Even Monsters Get Lonely

Three evenings later they had all met up at André’s house for the wedding.

A Judge, who was a friend of André, had come to the house to marry them was there. Of course, Tamara was there, and she’d brought a co-worker with her whose name was Steven. The two of them were to be witnesses of the vows.

It wasn’t a big or fancy wedding, but none of that had mattered to Shannon. She was just over the moon to be marrying the man she had come to love.

“Shannon, are you ready for work?” André asked from behind her.

She turned to smile at him as she stood up from the table. Today was Friday, her regular day to work. It had only been two days since they’d married, and they’d barely left the bedroom, but now reality intruded.

She and André had discussed a honeymoon but had decided to wait a while, so for now, it was work as usual for them both.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she told him and followed him to the door.

Shannon arrived at her usual time and walked behind the counter to put her sweater and purse down. She then asked, “Good evening Val, have we been busy?”

“No busier than usual. Just clock in, and get busy cleaning tables six through twelve, we should be getting our late rush soon,” Val answered.

“Yes, ma’am,” Shannon said as she reached for the cleaning rag and spray.

“Whoa, what is this I see? It that a ring?” Val exclaimed as she grabbed Shannon’s wrist. “That fellow of yours finally make an honest woman of you?”

Shannon giggled and told her, “Oh yes, he did! He even asked down on one knee!”

“Hm... that sure was quick,” Val mentioned as she wiggled her eyebrows. “You don’t have a bun in the oven, do you?”

Shannon gasp as she felt her face heat up answering, “Oh no, no, no!”

Val laughed at her before saying, “Calm down, I believe you. Now get to work.”

So, Shannon quickly moved off to clean tables.

The rush had come and gone, but all-night Shannon felt as if she were being watched. It made her so nervous that she kept looking out the windows, but she never saw anyone.

“Shannon, Val needs...”

A voice behind Shannon made her jump and let out a small scream as she turned.

“I’m sorry Shannon, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Rachel apologized.

Shannon stood there holding her hand to her chest as she’d waited for her heartbeat to slow. Finally, she’d calmed enough to say, “It’s alright Rachel, I’m just jumpy tonight. I keep thinking someone is watching me.”

“Ooh, that sounds creepy,” Rachel murmured as she’d looked out the window.

“Yeah, but I really hope it’s just my imagination,” Shannon murmured softly. “Anyways, what did Val need?”

“Oh, she said to clean the bathrooms and you could go,” Rachel answered.

Shannon gave Rachel a nod, then turned to walk away, saying “Okay then, I’m on it.”

She then walked to the back, quickly cleaning the restrooms before clocking out. As she’d walked back to the front, she saw André waiting for her with a cup of coffee-to-go.

He looked up. “Ready to go ma chérie?”

“Yep,” Shannon answered with a smile.

André stood up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he led her out the door. Handing her the drink, he’d told her, “I couldn’t find parking close, so we’ll have to walk about a block.”

“That’s fine,” Shannon told him before taking a sip of the drink. She’d then exclaimed, “Whoa, that’s chocolate, not coffee!”

He chuckled. “Yes, it is. I know you don’t care much for coffee.”

“Thank you. You’re so good to me you know that?” she asked as she gave him a side hug.

“That is my job as your Bien-aimé Shannon,” he said softly. “I live to make you happy.”

Shannon stopped walking then, so she could turn to face him. She then softly told him, “I live to make you happy too André.”

She started to tilt her head up for a kiss when suddenly the feeling of being watched was back. She moved away from him and looked around, feeling frightened to be so out in the open, but she saw no one.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you feel that?′ she whispered. “Like we’re being watched. I can almost feel someone’s eyes on me.”

André stiffened before he took a deep breath as he looked around. Then he quietly said, “Come let’s go, quickly now.”

Then he grabbed her hand, and they quickly made their way to his car. André had watched the mirrors as he’d drove.

She stayed quiet until they had made it safely home and inside the house.

Walking into the sitting room, she watched him as he moved to look out the window. She then asked, “Did you see anything?”

Looking out the window he shook his head, “No but...”

“But what?”

Turning from the window he let the curtain drop as he told her, “I smelled beer and cologne strongly. It was the same combinations of scent that was on you when I found you.”

Shannon knew her face had paled at his words, and her knees gave way. She hit the couch seat with a thump before she’d whisper, “Dad.”

Her dad had found her.

Looking up at André, in a choked whisper she asked, “What would he come here for, and how did he know where to look for me? I mean, I know he knows I’m here with you since he sent the cops, but how did he find where I’m working?”

André left the window, where he had once more taken to staring out, and came to sit down next to her. He then said, “Once he found out exactly where you were, he must have come here. He had to have followed us to the café, so he’s been watching the house, but how have I not smelled him before?”

“Maybe, maybe it isn’t him watching the house.”

“If not him, then who? Who would it be that they went unnoticed by me?” André questioned raising an eyebrow.

Shannon leaned against him and closed her eyes as she rubbed his chest. She then said, “A private investigator, or maybe Rick?”

André growled before saying, “Since Rick is no longer welcome in my home, I would have noticed him skulking around first thing. PI’s cost money, something that your father probably doesn’t have. Unless his circumstances have changed since you left home.”

“True. Well, what do you know about your neighbors?” Shannon asked him. She opened her eyes to look at him when he remained silent.

His look was thoughtful.

“I don’t really know much since they’re human,” he murmured, staring off blankly. “Let’s see the neighbor on my left is an older couple, retired, I think. They have a little dog, and when the man walks him after dark, he always barks at me. I think the man died recently though, and the son moved the woman off somewhere with him. I think the place was for sale, may still be.

“Now, the neighbors on the right of me are young, with lots of kids. They have a teenage son who comes and goes at all hours of the night, I’ve fed from him a few times.”

“Hm... so, an empty house right next to you,” she hummed. “How convenient for someone who wants to spy on you and not be seen.”

He stood abruptly and said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you...? Oh, to check the house out!”

André nodded, and then he was gone.

Shannon barely blinked before he was out of sight and the front door was closing behind him.

Vampire speed gotta love it. Then, as quickly as he’d left, he was back.

“Shannon?”

“Kitchen,” she called out. Then, she turned toward the door as he walked in. “Anything?”

“Not much, someone has been there because dust has been disturbed. The bed looked slept in also, but Shannon the smell is different. It smells nothing like what I smelled earlier.”

She felt her shoulders droop in relief as she said, “Then it isn’t my dad, so one may have nothing to do with the other.”

He nodded, then agreed, saying, “I believe you are right, one is not related to the other. Now, with everything that has been going on this evening, I need to go out for a bit. I promise I won’t be gone long though.”

“Why didn’t you... ah... eat earlier?” Shannon softly asked.

“I did, but tension or stress sometimes causes me to need a bit extra,” he replied.

“Oh.”

Then with a quick kiss, he was gone.

After leaving Shannon, André quickly ran back into the city, toward the lights and those who enjoy the nightlife.

He quickly found an alley, where a man and a woman were taking advantage of the darkness. They never saw him coming, and he quickly took control of them, so he could take blood from the man. He was still unable to take blood from any females, except Shannon. Once he’d had fed, he left them to what they had been doing with no memory of him.

Walking home afterward, he thought about what had happened tonight. He was positive it was her father he’d smelled outside the café. The scent had been the same as the scent all over Shannon the night he’d found her in the woods.

As for the scent in the house? He hadn’t wanted to scare her, but it smelled of a vampire. One that was unknown to him.

This worried him greatly because he had to wonder why one would be watching his home. He also wondered how the unknown and Shannon’s father were connected.

The scent in the house was only hours old, and it looked as if whoever it was had stood watching out the window of the bedroom that faced André’s house. This was leading him to believe that whoever it was had waited for Shannon and him to leave, then followed.

Why though?

He gave a tired sigh as he opened the door of his house and stepped inside. Locking the door behind him, he realized the house was quiet and dark. So, he quickly made his way up the stairs, and down the hall to the guest room where a bit of light was shining under the door.

Tapping lightly on the door, he stepped inside. The lamp was on the next to the bed which was empty. The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar though, with light shining through.

“Shannon?” André questioned quietly, but he received no answer. Pushing the door open, he peeked in and smiled.

Shannon lay in the tub, steam, and bubbles surrounding her, sound asleep.

Stepping closer, André knelt next to the tub and just looked at her. Her features were soft and feminine, her cheeks now more filled out since she had been with him and eating regular meals. He grinned, thinking about how big of an appetite she had. She had also lost the stress lines that had creased her face and she looked younger.

Reaching out his hand, he gently ran his forefinger down her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin.

She made a little mewing sound in her sleep as she moved a bit.

He stilled his finger as her eyes fluttered open.

“André?”

“Oui, did you have a nice nap chérie d’amour?” He asked.

She gave him a sleepy smile as she said, “I was dreaming about you.”

He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “Were you now?”

She nodded.

“Was it a good dream?” He asked her then, his voice husky with arousal, as he trailed a finger across her shoulder and down her chest.

Shannon held her arms up and said, “Take me to bed baby, and I’ll let you be the judge of how good it was.”

She didn’t have to ask twice!

Shannon slowly woke up feeling fingers moving slowly down her thigh.

“I think you enjoy making me wait for my breakfast,” a deep and accented voice said.

She smiled, her eyes still closed, but knowing it was Vampire. André had spent most of the evening with her, but when they first awakened in the evenings, it was always Vampire.

“Of course, I do baby, I live to see you hungry!” Shannon said, teasing him a bit. She rolled her head over then, so she could look up at him, where he lay propped up looking over her shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow.

She laughed at him before rolling onto her back and pulling him down for a kiss. It only took a few hot kisses to make her excited and wanting more.

He trailed his lips from hers, down her jawline to her neck. His hand then began slowly caressing her thigh as he nipped at her neck.

She moaned, “Vampire you are such a tease.”

He bit down on her neck then as his fingers found that special spot between her legs, and he proceeded to drive her wild!

Much later, Shannon groaned as she squinted at the clock. She then muttered, “I need to get up, get ready for work.”

“You were the one who wanted a job.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, his eyes now hazel, his fangs retracted. Sitting up, she stretched, before telling him, “Yeah I know, I’m stubborn that way.”

“How about I go fix you something to eat while you dress?”

“Sounds lovely, thank you, André,” Shannon said, giving him a smile.

So, with a slight nod, he dressed and left for the kitchen.

Shannon, meanwhile, walked back to the guestroom from his room to take her shower. After her shower, she dressed in her black uniform skirt and white button-up blouse before heading to the kitchen. Once there, she sat down, and André placed a plate in front of her before going back to the sink.

He then stayed standing, staring out the window, as she quickly ate her steak and eggs.

Glancing up at him, she realized how tense he was and frowned. Softly, she asked, “Um... André, is everything alright?”

“Oui,” was his reply.

Something was wrong though, she knew there was. His voice sounded strained, and she was getting a strange emotion for him. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was though. Cocking her head as she studied him, she thought, in a way it feels like it might be hunger… yet perhaps it’s lust? I’m not quite sure because he keeps blocking me like he’s purposely trying to keep me from feeling it.

“André, I know something is...” She began but didn’t get to finish her thought because he turned with a hiss.

“Why can’t you let it go? I said I am fine, so please just...!” He turned away from her again, holding onto the counter. His knuckles were white where he held on and his shoulders shook.

Shannon felt a sharp pain run through her that she knew was his before he blocked her once more. Why is he feeling pain? Is he hurt, and if he is how? As far as I know, he hadn’t been out yet to feed. His pain has become mine though and I only want to help him.

So, she tried again by saying, “Please, I just want to help you...”

Once more he turned on her with a hiss, only this time it wasn’t André but Vampire. His eyes were jet black.

She could almost see the anger in their depths.

He gave a cold laugh and said, “You want to help?”

A shiver ran through her body. This was not the Vampire she’d been seeing lately, this was the Vampire she’d first met, the cold and angry one.