Chapter 29

He doesn’t seem to care.





"My relationship with Nathaniel is serious. He isn’t just play—"
"Well, if he is serious, where the hell is he now?"
"He’s in Scotland; he has no idea what’s happened,” I muttered, feeling oddly calm that he wasn’t here. But I hated that my dad pointed it out to me. He exhaled, and his blue eyes flashed with resentment.
"Vampires know these things right away, hon. I don’t want you to suffer or keep your hopes up but—"
"Dad, please, I don’t want to talk about this. I need to go home. Ella is freaking out," I said firmly and began to rise from the bed.
"Don’t be ridiculous, Julia. You’re not going home; you’re going to stay here until the healers let me know you’re fine. We can’t say anything to your mother because she would ask questions."
"But I’m fine!" I yelled, getting more frustrated by the minute.
"You were just attacked by a vampire, so please don’t argue with me. Just listen to your old man," he said in a stern voice. He strolled from my room, muttering to himself about how stubborn I was.
I was pissed off. I felt okay and I didn’t need to be in the hospital. He was wasting valuable time being with me right now. His energy had healed me. I had slept a few hours and I needed to rest, that was all. I found my bag beside my bed and searched for my mobile. I had a few missed calls from Ella and that was about it, none from Nathaniel.
I sucked the corner of my lips and decided to call him. It rang a few times and then it went to voicemail. I put the phone away. He was busy, or maybe he couldn’t answer. Either way, I wasn’t worried. We were still together.
I pushed my negative thoughts aside and tried to relax. My neck was sore, and I felt tired. I wasn’t sure whether there were any spells that could help with vampire bites.
I nearly died because a vampire was intoxicated by my blood; he only wanted to drink from me. I wished I could be a normal human being, like Mum. Then there would be no drama. Nathaniel wouldn’t behave any differently toward me.
Dad returned, insisting I had to stay in the hospital until morning. I understood I couldn’t talk to Mum. Having a wound from a vampire bite would be very difficult to explain to a human. I told Dad to go home and get some sleep. He looked terrible and had been on his feet for more than twenty-four hours. I sent Ella a quick text, lying to her, telling her I was at home. The police were still hunting Caleb McGregor. I fell asleep, thinking about the horrible night I’d had—and about Nathaniel, who still hadn’t called me back.
I awoke from a nightmare. I was dreaming that someone was draining my blood. Nathaniel was beside my bed; he was laughing. I begged him to help me, but he just stood there, laughing. When I opened my eyes, my clothes were drenched with sweat and my heart was beating rapidly.
"Good morning, Julia. How are we feeling today?" the witch doctor asked, entering my room with a nurse, who was a giant. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and smiled, trying to look calm.
"Healthy as a horse and I would like to be discharged, if I may," I replied, trying to look my best while the nurse checked my pulse.
"I didn’t introduce myself yesterday. My name is Martha," the witch said, removing the bandage from my neck. I felt throbbing pain; the wound was still sore. "Well, this doesn’t look too bad, so I guess you can go."
"But it will heal, right?" I asked, staring at her green eyes that narrowed, examining the wound.
"It should. Do you remember if the vampire was older?"
"He was young."
"Then that’s better. I want to see you for a check-up in a week. Try to stay away from magic for now. Your body needs to regenerate," she said, sounding somber.
"So, I can’t go back to work?"
"I would take a few days off and maybe go back Wednesday, if you want." She placed a fresh bandage on my wound.
The nurse had dark ebony eyes and she told me my pulse was fine. I was ordered to put some crocodile mousse on the wound and rest. She gave me the prescription and then I was discharged. I went to see my cousin, but I wasn’t allowed to enter her room; she was still unconscious. I spoke to my Aunt Dorothy who mentioned that she was planning to transfer Claudia to Switzerland as soon as she could. She would be able to regain her strength and rest for a couple of months—away from London. I had to agree with her. Claudia was emotionally scarred, and needed a dose of healing scenery before she could go back to her old life. She had been missing for several months and who knew what she had gone through?
Dad was on the way to my ward just as I was leaving.
"Julia, where are you going?" he asked, sounding perturbed.
"Home. I’m fine, Dad; the healer said there is nothing wrong with me."
“I’ll drive you home." He took my bag, looking much better today.
"There is no sign of that McGregor. We had a warrant to search his house, but it looks like he vanished just in time," he grumbled, walking to the car. Once I got outside, I felt a little dizzy, but didn’t mention anything. I just needed to get home.
"What about his business?"
"We’re working on that. I’m on duty again tonight; your mother keeps telling me that I work too hard. She wanted you to come over for dinner, but I told her you have to work."
"I would die for her apple pie today." He glanced at me like I was crazy. "Yes, I know, but she would start asking questions. Not to worry, I will back you up."
Dad had made sure that I wouldn’t be unprotected in my apartment. I noticed two werewolves outside in an unmarked police car. Dad mentioned they would be there until he caught Caleb.
"Have you spoken to your vampire?" he asked when I was just about to leave the car.
My face heated up instantly and I clenched my teeth. "No, I haven’t.”
He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t have to. It was obvious; Nathaniel was too preoccupied to think about me. I was hoping that maybe he was in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t get reception, but if that were the case, his phone wouldn’t ring.
I spent the rest of the day watching TV and staring at my phone. Nathaniel didn’t call for the rest of the evening. I texted him, asking if everything was all right, but he didn’t respond.
I decided not to think about him anymore, but when I watched the news and realised that every TV station was talking about what happened in the club—of course, the official version was just that the kidnapping victims had been found—there was no mention of the supernatural element—I became even more depressed. Nathaniel must have known something had happened, so why wasn’t he trying to contact me?
In the end, I called Rufus and explained what had happened. He told me to take it easy and not to worry about work. I went to bed late, sobbing into my pillow and thinking that I was the biggest fool on the planet. I’d slept with a gorgeous guy who didn’t really care about anything other than sex. I’d believed he had good intentions, but I was just another girl to him.
The next few days weren’t any better. Nathaniel didn’t call or text me. It was as if I ceased to exist.
As for my dad, things weren’t going much better. Caleb was the one who produced the fake Lucrative Shot, but Dad couldn’t find him. It was as if he knew every place the police would look and simply avoided all those places and people associated with them. He seemed untouchable.
I tried not to cry. I told myself I was better than La Caz. I was a strong, independent woman and I didn’t need him. When Nicky called, I told her everything. I couldn’t hold my tears any longer.
She listened and in the end said, "Not to worry. It’s better that it’s over now."
"But he should have said something to my face," I howled.
"He’s a bastard, darling, and that’s what they do. At least you enjoyed good sex, so cheer up."
She helped a little, but a few hours later, I still felt like crap. Mum kept asking when I was going to come for dinner with Nathaniel. I couldn’t tell her the truth, so I just kept lying.
Wednesday morning, I told Rufus I was coming back to work; sitting at home and doing nothing made me angrier. Even Roberto vanished; he wasn’t waiting for me outside my apartment anymore. And I had the late shift today. Even work didn’t make me feel better. Every time I had to deal with La Caz Corporation, the pain got worse.
I was working with Jennifer again today. I went to the office late, hoping to avoid the girls from the previous shift. I didn’t want to be pitied. I decided to keep my head held high; besides, no one knew that I hadn’t spoken to Nathaniel since last week.
"Oh, my God, Julia, are you all right? Rufus told me what happened," Jennifer said when I walked into the office at seven that evening.
“I’m fine, Jen, seriously. My neck is sore and that’s about it," I explained, trying to get her off my case.
"But what were you doing alone with that vampire?" she persisted, when I sat at my desk. I found some painkillers in my bag.
"It’s a long story. I saw someone and followed him, then everything got out of control." I opened my emails; I had around two hundred. Just fabulous.
"Rufus said you nearly died in that club. What were you thinking?"
"Jen, please spare me the lecture. I already had it from my dad." I glanced at her, then took off my coat. Fortunately, we didn’t have any clients yet, so I still had time for a small cup of coffee.
She frowned, and then smiled. "All right, sorry, but you know, I was worried about you. What about La Caz? I bet he was furious when he saw your wound," she added, playing with her dark hair.
"Nathaniel is away, so I haven’t seen him." I sighed, then stood, heading for the kitchen. "Do you want coffee?"
"Yes, please. I think this is my fifth one today," Jennifer replied. “I’m sure he will be livid when he comes back."
I took a few deep breaths, trying to push away memories about Nathaniel. I had to prepare myself for a long night with Jennifer. She would rant about my attack with that vampire all night, plus she would ask me questions about Mr. Bastard. When I heard the main door shut, I stayed in our so-called kitchen for a bit longer.
"Just take a seat. I will bring the paperwork," I heard Jennifer saying. I exhaled. She was with a client—a werewolf. She rolled her eyes, picking up the paperwork and soon she was busy, so I had five minutes to myself. I tried not to check my phone so often, but it was hard. Even after four days of not hearing back from Nathaniel, I couldn’t accept that it was over.
I had a few emails from Lucinda, asking me whether I could arrange for a few more people to start next week. I skipped through CVs and other unimportant emails. I tried to stay busy, but my brain wasn’t working as well as it should. From twelve o’clock on, we had a lot of clients walk through the door. While Jennifer was busy answering phones, I had to interview an old hag who was desperate to take anything.
"How long have you been out of work?" I asked, trying to sound interested. I needed to pull myself together.
"Around three months. Previously, I was cleaning a restaurant that was owned by bloodsuckers." It was obvious she disliked them. I nodded, wondering whether she would be suitable working with other vampires at Colourful Lane. The hag was just an old witch who’d lost most of her powers due to some kind of emotional shock. I never understood the transformation into a hag, but the woman sounded genuine and we needed more people.
"So, you wouldn’t want to work with vampires?" She frowned and looked at my neck.
"Times are tough, so I can’t be choosy. I know that many factories employ bloodsuckers." She cocked her head to the side, still looking at my neck. "I can smell the blood of the vampire who bit you."
"Let’s move on, Miss Clarke. I don’t want to get into a conversation about my wounds." I sighed, writing down some of her skills.
She looked at me gloomily. "You should be more careful. Your aura is odd. I can feel that you are still in danger."
"Miss Clarke, please, I’m not interested in your theories. Can you tell me more about your duties when you worked as a spell caster?"
She had to answer, even if she didn’t like my question. I didn’t want anyone to know why I was bitten by a vampire. I didn’t care about the danger she was talking about. I finished that interview as quickly as I could and went back to my desk, trying to stay calm for the rest of the night. Somehow, my magic wasn’t bothering me as much as before, which was strange because my emotions were driving me up the wall. Then the phone rang and since Jennifer was still busy with a client, I had to answer it.
"Paranormal Personnel, Julia speaking. How can I help you?" I asked, chewing my nails. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
"Hello, Paranormal Personnel," I repeated myself, yet there was more silence. I hung up, wondering whether someone was just having fun today, making immature prank phone calls.
Jennifer glanced at me, raising her left eyebrow. I shook my head, letting her know that it was nothing important. When Jennifer sent her client away, I was hoping the rest of the shift would move quickly.
"God, he was hard work," Jennifer said, flopping back on her chair. "Who was that on the phone?"
"No one. I think someone was just checking whether we were in the office. I don’t know when this is going to stop," I replied. "But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Caleb McGregor."
"Caleb McGregor?" Jennifer stared at me like I said something that I shouldn’t and went pale.
"I accidentally found out that he was the one behind all the kidnappings in the city. He was trying to replicate the Lucrative Shot, using elf and fairy blood."
"And do you think he was the one calling just now?" Jennifer asked in a squeaky voice. I didn’t understand why she was panicking. She didn’t even know the guy.