The Sweetest Kill: A Young Adult Paranormal (21 page)

“Fine.” I relinquish, “But I’m not promising to wear them.”

“Believe me, I’d be shocked if you did.” He laughs. I watch Tyler push a long dark strand of hair behind his ear before offering me his arm, “Come on, let’s get you back to the warm car.”

Hesitantly, I put my arm through his and let him lead me back towards the car. I didn’t really get very far but the effect was achieved, so I can’t really complain. People pass by us and I realize that some of them probably heard my outburst. I feel my face go red in embarrassment and pick up my walking speed. I should probably take in my surroundings next time.

When we reach the car, Tyler turns his attention back to me. His eyes are oddly intense as he speaks, “Stick with Anthony, alright?”

I nod and frown at how stern he suddenly looks. He gives a nod back and opens the back door for me. I get back in the car and shiver at the sudden heat around me. Tyler shuts the door fairly hard. I jump at the loud noise before settling more into my seat. I meet Anthony’s gaze in the rearview again, but this time, it’s expressionless. He’s not giving anything away anymore and that’s fine.

Tyler’s right, I am acting like a brat, but if I have to act that way to avoid something then I will. I wasn’t lying about not wanting to go back to the hospital. I’ll do anything not to go back there because it seems like everything I do, I get worse. When I went into St. Sebastian’s Mental Hospital, I was just a kid with depression, coupled with grief. I came out with more damage and way more reasons to want to die.

I lean down and cup my head into my hands, as I try to push back the images of the orderly’s face. He was in his mid-forties, at least that was my guess, with balding light brown hair, and heavy lidded hazel eyes. I remember his eyes the best, those haunt my nights the worse. That and the sound of his whispered words of assurance in my ear, as I lay as still as possible.

More often than not, I tried to pretend I was somewhere else, nowhere near this man with the grabby hands. He always came in the middle of the night, when there was only one nurse at the front desk and all the lights were turned down. The rule was that he couldn’t go past the doorway, but he broke it often.

I wasn’t the first patient he’d done this to. My roommate at that time, Cara, was the one who warned me about him. He’d visited her for a week when she first came onto the ward, and it was evident I was his next mark. A flashback of his chubby fat fingers caressing my neck, makes me shudder in disgust. 

The car door opening has my head shooting up and coming back to the present. I push the memory into a little box at the back of my head, hoping that maybe this time, it’ll stay there. I see Tyler coming into the car and I move to the farthest end of the seat, to give him room. He looks a little annoyed and doesn’t look at me, as he shuts the car door and nods at Anthony. I bite on my lower lip and try to think of something. Eventually, I just settle on the most simple.

“Thank you.”

Tyler glances in my direction, as the car pulls away from the curb, “Consider this your one good deed from me.”

I wince, “That bad?”

“Woman was a harpy.”

“Sorry.” I mutter, feeling guilty.

He sighs heavily and sits back in his seat, “Don’t be. I think we should head back, it’s getting dark.”

I frown at him, “What about the other errand?”

Tyler grimaces, “We can skip it.”

“Well what is it?” I ask, more than a little curious.

“Blood.”

I pause, “I’m sorry?”

Tyler grins at me, “Blood. The boss has a new idea of trying bagged blood instead of the alive and warm kind. Now, I wonder where he would have gotten that idea from.”

I sink in my seat a little, “I didn’t ask him to do that.”

“Do you really think you would have had to?” He asks my dryly.

My cheeks heat and I avert my gaze. The idea, though unselfish, is a good one. It still manages to make me uneasy, however. I don’t like to be the cause of any change in Tobias’ life. I don’t want him to grow attached to me, which as I think about it, seems impossible. Still, the fear that he could, is there. I still have a two month deadline for myself, one I plan on keeping. Right now, I’m down to just little over five weeks left and attachments of any kind, are the last thing I need.

“Fine. Let’s just head back then.”

After about forty five minutes of driving in silence, we pull to a stop. I feel my hands start to shake a little but clench them tight in my lap. Tyler talked to a harpy saleswoman for me, seems only fair that I do the same, but with you know, a blood dealer, I guess. Taking a deep breathe I’m about to grab the door handle, but it’s opened before I can get a firm grasp. I look up to see Anthony waiting patiently for me to exit the car.

“T-Thank you, Ant-thony.”

“My pleasure, Miss Belle.”

I step outside of the car and wrap my arms around myself, as I walk back towards the looming house. It seems even more foreboding as I walk towards it. It’s getting darker, as Tyler said but not quiet night yet. The sky is a fairly clear one so I can see the many colors painted overhead. Pinks, yellows and even some undercurrents of blue hidden among them. I completely bypass the front door and walk around the house with no one stopping me.

It only takes a few minutes’ walk before I’m on the other side of the house. There I see the garden, even more massive on the ground level than from above. I run my bare fingers over the barren branches of the shrubbery, as I step into the maze. I suppose, there is some sort of charm about the country that even a city dweller like me can appreciate.

Looking around, I let out a heavy sigh and close my eyes. I may not be here by choice, but sometimes you have to take the good with the bad in life. I gaze up at the sky and I see the faint shape of the moon. Maybe, I admit, this isn’t such a bad place to spend a few weeks. Just a few, short weeks.

Symposium

It was freezing as I enter the house. It's empty for the most part, at least as far as I can tell. Absently, I wonder if Anthony lives here or just makes the commute for his job. I find myself feeling quite fond of him, since he kind of reminds me of my grandfather on my father’s side.

“You were out for a long time.”

I look up to see Tobias standing at the top of the left staircase. He’s dressed in jeans and this time, surprisingly, not in black. Instead it’s a long sleeved light gray sweater, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His arms are crossed over his chest, but he drops them to his sides before beginning to walk down the stairs, towards me.

“I-I was just l-looking at the garden.”

He lifts an eyebrow and comes to a stop about four steps above the landing, “Not much to look at this time of year.”

“I don’t know.” I mumble with a shrug, “It still has its charms.”

“Did you enjoy your errand?”

I open my mouth to lie, but since I wasn’t expecting to be confronted right away, I have nothing. Tobias comes down the last couple of stairs, looking expectant as I stutter out nonsense that even I can’t comprehend. Eventually, he’s standing right in front of me and I still have nothing but word vomit coming out of my mouth.

“You didn’t go in, did you?”

“I… well… I… it…” I trail off before sighing heavily, “No, I didn’t go in.”

I feel his fingers under my chin. When I resist, he tightens his grip and forces my face up so I have to look at him, “Why not?”

“I… d-didn’t want to.”

He narrows his eyes at me, “Why?”

I take a deep breath, and look him straight in the eyes, “Because I don’t need you to take care of me like that. I agreed to living expenses and a new expensive wardrobe isn’t something I need, especially since we only have a few weeks left.”

“A few weeks?” He asks with mocking confusion, before it appears to dawn on him, “Ah, yes, according to our original deal I gave you the time frame of two months. Now we’re at… what? Three weeks?”

“Four.”

He hums to himself before reaching out to brush some hair from my face, “Tyler said you were upset.”

“I wasn’t…” I cut myself off when I see his dubious look. “Okay, yes I was upset.”

“Was it because of the shopping itself, or because it was for you?”

“I-I don’t know.”

His voice is a low whisper, as he stops mere inches from me. Tilting his head, his breath caresses my skin. The flesh there prickles with goose bumps from not only the cool mint of his breath, but also from the tension I feel radiating in my body. He is so close to me that the tip of his nose brushes against my cheek, making me tense.

“I think that at this point in our agreement, it would have been clear that you belong to me now.” He says, “Your body is mine to dress how I like and it just so happens I would like to see it dressed in something better. Something more suited to your attributes.”

“I’m not a Barbie doll.” I whisper, my lower lip practically trembling.

“No, you’re not, but you are working for me.” He tells me before leaning back and using a blander tone, “Consider it a uniform.”

I blink at the sudden change in his demeanor, but I try my best to seem unaffected by it. Clearing my throat, I look at him, but I can only meet his eyes for a few seconds at a time. I’m a little ashamed of how flustered I am. He barely even touched me!

“Why did you have Tyler following me?” I blurt.

Tobias grins at me before chuckling lowly. Stepping past me, he doesn’t answer as he heads for the doorway of a nearby room. I don’t know what’s in there, but I admit I’m curious. I think he’s left me hanging, but he steps back into view and gestures for me to follow him. I hesitate but do as he says and follow after him.

I gasp a little as I take in the room. It’s a fairly large sized room and to my shock, it’s not all black. It’s actually a color, which is a surprise. It’s an emerald green patterned wallpaper, with interlocking knots of gold on the walls, which really brighten up the room. The ground is mostly a dark hardwood, but a large oriental rug takes up a lot of the floor space. There are other details too, of course, but none of them matter once I see the baby grand piano sitting in the middle of the room.

As if in a trance, I walk over to it and brush my fingers over the keys. It’s obviously an old piano, taken care of, and kept pristine over the years. My mother used to have one just like it. She sold it after Charlotte died. Charlotte loved to play the piano. 

“Can you play?” Tobias asks quietly from behind me.

I shake my head, “I’m not very musical.”

“You have other talents.”

I realize he’s talking about my sketchbook and my tone turns dry, “Drawing is a hobby, not a skill.”

“I would disagree.”

I roll my eyes, “That doesn’t surprise me.”

He chuckles, “I’m sure it doesn’t. Come, this isn’t what I wanted to show you.”

Tobias offers me his hand and without a second’s thought, I take it. The action has me frowning at our conjoined hands with confusion. I don’t feel any of the fear that I normally would at his touch. His skin against my skin actually causes another reaction from me. It feels like my blood is humming in my veins. I figure, I don’t like it. It’s even more unsettling than my usual reaction.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts when Tobias pushes open a large door to reveal another room I’ve never been in. I glance around and take in the opulent surroundings, again surprised by the lack of black in the room.

The walls are red, except for the bookshelves. All the furniture are a dark earthy brown and appear to be leather. The largest piece of furniture in the room is a clean, dark, cherry wood desk with a high backed leather office chair behind it. Then my eyes drift up, and I freeze on the large piece of art hanging above. I don’t know who made it, but it’s… interesting.

A blonde woman, in a white gown, is laid out over a bed with a strange dark creature sitting on her stomach that is looking out from the painting. The background is draped in red cloth, and what I think looks like a dark crazy eyed horse, pokes out from the curtains. It looks familiar, like something I’ve seen before, but can’t quite place. Either way, it’s disturbing.

“It’s called ‘The Nightmare’ by Henry Fuseli” Tobias informs me.

I give him a dry smirk, “Charming. Your office I’m presuming.”

He smiles crookedly and nods, before gesturing for me to sit in one of the intimidating high back chairs in front of his desk. I sink down into it and feel the arm rests, not surprised that it really is leather, instead of an imitation. Honestly, I feel like a little James Bond villain in this chair. Tobias stands in front of me, leaning on the edge of his desk, and looking at me with amusement.

“You look uncomfortable.”

I nod towards the painting, “The little gremlin thing is staring at me.”

Tobias glances behind him and laughs, “It does seem to follow you everywhere doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.” I scoff as I continue to look at the painting warily. The creature looks like it’s ready to jump out of the painting any minute. I don’t like it.

“You had a question for me didn’t you?” He asks, gaining my attention.

I meet his eyes for a second before dropping them to my lap, “I suppose.”

“What was it again?”

I sigh and sit back in the chair before meeting his eyes again, “Why did you have Tyler follow me? And for how long?”

“That’s two questions.”

“Congratulations, your mother must be very proud of your counting abilities.” I mutter, feeling exhausted. The first half of sleeping was great, very deep, but then I started getting restless. It’s then that a thought occurred to me, “Where’s my cat?”

Tobias grimaces, “Your beast is somewhere here. Apparently, it doesn’t like the house so it has been hiding.”

“Where did you let it out?” I ask, feeling a bit panicked.

“Guest bedroom.” He says slowly, clearly not seeing an issue.

I throw my hands up in the air and get to my feet, “That would be why. You can’t just leave her places! She’s never been anywhere but my apartment and the alley I found her in! She must be frightened out of her wits.”

I’m about to make my way for the door, but Tobias grabs my wrist, stopping me. I try to pull, hoping to free it, but he only grips it tighter before guiding me back to my seat. His manhandling does not impress me, but I figure he brought me in here for a reason, other than to show me his creepy paintings.

“What?” I sigh, as I plop back down in the chair.

“I had him follow you because I needed information.”

I’m confused for a second before I realize he’s answering my previous question, “Why do you need information?”

“You were interesting.” He shrugs, “It’s not often people want me to bite them, let alone want me to kill them.”

“So it was just a morbid fascination?”

“At first, yes.”

“But not anymore?” I ask doubtfully.

“No.” He says with a shake of his head, “Not anymore.”

“What is it now then?”

He tilts his head and seems to be battling with himself for a few minutes, before answering me in a low, unsure voice, “I’ll let you know when I know.”

Dropping my gaze to my lap, I try to calm down the sudden quickening of my heart. Something about that sentence is thrilling enough to make me uncomfortable. This… affection isn’t something I was expecting. It’s just happening and it makes me feel stupid. I feel like a schoolgirl with a crush on some guy. This feels wrong because of what he is and the arrangement we have.

As I’ve said before, my relationship experience is limited. The closest I’ve ever felt to this was back in the ninth grade. I think his name was Patrick and we had English class together. The crush developed because he asked to borrow my pen and smiled at me. Apparently, that’s all it takes to win my affection.

I ended up avoiding Patrick at all costs, minus the times I would stare longingly at him from a distance. He never addressed me again and never gave back my pen. The image of the blonde haired, blue-eyed golden boy, pops into my head, but it’s a bit fuzzy. It was so long ago but when it came to mind, I heard a low growl sound from Tobias.

He has my face in his hands, it was too sudden for me to even gasp in surprise. He meets my eyes for a second, but I think I’m confused enough that I just stare back at him. I open my mouth to ask what he’s doing, but he presses his lips onto mine before I can even utter a syllable. I grunt in surprise against his lips, and keep my eyes open as he continues to kiss me.

Tobias pulls back to look me over and I realize he’s waiting for me to tell him to stop. My mind is stuck on mute at the moment though, so all I can get out is a strange groaning sound. He smiles briefly before kissing me again, but this time he adds his tongue into the mix.

He tastes like mint, I note, as he deepens the kiss. My hands awkwardly limp at my sides, and I furrow my brow as I try to think of something to do. It’s all a mess in my head at the moment. I don’t know whether I want him to stop or keep going, but I do know that this is definitely an experience I don’t regret. 

Slowly, I lift my hands and place them on his arms and decide to try and return the gesture. My tongue experimentally brushes against his, and I hear him let out a muffled groan against my mouth. Despite this, though, he tones down the kiss and draws back his tongue, so it’s just closed-mouth kisses now. My brain is a mess, even after he pulls back to give me a chance to breathe.

“Never,” He begins gruffly, making me open my eyes, “I repeat, never think of another man in my presence. Understood?”

My frazzled brain stops mid gear. What? Is he… is he jealous? Of Patrick? A guy who didn’t know of my existence? Why would he be jealous of him? I frown at Tobias in complete bewilderment. That doesn’t even make sense. I refuse to believe he’s jealous.

“Are you serious?” I ask, my voice a bit breathless.

“Deadly.”

I narrow my eyes at him, “Maybe you shouldn’t be digging around in my brain then, if you don’t like what you hear.”

“Your brain belongs to me as well.” He says, almost arrogantly, “I don’t want anyone else on it, especially a male.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.” Tobias says simply before standing up to his full height.

I gape up at him for a few seconds before snorting, “Well tough shit. It’s my brain. I’ll think about what I want.”

“About anything, but people of the opposite sex.”

I roll my eyes before glaring at him, “What does it matter to you anyway? You don’t want me like that.”

He glances down at me with an arched brow, “Who said that?”

I didn’t know what to say to that. He just practically admitted he’s interested in me on a more intimate level. The idea is as thrilling, as it is terrifying. Touching would be involved with that, I assume. Lots of touching, and not just the innocent little caresses he’s been giving me, real touching. The kind that has my face heating up just thinking about it. I’m not ready for that.