Page 29 of Bleed

“All finished, ma’am,” one of the movers announces, and I turn to see both of them standing side by side near the door with their hands folded, awaiting further instruction. My gaze drifts around the room, finding that everything’s already unpacked, the boxes broken down.

Damn, these guys work fast.

Then again, they didn’t have much to work with in the first place.

“Thanks,” I murmur awkwardly, not really sure what else to say to people who just unpacked my entire life in under twenty minutes.

“I’ll walk you out,” Albert tells them, glancing back at me as he starts toward the door. “I’ve gotta run, but go ahead and get settled in. Doc should be down after sunset.”

“Cool,” I reply casually.

They all file out, and I trail after the group automatically, unsure what to do with myself. One of them hits the elevator button, and we all wait in silence until it arrives with a soft chime.

“I’ll see you around,” Albert says as he steps inside with the relocation guys.

“See ya,” I reply, wiggling my fingers.

The doors slide shut, and just like that, they’re gone. The elevator hums softly as it descends, the sound fading farther and farther away until there's nothing left but deafening silence.

The vibe in the penthouse immediately shifts, the whole place suddenly feeling different. It’s too big, too empty, too quiet. I feel smaller than I ever have before, swallowed whole by all the open space and endless fucking windows.

I cross slowly toward the glass wall overlooking the city, wrapping my arms around myself as I stare down at the traffic crawling far below. Trying to distract my mind, because there’s nothing I hate more than being all alone like this.

Well technically, Dr. Faulkner’s sleeping somewhere upstairs, but that almost makes the solitude worse. Because now I can’t stop thinking about him lurking up there, waiting to pounce at any moment.

The silence presses harder against my ears until it feels like I’m trapped in a tomb. Maybe I’ll get used to it eventually– being alone, existing in the quiet.

But standing there, staring out at the skyline with only my pounding heartbeat for company, I’m not entirely convinced.

Chapter

Eight

I’m nothing if not resourceful, so of course I found a way to pass the time while waiting for Dr. Faulkner to crawl out of his coffin.

First, I took a bath in the giant tub. Then I flopped around in the ridiculously comfy bed for a while, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think too hard about the fact I’m now living with a vampire. After that, I remembered Albert’s tour included an entire room dedicated to housing the doctor’s wine collection, so naturally I took the liberty of sampling a few bottles.

The first one I opened tasted awful.

The second was a little better.

The third was just right, and I’ve drained almost the entire thing by myself.

It took me a solid half hour to figure out the TV remote, but now I’ve got some trashy reality show blaring at full volume, the echo of the contestants’ voices filling the massive living room. Between the wine and the background noise, I’ve almost tricked my brain into forgetting I’m alone here.

Or maybe I’m just drunk.

Either way, I’m a hell of a lot more relaxed than I was when Albert left, so I’m taking it as a win.

I poached a couple throw blankets from the lounge and built myself a nice little nest on the couch. I’m cocooned beneath them, warm and content and halfway to passing out, when the distinct sensation of being watched prickles across the back of my neck.

I turn my head, nearly jumping out of my skin when I find a whole ass man standing directly behind me.

“Jesus fuck!” I shriek, launching myself off the couch and clapping a hand against my chest. “Where the hell did you come from?”

Dr. Faulkner tilts his head, blinking at me from behind the lenses of his black-framed glasses. “Upstairs,” he replies simply.

“No, I mean… I know, but…” I sputter, my heart pounding beneath my palm. “You can’t just sneak up on someone like that!”