Annalise Writes

Chapter 14

After I re-emerged from showering and tossing everyone's bloodstained clothing in the wash, I found Jaxon and the vamp sitting on opposite ends of my living room couch. They were still in their underwear. I tried not to let their impeccably delectable hard bodies distract me, but, damn, those perfectly formed abs were really testing me...

Using both of his thumbs, Jaxon was tapping away in a frenzy on my phone screen with a look of intense concentration. His forehead was wrinkled like a baby pug, and the corners of his mouth were straining downwards in a slight frown.

Lord Maxwell, on the other hand, was snuggled up next to Kyra. Apparently, my roommate had decided to come out of her witchy lair while I was away. The two idiots were giggling over something on her phone.

I scowled.

When did these two become such good friends?

The vamp's sudden interest in my roommate and her 'tiny rectangular contraption' looked a bit sus to me.

The bloodsucker definitely didn't appear to be looking up ways to make some money!

I sauntered up to Lord M and demanded, "What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be Googling job listings with Jax right now?"

Lord M glanced up and flashed me a bright smile.

"Why, Annalise, how wonderful of you to join us again! Your lovely, black-hearted companion here is showing me a most marvelous function on this cellular telephone of hers... I could have never imagined that human ingenuity would be able to merge technology and social correspondence in such a convenient and engaging manner!"

Technology?

Social... correspondence?

My eyes darted over to Kyra with suspicion.

Were they messing around on social media or something?

I dared to ask, "What the heck are you showing him, girl? Instagram?"

My roommate shook her head.

"Snapchat?"

Kyra shook her head again.

"Facebook?"

She scoffed as though I'd offended her. "Ew... only my grandma uses Facebook, Annalise!"

I sighed with exasperation. "Then, what, exactly, are you guys looking at right now?"

A faint blush crept up my roommate's cheeks.

My eyebrows flew up.

Oh, my fucking God!

Were they scoping out Por—

Thankfully, before I could finish that particularly cringeworthy thought, Lord M spoke up with a delighted chuckle, "There is no need to give poor Kyra such a hard time, Annalise! You see, I was the one who encouraged her to show me these remarkable innovations."

"Okay," I muttered, "so what is she showing you, Lord Maxwell?"

"We are taking a gander at this marvelous application entitled 'Tinder,' and I find it to be most extraordinary! Imagine this, Annalise! With a mere swipe of the finger, I now have an entire repository of beautiful, intelligent, and willing females at my disposal! Kyra is assisting me in setting up a profile page. It is truly amazing. In my day, we had to attend chaperoned balls and picnics and—"

I cut him off, "What about your one true love, dude?"

He had the audacity to ask, "Who?"

"Your soulmate, Elizabeth!" I reminded him in much more aggressive tones than necessary.

Lord M laughed nervously. "Oh, right! Her. Naturally, I am still deeply in love with my sweet, beloved angel, but, honestly, we cannot even be sure if she exists in this realm..."

Dang, Lord M hadn't been joking when he claimed to be going off script!

I growled disapprovingly, "This is so not the kind of man I wrote you to be!"

Lord M's eyes glistened with anguish.

"Your words maim me like a dagger to the heart, my love! I feel as though you are being unreasonable. Do you really expect me to spend all of eternity without any female companionship?"

"Well, yeah! Kind of!" I exclaimed unhappily.

For some reason, Lord M's flippant attitude towards Elizabeth was upsetting me way more than it should...

It reminded me of when my ex—

Nevermind! Fuck that loser!

Angrily, I barreled on, "Your unwavering commitment to one woman was basically the most attractive part of your whole character! You're supposed to be hopelessly devoted to Elizabeth and stay single until you two can be reunited! Jeez, I liked you so much better when you were still in my story, Lord M!"

Lord Maxwell's expression crumpled. He looked deeply distraught. Kyra immediately wrapped her arms around his bare torso to comfort him.

It made me feel like a bit of a bitch.

Then, Jaxon, who had been completely quiet until now, chose this moment to break his silence.

His voice sounded sharper than usual when he asked, "Does this mean you intend to send us back to our stories at some point, Annalise?"