The Listening Mind

“Well only thirty minutes to go” I say out loud to Beans, my adorable fluffy white cat. She chirped in response as we continued our journey. I’m on the last stretch of my ten hour road trip to my new home and I can’t wait to get out of the car. I’m an escapee, at least that’s what I tell myself. Iv managed to get out of a long term abusive relationship thanks to him going to prison for other crimes. I put together all of my things and got the f**k out as soon as they put him in hand cuffs. Beans and I survived four long years of mental and physical abuse and now we were free to do and be as we pleased. I’m an average sized girl about 5’5” and on the thinner side. I have long dyed purple hair that has a slight curl to It as it hangs almost to my butt. I’m super pale and have hazel eyes. A few piercings and tattoos decorate my body. I’m kind of an alternative type and dress in a lot of black but I do some cool colorful makeup to balance it out sometimes. I’m 25 and I work from home selling my art and creations on the internet which has made me very independent and able to move away from my situation.i count myself as lucky to be able to have this new start.  Deep in thought I pulled up to what would be my new home, a charming apartment above a cute little restaurant. All of my things were already inside thanks to the moving company I hired. I grabbed the carrier my beloved companion was in and started up the side stairs to my new humble abode. At the top of the stairs my landlady peered down at me.  “Hello sweetie nice to see you made it!” she shouted from the top as I made my ascent. She was a tall thin Caucasian woman. Dressed in a beautiful green silk dress that clung to her features. Her long dark hair was effortlessly flowing around her body. She appeared to be in her forties but I suspect she may be older based on her tone and how she carries herself. Her hazel eyes complemented her slight tan complexion. Well she’s not from around here . I thought to myself as I listened to her northern sounding accent. I was expecting more of that southern twang I experienced at a few gas stations on the way up. As I made it to the top she smiled sweetly “how was the drive? I’m sure you’re exhausted and itching to get inside!” She chattered while taking me into my place. It was almost the entire top third floor all to myself except a small hallway with the staircase leading to the second and first floors below me. She unlocked the place for me and handed me my own set of keys “These are for you honey I gave you two just in case.” she smiled as she placed them in my hands.  “please don’t lose them like the last tenants.” Her thoughts bounced around my brain. I shook them off and smiled back at her. Unfortunately for me I have a gift. If that’s what you want to call it. I think my parents were witches or at least maybe my mother was. I inherited some abilities like hearing others thoughts, even when I don’t want to.  “Thank you miss Clarissa I appreciate you showing me to my home.” I set my cat carrier and purse down on the table before turning to her. She was standing at the door still, a massive smile still plastered on her face. She proceeded to give me a tour of my new home. It had two bedrooms, one I would be using as my studio for my online shop. The tall windows leading out to a beautiful balcony that spanned the entire side of the building were open, letting in a gentle breeze and warm rays of sunlight. After giving me the run down on my place she left me to unpack and really make my house a home. I spent hours unpacking and decorating as many rooms as I could with Beans following me around meowing at everything. I noticed it had gotten dark so I decided to call it quits and finish tomorrow. Most of my room was unpacked and put away for the most part so I was satisfied with my progress. It was about 8pm and I realized I hadn’t eaten since I was on the road hours earlier so I placed an order with the restaurant below and they offered to bring it up to me. Oh thank f**k I don’t want to walk down those stairs again today. I laughed to myself. I was tired after all of that driving and unpacking.  After my meal I decided to test out my new bath tub. Miss Clarissa assured me everything had been cleaned before I moved in but I still have it a quick scrub before filling it with hot water and tossing a Lush bath bomb in. Avo bath to be exact, and a little epsom salt for my tired body. Once it was done I stripped down and started the plunge in. Before I could sit all the way down someone’s thoughts rang in my head “Well now who is that beautiful creature. Clarissa found herself a new tenant I see” I cringed and quickly grabbed a towel to cover up with before sprinting  over to close the window and curtains. And I forgot the building directly across from mine is also three stories with a balcony.  I caught a glimpse of my peeping Tom. A tall muscular man who appeared in his early thirties with dark hair and pale skin. A vampire. You can tell by the way they move it’s a little faster than humans. That’s the main one anyway. It’s been known they exist for some time now. We have all sort of coexisted since I was a child so it’s not very uncommon to be around them. But they are very beautiful and it catches you off guard every time you meet a new one. They typically stick to themselves and have blood banks and rules against feeding on humans directly although just like human murderers, it still happens. They aren’t the same as the stories though the sunlight doesn’t seem to bother them except their eyes. And no they don’t sparkle. Garlic is just irritating to them and you can see them in the mirror. However the wooden stake thing is totally real. I need to get one of those if I’m going to be living across from them.  I make quick eye contact with him and hiss my response back into his head “Keep your thoughts you yourself vampire.”  I projected back into his head, causing his eyes to grow wide and a smile to break out on his face. I quickly closed the curtain and finished my bath. Thoughts racing as I soaked the day away. Beans scratched at the door until I got out and opened it. A defiant meow erupted as soon as the door opened. I firmly believe she has an open door policy that I don’t know about. I scratched her gently after she made her way to the counter, making baby noises at her as she rubbed her little head on me while I finished my night routine. After my bathroom duties I got dressed in a super cute black silk lacy night gown and decided to check to see if the peeping vamp was still there. I peeked through my mostly closed living room curtains to find nothing staring back at me. A sigh of relief escaped my lips and I drifted off to my room and crashed into my bed. I turned on some quiet sleep tunes to help since I’m in an unfamiliar place. Tired from all I did today I stretched a great full body stretch and pulled Beans closer to me before drifting slowly off to sleep.  Some time around 3am I woke to loud noises in the street. At first I sat up and processed the sounds. Screaming? Maybe. I stood up and peered between the mostly closed curtains to see a girl down on the street absolutely losing her s**t on two guys. The thing about vampires is when they feed they inject a toxin to keep you from fighting and it gets you higher than any controlled substance. So I’m told anyways. So that in turn created junkies who are addicted to being fed on. And this girl was definitely one of those.  “I NEED TO SEE HIM WHY WONT YOU LET ME IN YOU COCKSUCKERS” she screeched in a shrill cracked voice. Her thoughts were a racing jumble of messy words strung together.”need it.. I I.. I need..need”  She was coming down hard and wanted another fix. She stumbled down the street a little clawing at the men who backed up to avoid her. One of the men grabbed her by the throat and whispered something to her and she immediately snapped into a hypnotic state. “He must have compelled her” I thought as I watched her standing there swaying in the breeze. I’d had enough and backed away from the window. My gaze leveling across the street to see the peeping vamp directly across from me. Staring right into my window. “Oh f**k”.