Many thanks yet again for the fantastic reviews for chapter twelve, glad that you liked it. BBJ is still in residence during this chapter but not to the effect of earlier. All errors are my own, love to hear your thoughts and again, thanks! :)
Thirteen.
He didn't come home again last night. It's the first thought in her head when she opens her eyes and sees that she's alone in their bed. She turns her head and looks at his pillow. He hasn't been here; he hasn't been back. She refuses to panic or to even worry; he left in a mood after they'd fought so she's not going to be the one to look for him, to beg for his forgiveness.
She gets ready for her day. It's Sunday and under normal circumstances they spend it together, recovering from Saturday night induced hangovers and shopping trips. For all that he works on a Saturday night, Sunday is their day. It used to be one of peace and quiet, of no work, no feeling of urgency that they had to be somewhere by a certain time. There was peace and calmness and just the two of them. Once upon a time that had been enough. She spent yesterday in the flat, waiting by the phone, hoping he'd call and be full of abject apologies. She picked up the phone more than once with the same idea in mind but it was Saturday, would there be anyone there to answer? So she stayed by the phone and waited.
She's worried though and she has contemplated going to the club and seeing if he's there. She doesn't want to go down the route of the needy girlfriend but Mitchell is different. Sheer pride prevents her; she reminds herself- he's the one who stormed off in a temper.
Sunday drifts past in a haze of nervous silent unease. She's seriously worried now and again she contemplates going to the Moonlight. Maybe Alexander knows where he is? Maybe he's sleeping on a friend's sofa? She doesn't want to think of what else he could be up to and that prospect is far too horrifying for her mind to comprehend fully.
She's tense come Monday morning. She doesn't know how much more of his silence she can take, she feels like she's the one being punished.
He slowly opens his eyes and stares at the white painted ceiling. His head is pounding and he frowns against it. He slowly realises that he has no clue where he is. Slowly he sits up and he looks around. He looks down. His feet and legs are bare, his shirt is halfway unbuttoned and his tie is loose around his neck. There are empty bottles everywhere, scattered across every surface like bowling pins. He turns his head and sees the naked girl beside him and he sighs and wipes his face with his hands and smells the blood on them. He stills and looks at them. He turns his head and looks at his companion again. It's then that he sees the scarlet blood staining the white sheets. There's a brief flare of panic. There's a rap on the door and his eyes widen. He slides off the bed and it's then he sees the other girl lying on the floor, similarly ripped open and drained.
"Mitchell, you in there?" relief flows through him at the sound of Charlie's voice. He goes to the door and opens it a crack. He's standing there in his suit and overcoat and he sees his reflection in his glasses. He's covered in blood.
"Come on, let me in there's a good lad" he whispers and Mitchell steps back and Charlie slides in. His eyes widen slightly when he sees the state of the room.
"Good God Mitchell, when you fall you do so with some considerable style. I'd been starting to doubt those stories I'd heard about you" he glances at him and grins. Mitchell doesn't smile back.
"Who are they?" he enquires. Mitchell shrugs.
"I have no idea" he confesses.
"Bit of a lost weekend then I take it, don't worry, we all have them" he slaps him between his shoulder blades.
"Go and get yourself cleaned up, I'll deal with this" Mitchell looks at him and frowns.
"You do that a lot for me" he mutters.
"It's what I do. I'm the best for a reason Mitchell; no one will ever know you were here or that this…happened. Go on" he indicates the bathroom and watches him shuffle towards it, go through the door and close it behind him. Charlie sighs quietly and heads for the phone.
When he emerges from the bathroom, the only occupant of the room is Charlie, the girls are gone, the room is pristine, the bottles have disappeared and there is no evidence of anything untoward ever happening here. Charlie stands up from his seat at the bottom of the bed and hands Mitchell his jacket and watches him slide it on and then tighten his tie. He's clean in the sense that he's washed and brushed up but Charlie sees the darkened pupils, how they're almost black in colour. He's still buzzing from the blood lust and from the carnage his crew has just cleared up; he'll be buzzing for quite some time.
"We need to get back to the club, my car is outside" he tells him as they leave the hotel room.
"How did you know I was here?" Mitchell asks him.
"There's a network in place here Mitchell, we've always known where you are at any given time since you first set foot in my city, kind of like jungle drums but more…sophisticated" Charlie explains as they emerge into the sunshine. Mitchell squints against it and follows Charlie to his car. His stomach is beginning to churn and cramp a bit. He slides into the passenger seat of the Jag. Charlie glances at him as he does like wise.
"Need a hit?"
"Yeah, just to take the edge off a bit" Mitchell responds quietly. Charlie starts the engine.
"Not a problem" he informs him. Mitchell sinks down in his seat, folds his arms and closes his eyes.
He doesn't speak during the journey back and Charlie doesn't engage him in conversation. Alexander left instructions to track Mitchell down and to deliver him back at the club. Charlie has heard about the ruckus Mitchell created at the club; of how completely he humiliated Victoria. He bites back a smile, the slut had it coming and he's secretly pleased that Mitchell was the one to give it to her.
"Where are we going?" Mitchell asks.
"Back to the club, Alexander wants to see you" he sees Mitchell slide him a wary sideways look.
"I think I'd better just go home" he comments.
"After you've spoken to Alexander then I'll drop you off myself" he replies.
"My car is at the club, I can get myself home" he mumbles and turns his head to look out of the passenger window. Charlie sighs quietly.
"Okay, if you insist but Alexander still needs to talk to you" he tells him. Mitchell casts him a distinctly disinterested glance but doesn't say anything more.
His head is pounding as he enters the club. He walks with Charlie up to his office. Linda and Rosemary are both at their desks. He catches sight of the flowers on Rosemary's desk, they're starting to wilt a little bit but her smile is bright. It's all he can do to respond. He sees how quickly her eyes lose their sparkle and he turns his head and keeps his eyes on the floor. He doesn't want to feel anything else, there's so much clawing and fighting going on inside of him and he doesn't want to add her to it.
He follows Charlie into Alexander's office.
Alexander is standing behind his desk and he's pouring coffee into four squat little cups.
"Ah, the prodigal returns!" he announces. Mitchell doesn't respond, he doesn't even smile. He watches Alexander come around the corner of his desk, cradling a coffee cup in his hand.
"Here. You look like you could use this" he hands him the cup and he takes it.
"Have a seat" he tells him as he goes back behind his desk and slowly Mitchell lowers himself into one of the chairs. He takes a tentative sip of his drink and winces; it's hot and very strong. He lowers it and watches both Charlie and Simeon accept their cups and do likewise.
"You look like you've had a very good night on the tiles Mitchell" Alexander announces and Mitchell flicks him a look.
"It's just as well we have someone like Charlie on our side" he continues.
"Aren't you going to drink your coffee?" Mitchell looks down at it and his stomach churns. He feels like he wants to throw up and it has nothing to do with what happened last night. He leans forward and places the cup on the corner of Alexander's desk.
"I guess I'm more the type for tea" he mutters and sits back, wrapping his arms around his waist and frowning. Alexander frowns quizzically at Charlie who subtly shrugs.
"Well I suppose the way I make coffee isn't to everyone's taste. You look all in my friend, how about I give you your keys and let you get settled in?" Mitchell's head snaps up.
"My keys? What are you talking about?"
"To your new place" Alexander replies as if explaining things to a particularly slow child.
"I already have a place to live" he replies quietly. He looks to Simeon and Charlie who are both observing him. Alexander smiles.
"Which you haven't gone back to for three days Mitchell, do you think Josie will take you back after this?"
"Why wouldn't she?" Alexander rolls his eyes.
"You slipped Mitchell and you slipped in spectacular form, she'll know, women always know when you've been up to no good" he folds his arms and regards Mitchell.
"We understand because it's your base nature and hey, why fight against it? But will Josie understand? I don't think so, you tried the normal life and it didn't work for you at all so welcome back" he unfolds his arms and spreads them out.
"We'll get you settled in, I think you'll like where we're putting you, it has all the mod cons and it's a nice, quiet neighbourhood, quite exclusive really. Anyway…" his eyes light up and he smiles again.
"You can have the next couple of days off, get used to your new digs, before getting you to work and we have such plans for you Mitchell…" he sounds almost excited.
"Wait a minute…just wait one bloody minute now" Mitchell interrupts, lurching to his feet. Alexander pauses and regards him.
"You're not listening to me…I'm not moving anywhere…I have a home, with Josie"
"And you're not listening to us Mitchell…" Mitchell lifts a hand and shakes his head.
"No…just…no. I'll talk to her…she'll understand" he sways dizzily on his feet.
"She isn't one of us, she won't understand, she won't ever understand, you need to be with us, we're your family now" Alexander approaches him and slides an arm across his shoulders. Angrily Mitchell shrugs it off and he glares at him.
"You don't know Josie" he snarls at him.
"How are things at home?" Josie lifts her head suddenly when she hears Sarah's sympathetic question. She sighs raggedly.
"Still…" she shrugs.
"So who was the redhead?" Josie shrugs.
"He said it was the office assistant and that it was her birthday" She sees how Sarah rolls her eyes.
"And he takes her out for a meal?"
"It makes sense; it's something that he'd do"
"So you believe him?"
"He's never lied to me before Sarah, I guess I just need to remember that more often" her words grow faint as she feels a pressure in her chest.
"Josie?" Sarah's voice rises with alarm as Josie gets to her feet. She gulps in a lungful of air and heads off to the women's toilets.
She dives into a cubicle and sits on the toilet seat. She bends over at the waist and the tears begin to flow.
"Josie?" she hears Sarah's concerned voice and she takes another gulping deep breath. She wipes at her eyes.
"Where are you?" she asks.
"I'm okay" she calls out but her voice is shaky. She sits back as the cubicle door slowly opens. Sarah stands there and regards her.
"What's going on?" she asks in a calm voice. For a moment Josie can't speak. She looks down at her hands and she sees the wedding ring that she wears on her right hand. She twists it round and round her finger. She sighs damply.
"After we saw…them in the restaurant on Friday…we had a fight…and I haven't seen him since" she admits and Sarah's eyes widen.
"He's been gone all weekend?" Josie just nods.
"He's never done this before" she admits. Sarah squeezes into the cubicle and closes the door behind her.
"Do you want to go home? I could clear it with the partners?" Josie shakes her head.
"No. I'll just spend the time hanging around and waiting for the phone to ring. No, at least here I'll be busy. Mitchell will come back when he's ready to and not before"
"He's probably at a friend's house, cooling down. He loves you, just give him some time and a little bit of space" Josie looks up at her and just nods. She's afraid of what time and space will do to him but of course she can't tell her that.
"Will you be okay?" she asks and Josie nods.
"I'll cover for you for a little while" Sarah tells her and then opens the cubicle door. She watches her follow and the friends look at each other.
"Everything will be fine" she tells her and then hugs her. As she draws back she smiles and points to her eyes.
"You might want to sort your mascara out" she tells her and then leaves her alone.
Josie turns and faces her reflection in the mirror and gives a watery laugh at the sooty traces beneath both eyes. She rescues a piece of toilet roll from the cubicle and as she turns, she sees Sarah reappear with her handbag. She smiles her thanks.
Five minutes later, her make-up is repaired and she feels more composed. No one could guess at the turmoil going through her mind.
"Mitchell…you need to calm down, you're hungry, you need to feed" Charlie comes to his other side and he keeps his tone low, soothing. Mitchell glares at him.
"I need…to see Josie…I need to go home" he replies, his voice shaking.
"What you're feeling is perfectly natural, you're feeling guilty because you think you've let people down, well you haven't. We'll get you someone to eat and afterwards everything will feel a little less…crazy" Charlie tells him. He looks at Alexander and gently shakes his head. Mitchell straightens. He looks at Alexander.
"I…appreciate the…offer but I meant what I said, I'm staying with Josie" he tells him. Alexander sighs.
"Okay…have it your way" He looks at Charlie and he frowns. The three of them watch Mitchell leave. Once they hear the outer office door close, Charlie looks at Alexander.
"You need to give him time Alex, we would've had him for sure if you hadn't had to mention the flat" Alexander shrugs.
"I was striking while the iron was hot!" he defends.
"You need to get him away from his human girlfriend" Simeon interjects and both Charlie and Alexander look at him.
"Then we take her out of the picture" Alexander tells him and Simeon shakes his head.
"He'll come after you if you do that. You may be old Alex but you go after her and he'll kill you, he won't be thinking about age or respect or anything like that" Charlie warns him. Alexander sighs.
"He won't get near enough"
"Don't underestimate his feelings for her. He was strong enough to walk away from Herrick for her. He dealt with Victoria in a very callous, public manner, he's not stupid, if you harm Josie, he'll get to you even if it means sacrificing himself" Alexander regards him.
"You seem to have gotten the measure of him"
"He has such potential; he could be something truly…wonderful with the right kind of handling. With the right kind of training, he could be someone who would make Herrick quake in his boots" he smiles reminiscently. Then his gaze sharpens on his friend and sire.
"Leave him be, he'll come back" he informs him and then he looks at his watch.
"I need to get back to work. See you gentlemen later" he announces and strides out after Mitchell.
Mitchell pauses at the top of the stairs and massages his temples. His head is pounding; everything seems to be going around like a kaleidoscope, spinning out of control. He feels edgy and panicky and he just wants to run.
"Mitchell?" he hears her soft concerned voice and he freezes. He makes himself open his eyes and look at her. Rosemary is climbing up the stairs and she's staring at him in a concerned way.
"Hey Rosemary" he responds, trying to inject some normality in his voice but it comes out shaky and useless. He closes his eyes again.
"Hey…" her tone is strangely soothing, her hand gently touches his upper arm and his eyes open again.
"You look awful, are you okay?" he looks at her, how she tilts her head to the side, her eyes are full of concern
"Yeah…yeah I'll be okay…" he stammers.
"Look, let me drop these files off. Do you want to get a cup of tea and maybe…talk?" she suggests. He frowns mildly and sees how she flushes.
"It's just…you look like you could use a…friend" she suggests. He exhales loudly and looks at her again, sees beyond the terribly shy young lady he's kind of taken under his wing. Then he's nodding.
"Yeah…you know I'd like that" he answers honestly and she smiles softly.
"Stay here and…don't move" she tells him and he watches her go to the office.
He's edgy and uptight but he waits for her to return and presently she does.
"Don't you have work that needs to be done?" he asks as she rejoins him. His voice is tense.
"I'm allowed a coffee break and I'm taking it. Linda knows where I am if she needs me" she answers quietly. She touches his arm again.
They go downstairs to the staff coffee room.
She makes him tea, adding in sugar and stirring it. She hands the cup to him, watching how he folds his hands around it. He lifts it to his lips and takes a drink. He lifts his eyes and watches her lower herself down onto the chair beside him. The staff room is empty and she's grateful for the peace and quiet.
"Thanks for this" Mitchell mutters, lifting his cup slightly and Rosemary doesn't fail to notice how he clings to it. It's almost desperate.
"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" she asks in her quiet voice and he looks at her. She doesn't know what he is, how can he explain to her the crushing feelings of guilt doing the rounds inside of his head right now? Instead he lifts the cup for another drink, feeling the sweetness of the sugar slam into already degraded taste buds.
"Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?" she asks. Her green eyes are sympathy filled and he frowns at her. He sees how she then seems to quail at his change of expression and he needs to remember that she's not like anyone else in this place; she's an honest to God innocent.
"People have been talking Mitchell…and we heard about…Victoria…" her voice lowers to a whisper. Mitchell lowers his cup and he sighs raggedly. His head is still spinning, his stomach is aching and cramping, he's forgotten about that, about the gnawing constant aching between feeding.
"Yeah…we did…had a fight" he confesses. She doesn't need to know that she was the reason behind the conflict. She's sweet, lovely. He stares at her and just like that, he hears the pounding of her pulse. He blinks and shakes his head slightly but he still hears it.
"What's wrong? Do you have a headache?" she asks and he blinks again and forces himself to focus on her face. He frowns.
"Umm…yeah…" he answers. It's true, he does, and it's like the worst kind of hangover. He watches her get to her feet.
"I can help with that" she tells him and he sees her open a cupboard door. It's the one that holds cups, coffee jars and tea caddies and he watches her take a small green metal box and open it. She takes something out. Presently she returns and there are two little white tablets in the palm of her hand. He regards them suspiciously.
"Painkillers" she tips them into his hand and sits back down as he tosses them back with a mouthful of sweet tea.
"Thanks" he mutters. She regards him. He looks so tired, so uptight.
"What was your fight about?" she asks him and his eyes flash from her face to the floor.
"Nothing important, it was just a stupid disagreement but I haven't been back home since it happened on Friday"
"And you don't know what you're going back to, or if she'll take you back?" he shrugs. She shuffles forward in her seat and she touches the back of one hand.
"If you love her then you'll make it right, you'll do whatever you have to, to make it right" she tells him in a low voice. She offers him a tentative smile as his eyes go to her face.
"I've done something so bad Rosemary, she might not forgive me" he whispers almost urgently and she frowns.
"What could you do that would make her not forgive you Mitchell? You're a kind, honourable man" She moves her hand away as he flinches.
"No I'm not. I'm your worst nightmare Rosemary and if you had any sense, you'd stay well away from me" he sees her confusion. He puts his cup on the small coffee table beside his chair. He leans forwards and his expression changes, becomes urgent.
"You need to get away from this place Rosemary before it poisons you, before it drags you down so far that you can't get out. Change your job, move back to Brighton, just leave, because it'll be the best thing that you ever did" he hisses at her and he sees her eyes widen with alarm. She watches him get to his feet. He seems almost agitated. She follows suit.
"Mitchell? What's going on?" she whispers. He stares into her eyes and he reaches for her, he pulls her into his arms and he hugs her tightly. He can hear her heart fluttering wildly and her pulse is beating a similar tattoo. He inhales the scent of her and he can feel him stir inside of him. He swallows and fights him back down. He draws her back and looks at her.
"Promise me?" she nods jerkily. He smiles but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He bends down and presses a kiss on her cheek. Then he's gone, striding away, leaving her in his wake.
Charlie hears the door knob rattle and hastily backs away, dipping into the doorway next to the staffroom. It all feels a little bit cloak and dagger but he presses himself back as Mitchell strides away. He watches him leave and then a moment later the staffroom door opens again and he sees Linda's mousy little assistant emerge and head for the stairs, no doubt returning to the office.
He steps out and looks up and he wonders.