Color Me Crimson | 𝘙𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦

1͓2͢

The passing of time eludes me as much as the blurred buildings that glide past the cab window. A muffled rumble of tires and the whip of wind outside just barely reach my ears.

My thoughts settle into a blank slate, suspended in a state of frozen shock. Each time I blink, panic tightens its grip on my heart. My gaze is glued out the window, but I can't register anything. My mind spins in circles and gets nowhere.

Even as I rattle off the address of my apartment complex to the cab driver, I search for a lurking form between buildings. He's out there. I know it. He knows it.

And it's all according to Lucien's sick game.

He could've chased me or followed the cab, he might even be waiting in my apartment right now, but somehow I know he'll be smarter than that. He's a tactician, eager to see what I'll do just so he can move his own pieces and corner me in the end.

Now I'm certain the bruise I saw on Kristi's neck was from him—his terrifying fangs. What a complete psycho.

Or could he really be some type of supernatural creature...? I swallow hard, favoring numbness over jumping to any conclusions.

I'm not thinking straight.

After a while, my breathing returns to a steady cycle and panic evolves into hyper focus. One thing I do know is that once I get home, I can't pretend this didn't happen. I have to figure out my next move. Try to outthink him.

"Sure you don't need a hospital?," the cab driver offers for the second time. "I know of one that won't ask too many questions if you want to stay under the radar." His eyes flick to the backseat, more apprehensive than concerned.

"No, thank you." I'm certain telling a doctor that I'm being stalked by a man with fangs and glowing red eyes will only get me temporarily sedated, or checked into a mental ward.

Traffic is lighter than normal due to the late hour, and it takes much less time than the train would've to get to my apartment. Once we pull up to the familiar ten story building, I hand the driver my credit card and physically wince as I read the bill.

At one point, cab fare wouldn't have mattered, but since I've been cut off from my family's funds, all I have to my name are the savings I've made on my own from the last few years. Besides, using borrowed money has always been my last resort, and this makes my decision to quit Transylvania all the more disheartening. The automatic tip alone could have been spent on groceries for a whole week.

The second I step out onto the sidewalk the cab driver is gone, speeding down the dark street without a glance back. I'm sure he wants nothing to do with the trouble I've gotten myself into. Honestly, I don't want anything to do with it either.

The streets here are vacant and forlorn, and that only makes my heart hammer faster. Too many corners, too many places he could be hiding. Fingers quivering, I punch in the key code at the entrance while wishing I had eyes in the back of my head. It finally clicks open, and I slam the door behind me.

No more than a step inside, my knees buckle. I grit my teeth and fight the sudden wave of exhaustion, staggering into the elevator. Metal doors grate together as they close, like they always do. I push the button for my floor and lean my shoulder into the wall, forming a fist to quiet the trembling in my fingers. I wish I could quiet my thoughts, too.

That look—the searing, red-hot embers of Lucien's eyes as he watched me drive away—won't leave. I understand now the most dangerous part of this man. He's a predator, in every sense of the word. It's not the kill that he enjoys, it's the hunt.

It doesn't matter if he'd chased after me, because now his red eyes and hypnotic voice will haunt even without his presence. It doesn't matter if I never come back to Transylvania, because his cold breath and frightening fascination with my scars will send shivers down my spine no matter where I am.