"What is it?!" he asked as he ran toward her in his vampire speed.
"I...I saw something in the window," Kenzie gasped as she gripped the sofa.
"What was it?"
"I don't know, but it scared the heck out of me. Something was looking in at me, and I swear to you it had red eyes."
"Did you see anything else?"
"It looked like...a person."
Isaiah was already at the window looking out. Whatever Kenzie had seen, it was gone. She hadn't even seen it leave; one minute it had been there, and the next it had been gone.
"It had red eyes, you say?" Isaiah asked.
"Yes, definitely. Blood red."
"Vampire."
"There was a vampire looking in my window at me?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"I'm not scared, I'm just..."
Isaiah joined Kenzie on the sofa. He touched the top of her hand again. Why did he keep doing that?
"You're frightened, whether you admit it to yourself or not."
Kenzie was glad she didn't start crying, or worse, having hysterics. Instead, she looked into Isaiah's cool silver eyes and said, "Okay, I guess now I am. Why would a vampire be looking in at me?"
"I have a few ideas, but I'm not going to tell you them. However, I'll tell you what I am going to do."
"Call the chief?"
"In addition to that, I'll stay here with you tonight if you'd allow me."
"You...want to sleep over?"
"I wouldn't be sleeping."
"But you don't sleep during the day. You need your rest."
"I'll make an exception this one time. Your safety is important."
"But what good would staying here tonight do?"
"You'd be protected in case that monster decided to come back."
"Why would it come back? And I don't care how scared I am, I want to know why you think a vampire was looking at me."
"I suppose you'd be more willing to let me stay if you knew."
"Maybe."
"Well, first, the vampire could have been checking to see if you were home at all because he or she is thirsty."
Kenzie shuddered.
"Second, the vampire could have been seeing if you were alone, which would make the...process easier."
Kenzie shivered.
"And third, perhaps the vampire was one of the guilty ones, spying on you to see how much you possibly knew about him or her."
Kenzie collapsed onto the arm of the sofa. So now a vampire was following her around, most likely one of the killers, seeing what she knew or planning to drink her blood. Just great.
"So, knowing that, how do you feel about my offer?" Isaiah was asking.
Kenzie stared up at the ceiling. Any other guy would have called her crazy for seeing such a thing her in window, even if he did believe in vampires and know all about them. Or, if he did believe her, he'd run away and leave her there to be devoured by a blood sucker.
But Isaiah not only believed her, he was willing to stay with her, and stay up all night, to make sure she was safe. As scared as she now was, what other option did she have?
"Fine, you can stay. But, no offense, no peeking and no crawling into bed with me."
"You have my word. I'll simply sit on this couch and read with a small light on so you can get your rest."
"Thank you. Should we call the chief now?"
"You do what you need to do. I'll call the chief."
So Kenzie went to the dresser and dug out some pajamas. Her options were somewhat limited, for she didn't expect to be sharing a room with anyone, especially a handsome young vampire. She finally settled on her cherry patterned pants and shirt. Isaiah was already on the phone, so she walked quickly to the bathroom, where she closed and locked the door.
While showering, Kenzie normally closed her eyes against the shampoo so as not to irritate her eyes, but tonight she braved any potential stings and kept her eyes open. She made sure to pull the shade in the bathroom so that if the vampire came back, it wouldn't be able to see her in the window. She wouldn't have to see it staring back at her either with the shade down.
Kenzie stepped out of the shower and began drying off. She then worked on drying her hair when it dawned on her that she didn't sleep in makeup, but she might look a little hideous without it. This was why she tried not to wear makeup; you never know when it'll come around to bite you in the end.
"Bad pun," Kenzie thought to herself. She then realized she'd said that to herself in her head, not out loud. Being around Isaiah had certainly made her keep her thoughts to herself more, and he didn't seem to be reading them either, true to his word.
After her hair was dry and brushed, Kenzie decided against the makeup; what did she care what Isaiah thought? She was determined not to start a relationship with him, despite what happened in the hall. Which really wasn't anything, but still. She then wondered why she hadn't had the common sense to bring a bath robe with her. Oh right, because she planned on being alone in her hotel.
Finally taking in a deep breath, Kenzie opened the bathroom door and stepped out. Isaiah was sitting on the sofa, which faced away from the bathroom, reading a book, just as he said he would be. Kenzie skipped past him and jumped into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.
Kenzie also laughed. This was certainly different. She'd never had a guy in her room before, except a friend with the door open and they were playing video games and doing homework together. She was glad her parents weren't around.
As if on cue, her cell phone rang and she saw that it was her father.
"Oh great," she said out loud.
"Who is it?"
"My parents. This is embarrassing, but could you please refrain from making any noise? They don't know you're here. And I did sort of tell them you're a vampire."
"Not a problem. I can be very quiet, trust me."
"Okay then."
Kenzie answered her phone and said, "Hi, Dad."
"Hey Kenzie! How are you doing?"
"I'm doing good, just got in for the night."
"Did you solve the case yet?"
"I wish, I'm worried for the people here."
Kenzie heard her mother say something inaudible in the background. Russ replied with, "I didn't know you were home yet. I thought you had to work late tonight."
Constance said something else inaudible. Russ said, "Oh, okay. Hold on." He then said to Kenzie, "Hey Ken, can we call you back on the house phone so we can both talk?"
"Sure," Kenzie said, laughing.
"Okay, talk to you in a bit. Bye." There was a click as the call was disconnected. A few moments later, Kenzie's phone rang again.
"Hello again."
"Hi! Your mom's heading to the phone..."
There was a click and then Constance's voice said, "I've got it!"
"Perfect timing."
"Hi, Kenzie! How are you?"
"I'm good, Mom. What are you guys up to?"
"We've been watching the news to keep tabs on what's going on in Bridgeport. Oh, and my garden is doing better!"
"That's great! When I get home we should eat some of those vegetables."
"I'm hoping to do that. Hey, what's this? I see breaking news in Bridgeport on the news."
Kenzie closed her eyes as she heard her mother turn up the TV. She could somewhat hear it but the volume wasn't high enough to determine what the reporter was saying. But since Carson had said more press was getting involved after the day's latest discovery, she was sure Riverview would be getting the reports now.
Her suspicions were confirmed when her mother said, "Oh my goodness, there was another body found today! Kenzie, you've barely been there a day and the bodies just keep piling up! This is getting too dangerous!"
"I know, Mom. But this one's different, and just because it was found today doesn't mean it happened today."
"I don't care, it's still there. I think you should forget this case and come back home."
This is the exact reaction Kenzie expected to get from her mother. She wasn't surprised when her father said, "I have to agree on that one, Ken. I'm all for you wanting to help people and solve cases, but when they get this dangerous it's time to stop."
Kenzie calmly said, "I know, and I see what you're saying. But I'm this town's only hope. They've tried other detectives and everything but they haven't been able to find anything out. I want to find these killers as soon as I can before more people die."
"Killers? You mean there's more than one now? There are two vampires running around killing people?"
"Well, technically, there are at least four..."
Why did she say that?
"Four?!" Constance shrieked so loud Kenzie had to pull the phone from her ear. And Isaiah actually looked over from the couch with an eyebrow raised. Then he realized he was peeking and quickly went back to his book. Kenzie giggled.
"Kenzie, this is nothing to laugh about," Russ was saying.
"I know, I'm sorry. I was laughing at...something on TV."
"Hopefully not the news report."
"Of course not, I wouldn't laugh at that. Seriously though, don't forget, I've got a vampire helping me out with this. It's not like I'm battling the things alone. I'm not a vampire slayer."
"Exactly, which is all the more reason you should just come home," Constance said. "And that vampire may be helping you, or he could be using you. You admitted that last night."
Last night? Had it really only been a day since she'd talked to her parents? It felt like it had been years.
"Well, I think things are different now," she said.
"Kenzie, you aren't getting, well, involved, with this vampire, are you?" her mother asked. Kenzie's cheeks heated up again.
"No, of course not. I'm not that stupid." She slapped her face with her palm.
"Well I'm glad to hear that. But you won't at least consider coming home?"
"I'll consider it but I can pretty much guarantee you know what my answer will be. And think of it this way - it's not like I'm here on vacation. I'm here for a job. It's something I have to do."
"Then you be careful if you insist on staying. Please promise us that."
"I promise, I'll be very careful."
"Good. Now because of this, I guess we should let you go so you can get some rest."
"Okay, I'll be careful."
"Okay, we'll talk to you later then."
"Okay. Bye!"
"Bye!" both her parents said before hanging up.
"How'd they take it?" Isaiah asked.
Kenzie looked at him and said, "Not well. They want me to come home. But I can't do that. I can't let everyone down."
"It would be safer if you went home."
"I know, but I just can't do that. I'd regret it forever."
Kenzie's phone beeped, indicating another low battery. Kenzie sighed. She'd have to get out of bed and put the phone on the charger, which was on the desk with her laptop. It was also very close to Isaiah. There was no way he wouldn't be able to see her, trying to peek or not.
"I have to charge this phone," she said, throwing the covers back. She scurried across the carpet and put the phone on the charger. She then jumped back into bed.
"There really is no need to be so shy," Isaiah said with a grin.
"Sorry, I just don't usually parade around in front of people unless I'm fully dressed. I never have. You're looking at a girl who changed in the bathroom stall in gym class."
Why did she say that?
"Ah, so you've always been pretty shy."
"Not really. Maybe a little, but not to the point where I don't talk to people. If I was too introverted, I wouldn't be able to do my job. A lot of it involves talking to people."
"For the record, I believe you've done a very good job so far."
"Thanks."
This time Kenzie didn't blush. Maybe she was getting used to Isaiah's compliments. At last, she yawned and said, "I don't want to be rude, but I guess I should get to sleep."
"Yes you should. Don't worry, I can easily keep myself awake. No harm will come to you while I'm here."
"Are you sure you don't want to go to sleep? That vampire may not even be back tonight."
"I don't want to take that risk. Besides, I don't need as much sleep as a human, so even if I were to get tired, it wouldn't be for a while. I'll be fine."
"Well, as long as you're sure."
"Absolutely. Go ahead and get some rest. You need it."
Kenzie nodded and turned off the bedside lamp. Isaiah had left the floor lamp by the windows turned on.
"Vampires can't see in the dark?"
"We can, but we still see better with lights on."
"Oh, I see."
"Will this light bother you?"
"No, it's fine. Good night."
"Good night."
Kenzie then burrowed under the covers and hoped she wouldn't snore during the night. But she'd never known herself to do so, so she would hopefully be all right in that department. She closed her eyes, tried not to think of Isaiah's proximity, and tried to drift off to sleep.
But sleep didn't come easy for Kenzie. Isaiah, a vampire, was so close to her, and a vampire had been looking at her through her window. How could anyone sleep knowing either of those things? Kenzie just started to doze off when she heard screams outside that jolted her upright in bed.
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