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Chapter Five
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Karel looked at the vanity in front of her and frowned in irritation that it wasn’t a full-length mirror. Due to that fault, she wasn’t able to see her outfit the best way she wanted to. Hip-hugger jeans, lime green, short sleeved décolleté dress top with white tube underneath, high-heeled boots, and assorted bangles on her wrists. Not to mention her silver hoop earrings that nearly brushed at the crook of her neck.
Going on tiptoes to check her waist, she was contented with the way her top hung from her body and flared slightly up to mid-thigh, the hem diagonally cut. Then, she leaned closer to see the reflection of her face in more accurate detail. Being that she just borrowed these clothes from Clarence’s daughter, Karel didn’t want to ask her for make-up as well. Especially since the ones that she had were the expensive kind. Instead, she asked for plain lip-gloss and eyeliner. Though simple, it looked unspoiled on her.
Besides, what she lacked in make-up, she more than made up for with her hair. Because of its length, Callie had often told her that her range of hairstyle was limited. Restricted as they may have been, Karel didn’t mind. She knew full well about the disadvantage of her tendrils. That in mind, she was not deterred.
Looking at her hair, Karel was pleased. Earlier, she had styled it in a way that made the hair on the back of her head spike outwards making the mix of platinum blonde and chestnut blend well together. Deciding to be spontaneous, she had also fashioned her bangs to slant to the side, almost covering her left eye. The hints of black that went randomly on her head made her hairstyle look even more striking. Perfect.
Finally contented with her overall appearance, Karel stepped out of her temporary room in the Benson residence and went on her merry way. Before she could get out of the house, however, she saw a glimpse of Kent and hurriedly hid behind a corner. Mentally cursing her luck, she planned a stealthier route to get out of the house. That idea looked very inviting when she heard Riya and Callie distracting Kent with some silly conversation. They knew she was going out tonight. Both girls believed she needed it after his indecent glance towards her direction earlier that day.
It had been three days since Kent arrived and he never passed an opportunity in actively showing Karel just how much he had missed her. She was not pleased.
Every night though, for some reason unknown to the lewd, Karel went off somewhere and arrived late, if eleven in the evening could still be called such nowadays. He wasn’t worried in the least knowing that she wasn’t some whorish girl who slept with random guys she didn’t know. Still, he double-checked and saw if her hair was in disarray, clothes wrinkly, and lips swollen. It was one of his practices that greatly annoyed Karel.
Now, back to the matter at hand. Peeking at her obstacle, she found Riya pointedly sending her a look that meant, Go now. Who was she not to obey her stern command? Sometimes, she envied Riya for having that steely gaze that made people do what she wanted. Might have been what attracted Duncan to her. Nobody dared to cross his path but when she glared at him out of irritation, he was hooked. It was a good thing too. That Japanese woman tamed him somewhat.
After bidding her adieu with a careless wave of her hand, Karel walked up to a window down the hallway and got out through there. It was such a blessing that the Benson’s main house was only one landing. Easier to sneak out of.
Checking to see if her outfit was still in tact, she smiled at her success and finally left the property. Just outside the tall gates of the Benson lot, a cab was waiting for her. She had called for one before getting ready for the night. Getting on the back, the driver glanced at her and inquired with an amiable voice, "Where to, ma’am?"
"Do you happen to know the club Bella?" she replied with equal cordiality.
He smiled at her, "Yes, ma’am."
"Then, that’s where we’re heading."
Driving off, Karel’s mind was soon preoccupied. From careful observation, she had noticed that people in Bella were of high taste. If she wore any other attire than what she was wearing now, she knew that she wouldn’t be granted entrance to that club. Something that was not acceptable for her. Not tonight.
Bella was the last place she had seen Pietro. Though her chances of seeing him there was very slim, she had to at least try. Karel didn’t know where else to look after her failure in finding him anywhere else for the last two nights.
If, by any chance, she did see him, what would she say? Oh, Karel had quite the number of things she wanted to tell him, rather, ask him, but how would he react to them? She hated wondering. Pietro had left an impression. Good or bad, she didn’t know. That was one thing Karel had hated more.
After twenty minutes of pondering, they had finally arrived at Bella. The line by the entrance, though long, was not yet intimidating for the official first time visitor of the club. Paying the due amount for the trip, Karel got out of the cab and went to the queue ignoring any glance sent her way. Though the idea was tempting, she was not here to dance and have a good time. She was here on a personal mission. Whatever inviting looks she received, she promptly ignored.
Few minutes passed and she was finally in front of the huge bouncer by the doors that led to the inside of the club. Looking her over, he gestured for her to go in. Like the last time she came here, upon entering the door, she was met with blaring music.
Karel liked what she heard but refrained from wanting to enjoy it. Scanning the place carefully, she saw that the number of people weren’t that numerous yet. Much to her satisfaction, she blended well with the crowd. Since her attire was fairly conservative compared to the other women already present, not too many men noticed her. For those who did, the slayer didn’t even bat an eyelash towards their direction.
Aimless walking around the club soon made Karel impatient. It was a stupid idea to come here in the first place. Spontaneity was never her strong point and yet she did it often. From her first encounter with Pietro Vondrak, she deduced that he wasn’t the kind to come to places like these. Still, she felt that she had to at least try. Now that she did, Karel didn’t know what to do.
Feeling lost and dismal, she sighed and went towards the bar. The moment she sat down on a stool, the bartender went to her side and asked her what she wanted. Usually, people called for his attention to get some beverage they desired but due to the lack of people there, he opted to approach them instead.
Not being a fan of alcohol Karel asked for a bottle of water. Handing her a glass with some ice cubes, he then gave the lady her order while she paid for her drink. Opening the bottle, she poured some in the glass and drank from it afterward. As she was doing so, she listened intently to whatever conversation people were having around her. Then, something caught her attention. Without looking, she eavesdropped slyly on the person that was seated a few seats away from her.
" . . .Knox, right? I mean that’s just stupid. What was she thinking?"
The bartender chuckled at the man and wiped at the counter with a rag. "Are you telling me she actually proposed?" he asked with pure interest.
Karel heard a scoffing sound before the man replied, "She did! I even made it transparently clear that what I was aiming for was a one-night stand. She said it was mutual. So, I took her back home, right? Next thing I know, I’m being woken up at an ungodly hour only to hear her propose. What the hell?"
He laughed. The slayer took a peek at her side and hoping to see Zachariah Creighton, was greatly disappointed to find that it was some guy who appeared to have been fresh out of college. Sighing dejectedly, Karel stood up and was about to leave but was hindered to do so when she felt someone hold onto her wrist. Glancing to see whom it was, she frowned upon finding the guy she had eavesdropped on earlier.
"Can I help you?" she inquired curtly.
He gave her a seductive grin. Or at least, he might have thought it was one. To Karel, it just seemed to make him appear constipated. "I didn’t quite catch your name."
"Probably because I didn’t throw it."
The man was amused. "Well, can I have it?"
"Don’t you already have one of your own or do you have some non-lucrative occupation of acquiring female appellations as some form of fetish?" she shot back at him. Wasting her time was one of the things Karel mostly hated.
He was dumbfounded but Karel glimpsed at the bartender to find him chuckling silently. Focusing her attention back to the guy who was holding her wrist, she pried his fingers away from her skin and said apathetically, "Don’t try to understand. Just leave me alone." At that, she walked away.
It was such a shame that she had to leave this place so soon. Karel wasn’t in the mood to dance at that moment and was slightly envious of the people around her that were having fun. If only her mind wasn’t too preoccupied.
Not even bothering to look back, she left Bella discouraged from the lack of accomplishment her search was giving her. Then, she thought about her predicament. Maybe tonight was her need to relax. It wouldn’t hurt anyone. She was already here. Why not make the most out of it? Acting on her spontaneous decision yet again, she went towards the bouncer for the second time that night not bothering to go to the long line any longer. Recognizing her from earlier, he let her pass. Tonight, she was going to dance until exhaustion would hit her full force. That said, it would be morning once she would get back to her temporary home.
Good riddance to Kent’s evening inspection then.
So it was no surprise when, after being prodded to consciousness that early morning, her short hair was in weird angles. Giggling, the culprit who woke her commented that bed hair was not made for women.
Snorting at her, Karel muffled in a lazy manner while nuzzling her face on her soft pillow, "What time is it?"
"Seven something."
"Callie, I arrived at three. Give me some more time to recuperate."
"If you want Kent to bother you again then feel free to sleep. He is too you know. Sleeping that is." The blonde paused. "If you come with me now though then we’ll be able to miss his early morning ritual of trying to get inside the bathroom while you take a shower."
That made Karel look up at her best friend. "He did that?" she asked incredulously.
"He does that," she corrected. "Ever since Nathan told him of the mishap with you two, he’s been trying it himself."
She groaned. A few years back, Karel was taking a shower in Jillian’s apartment. Being that Jill lived alone, the thought of locking the door slipped the slayer’s mind. To make the story short, Nathan dropped by and upon hearing nothing from the opposite side of the bathroom door, he stepped inside to see a very naked Karel in the middle of drying her hair with her towel. It was something both of them were very embarrassed about.
Karel sat up from bed and sighed. "Just let me go take a shower."
Callie frowned at her. "Oh, no you don’t. If I ever knew you, which I do, you would have already taken a shower before sleeping and since you mentioned you just arrived four hours ago, I don’t think you need to have another one."
She looked appalled. "I can not not take a shower. That’s disgusting."
Rolling her eyes at her friend, she replied, "Whatever. It won’t kill you."
"It might!"
Annoyed, Callie put her arms akimbo and frowned at Karel. "You’re losing this one, Salizar. Get up and get dressed. We’re going to McD’s."
"They’re opened this early?" she asked in wonder as she left her bed.
"Nathan and I found out yesterday that joints around here are opened twenty-four, seven. Well, most of them are anyways. That includes McD’s."
"McDonald’s huh? How quaint." Karel yawned and stretched. Realizing her action, she hurriedly covered her mouth. "Agh, morning breath. Just let me brush my teeth ok?"
Callie agreed and shooed her away. After hearing the distinct click sound of the lock, she knew Karel had won this round and not her. Sure enough, a moment later, the pattering of water could be heard from the opposite side. It was a good thing that Karel wasn’t one to hog the pleasantries of showering. If she were, Callie would have been extra irritated. Bathing was another story though. Being very busy, Karel hardly found time for that. Whenever she could, an hour was the minimal time span she spent in the tub.
Finally, fifteen minutes later, the two best-friends walked side by side towards the Benson garage. Callie had the audacity to borrow a car from Renz saying that she would be paying for gas. He was kind enough to allow her his cheapest auto, as Callie had requested. Turned out that the most inexpensive ride he had was a customized 1990 red Mazda Miata soft top roadster. Go figure.
After scrutinizing the vehicle in reverence, Callie finally opened the car and they were off. Not long after, they finally reached their destination in pure mirth. Both of them were very silent throughout the ride in fear of an accident but as soon as they parked the car and got out, they had started laughing at their silly action.
Once inside McDonald’s, they ordered their favorite fast food meals and paid for them. They ate, talked, and debated about their current situation. Both slayers were wondering if they would be sent back to Europe on another assignment like being stationed at the le Boursier manor. No doubt they would be but they still wondered all the same.
There was so much to talk about that they left the fast food joint two hours later. On their way to the car they borrowed, Callie suddenly slapped her forehead. With a groan, she turned to her best friend. "I fucking forgot!"
The crude remark was nothing new when it came to the Travis siblings. Raising an eyebrow at her, Karel inquired, "What is it this time?"
"I promised Riya that I’d buy some things for her from the grocery."
She shrugged. "So, let’s go buy them then."
"The list isn’t really that short you know. It would take at least half an hour," she whined.
"What wrong with that?"
"I promised Renz that I’ll have the car back by ten and its," she glimpsed at her wrist watch, "nine forty."
Karel sighed. "You can give me the list, the money, drive me to the grocery, and go back to the Benson’s. I’ll just go back by cab."
Callie squealed and hugged her. "Thank you so very much! I don’t want Riya to kill me you know."
"Neither would I if I was in your position."
With that problem solved, they drove off to the grocery store and after getting out of the car, Karel waved a goodbye to the blonde with a tight smile. She wasn’t kidding when she said that the list wasn’t short.
Defeated, she got inside the store and pulled a cart along with her as she got on her first aisle for the day. Doing this chore mechanically, she was surprised later on once she found that the cart was almost full and that the list had two last items still not in her disposal.
Condoms.
Pregnancy test.
Well, two boxes of pregnancy tests actually and four for the condoms. For a moment there, Karel blanched. Whatever Duncan and Riya did was none of her concern but suddenly being aware of their relationship like this was not a nice thing to encounter.
Shaking her head in a mix of embarrassment and slight disgust, she went on to look for the last items she needed. Technically, Duncan and Riya needed but who really wanted to know.
Upon reaching the designated aisle where she could acquire the last remaining items, she inwardly rejoiced and smiled at the fact that she was finally done with this rather tedious errand.
A movement to her side caused her to look up and at that moment, she froze. There, in all his nonchalant, confident glory stood Pietro Vondrak. Currently, his gaze was directed towards her hands so she too looked down. On her right hand she was clutching a box of condoms. On her left were the pregnancy tests. Something clicked. Wasn’t she smiling just a while ago?
Shit.
"These aren’t for me," she said in a hurry as she deposited them on the cart.
Pietro started to walk and before he could pass her, he replied, "I never asked."
Turning back, she found that he was already gone. Cursing her luck, she hurried to the counter and waited patiently for the items to be scanned. Once the amount was presented, she paid and pushed the cart with the newly bought items and walked towards the exit.
Sighing the moment she got outside, Karel saw the small line of cabs to her side. Then, when she glanced to her left, she caught sight of Pietro getting out of the store with one grocery bag in his hand.
Feeling that this was her chance, the slayer jogged towards him and blocked his way. The vampire merely gave her an uncaring gaze.
"You letting us leave just like that doesn’t make sense," she started. "You must have a motive why you’re interested in this case. Why would a renegade involve himself with something Coven related? Against the Invictus too. Not to mention this is top priority for the High Council."
When he didn’t answer, she decided to continue, "Someone who is as renowned as you wouldn’t be so careless. Why get involved? There’s to much at stake."
He was silent for a while but then said, with his usual indifference, "Vice versa." After that, he walked off.
Karel followed after him. "Vice versa? You have to tell me more than that."
"Why should I?"
A small scowl appeared on her face. "Because, Pietro, like it or not, you’re already involved in this and I want to know why you risked it."
"I am not obligated to explain myself to you." When he saw that she was about to object, he cut her off, "I knew those things about you because I looked them up. You told me some Coven related business in exchange for the safety of your friends. They are two very different things. If you want to know anything about my being involved, why don’t you do something productive? Look it up."
Again, he walked off but this time, Karel didn’t bother to follow him. Her mind made a connection to what he had said. He knew those things about her because he had bothered to do some little investigating. Pietro had told her to do the same if she wanted to know. That meant his reason was personal and whatever it was, she just had to find out.
Meanwhile, as the slayer pondered on her thoughts, the pure blood mindlessly drove his jeep towards home. Reaching it in no time, he grabbed the grocery bag and went up to his front porch. Unlocking the door, he entered and, instead of going straight to the kitchen, went to the living room. Nadia was there watching some television.
Looking up, she smiled at her father. "Yay! Popcorn’s here."
Pietro uncharacteristically plopped down beside his daughter and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Popcorn? Was I supposed to buy that?"
Nadia groaned and grabbed the grocery bag. After peeking inside, she only saw some chips and a few chocolate bars. Surprised, she glimpsed up at him. "You really didn’t buy me some? I thought you were kidding."
He sighed and focused on the television. "I was," he remembered Karel holding the two boxes in her hands, "distracted."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I hope it wasn’t that bimbo from the store."
"Karel Salizar," he answered simply and knew Nadia’s reaction of worry and surprise etched on her face without even looking at her.
"Isn’t that the slayer you questioned?" He nodded. Nadia pursued with the conversation. "What did she do?"
Pietro was not expecting that question. In fact, he believed that she was about to ask if he was all right and something along those lines. "What do you mean what did she do?"
Nadia grew interested. She knew him so well that it was obvious he was dodging the question. "What would distract the great Pietro Vondrak, ever aloof and uncaring of his surroundings?"
This was unbelievable. Where was his overly protective daughter? Didn’t she care that he had just seen a Coven member? As these thoughts were running through his head, she asked again, "What did she do?"
He looked back at the television. "For all you know, she could have tried and killed me. Didn’t that idea cross your mind?"
"For a nanosecond, it did. Then, an epiphany. You said you were distracted and when I remarked about the bimbo, you answered Karel Salizar. What a specific answer. You could have just said, ‘slayer’ but you didn’t. Which leads me back again to this. What did she do?"
This was getting old really fast. "Nothing."
"Is that why you were distracted? The slayer didn’t do anything? Did you want her to approach you and do something?"
She was goading him and she loved it. Then, she was surprised by his answer, "A male’s mind is not something I have any intention of explaining to my daughter."
That shut her up really quick. Though his answer surprised her, she was somehow glad that her father was still purely male. To add to that, though he didn’t show it, Pietro was greatly annoyed just now and for Nadia, that was something she greatly thrived on.
Still, she wondered, what had Karel Salizar done?
Author's note:
I have two things to say. Though, I don't think anybody reads this but here we go. For my fellow students/authors out there, you know the harsh reality of choosing between your story and your studies. Though greatly tempted, I couldn't do this in fear of my parents killing me or something.
Secondly, do you guys remember that friend of mine that I lent my sweater to? Wait, you might not have read that so let me explain. Better yet, I'll copy and paste what I said.
And about the vanilla lotion idea, I got that from a personal experience. A friend of mine, who is cute by the way, was freezng all over. He was a slim guy so I let him borrow my sweater for a little while. While he was putting it on, he brought the hem of the sleeves to his nose and took a sniff. He smiled at me and said, "Hmm, vanilla." I thought it was cute so i added it to the story. :o)
That's in chapter seven from Bitten. Anywayz, well, like I said there, he is cute. We're together now. :o) Which is probably one of the reasons why i'm so distracated. Why, you ask? For one thing, he's like the bad boy next door who you'd like to screw like crazy. If you thought what I said was crude, don't fret. He does give off this bad boy vibe and he knows about that screw like crazy comment. I told him that as a joke of course. Well, you know what they said, "Jokes are half meant." was his reply.
Anyway, hope you guyz like this chap!!!
Thanks to the following for reviewing!: BleedingRose15, AutumnColors, mizzpeppermint,lunisa, and Summer's Light.
:o)
Some names are from www. seventhsanctum .com
The errors in this fic only prove that I am human. I will strive to improve. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them.
Disclaimer: any branded names of products or places in this fic have been used to further make your reading interesting. 'Nough said.