7. The Hunt

Juliet

Even if we could manage human food and liquids, vampires needed blood to survive. At least once a month, or we would start to deteriorate and then die. That was for sustaining vampires. Young ones like me needed to eat every week, and my father obviously decided that it should be that night.

Louis broke our gaze. His eyes darted to my dad.

“Yeah?” Louis’s eyes came back to mine… “What do you think?”

It wasn’t like it was my call or anything. Why would he want me to agree? Tilting my head to the side, I thought about it. Hunting was a stressful situation, and me not having abilities put a lot of pressure on my parents. We’ve had some close calls. It would be great if he could join us. I looked at my dad and wondered why my father trusted this specific vampire slash stranger so much. I sighed. No one told me anything anyway. Which irritated me so much. It was the hierarchy of the vampire world. Children were supposed to follow their parents’ ways and listen to them. It was also culture not to ask too many questions. Both waited for me to answer. They were being weird.

I indulged them. “I think it’s a really good idea… having someone else there.” My dad clapped his hands once, loudly.

“The only reason I wanted you to agree is that having a stranger seeing you kill someone is different than your parents helping,” Louis said.

Thankful for his clarification. It made me think of Chris. Would he be okay with me killing people to survive? I had to concede that his reaction could go either way and if he didn't like it, what then? Realizing how stupid I was, putting him in danger like that. I was more foolish thinking that Chris would ever go hunting with me.

Worried and spacing out again, my dad and Louis kept the conversation going. Taking the last sip of his water Louis handed me the empty glass, bringing me back to the present. I took it into the scullery, putting it down in the sink.

The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.” Louis and my dad were still talking about the organization of the hunt and stuff that I knew nothing about, so I just left. A scrawny-looking kid was waiting on the other side of the gate with his hands in his pockets. Fidgeting and edgy, looking over his shoulder. He saw me, “Sup, Jules?” I smiled, happy to see him. I could smell the drugs on him. I stepped back to take the key off the hook behind the door. My back collided with Louis’s chest. Louis put his hand over the key.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.

“Nothing, just checking what you’re doing.” I frowned and made a low snort sound. “Okay?” I looked at Jerome staring at Louis through the bars.

“This your guy, Jules?” I snorted again, louder.

“Just hand me the package!” I said, clipped.

Not wanting to give Jerome too much attention. He passed the envelope through one of the openings between the bars. Louis jolted past me and grabbed the envelope from him.

“Get lost!” Louis barked.

Jerome was intrigued by the new guy and answered by chewing on his gum louder than before. A smile played at the corner of his mouth. His jaw moved none stop.

“Money is in the same place.”

He waved as he backtracked and left. I turned, closing the door.

Louis was looking down at me, suddenly tall and imposing. I stared him down. “If you can’t handle me taking a package from another kid through the gate at my house… you should probably not come with later.”

He ignored me and leaned past me, and shut the door.

“Sheesh.” I contested.

While opening the envelope, he kept staring at me. I didn’t mind. Louis’s eyes were beautiful. His big lips were tempting. He smirked, took out the sheet of paper, and scanned it. I relaxed and breathed. Mysterious and… I couldn’t find another word for him yet. Didn’t know him well enough. Had enough experience with vampires knowing that some of them could get paranoid as they grew older. Some going entirely off the rails. Louis seemed grounded. Had to trust my parents. I was shocked as he handed me the paper. For the first time in my life, I could read what the sheet said.

There was a photo of a woman. A mug shot. Hair a mess, bloodshot red eyes. I read on. Jenny McMullen. Nineteen years old. Living in a city a few hours’ drive from there. I wasn’t looking forward to the trip. Always made me crazy. Louis’s eyes stayed on me. Personal information: Homeless, living on the streets in some community on the south side of the valley. This was obviously our target for the evening. It would be easy then.

There was nothing else on it. Just some more pictures that were attached on the back. I took them off, removing the paperclip. It was plain to see that she was a loner going through the photos.

In one, she was being beaten up by a guy. The same clothes she had on in the mug shot. A partner or even a regular for a prostitute had caused problems in the past. They reported them missing. The risk was worth taking. Holding out his hand, Louis asked for the paper and photos. Chris’s face flashed before me when he handed me the quotation I had yet to talk to my father about. I didn’t need to reach far. Louis was still really close to me. Just like when we were hand in hand earlier. He seemed familiar, and it didn’t bother me as our fingers brushed. Not at all how I tried not to touch Chris earlier. There was no comparison to how I felt when Chris’s hand ran down my arm. I was invisible, but the look on Chris’s face was something I wanted to see again.

Louis flicked me on the forehead. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“You need to be more careful when you open the door. You don’t have the strength yet. How will you fight off someone, even as small as Jerome?”

I sighed. “My parents take me for self-defense classes. I have become stronger and would be able to take on Jerome. I hope I can take care of myself.”

He flicked me again. “Ouch! What the hell, Louis! Are you, my brother? I said to make yourself at home, not take over.”

He wanted to flick me again. I was too quick and slapped his hand away.

He paused. “Do I look like your brother?” He said with intensity stepping closer to me. Mysterious and Intense. Add that to my Louis list.

“Mom, did you have another child somewhere?!”

The smile reached his ears. He wanted to flick me again. I slapped his hand away so hard that his arm flung sideways. Ticked off, I brushed past him hitting him with my shoulder.

“Stop treating me like your sister.”

He grabbed my wrist. I gasped. “I need to see how far I can push you. How long before you manifest?”

I didn’t say anything at first but then sighed and smiled. “You don’t want to see that. Trust me. It’s not pretty.”

“Do you think I look good when I manifest?”

I gave a burst of laughter. He smiled from ear to ear. “You have a really easy smile,” I said.

His big smile turned from amusement into a smirk. “Oh, don’t get full of yourself.”

“Okay! Children.” A voice said from the couch where I left my mom earlier. “Let’s get ready and be in the car in ten.”

Louis dropped the arm he was holding onto. I jumped into the air, clapping my hands. Louis was stunned and took a step back. “What was that?”

“She’s going to get into her hunting outfit.” My mom said, shaking her head. I was already gone and closing my room door when I heard their voices drumming again. If I really tried, I would be able to listen to what they were saying, but I was too focused on getting ready. All black again. Black jeans. Black stretchy top. Black leather jacket. And proper old-school doc martins. Combing my hands through my hair, I ruffled it in front of the mirror, teasing it a bit. Putting on some lip gloss, I grabbed my bag and tossed the stick back onto my bed, trying to do everything at once. Would I get the reaction I had hoped for from Louis? I smirked a few moments later when I saw him staring.

“Don’t get too full of yourself,” he said smiling, giving me two thumbs up.

I had to admit he was fun. So, mysterious, intense, and fun.

The drive there was tedious like always. My nerves were shot, and thinking about the girl made me jittery. I felt like Jerome. I realized why my parents never wanted to include me. Knowing the victim’s information made it all too real. Having such good human friends, how could it not bother my conscience? If any of my friends were to find out who and what I was… I don’t really know what would happen.

My arm was resting by my side halfway on my lap. Louis slapped me softly on the leather with the back of the hand. My other arm held my head as I spaced out into the scenery outside.

“Do you want to challenge me?” He waved his phone in the air.

I shook my head, gazing from him back out the window. For some reason… That night… My whole world was tumbling down around me. Growing up sucked. I felt a warmth in my hand. Louis slid his into mine on my lap. I didn’t flinch away. I needed the touch. It felt like I was holding onto a lifeline. My fingers curled around his so fast and tight. For the first time in a long time, I was not okay with being a vampire. Louis being one was reassuring… For some reason, I hoped that he would never go away. Guiltily I glanced at him. His eyes were closed, leaning back against the headrest. Was I just using him? Why did his touch feel so different from Chris’s or Marcus’s? I gazed down at our hands and back at him. His lips taunted me to kiss him. The darkness of the car and the music playing all seemed to work against my baser instincts. My emotions were in overdrive that night. Seemed like Louis knew it was different having someone else there except your parents. His eyes slowly opened. They rested on my mouth… as if he would welcome it.

I couldn't keep eye contact with him. I was a wuss when it came to men. Knew what I wanted but had no idea how to get it… And I was stupid, why would Louis like me... My father’s gaze in the rear-view mirror caught my attention. He chuckled.

“Would this be a good time to ask everyone to forgive me because I’m only human?” I quipped.

My dad smiled and kept his eyes on the road. “Who am I to judge?” My dad said softly. Louis squeezed my hand. Mine responded naturally… It had been a long time since a boy had wanted to just hold my hand. “We understand, honey,” my dad comforted. “Even now, after so much time. It never gets easier. It might seem that we have it all together. But we don’t.”