Billie had raided her mother's closet for clothes to change into from her shower towel while they debated her surprise arrival in the soundproof office where she couldn't listen in. They had not made the same mistake as last time and had shut the door fully.
She did not bother drying her hair, there was no one around she wanted to impress anymore.
Trudging in her socks towards the kitchen, Billie leaned contemplating on the counter for a moment before deciding to seek the real treasures of the home to pass the time. As she thought of her target, Billie took off her sunglasses so she could find them quicker, following the dark shadows and opening a cupboard to the right.
She smiled brightly as she pulled out the expensive bottle of rosé from the cupboard littered with expensive alcohol. Billie giggled to herself, picking fancy glasses to drink from like she was at the height of aristocracy.
It really took very little to amuse her these days.
The off duty clairvoyant settled comfortably, spread over the wrap around couch, waiting patiently as she sipped eloquently, the full bottle beside her should she need a refill.
When the elevator dinged behind her, she almost thought for a moment it was her parents opening the study door before registering the sound properly. She turned with a charming smile to meet the newcomer, finding him to be a lean man with a pressed suit and a cocky smirk.
She tilted her head for a moment, observing him through shaded eyes. He hadn't seemed to have noticed her at first, straightening his lapel as he strode confidently into the apartment.
Billie cleared her throat, to catch his attention, but he didn't turn her way, nor did he stop moving, he simply entered the polished kitchen, reaching into the cupboard for a glass himself without a moment of doubt, as though he knew well where everything was.
Finally, he turned to her, his smirk only widening into a likeable grin as the stranger sat gracefully on the couch across from her.
Billie raised a trimmed brow, a small smile of her own forming as she examined him. "And who might you be?" She questioned casually, sensing a wit to the man.
He only reached forward, taking the bottle of rosé from the glass table in front of her to pour for himself, tilting the full cup to her. "I could ask you just the same thing."
His gaze did not leave hers, calculative and almost unnerving, even through her dark glasses. She was so engrossed in the interaction she did not hear her parents approaching from behind.
Cara halted in her steps, sending an almost unnoticeably nervous glance to her husband, but maintaining a poker face all the same. "Ricky, you're early." Cara cast her eyes to her daughter, like she warned the girl to behave. "Let's talk in private shall we?"
Billie found herself frowning at the interaction. Her mother, despite her feelings towards her, was one of the most steadfast women she knew, and yet, the presence of this stranger seemed to rattle her, the effect only visible to Billie because of how well she'd accustomed to her usual demeanour.
Something was wrong here.
Instinct begged the clairvoyant to be smart. To see. So Billie stood with the stranger, raising a steady hand to discard her sunglasses as she shook his with her other. "Billie." She introduced herself confidently, expertly masking the surprise in her expression to find that this Ricky, was swimming in unmistakable darkness.
Instead of shaking her hand, Ricky brought it to his shapely lips, kissing the soft skin without ever taking his eyes off hers. "Pleasure."
Cold, he was cold.
The tension in the room was skyrocketing, Billie could feel the hairs on the back of her neck springing upwards, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere.
She had a nagging little feeling she knew exactly why.
The clairvoyant watched with her sunglasses still in her hands as Ricky nodded to her politely, following her parents out of the room.
Perhaps it was an experiment she had not fully thought out when Billie uttered her next words, beneath the cover of her quietest breath. "Who the hell invited Twilight to the party..."
A falter in his otherwise gliding footsteps was all she'd needed to confirm her offhanded theory. He did not turn around, only tilted his head the slightest to the side, as if to show her exclusively that he had heard.
"On second thought, Billie why don't you join us?" Ricky offered, turning around suddenly to face her with stunning green eyes like flitting grass. Cara and Noah stopped their synced strides, sharing a glance before turning with their surprise guest. When they both finally met their daughter's eyes, they were filled with warning. Say no.
Billie smiled politely, for once in her life figuring maybe it was a good idea to follow her parents' advice, the flash of light engulfing them telling her this was so. "I think I've overstayed my welcome..." She nodded to Ricky curtly, twirling on her heels to leave the apartment, well intending on return once he'd left.
Only, by the time Billie faced the elevator, begging to take her away from the situation, Ricky had reappeared in front of her, that same cocky smirk on his pink lips. "You've only just arrived sweetheart." The threatening undertone in his tone had Billie quickly make up her mind, pursing her lips before chugging the large quantity of wine in her glass.
Ricky chuckled lowly as the clairvoyant held up a patient finger while grabbing the bottle from the coffee table to take with her. "What the hell, let's get this party started." She shrugged in acceptance, knowing she didn't have much of a choice about the proceedings. It was going to be a long afternoon it seemed, no way was she doing it sober.
The revealed vampire wrapped a supposedly friendly arm around her shoulder from his much higher standpoint, guiding her back deeper into the apartment and into the study with the soundproof walls.
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