Keone
Keone felt like the scum of the earth as he sat across from her. He didn't expect anything less as he recalled her unyielding gaze as she shot off the gun aimed at his head. The second her eyes landed on him, her entire body seized. Even from across the diner, he saw fear and fury blaze by, burning a hole straight through him.
He saw that Renata was on the phone, so he didn't speak at first. And when she didn't immediately jump across the table to attack him, he assumed it was permission for him to take a seat.
His eyes were unabashed as they drank in her features, the ones that played in his dreams, his nightmares. Her braids were down, against her back and tucked behind her ears. The medium tone of her brown skin was especially golden under the yellowish light of the lamp hanging above them. Her dark gaze tracked him as she finished the conversation. There was suspicion, loathing, and everything else related.
Her hand reached into the bag sitting beside her thigh. The sight was cut off by the table, but Keone knew exactly what she was looking for. "Pulling a gun on me in the middle of a diner doesn't seem like the wisest choice."
Her face was contorted with irritation. Her hand stopped moving but it stayed buried in the purse. "What do you want from me?"
Keone's chest spiked with frustration toward himself and uncertainty in what exactly he could say that wouldn't piss her off. He couldn't blame her for hating him, for wanting nothing to do with him. He did this to her, and now that she would never trust him. He'd made things that much harder for himself. "What I did to you," he began, and her eyes widened, "it was wrong. It was more than wrong. It was...the worst. I thought I was doing what needed to be done—"
Renata leaned forward. The desperate tremble in her mouth made him swallow. "Why? Why was killing me something that just needed to be done?"
"Nothing I will say will make what I did okay, and it won't bring you any comfort—"
"You said you'd give me answers, you coward. Give. Them. To. Me."
Keone nodded. He felt compelled by her rage which was bubbling to the surface. He initially hadn't planned to reveal much, but it appeared she was ready to pounce if he didn't cooperate. "You've learned by now that you can die, but you come back."
She gave a tight dip of her chin.
"Before I...Before I attacked you, there were other failed attempts on your life by a very powerful being." Her eyes narrowed with disbelief. The question 'failed?' hung between them. "Not because you did anything wrong or presented any kind of threat. This powerful being takes each life without bias. For whatever reason, when they tried to take you, it wouldn't work, which should be impossible. It's never happened. No one can escape them. Not me. No one."
Renata sat back, deflated like a balloon. Her eyes were distant. "But I don't stay dead. That's why I kept waking up in those days before. Because of this being."
Keone nodded and continued. "You shouldn't exist. Whatever you are. So, when he told me that he couldn't kill you, I thought it meant that I must do something. He told me not to engage, but I thought I knew better. That was my first mistake—"
"But not your biggest."
His voice quieted with shame. "No, not my biggest." He leaned forward. "If I could go back—"
"But you can't. You can never go back. Neither can I. So, here we are, murderer and murder victim. We're fucked, and it's all your fault."
"You're right."
She watched him for a while and said nothing. Her eyes remained steady on him. Then, she asked him the most peculiar question. "Why are your eyes red?"
Keone frowned. That shouldn't have been possible. He was wearing his contacts. Most vampires wore their contacts to remain hidden from human curiosity. What the hell was she? "You shouldn't be able to see that."
"I'm assuming it has to do with my time being done in the human world."
He wasn't surprised by her subtle display of intelligence. If there was one thing Keone had learned about Renata within the last twelve months, it was how observant she was. Nothing got past her. It was unsettling and intriguing. He knew not to underestimate her, not even for a moment.
The only reason she didn't find her own answers was because she didn't want to, not alone at least. To both of their frustration and disappointment, he was her only choice of company. Keone nodded and kept his tone hushed but clear. "You'd assume right. The question is whether you'll believe a word that comes out of my mouth."
Her eyes narrowed, scrunching her gaze. "I'm here. That should be answer enough."
"I am undying, for now. Pop culture loves the term vampire."
Renata breathed in deeply. He could hear as her heart rate, which wasn't calm in the first place, spiked again. "I'm not...?"
Keone shook his head. "No." He wouldn't lie to her. "I don't know what you are."
She stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time. "I believe you can help," she admitted, and it was apparent how much it pained her to do so. "The problem is, I don't trust you. I never will. What you did is unforgivable. Now...I will consider cooperating if you make a deal with me."
The weight in his body doubled at the truth laid out between them. Her eyes bore into him, and he was so certain he was incapable of feeling any more shame. Then, he registered the last bit of her response. "What deal?"
Renata removed her relinquished the weapon nestled in her purse and planted her palms flat against the table. "Give me the justice I deserve."
Keone knew exactly what she meant. He'd thought about it a thousand times himself. "You want to kill me."
"I will kill you," Renata corrected. "You won't expect it, but when it happens, you will accept your fate. And whether you agree to it or not... I will end you anyway."
"Will you allow me to help and protect you? You'll cooperate?"
Renata nodded.
"I agree to this deal, then."
Renata
Renata couldn't fathom it being this easy. All of her instincts continued to scream at her, urging her to either drive a knife through his heart or run as far away from this beast as possible. Yet here he was, sitting across from her, volunteering for his own execution. He was unperturbed, and she would have been convinced he had just agreed to order dessert had she not been the one to propose his death in the first place.
If she wasn't already grappling with the fact that she had the ability to resurrect herself, she would have taken the 'vampire' news more poorly. But Renata wasn't so disturbed by the idea that she was sitting across from a man who was undying. Many questions erupted to the forefront of her mind. Was he fighting the urge to rip her throat out right now? Did the sunlight burn him to a crisp? Just how old was he?
Renata looked around and saw that more of the younger crowd were beginning to pile in for a late night hangout at the twenty-four hour diner. If anyone picked up on Keone and Renata's conversation, both of them were going to get into a situation of unnecessary headaches.
Her eyes landed on his exhausted face. Well, he didn't actually have any wrinkles or bags under his eyes to suggest such a thing, but his eyes gave him away. It was strange considering how she recalled him during the first encounter, so unfeeling yet determined.
"Okay, then, it's a death date." She started fishing for her wallet. "We should probably get out of here. Do you have somewhere—"
Renata jumped when he slammed a fifty on the table. He got up first. "If you're comfortable with it, we can go back to my place."
She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous statement, and she was beginning to regret making the deal, ensuring that she had to endure his idiocracy for even longer. "Of course I'm not, you bastard, but a deal is a deal. After you." She made a dramatic gesture, and after watching her with a raised brow, he walked in front of her.
"What?" She chucked to herself. "Afraid I'll stake you in the back?"
"I wouldn't let you." It was less of a cocky statement and more of a factual one. At least, to him he thought it was factual.
Renata leaned in closer to whisper. "Considering I am immortal as far as we know, I have a feeling I can kill you a lot more easily than you're willing to admit."
He stiffened, but he didn't correct her.