The Beau & the Beast

52 - A Boulevard of Broken Dreams

A/N - All the upcoming chapters will be in Belmonts POV
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I wandered restlessly up and down the streets, staring into the neon-decorated shopwindows.

This part of town was empty by now and the silence made my anxiety begin to creep up. Should I turn around?

In my part of town, the streets were full of vampires and other night creatures. But here, in the neighborhood of the humans, the nights were so lonely, so desolate.  So why did I come back here?

My feet kept dragging forward, it was as if my body and brain were not communicating with each other.
I felt completely empty. But that was what I wanted.

"Hey boy, do you want company?" I glanced at an illuminated doorway, a woman in her thirties smiled tired at me.
She was wearing far too tight clothes, with a skirt that showed more than I wanted to see.  The make-up was smeared after a long and fully booked night, I guessed.

"Sure."  I mumbled and took a step forward.

She shone, "Do you have cash?" I nodded a couple of times before walking past her into the building. "Second door on the left."

The corridor lamps flashed annoyingly and I squinted at the irregular light.  The floor and walls were stained with indefinable body fluids and it smelled of cheap alcohol, smoke and sweat inside.

The room was crowded, there was a worn-out bed and a chair with a lamp that someone had decorated with red fabric, to create an atmosphere I guessed.

Hands suddenly moved inside my shirt and I immediately felt nauseous. With a lightning-fast motion, I turned around and took a firm grip on her neck.
I smiled when I saw the panic in her eyes and when she stared bewitched at the fangs growing in my mouth.  A few seconds later I could feel the taste of blood pulsing in between my lips.
I sipped the hot liquid hungry until the body I held in my arms became completely lifeless and cold.

Then I wiped my lips with the back of my hand, and with a loud thud her body fell to the dirty floor.
I quickly stepped out of the stinking room and continued my unplanned walk.

My body vibrated and I felt the intoxication of the woman's blood pumping through my veins.
With lighter steps, I took a deep breath and filled my nose with fresh air.

It was a brief moment of satisfaction.

***

I stepped into the small apartment and walked straight to my room. But my feet hesitated on the threshold, so many bad memories and dreams washed over me when I saw my bed. Damn, I had to sleep I thought and moved slowly to throw myself on the mattress in a brave attempt to get some sleep.

But no matter what I did, I could never sleep. Never. All night I wandered around, lost and searching.  I waited for the sun to rise so that I would dare to rest. But I never did.

The room felt so desolate and empty and I felt the need to be close to someone. As soon as I was alone, all the thoughts and memories came haunting me.
For a moment I considered sleeping somewhere else, the sofa in the living room felt enticing.  But that's not where I wanted to be.

With a tired sigh, I sat up on the edge of the bed.  The floor was full of dirty clothes, pizza boxes, empty cig packs and old beer cans.
Any place is better than this. My room was full of old nightmares and anxiety. I felt a knot in my stomach.