Lost Without You

~13~

I had two, maybe three weeks to find some information about half-vampire children. It wasn't much at all; I had no time to waste if I didn't want to go to my first scan appointment unprepared, completely ignorant of what I should expect.

Who could know something about vampires, and half-vampires here, in London? It's not a question I could ask Google, expecting to get a true and reliable answer... I mused, as I moved some clothes along a tall, metal rack in one of the boutiques Lia kept dragging me around for nearly an hour now.

The hangers were making an unpleasant, scraping sound, making me wince. Apparently I was in for another migraine; they have become as often and annoying as the nausea had been before. But there were some long skirts I needed to reach, hidden away at the far end of the rack, buried deeply among clothes which were not considered the most fashionable items of this season...

Suddenly I tensed, feeling watched. I paused, then looked around, the short hair on the back of my neck standing to attention. I had had this feeling a few times since coming back from my other world, but until now it had been so weak and indistinct that every time it happened I managed to persuade myself that it hadn't been there at all...

Yesterday morning, for instance, when I walked outside alone, and the day before, too... Then last night at Luigi's, when I saw that strange man by the pond and...

As I turned around in a near complete circle, I almost bumped into Lucas, who materialized from among the tall clothes racks crowding the small shop.

"Hi girls!" He called cheerily, as I tried to calm down my crazily beating heart.

"You mustn't scare her like that!" Lia scolded him, rushing to my side. "Are you all right, Sam?"

"I'm good, don't worry," I said, looking at her meaningfully, trying to suggest she shouldn't start talking about my condition in front of Lucas.

She nodded, then turned back to him. "What are you doing in this shop? It's for women only."

"I saw you from outside, and wanted to say hello. Since your friend Anne practically moved into my flat, I thought we were friends." He grinned.

"You are right, Lucas," I said, feeling sorry for him. Anne wasn't the easiest person to get along with, until you grew to love her, and accepted her just the way she was. "I think we owe you at least a coffee. We are going for lunch now, do you want to join us?"

"But what about the other shop we were supposed to go...?" Lia asked, sounding disappointed while looking at my handbag, from which the baby shoes were sticking out slightly. The bag was so full of books and papers that it wouldn't close properly.

"We can do that next time, there's no rush," I told her, pushing the small package deeper inside my bag before Lucas would notice it. "It's getting late, anyway, I must go to work soon. Come on, you two," I made my way to the counter, two new long skirts in my arms, making Lia and Lucas follow.

We decided to dine in Paris. It was a decent place to eat and so close to my work that I wouldn't have to rush after.

As I was removing my coat before sitting down in a booth facing the fountain, I spotted William walking across the square towards the theatre. They must be rehearsing something, otherwise he wouldn't be out and about this early, I thought, hiding quickly behind Lia even as I realised that he couldn't possibly see me, unless he knew that I was inside the café, and looked for me purposely.

I pretended not to see Lucas' enquiring look as he took my coat, to hang it by the door together with his and Lia's.

The accidental touch of his hand against mine startled me. He was freezing. He is as cold as...