Chapter Twenty
Charlie
Breaking and Entering
Slinking around the corner into the alleyway, I slump down with my back against the wall, facing Blood Rose. Until five minutes ago, I was a member of the ‘never broken a bone’ club. Fucking bouncer.
Even if I wanted to, I don’t think this bond or tether or whatever it is would let me leave without investigating.
Using my teeth, I tear at my shirt, ripping a strip from the bottom.
My finger hangs limply from my left hand.
This is gonna suck. Bracing myself, I use my good hand to straighten out my finger.
The grinding of the bone is hellish as I try to set it back into place.
The only saving grace is that it feels like a clean snap.
There’s no blood or anything, it’s just limp.
I rest the broken finger against my leg, and take the strip of my shirt to wrap it up tightly.
Hopefully this will stop it from flapping around or getting jostled until I can get it properly looked at.
The tether keeps tugging at me, urging me to get into the building.
“I don’t know what to do. They won’t let me in.” I sigh. Now I sound insane, talking to myself in a dark alleyway.
Kip has turned my life on its head in one week of knowing him.
Before him, I wouldn’t be caught anywhere near a club or bar.
Instead of being out and thinking of ways to break into a building, I’d be at home on Discord playing games with my friends.
Before him, I was content. Or, at least I thought I was?
But some previously hidden part of me has surfaced, and now I find myself craving the danger and mystery.
Right now, there’s no where else I’d rather be.
Okay, well, that’s not entirely accurate.
I’m not all that happy that I’m sitting in an alleyway that stinks of piss, with a broken finger, trying to track down an MIA vampire.
But in general, I like the adventure my life has become.
Although, I would like maybe just one normal day with Kip.
My phone buzzes with a text from one of my oldest friends.
Lukas: no discord 2nite?
Charlie: Sorry, no. I’m busy tonight.
My phone rings. We never call each other, so Lukas must be worried about me.
“What do you mean, you’re busy?” He says in lieu of a greeting.
I get his concern. I’m not a busy type of guy. I’m the guy who stays home unless he’s forced outside by friends.
“Are you at a club or something? I hear music.” Lukas continues when I don’t respond right away.
“Yeah, yeah…I’m uhhh…” Shit. “I’m on a date?” The word date comes out as a squeaky question. Real smooth lie there, Charlie.
“Are you asking me if you’re on a date? Because that sounded like a question.” Lukas snarks.
“No. I am on a date. At a club. So, actually, I stepped away to use the bathroom, but I gotta head back out there. Don’t want him to think I’ve ditched.”
“Hmmm…okay…well, good luck on your date.” I can hear Lukas’ use of air quotes around the word date through the phone.
“Thanks, bye!” I hang up. Sheesh. I am a terrible liar. I’m not usually in situations where it’s required. But if I continue this thing with Kip, which I really want to do, I have a feeling I’m going to have to get used to lying.
The bond pulls, and this time it feels like the tether is pulling me upwards, rather than forwards.
Following the line where I imagine it might be based on how it feels, my eyes track up the wall of Blood Rose and land on a small, slightly opened, window.
“Are you serious?” What do I look like, some type of parkour expert? Does this thing seriously expect me to scale a wall and climb through a window?
I push myself to my feet and cross to the other side of the alley. I can reach the window if I extend my arms all the way above my head.
“Maybe I should take some personal training sessions with Kip.”
My arms strain, and my broken finger screams, as I try to pull myself up towards the window. My feet scrabble at the brick wall, trying to find purchase, but I’m not strong enough to haul myself up the side of a building. Go figure. Even if my finger wasn’t broken, I don’t think I could do this.
I huff, dropping back down to my feet. “Any other ideas, mystical tether?”
As if it can hear me, it tugs me further down the alley, towards the back of the building. I’m really starting to think this thing is at least somewhat sentient.
“Alright, fine. But what happens when I can’t get into this building tonight? Are you going to make me sleep outside? Not let me leave until I can get inside?”
I don’t know why I keep talking to this thing, it’s not like it can verbally respond to me. Begrudgingly, I trudge down the alley. When I reach the back of the building, I see that there’s a staff entrance, as well as a dumpster.
“Really? You want me to wait with the trash? What am I gonna do, wait for an employee to come out and follow them back in?”
The bond leads me behind the dumpster.
“That’s exactly what you want me to do, huh?” Fucking supernatural magic shit.
I lean against the wall, hidden behind the dumpster, and wait.
It actually takes less time than I was anticipating before the back door swings open, and a staff person hauling two trash bags comes out. Luckily, or maybe it’s magically, one of the trash bags the guy is carrying splits on the bottom, spilling trash all over the back alley.
“Fuccckkkk!” He whines.
This is my chance. The back door is wedged open, and he’s distracted trying to clean up the spilled garbage.
Feeling like I’m on secret mission, I sneak along the brick wall towards the door.
Making sure the staff person is still distracted, I pull open the back door enough to slink inside.
Now here’s where I might be making a dick move.
See, I don’t want him to finish up too quickly and follow me back inside.
I don’t want to get caught now that I’m finally inside Blood Rose.
So…I may accidentally tap the wedge that’s holding the door open with my foot until it’s outside, and the door clicks shut behind me, locking the guy outside.
Oops. Sorry? Honestly, I’m not all that sorry.
I know, I’m kind of an asshole, but what are you gonna do about it?
At least I’m an asshole with a cause. I’m a lawful asshole, if you will.
Unless you count me sneaking in through the back entrance of a club as unlawful, in which case I probably lean more neutral.
Definitely not chaotic though…at least not usually.
Tiptoeing down the thankfully empty hallway, I pause at different doors, listening, but hearing nothing. I’m sure most of the staff are up front, seeing as the club is now open. The bond leads me further down the hall, but then abruptly stops me in front of a door on the right side of the hall.
Casting a furtive glance both ways down the hall, I turn back to the door and try the knob. Huh, unlocked. Well, that’s surprising, but I’m not going to complain.
The door opens to a darkened set of stone steps.
It smells damp and musty wherever they lead, and a chill rises from down below.
A sense of foreboding falls over me. It feels like I’m about to walk into a crypt, but the bond tells me to keep going.
Despite my misgivings, I toe my way down the steps, using my phone as a flashlight.
The only sound I hear down here is the dripping of water from somewhere deeper below.
No breathing, no talking, no signs of life.
As I sink deeper below the club, I start to wonder if I should be following this tether.
I might have given it too much trust. I mean, I don’t even really know what it is, or where it came from.
I’m just assuming that it has something to do with my bond to Kip, but I have no real evidence either way.
But, I’m already here, and something inside of me is saying that Kip might be in danger. That he might need me. I’ve never been an intuitive person before now, so it has to mean something that alarms are blaring in my head telling me to keep going.
I finally reach the bottom, and when I turn back to look at where I came from, all I see is darkness swallowing the steps.
I inhale shakily, but force myself to continue.
In front of me is another door. It seems odd, to have a door at the top of the stairs and another at the bottom.
Then again, this whole scenario seems odd to me.
I try the doorhandle, but it won’t budge. Why leave the top door unlocked but then lock this one? I rattle it, hoping that maybe it’s jammed instead of locked, but don’t have any luck.
“Hello?” I hear a muffled voice call to me from the other side of the locked door.
I debate on responding. What if this is a trap, or what if this is someone who works here and they realize I’m trespassing?
“Tyson? Is that you, man? Please, I’m cold. And it’s so dark. You know I don’t like the dark.”
Wait, is that…
“Kip?” I whisper, pressing my ear against the door to hear better.
I hear a huff. “Of course it’s Kip, you dickhead. You’re the one who got me locked up in here.”
“No…I didn’t…what?”
“If you’re here to play games with me, you might as well leave. I’m so over all of this, Tys.”
“No, I’m not Tyson. It’s…I’m Charlie.”
There’s a pause, and then I hear shuffling and some type of clinking sound.
“Charlie? Is it really you? Or are you just messing with me.”
“It’s me. What’s going on, Kip?”
A sigh. “You shouldn’t be here, Charlie. It’s not safe. If they find you here…I don’t know what they’ll do.”
“Who?”
“Tyson and…well, I can’t remember. But there’s someone else. I did something bad, and now I’m being punished. I have to prove that I can control myself. And I promise I’m trying, and I’ll get out of here. But you have to leave sweetheart, you aren’t safe here.”
I roll my forehead against the door. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I think I hear the click of a throat swallowing, followed by a deep inhale.
“I almost hurt a client, at the gym. I think it was earlier today, but I’m not sure how long I’ve been in here.
She…she fell and cut her head and I…I couldn’t control myself.
Tyson had to restrain me. And until I can prove that I won’t hurt anyone in bloodlust, I have to stay here. ”
“What? Kip…I’m so sorry. That’s not who you are.”
He takes a minute to respond. “Isn’t it though? I mean…I attacked you once too. That’s what vampires do.”
“I mean, yeah, but you didn’t mean it. It was your instincts kicking in.” I try to reassure him. “It was scary, but I know it wasn’t really you. Just like you wouldn’t purposefully try to hurt a client.”
“Even if I didn’t mean to, I still hurt you. And I tried to hurt Allie.” Kip sniffles. “It makes sense that I’m in here. I deserve to be.”
My heart hurts at his dejected tone. “How long until you’re free?” I hedge.
“I have a month to get myself under control otherwise I’ll…they’ll…” A choked sob. “They’ll deal with me.”
“You’re going to get out of here, baby. I promise. I’ll break you out if I have to.”
“No, no. Please, Charlie. If I don’t succeed, then I don’t deserve to be out in the world anyway. I don’t want to hurt people. And I wanted to hurt Allie. Badly. I wanted to rip into her skin and drain her fucking dry. I couldn’t stop.”
“But…I can’t just leave you here…” I feel the heat of tears welling in my eyes.
“You can, and you will.” Kip says firmly.
“You don’t understand, I don’t think the bond will let me. It led me here, and wouldn’t let me do anything else until I found you. Not only that, but I don’t want to leave you here. You said it’s cold, and dark. I can’t leave you like this.”
I slide down the door, sitting cross legged in front of it with my head leaned back against the solid, cold steel.
“The fated bond. She said…she said it would grow stronger…” He sounds like he’s pacing now, back and forth inside the room.
“Who said that?”
“I don’t know! I can’t remember. I think someone else was here but I…I’m not sure…”
“So, I’m not crazy then? There really is something between us? Something more?” Relief floods me. “It isn’t only me?”
“No…I feel it too, sweetheart. I know you want to help me, but there’s nothing you can do. I promise, as soon as I’m out of here, I’ll come back to you, okay? But for now, please go. Please, I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“But how will I know that you’re okay?” And what if Kip is stuck here for more than a month? What does it mean that he’ll be dealt with? What if he never comes back, and then I’ll never know what happened?
“Tyson knows I’m here. He’s helping me learn control. I’ll ask him to keep you updated, as long as you promise to leave and not come back.”
I don’t fucking trust Tyson. He’s a prick. “He lied to me today, you know. I asked him about you, told you I was worried. You know what he said? He said you were ignoring me on purpose, because you didn’t want anything to do with me. He told me to give up.”
“Why would he do that? Charlie, you know that’s not true, right?
I made a mistake before, when I ghosted you.
But that’s not what’s happening this time.
I’ll talk to him, okay? I know this is hard, and you’re worried and maybe scared.
I promise, I’m trying my hardest to get out of here.
But, I can’t do that and worry about you too.
So, I need you to swear that you’ll leave and forget about me for a little bit.
Go back to your normal life, and if I get out of here, and you still want to do this with me, we’ll give it a shot, okay? ”
“You’re going to get out of here, Kip. I won’t come back, I swear, but I’m not going to forget about you. In fact, I have a feeling that Tyson and I are about to become best buds.”
With a heavy heart, I stand up. I press my palm to the door for a beat, before heading back up the stairs. This time, knowing where Kip is, and that he’s okay (for now), the bond lets me go.