At the same time, Beth was locking the door of her own apartment as she left it for the evening. She too had left her phone behind, worried that Mick would try to call again with another convoluted explanation as to why it was okay that they were seeing other people when really, it was ridiculous. She had only said something about David, only tried to sound like she was happy for him because she couldn't bear for him to realise that she was still sore.
And of course she was sore, after the way Mick had treated her! Like his vampire status made him a superior being, and that humans were nothing more than playthings until something slightly more shiny or exciting came along. She wondered idly if this new woman in his life was a vampire too, or only human like herself, and decided she didn't really want to know. If she were human, then the separation would only be harder to bear, for then, Beth knew there would have been something fundamental in herself that Mick couldn't work past. If she were vampire, then… well that would have explained a lot of things.
She was waiting alone outside her building for David to come and pick her up for their dinner date. Checking her watch, she realised that she was ten minutes early, having been in such a rush to leave the apartment and thoughts of Mick behind. She was sorely tempted to cancel the whole affair, but knowing that he was out with someone else, having fun, almost made her blood boil in her veins and she steeled her resolve.
It wasn't that she didn't like David. Well, she didn't know that she didn't like David. What she did know was that David wasn't Mick, and this was a fatal flaw in her eyes. She hoped that eventually this would change, but for now, she only had eyes for an eighty-five year old vampire that had saved her childhood and stolen her heart. And if anyone had ever tried to tell her the story that was her life, she would have laughed right in their faces, because it really did sound crazy. But it wasn't a story. It was a harsh reality.
Beth's mind was still inevitably on Mick when a sleek black Mercedes pulled up next to her on the sidewalk. Her first instinct was to step back, allow whoever was inside the car to get out, but when the window rolled down she spotted a set of pearly white teeth smiling politely at her, and knew that David had arrived. Five minutes early, too.
"Can I give you a ride somewhere?" David asked, as though offering a complete stranger a lift home.
"No, thank you, I'm just waiting for a gentleman to whisk me off into the sunset." David clutched dramatically at his chest as though someone had pierced his heart before recovering.
"Well, I can't whisk you away I'm afraid - work commitments. But I am a gentleman, so perhaps you could settle for dinner this time?"
Beth smiled, pretending to consider the offer.
"I think that would be okay. I just feel bad for the next gentleman that comes along - he'll have no-one to whisk away now." She slid gracefully into the car, careful not the expose herself in more ways then one. David pulled smoothly away from the curb, smiling that confidently gentle smile, his head once more inclined in her direction, like it had been the other day when they had met over their desks.
They sat in companionable silence for the majority of the journey across town, and Beth found herself wondering if she had ever experienced this with Mick; the ability to just sit and be in someone's company without feeling the need to fill the silence with meaningless chatter. And then she remembered she'd promised herself that she wasn't going to compare David to Mick anymore. Eventually, after warring with herself over whether she should wait until dinner to begin a proper conversation, Beth decided there was no time like the present.
"So, how are you finding working at BuzzWire?"
"I'm liking it a lot." David replied in an abrasive Chicago baritone. "So much more casual than the last place I worked. The editor is really lenient on the deadlines for pieces." Involuntarily, Beth huffed.
"That was one of the reasons I left, to be truthful. Maureen had such structure to the place, everyone knew exactly where they were meant to be and what they were meant to be doing and the magazine was literally a well-oiled machine. Since she died…"
Beth trailed off, realising in that moment that she had never really dealt with Maureen's murder in a way that gave her closure. And now, she was having trouble even mentioning the fact that the woman was dead. Like the gentleman he proclaimed himself to be, David picked up the conversation as though nothing had happened.
"I had my first piece yesterday, just a simple job catching some socialite in a compromising position on her agent's floor, that kind of thing. Really below my standards if you ask me, but a job is a job and I could always do with the money, to be truthful." He raised his hands, as though admitting to some kind of defeat. She eyed him suspiciously.
"You have a Mercedes." She pointed out, gesturing about herself, but he shook his head.
"Not mine," he replied. "Well, it is mine, but I didn't buy it. Rich father." He added when she looked at him questioningly, "Rich dead father."
"I'm sorry." Beth mumbled, a knee-jerk reaction that no-one really meant, but it always seemed like the right thing to say to someone. Even though you personally had nothing to be sorry for. David waved her away.
"It was years ago. And we were never really that close."
Even though the statement effectively ended the car conversation, Beth found herself enjoying the time she spent with David. The evening moved quickly, and on several occasions she caught herself laughing with him as he recalled anecdote after witty anecdote. All too soon she found themselves back in the Mercedes reclining against the plush leather as David wound his way around the dimly lit streets. He dropped Beth right outside her building door, getting out of the car to walk her right into her apartment.
As she fumbled in her bag for her key, David moved in for a kiss. In the split before their lips touched, Beth jerked her head to the side, so that he pecked her cheek. When he pulled back, she could see the confusion in his eyes, but she also knew that he would take the rebuff like the gentleman he proclaimed himself to be.
"It's just-" She felt liked she owed him an explanation. "- I just came out of a relationship, a serious one, and while I certainly don't love him anymore, I don't think, anyway, I'm not over him. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And I like you, David, I do, I think, and so I don't want to go anywhere near this," she waved at the space between them absently, "until I'm definitely past that." She ran her hand through the air back toward the stairs, indicating the past.
"That makes sense." He replied after a moments thought. "Thank you for explaining that to me. I had a wonderful time tonight, Beth. I'll call you. Maybe next time I'll whisk you off into the sunset like you wanted, you never know."
And with a rueful smile he left, whistling tunelessly as we trotted down the stairway and out into the night. Beth finally managed to get a hand on her keys and unlocked her door, a light skip in her step. The beginning was always the most exciting part.
Her excitement was short-lived, however, when she spotted the envelope that had been slipped underneath her door while she'd been out. Dropping her bag on the ground, she tentatively reached out for it, as though scared it might leap her and bite her hand off. All of a sudden she was nervous, and not in the nice way that made your stomach lighter. This kind weighed you down.
One look at the photographs confirmed her fears. Her phone was elusive for a precious few seconds, but when she found it she dialled the one number that had always been embedded in her mind.
Sorry again for not posting for so long, I already started the next chapter if that helps, but I don't know how long it will be until you guys get to see it! Thankyou all for being so patient!
Charlotte.