Chapter 5: Chapter Four

The ping pong ball that was Darren bounced into Rafinesque Place…No, that’s wrong…Trudged into Rafinesque Place. Hell, he felt like he had just finished doing a two-hour-long show. Exhausted. It was mental and emotional exhaustion that affected his body. How was he supposed to perform at Raw with the damn king always peering over his shoulder hoping to get a piece of his ass? Honestly, Darren didn’t even see himself as being extremely attractive and was confused as fucking ever at the responses he got.

Anyway, Darren entered the basement of the apartment complex and was trying to decide which of his Dorothy Secret bubble baths he was going to use to soak in. It was between Blackberry Forest and Daisy Tart. He smiled thinking about how Blackberry Forest used to drive Daniel crazy leading him to hammer his ass all night. Darren shook his head. That was out. He didn’t need Daniel dragging his drunk ass to bed and trying to hump him with a drunk dick while blood wine drool ran out of his mouth. Ewww…

The sound of laughter and merriment rang from Hema, but that’s not what made Darren stop. It was the voice that trickled through. Looking through the entrance of the bar, he saw Daniel sitting on a stool with a group of people surrounding him. He had a bottle of blood wine in one hand and a glass in the other. He was of course drunk as hell as he tittered on his bar stool and his eyes were glazed over, but what pissed Darren off was that he was smiling and laughing. Not only him, but everybody gathered around him had a goddamned smile on their face and a drink in their hands. Vampires with their slaves and belle and beau sangs who worked there were having the time of their life.

The longer Darren stood there the more pissed off he got. He hadn’t even noticed that he had balled his hands into fists and that his naturally sharp vampire nails were digging into his flesh. Blood squeezed through his fingers and dripped onto the ground and his eyebrows were so furrowed that they were damn near forming a unibrow.

So, Daniel really wasn’t an abusive alcoholic at all. It was just Darren that he directed all his animosity at. Stepping back, Darren closed his eyelids over his aching eyes that were damn near bulging out of their sockets. He couldn’t take it. Not now. How could someone treat strangers better than the person they were supposed to love and with everything they had been through? Darren was his whipping boy.

“I can’t…” Darren said in a shaky voice as he lifted his hand to his mouth.

Darren’s whole form shook and giving his head a shake, he hurried from the basement leaving the howls of delight behind him. Rushing up the stairs and into the lobby, he approached the reception desk. “I need a car,” Darren said in a rush.

The servant looked at Darren with a quizzical expression. His eyes shifted to Darren’s hands on the counter, bleeding and shaking with the tips of his fingers tapping on the wood. “Right away, sir,” the servant responded. “Would you like something for your hands in the meantime?”

“What?” Darren’s eyes dropped to his hands and noticing the blood for the first time he turned them over to examine the palms. The wounds were already closing but yes, the blood was causing a mess. “A towel please?” He sincerely hoped the servant had a towel or cloth so he wouldn’t have to go all the way to the fifty-third floor.

“Right away, sir.” The servant disappeared to the back room and promptly returned with two cloths. After handing them to Darren he jumped on the computer and began the process of summoning a ride for him.

After wrapping the cloths around his hands, Darren pressed them together aiding in stopping the blood flow.

“Would you like a driver to bring you and Mr. Jones’ car around?” the servant asked.

“No!” Darren answered loudly.

The servant stared at him for a moment then nodded. “All right, sir. What type of vehicle do you wish to be chauffeured in?”

“Just a car.”

“Yes, sir.” After the servant typed something into the computer, he made a call. Ending the call, he addressed Darren. “A driver is pulling the car around. A Lincoln Continental. The new model in a classy black finish.”

“Thank you.” Darren nodded.

“If you will make yourself comfortable, I will alert you when the car pulls around.”

Without another word, Darren left the servant and settled on one of the red round sofas. He held one hand in the other and used his thumb to press against the wound on his palm. He could still hear Daniel and his friends. Not as clear as when he was in the basement, but he could make out that he was buying them all another round…with their money. Fucking joint bank account.

Darren just needed to get out of Rafinesque Place. He didn’t know where he was going but one thing was sure, he was sick of running. This whole day had been nothing but tail tucking. What else could he do? He was nothing. A child vampire. It was said that vampires didn’t have souls, but something inside of him hurt. This pain, this sorrow, this gloom…He needed to scream…He wanted to scream…He needed a release…

“Sir, your ride has arrived.” The servant was standing beside Darren.

“Thank you.” Darren stood and rushed toward the exit. He skipped the revolving door and left out the side door. The cool night enveloped him. When was the last time he had been outside?

Waiting for Darren at the car was the driver dressed just like the other servants in the complex. He opened the door for Darren and closed it behind him. “Where to, sir?” the driver asked once seated behind the wheel.

Now that was a damn good question. Looking out the window toward the street at the rushing traffic, Darren wondered how many people were doing the same damn thing as he was doing. Rushing away from their abuser. Damn…He was his mother.

“Just drive,” Darren ordered.

“Yes, sir.” The driver pulled the car away from the curb and cruised down the street.

 

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The ride around New York was a soothing one as Darren people watched through the window of the car. Beautiful shop lights and signage glowed against the night lighting up the street and the faces of the people bustling back and forth. Tucking himself in the corner of the backseat, Darren wrapped his arms around himself and relaxed. A thought struck him. Earlier he had been thinking about going to Central Park. Sitting up, he instructed the servant, “Take me to Central Park.”

“Right away, sir,” the driver replied and altered his course.

It didn’t take long for them to reach Central Park and once the car was parked, Darren instructed the driver to wait for him. After unwinding the bloody cloths from his healed hands, he exited the car. Standing in the cool night air, Darren breathed in. He got the fresh scent of nature but of course, that heightened sense of smell kicked in. Undertones of car exhaust, city life, and other toxic bullshit ruined it. There wasn’t a winning situation when you were a vampire.

Tucking his hands into his coat pockets, Darren started along a lonely path. His destination was the reservoir, and it didn’t take long for him to reach it. Leaning on a rail he observed the twinkling blackness of the water, and a smile came to his lips. He would stay there forever if it were possible. Nothing but him and the reservoir. Complete calm and tranquility. No fucking psychotic boyfriend, no pain, no sadness, no anger, nothing. He closed his eyes and let nature take control of him. He was drifting away in bliss until it was disrupted.

“Jesus Katy, I told you she’s my cousin…What? No…She’s in town for my mother’s birthday…You know that. You’re going to the party too…Katy, stop this shit and let me come home…”

Fuck me. Darren’s mind complained as he opened his eyes. A guy was walking along the path coming toward him. He had his cell phone to his ear and obviously was arguing with a significant other. Darren’s eyes were trained on the man as he moved to the reservoir and stood only a few feet away.

“Fine!” The guy gave up and ended the call.

There wasn’t anything unique about the guy, just your general run-of-the-mill average height early thirties city slicker. However, that didn’t matter as Darren’s stomach clenched. He only had that one mug of blood earlier and hadn’t been able to finish his blood wine at the club. Deep inside his soul, a primal need began to stir.

Now Darren hadn’t hunted since leaving Australia. Why? It was just too much fucking work. Tricking the prey, stalking the prey, the use of seduction…Fuck that. Why go through all that trouble when he could have blood delivered to him? Right now, his refrigerator was stocked with gallons of blood. One thing though. He didn’t want to go home just then. It was time to turn on the charm. Without further ado, Darren made his heartbeat, and his lungs breathe. This little ability allowed him to seem more human, enabling him to capture the prey like weaving a web. Easing up to the man, he asked, “Long day?”

The guy started a bit and swung around to face Darren. After a moment of staring, the guy nodded his head and said, “Y-y-yeah man. It’s cool.”

“Doesn’t seem cool,” Darren spoke in a low tone as he continued to inch closer to the guy. “Relationships can be so difficult, can’t they?”

“Yeah, you got that shit right,” the man agreed, and Darren could sense his alarm slipping away to be replaced by a twinkle of ease. “My girl tossed me out.”

“That’s rough. What for?”

“She found my cousin’s name in my phone and went crazy. You know how chicks can be.” The guy smiled. Darren was getting somewhere as the smile meant he was comfortable.

“Yes, I know, but that’s why I gave up on them a long time ago.”

Darren leaned into the victim and when he looked up their faces were mere inches away. The guy froze and Darren could hear his heartbeat picking up. Confusion now washed through the man and Darren drank it in.

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“Only a man can satisfy another man,” Darren stated in an alluring tone as he brushed his fingertips over the back of the victim’s hand that was grasping the rail.

“I’m…” The guy blinked. “I’m…straight.”

No, you’re fucking dinner. Darren replied in his head. Darren then laughed and it sounded like beautiful chimes in the wind. “I’ve heard that several times before. Trust me, I’m good at what I do.”

As Darren drove the seduction, he sensed intrigue stirring in his victim with desire lingering just behind.

“I’ve never…” the man started.

“Shhh…” Darren placed a finger at the man’s lips and leaning in, he nuzzled against his cheek. Drifting to his ear he whispered, “I’ll show you.” His tongue whipped out with the tip tapping his ear. He felt the man shiver and he grinned. “Come stay with me tonight.” He grasped the man’s hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

“Okay…” The man issued an adorable, tickled laugh like a girl who had been asked out by her crush.

Truth was, Darren hated pursuing and much more preferred to be pursued as long as the pursuer was someone he desired. However, when a person couldn’t tell their stomach from their backbone, shit switched up.

Smiling with triumph, Darren led the man to the car by his hand. He had him on his web and there was no way he was getting out. Reaching the car, the servant was waiting and opened the door for them. He didn’t question the presence of the victim as it wasn’t his place.

“Do you have a name, handsome?” Darren asked once they were in the car.

“Mike,” the victim replied.

“Well, Mike, this is going to be quite the experience.” Darren leaned into the guy and began to trail his fingers up and down his neck along his carotid artery. The pulsing rush of blood was so inviting that Darren wanted to devour him right there. Mike’s blood was pumping hard as he had completely fallen under Darren’s charm. “Take us to the Sterling,” Darren ordered the servant.

“Right away, sir,” the driver replied.

Here’s the deal. Les Lois de Vampires, the laws governing vampire society, dictated that if a vampire killed a human, they must conceal the body at all costs or make it appear as if the human died in another way other than by a vampire. Some vampires could get real fucking creative. Now, if a vampire didn’t want to go through all that shit, they could go to slaughterhouses disguised as hotels. Rooms usually cost between two hundred and three hundred bucks. A vampire could kill a victim in total privacy and afterward, the staff took care of the body. From what Darren understood, the bodies were taken to a crematorium via the tunnels.

“Will it hurt?” Mike asked.

“Pain is the best part of sex,” Darren answered and that was fucking true for him. Honestly, the only time he liked to be roughed up and hit was when he was being fucked. Perhaps it was some twisted daddy issues type shit. Now that was a thought.

Hesitantly, Mike lifted his hand to Darren’s face and touched his cheek. “Y-y-you’re so pretty.”

“I’ve been told that.” Darren smiled and tilting his head down, he captured Mike’s thumb between his lips and sucked on it.

Darren continued to toy with his prey all the way to the Sterling Hotel. By the time they got there, the man was wound so tight that his head was about to pop off. The crotch of his pants was tented with an obvious hard-on. Entering the hotel’s posh and upscale lobby, Darren paid for a room and was handed a key. The servants didn’t bat an eye at Mike’s clear elation. They were completely used to it.

Darren led Mike to the room that was a complete contrast to the lobby. It was plain with a simple bed, a chair, and a sofa. Nothing else. The linen and mattress would be tossed into the cremator along with the body, so why waste money on a fancy set?

Keeping up his charm, Darren pressed his lips to Mike’s timid ones as his fingers removed his outerwear and his top. He then broke the kiss and pushed Mike to the bed. Straddling him, he smiled down at him. Mike didn’t notice it due to his cock throbbing hard and begging for release, but Darren’s smile was darkly devious.

After removing his outerwear and sweater, Darren ran his hands up Mike’s chest. He wasn’t a slim stick like Daniel, but he wasn’t bad either. He was just average. Everything was average about him. He had the boring stereotypical all-American boy next door look that the average female would cream over. It didn’t matter, he was going to die soon.

Leaning down, Darren pressed his lips to Mike’s mouth then swiftly, he changed from soft and sensual to a ravenous beast. Grabbing a handful of Mike’s hair Darren yanked his head to the side causing his carotid artery to bulge as if begging Darren to bite. Latching his mouth onto Mike’s throat, Darren shoved his fangs in and got the rewarding squirt of liquid life in his mouth. Mike’s screams rang in his ears, but he continued to dine. No one in the hotel would come to his aid. It was in a way, a vampire diner.

Contrary to the shit in bullshit vampire movies, it didn’t take a few minutes for a vampire to drain a body. It actually took from forty minutes to an hour depending on the person’s blood volume. Therefore, Darren rested on Mike’s body. When he finally realized that his life was going to end as he could not push Darren’s solid undead form off of him, he stopped screaming and thrashing. He sobbed like they always did.

Eventually, Mike’s sobs turned into pitiful moans until he slipped off into unconsciousness. Darren kept drinking and listening as his heartbeat slowed. Before his heartbeat stopped, he pulled away. The continual drinking of blood after a victim’s heart stopped beating could poison a vampire making them sick. It could even kill them. Blood that was harvested from humans for storage was always taken before the heart stopped beating.

Rolling off the corpse, Darren’s eyes focused on the ceiling. His gut was full, he was sated. Mike’s blood flowed through him, filling him with warmth and life. He could lay there for eternity if life permitted it. However, he would eventually have to return home. Just like his mother always did. After arguing all night and being beaten by his father, his mother would pack him up and they would stay at a hotel, but eventually, they would always return home.

Thoughts of Daniel returned to Darren’s mind, and he closed his eyes. Don’t cry. Don’t cry, he told himself, but it all caved in. Tears slipped from under his eyelids and trickled down the side of his face. He asked God what he had done to deserve this. Yes, even though he was now an abomination in the eyes of the Lord, he still believed in Him. So, he questioned why his life had taken on this turn. Was this a challenge? Was he like Job?

Placing his hands over his face, Darren continued to cry silently. Goddamnit, he loved Daniel so much. One might say more than himself. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe he needed to love himself. Do some fucking soul searching…but…he would only want to do some searching if Daniel was by his side.

Rolling over in the bed, Darren examined Mike. His neck was still bent to the side and the remainder of his blood stained the sheets. He was nothing but a lifeless husk. Even still, Darren reached over and closed his eyes. There wasn’t a real reason why he did that. Perhaps there existed a bit of guilt inside of him. He then wondered if Katy would be distraught when Mike didn’t call her again. He wondered what Daniel would do if he didn’t show up at home. Perhaps the jackass would celebrate.

After wiping his bloodstained lips on the sheets, Darren stood and dressed. He returned to the car and the servant drove him home. With every step he took inside Rafinesque Place, he felt a weight pulling him down. In the elevator, he stood in the corner wanting to sink through the walls. Ding. The elevator stopped on his floor. He inhaled and stepped out.

As Darren walked down the hall, he prayed Daniel was still at Hema living it up. However, when he reached their apartment, he found the door cracked with Daniel’s keys in the lock and his head sticking out the door as he lay on the floor. His eyes were closed, and Darren became alarmed. “Daniel!” Darren shouted as he knelt over him. He could feel that he was still alive, about as alive as a vampire could get, but he was worried that he might have hurt himself.

Running his fingers through Daniel’s hair, Darren searched for a wound or a bump thinking he might have fallen and hit his head. “Christ,” he sighed, not finding an injury. Standing, he gripped Daniel’s long legs and began to drag him into the condominium. He might be skinny but damn he was heavy and strong. One time when they were human, they were playing Australian football and Daniel knocked into him so hard he damned near blacked out. Darren didn’t care much for sports, but Daniel did, and he insisted that he play. Such a fucking bully.

“Heavy bastard,” Darren complained to the dark.

Once he had Daniel inside their condominium, Darren closed and locked the door. As he looked down at his alchie partner, he had half a mind to kick him in the head. However, that love just came right through. He needed to take care of him no matter how stressful their situation was.

Taking Daniel under his arms, Darren dragged him to the living room. With much effort, he managed to tug him onto the couch. He then removed his shoes and set them on the floor. He stood there for a moment enjoying how peaceful his partner looked.

“I love you,” Darren said and placed a kiss on Daniel’s temple. He then lay on the floor beside the couch wanting to be close to him.

Daniel’s arm was dangling from the couch and Darren played with his fingers. Since Daniel was in a drunken slumber, he didn’t fear touching him. Daniel had long slender piano-playing fingers whereas Darren’s fingers were shorter and thick. It was almost childlike how he would lace his fingers with his. No matter what, he couldn’t leave him. Daniel needed him though he was a prick. No one else would take care of him as Darren did.

Throughout the night Darren continued to hold Daniel’s hand. When the sun came up and he died, his hand slipped from his, broken by the dawn. As he slept a single tear slipped from his eye and rolled down his cheek to drop into the carpet. Love was pain. Love was sorrow.

 

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Les Lois de Vampires: French. The Vampiric Laws

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