Macabre: the Gothic Boutique [1st draft]

Chapter 03

James had to call the doctor in. It was as simple as that. All we had to do was wait fifteen minutes too. How a physician had time like that to spare was beyond me, but really, what prompt service, especially at the measly $250 dollars the whole thing ended up being. It went from at least $700 dollars to a flat $250. How could I argue that? James even bagged the What, How, and When to Do It manual.

I think I finally understood the dirty innuendo of the title too after the look James had given the both of us. I found myself wondering for the first time if this was just a way to get sex for the paying customer, sort of an under the table brothel masked as a gothic boutique.

The large hand at my neck, checking my pulse, paused. "You have an elevated pulse," he said mumbling, carefully counting the seconds on his watch.

"Well, you would too if you were surrounded by..."

"Maggie!" I said, interrupting her before anything dirty tumbled out of her mouth, but it was louder than I anticipated, seeming to echo off the crimson colored walls. Feeling my face flush, my gaze darted towards Dr. Sutter and then quickly down when I saw his amused expression pointed at me.

It occurred to me then that this doctor could've had black hair and blue eyes too, which would've been a disaster. I would've been a puddle of gooey mess. I wasn't completely immune to Dr. Sutter's ash colored hair and green eyes either. It just didn't affect me the same way.

His green eyes weren't like mine either, which were mixed with a little brown and could be considered two different colors. They were a pine crispy green that reminded me of healthy grass on a sunny afternoon. But his complexion didn't match the sun analogy with his eyes. He was so pale he was almost pasty, like he was allergic to the sun.

Oh, you are hilarious, Annabelle, I thought to myself, practically taking a chunk out of my cheek to keep myself from smiling.

Dr. Sutter had the buff, shoulders-twice-as-wide-as-me physique with the popping arm muscles, which really made the fact that he was practically albino strange. I always thought people, who made a habit of going to the gym, cared about appearance and took the time to tan or go to a tanning booth. Cancer in a box was always really important.

I let out a tiny snort at my sarcasm before Dr. Sutter's voice interrupted my thoughts. "I'm going to draw your blood now."

I nodded instinctually, feeling the wet alcohol swab and then the sting of the needle piercing my skin. I glanced down, watching as the blood welled quickly into the once yellow capped tube. When it was full, he quickly changed the tube for an empty one, letting that fill as well. It was the third vial that caused me to be suspicious.

Did they really need that much blood?

"Do you plan on giving me a muffin for this donation?" I asked him, glad that the heavy dose of sarcasm wasn't lost on the good doctor when the corner of his mouth lifted.

Without responding, he turned with the tubes and handed the contents over to James who promptly took them towards the back of the shop. I lifted an eyebrow as I managed to read the sign on the door matching the walls of the boutique. "No humans allowed," was scrawled across the face of it in a blocky, bold, black design.

Everybody was a comedian. Even doors, apparently.

"Touch the tip of your nose," Dr. Sutter said.

I glanced up, surprised to see him standing back in front of me and once I did what he said, he gave off more instructions. I quickly followed each command, thinking I could do this in my sleep. It wasn't my first rodeo.

When I was finished, I waited patiently for Dr. Sutter to perform the same tasks on Maggie. Or rather I tried to wait patiently, but the ache in my feet now that I was standing up again was bothering me. I glanced around quickly noting that the only other chair was behind the counter where James used to be.