Chapter 7: Night Life

Like every other night this week, Kal met Devin in their favorite spot. Or at least that's what she decided to call it. It was a quiet rooftop that overlooked the main street. As soon as the sun set, they'd meet up, people-watch, and talk for a while. She'd started looking forward to seeing him.

When she arrived, he was waiting, sitting on the roof's edge, his feet dangling over the edge. The sun had just set, but the ever-present humidity lingered. It must have rained maybe an hour ago.

"You look hungry." Devin turned to face her as she took a seat next to him.

She woke up hungry; she went to bed hungry. She tried not to think about it. "I'm always hungry." 

"It doesn't get any better." 

"That's comforting," she sighed.

He smiled. It was strangely genuine. He always kept his distance for all the time they'd met here and talked. Like someone you see at work, but only at work. Suddenly, his expression got dark, a from tugging the corners of his lips. "Last night. That was risky."

She'd been caught. Kal turned her eyes to the ground and pressed her fingers together. Her voice caught slightly as she replied. "You…you followed me?"

"I promised to help and I know his safety is important to you." Devin played with the gold band on his left hand. 

Kal paused for a moment thinking. Sure he could have stopped her if she were still on the balcony. "You wouldn't have been invited in."

"I don't need to be invited in." Devin smirked, a bit of menace in his words. 

"What do you mean!?" It didn't make sense to her. She could feel the push of a threshold before being invited. How could it be different for him?

Devin stood before walking away. "Nevermind." He shrugged and paused for a minute before adding. "Anyway it worked out."

Kal hopped up, excited to hear the slight praise. She ran up behind him. "Right. I did good."

He was silent, not adding anything else that could be taken as acknowledgement. Who knew if the results would be the same were she to pay her brother another visit. Kal still had a lot to learn.

"Maybe we could go downtown." She leaned close, her eyes pleading. It could be fun to do something different.

"I'm not sure that's a great idea," Devin shook his head.

"Have a little confidence." She took his hands in her own.

"Okay, I'm confident it's a bad idea." He pulled away.

"If you're with me, what could go wrong?" She jumped to her feet.

He was quiet for a second as he thought about the possible scenarios. "Fine. It could be a good test." 

Kal was surprised that he agreed so quickly. She nodded. Easy stuff. 

---

The goal was to be around people and not give in to her hunger. She'd never really liked crowds when she was human, so she looked for a place that wasn't too crowded. There was a small bar that was maybe just far enough away from the universities.

Walking through the door, the scent of every person inside assaulted her. She'd barely noticed her hunger until now, but it was overwhelming. She couldn't think. To make matters worse, the music and the voices were so loud. She could hear conversations on the other side of the room—so many voices. I can't focus.

Devin was watching. The way she looked around. Her gaze shifted from one person to the next. Kal froze. She crushed her hands to her ears; the noise was pressing in. Nearby some people turned to stare.

It was annoying, the way they judged. She wanted them to stop. Thought about making them stop. How quickly she could move through the crowd. She was being pulled to a corner of the room.

"Focus on me." Devin's voice was calm, his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to meet his eyes. So gentle. 

"Take a deep breath. In through your mouth," he whispered. "And out."

Kal realized she hadn't been breathing. She drew in a breath, held it, then exhaled. Closing her eyes, she could still hear them talking. About her. She wanted to look. Devin's voice was softer, forcing her to concentrate on hearing him.

"Ignore them. Continue breathing. In."

She took a breath.

"And out."

She exhaled, following along as instructed. In and out. All her focus on this small corner. She felt calm, in control.

"I'm okay now," She whispered.

He smiled, taking his hands away from her face. She looked to the floor.

He's so calm while I'm - just - out of control. Kal was embarrassed.

"It's okay. You're doing fine," Devin touched Kal's chin gently, raising her eyes to meet his.

"Fine is not how I would describe that." She rolled her eyes.

"It's all about learning what to focus on."

Kal nodded. It was easy to focus on him. The sound of his voice, his gentle breathing. The cool touch of his hands on her skin. How very not human he was, even though he was so good at pretending. 

"But sometimes you'll be alone," he continued. "You'll want to concentrate on anything that isn't human. The light dancing on the wall, the soft rhythm of the music."

"The leaves outside?" She asked.

"Anything," he replied.

She listened to the sound of the palm trees brushing against the building. The rough scratching as they moved back and forth. Pictured them gently swaying. It helped. She lost track of how long they stood there, silently, listening.

"That's enough for tonight. Let's get some fresh air." He said.

She nodded. There were so many people between them and the door. She was nervous about crossing the room. In their corner, they had been alone. 

"You'll be fine. I'll be with you the whole time," he said.

She looked at the door, which was not that far away. She could do it. Taking a deep breath, Kal made her way to the exit. Devin was right behind her, his fingers lightly brushing her palm. Not quite holding her hand, but present.

Easy. 

The crowd at the door was thick. It was hard to get out. She couldn't feel Devin's hand anymore. Kal looked behind her and didn't see him. They'd been separated. She needed to get outside. Panicking, she turned to walk out the door when someone walking in slammed their shoulder into her arm. Kal shook it off and continued outside.

"What's your problem." The angry female voice was very close.

Kal focused on the trees. She could see them from here. Closing her eyes, she kept her breathing steady. 

"You ran into me," Kal said flatly.

"You owe me an apology!" The angry woman screeched.

Kal wasn't going to apologize. Instead, she walked away and ignored the angry woman, pretending she wasn't there. The woman continued to follow. A man trailing behind encouraged the woman's behavior. 

Kal didn't see Devin anywhere. Where did he go? She turned to look back at the door. The woman was right there, so close Kal could feel the heat of her skin. 

They were about the same height, the woman's face inches away. Her curly, burgundy hair bounced as she moved her body with her words. She repeated the same phrase repeatedly like a record caught in a loop. The skinny man Kal assumed was her friend; maybe her boyfriend was nodding behind her.

"Please go away." Kal walked farther from the building. 

They followed around a corner, out of public view. The lack of an audience meant a lack of consequences. The angry woman grew bolder. As Kal turned to look behind her again, the woman's fist connected with her face.

Kal couldn't believe it. So caught up thinking she'd been wronged, this woman followed her away from the crowd to get revenge. And instead of being a good friend, he was encouraging her.

The punch wasn't hard enough to hurt. It was, however, enough to break Kal's focus. To shift to the sound of her heart racing, excited by the fight. The scent of too much perfume. Underneath that, her blood.

She wants a fight. 

The woman swung again. This time Kal grabbed her fist and twisted it behind her back. Not hard enough to break anything. The woman tried to kick backward but connected with nothing. 

Long, white fingers wrapped around the woman's throat. Devin won't know. 

The friend who had been watching ran forward, eager to participate in an unfair fight. He changed his mind when he got a good look at the vampire's face, tripping over himself in an attempt to get away. Kal pressed her fangs against the woman's neck, enjoying the resistance as they pushed against her skin. She bit hard, allowing the blood to flow into her mouth. Then, ignoring everything around her, she drank greedily.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Devin said.

Kal looked up. Devin looked disappointed. The woman's friend was standing behind him, calm and spaced out. 

"She started it." Kal wiped at the blood on her lips.

"And you finished it," Devin replied.

He wasn't wrong. Kal had let her emotions get the best of her. Released from the vampire's grip, the injured woman stumbled forward into Devin's arms. He forced her to look into his eyes.

"Forget you saw us. You were injured in a bar fight. Broken bottle." He instructed. 

The woman stared at him blankly. Then she blinked a few times, nodded, and stumbled backward. 

"You should get her to a hospital," Devin said to the woman's friend. The guy nodded before both humans made their way to the parking lot.

"We're going home," Devin said coldly.

Kal followed silently.