Chapter 4 - A Bundle Of Nerves (1/2)
Esme escaped the luxurious nightclub and turned to walk down the road, pulling her hood over her face before placing her hands in her pockets nonchalantly. She could tell the security guards, along with other curious eyes, were still watching her. But she kept her composure and continued to walk down the street of designer shops and expensive-looking restaurants and bars.
It wasn't until she walked for another ten minutes that she heaved a sigh of relief. Esme's clenched hands relaxed in her pockets, revealing how sweaty they had become; she gulped and sat down on a bench, momentarily covering her face as she stared down at the pavement through the gaps of her fingers.
”What in the.. Esme!? What were you thinking? You could have just dropped him off outside!” Isana finally spoke; she was almost hyperventilating. Esme knew Isana had been very close to 'taking the reins' to her body and getting them the hell out of that nightclub. But Esme was grateful her wolf placed her trust in her handling the situation.
It was probably the riskiest thing they'd done in a while, but as soon as Esme saw the nightclub, a plan formed in her mind. She helped a vampire who seemed to be quite high up in the vampire hierarchy and now, on closer inspection, was a boss to a swanky bar/ nightclub, and Esme was in need of a job.
”Nope! Absolutely not!” Her wolf instantly disagreed.
”I think it's a great plan-”
”I think you've finally lost it. How would it work?! They hate you; we hate them!” Isana exclaimed her disagreement.
”It's probably the safest place to be. Who would ever think to search for a werewolf at a vampire bar?” Esme smiled mischievously as she stood back up again, her chest felt light, and her footsteps almost danced across the pavement to a happy tune only she could hear.
It was the perfect cover, and even if she was found, which she thought was highly unlikely, then there were buses and trains she could take. Everything would be fine, she could keep her backpack safely with her, and if she needed a quick escape, nobody would miss her. Niko probably guessed she was a rogue and wouldn't care if she suddenly stopped showing up.
”You.. you have a death wish! You literally just faked all that bravado! I mean, yeah, we could take a few of them on but come on! You know what, I don't think he will let you work there anyway, it's not good for business. It's not good for …” Isana continued to ramble on and on, listing all the reasons why working at ONYX would be a bad idea. All the while, Esme ignored it and let her voice become background noise as she continued to head home.
The whole time she walked down the streets of Chester, Esme had been on high alert for hunters roaming the city. She felt uneasy but then reminded herself they'd be looking for vampires, not a lone wolf. Isana had slowly begun to go quiet, and her distress by working at ONYX became a minuscule issue compared to the humans who hunted beings like her.
But Esme returned to her apartment without any more issues. She closed the door behind her, bolting it shut aggressively. The four locks on the door made her feel a little better, though they wouldn't do much against a werewolf's strength. At that thought, Esme stole a glance through the peephole, her paranoia rising again, but after some time, she released her breath and turned away.
Esme placed her keys on the kitchen counter along with the knife hidden under her coat. Even with the lights off, she could clearly see her apartment in the darkness; it was one of the many highlights of being a werewolf. Isana smirked arrogantly at this, making Esme roll her eyes and relax her tense body further.
She stopped by the side of the bath staring at her new couch in the corner of the room near the patio doors. It was an L shaped leather sofa in white without so much as a scratch on it. It looked brand new and odd in her dank apartment. Esme kept looking between the couch and the bathtub along with the rest of the apartment, shaking her head in disbelief.
She pulled her phone out, ready to message Lenny but rolled her eyes at the dead battery. She plugged her charger in at the kitchen wall and left her phone on the countertop, charging before making her way to the sofa and undressing. She sighed, remembering her underwear and bra were ripped to pieces from shifting earlier.
Putting her thoughts aside about buying another bra, Esme pulled the bloodied blanket out of her backpack with a frown. She dropped it onto the tiled floors before grabbing her pyjamas and changing into them. They weren't anything special, an old t-shirt and some pink chequered trousers. She started getting ready for bed, cleaning her face and teeth in the small bathroom before returning and placing everything back in the bag.
Now that her blanket was sullied with vampire blood, Esme put a hoodie and woolly hat on for warmth and grabbed her coat before rechecking her phone. After holding down the power button, it was on, revealing the time to be 12:05am. Esme opened her messages and texted Lenny a quick thank you before tapping down the arrow key on her contacts list.
Her thumb hovered over the green phone button as she leaned onto the countertop staring at the contact name: Mum. ”I don't think that's a good idea. You can never sleep after,” Isana whispered in her mind.
At her wolf's words, Esme flipped the phone shut and left it on the counter before collapsing on the sofa, pulling the coat over her as she leaned her head on the comfy armrest, staring outside the glass patio doors and the glimmering city lights beyond it. ”It's not like we sleep that well anyway,” Esme murmured through a yawn. She may be sleepy, but she feared what the night would bring, her mind was a chaotic battlefield, and when it finally caved to her body's need to rest, she would be pulled into nightmares of her repressed memories.
Esme swallowed past a lump forming in her throat, and she subconsciously reached for the rubber band on her wrist, pulling it back and letting it slap her skin. Esme took a long, deep breath in then let her mind wander to something much nicer. For a moment, she stared at the tall buildings in the distance and daydreamed about living in one of those fancy apartments, her life utterly normal, working a 9-5 job with nobody after her. Esme would return and make a meal not made from noodles or meat from hunting. Then after a bubble bath with a glass of wine and a book, she'd relax on a sofa similar to the one she was lying on now, curled up next to a lovely man and watching Webflix before making love.
Esme sighed at her little fantasy.
”Nah, who needs all that? It sounds boring,” Isana joked, trying to lighten up the mood.
Esme scoffed. ”Yeah.. boring indeed.” She sighed and placed her right arm over her eyes, ”I'm just.. tired.”
Tired of this life.
She was no longer suicidal; in fact, even thinking of that day made her angry. Angry at herself and resentful for being pushed to that point. No, she was tired of being on the run.
Esme pulled her arm away from her face and stared at her burnt, repulsive skin. Her lips twisted, and her eyes hardened from the sight as her chest burned in hatred and betrayal. The mark on her chest began to throb, and she hissed at the sharp, burning sensation. A sensation she was all too familiar with now.