The sound of a hard rain was the first thing I was able to take in that morning. Next being the sweet smell of damp cool air coming in through the window. Releasing a sigh of contentment, I snuggled deeper into my blankets. I always enjoyed the smell, as it reminded me of the warm feeling of fall. While the season was literally chilly, it brought warm memories, that always made me look forward to the season.
I slowly opened my eyes looking forward to seeing what had to be a stormy morning, but instantly cringed at the horrible pain the struck into my temple. I groaned sitting up slowly and rubbed my eyes, feeling as if my stomach had literally been taken out and replace with a bowling ball. "Olive?" I heard making me squint and look to my left, I was greeted with a very exhausted looking Patrick giving me a wary look.
"Jesus Patty I feel like I've gotten the shit kicked out of me," I groaned rubbing my temples, he let out a sad chuckle,
"Here," he said handing me a small red pill and a glass of water. I took it eagerly and swallowed the pill, thankful for it. I realized then that I was no longer dressed in the horrendously revealing outfit from the night before. Instead in a overly large t-shirt and one of my pajama shorts.
"What happened?" I questioned, looking back to Patrick,
"You went to the bar last night, Ben ended up bringing you home a 12ish saying that you had been roofied." He answered, his words were slow, and hesitant, almost as if he were trying his hardest to lower the blow it had. It helped, it allowed me to slowly remember the events of the night before. "One other thing," Patrick's voice was sticky, like he didn't want to talk about it. I looked back at him raising my brow, "Do you remember much of last night?" He asked, nervous. I sighed, the memories I had didn't even feel like my own, like I was watching a movie.
"Yeah but its spotty," I answered, finally feeling a bit of relief from the quick acting pain medication.
"Do you remember what the guy looked like?" He asked, I frowned slight, my brain reeling with all the faces I had seen that night, pausing briefly on Q's face. "The guy that tried to-" He paused nipping at his lip, adding context.
"Yeah, yeah," I said frowning at the memory that seemed to send a shudder down my spine. "He was young, tall, broad one of those football types. Redish hair and a blue eyes," The more I said the more pale Patrick seemed to become. Pausing I frowned, "What?" I pressed knowing he was giving me that look for a reason. He seemed to swallow hard then sat down in front of me on the bed.
"Um, well a guy was found in the ally beside the bar you guys were at," He paused taking a deep breath, "He was completely mauled, his throat was ripped out and," He shuddered, "Apparently, normally it would have been a blood bath but," He stopped. My blood started to run cold, already insinuating what was coming, "But there was no blood, completely drained." I felt sick to my stomach, how could Ben have done that, I don't care how angry, that was still a life. "They think is was some sort of animal but," His train of thought trailed off.
Luckily the tension was cut when my mother entered the bedroom holding a tray of food. "Oh your awake!" She said happily placing the food tray onto my waist. On it was what looked like chicken noodle soup and crackers with a ginger ale. I frowned at the meal,
"What time is it?" I asked looking around, because of the rain and early morning feel it felt like it was only 8am.
"Sweet heart, its almost 2:30pm," My mother answered, sending a soft smile. I groaned realizing how much of the day had been lost. "Your friends stopped by to check on you, but" She paused looking uneasy.
"That Ben boy hasn't come since he dropped you off." She looked away, obviously feeling bad. I was hesitant with replying, I knew I needed to talk to him. However, I couldn't help but feel a little betrayed by his actions. It had to have been him, yet something in me screamed that he couldn't do something like that.
As the day proceeded my mother had to leave to go look at the corpse of the man killed the night before. They wanted to confirm what type of animal it could have been, so she left leaving me with Patrick. We sat in the living room, quietly, I had blankets tucked around me and a warm tea in my hands. I stared out the window watching the rain come down, it was definitely my favorite kind of day. The group chat had blown up a bit earlier in the day, my friends begging to know if I was alright. I made sure to send them a quick message saying I was all good and spending the day inside. I had also recieved a text from Ben, it was a quick and insensitive message of, 'In meetings all day. If you need anything call Celeste,' then a number I assume was hers under it. "Olive?" My brothers voice pulled me out of the zoned out state I had put myself into. I hummed a response turning to look at him, he was sat in the chair across the room.
"I'm glad your okay and everything, but you don't need to stay here. You can go check on Ben?" He said slowly, rubbing the back of his name. I cringed feeling almost unwanted by him. Of course he is going to get busy, but I just figured he'd care a bit more.
"No its alright," I answered looking back toward the rain.
"Olive," His voice forced me to look back. His face was stern and serious, not a face I was used to seeing. "Don't be a scaredy-cat like I was," He pushed. This instantly peaked my interest,
"What happened Pat?" I asked turned my curled body toward him. Becoming thoroughly interested in the conversation. He bit at his lip, his cheeks going rosey and a nervous look taking over his eyes.
"Remember that guy dad hired?" he asked avoiding eye contact. I instantly raised my brow, a smirk pulling to my lips.
"Austin right?" I returned, pulling from my memory. He nodded,
"I was gonna finally ask him out last night," he started, huffing a embarrassed breath. "We worked together alone, and so I decided, 'fuck it I'm gonna ask!" He explained putting more emotion in his words. "And I totally started it well! Asking if he had gone to any good food places. You know the usual stuff," He paused groaning.
"And?" I pressed, extremely interested in the completion of the story.
"Well I," he paused again huffing out a breath. "I said 'Well i was wondering if you wanted to go out?'" He said. I frowned, not understanding what went wrong.
"What's wrong with that?" I asked frowning deeper. He groaned louder rubbing his face aggressively.
"Well when he looked at me, he looked so surprised! So I panicked, and in my panic I continued the sentence with 'with my sister?" The utter pain written in Patricks eyes was clear. However, I honestly couldn't help the horribly insensitive laughter the escape my lips.
"Well I was wondering if you want go out with my sister?!" I laughed out, a small embarrassed smile pulled to his lips.
"Shut up!" he groaned as I whipped my tears away.
"What did he do?" I questioned slowly containing my chuckles.
"He was extremely confused and said 'I'm pretty sure my cousin has some sort of crush on her, but thanks for the offer?' It was so awkward!" Patrick finished, I couldn't help but laugh more. That was until I realized exactly what he said.
"Jordan?" I questioned, but he shrugged,
"I got no idea they all look so much alike," he answered. I instantly nodded in agreement, but also sighed in contentment.
It went quiet between us again, the sound of the rain hitting filling the room, creating a comfortable setting. "But seriously Olive," Pat started, I looked back at his gentle face. "Go talk to him, I can tell its driving you crazy," He pushed. I sighed while nodding knowing he was right, "Just bring an umbrella and text me when you get there alright?" He said smiling gently. I returned his look, while standing and nodding. Looking down at my outfit I had switched to thick track pants and a over sized sweater. My hair was thrown roughly up into a messy pony tail and I had a freshly washed face.
"Fuck it," I hissed heading toward the door. Patrick's chuckle followed, knowing I had decided to just go there dressed the way I was.
I pulled on a pair of tall boots and grabbed the umbrella. Glancing at Patrick I noticed he had moved and was leaning against the living room door way. "Thanks Patty," I said, he smiled,
"Go get your man Hoelivia" He snickered. Rolling my eyes I grabbed hold of the door and pulled it open, just about to walk out. However, I was forced to stop dead in my tracks.
"Jordan?" I questioned seeing him standing in the soaking rain. His dirty blonde hair hair was stuck to his head in a unorganized fashion. His clothing damp and clinging to his body, very clearly showing the definition he had in his arms and stomach area. His blue eyes were bright and big in the grey atmosphere, even though he was hunched and tucked over his arms, obviously trying not to get wet.
"Hey Olive," He greeted, forcing a smile.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned, noticing my brother draw closer in my peripherals. I instantly pressed my hand against Jordan's chest, pushing him more into the rain and stepped out onto the front porch. Quickly I opened the umbrella which was big enough for us both to huddle under. He drew close, his eyes showing a thankful gleam to be finally shielded from the cool summer rain. We were definitely close, yet his skin didn't give off the warm feeling normal people would give. Instead it was almost as if nothing was coming to him,
"You said we could talk today?" He questioned cocking his head to the side. It sounded more urgent then I think he had meant it. Nipping at my lip I groaned,
"Can we push this a little later in the day?" I asked, a frown instantly pulled to his hard features. "I'm sorry Jordan, I just really gotta talk to Ben," I tried to explain. However, he only seemed to get more frustrated and angry looking. I could have sworn that his blue eyes flashed yellow,
"Fine. Whatever, text me when you feel like talking to me," He hissed before turning and stomping away. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel horrible for treating him this way. Obviously he knew he came second every time, and I genuinely hated treating people that way. However, I knew I had to speak to Ben, I shook of the anxious guilt I held and walked towards Ben's house.
If my brain didn't send a strike of pure pain through my body every minute or so, I would probably take in how gorgeous the day was. While it rained hard, it wasn't overly windy and it was still quite warm. The rain itself was cool and refreshing, as well as making the day a little more relaxed and forgiving. At least that how I precised the day, it was truly one of my favorites.
When I finally got to the apartment building, I was greeted with the fact that once again there was guard of any kind, and the building was quiet. Stepping into the familiar elevator I pressed the 'PH' button, and felt the recognizable evolution. Taking a deep breath I thought about what I was going to say, going over how I needed to ask him about the man from the night before. When the elevator finally opened I released a breath I didn't realize I had been holding, and fiddled with my hair. Stepping out I was surprised to hear voices coming from inside, one definitely being Ben's, a women's and one other. The door was opened a crack allowing me to quietly push it open, not wanting attention to be drawn to me. In the middle of the living room Ben and Celeste were standing, and Q was seated on the couch across from them. Ben's hands were crossed over his chest and a tight look was written on his face. Celeste looked like she was trying to put up a strong front, but had fear written in her eyes. Quinton however looked relax, like nothing was wrong and a smug smile on his lips.
"I don't understand what the big problem is," Q shrugged looking toward the window.
"That's exactly what the problem is Q! This is Ben's territory, you can't just go around doing things like that!" Celeste hissed, obviously trying to protect Ben in some way.
"Master Spinder will be here any minute, we will wait for her decision," Ben said calmly, but Q's face spread into a wide smile.
"Then we might want to get rid of her," He said while turning his head toward me and pointing in my direction.
Instantly the two looked at me, Celeste sent a faint smile while Ben looked utterly pissed. "Olive what are you doing here," He hissed walking toward me. My words got stuck at the back of my throat and I stuttered nonsense. He sighed and gripped the bridge of his nose "Didn't you get my text?" He asked, a little calmer. Pouting I nodded a yes, "Then why are you here?" pressed, but his words were down to a whisper.
"I had to know," I finally said finding my voice, his frown deepened, "Did you kill him?" I pushed. Frown dropped, and his mouth went slack and a stunned look took over him.
"Of course I didn't Olive, how could you even-" He paused closing his eyes. "I guess I do understand why you could, but no I don't eat from humans, and I'm old enough to control my urges" He said sighing. I felt guilty for my own horrible thoughts, but I had to assume, but I couldn't help but be curious.
"What does that even mean?" I pressed, his eyed wandered over me before he took a deep breath that he didn't need.
"I get mine from a blood bank, completely donated, no one harmed." He said I felt a relief in my heart that I didn't realize had been sitting on my shoulders.
"So who killed him?" I asked my voice coming out gentler and more relaxed. His eyes however showed darkness and anger at the question.
"That would be me sweet heart," Q's deep voice broke my focus on Ben and I zoned in on the handsome man.
"Why?" I asked, I didn't feel as horrible at the idea of him being the one who committed murder over Ben. Honestly it was quite relieving to know it wasn't him and we didn't have a killer in town. He groaned,
"I guess I have a soft spot for cute humans," He said smirking. Ben growled at him, making him roll his eyes, "I didn't like how," Q paused, more emotion hitting his eyes. "I didn't like how he looked at you, like he was the highest on the food chain, so he could do whatever to whoever." He growled, his eyes going deep red and pupils flickering, "So I had to teach him he wasn't, so he wouldn't do it again," He sighed his eyes flicker slowing down. I stepped away from Ben and walked toward him, anger began to decrease from his eyes,
"Thank you," I said. Instantly the anger dropped and his eyes went back to his electric hazel,
"Why are you thanking me?" He hissed standing and stepping away from me.
"You were just trying to help," He stared at me for a second, and in that second he seem to relax further, and a gentle smile pulled to his lips.
"Well your welcome," He said puffing out his chest, a smug smirk pulling on his face.
"Olive," Ben's voice pulled me back to him, "You need to leave, before -"
"Ben," Celeste's shaky voice interrupted him, making us both look toward the her. He eyes were stuck at the door, and fear was prominent.
We both looked toward the door, and I understood why Celeste looked fearful. There walking through the door was a women, if you could really call her that. She was a strong 7 foot minimum, her body was thin, and her tight black dress extenuated the fact that every bone in her body was jagged and showed. Her hair went down to her ribs, raven black and it looked more like twine then hair. Her skin was white, but not just white, in areas that would go a deeper skin tone to show pronunciation in bones, instead was a deep grey. Which only increased her grisly look, espectually with how tightly her skin wrapped around her strong and sharp cheek bones. When I say sharp, I literally mean they are pointed. Her nose was thin and instead of a nostril area it was just flattened out and two black holes. Almost as if her nose has been completely cut off and that was what was left. Then lastly my eyes reached her gaze, which instantly sent shivers down my back. Instead of two eyes, siz black, soulless eyes starred deep into me. Her first set sitting where a normal pair of eyes would be, then one smaller set a centimeter up her forehead, then last another pair a centimeter up from the second, small maybe the size of a dime.
My skin felt as if it were on fire as I stepped back into Ben, my back hitting his chest. The spider looking women starred for a mere second before a large almost animated smile spread across her cheeks, revealing at least 3 rows of shark looking teeth. The points of her smile reached all the way up to just below her first set of eyes, making me realize she could probably bite my head off. "Well hello!" She said, her voice was like acid, it burned to hear the scatchey sound it made. "Benedict who is this?" She kept talking turning shifting her head to allow her lifeless eyes to process Ben.
"Master Spinder," Ben adjusted himself pulling me behind him more and bowing his head. "Welcome, I apologize with the lack of formality, we were in the middle of a conversation," He finished. The room went quiet, you could have probably heard a pin drop if it weren't for my heavy nervous breathes. The women stepped closer,
"You didn't answer my question," She said moving her head to get a better look at me.
"Um, this is Olive," He answered hesitantly. "But she was just leaving," He spoke, as I felt Ben begin to shift us, moving his hands behind him and grasping my arm gently. He began moving us toward the door, I could slightly see the forced smile he had.
"Nonsense Ben, let her stay." She said, her voice less friendly then before, obvious that she wasn't requesting that I stay, more demanding. He froze, I could feel his body tense, he slowly turned his head toward me, giving me a look that screamed 'I'm sorry'. He slowly pulled me out from behind him be kept his hand around my waist, in a tight, protective yet comforting grip.
"I'm Vivian,"She said jetting out her long thin hand to me. I stared at if for a few seconds taking in how wrinkled and old they appeared, and how grey, almost black the long pointed nails were.
"Olive," I said in a hushed tone, taking her cold hand in my own and giving it a stern shake. Her smile spread across her lips again,
"It's a pleasure to meet you Olive," She said tilting her head to the side, her black eyes once again making the skin on the back of my neck twist with anxiety.
"So Master Spinder, why is it no longer Master Shroud dealing in, our kinds mistakes?" Quinton's voice caught her attention. Her smile dropped and a hard look replaced it,
"Master Shroud, is dealing with other, more important dealings. So I was sent instead," She answered shrugging as if what she said didn't really matter to the conversation. "The more important thing we should be asking is does any of the Canine know about her?" she asked. It was then that I noticed her top eyes blink, yet none of the rest of them did. It sent a shiver down my spine to see. The room stayed quiet as she looked around for an answer, "Well?" She snapped her patience obviously wearing thin.
"Master Fata," Ben finally answered, it was obvious that he didn't want to. Her head snapped to him,
"Of course the old man knows and didn't say anything," She growled. It was truly hard to tell her emotions in the black eyes.
"We were keeping it quiet, for her safety, until we were 100%" Ben said, his voice was thick with confidence. Vivian gave him a quick glance then shrugged.
" Whatever, I'm not really here for her anyway." She said looking toward Q,
"What happened with the kill," She asked. Ben and Q looked at each other well Celeste stood back obviously trying to avoid the situation.
"He attacked her, was going to-" Q's deep yet scratchy voice was weak and hesitant. Vivian sighed,
"You know its against our rules to kill humans without just cause," Her attention was brought to me. "But saving a shadow walker, definitely would be a good one," She said eyeing me.
"But that would mean you need to make a record of her existence," Celeste finally piped in, her accent was thick and noticeable. Vivian shrugged raising her right hand and looked at her decaying nails.
"If you had at least done the decency to hide the body, then maybe then you wouldn't be in this situation," She answered, both males put down their head in guilt. Her eyes tracked to me again, "Young vampires, what are you gonna do?" She sighed to me, shrugging. Then she stood straight a small smile, that on a normal person would be huge pulled to her lips. "I'll make you a deal," her voice was incredibly off putting.
"I'll keep everything under wraps, already looks like an animal, so ill 'persuade' the courier confirming that on paper espectually since Quinton is such a young one." She said smirking slightly "and I'll keep this shadow walker thing quiet too," She finished. Ben frowned,
"And what do you get in return?" He questioned obviously asking for everyone in the room.
"If shes dying you call me, and I get first bite," She growled. Ben cringed, and Q looked stunned at her words. Almost as much as I did, but I definitely looked more, what did that even mean?
"Ben," Celeste caught his attention as he was obviously having a battle in his own head. "Take the deal, its either that or Q gets his teeth ripped out!" Celeste cringed. I also did, that had to be a worst nightmare for me.
"Fine," He growled eyeing her, Vivian smiled again, her rows and rows of teeth revealing themselves more.
"Perfect," She said, "Well I must be off, I have persuading to do," She said cocking her head to the side, "Ben you will receive a contract in the mail." Were her last words before she turned and briskly walked out, slamming the door hard behind her.