Chapter 24
There was something wet in Raven’s face. His still asleep mind, in an attempt to make sense of it, reacted with alarm, wondering if he’d left a window open, and if it had started raining during the night.
“Uh. What…what?!”
Raven found himself face to face with Umeboshi, who sat and watched him when Raven turned on his back, finally letting up with the licking and focusing his dark eyes on him.
“Are you kidding me? You slobbered all over my face.”
Ume made his whining noises. Raven groaned.
“Food or walkies, huh? Just let me wash this off first. Seriously.”
Ume didn’t move, so Raven had to roll all the way to the other side of the bed to get up.
Ume kept watching him, and while Raven had no idea how to read a dog, the canine looked excited.
The faint daylight Raven could see behind the heavy curtains was probably to blame for that. How long did I sleep?
Umeboshi jumped off the bed just as Raven turned on the lights in the bathroom and was about to go inside. The brightness made him flinch and fail to keep Ume out.
“Seriously? Come on. I thought cats followed people to the toilet.”
Ume huffed, sniffed the air, and looked on critically as Raven went to the sink, turned on the water, and washed his face with lots of soap. Smells of green apple. I didn’t notice that before.
It came back to him harshly then—the showering, the way the steaming water hadn’t been enough. He pulled away from that, focusing on the dog slobber on his face.
Even if the light still blinded him, Raven felt clearer, and Umeboshi’s presence made him concentrate on getting ready, getting dressed.
He found a sweater and a pair of jeans in his bag, and pulled on both.
Do I unpack? I guess I should unpack. He looked around the room, taking more of it in than he had yesterday.
Something in him had calmed, or been able to rest at least. That’s a pretty big closet, he thought, looking at the large piece of furniture that took up most of the wall opposite his bed.
Uncertain, but with Umeboshi sitting there and looking at him expectantly, Raven picked up the bag, quickly straightened everything inside, and put it in the closet as it was.
It looked ridiculous, that old duffel on the spotless white shelf.
The shelf might never have been used, that’s how pristine it was, so much like the rest of the room.
Raven closed the closet, and with Ume in the leading, he pushed his door open all the way.
The penthouse too was bright, but now that he’d slept, Raven could adjust to it easier. I’d still prefer it to be overcast, but what can you do about the sun? It shines, whether you want it to or not.
Umeboshi yipped and ran toward the couch just a heartbeat before Raven realized Maxim was sitting there, his back turned.
“It’s you again. Well?” The dog jumped up onto the couch, and it looked as if Maxim was giving him scratches.
“Morning,” Raven said.
Maxim turned and smiled at Raven. “Top of the day to you. I told this one to wake you.”
Raven scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, he did. With his tongue.”
Maxim’s eyes widened, and his attention went back to Ume. “Did you? Aren’t you a smart dog? Very good dog. You shall have a treat.”
Raven frowned. “He slobbered all over me.”
“Yes. Very, very good dog, Ume.”
Raven stood halfway between the couch and the little coffee and tea counter, suddenly unsure what to do or how to act. He spotted the notebook from yesterday on the coffee table, several pens lined up neatly alongside it. This is surreal. Am I really supposed to be here?
“Uh…”
Maxim stood and rounded the couch. He was wearing black jeans, a white tee, and a big beige knit cardigan that was open in the front. Raven couldn’t help but notice how much that suited him, the soft knitting patterns mirroring the braid his hair was still in.
“Blood or coffee? You’ll have to decide. I’ve found they don’t mix too well.”
“I… Okay?”
Maxim put a hand on his hip. “Are you thirsty?”
Raven nodded. “My mouth’s kind of dry.”
“Right. Blood, then. I can have breakfast brought up, or we can head downstairs. Which would you prefer?”
Raven looked around. This place is really big. It looks bigger than yesterday, which is irrational. When he considered going down in the elevator though, the very thought made him feel tired. His gaze came to rest on the notebook.
“Can we…? Up here, if you don’t mind. But I think Umeboshi needs a walk.”
“Hardly. Jason took him out before he left to attend his classes. He said to tell you to text if you’d like to hang out. Let me text the kitchen.” Maxim pulled out his phone and typed a quick message.
Raven frowned. “Right. That was nice of him.”
Maxim chuckled. “Oh, very. He tried getting the leash Heath ordered on canny Ume here without waking you in the process. It was fifteen minutes well worth watching.”
Raven swayed from one foot to the other. “He got Ume to wear a leash?”
Maxim tsked. “Obviously not, but the attempt was ever so heroic. Especially with Clement giving advice on how to capture Ume. Come sit while we wait.”
Raven nodded and made his way to the couch. It was a big couch, and when Maxim sat back down, there was a lot of real estate to choose from. Raven wasn’t exactly sure why he couldn’t right then.
The notebook though. It sat there on the table, somehow brighter than the rest of the room, searing almost. He bit his lip and grabbed it hurriedly, and the pens along with it.
“I’ll just put this away.”
Maxim hummed in agreement, but Raven barely noticed. He clutched the notebook to his chest and hurried back to his room. To the guest room. The curtains still being drawn made it feel cozy in there, to a point, the seeds of familiarity having taken root.
Raven looked around the room. There was a small desk by the white window, a detail he could easily make out despite the soothing gloom, but he decided to put the notebook and the rainbow of pens in the closet instead, placing them behind the duffel where he’d always know to find them but where they couldn’t easily be seen.
He stood there for a while, quiet all around him with just Maxim back in the living room, telling Ume he was a good dog. He heard the elevator coming before the doors opened with a ping, a voice he didn’t recognize greeting Maxim as they dropped off the blood.
Raven didn’t move for any of that, he just stood there, staring at his things sitting on that single shelf.
What was it Maxim said? Just get up and do one thing after another?
It helped that he was thirsty, and whether he imagined it or whether it was real, Raven thought he could smell the rich scent of blood, so different from the way he’d experienced it before.
In the end he closed the door and went back out to the light-flooded penthouse. He sat on the corner of the couch, close to Maxim but not too close. Ume immediately took that as his signal to jump over Maxim and plop into Raven’s lap.
Maxim clicked his tongue. “Won’t even stay by my side for the treats. Plain favoritism.”
He handed Raven a thermos, and Raven took it wordlessly, glad Maxim didn’t seem to mind. After the first big mouthful, he sipped it slowly while Maxim went back to a novel he’d been reading, a science fiction series Raven had heard of but never read himself.
As he sipped, he wondered about a vampire such as Maxim enjoying spaceships and lasers, different worlds and aliens. He wasn’t sure if it fit or not, but he decided he’d give the novel a try as well.
Maybe I can ask to borrow his copy when he’s done with it?
Raven liked that idea, and he glanced at the cover on and off, wondering what story was able to hold Maxim’s attention like that.