Vampire Bride

Chapter Twenty Three - Part One

Charlie

Everyone in the room is speechless. Juliet's eyes move from me to Maxwell just as my eyes move from Maxwell to her.

The sound of Juliet's dry throat clearing fills the room. "You brought your secret boyfriend." Obviously no one can beat the sarcasm out of her.

"Yes. No." I can feel a blush creeping up my neck to pool in my cheeks.

I look over her scrapes and bruises, her cast and IVs. This was a message and message has been received. The tension in the room is thick, too thick for my liking. "You know what, I'm going to get some coffee and a snack from the vending machines downstairs. Do you want anything?" I look at both of them only to be polite as I take a few steps toward the door. Maxwell follows my lead. "You can stay here and get some juicy dirt on me from my bestie," I say to him, holding up my hand, stopping him in his tracks. "I know she wants the dish on you."

"Twizzlers," Juliet demands before I finally depart the room.

I look one last time at Maxwell; his expression is a mix of worry and dread. I'm forcing space between us and he isn't happy about it. But I am in a heavily occupied building, a hospital no less.

At a steady pace, I pass doctors and nurses until I reach the corridor that the vending machines are down. Seeing it's somewhat late in the evening, most visitors are gone, leaving these halls vacant. My footsteps echo, playing tricks on my ears. It sounds as though I'm not the only one in these deserted halls. The lights flicker above my head, causing me to catch my breath.

With the little nook that holds the variety of machines full of choices within sight, I make a run for it. My shoes squeak against the tiled floor as I screech to a stop. A nurse, who seems to be just as petrified as I am, swings around at my surprising arrival. Unlike her fear, which is caused by me scaring her, my own fear is brought on by these creepy halls. "Sorry, so sorry," I apologize.

"These halls can be spooky late at night, believe me. I've asked the maintenance crew to fix that light for weeks now and they continue to ignore me," the nurse says in a comforting tone. "It's like they're waiting for someone to get murdered before they do their job," she jokes, although I don't find it funny. Watching her leave, I can't help but to be relieved.

"Waiting for someone to be murdered? Who says that to a stranger?" I whisper to myself when I know she's long gone, leaving me alone in the dank nook.

I can't believe I scared that poor woman due to my own paranoia. It does make me less regretful that she scared me in return. However, all I can think about is Maxwell's words of staying in well populated areas. These halls are anything but well populated.

I start my coffee while I search the various machines for the lucky one that holds Twizzlers. The reflection of the hall behind me shows on the glass locking away all the food. I try not to pay attention to it, because I haven't had the best of luck with reflections. Tonight proves to be like all the others. A man strides behind me. A flash of green eyes is the only defining attribute I see.

Instantly, my palms rub harshly at my eyes as my brain tries to tell my pounding heart to relax, that what I just saw was my mind playing tricks on me. Although, it isn't that easy...it never is. With shaking hands that barely contain the coffee in its cup and crush the licorice, I race away from what is starting to feel like a death trap. My eyes watch the brown liquid swish in the cup as I make my way back to Juliet's room or at least a hall that has more people. My friend's words of 'green eyes' repeat in my head.

"Jesus." Coffee spills out of the cup and onto the floor. Some of the hot fluid drips onto my forearm. My nose and forehead ache from making impact with something hard, but with my hands occupied, I can't rub at my face to ease the pain.