Hexed and Bitten

Chapter 9

You would think having lived a hundred and thirty-four years, she would have her life together, but Arabella had everything, but her life sorted out. Granted only a hundred and fourteen of those years she could count. Before she was a vampire, she hadn’t even really experienced the world. She had just turned twenty-two the night of her death and rebirth. She hadn’t experienced anything. Maximus had taught her a great many things, but being independent and self-sufficient was not one of those things. He had been so determined to keep her locked away and “safe”, as he always called it, he stifled her. When she left and was banished from the family, that’s when she truly began to live, to learn how to be on her own, to truly survive. She had thought she was finally getting the hang of adulting, as the kids called it, but another vampire was stalking her, watching her and, for god knows how long before she finally noticed, proved she was still a long ways away. Of all the things she had accomplished and learned in fifty years, she still seemed to be careless, and oblivious to the world around her.

“Shut up,” Arabella growled out loud, tired of her endless internal monologue berating herself for all the things she wasn’t doing correctly.

Why did it always sound like her mother? The way she spoke was not harsh but the tone and look on her face was more than enough to hit its mark. She was never enough, always fighting to be seen, to be better, all in the hopes of the great Maharet, her mother would finally understand and accept her.

It made her laugh at times how she still craved that approval. That was why she had stayed so long with Maximus. He wasn’t harsh like her mother, but he still expected her to be what he wanted. To conform to his vision, and for a time she succeeded in being his perfect doll. She never fought, or talked back. She had been everything he wanted, even though it slowly killed her on the inside, and although she missed all of them, she would have done it all again. She would have finally spoken up, and fought for what she wanted even though it cost Arabella her new family.

Tapping her pen, she let out a loud sigh. Why was her brain being so frustrating today? Her shop was closed for her lunch, it was the perfect time to get some other work done, and yet she had spent the last half hour thinking about things that she couldn’t change. She couldn’t go back in time, and even if she could, it would end up the same. So why was her insufferable brain determined to keep thinking about it?

Picking up her phone, she checked her messages in hopes that Tara had messaged her and was finally on her way to Salem, but that would be too easy. Nope, there was nothing, just a text from one of her suppliers. Scrolling through her texts she slowed as David’s name appeared. She hadn’t heard a thing from him. Nothing, not a word since the morning after the Halloween party. She knew he was with his family because Vivianne had told her when she asked for the rest of the week off. It has been five days of radio silence. Was he ghosting her? That thought had her laughing. She liked David more than she would care to admit, but she knew their situationship had an expiry date and if he was ghosting her it would actually make things a lot easier for her.

"Liar" That little voice in her had taunted. Growling, she gripped her phone, her eyes flashing a vibrant purple, the color they had naturally been when she was human.

Crack, the sound made her halt, loosening her grip on her phone, she watched it drop onto her desk, the glass from the screen tumbling out. “Well that’s just great,” she ran her hand down her face. Today was really not her day.

“Meow,” Jinx jumped up onto the other end of her desk and slowly approached, stopping before the broken glass. He sat down, his vibrant green eyes scanning over her destroyed phone, before he glanced up at her with a look that said, "Did you just hulk out on your phone, wow.

“Don’t judge me, I didn't mean to squish my phone.”

Watching her, he tilted his head, and she could swear her little furball of a pet was judging her. It’s moments like these she wished she could hear his thoughts, to be able to actually communicate with him, but, alas, she was never gifted with that ability, not even when she was a human witch.

“Listen here Mr. Judgy, keep it up, and I won’t get you that fancy tuna you like.”

Jinx’s eyes widened in what she imagined was the version of cat horror and audacity. A sort of grumble rumbled out of him. Turning his back to her, he leaped from her desk and dashed out of her office.

“You better run,” she laughed, watching him high tail it out of her office like his furry little butt was on fire.

Smiling, she glanced back down at her phone. “Great,” She grumbled. “Looks like I need to go get a new phone.”

Extending her lunch, she headed out to find herself a new phone. Walking through the Telus store, the phones all looked the same, and yet there varying prices. She could buy any of them out right, she had the money, but it just seemed like such a waste. It’s crazy what humans buy these days. They threw their money into these square pieces of plastic. Okay, okay, they’re more than that. Technology as a whole was an exciting thing, especially for an immortal vampire who had grown up in an era that didn’t have anything like this, but it still baffled her how much people would spend on them.

If she didn’t need all the features a smartphone allowed her, especially for her business, she would find the cheapest flip phone and be done with it, but that just wasn’t going to do.

Moving from phone to phone, she stopped at the newest iPhone. It looked like all the others, though she did have to admit the color options were nice. Especially the light lavender looking color. How quickly she had fallen into the same trap she had been mocking humans for.

“Can I help you?”

She smelt him before she saw him. He had bathed in his cologne before leaving the house. Her sensitive nose wrinkled in disdain. Glancing up from the tester phone, she was met with a slightly crooked smile. He was cute in an unconventional way. His hair was slicked back with way too much gel. It looked more greasy than sophisticated. His Telus shirt had to be a size too small. Was that a tactic to make his muscles look bigger than they were?

“Do you have this phone in the lavender color?”

“Let me check,” he turned and darted around the counter heading into the back.

Arabella wandered around the deserted store touching the different phones, iPads and watches when that familiar tingle skirted up her spine. Someone was watching her, she had a hunch it was her new stalker. Sighing, she continued perusing around the store pretending she didn’t feel whoever was watching her.

Sure she could charge outside and try to catch them off guard, but what was the point? The last few times, since she had spotted her unwelcome shadow, it had disappeared before she could even get close to it. Whoever this vampire was, they were fast, so instead of chasing them down she would wait. Eventually they would come to her, or Tara would get here before that. Either way, she was going to find out who they were and why they were obsessed with her.

“I do have one left in stock,” the Telus guy walked back into the main area a smile on his face.

Was she his first customer today? If she was, Arabella felt bad. She knew what it was like to stand bored out of your mind in a*****e waiting for a customer to come in. She had gotten real lucky with Hexed and Bitten’s location in Salem. She had other businesses over the years and knew how this poor guy was feeling if she indeed was his first customer of the day.

“Perfect, I’ll take it. I want the extended warranty as well, and I’ll need a case too.” There’s no way she was making the same mistake. This time she would get the warranty just in case she ended up crushing another phone in her hands.

“Oh, awesome,” he grinned, ringing her up.

He got her name and phone number by pulling up her existing account, and when she told him she would be buying the phone out right, his eyes lit up.

Does he get commission for this? She thought as he handed her the debit machine.

“Okay, you’re all set,” he handed her the bag with her new phone and case inside. “I’m Benjamin, by the way. Umm. If you’re not busy later, would you want to go out?”

She knew that look, the nervous hope that maybe just maybe this time the girl would say yes. He was cute in that unconventional way, but Arabella didn’t have time for anything new. Not to mention his cologne was making her want to gag. He could tell deep down behind the wall of cologne, the over gelled hair and bravado. He was a kind soul, but the last thing she needed was another man looking at her the way he was doing right now. No, this man wasn’t the casual type, and Arabella didn’t do serious, not with humans anyway.

“Sorry I’m taken,” She smiled, slipping her sunglasses on. “Nice to meet you, Benjamin,” Turning, she exited the store.

She had wasted enough time, and needed to get back to her own shop. The cool air washed over her, getting rid of the lingering stink that was Benjamin's cologne. The whole way back to her shop she felt them watching her, following her never getting too close or actually approaching her. She would have preferred they just attacked her already if that was their plan. She hated waiting. Was this some sort of game? Did this vampire hope it was scaring her? It was sorely mistaken if that’s what they were hoping for. The only thing she was feeling right now was annoyance. Was she in danger, maybe, but what this nuisance was forgetting is that she was always a predator herself.

“Bring it on,” she whispered, hoping they heard her. If they wanted a fight, she would give them one.

Stepping into her shop, the air shifted, something or someone was in there. Movement from her left darted towards her, moving in a blur, she caught the attack spinning and shoving them against the wall. Gripping their throat, she snarled, baring her fangs.

A woman smiled up at her unbothered by her hand gripping her throat. Her eyes flashed a beautiful silver, her magic close to the surface.

“Tara.”

“Hello to you too, Bella.”