Chapter 2. Leave Town

Vero had nothing to cover the blood on her body. She didn’t know how there was blood on her shoulders and the top of her dress, which was now drying and sticky.

All Vero could do was run as fast as she could out of the hotel and called a taxi, then ask the driver to take her to her house, twenty minutes from the hotel.

Arriving at the house, two guards intercepted Vero at the gate.

“Ms. Windward!” called one of the guards as soon as he saw Vero getting out of the taxi and covered in blood. “Why did you take a taxi home? Where’s your car, Miss?! Did something happen?!”

Vero glared at the guard and snapped at him. “Shut your mouth and open the gate!”

The guard flinched and immediately ran into the guard post to press the gate unlock button.

Vero rushed in, half ran up the stairs and nearly sprained her ankle. Her parents woke up as soon as Vero burst into their room, crying.

Mr. Winward turned on the lamp sitting on the nightstand while Mrs. Winward got up and greeted her only daughter.

“Verona!” screamed the mother, when her hand accidentally touched Vero’s bloody shoulder. “What happened?!”

Vero couldn’t speak, she just cried and her whole body was shaking. Her mother, who understood her daughter’s shock, took a drink from a nearby table and handed it to Vero.

Vero received a glass filled with water. With trembling hands, she tried to keep the glass from falling or spilling before it reached her lips.

Mr. Winward approached the two of them shortly after turning on the main light in the room. Several maids came over hearing the commotion, but Mr. Winward chased them away, then closed the door.

Vero and her mother sat on the sofa, and her father knelt in front of her. “What happened? Aren’t you celebrating your birthday?” asked the father. “Did something hurt you? Tell me who did this to you!”

Vero shook her head. Her breath hitched, and her chest heaved up and down in a short rhythm. “I—I think… I’m in big trouble,” Vero whispered in horror.

Haltingly, she told them everything. Vero had no other choice. Even though her parents would be disappointed that she went to a hotel with a stranger, Vero didn’t know what else to do.

She did not prepare a lie to cover this story. Who would have thought that she would be involved in such a terrible thing as someone’s death?

This is not the first time Vero has caused a mess, and so far, her parents have always solved her problems. They are Vero’s way out in every trouble she made.

After Vero finished telling her story, her parents were silent for a long time. Her father’s grip on Vero’s arm loosened, then Mr. Winward stood up and headed for the bed.

“He… died?” whispered the mother in a giddy voice. Her mother must have hoped that all of this was just a dream, and Vero hoped so, too.

“Yes,” replied Vero. Her voice cracked, almost to tears, but Vero held it in. “What should I do?? If they come… if they find the body….”

“Don’t worry, baby,” interrupted Mrs. Winward. “We will do something.” Then she glanced at Mr. Winward, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed with the phone to his ear. “Isn’t that right, honey? You’re going to do something,” she told her husband.

Mr. Winward turned to the two of them and nodded. After that, he started talking to the person he contacted by phone.

“You’d better take a shower,” said Mrs. Winward then. She looked at Vero from head to toe. “You have to clean—this thing. I will send a servant to destroy these clothes.”

Vero nodded and together with her mother, they went to her room. Mrs. Winward waited for her on the sofa by the bed while Vero headed to the bathroom via her walk-in closet, which was as large as her bedroom.

She took off her clothes and shoes and threw them in a corner. Then she took her phone out of her bag and placed it on the small table by the bathroom door.

Vero threw the bag in the same place as her dirty dress and shoes. When Vero came out of the bathroom, the off-shoulder dress was no longer there, as were the pump shoes and small bag she was carried before.

She glanced at the small table and found her cell phone on and ringing. It kept ringing since Vero left the hotel. But Vero didn’t dare touch it. The photo of the man covered in blood is still on her cell phone. She hasn’t deleted it yet.

Vero took the clothes that first caught her eye. A green T-shirt and jeans with rips at the knees. She unwrapped the towel around her head and started wearing the clothes in a hurry.

After finishing getting dressed, Vero came out of the walk-in closet and Mrs. Winward gestured, telling her to come closer. “Come here,” Mrs. Winward told her to sit in front of the dressing table.

She took the hairdryer and unraveled Vero’s wet strands of hair. She dried Vero’s hair carefully. Her mother said nothing until their father arrived.

“Vero,” his father called. His face was serious and a little pale. From his father’s expression, Vero knew he could not solve easily the problems she was facing.

Mrs. Winward turned off the hairdryer and listened. “How?” her mother asked.

“My friend in the police promised to help,” said Mr. Winward. “But… if it is true that the person died and his family sued….” He did not finish his words.

Mrs. Winward can no longer control herself. She starts to cry. Mr. Winward reached out to touch Vero’s shoulder and squeezed it. “He suggested you to leave this town for a while.” His eyes stared blankly at Vero.

“Leave?” Vero did not understand the meaning of that word. “You want me to take a vacation until you solve the problem? But what about my college—”

Mr. Winward shook his head. “Not a vacation,” he cut in. “Move. You have to move.”

Cognition crept into Vero’s mind. “Move?” Vero parroted. “Move where? And why should I do it??”

“Vero, it’s for your own good.” Mr. Winward’s hand on Vero’s shoulders tightened. “My friend gave me information about a good university in the suburbs. Says you’re safe there because the city is pretty closed off from the media. You can live there until things are safe here and—”

“Dad!” Vero shouted and stood up. She shook off her father’s hand from her shoulder. “I’m not leaving! Can’t you find the man’s family and give them money so they don’t sue us?? You can do that, right??”

“Verona! What do you mean?! You’ve killed people! This is not a problem that can be easily solved with money!”

“I didn’t kill him!!” Vera screamed. “I don’t know what happened! I was scared, but I didn’t kill him!”

“In that case, would you prefer to undergo an examination at the police station, go through endless trials with the possibility that you could end up in prison?!” Mr. Winward’s voice rises, and that makes Vero’s anger subside quickly.

Mr. Winward hardly ever gets angry with her, even though Vero often gets into trouble and makes things difficult for them.

Mr. and Mrs. Winward is a foster parents who love Vero with all their hearts. When they came to the orphanage where Vero lived and decided to adopt her, Vero was really grateful. Because she finally came out of a terrible life. She was saved by a pair of angels.

And here she was now, disappointing her savior for the umpteenth time.

“It’s for your own good,” said Mr. Winward then. “I promised to work things out so you can get back here as soon as possible.”

Vero’s tears started to flow. Her feelings were mixed between anger and fear, and now she became sad. What should have been a happy birthday turned into a disaster in a matter of hours.

If only Vero had not accepted the challenge. If only she had refused the man’s invitation. Now it’s too late. Vero can’t come back.

“Okay,” Vero said between sobs. “But promise me everything will be over before I even know it.”

Mr. Winward lifted his hand and placed it on Vero’s head, gently stroking her hair. “Yes, I promise.”

*

A man wearing a hotel employee uniform is pushing a trolley filled with cleaning supplies. He’s only been working at this five-star hotel for a month and so far it’s been a pretty good job, although it can be tough sometimes.

He walked down the hotel corridor, humming, and his trolley stopped at a room that was rented for one night. They must be a young couple just looking for fun, the employee thought as he was about to knock on the bedroom door.

His hand was half raised in the air and his movements stopped when he saw the door slightly ajar. Have they left?

“Excuse me,” he said politely. No answer.

The employee repeated his greeting once again and got no reply. Then, carefully, he pushed open the door slowly. And what he saw behind the door almost made him scream.

He fell to his butt and dragged himself backward until he hit the trolley. His eyes widened in horror. It took him a while to think clearly.

After making sure that no one else was around, he closed the door and ran to meet the hotel manager on duty.

*

Lev opened his eyes and frowned. Fuck. He swears.

Who is she? He was very sure that she was just a stupid human being spoiled by her parents too much, and not a cult follower who knew about Lev’s secret. And Lev was pretty sure she wasn’t a vampire hunter.

Because they were all gone. They are already extinct.

But what happened to him? Lev blinked and narrowed his eyes. Then he raised one hand and looked at it. The woman’s blood was still there, drying on his skin.

Lev almost died last night. And he thought that after his body convulsed and became unconscious, she would end his life. But where is she now?

Lev sat up and tightened his jaw when he felt dizzy like a sledgehammer hit his head. His throat and chest still left the aftertaste of the burning feeling he got after drinking her blood.

Lev brushed his hair and reached into his trouser pocket for his cell phone. Just as he was pressing the speed dial button, the hotel room door opened and two men in hotel uniforms entered with frightened faces.

“Th-that’s...” pointed out one of the two people. His face was as pale as corpse, even paler than the old vampires where Lev came from.

“Sir?” This time it was another man’s turn to speak. He looked bolder, though both pale-faced. “Are you okay?” the man asked.

He gulped as he looked at Lev’s clothes, which were covered in blood. “I’m Sam, the manager of this hotel—”

Lev raised his hand, telling the man named Sam to shut up. Then Lev spoke to the person he contacted by phone. “Pick me up now,” Lev muttered.

The guy on the other end said something, and Lev just growled in annoyance. “Don’t ask too many questions,” he complained. “I’ll send you the location.”

After that, he hung up the phone and stood up. The two hotel employees were still standing in the doorway and Lev glared at them both.

“Get out of the way,” said Lev.

Immediately, the two employees jumped up. They pulled over to the wall and made way for Lev.