The Neighbor's Son

Chapter 17

Chapter 17;

"Where's Layne?" I asked Labiba as I came down the staircase. Labiba gave me a chilling glare, and crossed her legs.

"Hell if I know. I thought he was with you," Labiba's eyes directed towards Adrian, and then back at me. "Why? What happened?"

I gulped and balled my fists up. "He just left. I don't know where he went..."

"I didn't ask that. I asked what happened,"

I stared down at the ground. "Nothing happened," I murmured.

Juliet whirled her head around towards my direction, widening her eyes. "Cadence... Did he...?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

Juliet was over to me in a second, grabbing ahold of my hands. She stared at me with her beautiful blue eye and her glowing one. She seemed sad, but worried at the same time.

"Did he hurt you?" She asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No. But we need to find him," I looked over at the clock on the wall and it was a minute before demon hour. I began to panic. "Juliet, you have to help me,"

Juliet looked over her shoulder to see if Adrian and Labiba were listening, and then back at me. She nodded, and I smiled with relief.

-

"He has to be close. No vampire wanders that far away from their home," Juliet stated, as we were walking down the sidewalk. More like I was walking. Juliet was hovering.

"I just hope we find him soon..." I mumbled, darting my eyes in every possible direction.

Juliet stopped where she was, and wouldn't move again. I looked back at her, sighing. "What is it?" I asked.

"Do you love Layne?"

"Yes... No... I don't know. I mean, I kinda like him but I don't know about loving him... Why?"

"Cause he loves you,"

"He does?"

"Yes. I can sense it off of him really well. He just won't admit it,"

I started lightly kicking around a rock, not meeting her gaze. "He told me I was beautiful last night but I didn't think much of it,"

"That's a start. Layne has a hard time loving anyone. He hasn't loved anyone since his family died, because you know, vampire problems,"

"He hasn't had a girlfriend?" I asked, excited. I don't know why I was getting excited about it either.

Juliet shook her head, and somehow, that gave me some relief. I wonder why he hasn't had a girlfriend. Probably because he kills all the girls he meets, but what makes me so different?

I heard a horrifying scream come from the east of me just then. Juliet and I started running towards the sound. It seemed to fade as we got closer and closer to it. When we finally made it to the sound, it was completely gone. We searched around everywhere from where the scream came from. Juliet called me over to a nearby dumpster, and I was terrified by what was back there.

There was a teenage girl, lying dead behind the dumpster. She had blood draining from her neck, and she was awfully pale. The life from her face was completely gone, and it looked like she had suffered. I dropped to my knees, and placed my hands over my face. Who would do this? Juliet bent down and examined the girls neck wounds.

"There are two puncture holes in her neck," She was tracing her fingers around the holes. "I already know the cause of her death,"

I shook my head, not wanting her to continue. If this was a vampires work, then I didn't want to know who did it. At least the girl wasn't suffering anymore. I stood up, balled my fists up, and started heading the other direction.

"Cadence! Where are you going?" Juliet called.

"Home. To MY house,"

Juliet appeared before my eyes right in front of me. "Are you stupid?! During demon hour? Hell no. Especially after what happened to that girl. We have to get to Laynes house... Right now! The demons will smell the blood any minute now and I bet they're on their way,"

-

I entered Laynes house, stubbornly. I didn't wanna be in this house any longer. It was like a torture chamber. I wasn't allowed to leave. I plopped down on the couch, crossing my arms. Labiba glared at me, and laced her hands together.

"Any luck finding him?" She asked.

"No. We found a dead girl though,"

"Oh?" Labiba raised an eyebrow.

"Juliet says a vampire killed her,"

Labiba directed her attention towards Juliet. "Is this true? Do you think Layne could've done it?"

Juliet's eye kept swapping from me to Labiba. She was hiding something from me, and I didn't like it. Juliet didn't answer her, and she stood up with Adrian.

"I'm gonna go," then she was gone with Adrian.

Labiba looked back at me, and smiled evilly. "Cadence, tell me what happened upstairs,"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Pretty sure you want to live to see your family, don't you?" she threatened. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Layne and I were making out upstairs..." I blushed. "And, he bit my lip, but then he was gone. It was like he had seen a ghost or something,"

Labiba pursed her lips, and started thinking. She tapped her fingers against her thigh, still staring at me.

"I know what's going on..." She said, slowly.

"Yeah?"

She sighed. "I was just like him when I was a younger vampire. I found the person I loved the most. He was like my soulmate, but he was also human. He ran away once he figured out what I was. We were having sex, and I got out of hand, and bit him. I tasted his blood, and it was like nothing I have ever tasted before. It was rich and sweet. I wanted more but I couldn't hurt him... I ran away and started feeding on humans.. One by one the population decreased. But none of them suited me. I only wanted his blood. But I kept feeding and feeding, just so I didn't hurt him. I think Layne is doing that for you,"

"Was it Layne that killed that girl...."

Labiba nodded. "He shouldn't have left her behind, but once you've started, you can't stop,"

I shivered and stared at the ground. "Will I ever be able to see him again?"

"I don't know," Labiba bit her lip. "He will most likely come back. I wouldn't worry about it," she smiled at me for the first time since I met her. She can be nice when she wanted to be.

I heard the front door slam from behind me. I jumped ten feet, and then immediately glanced towards the door. It was Layne, but he didn't look the same. He was drenched in blood, his hair matted with sweat, his piercing ice green eyes were slits, and his hands were shaking, but he remained calm. Labiba made her way over to him, grabbed him by the collar, and pushed him up against the wall.

She leaned in closer to his ear and whispered, "What the hell have you done?"

Layne pushed her off of him, glaring at her. "I didn't do anything wrong,"

"Don't play stupid with me. You killed that girl, and possibly multiple others,"

"Whatever. You don't know a fucking thing,"

Layne started heading towards the stairs, and made his way up there. I heard one of the doors slam shut, and Labiba sighed.

"I know he killed them," She mumbled to herself, heading into the kitchen.

I was left alone in the living room, and it was kinda creepy. I didn't want to be alone, so I started heading towards the room Layne was in upstairs. I walked down the narrow hallway, checking all the bedrooms. He wasn't in there. I went to the last room in the hall, which was the bathroom, and heard the shower running. I knocked on the door, and once I did, the shower turned off. I didn't hear anything for a long while before I heard a quiet 'come in' from inside. I took a deep breath, and quietly entered the room.

Layne sat there on the toilet, with just a towel around his waist. His pale body was still dripping with water, and his hair was messy. He was staring at the ground, hunching over, lacing his fingers. He didn't look up as I came in, so I sat down on the floor, against the tub.

We sat in silence for a while. It was kinda nice just being alone with him, having everything peaceful and quiet. I hugged my knees close to my chest, and Layne remained in the position he was in.

"I didn't kill those girls, Cadence," he murmured, quietly. He sounded so innocent, and vulnerable.

"Why did you leave...?" I asked.

He took a deep breath. "I didn't want to hurt you,"

"Why would you hurt me?"

"When I bit you... I bit a little too hard, and it drew blood. I tasted it, and it was amazing," he scoffed. "It was the best thing I have ever had. I didn't want to stop, but if I did, I would've killed you and I couldn't live with myself if I did. I had to leave. I had to get away for a few hours, just so I can forget the taste of it... The smell of it," His eyes turned to slits. "I went on a walk, and I spotted a few demons feeding off of a girl, so I went over to stop them. She was dead by the time I killed the demons, so I fed off of her blood... I didn't kill her. All the girls I tried to save, were already dead so I fed off of them. But none of them compared to you," he looked up at me with those slit eyes.

"So demons killed them and you just fed off of them?"

"I just said that, didn't I?"

I looked down. Layne sighed, and covered his nose. "Cadence... I still want to feed off of you.. But I don't know if I will be able to stop,"

"Just don't think about it, Lucifer,"

He chuckled. "Easier said than done,"

I stood up, and I was towering over him. I started messing with his hair, but he grabbed my wrist and brought it to his mouth. He sniffed at it, and started licking it. I didn't pull away from him. I guess this was kind of a test for him.

Layne was about to bite down, but he stopped as soon as his teeth scrapped my skin. He threw my wrist back at me, and glared at me. "Why are you doing this to me?" he asked.

"Layne, I don't want to be seen as just a food source to you. I want to be able to be around you, and not have your eyes become all freaky,"

Layne blinked and his eyes went back to normal. "I can't help it. Whenever I think about it, it just happens. They turn that way when I'm hungry,"

"Well learn to control yourself better,"

Layne stood up now, and he was now towering me. He was so close to me that our bodies almost touched. I've never seen Layne's body, and it was just amazing. All the water came dripping down on to his towel, and I so badly wanted to rip that off. He had his face close to mine, and he balled his fists up.

"Don't tell me what to do, princess," he threatened.

I stood on my tip toes to reach his ear. "Then fix it yourself," I whispered. Layne grabbed my arms, and made me look at him again.

"Cadence, I have to tell you something,"

"Yes?"

"I..."