A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

The Vampire's Second Chance Part 3

As soon as I got home, I flipped all my locks and headed straight for the bathroom. My hips and legs were not doing great and I wanted a nice hot bath. I poured some scented Epsom salt into the water and slipped in once it was filled.

The tub in my apartment wasn’t huge, but it did the job. I wanted to get one of those places that have the garden tub or a jetted tub. That would be amazing.

After a good, long, soak, I dried off and plugged in my phone before climbing into bed. Normally, the sky was beginning to lighten by the time I went to bed, not today. I turned on my bedside lamp and snuggled into my bed.

When I woke up, I stretched and smiled. I was always happy to wake up and be away from the nightmares. I hated how my life seemed to revolve around that night.

I picked up my phone and looked at the time. It was about two-thirty in the afternoon. I glanced at the window.

The storm had eased up, but it was still raining. I got up and dressed before going to look for food. I dug through the fridge before I decided on making a grilled cheese sandwich. I really needed to go grocery shopping.

Once I’d eaten, I pulled out Dennis’ card and my planner from my purse. I always wrote down my schedule in the planner. After a call to my manager to find out what extra day I’d be getting off, I was all set.

My friends and I had a group chat. I knew they were all busy with their families, which were all in different stages of growth. No babies, but every age from pre-k to high school. This made it easier for us to talk to each other.

I messaged them and told them what days I had off. I asked them if any of those days worked for going out for dinner and dancing. With luck, I’d get most, if not all, of them to go out with me.

It seemed like we all only got together on my birthday every year. I always sent presents to their kids while I was traveling and called them on their birthdays and holidays every year. They were my family as much as my brother and his kids were.

After cooking my grilled cheese, I sat and ate while I waited for responses. It was the weekend, so I knew they’d be busy. Just as I was cleaning up, I started hearing notifications on my phone.

They were saying what days they had available. There were eight of us, so it was sometimes hard to get schedules to line up, but it looked like everyone had my second night off free. I was so excited.

While they’d been doing that, I was looking up the restaurants and clubs on my computer. I found exactly the ones I wanted. They weren’t as wild as I used to like, they were super fancy and upscale. It would make my friends happy. They were always saying I was still acting like a twenty-year-old.

‘Where are we going, Bill?’ Tina asked.

‘Ruby for dinner and Club Rapture for dancing.’ I answered.

The responses were almost immediate. Shocked emojis and surprised replies filled the screen. I grinned.

‘Bill, you have to make reservations months in advance to get into Ruby. You can’t just decide to go there!’ Krissy said.

‘I can and I have. Make sure you dress up!’ I replied.

It took a little while to convince them that this was definitely happening. I knew they would doubt me, but they’d show, if only to say ‘I told you so’. I was counting on that stubbornness to be what ensured them all coming.

It was about five when I told them I’d message them with when to meet at the restaurant. I figured it would be a good time to call Dennis. He was probably just getting off work and wouldn’t be busy with anything else.

I looked at his card and dialed his number. It rang once and I hung up. I shouldn’t do this. He’s going to think all sorts of terrible things about me. I know he offered, but he was just trying to be nice. I bet he didn’t really mean it. And now I’d gotten my friends involved.

Luckily, they’d just write it off as another of Bill’s big dreams. I always had big ideas and big dreams when we were young. When I’d been getting ready to go traveling, I told them I was going to become a rock star, an actress, a model, a billionaire’s wife. They just shook their heads and told me I was kidding myself.

This was another time I was kidding myself. Dennis probably didn’t even really remember me. It had only been one day, but I found out how easily a man can forget a woman a long time ago.

My phone started ringing. It was Dennis’ number. I panicked a little and declined the call. It started ringing again a minute later.

“Hello?” I answered.

“This is Dennis Lyons. Is this Billie?” He sounded amused.

I decided to lie. “I realized you were probably driving home from work and I didn’t want to cause an accident. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“You better not hang up on me. You’re not bothering me, Billie. I gave you my card for a reason. Did you figure out where you would like to go for your birthday dinner?”

“I… I mean… I really wanted to go to Ruby…. I understand if that’s not possible.” I said quickly.

“That’s not a problem at all. Were you planning to go out dancing after? I’m going to guess you picked Club Rapture. It’s not too far from the restaurant and has a higher level of clientele than my other establishments. Did I guess right?”

His voice made my insides tighten. It was like we were suddenly back in the dark store and he was whispering in my ear. I shivered.

“Yes. On Friday?”

He chuckled. It was a delicious sound. He was as sexy over the phone as he was in real life.

“Perfect. I’ve pulled up the restaurant. How many people in your party?”

“Eight.”

“My, you are a popular girl. I have a table for eight at seven in the evening under the name Sybil Mason. Will that work for you?”

“Yes. I appreciate it, Dennis.” I replied.

“No problem at all. I have put you plus seven on the VVIP list. Your every whim will be catered to. I want to make sure this is the best birthday you’ve ever had.” Dennis said. “Just give your name at the doors and at the entrance to the VIP section in the club. Everything is all set for you.”

“This is so amazing! Thank you, Dennis!!” I squealed.

“Of course. Is there anything else?”

“How was Francesca when you got home?” I asked.

“She was cowering under my bed. A few treats and some ear scratches made her feel much better. I was worried she would be upset with me, but she just seemed happy I was home.”   

“I bet she was super happy to see you.”

“How did the rest of your shift go?” He asked.

I talked to him about my shift and we got on to other topics. We ended up talking until my alarm letting me know I needed to head out to work went off. I didn’t even realize we still had that much to talk about.

“I need to go. I have to work tonight.” I said.

“I’ll come by later to see you. I want to make sure you’re alright. If the power goes out again, I’ll come straight over to stay with you. Sound good?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “That sounds great. See you later.”

We hung up and I rushed to the bathroom to brush my hair nicely and put on a little makeup. I wanted to look nice for him. I knew exactly why. Another one of Bill’s big dreams. I wanted to kiss him.

-

At work, my boss told me the generator was still down, but the storm had died down enough that the power shouldn’t be an issue. I was almost hoping the power did go out. Having another chance to be alone with Dennis sounded wonderful.

He ended up coming in a little after midnight and talked with me for an hour while I stocked the shelves. I really enjoyed having him there. It was a great distraction from the loneliness of the job.

“I’d better be going. I try to make an appearance at a couple of my establishments every night.” Dennis told me.

“Oh. Will you come see me tomorrow?” I asked.

A smile spread over his face. I blushed, feeling ridiculous for asking.

“I think I might make this part of my nightly rounds. On the nights you’re working, of course. On the nights you’re not, maybe you’ll accompany me to some of my clubs and restaurants.”

That made me smile as well. I felt my heart flutter. Maybe this was the beginning of something more.

“I’d like that.”

“Wonderful. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Dennis turned and left. I watched him head to his car and pull out of the parking lot. I couldn’t believe this was really happening.

A strong, successful man was really interested in me. Maybe only as a friend, but every relationship had to start somewhere. Even if he only liked me as a friend, I could always use more.

And so the week went. Every evening, after I had my breakfast, I would call Dennis and we would talk until it was time for me to go to work. He would show up later that night and we would chat while I took inventory and stocked the shelves.

I told Paula, my best friend, all about it. She told me that it seemed like a lonely older man enjoying a friendship and not to try and ruin it by making it something more. She was always the more level headed of the two of us. I decided to take her advice.

If it was going to turn into something else, it would be on him to make that move. It wasn’t like I was going anywhere. Or like I had a ton of serious offers.

Working in customer service often meant forming friendships with regulars. There were always some men who would flirt while making their purchases. Some guys would say they should take me out sometime and I would respond that they couldn’t handle me. We would laugh and they would leave. It was just the nature of the job.

Wednesday was my last night on, then I had the next three nights off. I was growing more excited the closer it got to Friday. All of my friends were getting more excited as well. They were all planning what they were going to wear and talking about the foods they wanted to try at the restaurant.

They had rides arranged so they could drink. Their husbands were picking them up and dropping them off. Paula’s husband, Dirk, was going to give me a ride home, since they lived out past my apartment and had to go right by it to get home, but I was taking a cab to the restaurant. I wanted to be the first one there.

Dennis arrived near midnight. He took the inventory sheet from me and I told him what to mark, this had become a little bit of a habit with us. We chatted as we went over everything.

“Billie, I wanted to ask if you have plans for tomorrow night.”

I glanced over at him. “Hmm. Not that I can remember. I think I was just planning on staying in and relaxing. Were you wanting me to go out to one of your clubs or something with you?”

“No. Actually, my niece, Echo, is throwing a small celebration in her home. Her husband got a new job. I was wondering if you would be interested in going with me.”

“You want me to meet your family already? Big step.” I giggled.

He smiled. “I know you would really like Echo. She’s a sweet girl and she loves making new friends.”

 It seemed better than cleaning my bathroom. I liked meeting new people and making new friends as well. This could be a new start for me.

“I’d love to go.”

“Wonderful. I… I just wanted to ask you about something. In all the talking we’ve been doing, there’s one subject we haven’t really touched on.” Dennis said.

“What’s that?” I asked, my attention on the shelves in front of me.

“Supernaturals.”

In the 1950s, the existence of supernaturals had been revealed. Werewolves and vampires finally showed themselves. It was something each of their ruling bodies had decided on. It didn’t go over well.

They didn’t want to be in the center of all the attention. They just wanted people to know they were there, living beside them. For fifteen years, there had been clashes between humans and supernaturals. Then, it all culminated in this huge wave of werewolves who made their way from the Midwest nearly to the Washington/Canada border.

Those wolves didn’t just kill other wolves, they killed anyone in their path. Small towns, entire suburbs, were wiped out. The government sent the National Guard after them, but we didn’t have what it took to fight them. Then, the werewolves stepped in. They created a fighting force of their own and fought the other wolves.

People who had been kidnapped by the wolves, were returned to their homes and what was left of their families. The government apologized for not letting the werewolves intervene sooner. They thought they would show the people that they could take care of them. The werewolf leaders said this was what they were for and they would act on their own after that, because bending to the human government had created more death and destruction than there needed to be.

When the dust settled, vampires and werewolves were old news. Something quietly mentioned, but mostly ignored by the general population. For the most part, if we didn’t bother them, they didn’t bother us.

My hand instinctively went to the scars over my ribs. For the most part…. I had known they existed, but that didn’t save me from the one who hurt me.

“What about them?” I whispered.

“Echo is a dhampyr. It’s like a living vampire. She’s facilitated alliances between all the supernatural groups in the area. At this dinner party, there will be fae, witches, vampires, and werewolves. I wouldn’t normally tell a human this, because of the risk of hunters, but you’ve been so honest with me. I couldn’t keep it from you.”

I walked over to him and took the inventory list. “I need to check my planner. I think I actually do have plans tomorrow.”

With that, I walked into the back. I let out a shaky breath. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t spend time with werewolves. What if one attacked me? I couldn’t defend myself.

There was something about me that made the one in the woods that night attack. I wasn’t going to risk another one getting the same idea. I wasn’t like those people who got attacked and threw themselves into fighting or weapons or whatever. I wasn’t that strong.