𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑 𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄 ~ Kai Parker • Enzo St. John

XII

Enzo held up his hands in surrender, dark brows almost touching his hairline. "Understood."

Grabbing the car keys, I turned to leave the kitchen.

"Wait, what about breakfast?" Enzo called after me.

Waving him away, I simply said over my shoulder, "I'll eat when I get back."

Before he could argue any further, I hurried out of the Boarding House and got into the Porsche. The last image of Enzo haunting my mind as I drove towards town was that of his disappointed face watching me rush away from him - and on his birthday of all days.

I was riddled with guilt, but I knew it would be worth it when I saw his face light up as I handed him his gifts.

First on my to-do list: Enzo's presents. I tried a few different stores in town, struggling to decide what to get him. When I eventually settled on his gifts, I was relieved to move on to the next part of my day, praying he would love them no matter what.

Driving slightly out of town, I made my way to the store Enzo and I always got our groceries from. Pulling into the parking lot, I hopped out of the car and hurried inside, grabbing a shopping cart on my way.

Wandering through each aisle, I focused on gathering just the necessities - you know, Cherry Coke, mountains of chocolate... and I guess some ingredients for cooking would be useful. Approaching the bakery aisle, it took me a few minutes to choose a cake before finally picking one and placing it into the cart with the rest of the food.

In the party & celebrations section, I grabbed some candles to go on Enzo's cake, a balloon, a gift bag to put his presents in, and, of course, a birthday card. Surprisingly, they didn't have a card for someone who was turning 136, so I settled on a funny one - it had two sprinkled donuts on the front with the message: 'Happy Birthday! I donut know what I'd do without you!'

It took me a good few minutes to stop laughing long enough to place the card in the cart and exit the aisle. Comedy gold, if you ask me.

Just as I was halfway through the next aisle, a noise coming from the card section made me pause. Reversing back, I hurried towards the sound. Taking in the sight before me, I couldn't help but let out a gasp.

All along the floor were dozens of fallen cards, right where I'd been previously standing.

I mean, I could've easily set the cards wrong when sifting through them, especially after being so distracted from the humourous ones. It was probably just a coincidence, that's all.

Nevertheless, even as I moved along, I remained vigilant.

I barely made it three feet before I heard more strange noises coming from somewhere nearby.

"Enzo?" I called out, praying to hear his stifled laughter. "Is that you messing with me?" Continuing to slowly push the cart, I added, "Because if so, I promise it's nowhere near as funny as you think it is."

Without warning, the sound of a balloon popping suddenly echoed loudly around the store. I jumped and let out a shocked squeak, clutching at my chest as I tried to calm my heart rate.

"Wow, okay, buddy," I said, leaning against the cart to catch my breath. "Was that one really necessary?"

It was growing increasingly obvious that this wasn't Enzo screwing around, after all, but possibly the mysterious stranger I'd seen a month ago. Holding onto my vervain necklace, I was relieved to find I was still wearing it, anxious about what kind of creature he could be. If he was a vampire, at least he wouldn't be able to compel me.