"Had fun?" He chuckled, slowly lifting me too my feet. He gave me another smirk, softly pressing his lips together, as his arms slipped away from my torso. "unfortunately, no" I shrugged, tossing a piece of loose hair away from my eyes. "You look like you could use another drink" He explained, motioning to the bar behind me, "lead the way, Mr. Salvat- " Was the only sentence I manage to let out before I fell over again, flat onto the bar ground.
Okay, so I wasn't tipsy. I may have just slightly underestimated how much I had drunk that night. But things started to get a little blurry, I slowly waved my hands in front of eyes, as Damon ducked down and knelled on his right leg beside me. "Hadley?" He asked blankly resting his palm on my shoulder. It was only moments before I blacked out.
It must have been an hour later, when I woke up at the Grill bar with a wet cloth over my forehead and a glass of water sitting in front of me. Slowly, my eyes opened. Took me a few attempts... But I finally got a blurry look at the world around me. First thing I see is Damon, slouched in chair in front of me, with his legs up against the table. He had his hands up, like her was surrendering. "I didn't do it" He chuckled, "The last guy you danced with thought you might be a good story to tell his friends tomorrow". I was drugged. I gave Damon a mixture of a confused, grumpy scrunched up look on my face. "Stand up" He insisted, "You're in no position to walk home yourself" He explained, spinning his wrist and then holding out his hand for me. reluctantly, I accepted his offer, and next thing I knew I has half on my feet and half slumped on his shoulder. "This is a bad town for such a pretty face" He chuckled, leading me out to the street. But there was something in his voice that sounded like he was trying to humerize an awful truth. And it bothered me all the way to the park. - Oh, yeah. Too get back to my hotel we had to cross through a park. "What does that mean?" I asked, watching his smiley face turn expressionless. I didn't get any reply. The park was designed to look like the forest surrounding the town. And it all centered around a large water fountain and a rose garden. Full of reds, yellows and whites. The creme colored water fountain was lined with small lights, ones you'd find on a Christmas tree. It turned the water different colors as it gushed off the side. "Wow" I explained, sliding my arm of Damon and walking slowly toward the light show. "Like it?" He smirked, following behind me with his hands stuffed into his pockets. The lights from the ground, shining up towards the water fountain formed some sort of a silhouette around us. I could feel his presence behind me, watching me to make sure I didn't fall over. I knelled down too feel the water trickle between my fingers, before I stood up and turned to find him millimeters away from my face, with devilish eyes staring down into mine. Nothing was ever subtle with this man. "A place like this shouldn't be hidden, there is barley anyone here" I replied, looking back up into his eyes. "No, no it shouldn't" Damon said softly, letting his hand move slowly around my torso, pulling me in softly. His eyes never leaving mine. I could feel his rock hard chest against my body, but was interrupted by his other hand raising too my cheek, which he softly brushed, slipping some hair behind my ear. My nose softly grazed his, as my hands snaked up his chest, letting my arms sit comfortably on his shoulder. "Well, Damon. Where do we go from here?" I teased, into his ear, nipping his ear lobe a little, feeling the buzzing sensation of his warm breath against my neck. But before he could do anything, let alone speak, I broke way. "One thing you should know about me is..." I chuckled, sporting a devious look and walking backwards towards the man made park Forrest... what kind of drug was that?
"I'm full of surprises" I pressed, before dashing off into the tress, gripping onto the trunks with one hand and spinning around it. Damon stood there, partially dumbstruck, partially intrigued. But nether the less, he followed me into the Forrest. I couldn't stop giggling as I continues running through the damp leaf floor, and leaping over the roots on the large oaks, looking back every few moments too see Damon's only paces behind me. But it got too a point where the footsteps behind me stopped. The world started to get a little darker, and the trees looked very unfamiliar when I looked back. "Hello?" I called, forcing a small laugh, "Damon?!". But there was no answer. I gulped a little, before slowly turning around, looking for a way out. I stood for a few moments, before I turned around to find Damon, again, millimeters away from my face. But this time his stare felt more direct, compulsive... a little bit evil. The skin around his eyes darkened, you could slowly see the veins pushing up too the surface around it. I shrieked stumbling backwards on a root and falling to the ground. I hit my head on impact, and knocked me out almost immediately. "D- Damon"
GASP! When I woke, my upper torso rose quickly from the ground as I let off the most ginormous gasp for air. And then it hit me, a blood curdling pain from my neck pushed me back down, as I lifted my hands too my neck, feeling the two holes in my jugular. I was bleeding out, and I needed medical attention fast. I didn't even remember how I got there... I was the party, dancing... Next thing I'm in the middle of a god damn forest bleeding. My other shaking hand, urgently dug through my pockets to search for my phone. For a moment my heart dropped, as I couldn't find anything. Was this it? Was this how I was going to die? Certainly better than any Huntington's death. I never wanted to be like my mother. I never saw her die, but I knew what it would of been like.
I hated her.
I turned my head slowly to the trees around me, hopping that someone was near. "Help!" I tried to yell, but ended up been suppressed into a cough. But a certain silver glimmer caught my eye, sitting on a pile of leaves by the tree next to me. I tried to extend my arm to reach it, only touching by the tips of my finger. The bleeding was getting worse, so I grabbed a twig to try and lead it back to me. On the first go I ended up pushing it further, but on the second go I manage to bring to arms reach. "I- need an ambulance" I croaked into the phone after dialing 911, "I don't... know where I am... Jugular, bleeding heavily". I continued with a bunch of information, pushed into sentences. It seemed like a lifetime before the paramedics arrived, as they weaved me through the trees and put me in the back of their van. Never was I more happy to see another doctor in my life. I was rushed into emergency surgery, put under gas and knocked out for the 3rd time tonight.
A few hours later, I woke up in recovery with a bandage sitting around my neck, staring up at the ceiling. I lied motionless for a few minutes, trying to take in what was going on. This... creature had struck again. Victim number two. How many more people will it attack? Is their anyone out there that has? But I was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Hadley?" Damon asked, slowly sliding the door open, eyes flying straight to my neck.
My lips pressed together.
And then, it all hit me.
