I Accidentally Hooked Up with a Vampire (Accidents Happen #2)

7. A visit from Nyesha

7

A visit from Nyesha

I restarted the video over ten times, hoping it would just fix itself. Something must have corrupted the recording, or maybe there was a glitch I just didn’t have an explanation for yet. No matter how many times it looped, the image was the same. I was alone, fighting with my cat and floating across the room from the kitchen counter into the bedroom.

All I could see were bits of images through the open door because I’d never put a camera in my room. There were way too many reports about scuzzy companies peeking in on their users. Last thing I needed was images of my bare ass on the dark web. I watched the last glimpses of myself inside the room from when Domino had me pressed up against the window.

Instead of watching it again, I checked the other videos. The camera had also recorded when the girls came over; it was possible the glitch affected other recordings. They were there, on screen, so it wasn’t my eyes. It wasn’t the camera. What was happening?

I thought about going online to search if anyone else had their security cameras do the same thing. Before I could figure out what to type into the search bar, my phone rang. It was the doorman.

“Hello?” I tried to keep the budding paranoia from shaking my voice.

“Ms. Harris? This is the front desk. You have a valet here to drop off your car,” he informed me.

“Oh, yes. Thank you. I’ll be right down.” I’d been so freaked out about the video that I forgot about my car. Domino had said he would have it dropped off for me.

I fed Maverick and offered him an extra treat as an apology for keeping him locked up. He must have forgiven me, because he allowed me to pet him. After promising him a good brushing, I grabbed my wallet and keys and headed down.

The elevator ride felt twice as long, which didn’t help my overthinking. I opened the video and played it again. Why couldn’t I see Domino on the camera? Of course, my mind started going down a laundry list of reasonings, all of which seemed more improbable than the last. Maybe he was really a ghost. Maybe I’d made him up. I mean, apparently, I was the only one who saw him at the party, and Jackie had said John looked like he’d seen a ghost. Was that why he was so freaked out?

DING.

The elevator reached ground level, and I put my thoughts of phantoms to the side.

“Ms. Harris,” the young guy who worked the front desk of the building greeted me when I stepped off the elevator.

“Good morning, Cordell.” I smiled at him, hoping to appear as if my mind wasn’t just on a supernatural spiral. He had one of his textbooks open on the desk in front of him. He was in law school and very close to graduating. “How are your studies going?”

“Great. I’m so ready to be done.” He laughed. “Only a few more tests before the big one.”

“I know you’re ready to be out of here, but I’ll be sad to see you go.” It was true. In the short time since I moved in, I came to look forward to seeing him. He was young and had an optimism about life that most of the people I spent my days working with seemed to have lost.

He stood and handed me the key fob for my car. “The valet couldn’t hang around, but here is your key. It’s parked right outside. I checked it out for you. Not a scratch in sight.”

I chuckled nervously. “Thank you.”

I exited the building; parked just to the left of the door was my car. Just like Cordell said, it looked in perfect condition. I only wished I could see the guy who dropped it off. I would ask Cordell to show me the security tapes, but what if that guy didn’t show up either? No sense pulling him into the psychosis when he was so close to graduating law school. It would be a guaranteed mental breakdown. When I got in the car, I had every intention of driving it around the building and pulling into the parking deck. I was going to return to my home and continue trying to figure out what the hell was happening. That was until I saw the black envelope on the passenger seat.

My name was written in gold ink on the front of it. It had to be from Domino.

Okay, I need to talk to someone about this, I thought to myself as I put the car in gear and drove away from my home. I could only think of one person to talk to. Lena. She would help me work through the nonsense, and I could convince her to open the letter, since I was clearly too chickenshit to do it myself.

“Hell, she writes about freaky shit like this. Maybe she can help me wrap my mind around what is happening to me now,” I reasoned as I drove the twenty minutes to her home. She had a beautiful house surrounded by wildflowers. It was exactly the way I imagined her living. Pulling up to the house, you would think it was owned by fairies. In a way, it was, because Lena was all sorts of magical.

And I don’t just mean the fantasy stories she wrote. Lena came from magic. Her grandmother was a witch. She even told us she pulled some of the spells in her books from her grandmother's notes. We often joked about someone being dumb enough to perform a spell from a novel and it working, but she said she had modified them enough that they would never work.

It wasn’t until I brought the car to a stop in front of her place that I realized I hadn’t called ahead. Big mistake, because she didn’t answer the door.

Me: Hey girl, where are you?

I sent her a text and headed for the porch swing. Like always, I paused and looked at the ridiculous contraption. It was a hammock-style swing. Every time I tried to get in it, I nearly lost my life. This time, when I carefully squatted and scooched my ass back into the net, I slipped! My foot went out, and the entire thing tilted back and smashed against the wall.

“Dammit!” I fussed as I struggled to get up and examine the wall. Luckily, there was no damage I’d have to pay for—not that I could afford it after losing my damn job.

After readjusting once again, I eased my ass back, and this time, I landed safely in the swing. I’d worry about the exit strategy later. Usually, I needed Lena to help me, but there had to be a way.

Colorful vines wrapped around the chains that secured it in place and gave off the sweetest scent. The cool breeze flowed in, and I dropped my head back and started swinging. I could just sit there and wait for her to come home. It was much more relaxing than being in my own home would be.

My phone finally buzzed with the response from Lena.

Lena: Out of town, remember? I’ll be back later tonight. I can see you on the security camera. Are you okay? I saw you just bust ya ass!

I frowned at the series of laughing emojis and then looked up at the camera.

Me: Yeah. My bad. I forgot. Hit me up when you get back?

Lena: Of course. Be careful getting out of that thing!

I waved at the camera and, after a few careful thrusts and a grip on the porch railing, I made it out of the swing.

I should have remembered that she was on a day trip as part of the press tour for the movie. Instead of blowing up her phone with my nonsense, I headed back to my car and called Jackie. She lived even further away. I wasn’t about to drive another thirty minutes unless I was sure she would be there. She didn’t answer.

“Damn.” I sent her a quick message to call me when she got a chance then sat in the car.

What was I going to do?

Going home was completely out of the question. I couldn’t do that. I didn’t want to be there. Instead, I drove to the beach, craving the salty smell of the ocean.

It didn’t take long to make it there, and I was relieved to find it wasn’t overly crowded for a Sunday afternoon. I took my shoes off and stuffed them in the knapsack I kept in the trunk of my car. The netted bag swung over my shoulder while I walked along the shore. Every few minutes, I lost the urge to rewatch the videos from the night before. Each time, the queasiness in my stomach worsened, and a wave of cold dread washed over me.

When I tapped the live feed, I could see Maverick in the apartment. He was on his cat tower, looking out at the water and licking his paw. Then, I had the feeling someone could be in my home and I couldn’t see them. What the hell was the point of having a camera if there were invisible people?

“He was not invisible,” I said aloud and stuffed the phone in my pocket. “This shit is crazy.”

I spent the day on the beach, having the same conversation with myself over and over. Every time I thought about going home, I remembered that invisible man on the recording. How could I go back there? How could I ever feel safe in that space again? So instead, I strolled the beach for most of the day, until my legs were tired, sweat-drenched the back of my shirt, and my stomach was growling.

No matter how conflicted I felt about it, I had to take my ass back, if only to keep myself from starving. Besides, the sun was setting, and for the first time since I was a freshman in college, I didn’t feel comfortable being out by myself. When I got back in my car, I saw I had a message from Lena.

Lena: Flight delayed. I won’t be back until the morning. Are you okay?

Me: Yes.

Lena: Talked to Jackie. We’ll come over tomorrow. Brunch?

Me: Yes please!

This was perfect. One more night to deal with the issue, and then I could talk to my girls. They would help me make sense of it. The last thing I wanted to do was cook. I've been through enough. I didn't deserve to have to work my ass off in a hot kitchen. Instead, I went to my favorite fusion restaurant. They made a mix of Asian and Mexican cuisine and had the best Korean tacos.

After I placed my order, I stood in the restaurant, looking at the pictures on the wall. The owners left a Polaroid on the counter that people could use to take pictures of themselves and tape to the wall. People got real creative, and there was even a picture of a group of friends dressed up as cartoon characters. It took a while, but I finally spotted the one Lena, Jackie, and I had taken. It was simple: we all blew kisses at the camera. I snapped a picture of it with my phone and sent it to them in the group chat.

That was when I felt the prickles on the back of my neck.

It was the same feeling I got whenever someone was looking at me. I could just feel their eyes on me. And then, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the top of the purple afro. It bounced happily across the top of the sign on the window until it reached the door. When the door opened, the woman I’d only seen once before entered. She had a wide smile plastered across her face, and she looked at me like she was bumping into an old friend.

“Oh wow, you’re Dom’s friend, aren’t you?” She said with fake surprise. I didn’t know what she was trying to pull, but I had a feeling she meant to run into me.

“Yes. I’m sorry, but I don’t think he ever said your name.” I matched her fake energy with my own. Whatever issues she had with Domino, I refused to let her pull me into it.

“Nyesha.” She held her hand out to me. “Sorry, I saw you from outside and I just had to come in. Domino has the worst manners when it comes to introducing people. I don't think he told me your name either.”

“Whitney.” My gut told me not to tell her, but I did. I shook her hand.

“Whitney. Such a beautiful name.” She looked me up and down. “Matches the woman.”

“Thank you.” I stepped aside. “I’m not in line if you need to order.”

“It has been so long since I’ve seen him with someone.” She completely ignored my comment. “I was beginning to think he would spend eternity alone.”

“Eternity?” I laughed. Whatever the man was, he was fine. If he wanted to be with someone, he could. “That’s a little dramatic, isn’t it?”

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “But I take it you don’t know him that well, huh? He’s really quite stubborn. Though, he may still be putting his best foot forward. Trying to impress you, you know?”

“No, I’m not sure what you mean.” I smiled. “Besides, it's not like that between us. We have a professional relationship.”

“Hmm.” The way she looked at me was like she could see a replay of the unprofessional things I’d done with Domino all over my face. “I doubt that.” She stepped closer.

“How do you know him?” I tried to change the subject.

“We go way back,” she said wistfully. “We were all real close at one point, and then things fell apart. Dom and Vance fought like crazy, and it broke us up. I miss those days.”

“They used to fight? It did seem like there was tension between them, but I couldn’t imagine them actually fighting.” I thought back to the man who had spoken to Domino the night before. No, I couldn’t see them being close friends, but fighting sounded over the top.

“Well, we’re older now. More mature. That was more of a business conversation than anything.”

“I see. Well—” I froze as Nyesha walked over to me, titled her head, and sniffed me like a damn animal.

“Definitely not professional.” She winked. “I can smell him all over you.”

“What?” I stepped back from her. “Okay, I don’t know what you have going on with Domino, but I want nothing to do with you or him, and I damn sure don’t want some random woman sniffing me!”

She narrowed her eyes, and the biggest, shit-eating grin stretched across her face. “You don’t know, do you? How fun.”

“Know what?” That was when my intuition kicked in. Granted, that ho was late to the party, but my internal voice was yelling for me to get the hell away from Nyesha.

“Miss, your food is ready.” The raspy voice of the worker tickled my ear.

I turned to see the woman standing with my bag held out.

“Thanks.” I grabbed it and headed for the door, but Nyesha blocked my way. She backed me up against the wall and sniffed me again.

“He’s claimed you.” She licked her lips. “They will never believe this!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I pushed her away from me, and her smile turned into a frightening scowl. She was smaller than me. I figured I could take her in a fight if I needed to, but you could never be too sure. Those little girls were always so scary. They had tiny dog syndrome.

“Nyesha, what are you doing?”

Both our heads snapped toward the door. Domino stood there with his eyes locked on Nyesha. As soon as she saw him, she backed away from me.

“Domino. Fancy seeing you here.” She waved at him. “I was just talking to our new friend.”

“What do you want?” He took a protective step toward me, but I couldn’t help it. I backed away from him, and they both looked at me suspiciously.

“I was just checking out the menu.” She licked her lips. “You know, they say this area has some delicious treats.”

“Since when are you into,” he paused to look at the menu then turned back to her with the same look of disgust, “fusion tacos?”

“Since when do you care about what I’m into?” She fluffed her afro.

“I don’t,” he answered.

“Good.” She stepped closer to me. “I was just chatting with Whitney, getting to know her. Learning all the things she knows about you—and the things she doesn’t.”

“I should go,” I said, feeling the tension between them, but again, when I moved to leave, Nyesha stepped in my way.

“Oh, no. Don’t go. Stay.” She leaned against the wall in front of me. “How about the three of us eat together?”

“I really need to get back home to my cat.”

“Cat?” She laughed and clapped her hands like a kid in a toy store. “How precious! Domino, did you tell Whitney how much you love cats?”

“Nyesha…” Domino’s voice was tight, like he was holding back something.

“Fine, fine. Don’t get your panties twisted. I’ll back off.” Nyesha straightened herself and headed out the door. She paused and looked at me over her shoulder. “You take good care of yourself, Whitney. Stay out of trouble.”

I watched her until I could no longer see her purple afro bouncing down the street. It wasn’t long enough for Domino to leave.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I headed out the door.

He moved closer to me, like he was going to take the bag, but I stepped back from him.

“What did she say to you?” He frowned. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Should I be?” I paused, giving him time to answer. When he didn’t, I continued, “She didn’t say anything except you used to be friends and now you aren’t.”

“That’s it?” he asked.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of drama you have going on, but keep me out of it.” I looked around him. “I should go.”

“Okay.” He turned and opened the door. “I respect that.”

“Thank you.” I walked through but kept from touching him. What I wanted was for us to go our separate ways, but as I walked to my car, I could feel him behind me. I turned on him. “Why are you following me?”

He lifted his finger. I looked to where he pointed to see his car parked just behind mine.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I’m a little paranoid.”

“Why are you paranoid?”

I considered telling him about the video, but how smart would it be to confront a potential monster alone in the middle of the street? Nyesha hadn’t said anything to make me afraid of Domino, but I was afraid.

“I’m going to follow you home,” he said when I didn’t answer his question. “I just want to make sure you get there safely.”

“You don’t have to do that.” I shook my head no.

“I would prefer it, if you don’t mind.” He took a deep breath. “If you’re feeling paranoid, you shouldn’t be driving. I understand you don’t want me to drive you, so this is the next best thing. Please.”

“Fine,” I said. “But you’re not coming in.”

“Okay, whatever you want.”

Domino followed me closely as I drove from the beachside restaurant back to my place. Twice, I considered trying to ditch him, but that made no sense; he knew where I lived. I also thought about the job offer. I needed the income. Could I ignore what I’d seen and have a professional relationship? Hell no! The man vanished on camera! What the actual fuck?!

“Shit, he said there would be countless offers coming. I can just take one of those,” I spoke to myself as I pulled into the parking deck.

“What are you doing?” I asked when I got out of my car and noticed he had also parked. “I said you can’t come in.”

“I wanted to make sure you were safe.” He walked over to me.

“Domino, I am safe.” I pointed around us. “I’m home. Why wouldn’t I be safe here? Is there something you need to tell me?”

“Whitney—”

“Domino, this is too much.” I stopped him; I had a feeling he was about to be way too fucking honest with me. Whatever it was he had to say, I suddenly was a thousand percent sure I didn’t want to hear it. “I don’t want you here. I don’t want you in my home right now. There is a lot I need to process.”

“Are you saying I can’t come in?” he asked. “Are you taking back your invitation?”

“That’s a weird fucking way to say it, but yes, that’s what I’m saying.” Maybe he was the crazy one, not me.

“Okay. I understand.” He said it like he was happy about it.

I almost called him back to ask him why, but then once again, I decided I didn’t give a fuck. I could be done with Domino and his fucked-up friends.

“Bitch, you got bills to pay and no job to pay them with,” I cursed out myself as I stepped into the elevator. “Get your shit together. You had a couple of good nights, some real good dick, and now it's time to move on. Jackie warned you about this shit.”

When I stepped off the elevator, I had a sudden thought of checking the camera. I opened the app and watched the live feed as I walked to my door. The elevator slid shut, and I watched myself walking. Just as I was about to close the feed, the elevator doors slid open again.

I froze; I knew there was only one other person who lived on my floor, and she was out of town for the next six months. For a good five seconds, I waited for someone to step out, but there was no one there.

“What?” I turned around, and my heart started racing. I couldn’t see her on the camera, but she was standing there, grinning under her purple afro. Nyesha.

She waved at me, and then, like a menacing little chihuahua, she started running at me.

I turned to run, but the bitch was faster than I thought. She grabbed me by my butt-length braids and pulled. The swift motion sent me to the floor, and my bag of fresh Korean tacos flew out of my hand, knocking against the door.

As I tried to get up, she kicked me back down and stood over me, grinning like a lunatic.

“I smell him all over you.” She pointed at me. “Professional, my ass.”

“What the hell is your problem?” I asked as I scooted back from her.

“Oh, I don’t have a problem.” She bent down to look at me. “It’s more like a curiosity. I want to know what you taste like.”

“Bitch what?” I scrambled to get away from her; I was not into that shit. But she grabbed me by my ankle. Even though I had to be twice her size, I couldn’t get away. “How the fuck are you so strong? Are you a crackhead or something?”

She climbed on top of me and pinned me down. “Come on, Whitney. Just a little taste.” She stuck her tongue out at me, twirled it in the air, and then the bitch licked me! She ran her tongue down my neck.

I did everything I could to get her off me, but nothing worked. It was like my struggle was adding to the fun. Each time I lifted my hips, trying to knock her off, she giggled.

Then, she did it. She lifted her head, flashed her hungriest smile, and her goddamn canines extended! It was something out of a horror movie. Her lips curled back, giving more room for the protrusions. I screamed and pulled away, but again, this only made her more excited. Then, she narrowed her gaze until it was like the realization hit her.

“You really didn’t know!” She laughed maniacally. “Even better!”

She opened her mouth wide, fangs bared and ready to bite into me. I braced myself, because what the hell else was I supposed to do? Clearly, she was stronger than me, and apparently, she was a motherfucking vampire! Just before her teeth reached my neck, something powerful knocked her little ass off me. I looked to where she slammed against the wall and then up at the man standing over me. Domino.

“Get inside. Close the door,” Domino said as he lifted me from the floor and pushed me back toward my apartment.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I bolted for the door. It took me no time to open it and step inside. When I looked back, I saw Domino standing over Nyesha and the elevator door sliding open. DING !

When the doors opened, Vance stepped out. He took one look at Nyesha on the floor and attacked Domino. I could barely see what happened. It was a blur of fists flying and, after one loud smack, they landed on opposite ends of the hall. Domino stood just outside my door.

“That’s it. It’s time for you to die.” Vance took out a knife and lifted it like he was going to throw it.

I don’t know what the hell came over me, because I reached out, grabbed Domino’s collar, and pulled…him right into an invisible fucking wall! There was a loud, powerful shock like electricity that flashed between us that sent Domino flying into the opposite wall.

“Holy shit!” I said.

“Oh, Domino, did she take your invite away? How sad,” Nyesha said and then pulled a knife from her back. “Guess there is nowhere for you to go. She’ll have to watch you die before we eat her!”

“Oh, fuck this.” I couldn’t let them get into a damn knife fight in my hallway, and I damn sure wasn’t about to be eaten. “Domino, please come in!”