Venice bent her head to shield her face against the biting October wind. It was the night before Halloween and there was an ominous aura around her small hometown. She looked up into the sky briefly. Threatening black thunderclouds blocked the setting sun from view. Another sharp gust of wind accented by a roaring boom of thunder made her walk just a bit faster down the deserted sidewalk. Orange, red, and yellow leaves swirled around her feet in mini-tornadoes as she walked. She looked up again just as a flash of lightning lit the dark clouds. As if on cue a peal of thunder sounded followed by the downpour of rain.
“Shoot!” Venice stumbled a little on the instantly slippery sidewalk. The rain was coming down in such thick sheets that she couldn’t see where she was going. She continued to stumble along in hopes of finding somewhere to hide until the rain lightened.
Suddenly, the needles of rain pounding down on her back and shoulders disappeared. Startled, she looked up.
She’d seen him around before—in school. His family had moved to their small town just before the new school year. She didn’t know his name, didn’t know anything about him. Unsure of what to say to him, Venice just stared up at him. She’d never really taken the time to look at him. Of course, she’d noticed the normal things about him—he was tall, olive skinned, black hair—but now her eyes were drawn specifically to his face.
He was handsome—darkly, hauntingly handsome. His eyes were a rich, chocolate brown framed by long eyelashes that were at present dotted by sparkling beads of rainwater. His eyes were so beautiful. His high cheekbones gave him an almost haughty look, but when his full lips parted into a smile, all images of haughtiness fled. His smile was as beautiful as his eyes were.
But what was hiding there, behind those eyes—behind that smile? What were those shadows in his eyes? What was that twitch in his smile?
“Hey. You looked kinda wet there.”
In an instant his face morphed. His eyes turned dark with unbridled anger. The smile vanished from his face and blood leaked from the corners of his mouth. His tongue flicked out and lapped up the blood running down the side of his chin. His face was suddenly centimeters away from hers. “WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?!” he screeched as thunder crashed and lightning flashed behind him.
Venice let out a small scream. The boy laughed lightly. She looked up at him, heart pounding. He flashed her his warm smile. “That scare you? I recognize you from school. Venice, right? Cool name. I’m Jeremiah.”
‘I need to stop watching so many horror movies.’ Venice shuddered, remembering the brief hallucination from a moment earlier. “Yeah, it scared me a little. Thanks for,” she motioned upward, “y’know, the umbrella.”
“No problem. I was on my way home and it started pouring, and I saw you and—you wanna come in? My house is right there.”
“No, that’s okay. I can make it home.”
Jeremiah put his hand on her shoulder and nudged her forward. After a few steps they were in front of a large, Victorian house. “You’re here already. Just come in till it stops raining. I’m not gonna do anything to you,” he added with a chuckle.
He reached around her to open the door. His hand stilled on the doorknob and Venice felt cold breath on her neck. “Or I might eat you. You look good enough to…eat…” She felt a small bite on her ear.
Jeremiah pushed the door open. “You want anything to eat?”
Venice pressed her hand to her ear. “N-No. Thanks.” She stood by the front door while Jeremiah put the umbrella away and turned on a few lights.
“I’m really sorry about this. I thought my parents would be home, but I guess I was wrong. But you don’t have anything to worry about. My mother raised a complete gentleman.” He bowed playfully.
She watched him, waiting for him to stand up again, but he stayed frozen in his position. Her eyes widened and her heart pounded wildly when she saw a drop of blood hit the floor. Then another. And another. His head snapped up and he snarled, “A gentleman indeed,” then the lights went out.
