word or breaking eye contact and I turn back to look at him as I'm about to exit the door and say in anger, “I’m a big girl Juan. I have been looking after myself for a long time, long before you came on the scene. Maybe I feel your lifestyle as a Rock star comes first and the goings on in my life are insufficient. Oh, by the way, I need sleep as I’m going back to work tomorrow. Goodnight.”
I storm off and berate myself for being a bitch. I'm so riled up I couldn’t help myself. I get into bed and close my eyes. I’m too angry to cry so I wait, thinking Juan will join me and I can tell him I am sorry but he doesn’t come straight away. I stir slightly as I feel arms go around me a little while later and I hear whispers of a sorry. I think I said it back but sleep drags me back down.
My alarm goes off and I turn over to an empty bed. I can still smell the aftershave Juan wears, it’s a warm woodsy smell and it lingers all around me. I bring the pillow he rested his head on to my nose for comfort, as a sadness washes over me that we didn’t make up last night. I drag myself out of bed when the alarm goes off again and I get ready for a day at work, even though my heart isn’t in it.
When I reach Café Net I think we have been broken in again, as the door is open, but I hear Lara talking away and when I walk in, to my shock, I find Lara behind the counter serving a customer. She smiles at me, “Good morning Peppa. I was here early so I opened up and turned everything on. I hope you don’t mind?”
Is she on something? Has someone cloned Lara for a newer more efficient version? When I pick my jaw up off the floor and walk behind the counter, I say to her, “I don’t mind at all, you can do it every morning if you like.”
We smile at each other and the day begins when more students enter, letting us know they are happy we are open again. I’m kept busy and yes, I'm distracted, but Noah is never far from my mind. How can he be when every time I look at Lara I can see him.
Later that afternoon, I'm sitting at one of the computers glancing at the Viper website one of the students hadn't shut down and find a photo of Juan being kissed by some girl. I can tell by his eyes that he wasn’t expecting the kiss, but it still made my heart ache. It should be me kissing him and after last night, I will make sure he receives one along with an apology. I'm surprised when a voice I recognized floats over to me and I spin in the chair to look over at the counter, my eyes meeting those of Detective Payne’s. He smiles at me and I rush over to him my heart picking up pace with every step, “Do you have news, have you found Noah?”
His smiles falls a bit, “Sorry Ms. Thorne, no news I’m afraid. I came in to get some coffee. You and the Blaise family will be the first to know if we have news we think you need to hear.”
I lower my head and walk back behind the counter disheartened saying, “Sorry, enjoy your coffee.”
My focus is brought back to him as he says my name, “I should hear something soon. I will be in contact. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Lara and I both watch him walk out of the door. “Daddy says he is one of the best. If anyone can find Noah he can.”
I can hear the sadness in her voice and I bring my arm up to rest my hand on hers, “Let’s hope so Lara. I miss him like crazy.”
She mutters under her breathe as she walks away, “Me too.”
The last couple of hours drift by quickly and Lara made the whole day without doing a disappearing act on me. We both locked up and Lara walks over to Devil Records to get a lift home. As I watched her walk over the road, Jacob exited the building, our eyes meet and the bastard smirked and waved at me. I turned away not giving him the time of day, but it takes a good mile or so to get my breathing back under control. He brings out the panic in me. I know I can handle it if he stays away, but this is Jacob, he will be in my face soon enough.
When I walked through the door I am greeted with the sound of laughter and I find Hans and Monica all cozy on the sofa gazing at something on the laptop. We talked for a bit, telling each other about our day and Hans cooked. I felt bad that I only managed a couple of mouthfuls of his bolognaise, but I'm not hungry. I'm tired after my first day back at work so I leave Monica and Hans in each other’s company, knowing full well they wouldn’t miss me as they are so wrapped up in each other.
Lying in bed I tossed and turned, feeling anxious, waiting to see if Juan will come to me. I hear the door open and quickly sit up to stare into the nervous face of Juan. I take a deep breath and blurt out, “I’m so sorry Juan. I was a bitch.”
In the blink of an eye I’m in Juan’s arms being comforted. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I was angry Peppa because I should be there for you, by your side, supporting you. Yes, I know my work can get in the way, but know this, you come first, you and Noah will always come first.”
Juan seeks out my mouth and his tongue begs for entry. I open for him and let his sorry travel through my body, lodging in all the right places. I lie back hoping the kiss will lead to more, but he pulls away and his body falls away from me.
Before I can even think about how much that action stung, he quickly goes on to tell me, “We need to talk about Hans.”
I turn over on my stomach and look down into his face, “What about him? He’s not a serial killer is he?”
Juan lets out a little laugh, “No baby, he’s not, he’s a shifter.”
My heart skips a beat, I blink a few times processing his words. “A shifter? Oh god! Is he dangerous? Will he hurt Monica? She really likes him you know. What does he turn into? Oh, he’s not a dragon or something big like that?”
Yes, my mouth is running away with me, I have read about shifters so I am up on my supernatural world, but it is still a shock to know one is living under the same roof as us. It shouldn’t be really, because my boyfriend is a vampire.
Juan continues to tell me about shifters and lets me know that Hans is a wolf. He goes on to tell me that I have nothing to worry about where Hans is concerned as he wouldn’t hurt us. He also lets me know that he thinks it is a good idea that Monica should, at some point, be told the truth, but to wait and see how close she gets to Hans.
I also find out that a plan is in action with Viper and so far it seems to be working. The band actually played tonight with no trouble and the fans were happy. My tiredness caught up with me and Juan holds me until I fall asleep.
The next couple of days flew by. A few things have changed though. Detective Payne seemed to make the Café his new place to get his coffee. He would chat about everyday life with me and then go on his merry way. Lara and I come up with a compromise about opening and closing the cafe and we decided to do alternate weeks. She really is trying and I find myself enjoying working with her again. Juan still holds me every night and the distance I had felt between us before is closing, but he still hasn’t been intimate with me, which is becoming frustrating.
Coming home after another busy day at work, I wanted to relax. When I walk into the lounge I'm greeted by the sight of Monica and Hans rolling around on the floor, mouths attached to each other’s. Oh great at least my best friend is getting some action, lucky cow. They don’t notice me standing there, not even when a knock comes to the front door.
“It’s ok I will answer it, you two just continue to eat each other’s faces off.” I say sarcastically and twist around and stroll away to hear them both giggling like school girls.<
br />
I open the door with a smile trying not to laugh at catching my friend making out, but it soon drops and I gulp when I see the look of smugness on Jacob’s face. A battle starts inside me as I feel the panic start to rise. I try and push it down so he can’t see how much he affects me. “What do you want Jacob?”
“Now, that’s no way to greet an old friend Peppa. I thought better of you.”
I huff, “You’re no friend of mine. I will ask you again, what do you want?”
Our attention is soon lost from each other and our eyes focus on a car pulling up in the driveway. Jacob turns back to me, “Well, aren’t you Miss Popular tonight. Another man to add to your harem. Is he going to fill the space Noah has left behind?”
My fists clench together at the same time my teeth do and I’m about to spit out some very nasty swear words when I sense someone behind me and Hans steps out to stand by my side, “It’s ok Peppa. Let me deal with this. I take it you are here to see me Jacob.”
Before Jacob can answer him I say, “I don’t want him in the house Hans.”
“And there’s me thinking you loved me.” Jacob says this laughing.
“You are such an asshole.” Detective Payne chooses that moment to make his appearance and raises an eyebrow at my outburst and I blush every shade of red.
“Gentleman, Ms. Thorne, sorry to interrupt your evening. May I have a quick word please?” He says this to me and I nod my head and gesture with my hand for him to follow me.
Jacob shouts out, “I hope everything is alright Peppa. I’m here if you need a shoulder to cry on.”
I have a few choice words I can shout back but I ignore him as I can’t do anything with the Detective following me, but I do mutter ‘Twat,’ under my breathe.
Detective Payne chuckles, “I guess you don’t like him too much.”
I huff, “What gives you that idea Detective?” He laughs out loud this time.
We walk into the lounge to find Monica straightening up the room. She didn’t see my companion and asks, “Who is at the door?”