Love Bites

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Will he come? Maybe he’s packed up and left.*Ding dong* my body involuntarily flinched. My heart thumped furiously. Shit. What if it’s him? I leant over and put my hand under the sofa to gently retrieve the gun I’d planted there. What if he’s come to finish the job? Maybe he’s realised I know too much. I could blab and start a mob that will track him down. He could’ve come to silence me. I crept over to the door unconsciously holding my breath in suspense. I knew that normal bullets didn’t affect vampires so when I got home I put all the ammunition in a bowl and soaked them in vervain. I quickly glanced through the blurred glass in the door to see a vague figure of a large man. My posture seemed to relax when I realised it was just the delivery man dropping off the food I ordered.

…

I slumped back onto the sofa holding a round tub of ice cream in one hand and a large spoon in the other. My left forearm was wrapped in clear neat bandages covering the evidence of a burn. Seven hours ago since the confrontation with Lucas- or should I call it assault? When I got home I closed all curtains and ensured all windows were closed and locked. I had a bath which was pretty tricky seeing as I had to keep my left arm out of the water. I even discovered another injury, the plate Lucas, urgh just saying his name makes me feel sick, the plate he knocked from my hand smashed against the wall and a bit of china rebounded and seemed to have hit me in the head. It wasn’t anything major but it did leave an obvious cut to the temple which I put some steri-strips on.

I felt on edge, like I was just waiting for him to turn up and I didn’t have a clue what to do when he does. I actually felt unsafe in my own home. I slowly peeled back the lid to reveal the rich double chocolate ice cream. I put the TV on a channel showing a film and went to scrape the top layer off the desert. Before the shining metal could even touch the food I froze. My eyes were glued to my right wrist. Suddenly the precious bracelet I had treasured so much made me uncomfortable. The feel of the cold silver on my skin sent shivers of disgust up my arm. I wanted to get it off. I set the ice cream and spoon down on the coffee table and slipped some pumps on my feet before stomping outside. As I marched across the gravel I fumbled to undo it. My eyes scanned our garden to search for ways of disposing of the meaningless jewellery. An old tennis racket leant against the worn out wooden shed at the corner of our garden. My eyebrow rose with an idea.

…

‘I could sell it’, I thought as I held a tennis ball in my hand with the bracelet tied round it with an elastic band. I shook the thought out of my head as I scanned the scenery. The harsh cold wintery breeze blew in my face and whistled in my ears as I chose my target.

“Let me just get limbered up,” I muttered to myself before squatting then stretching my arms.

“Ready,” I took a sideward stance.

“Aim,” I held the racket back and held the ball out.

“Fire!” I gently tossed the ball in the air and put all my strength behind the shot.

“Yeah! You fuck off and don’t come back,” I stuck my finger up to the disappearing tennis ball as if it were a living object. The ball vanished over the tops of the forest trees and a second later it had vanished out of sight. I was quite surprised the bracelet didn’t detach itself from the ball but overall a good shot if I don’t say so myself.

Feeling a little relieved a returned inside where I slumped back onto the couch with my windswept blond hair looking like a birds nest. Even a few minutes outside was enough to make me ice cold to the touch.  

I retrieved the tub of ice cream from the table and lightly squeezed the sides of the cardboard container. Melted chocolate appeared around the rim making my mouth water. “Right then, I’d better not eat the whole tub or I’ll know about it in the morning,” I laughed to myself as I stared at the rich chocolate concoction in awe.