1. One
One
Kimberly
*Three months earlier*
Keep your eyes on me.
Reciting Aaron’s words in my head, I studied the wood grain of the bar. My foot tapped on the barstool beneath me, and I picked the dirt from under my nails for what had to be the fifth time in ten minutes. Aaron sat at the front of the bar, with Presley in the only window seat. The streetlight from outside and the glowing blue neon above them illuminated the tops of their heads. I couldn’t see Aaron’s face or his eyes, only the shadow shielding him from me.
Dive bars were the easiest to sneak into. Mostly because Presley and Aaron were naturals at distracting the ID checker. As I sipped my beer, I hoped I’d be able to tolerate the smell of mildew and smoke for longer than an hour.
“Well, hello.” A group of guys, who couldn’t have been much older than me, made their way to sit. They shed their large puffy coats and scarves and dropped them to the ground and over their stools.
“Were you waiting on someone?”
The guy was forward. That would make it easy. His dark hair and eyes reminded me of William. Only, he didn’t have the same charm William possessed in our first meeting.
“No.” I smiled, tucking my hair behind my ear. “No one.”
He smiled a toothy, wicked smile and leaned back to whisper something to one of his friends. I glanced over at Aaron, but all I could make out were his clenched hands on the table and Presley tucking his head to say something. I wasn’t any good at any of it yet. Focusing on the sound and using my improved vision was an overload on my already taxed brain.
“What’s your name?”
“Chelsea.” I picked the first name that came to mind.
My old life was gone. But I often thought of Chelsea and wondered how everything had played out for her. I’d sent my letter and hoped she’d gotten it. It was strange being dead to the world I’d once called home. I could never return.
“I’m Jared,” he said.
Jared was a talker. He couldn’t pull himself from me all night. The more shots he and his friends took, the more handsy he got. It started with a soft brush of his hand and turned into an arm around my shoulder. Every minute felt like an eternity. It was too loud. The voices were a throbbing jumble in my skull with the music coming from the jukebox, and that didn’t count the noise of normal human function. Like laughing, chewing, or dropping glasses. The roar of cars driving by or the crash of balls on the pool table set me on edge. I had to grip the trim of the bar to stop from flinching—and that was just one sense. The stench of cigarettes ate away at the last bit of sanity I had, and the karaoke machine had lights that constantly flickered.
I dropped cash on the bar for my tab, chugged the rest of my beer, then said my goodbyes. Heading out of the bar, I didn’t glance at the boys when I passed them. The click of my heeled boots echoed on the concrete as I tugged my jacket over my shoulders. A chill ran up my spine, but I didn’t shiver. I wasn’t always the bait. Presley was better at it. He got the job done faster and was more personable. Aaron on the other hand . . .
I slowed my pace to give them time to catch up. The bar was in a secluded part of town, and the lack of people around was ideal for what we needed. Even with all the right variables, it was never a guarantee that they’d follow. Sometimes we’d have to wait in an alley for the drunkest ones at close.
The doorbell rang, and Jared called out, “Hey, wait! Where are you going?”
I looked back expecting to see just one, but they all followed me. Perfect.
As I turned into the alleyway without a sound, Jared was hot on my heels.
“Do you need help?” His tone was sincere, but he grabbed my arm. “Wait.”
The alcohol on his breath overwhelmed my senses. He was too close to me, backing me into the wall as two shadows emerged in the moonlight, and our plan commenced.
I yanked Jared by his hood and sank my teeth into his neck. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Feeding was logical, and I’d done it many times. I could think myself through it pretty easily by counting to a certain number and letting go. That was that. The euphoria I got from drinking blood was nowhere near as strong as the nagging of my own brain and its need for control.
There were only the sounds of struggle and muffled yelling as I drank. The boys had found their marks too. We’d formed a routine that had gotten better every time. The first time, we forgot about the screaming and had to run.
Suddenly, Aaron pulled the guy from my grasp and sank his teeth into his neck.
“Aaron, don’t.” I tried to pry him off, but he wasn’t budging. His eyes were black and filled with rage as he shoved him against the wall.
“Presley, help me!”
It took both of us to pull them apart. Jared’s heart hammered against his ribs. He’d need an ambulance. I tore off a piece of my jacket to hold pressure on his neck and motioned for Presley to hold it.
Aaron wasn’t coming back to himself. His eyes were pure obsidian, and he stood still with rigid shaking shoulders.
“Aaron, you’re in control. It’s okay.” I grabbed his face in my hands. “Fight it.”
I turned to Presley. “Go get someone in the bar to call 911.”
“But—”
“Please, go!”
I ran my hands through the length of Aaron’s hair. “Come back to me. You can do this. I know you can.”
There was something caged behind his irises, tearing its way through. He was like this now. Untamed, with his thirst unquenchable.
“It’s okay.” I placed his hand over my heart and mine onto his. “We can fix this. It will be okay.”
Finally, his eyes softened and melted into pools of golden chocolate.
“Shit. I’m sorry. I tried. I’m trying,” he said. His eyes widened upon seeing a very pale Jared on the ground.
“It’s okay. They’ll be fine. But we have to go.”
“Wait, what?” he said.
I grabbed his hand, and we ran out of the alley, and Presley followed us as we made our escape.