by C M Thorne
“Wouldn’t you know if I was?” Caleb blurted out before he realized what he was saying.
The vampire cocked his head to the side and Caleb swore he saw the hint of a smile tug at the corners of his full, pale pink lips. “If there was any blood, yes,” he replied after a long silence.
“Then I must be fine,” Caleb grimaced as he pushed himself up and away from the wall. His head reeled a little and he blinked against the faint blurring of his vision. He put his right hand out as everything seemed to tilt. His hand hit something hard and cold as he stumbled forward. At first, Caleb thought he must have fallen onto the bathroom floor, but he realized that the cold feeling of what he thought was the tile seeping through fabric. He lifted his head to see the cool, ivory white of the vampire’s perfect, sculpted jawline.
The vampire put his large, cold hands around Caleb’s shoulders and held him away from his chest. “You do not seem well,” his velvety deep voice seemed far away and almost tin like, as if he was listening to him through a speaker. “I am going to take you to someone that can help,” the vampire continued. Caleb attempted to nod, but an inviting darkness closed in around his vision as he slumped into the vampire’s large, cold arms.
CHAPTER 3
Caleb came out of a dreamless darkness he had descended into slowly, eyes fluttering open and adjusting to the low light of the room he was in. He could no longer hear the pulsating music of the club and unlike the cold, sleek darkness of the club, this space was warm and it felt homey. Low, soft, warm hued lights lit the large room and Caleb could tell that the walls were a papered deep blue and pale gold pattern. He moved and realized that he was on a large bed, laid on top of a shimmery silver comforter. The frame, posts, and canopy of the bed were an ornate dark wood, with dark sapphire blue curtains gathered at the posts, further darkening the space around him.
A fireplace occupied the other side of the room, with a low flame dancing across gold colored glass. Heavily laden bookshelves flanked the fireplace with a large painting of a forested mountain-scape in a thick golden frame hanging above the stone mantle. Heavy, velvet high backed chairs sat in front of the fireplace with a small, round mahogany table between them. Caleb looked around at the heavy furniture around the massive, dimly lit room, searching for a sign of where he was or who he was with. He found that he was alone in the room, however. He sat up fully and scooted to the edge of the bed, which seemed to grab at him, inviting him to sink back deeper into the mess of sheets and pillows. Back into the calm dark of sleep.
Despite feeling groggy and tired, he pried himself free, feeling wobbly on his feet as he pushed away from the bed. Grabbing the post of the bed, Caleb realized he was still wearing his clothes from the club, including his now ripped shirt. His shoes had been removed and glancing around, he wasn’t sure where they had ended up. He noticed that the door was cracked open, revealing a darkened hallway beyond the room. Caleb stumbled away from the bed, growing steadier as he moved slowly across the dark hardwood slow, which felt cool even through his socks. He slowly opened the heavy wooden door and stepped out into the equally dim hallway.
To the left, the hallway led down to a floor length window, overlooking the city. Caleb crept down to the window quietly, looking out across the lighted buildings of the island and the seas of lights of the districts off on either side of the river. The streets looked familiar, but it was difficult to tell where his precise location was from so high up. He thought he must easily be twenty floors above the streets below, where cars slowly moved through the traffic-ridden roads like ants in a tabletop ant farm. Caleb thought he must be in a building close to the club based off the surrounding buildings, but he wasn’t sure enough of the area to make a certain guess. The sky looked to be lightening slightly, heralding the last few hours before the dawn bled into the dark sky.
He turned and shuffled back down the hallway, passing the open door on his right and two more doors to his left to where the hall emptied to a large living space. It was a wide, open space decorated in dark woods, gold, and deep hues of purple and blue, with hints of silver and dark gray here and there. Large windows opened the apartment to the sleek lines of the city beyond them. Inside, plush, oversized chairs with high backs, Victorian style couches laden with pillows and luxurious blankets, and a massive Persian rug decorated the open living space. It was all centered around a massive stone and dark wood fireplace, which probably shared a wall with the fireplace of the room Caleb had woken up in. It had a small fire burning across golden and silver glass, adding a pleasant warmth to the room.
The wall with the fireplace was all built-in bookshelves. Hundreds of books crowded the dark shelves, leaving few spaces for decorations or space for new books. Caleb examined the shelves, recognizing several titles as he walked down the wall. He paused near the fireplace, letting the heat pass through his clothes and warm his skin. He looked at a set of very old looking leather-bound books that had a language he did not recognize scrawled down the spines in spidery, golden writing. They were a beautiful collection and he wondered what the books were. He figured that he was in the dark haired vampire’s home. It would make sense since he did stop Henri from feeding on and probably killing him. The massive number of books would also make sense, at least to Caleb. Personally, he would probably spend immortality creating the perfect library of books and series that he loved or were filled with unique histories.
Caleb turned and looked toward the open concept kitchen that was on the other side of the large space, startling as he realized that the vampire was standing near the counter. He must have been standing there the whole time, not moving. He had not stuck out from the surroundings as Caleb had looked around. His perfect features and utter stillness reminded Caleb of a statue. Sure, he was clothed, which is weird for statues, but it was the only thing that broke the illusion that the vampire was not some inanimate decoration. Caleb clutched his chest, taking deep, intentional breaths to calm himself down.
“Forgive me,” the vampire blinked, as if realizing that he needed to move, to act human, and took a step forward. “I did not intend to startle you.” He stopped behind a long, pale gray couch with a dark warm ornate wooden back, arms, and legs. His expression was not necessarily blank, but it did not betray any of the vampire’s thoughts and emotions as he looked at Cal. It was a strange quality and Caleb found himself having a difficult time looking the vampire in the eyes.
Caleb shook his head, clutching the back of a chair at his side, “No, um. It’s alright. I just didn’t notice you there.” He laughed a little, but it sounded more nervous than anything. He wished he could play it cool the way he had seen Dinah and Becca do. The trait seemed to skip both him and Lizzie. He glanced away, avoiding the vampire’s consuming gaze.
“I brought you here to recover,” the vampire spoke up, glancing down at the couch before continuing. “A witch friend of mine gave you a once over.” His amber eyes met Caleb’s slowly, “You will be fine.”
“Oh,” Caleb shrugged, smiling a little and trying to seem casual, but looking away nervously. He probably seemed like an idiot. “That’s good,” he huffed air through his nose and glanced around nervously. “So,” he tried to meet the vampire’s eyes, “my name is Caleb, by the way.”
The vampire ran a pale hand through his thick, auburn hair. “Rainer,” he nodded. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he smirked, “whatever the circumstance.”
Caleb laughed, “Same to you.” He glanced around the room again. “So, this is your place?” He asked, looking over Rainer from the corner of his eye. He was wearing a dark red, high-necked sweater and dark grey colored slacks over his bare feet. Sophisticated, yet comfortable and unbearably sexy. He looked like he belonged on the billboard for whatever store his clothes came from. Caleb tore his eyes away as Rainer started speaking.
“Yes,” Rainer looked around slowly, as if appraising the furniture and views. “Do not worry, I did not carry you unconscious through the streets,” he said abruptly
. “We are still in the Oleander building, just in the residential floors under the club.”
“Oh,” Caleb breathed out and looked away from the vampire’s steady gaze, absently running his fingers over the stitching of the back of the chair he was using as a quasi-shield, protecting him somewhat from his insecurities. Or so he imagined. “I didn’t know what else was in the building,” he added, thinking back to his speculation regarding the elevators that only went from the lobby to club.
“Yes, myself and the other owners of the club own the floors directly beneath the club, as well.” Rainer moved toward one of the windows, looking out over the city. “The other floors are owned by those who can afford it.” He looked back at Caleb, “Mostly other supernaturals.”
“Wait, so you own a Sip of Life?” Caleb asked slightly breathlessly, realizing that was probably the reason behind why everyone in the VIP area had seemed so desperate for his attention. That and his obvious beauty. Caleb couldn’t help but want to be closer to the vampire. He was sure others felt similarly.
“Partial owner.” The corner of his mouth twitched up into a hint of a smile once more as he answered. “There are a few of us.” The vampire sounded so casual about it all, as if possessing so much wealth were not impressive. As if it were every day.
“Wow,” Caleb breathed out and nervously cast his eyes downward. He was impressed. No one in his life even came close to having a life anywhere close to Rainer’s, regardless of being a vampire. No one that he knew was so obscenely rich at his father’s church. Perhaps some of the kids at his college came from wealthy families, but Caleb did not know them.
Rainer turned back to Caleb and unexpectedly asked, “Do you need anything to eat? Or,” he paused and looked away, “do you need anything at all?”
“Uh,” Caleb thought about it, feeling for his phone in pockets. They seemed empty however and he looked up at the vampire on the other side of the room. “Do you know what happened to my phone?”
“Ah,” Rainer moved toward the kitchen. “It kept going off while my witch friend was examining you. She noticed that it was close to dying, so I plugged it in for you.”
“Oh, thank you,” Caleb answered softly as Rainer came back with his phone. He took it from the vampire, his fingers lightly trailing along his cool, ivory skin. A shiver ran up his spine and his stomach felt hollow in anticipation. He backed away, feeling his ears grow hot as he looked down to find multiple missed calls and texts from Dinah.
“I need to call my sister back really quick,” Caleb looked at Rainer apologetically. He bit his lip and chewed lightly, a nervous habit of his that he had tried to break. He caught himself and stopped, sucking lightly at his bottom lip before puffing out a breath.
Rainer looked at him intently for a long moment before nodding. “Of course. Would you like some privacy?” Rainer moved in the direction of the hallway to the rooms.
“Oh,” Caleb looked down at his phone, “if you wouldn’t mind.”
Rainer nodded and blurred out of the room, moving faster than Caleb could track. It took his breath away a little to see someone move like that. It fascinated him and he wondered what it was like to move so quickly. He had so many questions about all the supernaturals that he had never been able to voice, and he suddenly found himself in the perfect situation to get some of them answered. He wanted to ask Rainer everything. He needed to handle his sister before any of that could happen.
Caleb shook his head and unlocked his phone, tapping to call his sister back. He held the phone to his ear and listened to it ring twice before his sister answered. “Caleb?!” Dinah’s voice blasted through the tiny speaker.
“Yes,” Caleb answered, feeling his tone filling with guilt. “Listen, I did not mean for-”
Dinah started rapid fire questions before he could finish talking, “Where are you? What happened? Why weren’t you answering? It’s been hours! Did you go back to dad’s? Why would you leave without telling me? Are you alright?! Did you get kidnapped?! Oh, my god! You’ve been kidnapped and you probably can’t just say that in front of your captors!”
“I haven’t been kidnapped, Di,” Caleb rolled his eyes as he interjected. He plopped down amongst oversized pillows on a velvety blue and dark wood couch near him and bit at his lip again.
“You wouldn’t be able to say you were if you were actually kidnapped. See?! This is why I tell my girlfriends that we need to set up safe words for such things! No one ever thinks they’re going to get taken until they have been! And then, they can’t even let anyone know! This is w-”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Caleb laughed, cutting Dinah off.
“I’m being ridiculous?!” Her voice went up, turning shrill. “I have been worried for hours! I have texted Lizzie and Becca, but they are both sleeping and haven’t answered. You’re lucky you called me back! I was an hour away from calling the house phone at dad’s.”
“No, you weren’t. My god,” Caleb groaned.
“Mhmm,” she responded matter-of-factly. “I literally did not know I could be this nervous and upset until now. We searched the club and bugged all the bartenders at closing and then hung around as long as possible All of my friends totally think you’re dead now, by the way. What the hell happened?!”
“Well, uh,” Caleb pulled his feet up onto the couch and slid down amongst the pillows. He wasn’t sure where to start. “I guess I, uh,” Caleb searched for the right way to tell his sister about what had happened. “I guess it started when I kind of met a guy.”
“Oh my god! You guess?! You little slut! You totally left with a guy without even telling me so you could go get lucky! You literally just turned twenty-one and already you’re finding your game!” Dinah responded quickly, excitement filling her voice. “I guess I’m proud, Cal!” She laughed.
Caleb rolled his eyes, “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like, huh?” Dinah questioned, her tone sounding superior and triumphant, but far less worried. “Huh?”
“We did leave together,” he answered, wrapping his left hand around his knee as he smiled and looked out across the city. The sky turned from pitch black to a deep charcoal grey. He decided to lie to his sister, knowing that the truth would only fan her protectiveness. Diluting the truth would satisfy her he hoped anyway. “We just left to get a drink at a less loud place so we could talk.”
“Alright,” Dinah drew the word out with a questioning tone. “Why did you freeze me out then? A text could’ve explained all of that.”
His sister was right. He hadn’t thought his excuse through well enough and it was obvious. Caleb chewed on his bottom lip as he thought of what else to say. “Well, my phone died and I didn’t actually realize it until a little bit ago. We came over to his place so I could charge it and now I’m calling you back.” He offered the rest of his excuse, his little lie, scrunching up his face and hoping it didn’t sound too far-fetched.
“Hmm,” she huffed into the phone. “Your story seems fishy,” she paused and Caleb held his breath, reaching up and running a hand nervously through his hair. He was totally caught. Dinah was the master liar of the family and he doubted he could pull one over on her. He was stupid for thinking he could get way with lying to her.
“I think you totally hooked up with some guy,” Dinah’s voice sounded triumphant again as she spoke back up, “and you left your phone in your pant pocket or something!” She laughed. “It’s fine. We will all get the story tomorrow at brunch!”
“Oh, right,” Caleb smacked his forehead, remembering the brunch he had planned with Dinah and Becca for eleven tomorrow on the island. They were apparently going to celebrate his upcoming graduation. With his father blowing up at him and Dinah offering to take him in, all before the events at the club, he had completely forgotten about the plans. Now the brunch was going to turn into a full-blown sisterly grill session. There was no avoiding it. Wonderful.
“Um, you are coming. I don’t care about this guy. You are not flaking on this.
” Dinah sounded annoyed, already anticipating Caleb’s inevitable attempt to get out of the meal.
“I am not flaking,” Caleb replied, hating the whiny tone in his voice. “It had just slipped my mind is all.” He cringed as the words left his mouth.
“Uh huh,” Dinah answered defiantly. “That’s so nice of you to forget about your favorite big sisters, especially when we are the ones taking you out!”
“I’m sorry, Di,” Caleb apologized. “There’s just a lot going on with the last weeks of school.” He paused, taking a long breath, “And then everything with dad last night, it’s just distracting, I guess.”
“It’s fine,” Dinah responded with a passive aggressive tone.
“I will be there,” Caleb promised.
“Hmm,” Dinah kept up the guilt trip. “Well, so long as you’re alright and all, I guess I can let you go.” She laughed lightly and added, “I mean, I will be seeing you in a few hours after all.”
“Yes, yes,” he sighed. “I promise I am more than fine.” He grabbed a handful of hair and sat there, trying to calm down. The conversation was going alright, but he knew this wasn’t the end of it. Brunch was going to interesting later. “And I will see you later.”
“Hmm, alright,” Dinah replied doubtfully. “I will see you later then. Please text me if anything changes.”
“I will, I will,” Caleb sighed, letting go of his hair.
“Have fun with your man,” Dinah snickered.
“Oh hush,” Caleb said, cheeks flushing. “Love you, Di.”
“Love you too,” she replied and hung up.
Caleb sat on the couch for a moment processing the conversation. His sister’s implications made his ears hot as his mind wandered onto the idea of even kissing Rainer, let alone hooking up with him like Dinah thought he had. He had only ever kissed one guy, and that was only just two years ago. He did not have the guts to try anything else. Nor did he have the guts to even flirt with someone like Rainer. His inexperience made his nervous, if not a little embarrassed. Caleb imagined that a vampire like Rainer was dripping in experience. Nothing would ever happen between them, assuming Rainer was even open to anything with him. He doubted he had anything to even tempt a man like him. The only reason he was here now was because Cal had been attacked in his club. He was probably worried about the liability of the incident.