The vampire and the assassin

Chapter 19

I didn't sleep that well that night. Between the pain in my arm and the dreams about Xander and everything that happened, I felt restless. What little sleep I did manage to get from the initial exhaustion would have to be enough to get me through the day, I told myself. Besides, I'd been told I was on rest for a couple of days, so I could take a cat nap to catch up on the lost sleep.

I'd woken up just before sunset. I decided to sit on the window ledge and watch the sunset from my window as my mind began to wonder if Xander was up yet and how he'd planned on handling everything that had happened. I bit my lip, as I felt a little nervous at the thought of having to come face-to-face with Glenda. I let out a slow sigh and then heard a knock at the door that sent my heart racing. Who was knocking at this time of the day? I pulled my arm close to my chest and got down. I answered the door to find Glenda looking at me. I noticed the way she looked at my bandaged-up arm.

"Makes sense now." She muttered a little disgust as she folded her arms over her chest, looking at me closely as if I were a disappointment to her.

"No... It's not what you think." I muttered as I kept my arm close to my chest, as I hadn't really wanted to wear the slink as it was uncomfortable on my neck.

"Doesn't matter;" She snapped at me in what felt like frustration. "Lord Xander has given everyone a couple of days off as a thank you. Something about how he feels like he's never shown us how much he appreciates what we do and what we've given up if you'd be so kind to tell Sarah as well." She walked away quickly as if she had needed to so that she didn't cause any further trouble. Just what had I done to upset her? I had no clue, but I made a mental note to ask Sarah if she knew what I'd done to upset the older woman.

I let out a slow sigh as I shut the door quietly and stood with my back to the door. I closed my eyes, taking a slow, calculated breath that was to slow my hammering heart in my chest. So that was how he'd planned on giving me a couple of days' rest. Everyone else also got a couple of days' rest with me. A blush crept over my face as I shook my head. No, he wouldn't do that. Maybe he really did just want to thank everyone... A small part of me doubted it very much. A small part of me knew he'd done it, so I hadn't felt like he was singling me out, but clearly, Glenda wasn't buying it.

"Who was that?" Sarah asked sleepily.

"Oh, umm... Glenda. Apparently, Lord Xander has given us all a couple of days off." I shrugged.

"Great. I can keep you company now. Or how about we go out and do some shopping?" Sarah had suddenly perked up and was wide awake at the idea of a couple of days of freedom.

"Ummm... I don't have any money to go shopping." I told Sarah I was still slightly confused by why she seemed to suddenly perk up so much.

"Oh, that's what I forgot to tell you." Sarah seemed to jump up out of bed as quick as a flash and pulled open my bedside table, took out an envelope, and passed it to me. "It's your new bank account that Lord Xander pays us into. The card and the pin will be in there too." She shrugged. "So... let's hurry up and take advantage before Glenda changes her mind and makes us tidy up this place. I'll go and grab the girls." Sarah seemed to race to get dressed quickly and then ran out of the room.

I couldn't help but laugh, as I thought it had been her way of giving me privacy, as I had struggled with getting dressed the night before for bed. Sarah really was an amazing roommate, and I wished that I'd met her before now. Maybe then my life wouldn't have gone to hell the way it had, and maybe we could have been better friends than we are now. I let out a slow sigh, then made myself grab a quick strip wash, and then got myself dressed hurriedly. There was no way in hell I was wrestling my arm into a long-sleeved top, as it still hurt like hell, so I just went with a plain white cami top and shoved over it the coat I'd been given to keep me warm. I also wore the leggings that I'd been given. In all honesty, I was actually looking forward to a shopping trip to get some clothes that were my own. When I was done, I picked up the letter, opened it, took the card out, and looked at the pin, wondering how much money I'd earned in the time that I'd been here. I wasn't expecting a lot, but being paid for being here was just another added bonus to enjoying life while I had the chance.On my way out the door I slipped my feet into my work shoes figuring if I had enough money I'd get myself a pair of trainers. I glanced around the room quickly and then headed out the room shutting the door behind me, I headed down the stairs to the kitchen, where I figured the girls would be.

As I walked into the quiet kitchen, I found Sarah standing with her two friends. Sarah had introduced me to her two friends at the house after the first night of work in the main house. Claire and Mara.

Claire was very tall, had dyed blonde hair and hazel-colored eyes, and had soft cappuccino-colored skin. I'd found with my time hanging around with Sarah that Claire was the loud one who always made the plans, and Sarah was more like the random, jump-on-the-moment, and do-things girl. Mara was a little smaller than me, had a darker complexion, and had what she liked to call bouncy hair. It was naturally curly and dark, and it was always causing Mara chaos. Mara's personality was that she was the one who always had to find humor in any situation, no matter how serious things were. At first, I hadn't been sure about the two other girls, but they'd grown on me just like everything else in the house, the vampires included. I was finding it harder each day to keep my head focused on what I should have been doing because I was having so much fun. It was almost as if I'd been given a second chance at living the life I should have had. But I knew that I couldn't allow myself to get swept away in the fairytale, as my story didn't have a happy ending. I am the villain in the story, as I couldn't be anything else as that was what Lucian had made me. The silent, deadly villain

As I stood next to Sarah, that was when Mara really saw me and took me in and what I was wearing. I could see she was itching to say something to me.

"What has the cat dragged in?" She looked at Sarah. "You two got into a fight and never told us?"

"My money is on Rosa's winning." Claire grinned.

Sarah shook her head, laughing a little. "No, the silly fool fell down the stairs in the main house last night. Top to bottom, how she never broke anything, I've got no clue; she just dislocated her arm and is now badly hurting, and she has a bruised ego."

"Girl, there's only allowed to be one clumsy person in this group, and that's me." Mara laughed as she zipped my coat up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take your role." I laughed back and looked at Sarah in silence to tell her thanks.

"Well, let's go before the rest get up and decide to do the same," Claire told us all as she took her keys out of her pocket and shook them in her hand. Was I really about to do this? Was I really about to actually experience what it was like to go shopping with friends? It had been so long since I'd had freedom like that, and when I was a teen growing up, the people I hung around with weren't really into shopping, and I certainly didn't enjoy shopping with Liam as he was watching my every move.

"Front!" Sarah called with a grin. Her simple comment pulled me from the thoughts that I'd been wrapped up in.

"That's cool; us clumsy chicks have to stick together." Mara grinned as she put her arm around me. "Come on, clutz, let's get going."

We went out to Claire's car all in high spirits, laughing and joking about things. I couldn't lie; I was excited too, but part of me felt on edge. What if Lucian found out that I'd not been working and had taken some time to myself? I knew he'd get mad at me, and I knew that the only saving grace I had was being in Xander's home and not his. However, my biggest worry had been, what if I'd spotted Liam? I knew then I'd be in big trouble; he wouldn't simply let me walk away, and I certainly didn't want to cause any drama for the girls.

"Come on, clutz, get in." I shook my head and got into the back of the car behind Sarah. I'd fought to get the door shut and then fought to get my belt on, but once we were all belted in, Claire started the car, and she drove.

The three of them instantly became more animated than I'd seen in my short time at the house. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I wasn't expected to talk in their conversation. Sarah knew how I was still getting use to my new life of freedom. I wasn't sure what Sarah had said to the others, but they also seemed to have an understanding of me. I really was lucky to have such good friends, even if it was a temporary life.

"So Rosa... You've never really told us much about you." Claire asked, glancing in the mirror, I noticed.

"Claire." Sarah snapped in what sounded like a shocked voice.

"It's fine, really; I owe you two this much," I told them. Mara shifted in her seat next to me as if to hear me better. "The day I met you, you said you'd seen Lucian looking like the cat that got the cream." I glanced up at the mirror to see Claire looking at me for a brief moment. "That's because that night he dropped me off with Lord Xander."

"CALLED IT!" Mara shouted in excitement. "I told you, it was strange how he was there and then Rosa ended up being with us. So what did you do that was so bad that he left you with us?"

I bit my lip a little as I wondered just how I was going to get myself out of this hole. With another lie, like you normally do and like you have to, so you survive through all of this.

"I wasn't a simple woman who would let him do as he pleased. I would fight back." I decided to go with. It had been part of the truth; I had often fought with Lucian, even though it had been a bit one-sided as I'd been chained, so my fight had been more verbal, which had always resulted in Lucian getting physical.

"Damn," Mara muttered, which made me turn to her and look at her. "I heard he was pretty bad with his humans."

"Understatement of the year," I simply answered.

"So did you know?" Claire asked. I glanced up to see that the question had been directed at Sarah, and that was when I felt the need to jump in to protect my roommate.

"She figured it out, and I asked her not to tell you; she was being a good friend, so please don't be mad at her. If you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at me."

Claire laughed, shaking her head with her eyes glued to the road. "I'm not mad. I would have done the same for Mara."

"It's what roommates do for each other," Mara finished. "We don't think any less of you, Rosa. I just don't understand why Xander took you in. I mean no offence, as we love having you around, but Xander has never taken anyone in from Lucian, and trust me, Lucian has tried in the past."

"I heard the same comment from someone else," I told them as I shifted and moved the belt a little so it wasn't hurting my left arm. "So I decided to ask him."

"You asked Xander a question?" Mara seemed shocked. "I mean, he's nice enough, but I would never dare to ask a vampire a question. They just give me the creeps."

"He's not as bad as Lucian. I have to admit Lord Xander is actually sweet." I shrugged. "And trust me, I've met my fair share of vampires, I think he's the first nice vampire I have actually met." I could feel myself blushing as I mentally wondered where the comment had come from.

"I guess being with Lucian would make you think that," Claire muttered. "I mean, if I had the choice of big brother or little brother, I'd pick big brother, knowing what I know about little brother."

"So what did Xander say?" Sarah asked loudly as if to pull the conversation back to where it had been, which made me laugh a little.

"He confirmed that he'd never taken his brother's gifts as he doesn't trust his brother, and he added that he didn't trust me either. Which I can understand." His mistrust of you is very wise, considering what awaits him very soon. I looked down at my right hand to focus my thoughts for a moment, and then I looked back up at the girls. "He then said that he knew something about me. He said something about the others being like deer in high lights, but I was different in that I had a fighting spirit." I didn't say the last part of what he'd said, as that had been personal to me.

"Awww, our Xander, the good guy." Claire and Maya seemed to say the same thing at the same time, which made all of us laugh.

"So is that why he's been watching you closely and talking to you? To see if you're going to cause him any trouble?"

"Maybe," I answered as I shrugged one shoulder a little. I hadn't really thought of it that way, and it made a lot of sense for some of the conversations we'd had. I wasn't sure if that had been his motive or not, but I would keep that fresh in my mind the whole time I spoke with him from now on.

"Well, whatever is going on, whatever happened, or whatever is going to happen, we're happy you're here," Claire announced. "So, let's just enjoy tonight, shall we?"

Sarah leaned forward and turned on the radio. The three girls began to chat and laugh; it was nice to be around, but in the same breath, it hurt knowing that I couldn't keep this, this wasn't going to be my forever life.

Claire eventually pulled up in a car park, and around the car park were various shops. Some were lit and open, and others were shut, it looked like.

"What is this place?" I asked, looking out the window. I'd never been to this shopping centre before; if I were honest, I wasn't even sure where we were anymore. I knew that Xander seemed to live in the middle of nowhere, and we'd driven for an hour or more to get here, so where were we?

"Just one of our favourite places to come shopping. It's basically twenty-four-hour shopping. The only one around in the city for miles." Mara told me as we got out of the car. Sarah walked to the side of me with a grin on her face.

"You'll love it, Rosa. Hey, why don't you two go ahead and we'll catch up in a minute."

Mara and Claire nodded after they told Sarah that they'd catch us in the usual place. I had no clue where it was but Sarah seemed more than happy with where it was. While they were all talking, I couldn't help but slip into my old ways of checking over my shoulder expecting to see someone I knew, despite there not being many people around.

"Rosa?" Sarah touched my arm lightly and made me jump as I looked back at her.

"S..S...Sorry." I murmured.

"You know you have nothing to worry about with us three; we'll keep you safe from any vampires that are out shopping. You don't have to be worried, I promise. Most of the shop owners around here know us who work for Xander or know Xander himself, so if we do run into trouble, there are people who will help, ok?"

I nodded and smiled lightly. I found myself thinking it wasn't so much Lucian; I was more worried about Liam and his band of merry people. I really didn't want to cross paths with them, but then I had to consider: would Liam and his band really be out this late? Probably not, and if they were, they'd be in a bar exchanging stories about their recent kills.

"Let's go and get coffee." Sarah hooked her arm through my good one as she told me all about the shops that were around the shopping centre. I allowed myself to relax a little as I listened to her comforting ramblings about things that weren't particularly important to me, but I was just thankful for the distraction that she was giving me more than anything else.

Sarah and I walked into a small coffee shop. Mara and Claire already had a cup each, with a cup on the side for Sarah, I guessed.

"Sorry, I didn't know what you were drinking, Rosa." Mara apologised.

"It's fine; I'll grab my own," I told her.

No, you won't. It's my turn to buy the coffee this time. Yours is the next." She grinned.

"Fine. A little bit of milk and one sugar and coffee, please." I told her I was hoping there would be a next time so I could pay the girls back before my big night of betrayal, but I got the feeling that I wouldn't get the chance to pay them back.

Mara nodded and headed back to the counter to get me a coffee. "So what's the plan?" Claire asked.

"To get Rosa some clothes of her own, as I can't bear any longer to see her in the hand-me-downs," Sarah grumbled. "No offence or anything." She tagged on quickly as if she remembered I was there.

"None taken; I'd like to have my own clothes again. It's been a while." I'd mostly muttered to myself, but both Sarah and Claire had heard me and looked at me. "I had to wear nothing but uniforms or bedclothes when I was working for Lucian. I've missed out on a lot." I tagged on, hoping that my comment would simply be taken as me just being grateful for the chance to go shopping.

"So what did I miss?" Mara handed me the coffee with a grin as I took a small sip of it.

"Just saying we need to get some new clothes for Rosa," Claire confirmed.

"Then let's go!" Mara went straight for the door, all too happy with the mission of the night. I couldn't help but laugh a little as I shook my head.

"Welcome to the crazies, you're officially one too now." Sarah laughed as she held the door for me, and we headed out back into the cold of the night.

"I don't mind one bit." I couldn't help but smile at the excitement that the three of them were making me feel. Just one night. I can enjoy this one night and kick back and be a woman tonight and do things I've not done in a long time, and most of all, I'll laugh and smile and enjoy myself, and most of all, I'll remember this night as I knew I'd never get another chance to have another night like this.