Somehow she ended up in the backseat of Luka’s pristine, black land rover. Eliza was all smiles sitting beside her. Every bump, every inch they moved away from the club caused more discomfort to Sophie’s delicate stomach. At some point, she pressed her forehead against the cold plane of the clean window and squeezed her eyes shut. She attempted to ride out her nausea without giving into it. Though, she wondered if she would be able to go home faster if she threw up all over the fake leather seats of this stranger’s expensive car. By the time she had that thought, they were already pulling up to the gate of Luka’s condo. It reeked of money to Eliza’s delight.

On the other hand, Sophia was focused on the number of trees that surrounded this secluded location. Was she too paranoid? If they wanted to keep them there, who would even notice they were gone? Who would care?

“I love your home, Luka!”

“Thank you, doll, just wait until you see the inside.”

Something about the way he said it sent another wave of chills down Sophie’s spine. Brandon must have caught on because suddenly, he was beside her placing a heavy arm around her shoulders. “You aren’t looking very good. Are you okay?”

Once again, Sophie managed a strained smile when speaking to this man. “Actually…” she trailed off as the sound of Eliza’s laughter distracted her. Her friend was stumbling, but Luka had a strong arm around her just as Brandon had on her own shoulders. He leaned in and gave Eliza’s forehead a firm kiss. That was merely a catalyst to the full-on makeout session they started outside the door as they walked in. “I think maybe I just need some more air,” she finished at last.

“There is a balcony on the second floor. I will take you out there; just follow me.” 

She was grateful when he pulled away from her and walked ahead. She reveled in the space as her hazy mind tried to push away the alcohol-induced cobwebs that formed. She needed to get her friend and her out of this situation when she sobered up enough to save them. Despite Eliza’s blase way of handling Luka’s attention and affection, Sophie knew that this was wrong on so many levels. She just wanted to get home to her warm bed and get back on track with her mother’s plan for her life. The rebellion was… fun. But it was getting less so by the second. 

Brandon led her inside the beautiful, modernized condo. Stark whites and stainless steel covered most of the area Sophie could focus on with her blurry mind. She did notice the black furniture of the living room, but they didn’t linger. Well, except for Eliza and Luka. She desperately wanted to cling to the other girl. She didn’t wish to be separated or be alone with this suspicious man ahead of her. But Eliza shrugged her off and narrowed her eyes at her friend. A clear hint to beat it. That was fine, Sophie thought to herself; she would sober up on the balcony and cause a scene to get them home. She lifted her chin with newfound determination as the taller man led her up the stairs. 

The balcony that Brandon led her to was tastefully decorated with white chairs and colorful flowers. The smell of the number of flowers that surrounded the rich, mahogany balcony caused a light headache to press against her temples. Still, she was grateful for the light October breeze that cooled her heated cheeks and caused the ends of her hair to dance. She didn’t bother to sit on the expensive chair that surely would envelop her like a warm hug. She didn’t want to risk falling asleep at this stranger’s home. Instead, she pushed her legs through the metal rails, so her legs hung down in the breeze. Her head slumped to the left against the cold bars, and she allowed herself to close her eyes to fight against nausea. She didn’t realize Brandon was still there until he made his presence known by settling a jacket around her shoulders. She blinked up at him as he took a seat beside her unexpectedly. 

“It’s chilly out here,” he answered her unspoken question. 

“Thank you,” was all she managed to muster. 

A quiet settled between them for a long while before he finally broke the silence again. “You don’t seem like the type to get wasted at a nightclub on a Friday evening.”

This caused her to laugh out loud. Perhaps she was drunker than she thought she was. “Sure, I will give you that one. I have never done this before, honestly. Eliza thought it would be fun, and I didn’t think she should be alone.” Just like that, her lips loosened for this near-perfect stranger. “Actually, I have been solely focusing on what my mother wanted and expected- I haven’t done a lot of things.”

“Your mother?”

“Yes, my mother. She is a fierce thing to behold, that is for sure. She likes for everything to be perfect, especially me. Can you imagine the stress?”

He let out a humorless chuckle that caused a nervous smile to twitch into place on her own face. “No, I am afraid not. My mother knew I was a lost cause from the beginning.” He was staring out at the treeline, seemingly caught in his own memories. Then, suddenly, his dark eyes found her curious stares on him. “Why didn’t you rebel sooner?”

She cleared her throat anxiously before moving her eyes to wherever he was looking at. “I am not sure. It isn’t like I wanted to purposely defy her, really. But, before I am shipped to,” she caught herself before she exposed her actual age. “-to graduate school, I wanted to have a little taste of freedom.”

“I can understand that. What are you studying?”

“Right now? I am studying psychology, my mother’s wishes.”

“Okay, well, what do you actually want to study?”

“Hmm,” she thought it out for quite some time. Why was she confessing to this perfect stranger? “If I could pick? I guess I have always been fascinated with literature more so than the human mind.”

“Literature? Doesn’t seem very surprising to me.” She heard his smirk in his tone despite not looking in his direction. “Tell me, do you like books about vampires?”

That was random. Sophie blinked a few times before looking at him with a curious stare. What was he getting at? “You mean like Dracula?”

“Perhaps you are more into Anne Rice?”

“I assure you I have no particular interest in the vampire craze. But, before you ask, yes, I have read a few novels. Not anything like Anne Rice or Stephanie Meyers.”

He laughed, and this time it sounded genuine. The girl found herself laughing beside him at the absurdity of this conversation. Is this what people usually talk about in their free time? It was so strange but somehow… reassuring. He opened his mouth to say something in response, but a vibration noise caused their laughs to come up short. He pulled out his sleek smartphone from his front pocket and answered without really looking at who was calling him. 

“What?” She couldn’t pick up what was exactly said on the other side, but she could tell it was a masculine voice responding. Brandon’s eyebrows furrowed with annoyance for a moment before looking at Sophie. Was he going to mention her? She decided that the wood grain pattern was much more fascinating than whatever was being said on the phone. “That’s fine, just wait for me.” He hung up with a sigh and looked as apologetic as she thought he could ever look. “I need to take care of something. Just wait here for me; it shouldn’t be too long.”

Sophie merely nodded and watched him stand up with more grace than she could muster in her pinky finger. When he closed the sliding glass door behind him and she was finally alone, she took her first real breath since arriving at this condo. She pulled her cold legs up just to remove the uncomfortable heels she was wearing. A moment passed, and she focused on warming her legs with friction from the jacket she wore. Another minute ticked by, and she realized it was far too cold to remain outside, waiting for Brandon to come back. Talking to him made her feel more at ease, but it didn’t change that they should not even be there. And with each passing moment, she realized the alcohol was losing its potency. 

So, she disobeyed Brandon and slipped open the door to step back inside the much warmer house. She didn’t think he would mind, seeing as it was so cold outside and she was wearing hardly anything. She moved down the stairs, where she remembered Luka and Eliza stopped to sit. Her quiet footsteps barely made a sound on the hardwood floors, and if they did, it would indeed be covered up by the sound of… kissing? Hesitantly, Sophie peeked around the wall that divided the hallway and the living room. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. Eliza was there to face her, but Luka’s head was buried in her neck.  

It was such an intimate sight that Sophie wasn’t sure where her eyes should follow. Everything in her bones told her to avert her gaze, but it was as if she was rooted to that very spot with eyes wide open. When she finally closed her eyes, she could see the picture of Eliza and Luka wrapped in their passionate embrace on her eyelids. She took a hesitant step back just as a moan escaped from her friend’s lips. Eliza was so beautiful- of course, this probably wasn’t the first time this had happened. Still, Sophia couldn’t help but feel a ping of something blossom in her chest. It was an emotion she couldn’t really put a label on.

The next moan wasn’t like the one before… it sounded pained and gargled. Sophia’s eyes shot open, and her head snapped back to the intimate scene in front of her. They were basically in the same position except for a new addition. Crimson rivets trailed down her collarbone, soaking up on her low-cut tank top. Eliza was unbelievably pale, and her lovely facial expression was now twisted up in a display of intense pain. Sophie felt her breath catch in her throat and her fingertips quake when Luka finally pulled his head away. His mouth was coated with the scarlet liquid, and his once black eyes shimmered with new life. He released the limp girl in his arms, and she merely fell like a sack onto the floor. The blood dripped down from his chin to his neck and chest. It was quickly soaked up by the white linen of his button-down shirt, which was haphazardly unbuttoned to his sternum. 

Sophia wanted to scream; she wanted to run; she wanted to get out that very second. But she was like a doe staring into the headlights of an oncoming semi-truck. She couldn’t even breathe that very second. Could it be possible? Her mind flashed back to the conversation she had just had with Brandon. Vampires. He was the one who brought it up, and she brushed it off as simply unusual. There was no escaping this reality now. She was caught in the clutches of a once-believed fictional predator, and her only friend lay at his feet. She needed to focus and think her way out of this one. Her mother always said she had a keen mind; what a joke that was now. If she genuinely was smart, she wouldn’t have found herself in this predicament in the first place. 

She was getting a hold of her racing thoughts just as another figure made his appearance. Brandon.