Chapter 7 #3
The tour continues in a blur of luxury– a gigantic bathroom, a home gym with equipment I wouldn’t know how to use if my life depended on it, a fully-stocked wine cellar, and a home theater with reclining leather seats.
Each room somehow feels more expensive than the last, every one flawlessly designed.
Albert chatters the entire time, pointing out features and making sarcastic little comments while I absorb approximately none of the information because my brain’s too busy trying to process that rich people apparently live like this all the time.
Eventually, he leads me back through the sprawling kitchen and living room and down the opposite hallway. Several guest rooms line the corridor, their doors standing partially open as we pass. Albert finally comes to a stop at the last one.
“This one’s yours,” he says, gesturing dramatically toward the doorway. “Ladies first.”
I step past him, entering the room to find the relocation team already hard at work inside.
One guy carries hangers full of clothes toward a walk-in closet that’s literally the size of my old bedroom, another arranging my cheap little trinkets across the sleek dresser and matching nightstands like they actually belong there. The whole scene is fucking surreal.
It takes me a second to even register the scale of the place, my eager eyes drinking in every detail.
The bed is massive, layered in crisp white bedding.
The furniture is all sharp lines and soft neutral colors, modern in that intimidatingly expensive way that reminds me of upscale hotel suites.
Not that I’ve ever actually stayed in one.
But I’ve taken enough Bite engagements in downtown hotels to recognize the vibe, and this room has it.
I slowly turn in place as I take everything in, something dangerously close to excitement bubbling low in my stomach.
A massive soaker tub is visible through the open en-suite doorway, and I try not to drool as I stare at it longingly, belatedly realizing that Albert’s watching me with thinly-veiled amusement.
“Nice, right?” he asks, wagging his brows.
I immediately school my expression into something cooler and far less doe-eyed idiot, shrugging noncommittally. “It’ll do.”
Understatement of the century.
This place is a goddamn palace, and the second I’m left alone, I fully intend to lie starfish in the center of that bed, test out the bathtub, and maybe cry a little over the endless closet space.
“Well, that concludes the tour, then,” Albert sighs. “Unless you have any questions.”
One very obvious question immediately comes to mind. “What about upstairs?”
He gives a small shake of his head. “That’s Doc’s domain,” he mumbles, averting his gaze. “He’ll give you the lay of the land up there.”
“When?” I ask, too curious.
“Probably when he wakes up.”
A tiny thread of nervous energy winds through my stomach at the reminder that a vampire’s sleeping somewhere above me.
I nod slowly. “Is your room upstairs, too?”
“Oh, I don’t live here,” he replies with a soft chuckle. “Most of what I do is virtual. Scheduling, organization, that kinda thing. You’ll probably only see me when Doc needs me to draw your blood.”
“Oh,” I reply, a little disappointed.
Albert picks up on my tone, his mouth twitching. “Aww,” he coos. “You’re gonna miss me.”
“Don’t ruin it,” I mutter.
He grins smugly.
“All finished, ma’am,” one of the movers announces, and I turn to see both of them standing side by side near the door with their hands folded, awaiting further instruction. My gaze drifts around the room, finding that everything’s already unpacked, the boxes broken down.
Damn, these guys work fast.
Then again, they didn’t have much to work with in the first place.
“Thanks,” I murmur awkwardly, not really sure what else to say to people who just unpacked my entire life in under twenty minutes.
“I’ll walk you out,” Albert tells them, glancing back at me as he starts toward the door. “I’ve gotta run, but go ahead and get settled in. Doc should be down after sunset.”
“Cool,” I reply casually.
They all file out, and I trail after the group automatically, unsure what to do with myself. One of them hits the elevator button, and we all wait in silence until it arrives with a soft chime.
“I’ll see you around,” Albert says as he steps inside with the relocation guys.
“See ya,” I reply, wiggling my fingers.
The doors slide shut, and just like that, they’re gone. The elevator hums softly as it descends, the sound fading farther and farther away until there's nothing left but deafening silence.
The vibe in the penthouse immediately shifts, the whole place suddenly feeling different. It’s too big, too empty, too quiet. I feel smaller than I ever have before, swallowed whole by all the open space and endless fucking windows.
I cross slowly toward the glass wall overlooking the city, wrapping my arms around myself as I stare down at the traffic crawling far below. Trying to distract my mind, because there’s nothing I hate more than being all alone like this.
Well technically, Dr. Faulkner’s sleeping somewhere upstairs, but that almost makes the solitude worse. Because now I can’t stop thinking about him lurking up there, waiting to pounce at any moment.
The silence presses harder against my ears until it feels like I’m trapped in a tomb. Maybe I’ll get used to it eventually– being alone, existing in the quiet.
But standing there, staring out at the skyline with only my pounding heartbeat for company, I’m not entirely convinced.