𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄 | 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴

38: Stranger Encounters

Karl:

Felix needs to meet up with you.

Come to the usual spot, right away.

It takes less than a second for your expression to turn into a scowl. Karl, that bastard. Since he's constantly tracking you, he must know you've been at home for the past little while. Today's your day off. You never used to be able to take any days off before, but if you're going to have vampires biting into your neck, a lowlife loan shark to pay back, and also, a group of gangsters that are practically itching to kill you, then yeah. You'd say you deserve a fucking break every now and then.

Not that Karl gives a single shit about any of that. But still, you decide you may as well try your luck.

[Name]:

Does it have to be right now?

You usually give me a day's notice.

Is it all possible to meet up tomorrow instead?

I'll be sure to clear my schedule in the evening.

Karl:

Since when do you make demands?

Don't piss me off.

Hurry up and get over here.

If you're late, there's no telling what I'll do.

Yeah, you should have expected that. God fucking dammit. You were in the middle of a movie. A pretty crappy movie, but still. You kind of wanted to see how it would end. Also, you would much rather do literally anything but have to see Felix. The mere mention of his name makes you feel nauseous. Small goosebumps have even risen to the surface of your skin.

But of course, you don't exactly have a choice. You suppose you should be thankful for the money, if nothing else. Xavier insisted that he wanted to keep supporting you to the best of his ability, and you'll still let him drink your blood even if it's not through the program, but now that he's out of a job, he probably can't afford to blow too much money. You need to be considerate of his situation. You'd feel bad repeatedly accepting money from him when he doesn't even have a source of income.

That's not the case when it comes to Felix, though. That bastard is more than willing to be your personal cash cow, and you'll profit off it, no hesitation. It's the very least he can do. Even then, it doesn't fix the root of the problem. You're still stuck with Karl's bitch-ass.

...ugh. Stupid fucking Felix.

You're practically dragging your feet the whole time as you make your way over to Felix's house. Most of the fear has subsided by now. You've done this before, many times, and Karl has assured you that he would intervene in the event of any actual danger. Well, that's what he says, at least. You can't help but wonder how much easier his life would be if you just disappeared for good. There's no reason for him to stop Felix if he loses control. It would just be one less problem for him to deal with.

Although it's not likely it'll actually happen, in the back of your mind, you know it's still true.

Every single time you come here, without fail, you're forced to make peace with the possibility of your death.

"[Name]!"

To add insult to injury, every time you come here, Felix greets you with a bright, unwavering smile, as if you're two best buddies who've just been reunited after years apart. He looks happy to see you, for reasons you can't quite explain. It has nothing to do with your blood anymore. He moved past that fixation a long time ago. So, you just don't get it. You've made it clear, over and over again, that you despise him.