by Jane, C. R.
I lowered my unaccepted resume and turned to leave. I stopped mid-turn when Jack surprised me by saying, “The manager will be in in about a half an hour, so how about you give him your resume then?”
I glanced up at his kind smile and grinned, my mouth tugging into a smile at the first positive response I had received today. “Thank you.”
“Follow me.” He waved me into the café, and I saw the spark of recognition in his eyes, the understanding of how hard it was to find a job. “I’ll get you a coffee on the house until he arrives.”
I was already in love with this place, not to mention, having someone treat me like a human and with respect.
The aroma of coffee filled the air, immediately making me feel a bit better. A shiny orange color adorned the corners of the small round tables and the napkins were the same hue. Everything else had a rustic wooden look that seemed like it would make a customer feel right at home. Light jazz music played from the speakers, and customers chatted over their breakfast and coffee. I loved it here. The door opened behind me as someone else walked in, bringing with it a cold breeze. I shivered slightly.
Jack pulled out a chair at a small table near the window, overlooking the hustle and bustle outside. “Won’t be long,” he said with a gentle smile.
I took a seat, and Jack went to attend to a customer waving him down.
It was about thirty minutes before the bell on the door rang again, signaling that someone had just walked in. Looking up, I expected to see a stranger strolling through the door. Instead I saw Him. It was the green-eyed god from the night at the club. The one whose compelling voice had made me want to curl up in his arms forever. The one who called me his “pet.”
He wore tailed black pants, and a blue, long-sleeved shirt, looking like he belonged in a boardroom. Except, I’d never seen a man look this good in business attire. I suspected he wore only the best brands considering how perfectly the clothes flowed over his strong form, emphasizing the broadness of his chest and shoulders...the way his waist tapered in. I lifted my gaze before he caught me staring.
What was he doing here, anyway?
He strolled into the café as if he had been here a million times before, except he wasn’t looking for the host so he could be sat at a table, he was looking right at me. Almost as if he knew I’d be here.
I was standing up from the table as he sat down across from me.
“Sit down, pet,” he told me with a grin. I immediately sat, almost as if I couldn’t help but bend to the authority in his voice. That intangible quality that threaded around his words made me want to listen to everything he had to say.
A couple tables down, Jack sent me an inquisitive glance. I averted my gaze so he wouldn’t feel like he needed to come over to my rescue.
“Why are you following me?” I finally asked after we had sat there just staring at each other for what seemed like ten minutes.
“Who said I was following you?” he replied with a grin. “Maybe I just felt like an omelet from this charming establishment.”
“Look, I’m not interesting, I promise. There are a million other girls who I’m sure would amuse you much more than me. Please, just leave me alone. And tell your friend that he needs to stop following me as well,” I added as an afterthought, thinking about the black car. I assumed that they had to be friends of some sort since they had been talking at the club.
“How do you know what I’m looking for?” he asked.
I just stared at him, moving my lips dumbly but not knowing what to say.
“Ella, let me be perfectly clear that you are what I’m looking for. And that’s not going to change.”
Every inch of me froze over. “How do you know my name?”
He glanced down at my resume sitting face up on the table. My name was on full display, along with my address. Fuck.
I snatched the file and tucked it under my arm, then finally stood to leave. Even a new job wasn’t worth staying here with this creature.
“Where are you going?” he mused, with that grin that both filled me with dread and made my stomach hurt with how attractive it was at the same time. “There’s nowhere you can go that we won’t find you,” he said. And somehow, I knew he spoke the truth. But to hear the words out loud left me shaking. I curled in on myself at the realization that I was trapped.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why hadn’t I run away that night the second I had realized what he was?
He stood before I could leave. “Stay, enjoy breakfast on me,” he said, throwing a few bills on the table that looked like they would cover a dozen meals at this place. “And if you get the job, just know you’ll be calling in to give your notice, very, very soon.” He stared at me with such intent that I didn’t doubt his words, even if they didn’t sound menacing. The threat behind them lingered in my mind. Was that how my parents went missing? Vepar decided to target them, and then one day, poof, they simply disappeared? My knees weakened at the thought of that happening to me.
On that ominous note he walked by me, making sure to brush up against my body as he did so. Hard and solid, he smelled of fresh air and a sexy musk. A thought I cursed myself for. I was an idiot for thinking of him as attractive in any way. Especially considering he’d clearly just threatened me. I knew better than most that beauty was only skin deep.
What could I even do? The authorities had all been infiltrated by the Vepar, and what they said went.
I slid shakily back down in my seat once I heard the bell ring on the door signaling he had left. My hands curled in my lap, and I stared outside the window to see him strolling across the road before vanishing into a crowd of people.
What was I going to do? I couldn’t stay here. I had to leave, but where would I go with no money? I stared at the notes of $100 on the table more carefully now, noting he’d dropped $500 without a care. I barely came close to making that much in weeks of working lately.
At that moment, Jack came back. “The owner just got here if you still want to talk to him,” he said, giving me a concerned look. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded numbly. In another life maybe I could work here, maybe I would even have ended up dating Jack, he was attractive and seemed sweet enough. And he certainly was giving me the look like he was interested. But I couldn’t even picture what having a normal life would be like now. My head hurt and fear crowded in my mind like the cobwebs on the front gates of the botanical garden.
I was about to leave without talking to the owner, but a kind looking man in his 60s with salt and pepper streaked hair chose that moment to show up at my table.
“This is the owner, Mr. Kinsley.” Jack said as he gestured to the man.
Mr. Kinsley gave me a kind smile that didn’t hold any of the menace or sleaziness that my boss, Greg’s did.
Within twenty minutes, he’d offered me the job and I was set to start the next day. I bounced on the inside, wanting to scream with excitement. Slipping the money off the table that the Vepar had left for me, I waved goodbye to Jack and Mr. Kinsley, and I walked out of the cafe in a daze. Had that just happened?
I should have been more excited, especially knowing I could now march over and tell Greg to fuck himself. But I couldn’t find it in me to fully celebrate. Not after the conversation with the annoyingly attractive Vepar hanging over my head. I still didn’t even know his name. Yet he seemed to know everything about me including where I was going to be in a random job search. And now he knew my address. Hell!
Sighing, I found myself heading back to the Botanical Gardens, needing the comfort that only they could provide. As I strolled through the blossoming paths, my mind seemed to clear. Surely this was a short-term fascination for the Vepar. There was no way someone like me could hold his attention. Everything would be fine, it had to be. I was a nobody in a city filled with attractive women.
I had almost talked myself off the ledge when I rounded a corner, and there sitting on a park bench, reading a book, was the third Vepar that had been watching me t
hat night at the club. While the other two had overwhelming beauty, this Vepar’s was more understated. With thick hair the color of mahogany, and eyes that reminded me of caramel, he studied me as if I was the most interesting thing that he’d ever seen. He tilted his head to the side, and I could tell instantly he enjoyed observing, studying, analyzing things. Most likely people. In this case… Me.
We both exchanged looks, and the pause should have been awkward, but it wasn’t. “So, are you following me then as well?” I finally asked, breaking the tranquility, praying and wishing on everything that he wasn’t here for me and this place could remain a safe space for me.
He cocked his head, still studying me. I might as well be an insect under a microscope. He seemed like he was trying to see everything about me in that moment. My past, my fear, my loneliness.
“Well, do you actually speak?” I asked, not even recognizing my bravery...or the stupidity I displayed.
At my comment, he smiled, and it was the most devilish grin I’d ever seen. “I like your directness,” he said. His eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth creased into an even wider smile. His smile was somehow so much more though because he smiled with more than his mouth. I could hear it in his voice. I took back whatever I’d been thinking before about his beauty being more understated than the other two. He was glorious. A thought I immediately wanted to punch myself for.
“Did you know that there are around 391,000 different types of plant species that your scientists have discovered on this planet so far?” he asked in a smooth, cultured voice.
I stared at him like he was crazy.
“Um, okay. That didn’t really answer my question,” I said, beginning to back away slowly, thinking that this Vepar was perhaps a little unhinged.
He grinned bashfully, if a ridiculously good looking Vepar could really be bashful. “Sorry, I’ve been trying to think of the perfect thing to say to you when I got to talk to you. And obviously that wasn’t it.”
He patted the empty bench next to him, looking at me expectantly. I should have turned and ran, but then what? Keep bumping into these three Vepar who seemed to be paying me way too much attention? The Vepar in the cafe had warned me to not get comfortable with a new job, so I’d be a fool to ignore this threat and not discover more about their intentions. This creature seemed kinder than the others, almost human with his attempt at finding something interesting to say to me. Thinking it over, I finally took several slow steps forward and joined him on the bench, placing my bag between us as a makeshift barrier.
“Why are you here?” I asked, glancing up at him as he reclined, his arms by his side, his gaze drifting off into the distance toward the city. The morning sun illuminated the golden stubble across his strong jawline, lighter than the hair on top of his head. The corded muscles in his neck lured me in. He was the perfect package just like the others.
Many people had said their beauty came from an illusion they used, a disguise to conceal their real appearance. And if that were true, what did they look like underneath? Scaly with a tail? I laughed internally at myself because I’d obviously watched too many science fiction movies. Where would he even hide his tail?
Never in a million years would I have pictured myself near someone as handsome as him, but then again, who would have guessed Earth would end up invaded by aliens. I almost laughed out loud that time at how ridiculous it sounded, but here I was sitting by a real live alien.
“Did you know there’s a Russian village, Oymyakon, which experienced the lowest recorded temperature for a location permanently inhabited by people. -96 degrees.”
I met his gaze, unable to understand why he was talking about that. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?” he shrugged nonchalantly.
“Keep ignoring my question.”
“Perhaps you’re not listening close enough to see I am answering your question.”
I ran a hand down my face, frustration bubbling in my chest as I recalled the other Vepars’ riddled way of talking to me in the club. But these men weren’t from our world, so maybe this was their way of communicating. Never directly but hinting at things. So, I’d try to remain patient and follow their logic.
“Okay.” I twisted to face him, tucking a bent leg between us. “So, your world is frozen and is no longer inhabitable, and that’s why you’re here?”
He shook his head. “Look beyond the obvious answer.”
I sighed heavily. “Can’t you just tell me?”
But he sat there, silence filling the space between us, and he studied me, waiting for my response. Was this part of his experiment? See how the humans’ mind worked, what we focused on?
“You asked why I’m here, which could be taken as either why we came to Earth or why I’m in this garden. I answered in a way that best suited both of those questions.”
I blinked hard, my head buzzing with trying to make sense of his response. All right, I could do this. “This Russian village has people permanently living there despite the hellish cold, so they’ve learned to find a life in extreme weather. They’ve adapted.” I met his smiling gaze. “And you’re on our planet to acclimate and identify the differences. And for the garden, you want to find out more about me. To adapt.” My mouth split into a grin, and I couldn’t help it, especially when he nodded and smirked.
“Good girl.”
That small gesture made me perversely happy as if I were back at school and I’d just passed the hardest exam. But now half a dozen more questions prodded my mind, and if getting the answer to them required this much work, I’d die of exhaustion.
“Let’s start with something simple. What’s your name?” I tucked loose strands of hair behind an ear.
“Why do you do that?” he asked, studying my hand as I lowered it from my hair.
In all honesty, I hadn’t given it much thought or even noticed the habit half the time. “Nerves I guess, and-” But I paused, reminding myself who I spoke with and that this wasn’t a casual conversation with a guy I crushed on. This Vepar acted normal and interested and polite, but I still had no clue about his intention. Sure, he wanted to get to know me, but why?
I cleared my throat and straightened my posture before lowering my leg and turning to face the city in the far distance. “Why are you and the other two following me? And be straight with me.”
Instead of responding, he stood. “I’d better be leaving. I’ll see you soon, Ella.” And with those few words, he strolled down the path, leaving me alone with renewed fear bottled in my chest threatening to swallow me whole.
5
I’d had enough. No matter where I went, they were there. The black car with the annoyingly attractive blonde Vepar was waiting for me outside of my loft apartment every morning as I left as well as waiting at a host of other places. He never tried to talk to me again, but I could feel his gaze following me as I walked from behind those tinted windows. The black-haired, blue eyed devil was always popping up to eat at the cafe I was now working at or showing up at the gym when I was working out, or basically anywhere else I happened to find myself. I couldn’t go to the botanical gardens anymore because without fail the brown haired Vepar would be there ready with more riddles for me. None of them ever answered my questions about their true intentions. They haunted my days and my nights as my dreams were filled with dark specters that followed my every move and refused to let me go. My dreams would always end with my parents’ screams, begging me to help them.
Exhaustion rattled through me, like I was one of those zombies from those movies that I hated but Cherry always insisted on watching.
I couldn’t take it anymore. Three weeks followed by stalkers had left me with no choice.
I had to get away.
I couldn’t function like this anymore, or I’d go crazy. I needed a second to myself so I could sort out my thoughts on what to do next.
That night I packed up a small bag filled with a few clothes as well as the money that the blue-eyed Vepar had left at th
e cafe along with the little bits I had been able to save the last few weeks at the busy cafe.
For a moment, I let myself feel the tinge of regret that came from leaving the first job I had ever liked. Just in these few weeks I’d already made friends and more money than I had in a few months of working at the diner. Jack and Mr. Kinley had fast become some of my favorite people who I’d ever met, and I would miss talking to them. Hopefully they didn’t worry too much about me when I abruptly disappeared. Jack knew something had been going on by the way I ignored the Vepar who came into the cafe every day, going so far as to switch sections when he was sat at my tables.
Opening the window to the fire escape, I steeled myself for what lay ahead. Creeping down the stairs I kept my eyes out for any of them to appear. They seemed to know all of my habits down to what I ate every day and what I wore. It was reasonable to believe that they probably knew I used the fire escape most days because of my landlord. All I could hope was that me leaving in the middle of the night wouldn’t be anticipated by them and they wouldn’t be around.
I got to the ground without incident. Peering around the corner I looked at the street to see if anyone was around. I gasped when I spied the sleek, black town car, waiting across the street. Did he sleep in the car? Fear sliced across my consciousness as the full reality of the situation struck me.
This was beyond liking someone, this was an obsession.
I backed away from the street, convinced he couldn’t have seen me peeking around the building, and I headed down another route. I was going to try Cherry’s first. Cherry had been “busy” since my birthday with the guy she had met at the Vepar club. And like usual when she met a new guy, I hadn’t seen or heard from her since then.
But she was my best friend. She would take a break from her little love bubble to help me out. She had to.
It took me twice as long to get to her apartment as usual since I had to take the long way, but I was thrilled when I managed to make it to her place without being stopped. About halfway through my trip it had started raining, but as I stood outside Cherry’s place, I didn’t care that I looked like a drowned rat, I was just happy that I was going to be safe.