Chapter 5 Faye
FAYE
With each passing day since Peter had added the protections, Faye felt far more secure in her new home, which she had almost finished painting.
After closing today, she spent the whole evening painting the sitting room a beautiful shade of duck-egg blue.
When she was done, the sun had set. Ian would be angry if breakfast wasn’t on the table when he got up for work.
He had been avoiding her since the feeding last week, but she didn’t want to risk tonight being the night he noticed she hadn’t come home.
Habit told Faye to grab her keys and race home, but her better judgment told her she needed to shower and change out of her paint-smeared dungarees first. She couldn’t risk him smelling the paint on her.
Unfortunately, this extra delay meant that when Faye drove up the dirt road in her beaten-up truck, Ian was waiting for her in the doorway of their cottage.
She gripped the steering wheel, contemplating whether to accelerate and drive straight through the front of the cottage. The cottage was old, and the stone structure fragile; it wouldn’t take much to bring their home crashing down on him.
Just then, Ian stepped out of the doorway and approached the truck as if he sensed something was amiss.
Can he hear my heartbeat at this distance?
Faye loosened her grip on the wheel. Running him over would only maim him anyway, and he’d end up feeding on her again to regain his strength.
There was no way Ian would believe she’d accidentally accelerated, and if it wasn’t going to kill him, she didn’t want to ruin her rose bushes or her truck.
She forced a smile and got out. A condition of her being allowed to work was turning over her wages for ‘household expenses’, but she kept what she could, tips especially, for her escape fund.
With him already awake, she didn’t have time to hide some petty cash amongst her flowers like usual.
Thankfully, she had left today’s extra in her apartment.
She didn’t like leaving it all there – she feared the empty building would be an easy target, even if the crime rate in Foxford was extremely low.
It felt safer to have cash close by, just in case.
“My love!” Ian beamed, extending his arms towards her. “I was getting worried.”
Faye walked into his embrace without hesitation. He clearly felt that enough time had passed since nearly killing her and wanted to go back to playing the perfect couple. Who wouldn’t get over attempted murder in less than a week?
“Sorry I’m late. I didn’t mean to worry you. I lost track of time preparing some desserts for an event at Matherson Manor.” She wasn’t lying; she had been baking for the hotel’s occasion. She’d just left out the rest of her evening activities.
“No need to apologise. I know how important your work is to you,” Ian said, handing her a rose he had plucked from her bushes.
His fangs were hidden behind a warm expression, his mood completely shifted from callous to loving.
She didn’t know how he could switch so easily from leaving her for dead to worrying about her coming home late.
Where was his concern and care when it was most important?
“It’s beautiful, thank you. I’ll be sure to let you know if I’ll be late in future. I don’t want you to worry,” Faye said, taking the rose and forcing a smile, keeping her heartbeat steady. She had learned early on that even the slightest fluctuation could lead to his suspicion.
They walked inside the cottage, and she could smell that he’d been cooking.
“It gave me a chance to cook for you. I didn’t want my girl to be hungry after such a long day.” Ian was always charming when he had done something wrong – not that he would ever admit to hurting her or apologise.
“You didn’t have to cook. I should’ve been here to make you breakfast before your night shift. Thank you for thinking of me.” Faye used to think his love language was acts of service, but she knew now that it was just to ease his guilty conscience.
He wrapped his arm around her and led her to the small kitchen, where the mess confirmed he had cooked. There was no more smashed glass, the window was repaired, and the flowers he’d bought her last week sat on the windowsill above the sink, decaying. She knew not to bring up the last feeding.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t get to see you enjoy it before leaving for work. I thought you’d need some red meat. I think the last feed took a lot out of you,” Ian said, leaning in close as he pulled out the kitchen table chair for her.
Faye sat, noting the freshly cleaned kitchen tiles where her blood had been erased. She had already cleaned up the mess days ago, but it seemed she hadn’t done a good enough job. The lingering scent of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda was only partly covered by the smell of cooked meat.
“You’ve really outdone yourself. This looks delicious,” Faye said, freezing to stop herself from flinching as he kissed her.
Ian offered her a mouthful of rare steak and some green beans. Faye chewed obediently. He poured her a big glass of red wine while she ate, making all the necessary noises of enjoyment. She hated red wine and steak. And being fed.
An iron-rich dinner. How considerate.
“How was your day at the café?” Ian was sitting too close.
“Great. I was in the kitchen working on some new pie recipes for most of the day,” Faye lied. He didn’t like it when she served customers. He wanted to ensure she was in Stoker’s kitchen and out of sight, if he couldn’t keep her at home.
“Good. I wish it didn’t have to be that way, but you know how they feel about us.
Judging us for simply wanting to be together.
” Ian scowled, sipping his wine. It was laced with blood that lingered on the side of the glass.
He didn’t like to drink blood in front of her; the addition of wine was so she ‘wouldn’t feel uncomfortable’.
What made her uneasy wasn’t him drinking blood, but leaving her for dead.
“You’re right. They just don’t understand our love,” she said, taking his cold hand in hers to reassure him.
Ian didn’t go into Foxford; he knew not to go where he wasn’t wanted.
He preferred spending time in Willow Valley.
The lawless town with no ruling coven was dangerous for both creatures and magless, but it functioned well enough.
If a creature hurt a magless, the Order’s hunters stepped in.
If a magless hurt a creature, then said creature could seek revenge.
Faye often hoped Ian would end up on the wrong side of a hunter, since he’d frequently broken Foxford’s rules.
Unfortunately, he had been relatively well-behaved since working at Clover’s pub.
She wondered if it was because the stakes were higher.
She heard Grams’ voice in the back of her head, her advice to report him to the Order, but shook the thought away.
“I thought tonight we could consider moving to Willow Valley. I’ve been looking at some houses we could afford on my salary from the pub.
Places are much more affordable in the valley.
We wouldn’t have to live in this crumbling mess anymore.
We could start fresh, without those in Foxford sticking their noses in,” Ian said, as if changing where they lived would solve their problems.
The thought of being further from Foxford, of losing the café, turned her stomach.
“What about my job?” Faye asked cautiously.
“There are other cafés. With your talents, you’d be able to get a job in a flash,” Ian said. He’d clearly put a lot of thought into this. She hadn’t expected him to bring up moving.
“We can do some house-hunting, but you know how much I love my garden. We’ve so much privacy out here, the two of us in our little world,” Faye said gently, not wanting to start an argument.
She hated how Ian talked about their cottage, as if she hadn’t done all she could to make it a home over the years.
Faye had thrifted and carefully spent what little they had because he couldn’t keep a job down.
Then no one in Foxford would hire him after it got out that he was feeding on her.
After years of trying to make it their home, it felt like all she had done was decorate her cage.
“I know, but with the gathering coming up, I can’t help but worry about the wolves and others passing through while I’m gone or out at night. I’d never recover if anything happened to you,” Ian said, kissing her hand.
She wondered if the sudden thought of losing her had been brought on by the last feed.
Faye was more afraid of Ian than anything in the woods.
Even though the creatures there seemed wild, they followed a simple rule: leave us alone, and we’ll leave you alone.
Faye had encountered the local werewolf pack on their runs a few times, but they never troubled her because she knew not to enter their territory or get in their way while they hunted.
An idea struck her. “We won’t have time to pack up everything and move before you leave for New Orleans.
How about while you’re gone, I’ll pack, and everything should be ready to go when you get back?
” she offered. Getting into an argument about moving might lead to him not wanting to attend the gathering because he didn’t trust her alone.
If she agreed to move to Willow Valley, she could use it as an excuse to pack more freely.
“Really?” Ian beamed, flashing his pearly white smile as he knelt before her.
“If you’re happy, I’m happy.” Faye nodded.
“We’ll be happy, I promise.” Ian kissed her.
Staring into his hopeful eyes, she thought how once upon a time, she would have believed him.
“I’ll find us a beautiful house with a garden.
” He rested his forehead against hers as he spoke the empty words.
“I hate leaving you to go to work. How about you come with me tonight? We can enjoy the drive and spend some time together.” He jumped to his feet, all giddy, having got his way.
“I’ve been on my feet all day, and I’ve had some wine—” Faye started, but his eyes darkened, silencing her. It didn’t matter that he could run there in minutes; he would make her commute the hour-long drive there and back.
“Don’t you want to spend time with me? We never have any time together since you started taking on more hours at Stoker’s.”
He wouldn’t let go until she gave in. She didn’t want him using this as an excuse to make her give up her job.
“You’re right, and I suppose when we move, the commute won’t be long, and we’ll have more time together,” she said, forcing a smile.
“I hadn’t even thought about that. We should’ve planned this move sooner!” Ian beamed.
The last time he had pushed so hard to get his way, they had moved into their abandoned cottage after the coven had threatened to de-fang Ian if he fed on her again.
“I’ll clean up quickly, and we can get on the road,” Faye told him, putting her plate in the sink.
Ian sat back in his chair, smiling, sure he was forgiven.