Void {h.s. au}

chapter sixteen

I glance at the car next to me as I wait for the light to turn green. It's just my luck to hit a red light right as I pull out of a parking lot but oh well. The driver in the car next to me looks too distracted by their phone to even know what planet she's on. She must feel me staring at her, though, because she takes a moment to look over at me, causing me to snap my neck forward. Luckily, just as I do so, the light turns green, and I speed away.

The traffic is typical for this time of evening, and it only makes me more anxious. The longer I sit in traffic, the longer I have to wait to know what's happening at my house. The feeling bubbling inside of me isn't fear but restlessness. I know that I could be walking into a demon's trap right now, but it doesn't scare me, and that probably isn't good. I should be scared shitless, running into Harry's arms and asking for help. Instead, I choose to disobey everyone and go alone into this god forsaken home.

I'm just too stubborn for my own good. I can't sit around while I know that Louis wants something from me. This may be the day that he decides to kill me, but I'll never know if I don't go home and find out. Besides, I keep a blade in my glove box, and I can use it to defend myself if it comes down to that. Dylan wouldn't let me go into a dangerous place, though. If there was a real threat at my house, he would've done more than just tell me not to go there.

I turn into my neighborhood, and immediately, my heart picks up the pace. It's time to find out what all the fuss is about. I make all the necessary turns until I'm on my street, and not surprisingly, everything looks as it should. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this. Fires and mass destruction would probably be more suitable.

After parking the car in the driveway and grabbing the blade from the glove box, I take a deep breath. I can protect myself. I believed these words when I said them to Harry, but my self doubt is growing with each breath I take. How is someone supposed to feel when they know they might be walking into a trap?

It doesn't matter because I'm here, so I have to go through with my choice. With a long sigh, I step out of the car and into the chilling air. I walk to my front door with as much confidence as I can muster, trying to put on a show for anyone that may be watching. When I unlock the door, it takes me a moment to push it open, but when I do, nothing seems out of place.

I slowly step inside, looking in every corner, and shut the door behind me. Louis doesn't usually just sit around, though. He likes to make an entrance and be in control of when he's seen. If he's here, I wouldn't see him. Cautiously, I walk into the living room, but it's empty. 

Each room I walk into turns out to be the same, empty. I look around my bedroom one last time and frown at the silence. Harry could've been wrong, I suppose, but something doesn't feel right. I walk back out to the living room, and that's when I see him. Louis gives me a cheery smile when I enter the room, and my stomach flops.

"Hello, love." He chirps, and I take a step backwards.

"What are you doing here?"

"You're just too curious for your own good, huh?" He shakes his head to himself and sits down on the love seat.

"This is my house." 

"You were told not to come here, though, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"I just do. So, here's the deal. A lot of people want you dead right now, and they're going to start coming for you." He rolls his eyes and waves his hand.

"What does that have to do with you?"

"I don't want you dead quite yet. Your blood is very valuable to me, but it's best to keep you alive for it, so you can keep producing it."