Chapter 8 We Meet Again

• There was something off-putting about the young man. He looked young anyway, but knowing vampires, he might just be decades older than he appeared. Via wasn’t usually attentive toward other people. Unlike Jess, she preferred her own company. But the stranger was leaning against her car, so she couldn’t just ignore him.
• "Hello, Octavia," he greeted her, extending a hand toward her. Via eyed the hand briefly before reaching out to take it. Her palm tingled as it made contact with the vampire’s cold, stiff skin.
• "Um, I don’t think we’ve met."
• "We haven’t."
• "Then, you are..."
• "I’m in love with you."
• "Huh?" The confession had come out of nowhere and startled her. The incredibly handsome vampire had blurted out the words as though he were simply commenting on the weather. There was no anxiousness, no look of expectation in his eyes. He merely watched her with unblinking focus, as if he were trying to engrave her very features into his memory. Octavia pulled her hand back, feeling relief when the vampire willingly let her go. "T...Thank you."
• "You are very welcome." He smiled at her, and she was quick to notice that his fangs had been replaced by normal-looking teeth. If she hadn’t seen them earlier, she might have actually thought he didn’t have them—that he was human. Weird and creepy. Sure, her father and granddad were vampires, but they didn’t give off predatory vibes like this.
• "I’m sorry," Via said, wishing the guy would just back away from her car. He made her nervous and more than a little creeped out. "But I am not interested in a relationship."
• "It doesn’t matter."
• "Ookay. If you could just move away from my c...car..."
• He scoffed, more in amusement at her uneasiness than in offense. He stepped aside, and Octavia quickly went to unlock her car. For some odd reason, the door was jammed, and she couldn’t get it to open no matter how hard she pulled. She flinched when a pale hand reached for the door handle and pulled it open rather effortlessly.
• "You should learn to master your strength. You never know when you might need it."
• "T...Thanks." She slipped into the car, and the stranger helped her close the door. "Look, I’m sorry I can’t reciprocate your feelings. But you’re very good-looking. I’m sure you’ll find lots of girls willing to date you."
• "Oh? You think this face looks good?"
• "I...I mean, yeah. But even if it doesn’t, it’s not like you can change it or anything, right?"
• "Right." There was something smug and edgy in his voice, as if he knew something she didn’t. He tapped the glass she had drawn up, absentmindedly studying her with his too-bright blue eyes. They almost looked unreal. "Very well, then, Octavia. Enjoy the rest of your day."
• "You..." She wanted to ask how he knew her name, but then again, the guy had just confessed his love for her, so he probably knew a lot more about her than she was comfortable sharing with a total stranger. "And you are..."
• "Asher."
• Perfect. She flashed him a smile that must have looked forced as hell. Knowing his name would mean doing some digging. She could ask Jess for help—there was no doubt her friend might know more about Asher. It would be easier to avoid him that way.
• Asher watched her drive out of the parking lot and disappear down the road.
• "Creepy," Octavia mumbled to herself once her admirer was out of sight. She put on some music to help ease her nerves. Hopefully, she wouldn’t run into that weirdo again. It didn’t matter how breathtakingly gorgeous he was—the guy was clearly full of red flags.
• ---
• Even while at home, Via couldn’t seem to get her mind off Asher. Perhaps it was the good looks or the chilling aura he carried. Either way, it wasn’t every day that someone walked up to her and confessed their love. Sure, she’d had guys crushing on her—the countless letters she’d received on Valentine’s Day were evidence of that. But nothing like this.
• He was rather bold, and clearly, he didn’t mean a word of what he said. He must have known she didn’t believe him. Then why bother saying it in the first place? Was it simply to grab her attention? Vampires—they were all so weird.
• Speaking of vampires, she glanced at her dad from the corner of her eye. He was chopping vegetables, his way of helping get dinner done tonight. Via guessed her parents must have had a small disagreement; her dad only got like this when he was trying to get Kerry to stop ignoring him.
• He bribed her with food. Though Via didn’t really see the need, since Kerry herself was even more obsessed with her husband than he was with her. Their love was something one would read about in those cringe romance fics Jess used to enjoy back in junior high.
• "Dad?"
• "Yeah?"
• "Do you think I should get a boyfriend?"
• "No."
• "But...I’m already eighteen. Soon I’ll be off to college. Remember, you and Mom got together when she was nineteen."
• "Baby girl, I’m the last person you wanna talk to about this. You’ve literally got centuries to live—there’s no rush." He was still chopping vegetables, barely glancing at her. Octavia rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.
• "Fine. Whatever you say, Silas."
• "Tell your mom to come lend a helping hand. I might actually burn down the kitchen this time."
• "Sure." She grabbed a bag of chips Silas usually stocked up for whenever he was planning a movie night with his wife. It was best to give them some privacy. "Mom, Dad’s trying to burn down the kitchen!" she yelled while passing her parents’ bedroom. She could hear Kerry shuffling around, and soon the door creaked open as her mom rushed downstairs. Octavia walked the rest of the way to her own bedroom.
• She was idle for the rest of the night. After joining her parents for dinner, she hurried off to her room the moment she caught her dad giving her mom lustful eyes. She knew things might get nasty if she lingered any longer.
• By ten, she was already under the covers, about to doze off when her phone rang. Cursing under her breath, she reached for it on the nightstand and sighed when she saw the caller ID.
• "Jess, it’s ten already."
• "Sorry, babe. I know you like sleeping early, even though you don’t actually need to sleep at all."
• Hearing the slur in her best friend’s voice, coupled with the music and voices in the background, Via could guess that Jess was at one of her notorious parties.
• "Anyway, could you do me a favor and come pick me up? I’m at Steven’s house on Down Street Abbey. My date just abandoned me."
• "What? That’s like an hour’s drive away. What happened?"
• "Nothing much. He got pissed ’cause I was making out with someone else. What a loser. And I don’t really know anyone else here, so… help me out, please?"
• "God, Jess, you are out of your mind!"
• "Love you too! I’ll wait for ya."
• Jess made kissing noises before hanging up, leaving Via contemplating—once again—her choice of friends.
• Grudgingly, she got dressed and grabbed her keys. Holding her shoes in hand to avoid alerting her parents, she tiptoed toward the door. But she had forgotten that one of them didn’t actually sleep.
• She first noticed the gleaming red eyes in the dark living room. It might have scared her if she wasn’t already used to seeing her father like this. He must have been feeding—he usually only did that after her mom had gone to bed. You’d think someone with a fear of blood would think twice before marrying a vampire.
• "Where are you off to?" Silas asked, flicking on the lights.
• Thankfully, it wasn’t her mom she’d run into. That woman would’ve had a panic attack already, imagining all the reckless things her daughter might be up to at night.
• "I need to go pick up Jess. I’ll be back in two hours."
• "Is she at one of her parties?"
• "Yeah."
• "Here." He tossed her something, and she caught it effortlessly. Via stared at the piece of garlic in confusion.
• "To ward off vampires and other supernaturals who might try to hit on you."
• "Dad, you literally just had this in your hands. Garlic doesn’t do anything to supernaturals."
• "Yeah, but don’t tell your mom that. Drive safely."
• "Okay."
• She tried not to roll her eyes as he placed a kiss on her forehead. It was a bit childish. Waving at him, she left the house and hurried to her car.
• ---
• Octavia knew Steven on a more personal level than most of her classmates—bar Jess, of course. They’d done a project together once, and she had even attended one of his parties a while back. His parents were into politics and were rarely around, so Steven lived alone in their large house. It was no wonder he threw parties so often. Surprisingly, most of the attendees weren’t even from their school, so Via didn’t doubt Jessica when she said she didn’t know anyone else at the party.
• Cars were parked messily all around the villa, and she could hear the music even before she pulled up in front of the house. She wasn’t looking forward to this one bit.
• With a sigh, she stepped out of her car and walked toward the entrance.
• Just her luck—someone nearly knocked her over the moment she stepped inside. The ghoul had spilled his red drink all over her, and the pungent scent of blood mixed with something sickeningly sweet made her gag. The front of her shirt was completely drenched.
• "Ah, I’m sorry. Didn’t see ya there," the stranger said, reaching out to yank her to her feet. He eyed her with dark, glinting eyes. "Hey, you’re kinda cute. How about we hang out—"
• He reached to cup her face, and before Via could slap his offending hand away, someone else grabbed it before he could touch her.
• "Don’t touch."
• Hearing the familiar voice, she glanced at the man who had appeared beside her.
• "You?" She couldn’t hide her surprise—or uneasiness—at seeing him here of all places.
• "Did you miss me?" the vampire cooed.