11 – SCENT
STEPHAN
I could not understand what was going on.
The Elite Guards answered only to my father, that was a fact but that didn't mean they went around disrespecting me either, that Damon guy must just be a bad seed in the midst of them trying to give them a bad name.
How did someone like that even get tangled up with Rebekka in the first place? I was right to be worried, Damon was nothing but bad news and I needed to get her away from the influence of a piece of shit like him.
Claude was still in my room when I returned. When the door slammed, he looked up from the bottle.
"You back?" his voice slurred.
I frowned and stared at him, "For crying out loud, it is the early hours of the morning and you are already at the bottom of the bottle!"
"As if you are one to talk..." he replied airily, "What happened, did you meet him?"
I returned to my seat, I was still racking my brain on what to do next, "I don't want to talk about it."
Claude sighed, "You never want to talk about anything, that is your problem. If you talked to me more, you would not be so stuck up all the time."
I flashed him a quick look, the fire in me was starting to rekindle but then I thought better of it.
Claude was definitely on my side, there was no use getting mad at him.
"I think I am going to go," he got to his feet and staggered to the side uneasily.
"Yeah, you do that," I said without looking at him.
"Call me when you need me to find another pair of eyes or whatever, wonder what they would be this time... maybe green nostrils," he sniggered to himself as he walked uneasily to the door.
I heard the door open then I sighed in relief, finally, I could be left alone with my thoughts.
"Hey Vannie, what are you doing here?" I heard Claude at the door.
I stiffened, what was Vanessa doing here? I didn't send for her.
"Is he in?" she asked as she pushed past Claude.
"Fine, go ahead and ignore me too," Claude pouted as he left.
Vanessa closed the door behind her, "Baby?"
I closed my eyes and tilted my head back then took a deep breath, then I turned to look at her, "What?"
She pouted, "Are you not happy to see me?" She walked over and gave me a hug.
She tried to kiss me on the lips but I averted my face. "Why are you here? Is something wrong?"
Vanessa stood up straight and then frowned, "Does something need to be wrong for me to come see you?"
I got up too, "Listen Vannie, I got somewhere to be now, let's do this some other time, okay?"
"So you got somewhere to be that's more important than me? Stephan?"
I sighed, I didn't have time.
"Clara was right to be worried, since your accident, you have been acting strangely."
"Clara is an idiot, I have told you to do something about your friendship group, they will turn you dumb and petty just like them!"
Vanessa scoffed, "You are one to talk, what about the company you keep, Claude? All he knows is drinking and–"
My eyes flashed red all of a sudden and I growled at her.
Vanessa took a step back and stiffened, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have brought him up. My bad, I'm sorry."
I looked down at her, my eyes still flashing red, "I've got to go," I walked past her brushing her slightly.
The smell of her perfume and scent filled my nose, a smell that once used to drive me crazy and set my skin on fire but now, I felt nothing.
I knew that I needed to leave but I had nowhere in mind, I just walked, letting my legs lead me to wherever my subconscious had in mind.
When I finally looked up, I scoffed to myself, "You have to be kidding me," I muttered.
I was standing in front of Dr. Purcell's clinic.
Why the fuck was I here? I knew the answer to that, I just didn't want to admit it yet.
I pushed open the doors and stepped in.
The first thing that hit my nose was her scent, it was overpowering the whole place.
My eyes widened as I filled my nostrils with it, yes, this was it. A low growl escaped my throat as my eyes searched the hall.
The place was scanty except for one old couple that was huddled together at the far right side.
Rebekka was nowhere in sight but that didn't matter, I walked in and started heading towards a brown door with the caption, Cleaning Supplies.
I pushed open the door slowly, the scent was thickest here, no doubt, she was inside.
Rebekka was sitting, her back facing me, there was a headphone over her head and she was snacking on a sandwich.
She was bobbing her head to the music and muttering along, the food in her mouth didn't let her speak well.
I scoffed and smiled, this was easily the most charming thing I had ever seen, I caught myself smiling like an idiot then I frowned and cleared my throat.
Rebekka cast a quick look back, darted her head forward and then slowly looked back again. The piece of sandwich in her hand fell listlessly to the ground as her mouth hung open.
Her eyes were wide open, first there was a look of abject shock in them and then slowly but surely, it turned into horror.
I could see her hands and her lips trembling as if she was suffering from a cold.
I leaned back slightly, resting my back against the door and then I thrust my hands deep into my pocket.
"L-, L-, L," the words refused to come out of her trembling lips.
"Hello Rebekka!"
