**Ch 314: Beating Heart [R-18]

[Viewer Discretion Is Advised]

Four days have gone by since that incident with Tyler occurred.

"Back from playing hooky, I see." Rebecca struts into Professor Mark's research center, as if she owned the place.

Of course, I lied to her while I was setting up the supplies around the posters. "I haven't been feeling well."

"Must be hard to carry triplets," she remarks with a snarky attitude.

"It has its challenges," I say, cutting a sheet of brown paper I'm going to use for a crust layer.

"Orlando told me you spoke to him," Rebecca's voice contorted sour, and I was rather stunned to learn he was still talking to her.

"You guys are still seeing each other?" I outwardly blurted without completely meaning to. I wish my question would have stayed in my head.

Being exceedingly nasty with me, Rebecca's eyes narrowed at me across the table. "Of course," she mocked. "Which brings up my point about you trying to steal him from me."

"Huh?" I was downright flabbergasted by what she accused me of doing.

Rebecca rolled her eyes before she looked around to be sure everyone was working instead of paying attention to us.

"You don't fool me," she snarled. "Just because Kai isn't satisfied with you. Doesn't give you the right to take my man."

"Do you hear yourself?" I almost bellowed too loudly as we scowled each other down. I'm surprised no one looked over at us towards the back.

"Keep it up, Victoria, and Orlando won't be the only man I take from you," she threatened. "I know very well I can have your husband wrapped around my finger too."

"You're more shallow than a puddle of muddy water," I insult her with the truth. If she isn't careful, Kai will end her.

Rebecca lazily shrugged her shoulders with her callousness toward me. "We know you're just jealous because I'm staying fit and pretty while you're getting fat."

I couldn't even say another word to her because of how disreputable she is. Her remarks are always derogatory towards me. So I focused on my map and was out of there once the class ended. Thank goodness the remainder of the day had ended fairly fast for a bad start. At least that's what I thought until I noticed Rebecca walking towards me, while I was heading to my car to leave.

"What now?" I stopped in the parking lot to ask her.

"Your lucky Professor Mark asked me to give you this." She retorted, handing me a zip-lock baggie that had the materials I was using for the project, were stored in it. I grabbed my poster, but had forgotten the supplies I needed to work on it this weekend since it's Friday today.

"Thanks."

I grabbed the baggie, and then I started to put my handbag and whatever else into the backseat of my car as I heard Rebecca's high heel boots tapping behind me.

"What do you want now?" I slammed the car door before confronting her.

"Oh, nothing at all. I'm waiting for Orlando to meet me here for our date tonight," she replied, being rather showy and smug. Her contumelious behavior is only directed at me to rile me up for her entertainment.

"Have fun waiting." I say it like I wasn't even fazed, and she glowered at me with her scornful gaze. Her mouth parted to speak as horror paled my flesh white. Right behind her back from the windy breeze, Rex emerged.

"You—"

One word escaped her scarlet-painted lips right when Rex shoved his arm into her chest from behind her back. Blood was saturating her clothes from over his forearm, sticking out of her chest. And her beating heart is held in his palm.

Still alive, the horror on her face was bleach white as her skin tone flushed sickly pale. That last bit of life withered from her eyes as Rex pulled his arm out of her chest. She was alive long enough to register the gaping bloody hole in her chest. With a loud bone-cracking thud, her body flies to the pavement. She was dead while her heart was still fluttering with life. Before her heart would stop pulsating, Rex brought the still-beating heart to his mouth, and then he crunched his fangs into her heart like an apple. Chills crawled up my backbone to watch him take one bite after another until he devoured her heart whole. Bloody tissues of flesh and smeared blood covered his entire mouth, but he didn't mind. Instead, he is far too busy licking and sucking his bloody-stained fingers clean as if he had eaten his favorite sardine. Such a wicked smile twisted up into a grin that shaped his lips. One grin I shall never forget is that very grin Rex had deformed on his bloody mouth. Worse than a nightmare, Rex's grin is far more disturbing than the clown "It" had painted on his face. Those intimidating red eyes of his will forever scar me for life. The way his eyes stared at me was bone-chilling enough for my soul to leave my body. Over anything I've considered terrifying, this was a real psychotic vampire hunting me. Far worse than me once thinking he was a serial killer stalking me.

"Next time I see you, you'll be mine," he warned before he vanished like he was never there.

Minus the chilly wind, everything was dead still. Rebecca's body was laying sideways in a puddle of her blood. Her wide eyes on her face stared into my soul. She still expressed the same horror whenever she realized her heart was not in her chest before she finally died.

"Somebody call the cops!" a woman screamed to find me and Rebecca's bloody body.

Police were at the scene in less than fifteen minutes. Yellow caution tape was set up to keep the crowd back. News reporters came flooding in for the next hot story. There were many voices and clamoring confused chats as to what occurred. Rebecca's body was stuffed into a body bag before the ambulance took off with her. Over the past five minutes, the cops asked me countless questions, but I couldn't talk. My jaw would move, but nothing would come out.

"Will have to take you into custody," the cop told me after cuffing my hands behind my back.

"Why am I being arrested?" My stuttering voice finally allowed me to speak as he led me to the patrol car.

"It's for your safety," he replied, pushing me into the car, and then he shut the door. Sirens blared into the sky as the car drove off. After I noticed Orlando and my friends saw me in the back seat of the patrol car, I lowered my head toward my lap from embarrassment.