Wolshire

Chapter 17

Casper

Victoria Needs a Shirt

Here comes the chaos. I jumped into my truck. Dang it, I'd missed my opportunity to jump off a cliff. Victoria was still living in London whilst also having trust issues with Brooklyn. Jacob had finally begun to warm up to Victoria, but now he's never hated her more. I laid on the steering wheel, careful not to set off the horn. I sighed and started the car.

Returning

I grabbed one of my shirts and jumped back into my car. It was going to be Thursday tomorrow. The weekend couldn't be coming slower. I'd spent so much of the last month worried about finding Victoria but now that she was here it was like time was slowing down.

I knelt at Victoria's bedside. She seemed to be sleeping nicely; it was almost midnight anyway. I placed the shirt down and sighed. I rested my hands softly next to her and examined her face. Her chest barely raised up and down to show she was breathing. If it wasn't for the fullness of her skin, one might she was dead.

"Brooklyn, I thought vampires didn't need to sleep."

"Well, I like her sleeping. It's more peaceful." Brooklyn sat down next to me in the darkness. She put her back against the wall and watched Victoria pensively.

"Did she do anything while I was gone?"

Brooklyn shook her head. "She went straight to sleep." My blonde-haired friend brought her knees to her chest and rested her hands on top of them. She looked at her hands and began to pick at her nails.

I stared at Brooklyn for a long time. "Why did you betray Vittorio?" I asked flatly.

Brooklyn shook her head. "I don't have to tell you anything."

I put my hands on the ground and turned myself to face her. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but I think we deserve to know." I looked past Brooklyn and out the door.

Jacob was sitting with his hands crossed in a chair, asleep.

Brooklyn stood up and yawned, "You should go home soon, Casper."

I watched her as she left and woke Jacob up. They began talking and I watched them for a couple of seconds before looking back at Victoria.

"Hey, Fisher. Wake up." I shook her lightly, and her eyes slowly opened.

"Here." I held out the shirt and turned my gaze away as she put it on.

"Thank you." She spoke softly.

I smiled lightly and shook my head at her, "It's nothing."

Her face was bathed in the warm light of the basement. It cast long shadows across her face and the ground. I studied the features of her face, the curve of her lips, and the bend of her eyelashes. I watched her and it seemed like she returned the favor. She stared into my eyes like she was seeing into my mind.

"You should go to bed." I hit the bed and turned to stand up.

Victoria grabbed onto my wrist. "Stay a little longer."

I turned back to her and saw the fear in her eyes. I nodded and sat back down. "Okay."

1 AM

Victoria had gone back to sleep. I slowly stood up and closed the door to the room she was in. I tapped Brooklyn's shoulder.

"Hey, I have to get going. I'll meet you at lunch like normal?"

She closed her book and nodded at me.