Page 16 of Grotesque

T wo days later and the nanny cams were installed and running.

There had been no trace of the vampire since his last visit.

A wave of disappointment hit me when four days rolled by without any sign of him, in person or on the footage.

The only thing I learned was that I tossed in my sleep a lot, but there was no strange man creeping into my home, much less my bed, at night.

The more time he spent away the more anxious I grew. Perhaps the cameras were enough to deter him.

It wasn’t that I wanted him to come back: I was on edge, flinching at every sound.

Yet a darker part of me was slick with anticipation.

Fear did not outweigh the memory of how hard he had made me come.

The sweep of his tongue between my legs was a visceral memory that had haunted me every night since the event.

By day five I was at my wits end, so I drove into town to get some distance. It was a good thing that he hadn’t returned. It wasn’t normal to crave the attention of a stalker. It wasn’t sane.

As I pulled into a parking space by the water my stomach dropped. This was the early stages of the Macky madness. It had to be. I lowered my forehead to the steering wheel, banging it gently a few times in an attempt to knock some sense into myself.

Absentmindedly I made my way through a couple of Bristol’s boutiques.

I didn’t wear the type of clothes they sold here.

They were too modest and dull-colored, covered in ruffles and bows, much more traditional than what we wore in Miami.

Then again, I supposed my style would need a complete overall from flashy bikinis and shorts.

I looked down at myself, the jeans I was currently wearing were one of only two pairs that I owned.

I made mental notes of a few pieces that weren’t totally hideous and planned to come back for them when my allowance came in at the end of the month.

I did, however, allow myself the purchase of a book from Wicks and Pages , a candle shop and bookstore in one, that even offered wine while you shopped.

The blurb promised a dark romance about a vampire hunting a woman on the streets of New Orleans, whose obsession with her begins to override his thirst for her blood.

A quick search of reviews online varied from “Keep a vibrator on hand” to “This book and its author are seriously messed up”.

I had my priorities straight obviously. Maybe it could even give me a little insight into my current situation.

Ha, I really was losing it.

I nestled in a leather chair in the back of the store to finish my glass of wine. The book was shockingly good, and I only made it through five pages before realizing it was going to be an instant favorite.

Somewhere at the front of the shop the bell rang, and gruff voices broke through the cozy silence.

“Come on, it’ll be real quick. Books fix everything,” one of the guys said.

“You don’t even know what it’s called.” My ears perked up. That one sounded vaguely familiar.

“So? I know it has a castle on the front and that it’s some new fairy smut or whatever. Fuck man, I don’t know how women get away with reading this shit, but men get thrown under the bus for watching porn. The double standard bullshit gets to me.”

A low chuckle came from the second man as they moved in my direction. That laugh I definitely recognized. Quint.

We had traded a few texts here and there but truthfully, I wasn’t invested in keeping the conversation going when I had so many other things occupying my mind.

“Yeah, it’s bullshit.” Quint sounded disinterested.

I was putting my book away to greet him when I heard the first guy say my name. “So how’s it going with that Sorcha chick? You fuck her yet?”

I froze, holding the book suspended between my lap and the bag I was sliding it into.

“Uh, not yet.” It sounded like Quint said something else, but it was muffled.

“Why not? She’s fucking hot.”

“And you’re with my sister,” Quint said, his tone gaining an edge of annoyance. “You shouldn’t be calling anyone hot.”

“Whatever. Where the fuck… ah, fantasy section’s over there. So, why haven’t you closed the deal yet, bro?”

My heart was pounding, that they were right behind me. I pulled my book out casually and shifted so that my back would be to them if they came around the corner.

“She’s new and still getting adjusted to the area. I’m taking my time getting to know her.”

“Since when have you ever taken the time to get to know someone?” There was a slight pause and the thump of books as they were pulled off the shelf and slid back into place. “There’s something else. What is it?”

Quint sighed and with it my heart dropped. “I think she’s crazy.”

It was like all the saliva in my mouth dried up with those four words. Nausea twisted in my stomach at the same time as my hands dampened.

“Oh, she’s a freak?” The first guy snickered.

Quint chuckled too. “I don’t know, maybe. She’s Maxine’s granddaughter.”

“Oh shit. You serious?”

“Yeah. She had me stay over the other night because she thinks a monster broke into her house. She called me crying and everything.”

The audacity! I didn’t make him stay over; the asshole offered.

He told me his own story of the horned man.

My stomach twisted again. It had been a ploy to get close to me, and I’d been an idiot for not realizing.

I didn’t catch whatever they said next because my blood was roaring in my ears, drowning out all other sound.

I’d gone from being embarrassed to fuming.

I knew for a fact I wasn’t crazy, I had the marks to prove it. I hadn’t imagined anyone coming into my house, it had been real.

The sound of a book being slapped snapped my attention back into place. “Yes! This is it!”

“Cool. Now let’s get to Henry’s, we’re going to be late,” Quint said.

Their footsteps started to recede. I stuffed the book in my bag and downed the rest of my wine. I followed them down the aisle. I had no idea what I was going to say if I confronted Quint, but I knew for damn sure I was going to let him know I had heard every single word he said.

“The crazy ones are always the best in bed. Just fuck her once and then drop her. Might as well.” The man, it was the same one I had met at the bar my second night in town who’d commented on my tattoo.

Jeremy! “Text her. See if she wants to come to Henry’s party.

” Jeremy nudged Quint’s denim clad shoulder.

“I know she’s your sister, but Katelyn–”

“That’s enough,” Quint snapped. “This chick is actually crazy, and I don’t want to hear you talk like that about my sister.”

The saleswoman flashed a big smile at the men when Jeremy tossed the book on the counter.

Everything I wanted to say died on my tongue. I twisted the wine glass in my hand and walked up next to them, pausing next to Quint and sliding my glass across to her. “Thank you,” I said sweetly.

The air took on a charged quality the moment I felt Quint’s attention fall on me. I didn’t deign to look at him. He saw me, and it was enough. It was enough to know that he knew I had heard him and that I was pissed.

“Oh shit,” Jeremy half whispered half laughed.

“Sorcha,” Quint stammered, but I was already walking out the door.

The bell clanged a second time as someone rushed out behind me. I lengthened my stride when I heard Quint running to catch up.

“Sorcha,” he said and reached for my elbow.

I turned on my heel. “Yes?” Remain aloof and disinterested. Don’t let him see that you’re hurt or angry. Indifference, I found, was an effective trigger that pissed most men off.

“Hey, um—” he looked from me to somewhere over my head and back again, “—you just walked right out without saying anything.”

I cocked my head. “Was I supposed to?”

Quint’s brow furrowed, the lines around his mouth tightening.

“I heard everything you said about me, so I don’t think there’s anything left for us to talk about,” I clarified. I turned away abruptly, planning on making a beeline for my car, which was six blocks up.

He cursed under his breath before following. “I didn’t mean any of that.”

I laughed. “You’re right, I probably imagined that whole conversation. Crazy Sorcha .” I made a mocking gesture with my hands.

“I was trying to get Jeremy off my back,” he pleaded. “You know I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“I just caught you talking shit about me. Ever heard of integrity? I uprooted my entire life to come out here and I’ve had nothing but problems since. You seemed like a good thing, but I was wrong.” I walked faster, trying to outpace him, but his legs were much longer than mine.

Quint rounded in front of me, effectively taking up every inch of the sidewalk with his broad stance. “I’m sorry, Sorcha. I swear I didn’t mean it. Some friends of mine are having a party tonight, why don’t you come with me and I can make it up to you? Let me prove I didn’t mean any of it.”

“So I can continue to be the butt of your jokes? I don’t think so.”

“If you knew Jeremy you would understand. Sometimes you just have to say whatever to make him happy, so he’ll shut up.”

“And that makes it ok?”

“No, it doesn’t and that’s why I’m trying to apologize.”

I was so full of rage at this point I was seeing red.

I bent down and rolled up the cuff my pants and thrust my ankle out, revealing where bruising in the clear shape of a handprint marked me.

I jerked the collar of my shirt to the side in another quick motion, flashing the bite mark, that was healing slowly.

“Proof that I’m not crazy, you asshole.”

Quint’s eyes widened. “What is that? Who did that?”

I stomped my foot back on the concrete. A sharp pain radiated up my shin, making me clench my jaw. “Who do you think?”

He lowered his voice. “He attacked you? When? Why didn’t you call me? Did you call the cops?”

I scoffed in an attempt to force back the tears burning behind my eyes. “Don’t look so concerned, Quint. Lying doesn’t look good on you.”

A slow breath escaped his flared nostrils and he ran a hand through his hair. His tongue darted between his lips as he mulled over what to say next, but eventually, he just settled on looking into my eyes, his expression defeated.

This time when I walked away from him, he didn’t try to stop me. I tried to ignore the fact that he was still standing in the place I’d left him on the sidewalk when I drove past. I didn’t dare look at my phone in case he’d texted me as a last-ditch effort.

By the time the iron gates of Glamis Manor rose before me, I was awash with so many emotions I didn’t know which to tackle first. Anger had wedged itself in my side like an iron poker, stoking the heat of my indignation as Quint and Jeremy’s conversation replayed in my head.

Guilt was next to wound me, when I thought of what I had allowed the stranger to do to my body.

Maybe I was a little crazy. No one in their right mind would have permitted that. I told myself I hadn’t fought back because I was worried for Quint (fuck him) but truthfully, I hadn’t wanted to fight. The monster in the shadows had called to me and I had answered willingly.

Somewhere beneath the flurry of emotion, fear still lurked. I was terrified of being alone. But I wasn’t sure what scared me more: that the monster would pay me another visit, or that he was gone for good.

I grabbed a glass and bottle of wine to join me and my new book in bed for the evening.Whatever came from tonight, I wouldn’t be awake to deal with it for much longer.