Blud

Part 6: Liam

When I get home, my nerves are shot. The events from tonight swirl around in my head, all the information I learned, the threatening presence of Marcus and how I just about shit myself when he slammed his glass on the desk. The fear I'm holding in my guts for those two girls I ordered a death sentence on. Even if Eve says they will be okay? I can't help but worry. I will be looking into them in the next week to make sure they made it out alive. I lock my door and take off my shoes as Milo comes meowing from around the corner, his little feet padding on the floor as he makes his way to me. I scoop him up and nuzzle my face into the fur of his neck, scratching his head gently and he purrs loudly in my ear.

"What a handsome boy, yes you are," I say in a baby voice as I walk us over to the kitchen. I plop him on the floor and open the cabinet with his canned food in it, taking out a dish from the dishwasher and kicking it shut with my foot as I turn back to the counter. He knows what I'm doing and begins meowing at top volume, weaving between my legs and slamming his little head into my ankle. I chuckle and rip the top off the can, shaking it into the dish and tossing the empty container into the trash can. I place the dish on the floor and before it touches the hard wood, Milo's face is in the food, taking in huge mouthfuls of whatever that wet food mess is made of. I swipe my hand down his back as I stand up and grab myself a frozen mail order meal from the freezer, placing it in the microwave and hitting the preset button. I lean against the counter and hang my head, closing my eyes and trying to wrap my head around this vampire situation. I need to be careful, because it could get messy. I don't even want to know what will happen if they find out I'm a cop before I can tell them myself. Eve will lose her mind. I'll probably get beheaded.

The microwave beeps and I take out my slop, mixing it up with little enthusiasm and walk it over to the bar where I sit and eat it in silence. Milo finishes his meal and hops up on the counter next to my food. I 'pssst' at him, swiping him off gently with my arm and he hits the floor with a thump, running away down the hallway to my bedroom.

"Bye, then..." I mumble, alone.

After I toss the tray out and wash my fork and milo's dish, I grab a bottle of water and head to the room opposite my bedroom. It's full of painting materials. Oils are my favorite, but I do enjoy water color too. I flip the light on and walk over to the piece I've been working on the past few weeks. A large landscape of the hills in Ireland. I vacationed there with my parents once when I was a teenager and fell in love with the rolling hills and vibrant colors of the coast. As I pick up my brush, unwrapping it from the plastic I put on to keep the paint from drying, I turn the brush around in the light. The green shade reminds me of Eve's eyes, and I feel my chest warm and my heartbeat pick up at the thought of her. I swallow hard, dipping the brush in the paint on my table. As I bring the brush to the canvas to finish a tree in the foreground, I freeze. I drop the brush and rip the painting off the easel, leaning it carefully against the table leg. I walk over to my empty canvas stash and grab a smaller portrait sized frame, bringing it back to my easel.

I take the green and start painting without thinking, without giving myself the chance to really realize what I'm doing. I zone in to the artwork until dawn, using deep, rich shades of green and blacks, mixing new colors I've never used before to get the image out of my head and on canvas. When my eyes grow heavy, I put my brush down and flick the light off on my way out of the room without looking back at my work.

~

I wake up around three in the afternoon the next day, completely rested and surprisingly energized. After my shower and feeding Milo again, we play fetch with a little feather mouse he loves so much before I head out to work. I hate rotating shifts, preferring the night shift, but I don't mind swapping around when extra money is involved. On the way in for my evening shift, I call Travis to give him an update. I connect my phone to my cruiser and dial his office number, hearing the ring through the speakers in the car. It rings a half dozen times before he picks up finally.