The nights rolled into the days and having Jasper around proved to be a welcomed distraction from my usual routine. Our days would be spent indoors each to their own either reading the papers or some book then discussing the finer points of it. We'd be out as soon as the sun set, arm and arm, and attempting to stay out of trouble. We found ourselves in parts of the city I usually didn't frequent and on two of the occasions trouble found us in the form of muggers. Happy accidents, Jasper called the incidents and I agreed. Playing the victim and allowing the would be thieves to take us to a more private local to finish their business only for us to turn on them was entirely too entertaining. The week passed and Friday rolled back around.
"Are we going to go see your human pet tonight?" Jasper stood at the door of my bedroom.
I set my hairbrush down and remembered who I was talking to and that above all honesty with him was the only policy. "I'd like to, if you don't mind? I take it as you want to come along. It's nothing too exciting I can assure you."
Jasper nodded and went off to get dressed. I had got him several pairs of colored contacts so he could more easily blend into a crowd with me and as expected he hated the sensation of having something foreign in his eyes. I didn't care for the contacts but it did mean I could go into public places more discreetly.
We headed out and after I confirmed that Peter was with his usual friend as he came out of the building that they were in and headed towards the bar. Jasper and I were a fair distance behind them but could easily see them and entered in behind them in to the bar a few moments later.
"What a dump." Jasper whispered under his breath and I nodded in agreement.
"It's not a place I'd usually spend time in if I wasn't hunting but if you want to go I'd understand." I heard a snort from Jasper and he pulled me into an open booth, he felt I was hoping he'd leave.
"It's a small price to pay and I want to see this guy up close Charlotte." He looked over my shoulder and motioned with his chin in a quick movement. "That's him?"
Peters scent reached me in as a gust of wind blew past him when the door opened and more patrons entered. "Yes that's him." Peter hadn't seen us yet but his eyes looked up as I found him at the bar. Peter's eyes registered me, dilating slightly, and darted over to Jasper quickly and back to me. I knew I was an open emotional book to Jasper and when I was caught off guard like this by him I might as well be broadcasting out what I felt; I couldn't hide it as evident by his snort in my direction.
"He's a little pissed seeing me Char. Tough luck." A waitress appeared at our table and Jasper motioned to me to order. Of course he wouldn't know what to get so I ordered a beer for myself and a whisky shot for him. The waitress left us to go get our drinks.
"Judging by the hint of mischievousness in you, should I be worried at what you ordered me?" Jasper leaned towards me as I grinned softly.
"No, not at all." I knew I wasn't convincing. "Just try it and if it doesn't go down nicely then the men's room is around the corner and you can, you know…"
"Yeah and that would be very amusing for you I imagine." Jasper looked back over to Peter then leaned back and stretched his arm behind my seat. "He didn't like that one bit. Interesting. So you've only talked to him that once h'm? He's a bit too possessive Char, that'd get old fast with you."
I gave Jasper a light jab in the ribs. "Tell me something useful empath, even I figured that out without any of your talents." I traced my fingernail along a deep impression on the wooden table before me. 'Beth' was carved into the wood with a rough heart around it. "He's hurt," Jasper removed his arm from behind me and leaned forward as the waitress returned with our drinks. "Deeply. When he looks at you there's a want and it's quickly followed up with self loathing and regret. The alcohol he's consuming is making this a bit too easy Char, it's insulting for a man of my talents." Drinks were set down on our table and the waitress left. He raised his shot glass and took a sniff before belting it back. "Lord almighty Charlotte what are you poisoning me with?"
I stifled a laugh as Jasper rose and before I could stop him he tracked down our waitress at the bar. I suspected it was to get a closer read on Peter. Jasper flagged down our waitress, asked for a beer and ordered up a round of drinks for for everyone sitting at the bar. I found a darker corner of the booth and sat back to watch and wonder what he was up to.
"Evenin' y'all." Jasper laid on his southern accent pretty thick. "Hell of a night isn't it?" He got some response and judging by the slow shift in body language I was picking up, I knew he was working his mojo. "My sister is showing me around town and I was wonderin' if there's anything good I should be askin' to see while I'm visiting." He positioned himself beside Peter as the guys named off all the usual tourist places when Peter mentioned the Museum of the Regiments. I shook my head, it was like giving Jasper preverbal candy. "That I need to see! Do ya mind going over there and giving my sister directions to it?" Peter nodded his head and pulled himself off his barstool. He looked really tired, his limbs almost a bit too heavy as he came over. Jasper stayed at the bar and talked up his friends; no doubt using his gift to make them all a little too forthcoming with information.
"Brother huh, and here I thought I could be finally be rid of you." Peter sat down heavily on to the bench across from me.
"Why would you do want to do that?" I signalled to the waitress to bring us another round of drinks; having poured mine out under the table already. "I'm not so bad, and besides, your friends are all men...unless you're into men." I glanced over to Jasper and he had the group of them laughing and chatting up a storm as if they were long lost friends recapping their lives apart. Poor bastards didn't know what Jasper could have them saying if he wanted to.
"Maybe I should be, is that going to stop you from coming here?" I shook my head no, and Peter sat back and scrubbed a hand down his face. "The place is on Park Avenue between sixty six and sixty seventh street."
The drinks hit the table pretty fast, the waitress remember me, or my tip rather. "Thanks. Keep my friends thirst here well looked after." The girl nodded and went off to her next table.
"Going to try to get me drunk again? You didn't get very far last time so what makes you think it'll work now?"
He was smug; a good sign. "Well, let's see. I'm quite determined to get you so drunk that I'll need to take you back to your place and have my wicked ways with you."
His head dropped and there was a snort. "You always get what you want huh? I should ask your brother if you were spoiled as a kid, I bet you were never spanked a day in your life?" Peter set one of his hands on the table and with his other picked his beer up roughly and took a long drink from it."
"Tell you what, if you can pin me down I'll let you be the first one to put your hands on my ass, to spank or do whatever you want to me." Peter nearly choked before I finished my sentence.
"Jesus woman. How do you get off talking like that to a complete stranger?" Peter wiped the spilled beer off his chin with the back of his hand. "You know, I don't like direct women. They seem slutty to me"
"One of us has to be since you're being so standoffish." I shrugged and took a shallow sip of my beer as Peter and I had a staring contest of sorts. "Besides, you like it." He kept drinking and the waitress kept changing out his empty bottles for full ones. Jasper was having a merry time at the bar and extracting anything and everything from Peter's friends using his gift and copious amounts of alcohol.
"So what is it that you do for a living?" Peter was drunk and I highly doubted he'd remember anything I'd tell him right now.
"Property Management, like a landlord but I don't collect checks or anything like that." I waved over the waitress to talk to her when she motioned to get me another drink. "I think I'm done for the night and if you'd be a doll, pull my brother from the bar and tally up our bill please." I got a nod and she quickly went over to where Jasper was and he started saying his goodbyes.
"Had enough of me darlin', well I'm hurt now." Peter was all but collapsed in his chair. I debated leaving him with his friends but they were in no condition to be taking him home; I was convinced a few of them would be sleeping on the street that night.
"Not at all." I got up as the waitress came back with the bill. I quickly looked at it and handed over three bills. "See that the barkeep gets half the change, he's earned it tonight." She was thrilled to say the least and quickly left Peter and I. "Come on ya big lug, time for me to have my wicked ways with you." Peter's eye were so heavily glazed over I wondered how he could even see out of them as he picked himself up from his chair and stumbled towards the door. His friends gave him a cheer as I took his arm to steady him. Jasper came out of the restroom where I presumed he had disposed of his beverages and joined us.
Jasper had his hands on Peter's wallet the second we were out of sight of his friends and found his address to show me, and had it back in his pocket before Peter knew it. "You got him Char? I'm heading home and I think I might stop somewhere to get a bite to eat first." I gave Jasper a nod as he headed off into the darkness.
Peter was surprisingly not too disoriented as to where he was and all I had to do was keep him up as he made his way down the street. There weren't too many out at this late hour so we went along unnoticed. "You've done this before, found your way home drunk out of your skull?"
There was an affirmative grunt and mumble before Peter was able to put a few words together that made any sense. "You can go if you want. I'm not much use to you like this." His breath was heavy with the alcohol I bought him and I wasn't all that sure even if he was sober I could take advantage of him anyway; it wasn't like I've ever tried that with a human and succeeded.
"Let me be the judge of that. I might just want to strap you down and sink my teeth into you."
Peter let out an amused snort."I don't taste so good Char."
I caught him mid tripping over nothing in the sidewalk and straightened him back up. I laughed to myself as we continued to make our way to where Peter lived. It wasn't too far and I made sure we weren't walking into someone else's place. Peter dropped his keys twice and nearly fell trying to get them the second time before I intervened and had the door opened with us inside in no time. Peter went to the bathroom and promptly threw up. I cringed. I heard him swearing to himself he'd never drink that much again as he ran the tap to get some water to wash his mouth out. I imagined if Jasper were here he'd be on his ass laughing at this. I shook my head as I stood by the window waiting for Peter to come out. What was I doing here, I had to stop and ask myself. Even if I was to end this human there were too many of his friends that had seen me and Jasper. Peter stumbled into the living room where I was and grunted at me. Such a charming drunk. If I was any other vampire, I would be disgusted I guess but I had come to notice that humans are in their 'purest selves' when intoxicated, an open book to us that didn't have the talent Jasper possessed.
"Shit. You're still here?" I watched him drop himself on to the couch.
"Why do you hate me?" I stayed where I was, I needed Peter to feel safe where he was and talking truthfully.
"I don't hate you. I don't like seeing stuff I don't think I should have." Peter's head dropped on to the headrest and I could see his jugular pulsating; beckoning me to come closer.
"Why don't you think you can or should have me? Do you think I'm too good for you?" I stayed planted where I was.
"Yeah," His head fell to the side and looked over to me. "you're too pretty and nice and sexy to want me. I should be dead."
My brow lifted, this was a breakthrough. "Should you, why? You a criminal on the mend?" I edged closer when I was sure I wasn't going to get thrown up on.
Peter's hand went to his shirt and undid almost all of the buttons to expose a pattern of scars on his chest and shoulders. The shirt came off and there were more scars on his arms. "The wanted to see how long I'd live, how much I could take...bastards." He sighed and got up to go to the kitchen to get a bottle of water; to sober up I imagined before coming back to sit beside me. "I was overseas, fighting and got captured. They were planning to use me, I figured, to scare off the rest of my group into retreating when I finally died and tossing my useless corps out for them to find all mangled."
He was hurting still, badly, from the experience and seemed to be reliving it as his hand went over each of the marks. I watched him, familiar with the process but unable to help. "You survived when many wouldn't of."
He snorted, "You sound like my shrink." and took a long drink of water from his bottle. "They would have finished the job too if my brothers didn't surprise them with a night attack. The shits that they were scattered like cockroaches in the light...took two months for me to wake up, three more to speak. I'm on permanent disability now and I overheard my counselor say I might be for some time." There was a sudden disappointment in his look. "She left me. I was hanging on for her and she left me and took my little girl with her. Unstable she said and that was enough to get sole custody. Her lawyer won't budge in letting me see her until I make progress. That was five years ago. She's probably forgotten me by now." He was quiet for some time."That's why I sober up just enough to go to those damn meetings. I tell myself that if I can survive what I've been though, I'm strong enough to get through this and see my girl."
He looked up at me, to gauge me I figured, to see if I was going to make a run for it. I was listening to every word. I also noted how his captors, by the scars that were left behind on him, took great care in missing every major artery and vein; opting to exact the maximum amount of pain and damage on him as they could. The gunshots to his shoulder was the last of what they did; it appeared the scars were the freshest. They must have realized they were under attack and wanted him to die while his troop watched. It was something she would have done to an enemy; memories emerged of how cruel she was so long ago. It was the talent Maria thought she possessed and that's what kept her alive past her year; that and not wanting Jasper. Jasper had told her as much, years after they escaped, that she was void of love at the time; their war had taken it from her. "You're trying so hard to kill my mood Peter. Wont work you know." Charlotte ficked on the nearby lamp for light and stood and took off her blouse and started point to what was left of her battle marks. "Here is where I was bit. Here is one across my arm; it was nearly ripped off." She turned and sat with her back near him. "And back there, I think, there are three lines going across my back. Those nearly cost me my life." She felt Peter's fingers trace along them. "If we didn't fight for our lives we would die. Simple as that." His hand still moved on her back only to stray off and rest on her shoulder. "So you were right, no one has laid a hand on me, not for a long time without regretting it." The warmth from his hand radiated into her. "You will get past it, takes time but you will Peter." She glanced back to see him still questioning what he saw. "I was taken, captured, trained and told I'd die if I didn't fight for my life. It was all hand to hand, no guns no weapons. Only our strength and skill. I was too stubborn to let anyone kill me easily I guess." I turned and straddled Peter's lap. We were both broken from our own battles and that was what might have caught my notice of him. "So you see, not too sexy at all for you and you should have me."
His eyes fell to my chest, then to my arm and back up to my eyes. His hands went to my waist then fell to my hips. "The spirit is willing but the body is weak darling, so very weak. " His head shook and he swore to himself repeatedly and restated under his breath that he should be dead and questioned why he was being punished like this.
I had never met such a broken man in my many years. I could take him, hell I could take him if he wasn't drunk but he was not all himself still; the smell of alcohol was still heavy on him and no soldier that had endured so much should be taken down in such a state. "I can come back tomorrow night if you want?" I leaned in closer so my chest was on his, "Let you rest up and see if you have what it takes, see if you can handle me the way you think I should be to put me in my place?" but the smell of vomit was still on his breath and I couldn't bring myself to taste it, not again. I supported most of my weight on my knees and brushed my lips down Peter's throat, feeling the vein I so wanted pulsing just below the surface. I felt his hands back on my waist, almost pushing me away but they weren't exerting the real effort I knew he still had in him. "Clean yourself up, stay sober and I'll be back tomorrow night around midnight?" There was nod, a sober one, before his hands fell away.
"I need to," Peter's hand pulled away from my waist to his stomach and I was up and off of him just as fast. "go." He bolted off the couch, at a pace that impressed me for a drunk man, and raced into the bathroom. He swore several more times at himself as more of the vile fluid poured out of him.
I hoped he was the kind of drunk that remembered stuff, I'd hate to show up and not get a little amusement before my meal. I gathered up my blouse and put it on and showed myself out. I listened from outside for a little bit to make sure he didn't collapse and hit his head but he did manage to make it to bed and pass out for the night.
.