12/25/2012
CHAPTER 3: Blood on Your Hands
Week 1
Roslyn lay in bed, the sheets tangled around her legs as she fluttered her eyes open from the bright morning sun. She looked up, the body next to her pulling her in closer, she rested her chin on his chest and smiled softly, running her hands down his chest.
"I didn't expect you to be here when I woke up."
"Now why is that darlin'?"
"Well, I mean, the point of a one night stand is that it's well…for one night."
"Well, night's not quite here yet." He smirked, "Or do you have a boyfriend you're expecting to show up sometime soon?" he laughed
Roslyn thought it over for a second and shook her head.
"No boyfriends. No husbands. No lovers." She sat up in the bed, wrapping the sheets around herself
"Now that's a damn shame." He followed her up and kissed her bare shoulder, "I supposed there is a thing or two we could do to at least correct that last one, hmm?"
She nodded, her mind so far away from her task at hand, that she forgot all about dying until he left mid afternoon.
"I'll be back." He put his hat on, "Pick you up at seven? I feel like dancing." He did a quick two step, pulling her into his grip and humming a fast Cajun tune as they danced along the hotel room's wooden floors
"What am I going to do all day?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed
Benny leaned over and kissed the crown of her head.
"Get something to eat? Go for a walk? Sit by the water. That's what I always did when I needed to do some thinking."
"What makes you think I need to do that?" she asked, "I just very well just go get some more beignets and stuff my face."
"You'd better watch yourself with all those sweets." He teased, patting her stomach as he slipped his coat back on
"Hey now!"
Benny laughed, and kissed her again.
"I'll be back in a few hours."
He closed the door behind him as she crawled back in bed. He was going out to feed, that she was sure off. He was hungry when she had run into him at the bar last night, and after the long night they had had, she was sure he was famished.
Roslyn pushed a sneaky wrinkle out of her dark purple, tea length dress. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and the heels on her feet were black and fit like a second pair of feet. She glanced in the floor length mirror and finished her make up. The music coming out of her cell phone paused as another tone took. She looked down at the caller i.d. and smiled.
"Hello love!"
"Hey Rosie!"
"How are you Allie? It's been much to long."
"Oh you know me, same old, same old. Still stuck with those nuts. Where are you?"
"I'm in the Big Easy. I'm actually getting ready to go out."
"You're not going to go drown your sorrows in alcohol at a sleevy bar all by yourself, are you?" Allie asked
"Not tonight. I umm…" Ros sighed, "I'm going dancing."
"You hate dancing." Allie reminded her, "Is there a boy involved?"
"There might be." Ros bit her lip
"Tell me all about him!"
A knock sounded as her door as she rushed over to answer. She smiled at Benny on the other side.
"I'm actually about to leave, Allie. Can I ummm…call you tomorrow?"
"You better! Be safe!"
"I will Mom." Ros teased as she hung up the phone and turned towards Benny
"You look amazing." He pulled her in for a long kiss, "I don't know if I even want to leave this room now." His voice was low
"You promised me dancing."
"If I remember correctly, I didn't really promise anything." He smirked
"Come on." Ros grabbed her leather coat, it clashed terribly with the girly dress, but she loved that coat
She slipped her money and room card into a zippered pocket and took Benny's hand as they escaped into the slight chill of the Louisiana air.
They walked through Jackson Square, the psychics and card readers busy at work. Roslyn leaned into Benny's side and wrapped her arm in his. The wool peacock he wore stratched her cheek, but she didn't stop.
"Devil! Devil!"
A table clammered next to them as an elderly woman pointed her finger at Benny.
"Evil man! Evil man girl!" her voice held a strong Caribbean accent, her dark skin glistened with a layer of sweat
Roslyn tightened her grasp on Benny as she looked at the woman's table, chicken bones scattered around the concrete floor of the Square. Roslyn was no fool. She knew a real hoodoo woman when she saw one, she'd dealt with a handful in this city alone, and she knew this woman was legit.
"He's going to be the death of you, girl!" The woman grabbed Roslyn's arm, her eyes were scared and hoping the girl would listen, "He a bad man. He kill. He's out to kill them all." Her eyes meet Benny's as he sneered at him, the edges of his vampiric teeth peeking out to scare the old woman, "He a bad man! He going to take your last breath, and he going to wash his hands in your blood. Leave now girl, leave now while there's still time!"
Benny's teeth retracked as he pulled Roslyn closer and away from the old woman.
"I'm sorry about that." He said, "Old bat."
Roslyn said nothing, just shook her head and hugged him closer. She wanted him to kill her, so why did the woman spook her so much.
"Come on, we're here." He smiled, holding the door to the dance hall open.
He took her coat and his and gave them to the coat check girl, his hand sliding to the small of her back as the swing band belted out a hearty and heavy big band song.
"I hope you picked the right shoes to dance in." he smiled, glancing down at her, her forced smile unsettled him. He wanted to see that smile again.
An hour later Ros had to pull him off the dance floor.
"You didn't lie about dancing." She laughed
"I'm light footed."
"That is surprising." She smirked, as she sat down at a nearby table and took off her now aching shoes, "Can I beg of you a break?" she asked, "Just 15 minutes?"
"I'll go grab us a drink. Scotch?"
"Please."
Roslyn rubbed at her legs, trying to loosen up the overworked muscle as she heard the chair next to hers screech against the floor.
"That was quick." She glanced over at the drink
"You looked parched."
"Oh um…thanks." Roslyn forced a smile for the stranger
"How about a dance?"
"Oh I'm good. My feet are sore. Besides, I'm here with someone, thanks though."
"You mean Benny?" the stranger grinned, "You don't want to spend the night dancing with him. Once he gets a couple drinks in him, he's all left feet."
"You know Benny?" she asked
"Where are my manners? My names Quentin." He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles, "I'm Benny's brother."
Roslyn looked over the man, confusion written clearly on her face.
"We have different mothers," Quentin smiled, "Our Old Man got around."
"Oh um…I'm-"
"She's none of your business." Benny put her drink down near here, standing just to her side as Quentin looked on bemused
"Good to see you're back from your little vacation, heard it was a hell of a ride out." Quentin smirked
Benny put his hand on Ros's shoulder and asked her if she might mind getting their coats, as they would be leaving now.
"Come on now Brother."
"I'm no brother of yours." Benny sneered
Ros slipped her shoes back on and headed towards the front, glancing over her shoulder at the two, both standing on the edge of a fight, both sneering, both of their sets of teeths slipping out. Benny glanced up at her, her eyes still glued to his teeth as he cursed and pushed at Quentin.
"You tell the Old Man I'm coming after him next, you hear me?"
"Make sure you take care of this little girl, alright? Wouldn't want another Andrea incident, now would we?" Quentin laughed
Benny knocked shoulders against his brethren, as she took his coat from Ros.
"Let's go get some coffee, alright?" he asked
"I'd rather go back to my room." She slipped her coat back on, as they snuck outside
"Look I get it. The old woman, Quentin…I know you saw everything." He said as the mist of rain turned into a heavy rain fall, "I can explain."
Ros lead the way down a darkened alleyway, stopping half way down and leaning against the crumbling brick wall as she looked up at Benny.
"I'm a hunter." She said
"What?"
"I hunt and kill things like you." She said, "Do you know how many vampers I've killed over the years?"
Benny rubbed at his temple as he pieced everything together, the gun, the blade, the calmness at seeing his teeth…
"28. I've killed 28 vamps in less than 15 years." She said, she reached out and grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled him closer, shocking him at the sudden movement, "Do you think I can't handle two little baby vampires like you and Quentin?"
"Baby, darlin', do you know how old I am?" he smirked, laying his hands on either side of her face as she shook her head, "I remember Pearl Harbor…and I wasn't a kid."
"You don't look a day over 38." She smirked
"Because I'm not." He kissed her softly
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in closer for a hug, his beard rubbing against her exposed clavicle.
"Benny?"
"Yeah?" he asked, pulling back from kissing her skin
"You know, I'd let you bite me, and I wouldn't hurt you in return." She said
He froze under her touch as she pulled back and looked at him.
"I know it kinda goes against anything a hunter's ever said or done, but…" She sighed and looked into his dark eyes, "I trust you. I haven't trusted anyone since…"
She shook her head and pushed back the horrid memory.
"I don't feed from humans, haven't in a very long time…"
She kissed his neck, she needed this. She needed him to kill her. She needed to die before anyone came looking for her, and at least if she went out now, it would all be over with. She felt her heart beat faster, as she bite his neck, blood covered her bottom lip as he sneered and pushed her back into the brick wall, staring at his blood on her lip. He was going to kill her, she'd gone to far. She closed her eyes and smiled as he kissed her deeply, taking the blood from her lip before he moved to her cheek, down her jaw, and bite into the soft flesh of her neck. Her grip loosened from his shoulders and fell to her sides as he wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer, taking more and more from her until she felt the darkness over ride her and she blacked out.
