Leah had rushed home in a panic, her face flushed with embarrassment. She had suffered a wardrobe malfunction at work, luckily no one had noticed it, and had to leave early to change, that day. As she parked her car in front of her apartment building, she noticed Trisha's car parked nearby.
Puzzled, Leah hurried upstairs and opened the door to her apartment. The sight that greeted her was unexpected - clothes were strewn all over the floor, leading to her bedroom. Soft moans could be heard coming from behind the door.
Leah's heart raced as she tried to convince herself that it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. She tried to convince herself that she was just imagining things, that Trisha must have come by to borrow something, but her instincts told her otherwise. But as she slowly opened the door, she was met with a sight that she had never expected.
There, in her bedroom, were Trisha and her boyfriend in the throes of passion. Trisha was riding Mark in a cowgirl style on her bed. Leah was frozen in shock, her mind racing to comprehend what she was seeing. Mark looked up, his face filled with shock and regret before pushing Trisha off him. Trisha looked equally surprised to see Leah, they had not been expecting her that soon.
Leah had felt a wave of emotions sweep over her, from anger and betrayal to hurt and confusion. She had struggled to find the words to express but emotions, but all she had manage to say was a weak
"Why?"
....
Present
She stormed into her apartment, slamming the door shut behind her. She was still seething with anger and disgust at Mark for even daring to talk to her at the club. How dare he try to act like he could just fix things after all this while? She couldn't believe how manipulative he could be.
Leah quickly prepared a pack of instant noodles and scarfed them down. The salty broth and chewy noodles felt comforting in her mouth, but her stomach still felt tight with tension.
Deciding she needed something more, Leah headed to the bathroom and ran herself a hot bath. She added some lavender-scented bubbles and sank into the steaming water with a sigh. The heat enveloped her body and she felt her muscles begin to relax.
As she soaked, Leah closed her eyes and focused on the sensations of the bath. The hot water melted away the tension in her shoulders and the bubbles tickled her skin. She took deep breaths, inhaling the soothing scent of lavender and letting the warmth of the water seep into her bones.
For a few moments, Leah forgot about Mark and all the hurt he had caused her. She was lost in the sensation of the hot bath, feeling the stress of the night wash away. It was just what she needed to calm her emotions and clear her mind.
Leah closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh as she sank deeper into the hot, bubbly water. The warmth of the bath eased her mind and she felt herself slowly drifted off to sleep but she immediately stepped out of the bubble bath.
...
Far away from Leah' house, in a quaint diner located just outside of Pinehurst, Lucius sat comfortably at an unoccupied table, relishing in the warmth of his hot coffee whilst perusing a diminutive book that rested delicately in his hand. The atmosphere was serene, with only a solitary waitress occupying the premises aside from himself.
Occasionally, Lucius would cast a glance at his wristwatch, followed by a quick survey of the entrance, as if anticipating the arrival of someone, before returning his attention back to his reading material.
After some time had passed, the doorbell jingled, alerting Lucius to the arrival of a patron. He lifted his eyes from the pages of his book and beheld a familiar figure that just entered for a brief moment before returning his attention back to his book.
Priscilla eyes scanned the quiet diner until they settled on Lucius. She immediately made her way to where he sat.
"Your late, Priscilla." Lucius said, flipping through the pages of his book. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was being made to wait.
"I'm sorry. Something important came up." She apologized.
"What was more important than than our visit to Samara?" Lucius asked coldly, without sparing her a glace.
"I had to pick up my daughter from the bus station." Priscilla replied.
Priscilla's words hung in the air for a moment before Lucius registered what she had said. His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed, a sign of his confusion and surprise. Slowly, he closed the book in his hands and turned his attention fully to Priscilla.
"Your daughter?" he repeated, his voice tinged with disbelief. "You have a daughter?"
"Yes. I adopted her 12 years ago." Priscilla replied, turning to stare at the other empty tables with a distanced look before drawing her eyes back to Lucius. "Where is Alexander?"
Lucius smirked at her question without giving her an answer.
The blonde waitress finally walked over to their table to get Priscilla' order.
"What can i get you, ma'am." She asked, smiling sheepishly.
"I'm good." Priscilla offered her a small smile.
"Okay." She said and turned to face Lucius. "Do you need anything else, sir?" She asked, still smiling.
"As a matter of fact i do. I need something blonde and very hot." Lucius said, flashing her a grin.
The waitress's smile widened even more. "Of course. Coming right up." She said and moved to sit on his lap, her hair falling to one side and exposing the smooth, pale skin of her neck. Without hesitation, she tilted her head to one side, offering her neck to him.
Lucius drew her closer, his fingers tracing the curve of her waist, before sinking his fangs into her skin. The girl shivered in pleasure as he drank her blood, her eyes fluttering closed.
He pulled away from her neck when he had drunk enough blood from her to his fill. He licked the remnant of the blood from his lips and used his thumb to wipe the remaining blood by the corner of his lips before putting it into his mouth and sucking it. Lucius then grabbed the girl's chin and turned her to face him.
"Forget that something like this ever happened and forget that we were ever here." He instructed, his blue eyes staring intently into her dark eyes. His eyes dilated as he instructed her while she simply nodded, looking dazed.
"Great. You can lock up once we leave. And hide that wound with a scarf tomorrow." She nodded again. "Now why don't you go head and clean up that wound on your neck." The waitress smiled, nodding again like a lizard before standing up and heading towards the restroom.
Priscilla watched the young girl as she moved till she finally disappeared from her sight before turning to face Lucius who was already standing up.
"It's time." Lucius informed her as he adjusted his coat and that one single word had Priscilla on her feet and already moving.
"Alex is already in the town waiting for us. He is in front of Samara's house. He went to spy on some things first before our arrival." Lucius informed her as soon as they got to her car, parked outside the diner and she nodded in understanding.
"I brought my daughter along with me. She's in the car." Priscilla said.
Lucius furrowed his brows waiting for her to continue with an explanation. "I didn't have time to drop her off at a motel." She paused. "Zelia is an adult so there is nothing to worry about plus she's very quite." She added nervously.
Lucius sighed and stepped into the car without uttering a word. He glanced at the young blonde girl who sat quietly at the back of the car like she didn't even notice his presence before facing forward again.
Priscilla also got in and started the engines before driving toward Pinehurst. She would occasionally glanced at Lucius who was down beside her before glancing at her daughter sitting at the back through the rare mirror.
The ride was very silent. No one uttered a single word to each other throughout the entire ride till they got to their destination. The car came to a stop just outside Samara's house and Priscilla turned off the engine.
Lucius opened the door and stepped out.
Alex smiled immediately he saw Lucius and threw the cigarette had been smoking to the ground, smashing it with his shoe. Lucius walked over to him and they exchanged a brief nod.
Priscilla got out of the car with Zelia and gave her a few instructions before going to follow Lucius while Zelia simply trailed behind her.
Lucius knocked on the door three times and stepped back a little to wait for a reply.
The group stood in silence for a few moments, waiting for Samara to answer the door. Lucius looked around at the surrounding houses as they waited.
Finally, the door opened and a woman who looked like she was in her early twenties appeared in the doorway. She looked a little startled to see the group standing there and hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Lucius, what are you doing here?" she asked cautiously.
Lucius stepped forward, a smirk appearing on his face. "Samara, it's been long. How have you been?" He asked, instead of answering her question.
"Um... I've been good.... I guess." She replied nervously.
"Your not going to keep us standing out here forever, now are you?" Lucius asked and She immediately shook her head.
"Of course not. Please come in." She said and stepped aside to let them in.
Lucius and Alex took seats on the couches. While Priscilla and Zelia stood by Lucius side. Samara went back to continue folding the clothes she had just finished ironing.
For a few moments, no one spoke. The tension in the air was palpable. Finally, Lucius spoke up.
"We have a lot to discuss, Samara." He said in a serious tone while she nodded her head in understanding.
"We can discuss it here." she said. A small smile appearing on her face, before turning to look at Priscilla.
"I think it's high time you returned home." Lucius said, ignoring her reply.
"You've been gone for far too long and your former students really miss you." Samara turned to look at Lucius with a distant expression on her face before shaking her head.
"I don't think I can. I can't come back, not when she's also there." she said pointing at Priscilla who raised a brow at her. "You remember what she did to me, don't you?" She asked, still folding her clothes.
"You know that the reason I want you back has nothing to do with Priscilla and in fact, Priscilla no longer lives in the manor. You can just forget that she's even here." Lucius said. "Or I can ask her to wait outside if she irritates you that much." Lucius added, his expression still calm and even.
"No. That won't be necessary. I want her where I can see her." she said waving her hands. "But I can't come with you." she added
Lucius sighed, and stood up from the couch. "Don't test my patient Samara. I didn't come here to negotiate with you and you know that, I am not requesting, I am ordering you. So stop testing my patience." Lucius warmed
"Come on, Samara and stop being stubborn. This is for your own good." Priscilla advised .
Samara stared at Lucius for a brief moment, before sighing and dropping the clothes she was holding. She turned to look at Priscilla and gave the woman a calm smile.
"Fine, I'll come with you, but on one small condition." She said still staring at Priscilla with that weird calm smile.
Lucius tilted his head to the side waiting for her to state her condition, his intelligent eyes observed her face as he watched her like a hawk. But he wasn't the only one observing her, Zelia was also observing the weird lady intently, her eyes were glued on her not missing a single movement she made.