The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (98 page)

“You had better get up and get dressed” He finally said and now I wished he hadn’t!

“You want me to leave?” I asked in shock. Draven had never, ever before once asked me to leave him and I could feel the tears quickly start to form.

“Your cousin will be here soon,
you shouldn’t keep her waiting.
” He said without looking at me once. All the while I had watched him get dressed, keeping his eyes to the floor. Then he simply walked over to the door and opened it. However before leaving completely, he stopped with his hand on the handle and was about to look up to see the pain on my face only he didn’t. Instead he shook his head as if trying to get something out of there and left. He closed the door with a bit more force than what was needed making me jump at the slam. Then I cried....again.....for the hundredth time today....  

I don’t know how long I had been crying for but it didn’t feel enough. I wanted to get up and find him. I wanted to beg for forgiveness, tell him how stupid I was but I couldn’t move. I was locked there and frozen in my misery. Here I was, just had the best sex of my life and I had ruined it with only a few words! I hated myself for it! I would never forget Draven’s face. The face of someone hearing the cruellest words they had ever heard. On hearing them from the lips you kiss in passion. The lips that smile upon seeing you. The lips that tell you they love you. How could I have done that? I wasn’t a cruel person. If anything I was usually the one that kept her feelings under tight grip but today what had happened? Of course I had no one to blame but myself....my stupid, stupid self!

I carried on like that till the minutes ticked by but soon the sound of Abba was interrupting my mental scolding. I got up and didn’t even care that I was stark naked. I felt numb s
o what did it matter? I found my phone
inside my jacket pocket
, which
was placed over a chair...that Draven had probably placed over
a chair.

“Hel...” I didn’t even get chance to finish before a voice starting screeching at me.

“W
here the Hell are you
?” Hilary’s voice boomed on the other end making me wince.

“Umm...coming, where are you?” I asked trying to calm her down but it didn’t help and yet again I was stupid to believe otherwise.

“What do you mean “Where am I?!” I’m at the Fucking club!” Her foul language wasn’t a shock, I already knew th
ere was about zero percent lady
like manners in her!

“Right
,
well stay by the bar and I will be down there.  Give me ten minutes
.
”

“Ten minutes! Get down here now or better still, send Dominic to keep me company
.
” She said and I could hear the smirk replace the pissed off face.

“Look the longer I’m on the phone the longer I will be...so just...” That’s when she hung up. Now instead of wanting to cry I wanted to scream! I was close to giving up but instead I ran in the bathroom to get the quickest shower I could. I was almost crying again at the thought of washing away Draven’s scent but it couldn’t be helped.

I kept my hair dry and once out of the shower tried to smooth it out as much as I could without the use of a hairbrush. I quickly dried myself, to a degree but when pulling on a pair of clean jeans I realised I’d missed my legs as I found getting them on without tugging was difficult. This is when Sophia came in. She found me in a bra and bent over the arm of the chair pulling the waistband with frustration. I turned to see her walk in, hoping it was Draven, when my hand slipped and smacked me in the face, before rolling backwards off the seat, landing on my back. I looked up finding her peering over the seat with an amused look.

“Wow
,
you even make getting dressed look dangerous
.
” She mocked.

“It’s a talent” I replied sarcastically. I got off the floor and grabbed the top I had picked off the armchair and pulled it on with embarrassment flooding my face. It was a long sl
eeved black top with a faded pea
ce sign on the front. I thought it a good choice and hoped Draven would find the deeper meaning.

“So...what did you say to my brother to turn him into such a foul mood?” Oh great, now the Demon sister to contend with.

“Why what did he say?” I asked sheepishly as I pulled my gloves up. I noticed her glance briefly at my scars before I hid them from sight.

“It’s not what he said...It’s more like what he just destroyed.” I couldn’t hide my shock and also couldn’t help but ask
,

“What did he just destroy?”

“Oh
,
only a priceless vase that was given to him as a gift from the
Qianlong Emperor
,
who was the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty in 1736
! Let’s put it one way, one like it sold at
auction
for about $80
.
”

“Thousand!” I screamed hoping I hadn’t caused his temper at such high costs!

“Oh no, not thousand
s
, think bigger, think millions
!
” She said coolly and I fell back into the chair.

“80 million dollars! Oh God!” I held my head in my
hands and it felt like it weighed a ton
.

“Oh come on, it’s not like you broke it...well threw it across the room
, smashing out the window and landing in the canyon below
, but that’s beside the point. Besides he will just fix it again, That is
,
when he’s in a better mood....What happened?”

“It’s all my fault, I said something really stupid!” I said shaking my head but she jus
t smiled at God only knows what.

“Come now Keira, my brother is a big boy. Ok
,
granted he has anger issues but he will not stay mad for long. After all he did send me in here to check you were alright.” At this my head whipped up as though on a bungee.

“He did?” I asked full of hope. I mean he would have to care if he sent Sophia to check on me
…
wouldn’t he?

“He did
!
” She said repeating my words. At that I stood up and grabbed my jacket as it was cooler now without Draven to warm me. It was always colder without him in the room.

“You never told me what you said?” Sophia asked me as she followed me down the hall. I only stopped bef
ore I opened the door that led
out to the club.

“It doesn’t matter but do me a favour
?
” She nodded and grabbed the door for me.

“Tell Draven that I’m sorry
!
” I said and walked out into the crowded space that was the VIP. I knew what I must have looked like, eyes still red and puffy from a day’s crying, hair un-brushed and wild. I still had little wet hair that clung to my neck and could feel the frizz trying to escape the clip I twisted it up into. My clothes clung to my damp skin and felt uncomfortable as I walked. But I did walk...I walked on and through the club with the look of someone trying to hide their pain. I carried on until his table came into view and the man himself.

I noted he too had changed and his look was haunting
me. It was so harsh and cold, i
t was hard to believe it was the same man. His permanent frown forced his eyes smaller and fierce. He was shooting back drinks with little care and one glass I saw him crush into a tiny crumpled piece that he threw aside. My gut hurt at the sight of his anger, knowing I was the cause was crushing. I almost wanted to go up there. Get down on my knees and beg but I couldn’t, for one ....I was frightened.

Vincent saw me and his look filled with pity. I don’t know whether it was for his brother
’
s anguish or mine. Draven noticed his eyes and looked my way. For a second they softened at the sight. He noted the redness in my eyes and closed his own. But then when he opened them, all I saw was a purple flame engulf them. It was like he had just played the words I had said to him over again and all he found there was his hurt. Then he swiftly turned his face from mine and barked an order for another drink.  Everyone on the table looked too scared to speak, of course the only one smiling was Aurora.

I sighed and looked back down at feet that I made move towards the stairs. Of course
,
no will in the world could stop me from looking back before leaving. I found Draven staring at me but when I saw this he knocked back his shot glass and threw
it aside making it smash at
Loz’s feet. I looked away one last time and ran down the steps before the tears could start again.

I found Hilary easily on account of what she was wearing. She had on skin tight, black leather pants that would have put Sandy from Grease to shame on the tightness level. She had matched this with a red leather halter top that laced up the front. She had pulled it on that tight that what little breast
s
she did have, were now closer to her chin. I think she h
ad mistaken “Gothic nightclub” for
“Whore house chic”.

I couldn’t help but look at the door as means of escape. If only I could get away with running from everything. At the moment it was more my guilt I wanted to run from but I knew that would follow me where ever I went so what was the point?

Hilary was standing at the bar and had her back end sticking out at an awkward angle. If this was to show off her body more, to me
it just made her butt look bony
! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not usually a mean bitter person and very rarely bitchy but where my cousin was concerned....well, it was fair game!

She hated me for some un
known reason that I could
n’t
care less about but years ago this unfounded hate would drive me insane wondering why. I had no idea what it was all based on but one thing was for sure, I had become an expert living with it. I swallowed every insult, put up with every snide comment and had to accept just about every stupid and outrageous thing she did
, which, given
her sexual tendencies
,
I was surprised the girl hadn’t gotten into more trouble than she had. This was a girl without limits! Older men, younger men, married men and even a convicted man, so I
’d
hear
d
. She had done it all... literally.

“About bloody time!” She said as I joined her. I didn’t reply but just waved at Mike
,
ignoring her.

“Hey Kaz, just can’t get enough of the place
?
” He joked and I laughed out
,
one of those fake laughs that you reserve for hiding true feelings
. No one ever suspects they’re
not sincere and it’s better than just saying out right that you’re not in the mood for jokes because you think your boyfriend hates you right now!

Mike looked to my right and waited for me to introduce my evil cousin and from the sounds of the clearing throat next to me, he wasn’t the only one.

“Umm sorry
,
Mike
,
this is my cousin Hilary, Hilary this is Mike my work friend
.
”

“Work friend?” He cocked his head to the side at my classification of our friendship.

“Well
,
we only see each other at work” I reminded him.

“Yes why is that?” He asked making me smile for the first time in what seemed like hours. My smile was my answer and his flirting didn’t go unnoticed.

“Hi, I’m Mike
, your cousin’s
work friend
.
” He said smiling but Hilary was uninterested due to his interest in me!

“Charmed
!
” She said as he took her hand to shake but her face spoke volumes, she was less than charmed. This was until she spotted another contender...the lovely Jack. He came up behind me and gave me a hug. I turned into him and it felt good in his arms. I wanted to stay there and tell him all my problems. He was such a good friend, the type you could spill your life’s woes to and he would just sit there and listen, not ever judging you, he wouldn’t give that “I know how it feels crap”
.
When did people
even kno
w how it felt, how could they when everyone experiences their feelings differently. Look at Hilary for example, she displays her hate for me openly but I keep mine hidden. Sometimes people use pain and sadness to harbour it into something positive, while others hide it away and cry until they are empty. This is why I loved Jack. And this is why I had to keep him away from the venomous Hilary before she infected him with her poison.

“Jack
!
” I said his name like it was a lifeline and he knew something was wrong when he saw my face looking up at him.

“Keira are you alright?” The very question had me close to tears, but I closed my eyes to push them back.

“Sorry Jack, this is my cousin Hilary
.
” I said hating introducing her but not having much choice. He turned his attention to my cousin and she looked more than happy with her discovery. I mean
,
who could blame her, after all
, apart from the Draven
s, Jack was the most handsome guy in the club at anytime. Tall, athletic build, bronze coloured
hair that flopped in his toffee
brown eyes that had flecks of gold. That soft featured face that housed one of the greatest smiles I had ever seen. It was enough to melt any woman’s heart...except mine that was.