Chapter 5 : Sandwiches and Stalkers

Blair’s POV

What time is it? Is it morning? Afternoon?

I don’t really know.

I don’t really care.

It doesn’t feel real. It feels like a dream. Every bit of the night before has to be a dream, right? Something that happened in a dream and now, for one reason or another, the fact that I am staring at the ceiling with my eyes open is a part of it.

Dry and tired, I try blinking to brush off the feeling.

I roll over on my couch and pull my blanket off my body. After what happened last night, I could not, for the life of me, go back to my bed. All I could think about was how I had tied Raven to the headboard and how he kept readjusting on the mattress. It was a tad lumpy, but I had no alternative given the circumstances.

I glance over at my room. The light is still on. The sheets are still on them, even though they are a little bloody from my vampiric visitor.

There was no way that was real.

I close my eyes and see those pale green orbs staring back at me.

No!

I open my eyes and bring my hands to my face, trying now to rub away the mental image by digging my knuckles into my eyelids. Tears form, moistening them ever so slightly, but not nearly enough to chase away the exhaustion plaguing them at the moment.

With reluctance, I force myself upright and stare at the bloody spot on the floor that I didn’t bother cleaning up from the night before.

Maybe it wasn’t actually there. Maybe it is still part of my dream. Maybe it is part of some kind of exhaustion trip. I have been working a lot of double shifts. Was it all a dream? A hallucination?

I force myself to stand, feeling the way my feet ache and protest from spending too many hours rushing around hospital halls, and shuffle into the kitchen. I glance at the refrigerator and think about that delightful snack that I never ate the night before when I got home.

For some reason, an image of Raven’s scarred chest comes to mind as well as a flashing image of him on the bed.

No!

Not that kind of snack!

I nearly yank the cabinet door off as I pull it open and rummage around before snagging the coffee grounds out from behind the tea packets I snatched from the hospital waiting room. The coffee brews quietly as I retrieve my phone and see that I have a few missed messages from my best friend Mia. I swipe open my phone, punch in the password, and read her messages.

Mia: Hey girl hey! Imma have the day off and wanted to know if you could hang out. I know your schedule is crazy busy, but let’s chill if you have a sec.

Mia: I’ll be at our fav sandwich shop until two. Going shopping after.

I smile and snag a semi-clean mug from the dish rack and pour myself a cup of coffee, adding non-dairy powdered creamer that is super flammable and sugar. I do have the day off, so going and seeing her would probably be one of those good things to do as a friend. Then again… am I even awake to make these plans?

I bring the cup to my lips and take a sip, immediately ripping the cup away from my lips and spilling part of it on the counter.

Shit!

Yep!

Nope!

I’m awake. Not a dream! I just stayed up all night thinking about Raven the vampire who I brought home and saved.

Fuck.

Okay. At least now I know.

I toss a few ice cubes into my drink and decide that I need to look semi-presentable, even for my friend Mia. Best friends don’t usually have to get dolled up to see each other, but she’ll call me out for looking like a hobo if I show up like this.

I shower in record time, drink my coffee while I shave, and put on the minimum amount of makeup to cover the purple circles forming under my eyes. The laundry will have to wait.

Within an hour, I am out of the door and walking to the bus stop to go and see Mia. I make sure to send her a quick message as I get onto the bus, holding my breath for the first few seconds to save myself from inhaling the scent of dirty socks and the potheads residual smoke.

Mia texts back immediately, ecstatic as usual, and says she’s holding a seat for the both of us.

After about thirty minutes, I arrive after a bit of walking to see Mia sitting directly in the sunlight. Yikes! It is so bright out here! Her bright blue eyes spot me immediately and she waves like an enthusiastic four-year-old kid. Her short brown hair is even in pigtails on the top of her head, making it look like pom poms are sitting on her head.

“Blair!” Mia stands immediately and rushes to me, giving me a hug. She already has our sandwiches on the table as well as some kind of fruity punch drink which I pray is caffeinated.

“You went ahead and ordered?” I ask. Mia nods enthusiastically, prancing back to our seats and sitting like Marisa Tomei in “My Uncle Vinny” when she was on the stands, hands folded on top of one another as they rest on the table.

“Better believe it, sweetheart. I know you like the palm of my hand,” she smiles. This much is true. If anyone knew me, it was Mia. “So? What’s new with you? We haven’t caught up in a hot minute.”

I unwrap the sandwich and take a sip of the drink before replying.

“Nothing too crazy. Working a lot of double shifts,” I mutter before taking another drink of the lemonade, which is bright and sweet.

“I can tell. You’ve got those raccoon circles under your eyes. I swear, who taught you how to take care of yourself? It’s not okay to treat your body like this. You’re going to gray early at this rate,” says Mia.

I chuckle and run my fingers through my own hair. “Not that you’d be able to tell with this mess,” I mumble.

“Seriously, darlin’, you need to get out and see the sun more. You’re getting a bit pasty. Why not go out during the day? Go on a date? Speaking of which! Have you managed to save any cuties who asked for your number?” Mia asks. For one reason or another, she is obsessed with my love life.

An image of Raven once again flashes before my eyes. I feel my cheeks burn hot pink and I quickly take a sip of my drink, using the water sweat on the edge of the cup to wipe up my face. Instantly, I can tell Mia picks up on my subconscious tells and leans forward.

“There is a guy!” she says eagerly. “What’s his name? How was he hurt? Do you know how old he is? What does he look like?”

The rapid-fire questions feel like a word machine gun, one blow after the next assaulting my ears. I find myself leaning back to put some distance between us.

“Woah, easy. I… okay… I was thinking about one patient, but I didn’t get any of his information,” I say.

“You cannot leave me with absolutely no details like that. Come on! Spill! Or I’m taking back the sandwich!” At this, Mia lunges forward, snatches the partially unwrapped sandwich, and yanks it away from the table. Lettuce spills onto the ground, but the look in her eye tells me she will not relent until I give her something.

“Fine! Fine! Just leave the lunch meat out of this. It didn’t do anything to you,” I giggle. “Definitely taller than me. Pale green eyes. He’s got this mop of black hair that kind of falls into his eyes. He could probably clean up really nice, but he was in really rough shape last night.”

“You mean you didn’t get his number? You give me these juicy details and don’t even have a name or number?” demands Mia, tone on the verge of whining.

I think about all of the things that I am not telling her. How I found him bleeding in the streets. How I dragged him into my apartment only to play operation on him as he lunged at me, fangs bared. The fact he is a freaking vampire.

Instead, I provide his name and hope this will satiate her desire for information. “I do know his name is Raven.”

“Ooohhhh! I like it!” grins Mia, shimmying her shoulders as she sets the sandwich back onto the table, slinging a tomato onto the floor. “Whoops. Sorry. But! How exciting! You have to track this guy down and get his number. He sounds like your type.”

“I have a type?” I chuckle as I clean up after Mia.

“Better believe it, sunshine, and he fits the bill,” she replies. “Hey! Let’s go pick out some new clothes. Maybe you’ll decide to go walking around during the day and see him in some really cute sundress you’re going to buy today.”

I grin to myself and nod, not telling Mia that the chance of me seeing a vampire out and about during the day is impossible.

“Sure,” I reply. “Why not?”

Mia claps her hands, again reminding me of an overexcited toddler before we both finish up our lunch and head off to the stores. She picks out some cute dresses and I even let her pick out a sunflower romper for me. She ends up picking out a few things for herself, but the focus seems to be on me and this mysterious man whose life I saved.

I remind her throughout the day that Raven isn’t the only guy who I have saved in my career as a nurse, but she merely glosses over that little detail and continues to ask for descriptions about him. What did his injuries look like? Was he muscular? How did I feel when I stared into his green eyes?

The whole time, I keep certain details about Raven a secret. I don’t tell her about him being a vampire. Is it out of respect for him? Or is it because I know Mia would have a hard time believing me? She probably would think that I got hit in the head or was being symbolic in my description of him.

The day waxes and wanes and, finally, it is time to go home. Mia tells me that we need to do this again sometime and that I really should go and get some sleep, which is the first really good suggestion she gave me all day.

I am completely and utterly spent, eyes barely able to stay open as I walk back along the streets with my bags hooked on my arm. I keep my keys laced in between my fingers as I walk down the road and my pepper spray hidden in the hand carrying the bags.

I walk for maybe ten minutes on my own when, out of nowhere, I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. A shiver sprints down my spine. Every part of me feels electrified. In the distance, I see a light flash and hear distant, rumbling thunder.

I need to get home quickly!

I speed up, daring to cross the road in a couple of dangerous spots than I would have liked. Sadly, the feeling that I have isn’t going away. It isn’t for another five minutes that I realize what that feeling is—I am being watched.

I’ve felt it a hundred times at school and at the hospital. Why didn’t I recognize it sooner?

Cautiously, I look around and even use my phone to glance around corners.

Nothing.

I feel like I’m losing my mind, just another paranoid person roaming the streets, when I hear a light thump from high above me.

I look up instinctually and barely suppress a gasp of shock. Jaw slackening, I gaze up and glimpse a pair of green eyes contrasted with the darkening gray sky. With a bright flash of light, they dip back onto the rooftop. It is five floors up, looming over the edge like a prowling animal.

Those eyes.

Is that Raven?

Is he following me?

My heart is trying to escape my body from my throat as I stare at the same spot for a few moments.

Is… is Raven keeping true to his word? Does this have something to do with the life debt? Or is he hunting me?

I do not want to stay and figure it out.

I rush back, jogging the rest of the way, until I make it back to my apartment. The entire way, I swear I keep hearing light thumps and glimpsing a shadowy figure running along the rooftops. Once I make it back, the feeling of being watched leaves. The sigh of relief is a mechanical one as I shuffle off to my room, change out the sheets which I should have done yesterday, and crash down onto my bed for a well-deserved deep sleep.

But, even as I close my eyes, I see Raven’s eyes in the darkness behind my eyelids. I don’t know what it is about them, but I find myself soothed and eventually drift off to sleep.