The Game of Hearts

13. Want

I went through the rest of work quietly. I tried texting Rowan, but not one response or even a read. I wasn't worried, or maybe I was. It wasn't like we were in a relationship, but I was growing a bit fond of him. That shouldn't really be a bad thing. There wasn't anything wrong with it, I just wasn't looking for a relationship. Especially with a vampire.

What about Liam, though? Something about him drew me to him. But, something about Rowan also gave lingering feelings. I was just a mess of confusion. Speaking of Liam, though, I had begun to think about the events after Rowan stormed away with a pouty face. The way he spoke to me just felt so good. It felt... I couldn't even put a word to it.

My manager found me dozing off, noting the tiredness and negative thought processes in my demeanor. She said I could leave early, thank god. But it was probably just so she didn't have a tired employee making the drinks, so I left. I didn't want to bother with Rowan just yet. I was still mad at him. Maybe I would be mad right up until I got an explanation from him.

Instead of going home, I went for a walk. My hoodie protected me from the cold. The crisp air made my skin feel like every pore ate a mint. The atmosphere even smelled cold. I couldn't explain how I could smell the temperature, so maybe I just had a freakiness in my genes. Didn't matter. It was a nice smell, and the cold air woke me up enough to catch sight of Liam sitting at the park.

I stopped walking, eyeing him curiously. He must have felt eyes on him because he looked up from whatever he was looking at and made eye contact with me. Almost immediately, a sad smile broke on his face. Smiling back, I made my way over to him. Snow crunching beneath my feet like a dog crunching on his food. "Hey stranger," I said. He happened to be sitting on the outer wall of a fountain. I sat beside him, looking in the direction of his concern. On the ground, where ice and snow had been scooped off the pavement, a list of names were covering a large piece of tile. My eyes scanned over the names until my eyes found a familiar one.

John Foley, age 43.

"What is this?" I asked him slowly.

"It's in memory of all the people who died last year," he mumbled, moving his leg out to scrape off some more snow.

In Memory of the Killings of Culpeper, Virginia.

"Killings?" I asked slowly, my heart pounding against my chest at the thought.

"Your friend, last year he went on a killing spree. He killed over a dozen people, including my Dad when he tried to force justice on Rowan," his jaw tensed, making me silent.

I stayed that way for a few minutes, my mind processing his words.

I was having sex with a killer. Obviously, it was required of him to drink blood. I had seen TV shows like The Vampire Diaries do it differently. They were able to survive off animals or blood bags from a hospital. So what made Rowan do such a thing? Was he killing now? Was my thought, but I felt like he wasn't. He had me. He wouldn't...

I took a deep breath, carefully placing my hand on Liam's upper arm. "I'm sorry," was all I could really say. He nodded in response, his shoulders shaking in the slightest. I wondered if he'd rather be alone, or have someone with him. Maybe it would be better if I left so he could have his time. So I stood. "I don't want to bother you so I'll just go but... you can always call me, okay?"

He grabbed my hand, his own dry and warm, and tugged me to sit back down. "Don't," he said softly and I brought my gaze to him. His eyes were pleading me to sit with him. I smiled slightly before sitting down again. Liam's hand never left mine. Instead it just wrapped gently around it, making my heart lurch. I'd never really been emotionally intimate with another human being. I wasn't that type of girl. But when Liam started to lean his head against my shoulder, I just...

I could've sworn he could hear my heart beating.