Claire sped up when she saw the double doors that led out of Morganville City Hall.
Maybe it had only been one night, but it seemed like a lifetime to Claire.
Almost there, she pushed open the doors and the cool, night air blew onto her face. She took a step out of the building. She bumped into someone.
"Oh for the love of God," Claire spat. "Get out of my way Myrnin!"
"I'm not here to stop you," He said, stepping aside. "I'm simply going to drive you home."
Claire laughed, "Yeah, no. There is no way that you're driving me home. Your driving will kill me. I'm walking."
"So, I shall walk with you then."
"Myrnin -"
"Claire, don't be a fool. You know what the consequences of walking around at night are."
She sighed, "Fine."
"You're not changing you clothes?" Myrnin asked, as he walked besides Claire.
She looked down at herself. She was still wearing pyjama bottoms and Shane's shirt. She'd given back Amelie's coat of course, and the wind caused small goosebumps on her legs and arms.
"No," Claire said, trying to walk a little faster. It didn't do much. Myrnin took one long stride and he was next to Claire again. "I didn't have time to pack anything, remember?" He cast a quick side glance at her, and then slid off his duster. He handed it to her, revealing the pirate shirt she had seen him wearing earlier. Claire put it on, pulling it around her thin body. It shielded her from the cold air, and she could smell Myrnin's scent. Surprisingly, it didn't smell bad. It must have been some sort of aftershave or cologne she smelt. "Thanks." A heavy silence fell over them for a few more minutes, before Claire finally sighed. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Myrnin didn't look at her, he kept his eyes on the dark street in front of him.
"For yelling at you. And for saying those things I said. I should have trusted you."
A crazy smile crossed Myrnin's lips. His head turned to Claire and he watched her.
"You shouldn't trust me, Claire. Not completely." She smiled along with him, and shook her head. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
Claire took in a deep breath, "I understand that it wasn't your fault. But Shane will probably want to kick your ass."
"Ah, young Shane. Such a stubborn boy. Much like you, Claire."
"Yeah, but Shane actually gets what he wants. I end up getting my ass kicked, or pushed down the stairs."
Myrnin glanced at her again. It was obvious that he couldn't remember what she was talking about, but he was trying. "The Morrell girl? That is who you are referring to?" He said finally. Claire nodded. She hadn't seen Monica for a while, actually. But apparently, Myrnin had. "I saw her not long ago at one of the clubs."
"What were you doing at a night club, Myrnin?" Claire felt weird just thinking about Myrnin partying. She wasn't used to her crazy, vampire boss getting out on the town.
"Well, I've got to eat Claire. Besides, sometimes Bob wants insects other than flies."
"Bob? Bob the spider?"
"Of course. Bob is very like me you know? He is a very fussy eater."
"Wait, Bob's still alive?"
Myrnin stared at her with wide eyes. "Of course he's alive, Claire. He takes after you."
Claire shook her head, "Of course he does."
Myrnin stopped then, and Claire halted to a stop after him. He looked around, and then over his shoulder. His eyes caught Claire's. "What's wrong," She asked. "Myrnin?"
He grabbed her, and ran. Claire screamed, and managed to muffle it with her free hand. Myrnin's hands tightened at her waist, as he seemed to move faster. Claire was blinded. All she could see were quick beams of light, replaced by darkness until another light came. Then suddenly, Myrnin's hands were gone, and Claire tumbled forwards, crashing to the ground. She bumped into something hard, and she tried sitting up. She blinked, realizing that she'd crashed into a brick wall. She stumbled up, looking around for Myrnin.
All she could see was a dull street lamp, further up the alley.
"Myrnin!" She called. She started jogging towards the light. Something grabbed her again. Myrnin's hands were wet and sticky, and it left pale red smudges on the coat Claire was borrowing.
Vampire blood. Claire heard a snarl from behind Myrnin, and she blinked her eyes, hoping to see who their attacker was. Myrnin jumped, a high leap that sent them far off the ground.
His feet slapped hard on the concrete floor, at least a few kilometres away. His running slowed, and he looked over his shoulder. Then he stopped, and let Claire go. She stumbled away from him.
"What the hell was that?" She asked, gripping onto a nearby fence to stop her from falling over. Myrnin looked horrible. He had a nasty gash on the side of his cheek, and his top was shredded. He wouldn't be happy about that. Blood stains were left on his clothes and skin. He looked over his shoulder, at where they'd just retreated from. "Hey! What the hell were you running from?"
"You're bleeding." Myrnin stared at a graze on the top of Claire's head. She touched her forehead, just above her left eyebrow. She pulled her hand away to reveal sticky, red blood. He ripped off a strap of cloth from the duster and placed it on Claire's head.
Claire tried for a joke, "This isn't going to make you go crazy and want to eat me, will it?"
A hint of a smile played on the corners of Myrnin's lips. He dabbed the wound. There was quite a bit of blood on the cloth. "No. I've still got to repay you from the last time I bit you."
Claire remained silent for a few moments, as she watched Myrnin.
"Who was following us, Myrnin?" His eyes drifted from Claire's wound, and to her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath, as she stared into his deep brown eyes. "Naomi, right?" His eyes drifted down, and Claire had to look away. She pulled away, touching the wound on her head. "Can you take me home?" She said, backing away. "I don't feel that good."
* * *
It disturbed Claire that Myrnin had a key to her house. Then again, she felt too tired to really care. She stumbled over the threshold, and Myrnin had to support her. "Where do I put you?" Myrnin said, his grip around her waist tightening. He expected her to collapse any second.
Claire could only murmur, "Lounge room." He nodded, and headed in that direction. One of Shane's video games were on, but it was on pause. Claire heard noise coming from the kitchen, mostly loud voices. Eve pushed open the doors just as Myrnin made his way down the hall. Her eyes went wide and she darted back into the kitchen, no doubt to get the first aid kit. Myrnin helped her into the lounge room, and laid her down on the couch.
Shane ran into the room and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Myrnin leaning over her. Myrnin looked over his shoulder, to see the glaring Shane. Shane's hands balled into tight fists, and Myrnin stood up. "What the hell did you do to her?" Shane said. It was loud, but it wasn't a yell.
"Watch it boy. You don't want to get into this again."
"Shane," Claire whimpered. She felt dizzy, and like she was going to vomit. Shane ignored Myrnin, and pushed past him. He squatted by Claire, and his warm hand wrapped around hers.
"Shit Claire," He breathed. "You're scaring me a lot lately."
"I know. Sorry." Shane planted a soft kiss to her forehead, and he pulled back to inspect the bloody graze.
"What happened?" Shane was talking to Myrnin, and he quickly glanced at him.
Myrnin said, "She fell."
Shane's head turned and he stared at Myrnin with narrow eyes. "You can't fall and get a cut this bad. What the hell happened?"
"Naomi," Claire said, sitting up a little. Shane turned back to face her. Oh God. He was going to be angry. Claire shut her eyes briefly. "Naomi's still alive."
Shane wasn't angry. More worried than anything. His voice was soft and concerned when he spoke.
"I know. Kind of figured that when you said so on the phone. Where the hell were you?"
"City Hall," Claire said, her eyes flicking to Myrnin. "Amelie needed to make sure I knew some things."
"What things?" Shane looked back at Myrnin. "What did she do?"
Claire squeezed his hand, and she sat up. She hugged him, his scent making her feel warm inside. His arms wrapped around her, and he pulled her to the floor. "I'm fine, okay? I'm safe now." She didn't know if that was the truth or not, but she needed to calm Shane down.
The front door opened, and Michael walked into the house. He froze when he saw Myrnin, then he frowned when he saw the bloody state Claire was in. Michael turned to Myrnin. "What happened?"
"You might as well get Shreve in here too if you want me to explain the whole thing."
"Eve," Eve corrected as she came out of the kitchen holding a first aid kit in one hand and a damp cloth in the other. She glanced at Michael, and looked away immediately. Claire frowned. What the hell had she missed? "Here sweety." Eve was talking to Claire, but Shane took the cloth and took it as his responsibility to clean Claire up. Claire didn't complain.
"So," Eve said turning to Myrnin. "What happened?"
Myrnin crossed his arms and lent back on the wall, getting comfortable. "Amelie took -"
"Kidnapped," Shane interrupted.
Myrnin glared at Shane and continued, "Amelie acquired Claire and took her to keep her safe."
"From Naomi?" Eve asked.
"Yes, from Naomi.'
"Why?" Michael interjected. "Why would Claire need to be safe from Naomi?"
"Well," Myrnin obviously wasn't comfortable talking.... For once.
Claire finished, "Because Naomi wants me dead as revenge for Amelie." Everyone stayed silent, staring at Claire. "Amelie said I could go home, and Naomi attacked. Myrnin managed to lose her. And now I'm safe, okay?"
"Okay?" Shane blurted. "How is any of what you just said okay?"
Claire sighed, "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"
"Claire -"
"Shane." They all looked to Eve as she slowly bent down to be eye level with Claire. She handed her a glass of water and an aspirin. "Let her rest. She probably hasn't slept for at least twenty-four hours." Eve frowned as she watched Claire sip the water. "What are you wearing?"
Claire glanced down at herself. Shane's top had smudges of her blood on it. Probably Myrnin's and Naomi's too. She was still wearing Myrnin's coat, which had small rips in it from her fall.
"Oh," Claire put the glass down. "It's Myrnin's."
Shane rolled his eyes and rolled back onto his heels as he watched Claire walk over to Myrnin.
"Thank you," She slipped of the coat and handed it to him.
"Be careful Claire," Myrnin sighed, and then he left. When Claire turned, Shane was standing up and making his way over to her. Eve excused herself, yawned and walked up the stairs. Michael watched her walk away. He hesitated before he followed her up the stairs.
Claire turned to Shane.
"What did I miss?" She asked. Shane took her hand, and massaged small circles into her palm.
"They had a little... Disagreement. Give it a day or two, and it'll blow over." Claire nodded, and rested her head against Shane's chest. "I like what you've done to my shirt. It's much more colourful now."
Claire laughed, "Do you want it back?"
"Nah, you look hot in it," She looked up, and her lips met his. Shane's hand pressed against her hips, and he pulled her close. Claire smiled into his mouth and ran her hands through his hair. Her lips parted as Shane backed her up against the wall. His warm hands lingered just under the top.
"Should we be doing this here?" Claire asked, breathing hard.
Shane licked his lips and took her hands, leading her up the stairs and into Claire's room.
Shane was pretty fast undoing her shirt. She was pretty sure she heard it rip.
"I thought you said that the shirt makes me look hot."
He smiled, his eyes shining. He gently lowered her onto the bed. "You always look hot."