Chapter 2

Proposition

A little boy opened a bedroom door whose owner was trying to get as much sleep as she could before her shift. The boy didn't care, he wanted his big sister to wake up and play with him. He snuck up on his sister's sleeping form. He jumped on the bed and continued his jumping, "Wake up! Wake up, Eveee!"

"Jimmy, what did mom tell you?" a sleepy Eve asked from under the covers.

"To not poke the dog with a stick," he said.

"Jimmy!"

He stopped his jumping, "To stop waking you up before noon," he was on his knees, "But you're sleeping the day away."

She sighed before pulling back the cover, "I know you want to play but I have to be at work by three."

It was the boy's turn to sigh, "Okay."

Eve grabbed her brother and started to tickle him, "But since I'm already up," the boy started to giggle, "Just give me an hour to get up and ready."

She stopped tickling him, "Alright, alright," he said, "One hour."

"Now get out," she said. She watched her brother leave the room. After he left, she pulled the cover back over her and sighed loudly.

XXX

It was after one when Eve emerged from her room. She headed down stairs to get something to eat.

"He did it again, didn't he?" her mom asked.

Eve sat down at the table in the kitchen, "He did, but tomorrow I have the day off."

"I'll talk to him again," her mom said.

"I don't think he'll stop no matter what you say. It's honestly fine," she said.

"I'll get you something to eat. He's waiting for you in the living room," her mom smiled, handing her coffee.

"Oh, yes coffee," she sipped, "Let's go see what the little monster has planned."

She entered the living room to find that her brother set up a race track, "Finally," he exclaimed, "I thought you'll never be down."

"Are we racing today?" she asked.

He handed her a remote to one of the racing cars, "Green one is yours."

"Thanks," she said, taking another sip, "I think I'm going to need to eat something to regain my strength."

"Don't forget to eat something with lots of sugar," the boy said, "I don't want you falling down the stairs again."

She smiled at him, "Thanks, little man," she ruffled his hair.

"I'm not little…I'm eight," he said.

"Oh, okay," she said before walking back to the kitchen.

"Here is a sandwich and chocolate milk," her mother said, turning to the refrigerator.

Eve sat down, "And insulin for dessert, thanks mom," she said sarcastically.

"Ha-ha," her mother said, "Just make sure you take it. I don't want a repeat from two weeks ago."

"Alright, alright, I don't need the speech again. I got plenty from my eight year old brother," she said.

"He worries about you, even if he might not understand fully," her mother said, "I'll leave you alone. I have shopping to do. Don't worry I'll be back before you leave. Watch him, okay?"

"Of course," she said.

Eve raced her brother multiple times. She won some. Jimmy was happy that he beat his big sister.

"You're fast little man," Eve said, watching her mom walk in the door with bags of groceries, "But I have to get going. Help mom okay," she kissed him on the forehead.

"Do you need me to pick you up later?" her mom asked as Eve as putting on her shoes.

"No, I'll ask Brit to take me," she said.

"Good," her mom said, "I don't like the idea of you walking home in the dark anymore."

"I know, mom," she said.

"I've heard stories of young girls walking home and they're never seen again," her mom said.

"Like I said hundreds of times, vampires don't come into the bar. And those are just stories," she said.

"I'll protect you from the vampires," Jimmy said.

"I know you can, because you the bravest man in the world," she said. She looked at the clock, "I'm going to be late."

She rushed out of the apartment.

XXX

Barely making it to work on time, she started clear and set tables, hoping that her boss didn't notice her coming in late.

"Eve!" John, her boss called, "In my office for a moment." She slowly walked to his office, located in the back, "Close the door," she did, "I know it's hard for you to come to work on time. You're supporting your mother and little brother. I want to help you."

"Of course you do," she said.

"Now, listen before you say 'no'," he said, "I don't mind you coming in 30 minutes after your shift starts, as long as you stay 30 minutes after everyone goes home…to help me close."

"Oh, I see," she said, "When you say, 'help you close'; I think you mean…give you sexual favors."

"Exactly," he smiled.

"What makes you think I'll say 'yes' this time, when I didn't when you offered me more money for blow jobs?" she asked sarcastically.

"Because I know how much your job means to you and your ability to support your family," he said, "Think about it, sweetheart. Now, get back to work."

"John, as always, quite the charmer," she said before leaving to go back to clearing tables.

The answer was 'NO'. The answer would always be that no matter how despite she would get. She grabbed her rag and continued to her work. She looked around the room at some of the other waitresses. She knew who had agreed and not agreed to his propositions. She tried not to judge. It was their business.

She was busy counting inventory for that shift when she noticed a case of TruBlood. She found it very odd that it was sitting on the ground under the sink, "Jen, what is this?"

"It came with this afternoon with the regular shipment by mistake. We didn't know what to do with it since John doesn't sell them here," Jen said.

"I'll figure it out," Eve said as she picked up the case, "I think there are supposed to be kept cold."

"It doesn't matter," John said, walking up behind her, "Throw it out. I'll write it off," he placed a box down, "Here's the money for the register," he walked off.

"Seems like a waste," Jen said before going back to work.

"It sure does," Eve said.

She didn't know why but she placed the case of TruBlood into the refrigerator.

It was later in the shift and the place was busy like it was every night.

Eve was bartender and waitress that night, which made her extremely busy. Walking to tables, delivering orders, and bartending all at the same time. She was very good at her job. She knew all the regular's names and orders by heart.

Close to eleven that night, the mood in the bar changed when a new customer walked in. Eve has never seen him before, but like everyone else, she knew the new customer was a vampire.

She didn't mean to stare like everyone else, but she couldn't help it. The vampire was wearing nothing but all grey. She thought that he looked a bit young. She watched him look around the bar before finding a place to sit.

It wasn't until he locked eyes with her, did she realize that the vampire had sat down in her section. She took a big breath before looking away, "Oh, boy," she whispered to herself.

She grabbed her order pad before making her way over to the table. She turned sharply to the right when someone grabbed her by the arm. She realized it was John, "Get rid of him," he ordered.

She looked at him, "You run a business. He came in for service," she said.

John gripped her arm tighter, "I don't serve his kind. Get. Rid. Of. Him," he said.

She pulled her arm away from him and continued her walk over to the table. The vampire didn't acknowledge her presence.

Eve looked back at her boss, who was watching her. Along with everyone else at the bar.

She turned back to the vampire and decided to ignore the order she was given, "Is…Is there something I can get for you, sir?" she asked quietly.

"Did he hurt you?" the vampire asked.

"Excuse me?" Eve asked.

"Did he hurt your arm?" the vampire asked again, this time looking up at her.

She looked into his eyes and realized for the first time that her arm was burning. She rubbed her arm, "No, I'm fine," she said, "Would you like to look at the menu?" she pulled out one from her apron, "We have a great selection of drinks."

"Do you have TruBlood?" the vampire asked.

"No, we don't…Wait. Yes we do. A shipment arrived today on accident. I put the case in the refrigerator," she said.

"You don't usually serve my kind, do you?" the vampire asked.

Eve looked behind her and then back at him, "No, we don't. But I'll be happy to serve you," she smiled.

He smiled back, "Then I'll have a TruBlood."

"Then I'll be right back," she turned to leave but then turned back, "Do you like them warm?"

"If it's not too much trouble," the vampire said.

She smiled again, "Not at all," she said before leaving.

She walked behind the bar to retrieve a bottle from the refrigerator, "I thought I told you to get rid of him," John said from behind her.

She closed the door, "He's a paying customer. You shouldn't discriminate," she started to read the side of the bottle for directions.

"He's not even alive, so it doesn't count," John said.

"You do realize he can hear you," she said.

John looked over his shoulder, "I don't care if the entire blood-sucking community can hear me. I don't want them in my bar."

"The times are changing…So keep up," she said.

This comment angered him as he grabbed the bottle from her hand and threw it on the ground at her feet, "I am warning you, Eve…"

She didn't take a step back. She stood her ground, "You can warn me all you want, John," she said.

"You're fired!" he yelled.

The entire bar went silent.

"You can't fire me," she said, calmly, "I quite. I'm tired of working for a man who doesn't respect woman and harasses them nonstop. And as for your proposition, I've thought long and hard about this…Blow yourself!" she yelled as she threw her apron at his face.

She turned to retrieve her stuff from under the bar before exiting the dead silent bar. She noticed on her way out that the vampire was no longer sitting at the table. Good thing too, because she was the only one defending him.

It was a warm night as Eve walked to the end of the block before leaning against the brick wall for support, "I can't believe I just did that," she said to herself.

"I'm sorry you got fired because of me," she heard from beside herself.

She jumped as she turned to find the vampire from the bar standing on her right side, "Don't be sorry. I hated working for that man," she smiled at him, "That felt so refreshing."

"Why didn't you find another job?" the vampire asked, "If you don't mind me asking."

"I've had that job since I graduated from high school and it's hard to find work in the city, so I put up with his bullshit," she said.

"My name is Godric," the vampire offered.

She extended her hand to him, "My name is Eve," he looked at her hand as she put her hand back to her side, "You don't shake, do you?"

"As you said in there, it's best to keep up with the times," Godric said before extending his hand to her.

She took his for a brief moment.

"It was nice to meet you, but I better get home," she said before walking across the street.

Godric kept up with her, "You don't have a car?" he asked, a little worried. It was dangerous to walk alone at night.

"No, I never really needed one," she said.

"I'll walk you home," he offered, "It's the least I could do."

She smiled at him, "Thank you, that actually makes me feel a little bit better. Brit usually takes me home but she's still working."

After a moment of walking in silence, "Is Eve short for something?" he asked.

"It's short for Evelyn," she said.

"It's a beautiful name," he said, "An old name."

"I'm named after my grandmother," she said, "Yours is interesting."

"Yes, I suppose it is," he said.

After about 20 minutes and some more small talk, the two of them were standing outside of her apartment building, "Well, this is me. Thank you so much for walking me home Godric. You really didn't have to," she said.

"It was my pleasure, Evelyn," he said.

"Please, call me Eve," she said, "It was nice meeting you, though I wish it were under different circumstances."

"It was a pleasure as well," he said, "I'm sorry again for costing you your job."

"Its okay, Godric, I'll start tomorrow to look for another one," she said, "Goodnight," she opened the gate.

"Eve," Godric called, "I would like to offer you a place of employment. You would be working for me and I can assure you the wages will be excellent."

"A job?" she asked, "Doing what?"

"Working at my home…Being my personal human assistant," he said.

"And what would that include?" she asked.

"I'll send a car to come pick you up at eight tomorrow night and we can discuss further about my offer," Godric said.

Eve looked at him closely. She had heard from everyone to be careful around vampires. They could hurt you at any moment. But actually meeting one changed everything. She didn't know what to believe anymore. So she decided to give it a chance.

"Alright," she said, "I'll be ready by eight."

Godric stepped foreword to grab her hand. He brought her hand to his lips gently, "I look foreword to tomorrow night."

Eve nodded her head at Godric before he disappeared.

She looked around the street, "Oh boy, I'm in trouble now," she whispered before walking up the steps to enter her apartment.

Was she really looking foreword to tomorrow night?

She honestly didn't know.