I pulled out my phone and dialed Phil. “Hey,” he answered. “What’s up?”
“This might sound a bit weird, but can we meet in a public place as soon as possible?”
“You’re right. That sounds weird, but that guy was crazy.” he replied. “I can see why you needed to end things.” He paused for a few seconds before agreeing to meet me at the local diner.
“Awesome. It’ll take me a few minutes to get there from my room, but I’ll see you soon!”
Taking a deep breath, I hung up, stood up, and took two steps before feeling a quick, sharp pain and blacking out.
Chapter 28
I blinked, seeing light flood back into my eyes. Looking around, I realized that I was in Christopher’s apartment, on the bed. Instantly, I tried to sit up but was prevented from doing so by chains attached to both wrists. “Why are you doing this?” I yelled. “I told you I just needed to think!”
The bedroom light turned off in response. I pulled against the chains, trying to get away. “Let me out,” I demanded. “I like you, but not enough to justify this.” I’d heard about people using chains in the bedroom, but I didn’t think it was for me, and definitely not in this way. I knew that I needed to keep calm. The worst thing that I could do was overreact. “If you don’t let me out, this will be the last time I talk to you.” I closed my lips and wished my hands were free to mimic locking them with a key.
The bed under me shifted and I could feel/hear Christopher coming towards me on the bed. I kicked out, trying to keep him away. With his strong grasp, he held my leg down and trailed his other hand up along my body until it reached my neck. It pulled my hair back and held it out of the way while his entire body slid up along mine, letting my know just how much he was enjoying this. He pressed his lips to mine for a few seconds. I tried struggling, but he had me pinned down completely. A single tear rolled down my cheek before I could stop it. He paused and unpinned one of my arms for a second while he wiped the tear off my cheek. Seizing my opportunity, I grabbed his hair with one hand and pulled. Some of it tore away, and I heard him swear under his breath. He backhanded me in response, sending pain shooting up my face. Then, he wrenched my face to the side and sank his teeth into my neck. I blacked out from the pain.
Chapter 29
I woke up in my bed and felt disoriented. It felt like I’d been awakened from a coma. Kevin burst into the room, and I thought that I’d awakened from a long, strange dream where Christopher had turned out to be a vampire that had chained me to his bed and attacked me. I was just about to start laughing when Kevin asked, “What the hell happened to you?” He rushed over and sat on the bed next to me. He ran a finger over my cheek, sending a spark of pain through it. Then, he turned my chin and touched the places that Christopher had bitten me. “Jules? What happened to you?”
“Christopher is not a good person,” I replied, starting to cry for real this time.
“He did this?” Kevin looked completely shocked. “How? Why?”
“He’s a vampire,” I whispered. “And, he killed Josh.”
Kevin stared at me for a few seconds. Then, he pulled me into a hug. After what had happened earlier that day, it felt incredibly safe to just get hugged by my best friend. Then, my phone rang. Kevin went to my desk, picked it up, and said, “It’s someone named Phil.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I held my hand out for the phone. Holding it up to my ear, I said, “Hey. Sorry I didn’t make it to the diner. Give me a couple of minutes, and I’ll explain everything.”
“Ok. I’m just glad you’re ok. I thought maybe that guy had found you,” he replied, somehow sounding both annoyed and concerned.
“I promise,” I said quickly, “Less than ten minutes.” Then I hung up.
“Who’s Phil?” Kevin asked, looking even more confused.
“A friend,” I replied, sitting up. I opened my hand for the first time to see a chunk of hair sitting in it. I shrieked and threw it into the trash can. Then, I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. There was a red handprint on my face. It wasn’t incredibly obvious, but you could still see it. “Look,” I turned to Kevin and started talking quickly at him. “I need some place to stay that Christopher won’t think to look for me at until I can figure out what to do. I’m going to see if Phil will let me stay with him.” Kevin tried to interrupt me, but I cut him off. “Please don’t ask me any more questions. I need to figure some things out.” Kevin nodded. He ran out of the room. Fine, I thought. If he can’t handle it, he can just run away. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy for me.
I turned to the mirror and quickly swiped some concealer on my face. Then, I threw some clothes in my bag and walked out the door. “Jules, take these with you.” Kevin came running up behind me and handed me some chunks of garlic and a small wooden cross. “I stole the cross from one of the guys down the halls,” he explained. “Eat the garlic. It’ll help repel him, if he is a vampire.”
“What?” I asked, not sure how he knew whether crosses and garlic were real or just myths.
“My uncle was killed by a vampire,” he explained. “My father disappeared for a year, looking for his killer. When he came back, he taught me all about them.” That explained why Kevin had so easily accepted the idea that Christopher was a vampire.
“Thanks,” I smiled and gave him a quick hug before heading to meet Phil.
Chapter 30
When I got to the diner, I quickly sought out Phil and sat down. “I am so sorry that I am ridiculously late.” I looked down at my watch. It was almost five hours after I’d first asked him to meet me here.
“What happened to you?” he said, looking at my face. I must not have done a good enough job covering it up.
“Remember my ex?” He nodded, anger flaring in his eyes. “He didn’t take the news very well, especially after he found us together.”
“Is that the guy I met at breakfast, the guy that seemed incredibly violent?” I looked down and nodded. “What did he do to you?”
“He just hit me once, but I need somewhere to sleep where he can’t find me.” I took a deep breath before asking, “I know that we only met recently, but I was hoping you maybe had a couch I could sleep on for a day or two.”
“Of course,” Phil said. Standing up, he grabbed my bag and led me out of the restaurant. We were three steps out the door when Christopher called my phone. I stopped in my tracks. “Is it him?” Phil asked, turning to look at me.
“Yes,” I took a deep breath and answered the phone.
“Why are you doing this to me?” he asked, sounding angry.
I went white. “I’m not doing anything to you,” I whispered into the phone.
“Ha!” he scoffed. “First I saw you with Marcus and now you leave blood all over my bed and have Kevin attack me?”
I dropped the phone. Kevin attacked him? That must mean that Kevin was… Tears started streaming down my cheeks.
Phil picked up my phone and said angrily, “Leave her alone. Stop being a monster.” Then, he hung up. He took two steps closer and wrapped his arms around me, trying to make me feel better. After a few seconds, I leaned in closer until our cheeks were touching. He jumped away, hissing. I looked up to see that his face had morphed to look like Chris’ and Damien’s.
“You’re a vampire?” I asked, shocked. He made a move to grab me, but I pulled out the cross that Kevin had given me and pressed it against his chest. He caught on fire and disappeared. I took off running and didn’t stop until I was back in my room. I went straight to the trash can and pulled out the hair that I’d ripped out. It wasn’t Christopher’s hair. It was Phil’s. I remembered the way that Christopher had mention Marcus, and everything snapped into place. All I could think about was how wrong I had been about Christopher and how much I wanted to apologize.
Chapter 31
I drove straight to Christopher’s apartment, hoping I wouldn’t be too late to save Kevin. As soon I knocked, Christopher whipped open the door. He grabbed my arm, pulle
d me inside, and pinned me up against the wall by my neck. “Give me one good reason that I shouldn’t rip your head off,” he growled.
“I didn’t know that Phil was Marcus,” I whispered, shaking. I’d never seen the pure rage in his eyes before.
“How long have you known Marcus?” he replied angrily. “How long have you been in on his plan?”
“He’s been playing us from the beginning,” I said under my breath.
“It was Marcus,” he said, looking into my eyes. “Marcus killed Josh, hoping you would blame me. Damien must have told him where I was.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you, that I thought that you killed Josh and hurt me.” Christopher looked from the marks on my neck to the bruise on my face and let go of me. I fell forward onto him and almost immediately pulled away.
“Tell me about Phil.” I told him about how we first met and all subsequent encounters. “What about Kevin?” I told him how Kevin had come in while I’d been waking up and had known about the existence of vampires. “What about these?” He touched the holes on my neck as I told him about being chained to his bed. I started shaking when I described the brutal violence I’d experienced. When he heard about the chains, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around me and held me close while I finished the story.
“It was the hair that made me realize for sure that it was Marcus, not you, that did that to me.” With that, his head drooped.
“You really thought that I was capable of doing that to you?”
“It was in your bedroom. And, you made me fully aware of just how dangerous you are. You lost it when you saw Phil, and I thought it was just jealousy.” I whispered, “I thought you were changing me.” For a few brief seconds, when I’d been chained to the bed, that I’d thought that he was trying to keep me with him forever. But, that wasn’t what had scared me.
He pushed himself away from me, “Does the thought of spending forever with me terrify you?”
I sighed and grabbed his arm, “The idea that I might want to is what terrifies me.”
He turned around, grabbed my arms, and pinned them against the wall over my head. I shivered as I felt his breath on my ear. “You sure?” he whispered.
“Let’s just take it a day at a time, but it could eventually be an option.” I nibbled his ear. He pulled back from me and stared into my eyes, looking for something. I don’t know if he found it or not, but he pressed his lips to mine. I deepened the kiss, wanting that connection back, wanting to make things right. He growled and ran his hands down my body until they reached thighs. Then, he picked me up so that my legs were wrapped around his waist before carrying me to the bedroom.
Chapter 32
Half an hour later, I was lying in bed with his arms wrapped around me when I heard a voice say, “Using your mental powers to get her back into bed with you is quite a low trick.”
I turned to see Phil, I mean Marcus, staring at me with one eyebrow cocked. “Please,” I spat before Christopher could say anything. “You’re the one that chained me to the bed and tried to force himself on me. You’re the one that concealed everything about yourself from me. You’re the one that probably used your mental powers on me. Christopher never would.” Christopher jumped up and pushed me behind him, baring his teeth at Marcus.
“You’re so willing to believe that it was me and not him?” Marcus questioned, looking confused.
“Maybe if it hadn’t been your hair that I tore out,” I countered. He reached a hand up and touched the spot on his head that I’d yanked it out. “I got you back for hitting me, but I still owe you for the bite.” I tried to sit up and push past Christopher, but he shoved me down behind him.
“Be careful,” he finally spoke up. “Unlike me, Marcus will have no qualms about hurting you.”
“So very true,” Marcus said quietly. “But, you seem to be unhurt right now. That’s more that I can say for Kevin.”
Christopher almost looked scared. “You didn’t.”
“How could I resist, when you left him so perfectly packed for me?” Marcus smiled cruelly and laughed at the expression on my face.
“What is he talking about?” I asked Christopher.
“I-“ he paused. “After he attacked me in the parking lot, I knocked him out and left him there. Marcus must have found him.” He reached out to rub my arm apologetically, but I shrugged away from his touch.
The blood drained from my face to match the pale hue of both Marcus and Christopher. “You just left him there?”
He turned around to look at me and apologized. “I’m sorry. He attacked me. I thought it was part of your- It was when I thought-.” He stopped and took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him. “I almost killed him. But, I knew that you’d never forgive me if I did.”
“Don’t blame Christopher,” Marcus interjected. “He just made it moderately easier for me to catch him. I would have gotten him even if he’d been in his room with all of his weapons.”
“What do you want?” I asked Marcus, afraid of the answer.
“If you come with me, I’ll let Kevin go,” he replied simply. “I can even take away his memory of the last couple of hours if you’d prefer.” Marcus held out a hand for me to come take, one finger curling in the universal “come here” motion.
“There’s no way she’d fall for that,” Christopher said angrily. “She’s not stupid enough to go with you.”
“Yes, I am,” I looked up at Christopher. “It’s my fault that Kevin is hurt. I need to save him.” Christopher tried to interrupt, but I said, “Kevin saved me when I was dead inside, when I didn’t think I deserved to live. Now, it’s my turn to save his life.” A single tear rolled down my cheek as I said, “You need to let me do this.” Then, I pressed my lips to his. He deepened the kiss, making it feel like he was desperately trying to convince me not to go. After a few seconds, I stepped back, breaking the kiss.
“Time to go,” Marcus said. I nodded and walked towards him, tightening the sheet around myself. He grabbed me, pulling me close until my body was pressed against him. Then, we disappeared.
Chapter 33
I blinked and looked around. I’d honestly expected to appear in a cave somewhere. Instead, I was in the living room of a comfortable looking house. The couch was surprisingly similar to the one in my living room. For a second, my resolve was shaken. Then, I nodded and turned to Marcus. “Where is Kevin?” He looked upstairs, and I ran towards where he’d glanced.
I took the stairs two at a time, trying to reach him as quickly as possible. I threw door after door open, looking for the shaggy brown hair I remembered. The last room yielded what I was looking fo. I rushed over to bed, noting how he was restrained. Chains stretched from his hands and feet to the headboard and footboard. I rushed over and tried to free him. “Stop,” Marcus demanded.
“Why?” I replied, tears starting to stream down my face. I couldn’t stand to see Kevin chained like this. He picked me up and carried me to one of the other rooms.
“Take a shower and put some clothes on,” he replied. “You smell like Christopher, and you’re still wearing a bed sheet. You must be cold.”
I was surprised by his concern, but I didn’t let it stop me from ensuring that Kevin would be set free. “Then, can I see Kevin?” He nodded. The second that he left the room, I dropped the sheet and hopped in the shower. I was surprised to see the shampoo and conditioner that I usually use. Then, I realized that he probably went into my room and looked through my things. When I saw my name written on the bottom, I realized that he’d just taken mine. I shuddered at the thought of him going through my room, pawing through my things.
When I was finished, I wrapped myself in the towel and stepped out of the shower. Going over to the wardrobe, I opened it and gaped at the contents. There were at least 20 beautiful dresses inside, mostly black or navy blue. I opened all of the drawers, looking for shirts and pants, but there were none. All of the clothes in the room were cocktail dresses,
lingerie, or skimpy nightgowns. My heart sank when I began to think about what Marcus must want to do with me if that was all that was in this room.
But before I could try to escape, I needed to make sure that Kevin got free. Going over to the dresser, I threw on the least formal dress (black and flowing with plenty of artfully placed lace) over the least revealing lingerie (solid black). Then, I took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway. I opened the door to the room that Kevin had been in and gasped when I saw what was inside.
Blood Delirium (Blood Trance Book 1) Page 8
