Page 65 of Taste of Forever
S: You missed our check-in. Message me ASAP. Better have info for me or I’ll come find you. :)
My stomach knotted with anxiety as I remembered his threat that night he grabbed me. How in the world would I get him to leave me alone? Would the cops even be able to do anything?
Laith can help. He told you as much.
I scrolled to the end of my notifications. There was nothing from Laith except that message with the vampire emoji. God,was that just a few hours ago? How had my whole life flipped on its head between then and now?
It had to be a good sign that he never texted or called, right? That meant he was honoring my wishes about being left alone. I didn’t know for sure if he’d followed me home or not, but if he had, would he have appeared if he heard me and Justin fighting? If he saw me leaving the apartment with a packed bag, would he have checked on me?
All my instincts said yes, he would have. In every interaction we had, Laith did seem to care about me. Maybe even a littletoomuch for someone he barely knew.
He was…a lot. But I was exhausted, raw, and wrung out. And being around someone who cared and knew how to make me feel like myself seemed like exactly what I needed right then.
My battery dropped to two percent and I called his number before I could second guess any longer.
It took a while before I heard the line ring, accompanied by soft static. The ringing went on until I got his voicemail.
“What’s up? This is Des. You’ve reached Laith’s phone. Laith is busy trying to balance a teacup on his ass, but if you ask me, he doesnothave enough junk in the trunk to compete with a Kardashian.”
In the background, I heard Laith’s voice call out, “Hey, what are you doing with my phone? Give me that!”
Even with my raw, frayed feelings, I managed to smile at the scuffling noises that followed. Then too soon, I heard the beep that signaled me to record a message and I had to remember why I was mad at him.
“Hey, it’s me. It’s Heather, I mean.” I paused to chew my lip. My impulse was to apologize for my outburst last night, but was I really sorry? No. Getting chewed out was a light punishment for stalking. But, unlike with Justin, I wasn’t completely ready to close the door on Laith yet.
“I was wondering if we could talk,” I said. “I’m still upset about what you told me, but…some stuff has happened and I could use a friendly ear right now. It’s morning now, so you’re probably asleep but maybe we can meet at our usual spot tonight? I have to go into work so it’ll have to be earlier. Maybe 8? My phone’s about to die so you might not hear from me until—shit!”
A series of warning beeps sounded in my ear and I pulled the phone away to see a dead, blank screen. “Goddamn it.” I pressed on the power button, but my phone was well and truly dead.
I thought of returning to the apartment right then for my charger, but quickly nixed that idea. It was too soon to face Justin again. I’d be better off buying a new one, but again it was too early for any stores to be open.
“Well.” I turned on the car and started backing out of the parking space. “Might as well explore a vampire city in the daytime, I guess.”
There were humans in Sanguine, after all. Some places had to be open during the day, right? Maybe I could borrow a charger while grabbing breakfast in a cafe or something. Hopefully no one would mind if I put my head down for a nap. I was so accustomed to being a night owl at this point, it was a wonder how I wasn’t a vampire myself.
I drove to the parking lot at my usual trail head. After making sure my duffel bag was locked up and secure, I shouldered my purse and headed off into the woods.
Before, I had only seen the fringes of Sanguine by the light of day. That felt so long ago—back when I’d been too afraid to actually set foot in the city. Now, I walked through what truly felt like a ghost town.
Not a soul was out on the streets. The rising sun illuminated wooden and metal shutters sealed tightly over the windows ofbusinesses and homes. Nothing stirred. There wasn’t even a breeze.
I came to Pulse Point, the club I’d become so familiar with in the last couple of weeks. All the lights were off, windows and doors shuttered tight enough so that not even a crack of sunlight could get in. It looked abandoned, desolate. If I were seeing it for the first time now, I wouldn’t have believed that it was a lively, busy club only a few hours ago. It looked like it had been closed down for years.
I turned in a circle, considering my options. A couple of blocks away was the blood bank. The white square building looked yellowed and aged in the morning sun. All of its lights and signage were turned off. Not a sign of life there either.
“Hmm.” I kept walking deeper in to the city, figuring I’d go a couple more blocks before hiking back to my car and driving to the nearest Starbucks.
The streets and buildings looked older as I headed into the heart of the town. Most homes were modest, single-story attached buildings, but there were a few grander looking structures that were two or three stories tall with steep roofs, aged brick walls, and ivy climbing up the sides. They reminded me of those classic brownstones on the east coast.
It occurred to me that I didn’t know anything about where Laith lived. He had said he was part of the ruling clan, so did he have one of these bigger, fancier homes?
I came to a small open square and scanned the surrounding buildings, wondering if Laith was inside any of them. Did he sleep in a coffin, forearms crossed over his chest? I snickered, picturing the likely offense and horror on his face if I were to ask him that.
Everything had been so still since I arrived in the vampire city that the movement in the corner of my eye nearly made me jump out of my skin.
“Oh fuck!” I gasped, my hand slapping to my chest. “You scared the hell out of me.”
A man walked through the shadows of a narrow alleyway. His gait was odd, feet dragging heavily like he was bone-tired or maybe injured.
