LATER THAT NIGHT.....
The lack of cold wakes her from her slumber causing her to open her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling which causes her to tense as she looks around the room. She tries to sit up but her body feels heavy causing her to flop back onto the bed as her sight becomes slightly blurry.
A familiar face appears in her field of vision and it takes a moment for her to focus. Once her gaze focuses again, she sees Henry's face hovering over her which causes her simmering anger to rise as she gazes at him a little too calmly.
"Oh. You're awake. How are you feeling?" He asks with a smile on his face.
"Why am I here?" Astrid asks as she gets back some mobility in her hands.
"I want to get to know you and persuade you a little." He says as a barely-there obsessive glint enters his eyes.
"You couldn't ask like a normal person instead of kidnapping me?" She asks coldly.
"OK, first I didn't kidnap you and I prefer this way." He says as he runs his knuckles across her cheek.
"Sure. Get to know me by drugging and kidnapping me. What a way to start a relationship." She says, rolling her eyes at him.
Then without warning, he places his fingers on her temples and plunges into her painful memories bringing them back to the surface.
"Please. Let me go." a crying six-year-old Astrid says as she's overpowered by drunk, high men as they take advantage of her.
"Why so sad. You should be happy that we noticed you." The first guy says as he licks her face.
"No wonder her mother is dead." The second man says as she rips her pants to gain access.
The memories continue to change as he makes more and more of her painful memories resurface. She tries to block him out but whatever drug that's in her system prevents her from putting up much of a fight.
Then he looks into her eyes with a smirk on his face.
"No matter the cost, you will help me to find Darcia." He says then dives back to digging into her memories. As he continues to 'mind-rape' her, a strange and warning yet comforting energy awakens.
The deeper he digs, the more memories resurface and the stronger the energy becomes until she can't take it anymore.
With an angry scream, she sends Henry flying across the room and into the wall. He creates a dent in the wall then falls to the floor, disoriented. She sits up and is shocked to see Victor standing in front of the door.
Her gaze hardens as she looks at him and he avoids eye contact with her.
Ice begins to cover the surface of everything in the room as she continues to stare at Victor as the ice approaches him and blocks out the moonlight that was streaming into the room. She takes a couple of steps towards Victor, her face an impenetrable mask.
"Move." She says and Victor looks towards Henry who's now standing after regaining his bearings. With a nod of his head, Victor moves out of the way allowing her to leave the room. She easily finds her way to the front door, ice following her as she walks. Once she steps out into the cool night air she takes multiple deep breaths to calm herself then begins her journey home, sticking to the shadows.
She arrives at her apartment at half six in the morning to see Ralph standing outside her door, the door raised to knock.
"Ralph." She says getting his attention. He looks at her in shock as she gets closer to him, stepping out of the shadows.
"What happened?" He asks.
"Henry happened." She says as she turns the knob of her apartment door and enters leaving it open for Ralph as she heads for her room. Upon entry to her room, she sees Ollie on the bed sleeping peacefully but a knot forms in her stomach instead of relief. She approaches him and places a hand on his head but he doesn't even budge at her touch, eyes still closed.
Gently she pried his eyes open to see nothing out of the ordinary then she opened his mouth causing her to let out a gasp of shock. His tongue is swollen yellow and his gums have an orange hue to them.
Reaching for the first drawer in her bedside table, she takes out a syringe and a bottle of medication extracts a dose then injects Ollie in the neck so it can spread faster. When the swelling recedes and the pus starts to ooze out of his tongue I let out a sigh of relief. I gently wipe off his tongue then go to the kitchen to prepare him something easy to eat.
"What happened?" Ralph asks.
"Ask your vampire friends." I state as I rummage through the kitchen until I find what I'm looking for. I mix up some crushed fruit and healing herbs into a bowl then head back into my room to feed Ollie.
"Astrid. Talk to me. What happened?" He asks, evidently worried.
"I was KIDNAPPED, DRUGGED AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. OK!! THAT"S WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED. YOUR WACKO FRIEND HENRY AND HIS SIRED KIDNAPPED ME AND TO TOP IT OFF THEY OVER-DOSSED OLLIE!!!!!!" I yell frustrated and angry at myself for letting my guard down as my vision gets blurred by my tears but I wipe them away angrily.
"Astrid….it's ok." Ralph says and I glare at him so fiercely that he takes a couple of steps back.
"Ok? NONE OF THIS IS OK!" I yell at him ignoring the intense shaking of the female farmer bobblehead on the kitchen counter and the sudden crack of thunder.
"Astrid, calm down." He says as he approaches me slowly.
"DON'T. TELL. ME. TO. CALM. DOWN." I say stressing every word then slam the bedroom door in his face then attend to Ollie who looks much better than before already. I feed him the crushed fruit and carefully pour some water from the mug on my bedside stand into this mouth.
He finally opens his eyes to look at me and I sigh in relief. With a sigh, I head to the bathroom to wash off all the grime and dirt from me along unwanted touches.
Once done, I changed into a baby blue jeans with white combat boots with a red vest with white lace undergarments. I comb out my hair then put it up into a high ponytail. I put on some light makeup to hide the bags under my eyes, a little lip gloss on my lips and my favourite pair of shades. Phone in hand I check on Ollie then contact my brother.
"What's up?" He asks.
"I need you to come and take care of Ollie. I can't stay home, I have something urgent to deal with." I say.
"Ok. I'll be there in ten minutes. How's his condition?" He asks as I hear shuffling in the background.
"Stable. Still have your key?" I ask him.
"Yes." He responds.
"Good. See you." I say to him then end the call. With a gentle kiss atop his head, I take a deep breath and open the door to my room to see Ralph pacing the living room while muttering to himself.
"Ralph." I say getting his attention, making his head snap up so that he can meet my gaze and make him come to halt.
"Ready to go?" I ask him not allowing him to bring up our earlier disagreement.
"Yes. Do you mind if we head to the club first?" He asks as I walk past him, grabbing my keys making sure to secure my bracelet on my wrist then exit the apartment without waiting for Ralph to catch up.