Everything in the lab was the perfect shade of utter white. It was past the point of clean type white, and into the realm of uncomfortable whiteness. The room was longer than it was wide. Big steel tables lined the walls, covered in test tubes and Bunsen Burners. In the center of the room was a long metal table. A variety of jars and beakers sat in a line. Some bubbled, some boiled, and a few of them smoked.

Edgar sat at the head of the table, on one of the cold, uncomfortable metal stools. His stormy eyes flicked from vial to vial, examining the contents. Impatience flooded through him. He’d been sitting for almost an hour, waiting for his father. He needed to know which one of those precious glass vials held what he was looking for, it was killing him.

“Good things come to those who wait.” His father’s voice was booming in the solid, white lab. Edgar didn’t turn to see him, he continued to stare into the vials, hoping one of them would speak to him.

“I haven’t got time to wait, Father. Which one of these damn bottles is it?” Edgar snarled between his teeth.

“None of them. We are close, but it isn’t perfected yet my son. Be patient, it won’t be long.”

Edgar felt the rage boil up inside him. With a sweep of his massive arms, he shoved all the bottles to the floor. They landed with a crash, their liquids and colors intermingling on the floor. Little, red rivers opened up in Edgar’s palms, they trickled down and stained table below him. He turned to face his father, who stood tall and calm.

“We haven’t got long before I die, Father, and when I do, it will be on your head.”

The room was blanketed in utter blackness; a thick silence filled the humid air. It made the incredibly small room feel even smaller, all four corners of it seemed to be pressing in closer and closer.

Jinx stood slowly, careful not to disturb the resting man beside her. She tiptoed quietly through the room and found the window. Gently, she pushed it open a bit, letting in the wafting cool breeze. Jinx stood there a moment, trying to enjoy the soft kiss of wind on her skin. She was always cold to the touch, but inside she felt like she was burning up. The sweet smell of approaching rain fluttered in. She took in a deep breath and smiled, she loved the rain. A little twinge of excitement built up inside of her, the rain was close, maybe minutes away.

Jinx turned away from the window and quietly headed back to bed. She tripped over a shoe, and nearly took a spill but managed to stay on her feet. Very cautiously, she slid back under the covers. The man rolled onto his back, his face twisted a bit, in a fitful way. Jinx placed a cold hand on his head and realized he was agonizingly hot. She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his chest, letting the length of her body press against his in an attempt to cool him off. He let out a little grumble, and let his head fall to the side. Jinx looked up at the man, his long dark hair spread out over the pillow. It looked almost like a raven. His chest rose and fell slowly as he took deep, even breaths. She watched his face twist and relax with a strange fascination, his eye lids fluttering under the weight of a heavy dream.

Every night was the same, and every night Jinx laid beside him, watching, studying, admiring the man. Something about him drew her near, pulled her in, and refused to let her go. So, for months now, she would climb through the man’s window just to spend some time with him. Just to learn a little bit more about the man behind the dark, brooding eyes.

Victor stared at her, his face full of anger.

“You need to cut this out, Jinx. Don’t you have any friends you can go irritate?” He rolled over grumpily, and tried to inch as far away from Jinx as he could without falling right off the bed.

“Vampires aren’t very social people, we tend to be loners.” Jinx sighed

“Why’s that?” Victor snorted.

“It’s harder to catch one vampire than it is to catch a whole bunch. Why make their job any easier, right?” Jinx smiled at him. She scooted her body closer to his. Victor recoiled at her touch.

“Can I just stay… please?” Jinx whispered in his ear. She could feel his entire body tense. He turned his face to hers. His dark eyes were full of questions and confusion. He considered her for a moment before he exhaled loudly, and rolled back over.

“Fine stay, but don’t bug me. I’m trying to sleep,” He grunted. Jinx felt a wave of excitement wash over her. She had never dreamed that he would say yes. She couldn’t explain her attachment to Victor, but it was real and palpable.

Jinx reached over his body to grab his far arm. With a big heave, she rolled onto his other side. Victor looked up shocked. She couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit at his frightened look. She rolled over and pulled his arm around her body. He was stiff and unmoving. But he didn’t pull away; he just laid there holding her gently…

Jinx couldn’t believe how many nights had passed since then. It felt like forever. She liked the idea…forever. Victor stirred around a bit; a small moan escaped his full lips. Jinx placed her finger tips on his forehead and traced the edge of his face.

Victor gasped suddenly he shot up in bed, gasping for breath. Jinx recoiled from him. She tried to act like she wasn’t scared, but deep down her heart was pounding. He sat there breathing heavily, his deep black hair matted down with cold sweat. Victor’s large hand pressed into his shirtless chest. Jinx shamed herself for allowing her eyes to wander down his well formed abdomen.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Jinx? Quit watching me sleep. It freaks me out,” he said breathlessly. His dark eyes darted over to hers. Jinx couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m sorry, just couldn’t sleep it was really hot in here,” Jinx whispered as she snuggled down into bed.

“Why are you even here? I have to get a better lock for that window.”

“Oh Victor, you say that all the time, and that lock is still the same. Same lock as it was 6 months ago,” Jinx said hopping out of bed.

“I’m a busy man. I’ll get around to it,” Victor hrmphed.

He rolled away from her, and tucked the blanket up under his chin. Jinx couldn’t understand why, since it was still incredibly hot in the room. She stared at the man, he was such a child. Some nights he would act this way, like he didn’t care for her. Some nights, well, some nights he held her tightly, as if he was afraid to let her go, afraid she might vanish. She didn’t mind the mood swings though. It was just another one of Victor’s quirks that fascinated her, that made her want to be around him even more. Jinx let out a little sigh and began looking for her shoes. They sat toppled over by the open window.

“I’m leaving now. I can be busy too, ya know,” Jinx said loudly enough for Victor to hear her.

“Yea, bye, whatever. Don’t let me see you when I have a loaded gun,” Victor mumbled into his pillow.

Jinx felt her fists clench, but she let the wanting-to-hit-him urge slip away. She slid her feet into her red pumps, and flattened out her little black shorts. With a heave, she hopped up onto the window sill. The cool breeze wrapped itself around her, and she stood a moment, enjoying the rush of it. She looked back on last time at Victor, who was now watching her leave, his big dark eyes seemed almost sad.

“See, you miss me already,” Jinx gave him a wink, and then tenderly stepped out onto the ledge. Just as she did, the sky opened up and the rain began to pour down in heavy drops. Jinx smiled to herself, it was just her luck, she thought.

She reached up over her head, and grabbed the ledge above the window. She pulled herself up, gaining her balance slowly. The rain continued to cascade down, it made the task a little more difficult than usual. Along the main face of the building were these little 4 foot long window sills. Jinx hopped along, jumping the gap between them. Once she reached the end of the long wall, she reached around the corner of the building, and took hold of the ice cold metal of the fire escape. She jumped a bit, and pulled herself around the corner. She landed with a less then graceful bang.

Jinx straightened herself out and pushed her sopping wet hair out of her eyes. She looked out at the city. It was silent, which wasn’t shocking at this hour. Only a few windows in the overlapping buildings shone. A few of them were yellow, and some of them blue. She smiled into the sky, letting the rain fall over her. She loved the rain, it was cleansing. It was pure. It was the only thing that was sacred in this world anymore. When it rained, she felt like it was just for her, like it was her father telling her he was proud. It was her mother with her smiling brown eyes, promising her that everything would be better … someday.

Jinx felt like she could stand out on that fire escape forever, savoring the different flavors of the rain. But, she knew that she couldn’t. She had to go, and somewhere inside of her, she was saddened by the thought. There was work to be done, and Jinx was the one who had to do it. She turned away from the onslaught of rain and hurried down the fire escape. With a sigh she said, mostly to herself,

“Ain’t no rest for the wicked, I suppose…”