Vampire Bride

Chapter Five

Charlie

Curiosity only grows as I stare at Maxwell and the unfamiliar guest who joins him at the table. The older man keeps on talking even though it’s apparent that Maxwell isn’t paying attention. As Maxwell ignores his friend, he also refuses to look at me as he sits stiffly in his chair. He only glances over in my direction once and it’s a half assed glance at that. Maybe he got the hint, maybe he moved on?

Memories of his stone like body with lack of emotions, not to mention lack of blood torment my thoughts. Deep heavy pants hinder my breathing as beads of sweat accumulate along my hairline. It feels as if the world is crashing down and I need to escape. Rushing to the bathroom to breathe through my panic attack alone, flashes of his messy dark hair and deep brown eyes play behind my eyes.

The cold water that splashes on my face barely keeps me from falling completely apart. It’s just a coincidence that he’s here the same time I am…right? Patting my face dry, I examine my reflection in the mirror. The girl staring back at me is unrecognizable. Stark white face, blank eyes with a quivering bottom lip. Since when am I scared of anyone? A light tap to my cheeks brings some color to my face and I test out several smiles before exiting the bathroom.

Flattening my cobalt blue top with my eyes downward at the material, I inspect it for water stains. I didn’t think I would run into anybody, because most people would move out of the way. There’s always one person that’s just as clueless, though. A grunt of pain slips out of my pursed lips as I slam into outstretched arms who force me to stop abruptly.

“What the—” I begin to mutter before my words are cut off mid-sentence when I finally look up at the person who allowed me to run into them in the first place. “Janessa, you scared me half to death.”

“Listen, I need you to go get us more drinks,” she says, getting straight to business. Her bright blue eyes that match Juliet’s stare at me without blinking. You can tell that she’s a little frazzled about something and this drink is her rock in keeping her grounded.

“Why?” I say, eyeballing her, but quickly come to the assumption without a reply due to a flash of guilt that crosses her expression. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This bartender too?” The words spill out of my mouth only to have Janessa nod in agreement. “What do you need?” Irritation blocks my better judgment, making me sound bitchy.

“Four cosmos. Thanks,” Janessa informs me before prancing away. She quickly disappears around the corner before I can lecture her on her behavior.

Without wasting time lingering in the emptying hallway, I make my way to the bar. Stopping dead center in an aisle, I realize there’s no way past Maxwell without directly crossing his path. There are two other routes, but with waiters serving customers, the paths are blocked. In order to get this done as fast as possible, I have to suck up whatever fear or hatred that’s built up toward him and just walk past the man.

Deep breath in and held tightly in my lungs, which begin to sear with pain, I hold my head high when strutting past. In my peripheral view, I spot Maxwell. He refuses to look at me just as I refuse to look directly at him. Just to make things worse than they already are, my hips sway almost over extravagantly. Who does he think he is? Does he think he can show up on my doorstep and tell me he’s a vampire, let alone his property that he wants to become his bride and then ignore me?

Common sense doesn’t exist when thoughts that a dead man lost interest in you. I wanted him gone, out of my life and now that he is, I react like this. Leaning nonchalantly against the bar, I’m left waiting for my turn. Lingering out in the open and unaccompanied makes my insides turn. Feeling defenseless is an understatement.

No matter how fancy the place, the bartenders are always the same. This mid-twenty cocky bartender, who looks like all the rest with his half unbuttoned shirt, ignores an older woman who was waiting before I arrived, and asks me for my drink order. “What can I get a gorgeous girl like you?” His voice is swoon worthy, but his eyes that scan over my body give me the creeps.

“You can help her first, I can wait.” The snooty tone in my voice is just a sliver of my annoyance. My thumb jabbing in the direction of the woman, who is now flushed with anger, is the frosting on the cake. Even though I want more than anything to get back to the party, get back to being surrounded by people instead of in plain sight all alone, I keep my manners.

He reluctantly takes her order and gives it to her in record time. I debate on how awful that drink is going to taste as the older woman walks away. With a look as if eternity has past, he fluffs his hair with his hand before leaning down so we can be eye to eye.

Holding back any disgust that continues to boil up, I show him nothing but charm. “I need four cosmos, please.”

“All for you?” he asks. His eyebrows rise with curiosity.

“No, actually none of them are for me.” The cocky tone finds its way back into my voice. “Although, I could use a drink right about now,” I mumble under my breath.

“That’s a shame, because I make the best drinks in town,” he tells me. I just smile at his words and keep any thoughts to myself. Just another cheesy line that every bartender says…and honestly I’ve always had a better drink from a different bartender. He continues to search for bottles, mistaking my silence for speechlessness as he keeps the conversation going. “Are you a part of the party over there?”

I nod.

His eyes meet mine in the reflection in the mirror that lines the shelves full of alcohol. “Would you happen to know one of the other guests named Janessa?”

Here we go. “No, sorry. I only know the birthday girl,” I lie.

He’s almost done finishing the drinks when another customer approaches the bar. After a few moments the tall man’s elbow touches mine. The ice-cold chill from his body engulfs me, causing all the blood to leave my face and all emotion to disappear. Dumbfounded, I stare at the empty space in front of me, intentionally making our reflection blurry.

Without even turning, I know Maxwell stands beside me. His pale hand slides toward me on the marble bar top, catching my attention. “You shouldn’t be here,” his voice is low and rough, barely a whisper.

What? Is he threatening me? He has a lot of nerve to tell me that I’m the one shouldn’t be here.

“Although, I can’t say I’m entirely happy to see you.” His voice gets that cocky tone, but his features remain mute.

A crazy laugh escapes my mouth. “I bet you are, because it’s plain as day on your face.”

As the bartender finishes placing the drinks on a tray, he starts the discussion again, noticing the tension between his new customer and myself. “I can carry this over there for you,” he offers.

“No thanks.” My fingers clench the hard plastic circle the drinks are on.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to order a drink for yourself?” he asks one more time before I take a step backwards. I just shake my head in response to his egging words. He turns to Maxwell. “What can I get you, sir?”

“I’ll take a Bloody Mary.”

The bartender grabs the glass and some of the bottles that are nearby and starts the drink. Like the drop of a hat something comes over me. “You know what,” I slide the tray fully back onto the counter, “I will take a drink. Surprise me; just make sure it’s strong. On another note, I believe he would love his drink to be extra bloody and maybe a Victoria instead of a Mary. Marys seem too uptight,” I interrupt, jolting my head in Maxwell’s direction. What kind of vampire can drink Bloody Marys anyways? Is the bartender in on his secret and he adds a little something extra to it when no one’s looking?

A smile of satisfaction finds the bartender’s face clearly oblivious of my outbrust. “Coming right up.” This time he walks away to mix our drinks.

Vibrating in my back pants pocket stops a rant that’s itching to be spoken. A short but sweet text message from Janessa demands to know where her drink is. A quick glance is shot toward Maxwell and I see his hands clench into fists.

My own satisfaction fills my body as anger fills his. What the hell’s his problem anyways? Doesn’t he realize that he doesn’t own me. The word yet desperately wants to be attached to the though, but I push it away. There is no yet. There will never be a yet.

The bartender arrives back with Maxwell’s extra bloody, Bloody Mary and a small shot glass that I presume to be mine. No need to carry it over, I pick it up and down it in one sip. My eyes involuntarily squint shut as the warm liquid burns my throat as it goes down.

A loud, raspy breath exhales through my still warm mouth and my voice comes out hoarse. “That was strong and hurt like hell. Give me another one.” He complies and I down that one just as fast as the first one. As I slam the glass down before I make my retreat. “See you later, boys.” I walk with an extra pop in my step, knowing that both of them are staring at me. Who’s playing with who now?

Balancing the tray with all the drinks on it takes great concentration and it feels like eternity before I can set it down on a clear tabletop. Instantly, the owners of the beverages grab them within seconds.

“Took you long enough,” Janessa says with a smile. Nonetheless, she mouths a thank you in my direction before she vanishes within the crowd while taking large gulps of the alcohol.

Staring at the clock the rest of the night is all I can seem to do. When my eyelids get heavy with exhaustion and my feet ache with pain there’s no better time to say my goodbyes followed by quickly dashing out of the restaurant to head home. With Maxwell preoccupied with his guest, I know he won’t be able to follow, leaving me to feel quite comfortable as I exit the building.

There’s no time wasted to change into my pajamas when I get home. With a quick wash of my face, the next stop is to bed. A long work week is ahead and I need as much rest as possible. A soft chant of ‘sleep, sleep, sleep’ brings my nerves down to a peaceful rest. However, when I’m finally at my most peaceful, his voice fills my head. Repeatedly he says those unbelievable words, my vampire bride.

Even though he makes every inch of my skin break out in goosebumps and causes the hair on my arms to stand on end, somehow the thought of him still makes my insides melt. His smooth deep voice makes my heart beat rapidly in my chest, but I don’t know if it’s from an unwanted attraction to him or how he could kill me with a twitch of his fingers.

His dark brown eyes torment me from behind closed lids. Images of his ashy gray, pale skin in the moonlight, contradict the pale, creamy skin that he appeared to have tonight. He looked normal. He looked as if he were anybody else, any other living anybody else, that is.

Deep down my subconscious knows that I’m not going to escape this. That I’m not going to make it out alive, or worse, that I’m not going to be able to stay away from him. Seeing him tonight with that strange man didn’t make the situation any better. He had fear in his eyes as he sat across from the older stranger, just as I have fear in my eyes every time I look at him.

The small piece of paper that told me to pretend he didn’t exist just draws up more questions. His actions are unreadable and unpredictable. His multiple personalities cloud my dreams.