by Nicola Rose
I watched him hurry off up to the house, protesting after him that I was fine, that I had stronger appetites that needed feeding, but it fell on deaf ears.
“You’re going to cook for me?” I asked, finding him in the kitchen, turning random dials on the oven and looking confused.
“I’m going to try, if you can call pizza cooking.” He shot me a quick smile as he opened the fridge.
The kitchen was immaculate, gleaming and sparkling, top of the range appliances. A large island sat proudly in the middle, housing the oven, whilst miles and miles of worktops and cupboards decked the sides. Yet when he opened the fridge there couldn’t have been less in it! There sat one lonely pizza, a mountain of beer, and not much else.
Had I ever even seen him eat? Anna could be right about him being on drugs. Something had to keep him running and it sure as hell wasn’t steak and fries.
In one of his clever mind reading tricks he replied, “Sorry, the guys got takeout earlier and we’ve eaten already. But I made sure I got this in for you the other day.”
I don’t think I’d ever seen any of them eat come to think of it. They were all real fitness freaks, I supposed. I ought to be able to relate on some level, but I’d spent too many years forgetting that I used to enjoy looking after my body, and treating myself to all the bad shit instead.
The only thing they did consume to excess was alcohol, and yet they never appeared drunk. I would be on the floor if I drank what they did.
Whatever, they looked shit-hot on it, so who was I to judge them?
I reached around his waist as he slid the pizza into the oven, squeezing him tight.
“Thanks, I’m starving,” I said.
“You’re welcome. I want to take care of you.”
He turned around and swept me up into the air, sitting me down on a worktop. He leant in close, instantly igniting me with heat. His eyes settled on my mouth and he let his tongue pass over my bottom lip. My own tongue responded eagerly, lapping back at him, his kiss a soft delectable place. Surprisingly soft, given how every other part of him was a solid wall of hard muscle.
He spread my legs and stood between them, rocking his erection into me. As he clutched the worktop I stroked up and down his arms, savouring all that strength, his muscle standing out proud. His hand slid up my thigh and a gasp escaped me. So cool, even through the denim it made me goosebumpy all over.
The kiss went on for so long that my head spun. Every part of me cried out for more, to have those lips over every inch of my naked skin. I grabbed his head and pushed him downwards, arching my back, urging his mouth to find my nipples, which his fingers were now teasing through my top.
The timer beeped next to us and he bolted backwards out of my grasp.
“What the frig?” I panted. “The pizza can wait.”
He shook his head with a smile. Was that relief on his face? Because I was pretty sure my own face was radiating pure frustration. I pushed myself down from the counter, knowing that the moment was broken and he wouldn’t come back to me.
Despite my best efforts at getting him to join me, he only watched as I ate the pizza. Afterwards we went through to a huge sitting room. The latest high tech gadgets were littered around. Tall windows, floor to ceiling, lined one wall but were covered up with charcoal drapes of a luxurious thick material.
I’d expected us to be alone. I don’t know why, given how much his ‘gang’ follow him everywhere. I was still surprised to walk into the room and find it busy. The chatter died down as I entered, an uncomfortable silence settling around me. Why did that keep happening? I looked at my feet and tried to shuffle back out the door.
Zac caught my hand and pulled me in, putting an arm around my shoulders. “It’s about time you lot got to know each other,” he said. “This is Jess.”
If I could have accessed one of his magical disappearing tricks then I’d have done so right then. I could have died with the way they all turned to study me.
We walked round and he introduced me to each person, with fake smiles all round. Leon I already knew. He was racing the skinhead tattoo guy, called Caleb, on a video game. The giant flatscreen took up almost the whole wall, more like a movie screen than a TV.
The stunning woman, Eva – the one who I still wasn’t sure if I should be jealous of – was the only person to give me what seemed like a genuine smile, as she sat painting her nails. More guys whose names I forgot instantly were chilling in various groups around the room, most of them making out with semi-naked women.
I tried my hardest to act as if that were the sort of thing I saw every day. No big deal. But in truth, it wasn’t like the usual scene on the island. These guys were different. The air in the room was heavy with something electric, making the fine hairs on my body stand up.
I rubbed at my arms, suddenly feeling freezing, and Zac pulled me over for a final introduction. The big guy who I knew hated me, the one who’d been pointing and fighting with Zac that night of the fire party on the beach. He was called Ruben. He didn’t bother to smile, or even look at me, just grunted some sort of response.
With that out the way, Zac and I settled down with drinks in hand. I snuggled in close to him. He hadn’t let his touch leave me once since we entered the room. There was always a hand in the small of my back, on my arm, a shoulder. Possessive or protective? I wasn’t sure.
The thought that these guys were supposed to be in a gang made me scrunch up my face. Yes, they were pretty intimidating and something was way off about them, but they weren’t like a street gang or motorcycle gang. Whatever they were, the feeling of danger closed in around my throat.
I downed my whiskey and asked Zac for another. I downed that, too. After a while I started relaxing, and so did the group. We eased up and settled into brief conversations, studded with long pauses.
Leon and Eva had a lot of questions for me; about my hobbies, my job, and everything in between. I didn’t like talking about myself, trying instead to throw their questions back at them. Turned out they weren’t too keen on opening up either.
Someone started talking about ghosts after one flashed across the big screen, the racing cars being chased by ghouls and other undead creatures.
“There was a ghost at my old fire station,” I said. “Loads of guys saw it. Not many would talk about it though, in case they looked stupid. I’m not afraid of the supernatural. I don’t —”
Leon cleared his throat with his hand over his mouth, stifling a laugh.
“Oh, go ahead and let it out, I’m used to it. You should go hang out with my friend Anna. Why do non-believers always find it so funny? Is it really so hard to imagine there’s more to life than all… this?” I gestured around the room.
“No. No it isn’t. Not at all,” Leon hastily left the room, throwing a game controller directly at Zac’s head on his way. He stuck his arm out and caught it without ever taking his eyes off me. Mr. Cool as usual.
I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for his weigh-in on the subject. Daring him to laugh, given his psychic revelation. Did his friends not know about that? Surely they must?
Ruben sat forward, focussing on me intently, all suspicion and angst. Dickhead. He bristled in his chair and let out a deliberate audible sigh. Well, that conversation got awkward.
Ruben didn’t grace us with any further comment, but he did do us the pleasure of leaving the room. The atmosphere lifted further once he was out of the way and the rest of the night passed in a refreshingly normal manner.
In fact, it was definitely the first time we’d had such an ordinary evening. He’d made me food, offered me drinks every half hour, cuddled and gazed at me longingly as I laughed and joked with his friends. I indulged myself with the idea that I’d successfully endeared myself to them — the gang. They were a pretty cool crowd, apart from Captain Dickface, but let’s not dwell on him. Zac refused to tell me why he had it in for me, insisting he was just an old loser that hated everyone.
I wasn’t worried as I lifted the n
ew note from Anansi the next day. They were wasting their time. I wasn’t going to let their childish and petty games get in the way. That said, two days in a row without any form of drama would be good.
Zac hadn’t spoken to me about the notes again and I hadn’t raised the subject, but I suspected his brother was doing it. I was staying on ‘their’ bit of the island. It was the obvious conclusion and I was none too happy about being caught in the middle of it.
I laughed out loud when I read what this note said. It was clearly only a game to them; not his brother, more like some kids having a laugh. I didn’t think I’d been worried, yet I still felt a weight lift off my shoulders as I rushed inside to call Zac and let him know the good news.
I threw the paper on the bed and read it again as the phone dialled, chuckling to myself and praying he’d answer.
Just one word in careful capital letters stared back at me – VAMPIRE – with a few newspaper clippings of missing people in the surrounding areas.
“Hey, I was just daydreaming about you,” his drawl came over the line, soft and silky.
“That sounds nice.” Butterflies in my stomach. “What were you thinking?”
“I can’t possibly tell you, Ma’am, it’s far too obscene.”
Ma’am… Darlin’… seriously, these guys didn’t play fair. A little piece of me melted each time I heard those words out of their delicious Texan mouths. I was going to end up a puddle of goo on the floor if they kept it up.
“Well, if you’re too shy to tell me, how are you ever going to pluck up the courage to show me?” I asked.
“I’m sure I’ll find it from somewhere, why don’t you come over and we can put it to the test?”
Yeah right. All talk and no action. I was starting to wonder if he was actually celibate. Crap, that was a horrifying thought.
“Sounds perfect,” I said. “I’ve got some good news, too. I got another note.”
After a long pause he replied, “And it’s good news?”
“Yes. You’re a vampire.”
A strange noise came down the line, like a sudden intake of breath and a deep, chesty groan.
“Are you OK? I know it’s funny, but don’t choke on it!”
“Funny?” he asked in a tight voice.
“You don’t think so? I know its childish stuff, they even went to the trouble to use some ketchup, little blobs of it on the paper for a gruesome bloody effect. They were creative. It must be some kids or something?”
He still didn’t speak and an uneasy feeling pressed over me.
“I thought you’d be pleased? At least you don’t have to worry about the gang. I mean, you don’t think they would have done it, do you? It seems too comical. If they really wanted to get to you then they’d have stuck to serious stuff, wouldn’t they?”
“Yeah… yeah… of course. That’s great. Listen, about coming over, I’ve remembered something I’m supposed to be doing. I’ll call you later.”
I held the dead line to my ear for quite some time before I put it down.
20
Jess
“Hey, Chief, have you seen Anna?” I scanned the room, after seeking out the sanctuary of MoJoe’s to quell my pouting mood. “She’s not answering my texts.”
“She’s probably at work. Although, rumour has it that she’s called in sick a couple of times lately. Between you and me,” he cosied-up to whisper in my ear, wincing from pain in his ribs, “She’s getting pretty serious with that William guy, I reckon she’s bunking off to be with him.”
“No way! That’s the sort of thing I’d do, not Anna.”
He raised his brows at me. “It is? Good to know, Firefighter Layton.”
“Crap, no… I mean, the old me. Not anymore.” I sighed at myself. I’m such an idiot.
He studied me for a while. His face coming over with a kind of sadness. He moved to sit down at the bar with slow, tentative motions, one hand always over his pain. Fucking Alex. Who the hell did he think he was?
“So,” he said. “You made up with your superhuman boyfriend?”
“Why would you call him that?!” I laughed.
“Come on, you know he has an unnatural effect on everyone round here. I like to imagine he’s an alien, it helps my own ego. I can’t compete with an alien, right?”
He hobbled off to greet a friend that had arrived, and left me pondering his words. Visions of Zac flashed through my mind. The things he’d said to me, the first time he kissed me. I played with my cell, willing it to ring. I hated it when he went freaky on me. Or did I hate it? No, obviously I quite liked it. The thrill of the unknown. What I didn’t like was the constant threat that he would vanish in a puff of smoke and never be seen again.
My mind wandered back to the motorcycle accident, how he’d somehow flung us both from the road and there I was, safe and sound in his strong, cold arms. I flicked back to his eyes, the way he looked at me, with such need. Then, the day he’d told me about his psychic abilities and how embarrassed I’d been at him hearing my thoughts. The way he’d followed me out on that bungee jump and reached the top in a second.
My head felt light, as if my brain were floating away out of my skull.
No. I was being dumb.
But the images stayed, flashing backwards and forwards, over and over. His mind reading, his extraordinary speed and strength, his cold, pale skin. His mysterious behaviour. The way he reacted to my call.
Oh. My. Fuck.
He avoided going out in the daytime.
He didn’t go out in the day.
I laughed out loud at myself.
It couldn’t be true. It was ludicrous. Vampires didn’t exist.
Yet, no matter how much I told myself that, the idea wouldn’t budge. It almost seemed to make sense. A lot of pieces clicked into place.
Rushing to the restroom, I threw up in the sink.
I contemplated trying to phone Anna again, but I couldn’t think of how to word it. No matter how I said it she’d just laugh and tell me to lay off the alcohol.
I turned on the faucet with trembling hands to rinse the puke away and when my cell buzzed I practically hit the roof with fright. I was way too terrified to answer it.
Zac kept on calling. In the end I put it on silent to end the horrifying ringing in my ears.
A loud bang on the door sent me lurching backwards into a cubicle, shrieking with terror.
“You OK, Jess? You’ve been in there ages?” Danny yelled through the door.
I stayed quiet, hoping he’d go away. Instead, he came in and took one look at me before hurriedly grabbing my arm. “Shit, you look terrible, come and sit down.”
He guided me to an office, out the back, and sat me in a chair, stroking the hair from my damp cheek. “What happened, Jess? Have you taken drugs?”
“What?! No!”
Stabbing pain ripped into my chest. I clutched at it, pulling my top down, trying to reduce the tightness that was engulfing me. I struggled in gasps for air, but couldn’t get enough into my lungs.
“I’m suffocating,” I gargled.
“Call 911,” Danny yelled out to someone. “Big breaths, Jess, in and out. Time it with mine.”
He took long slow gasps, holding my hands. Great monstrous pain wracked right through my heart.
“I’m having a heart attack!” I grabbed at my shirt, pulling it away, trying to release the pressure inside me. The material clung to my skin, drenched in sweat, stubbornly refusing to loosen. My ears buzzed like a swarm of hornets was trapped in them. I shook my head frantically, my fingers prickling with pins and needles.
There was a sudden explosion, a loud thunderous crack, followed by a delicate tinkling as the windows shattered and glass landed like confetti on the floor around us.
“Jesus Christ!” Danny yelled, covering my body with his and shielding my face from the shards.
Spasmodic sobs broke through me and I fell to the floor, panting and clutching at my chest. Glass cut into my knees and shins, stabbing and s
cratching. I kicked my legs out, thrashing them around like a crazed fish out of water, trying to shift away from the sharp little stabs. I was going to die like this. On the floor at Danny’s feet, with him brushing glass out of my hair and rubbing my back.
“The windows!” I shrieked. “I’m sorry! It’s my fault. It was always my fault. You’re not safe near me, Danny. Get away.” I shoved against him.
“Stop, Jess! It must have been a tremor, we get loads round here. I think I’ve seen this before. You’re having a panic attack. Focus with me on counting, we’ll get that brain distracted.”
I listened to his controlled voice, counting up to ten and back again. Suffocating claws scratched down my throat. He pulled me into his arms and held me. The warmth, his steady breathing, his hand stroking my hair; it gradually eased off the pain. I flopped down flat and rolled onto my back, not even caring what the crunching of glass meant for my skin.
Focus. Breathe. In and out. He’s right. You are not dying. This is just panic.
“It’s him, isn’t it? He’s done this to you. Jess, you need to stay away from them,” Danny’s words broke through the fragile grip on reality that I had left.
I shot to my feet and darted for the door. He grabbed me and I stared him right in the eyes, telling him I needed to go. He wouldn’t loosen his grip despite my thrashing around, so I jabbed him as hard as I could in his broken rib and he doubled over in pain. It was a low move, but I had to escape. I bolted straight back to my motel.
21
Zac
“Poor brother, she’s not answering your calls?” Alexander said, leaning against the marina sign on Port Isabel, neutral ground for us.
I did my best to ignore him. This was monumentally fucked up. She’d been so relaxed at first, thinking it was a joke. If I hadn’t reacted the way I did? Now she wasn’t answering and I could hear her. She knew. She’d run through everything and realised it was true.