Evol

chapter thirty-six

Friday 4th July, 2019

Julian.

I sighed again, letting my head fall into my hands. My seventh cigarette that night was burning in between my fingers, and I watched the partying vampyres below with disinterest.

Bleu was fondling his girlfriend on the couch opposite, Daniel sitting with his girl on his lap, and it made my chest ache even more.

"Do you mind?" I snapped irritably, and they all glanced at me. "Enough with the PDA. This is a club, not a brothel."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Relax, man."

"Yeah," Bleu snickered, going back to touching up his girl. "Just because you lost your bitch, doesn't mean we can't touch ours."

Fury shot through my veins, and I snarled at him. "Do not call her that."

"Why? You did."

The shame and regret hit me again, a wave that just kept coming. Instead of snapping at him, I just leaned back and rested my head on the couch behind. They all sensed another one of my self-pitying episodes, which had become frequent in the past week or so.

I'd actually been thinking. Not effectively, but I tried. The fact my head hadn't been very clear had everything to do with Brooke.

She wouldn't get out of my head. And every time she appeared, smiling and infuriatingly beautiful, I felt a heavy feeling on my chest. It took days to identify it - guilt. It made me want to hunt her down and grovel at her feet.

But I was Julian Jones. And Julian Jones didn't grovel.

Yet, every waking moment was spent thinking about her. Trying not to look at her. It took a while to realise I was missing her; I didn't think I was capable of missing someone.

A brave girl with long black hair, streaked with purple, sashayed her way up the stairs. Sometimes an annoying devil would come up and try their luck with one of us; usually I let them.

She had a good figure, dressed in strappy black lace, slight and toned. I knew I should have been delighted, but my body was empty. Her dark eyes were trained on me, hungry, and all I wanted were light brown ones. Looking at me like she didn't want to be anywhere else and never would, not like she wanted to be with me for a couple of hours, get what she wanted, and then leave.

I wanted a curvy, soft body snuggled into my chest in a double bed in a small room.

The girl sat next to me, and wasted no time in putting her black-painted nails on my thigh. By the smell of her; sweet sweat, she was a vampyre.

It smelt wrong; where was the cotton and vinalla? I was used to Brooke.

I grunted when the girl pressed herself against my side, feeling nothing but mild irritation.

She grinned, all fangs. "Hey, hotness."

I grimaced. "Get lost."

"Oh. . ." She purred, and I winced as she moved her face closer, like a serpent. To stop her from advancing, I put my fag in my mouth, but she just sucked on the other end. "Playing hard to get?"

"No," I growled, starting to feel anger build. "Playing not interested. In fact, I'm not playing at all."

She pouted, laying a hand on my chest. I shuddered with disgust, and stood up, slipping out of her unwanted hold.

"I said, get lost."

She frowned, rolled her eyes, and started to walk away. I sighed, running a hand through my tangled hair. While I scanned the ravers below, one person snagged my attention.

Short auburn hair, tall, pretty face shining under the blue lasers. I recognised the sloping shape of her shoulders, bare and pale, and gasped when I realised who it was.

"What the fuck?" I hissed under my breath, in disbelief, and strode up to the railing. I leant over, trying to confirm my suspicions.

She was dancing with the crowd full of blood-buzzed vamps, bumping against a man who looked all too happy to be next to someone so beautiful. . . And human.

The girl looked up, as if sensing my gaze, and her blue eyes met mine. A wide, coy smile appeared. It was deadly.

Her gaze slipped away, arms going in the air, and I felt my hands tighten around the railing.

Why the fuck was she here?

But of course she was - that girl was a magnet for danger, and too stubborn for her own good. I knew already that she was trying to prove a point, but fear and anger gripped me as I watched her bounce up and down to the music, having no idea just how dangerous the game she was playing was.

"Brooke." I whispered, and started to climb over the railing.