Chapter 29

I need to get off of this bus. I just need some space to breathe. Alone. Away from Chris. Where I’m not thinking about Oliver, or the psycho woman who wants to rip my intestines from my stomach and play with them in front of me, or the vampire stalker I can’t seem to stay away from. The band is playing a show tonight, so I figure they’ll be busy and I can sneak away for the day and regroup.

In the harsh light of day, I know that everything that happened last night with Chris was all my fault. Oliver is a dangerous topic that I’m just not ready to tackle yet, even with myself much less with Chris, no matter how many valid points he brought up during our argument.

He’s right about one thing–whenever Oliver shows up, I listen to Chris and stay by his side. Usually. I think I’ve just realized that I’m not ready to die yet, not when I’ve just begun to live again. I know I’m not in love with Oliver anymore, but I still have so much love for him. No matter what he’s become now, and whatever he may have planned for me, he once was a man who loved me and cared for me. Although… did he actually ever love me?

I groan and throw my arms up. Ugh. Get out of your head, Dani, it’s no use. Inhaling a long breath through my nose, exhaling through my mouth, I build up the courage to leave. I’m just going to walk right past them. They’re not going to stop me, and they don’t need to know where I’m going. I’m not a prisoner. Right?

After a quick pep talk to myself, I finally walk out of the bedroom to the front of the bus, where Chris, Benji, and Bash are all sitting on the couch, talking, and laughing. They grow quiet when they see me walking towards them, the smile on Chris’ face fading slowly as his features soften.

I barely spare them—him— a glance, as I step down the stairs and reach for the door handle to leave. My heart is racing. He isn’t going to let me leave without some choice words. I hear my name from behind me as I twist the handle, but instead of answering, I swing the door open and step out onto the pavement, swiftly shutting the door behind me. As soon as the door closes, I pick up my pace to get away, darting a quick look around me to see where we are. The bus is parked behind a hotel. I have no destination in mind. I have no idea where I am, or where I’m going. My breathing is heavy as I speed walk through the parking lot, towards the sidewalk leading away from the hotel.

“Dani!” Chris shouts from behind me.

I break into a run, knowing that there’s no use. He’s too fast for me to outrun.

In a second, Chris is in front of me, his appearance so sudden that I almost ran face-first into him.

He grips my shoulders tightly, eyes searching mine with a wild determination. “Dani, where are you going? Look, I’m sorry for pushing you last night, if that’s what this is all about. Please talk to me. Don’t just run away.”

“Talk to you? You just left! You left me all alone when we were talking!” I shout. Okay, yeah. I’m still mad about that. Even though I technically told him to get out. But I didn’t think he would actually leave for the whole night.

Chris gives me a questioning look. “You told me to leave you alone! I was giving you what you asked for. I don’t know what you want from me, Dani.”

I swallow hard. “I don’t know either! I just want…” I break off, looking into the distance as I fight back the tears starting to well in my eyes. Why is this making me so upset?

Chris grips my chin in his fingers, turning my face back to him and ducking down so he can see into my eyes. “Tell me, little kitten. Tell me what you’re feeling. I’m right here.”

I purse my lips. “Chris. I don’t know what I’m feeling. I don’t understand any of this. I’m just, I’m just so fucking confused.” It’s so hard to explain this when I don’t even get it myself. “And I’m such a bitch to you. Why do you let me treat you like that?”

Chris cups my cheeks in his hands, and brings his forehead to mine. “Because I can take it. Nothing you say or do is going to scare me away from you. You keep trying to push me away, but I’m not going anywhere. No matter what happens, I’ll come back for you every time.” He rubs his thumb against my cheek, the shock of his touch flaring along the path it traces. “You accused me of being jealous last night, Dani. And you weren’t wrong. Hearing you talk about Oliver makes me so fucking jealous, I want to destroy him for having any part of your heart. I can admit that. I got mad, Dani, and I made that your problem. It’s not your fault. I know you don’t trust me because of him. But that’s the thing. I’m not him. I would never fucking treat you the way he has. I would worship the ground you walk on.” He cocks his head slightly and sighs deeply. “Fuck. I already do. Just… let me in, kitten,” Chris pleads.

A tear escapes my eye. It slides slowly down my cheek, colliding with his finger.

“Baby, please don’t cry.” His voice is wrecked, as he wipes my tears away with his thumb; that one small gesture makes my heart ache and clench inside my chest. “I feel the walls you place around your heart, the ones that protect you from people who might hurt you, or let you down… But I know you feel what I’m feeling right now, and I can sense you trying to break free of all of the things that are holding you back. I feel your conflict. Your anger. Your anguish. Your love. It’s all in that heart of yours, that you’re protecting so fiercely. But you have to know I’ll protect any part of your heart that you’re willing to give me, just as much as I’m protecting your body. Just let me in, kitten. Please.”

We probably look insane to anyone passing by, Chris’ head bent over me, mine tilted up to his, tears rolling down my cheeks. I’m so lost in Chris, in his words, that I just can’t bring myself to care what anyone else might think. I feel like all of the shattered pieces of my heart are retracing their steps back to wholeness. My breathing is uneven. I reach out with my hand, placing it gently over his heart. Just like I always do now, when my emotions are out of control. I feel our hearts move together in synchrony—his rhythm is just as frantic as my own. The same.

“I see you,” I whisper as another tear falls. I back away from him, my face feeling suddenly cold as his hands drop away from my face. “But I need time to myself, so I can think. I need to get away and gather my thoughts.”

Chris’ eyebrows draw together, and he bites his lip, stepping towards me.

I hold my hand out, stopping him before he can get too close, knowing that if he touches me again, I won’t be able to bring myself to leave. “I’ll come back. I promise. Just let me go for a few hours. Please.”

Chris purses his lips, his shoulders hunching. “Okay. I get it. But, please. Please come back to me, Dani.” He backs away towards the bus, his eyes never leaving mine.

It feels like he gives in too easily. I squint suspiciously at him, swiping the remaining tears from my eyes. “And, you promise you won’t follow me,” I demand.

Chris nods. “I promise I won’t follow you.”

* * *

After walking around and exploring the small Indiana town, I end up in a local coffee shop. I’d never left New York before going on tour with Chris, and it feels nice to see what else the world has to offer. Even if it is just a coffee shop in a small, rural town of the U.S.A. It’s freeing.

I sit at a table hidden in the back of the shop, sipping slowly on the caramel iced coffee I ordered. It makes me think of Elijah, who knew never to show up at my house without bringing me an iced caramel latte from our favorite coffee spot back home. God, I wish he was here. I miss him, and I need his advice. I need him to set me straight and give me a much needed wake-up call. Instead, I send him a quick text telling him that I miss him. It doesn’t feel right to call him and dump all of my relationship problems in his lap. Not after what he just went through with Andrew. At minimum, he’s still grieving. At most, he’s traumatized. It wouldn’t be fair of me to ask him to prioritize me above whatever time he needs to heal.

The bell hanging above the front door chimes softly. I flick my eyes up to see who walked in, and annoyance floods my system. I glare at the two men now walking towards my table, with clear plans to disrupt my peace.

“Wow! So funny seeing you here, Dani,” Benji says, dropping into the seat across from me.

“Yeah, what a small world.” Bash grins, as he sits next to Benji.

I swirl my coffee with my straw, giving the empty table in front of them a pointed stare. “Last time I checked, vampires don’t drink coffee. And if you’re not drinking coffee, you shouldn’t be here. Tables are for customers only. Now shoo-”

I’m interrupted by the sound of girls shrieking outside. Tipping my head so I can see around the two annoying vampires who have decided to join me, I glance through the window overlooking the street where a small group of girls are speed-walking, screaming excitedly.

Benji and Bash let out a sigh at the same time. “Phew. We lost them,” Bash says as they turn to each other and start laughing.

I raise my eyebrows, maintaining my glower as I take a deep sip of coffee. “So you weren’t following me?”

“Oh, we definitely were.” I almost spit my drink across Benji in response. “But we weren’t going to let you know we were—until we were spotted by the pack of girl-shaped hyenas who recognized us, and needed to hide.”

“I told Chris not to follow me.” I’m seething, grinding my teeth in rage.

“Right.” Bash confirms. “You told Chris not to follow you. I think we’re fair game, though.” His face is way too smug. “Seeing as we are both not Chris.”

They have a point. I did only order Chris not to follow me. What an ass twisting my words. “I thought it was clear that when I said ‘no Chris following me,’ I meant the rest of the goon squad too. I don’t fucking need bodyguards,” I hiss. Neither of them seems to be listening, since Benji is twisting around in his chair to look at the coffee shop, and Bash just eyes my coffee like it offended him. Ugh. Fucking vampires. “Not to mention, it’s broad daylight outside. Anyone not sired by Aeliana can’t go in the sun, right? So I’m fine. I don’t need protection from caffeine.”

Bash snatches my coffee cup out of my hands. “What’s humans’ obsession with this stuff anyways? We were long dead before all of these flavored iced coffees became popular.” Tilting the cup back and forth, he watches the lightly-colored coffee slosh around the cup before lifting the straw to his lips and taking a sip.

“Hey! Don’t—” I stop as Bash starts gagging and dry heaving. I grab my coffee out from his hands, almost dropping it as laughter—real, deep laughter—pours out of me. “That’s what you get for drinking my coffee.”

“Well, that was stupid, brother,” Benji says, his low laugh joining mine.

“Was it that bad, or your stomach just can’t handle it?” I giggle.

Bash shakes his head back and forth, his tongue sticking out. After one last dry heave, he takes a deep breath and scowls at us. “Remind me to never fucking do that again. In answer to your question, yeah, it was actually that bad, I’m pretty sure that shit’s toxic, but also we can’t consume human food or non-pure drinks or we’ll get sick. I didn’t think one sip would affect me that bad.”

“What the fuck is a ‘non-pure drink?’” I ask, taking another sip of my, apparently, non-pure coffee.

“Any drink that’s not distilled down to its most elemental parts.” At my confused look, he clarifies, “Mostly, it just means liquor. Or water, but that’s less cool.”

“Noted,” I say. My temper has calmed a bit, so I decide to ask my original question again. When my voice emerges, it sounds tired. “So why were you guys following me anyways?”

“Chris is our brother. If something happened to you, Chris would lose his shit. He seemed anxious when he told us you needed some time away, so we offered to look after you. Plus, we like having you around too. You’re fun to hang with, and Chris is happier with you than we’ve ever seen him. You think he’s emo now? You should have seen how he was before you knew him. He was kind of a dick.” Benji cackles, loudly enough that other patrons twist in their chairs to stare. “We see how you affect him. How he affects you. So no fucking way were we gonna let you go off on your own without some backup.”

My cheeks flush. I’m not used to a crew of people having my back. It has been just Elijah and me for so long that I forgot what it’s like to have… a family? Is that what this is? It’s sweet and overbearing and reassuring, if I’m being honest. “He’s still so emo.” I giggle. “All of you are.”

“Yeah, well-” Bash trails off as the bell chimes over the door once again.

In an instant, Benji and Bash are out of their seats, moving in front of the table to face the door. I glance up in confusion, and am opening my mouth to ask them what the hell is going on, when I see who walked in. I freeze, the breath trapped in my lungs. Oh shit.

“I’ve come to pay a visit to my favorite pet,” Oliver says, stalking closer to us. His long fingers pull the sunglasses from his face, folding them over the top of his shirt as his stare locks on mine through the space between Benji and Bash. He wiggles his fingers at me in greeting.

“Get the fuck out,” Bash growls, his fists clenched at his side.

“Nah, I don’t think I will. This is a public space, mate. I’m feelin’ proper parched. Figured I’d stop in for a drink.” Oliver’s eyes flash orange, then fade back to his normal hazel.

I rise slowly, Oliver’s vicious gaze tracking the movement like the predator he is. “Oli, you need to leave. I don’t want anyone in here getting hurt.”

Oliver tries to push his way to me, but Benji shoves him away with an open palm to Oliver’s chest. “Back the fuck up, pretty boy. You’re not getting near her.” Benji bares his teeth in warning.

Oliver laughs, rubbing a hand along his chin. “Is that so? Bitch.” Oliver says with a blank face. His eyes darkening, and a twist at the side of his mouth, is the only warning we get before Oliver grabs Benji by his shirt and slams him onto the table.

I jump out of the way just in time, managing to avoid getting hit by any part of Benji. The table creaks under the sudden impact of Benji’s full weight. My heart sinks as I hear the distant sound of patrons screaming, launching themselves from their seats, and stampeding towards the door. Fuck, this is the concert all over again. I can’t get enough air, and prickles of remembered panic skitter across my skin, leaving me cold. The screams, god, the screams…

Bash’s voice manages to pierce through the veil of panic and memory. “Dani, run!” Bash shouts at me. I stare at him wide-eyed, the words not quite registering until he bellows, “Go!”

I take off running. Behind me, there’s loud banging and shouting, but I don’t look back as I sprint through the exit. I turn left out of the coffee shop, feet pounding along the pavement as I tear down the sidewalk. I don’t know where I’m going, and I’m too scared to take the time to stop and check the GPS on my phone. I make a sharp left down an empty alleyway, only to come face-first with a dead end. With heaving breaths, I whirl straight into Oliver’s chest, shrieking as he grabs my arms.

“Let’s go, baby,” he coos at me. He’s dragged me almost out of the alleyway before I start hitting him with my free hand.

“Let me go! Right fucking now, Oli. I’m not going anywhere with you!” I shout at him, tugging against his hold. But I’m too weak, my slaps and punches doing nothing to deter him.

Ignoring my efforts at escaping, he pulls his sunglasses from the neckline of shirt and drops them back over his eyes.

Wait a damn minute. “How the fuck are you walking in the sun?” I demand.

Oliver turns to face me, a wide grin splitting his face as he leans into me and whispers, “Don’t you wish I would tell you? Cool though, innit?” I scowl at him, but he just laughs.

He’s still laughing when, in a blur, he’s ripped away from me. I almost trip at the sudden loss of Oliver’s hold but recover just in time to see Bash, with the back of Oliver’s shirt balled in his fist, toss Oliver into the brick wall behind us. Oliver grunts at the impact.

“Yeah, what a neat trick, buddy. Be for real, though. How can you walk in the sun?” Bash asks in a mocking tone.

Benji sidles in front of me, shielding me with his arms

Oliver stands and saunters towards us with an evil laugh. “I don’t really know, but I’m not going to question the will of the Gods.” Black mist shrouds his right arm, black swirls dancing around the ink on his skin. He shoots his arm towards Bash, and the black mist punches out, wrapping tightly around Bash’s throat. Oliver closes his fist; the mist constricting like a snake. Bash is gasping, gripping at his throat, his teeth clenched against the struggle.

“Stop it! Oliver, let him go!” I scream.

Ignoring me, Oliver pulls back his arm, dragging Bash towards him. Before Bash can collide with Oliver, though, Oliver plunges his other fist into Bash’s chest right where his heart sits.

Bash’s eyes go wide, and he lets out a sharp grunt. “Stop it!” I duck around Benji before he can stop me and dash up to Oliver, catching his arm in between my hands. “If you do this, I will never fucking forgive you, Oliver Shaw. I will hate you until my last breath.”

Oliver dissipates the black mist and caresses my cheek with his free hand. It’s oddly gentle, loving almost, especially since he’s still holding Bash’s heart in his other fist. “You don’t mean that, baby.”

“Try me,” I snarl. A small glint of uncertainty sparks in Oliver’s eyes at my threat.

Bash cries out in pain as he tries to slip from Oliver’s grip.

Oliver turns back to Bash. “Keep pulling like that, and your fragile little heart might just slip out of place. Or I could always give it a little squeeze.” The muscles in Oliver’s arm shift in movement, and Bash gasps for air, his eyes going wide. “You should really thank me for the amount of restraint I have, not like you gave the same respect to Adrian. I intend to repay you for taking his life,” he growls, teeth bared in Bash’ face.

As Oliver tortures Bash, Benji moves behind Oliver slowly, methodically. Finally, in position, he takes Oliver’s head in his hands and, with a sudden gesture, too fast to track, wrenches Oliver’s head around, snapping Oliver’s neck. Oliver’s grip loosens on Bash’s heart as he falls to the pavement. Lifeless.

I could hear the crack of his neck as it broke, see the life fade from his eyes, and I stifle a gag. I feel nauseous at the sight in front of me, but mostly, I just feel numb.

Besides me, Bash is grabbing at his chest, his shirt covered in blood from the gaping hole where Oliver’s hand was, just seconds before. He grunts in pain. “I’m going to fucking kill this prick,” he says through clenched teeth.

To the left of us, a door opens slowly, a clawed hand curling around the frame. A disembodied voice giggles from the darkness behind the door. “Touch him, and I’ll paint this town red with your insides.”

Oliver stirs on the ground, just small twitches.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here. Now.” Benji grabs Bash by the shirt and drags him to his feet then looks at me. “Dani, let’s go. Now.”

It happens so fast. One minute, Benji is ordering me around, the next Amanda emerges from the darkness and slashes Benji’s arm with her clawed hand. Benji screams in agony, and Bash slides from his hold as he clenches his wound with his other hand.

Amanda stalks towards me, barely recognizable in her hooded long coat and sunglasses. Her entire body is smoking as if she’s about to combust into flames, but her grip is just as strong as before as she tugs me against her burning body, the smoke radiating off her torching my skin. I cry out in pain, struggling to get away, but her fingers hold tight. “I’m going to kill you now, pretty girl. This will all be over soon.” In one swift movement, her fangs snap out, and she sinks her teeth into the flesh along my neck, her teeth tearing my skin. I cry out, I feel every long pull of blood leaving my body as she greedily takes from me. The pain sears my flesh—this experience isn’t like when I let Chris feed on me. The sting of her bite never recedes, it only increases in intensity to an almost blinding kind of pain. I wonder if the vampire can control the tone of their bite, but it doesn’t matter now—I’m going to die.

I can see Benji and Bash trying to use their power on her. I see the fear in their eyes as they try to stop her, realizing they’re too weak. My vision narrows to a dark tunnel, blood pouring from Amanda mauling my throat, when the pressure of her at my neck vanishes, her shocked gasp floating to me through my haze of blood loss. Her grip on me releases, and I stumble away, turning to face where she was the last time I saw her.

Now, though, Oliver has her face pinned against the brick wall, his teeth bared at her. “You spyin’ on me? I told you not to fucking touch her, you crazy bitch,” he snarls at Amanda, before turning his attention to me. “I’m sorry, Dani. I truly didn’t know she was following me. Fuck, I’m so sorry, babe.” For a moment, his face softens, and, in my blood loss, I can see my Oli, the Oli not destroyed by this vampiric infection, and find myself stumbling towards him in confusion.

Before I can get to him, though, Oliver and Amanda disappear in black mist.