Chapter five- When their eyes met

Lucien woke up in one of his many properties, a smaller mansion than the main one he lived in. He turned to face the other side of the bed.

 The vampire woman he had spent the night with was still asleep. He had barely touched her the entire night.

Lucien sat up slowly, trying to not wake up the woman laying beside him. He ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't remember how the night ended. 

He remembered arriving, remembered the distraction he was looking for. But that was all. His thoughts were absent. They hadn't been with her.

Instead, they were where they'd been for days now.

Wickery Bridge. The feeling of the cold water and her fragile body in his arms.

Lucien stood, putting on his shirt and jacket without making a sound. He didn’t bother waking the woman. She wouldn’t care. Neither of them expected anything from each other.

He left before the sun fully set.

By evening, he was walking through the city, blending in. He fed well every time to avoid looking paler than he already was as a vampire. 

Humans passed him, some glanced twice, especially women. His charms and beauty were too hard to not notice. He watched as they passed by, listening to conversations from miles away without trying. 

That was one of the pros of being a vampire. 

Human lives seemed messy and fragile to him.

She had to be somewhere among them. He hoped. It's been weeks since the incident. 

Lucien didn't plan where he was going. He only worked with instincts.

After a while, he eventually stopped at the popular Ravenscourt grill across the street to have a drink or two. 

He stood there for a while before stepping in. 

He walked over to the bar area and took a seat. The male bartender greeted him. He asked for a bourbon drink which was poured for him shortly.

That's when he heard two girls come in.

“Katerina. Slow down. You're going to trip and fall.” The girl said while laughing uncontrollably. He turned towards them.

It was her. The girl he had not been able to take his mind off for a week. She seemed fine, like she had recovered. Just a little stitch on her forehead, possibly from hitting her head. 

But she was safe and alive. He felt a wave of relief. What was wrong with him? What were these emotions he couldn't understand?

“Katerina”. He whispered to himself. Her name was Katerina.

He turned over to the bartender.

“That girl over there? The one putting on a red sweat shirt. Does she come here often?” Lucien kept his expression neutral.

“Oh yes. Katerina. Bright girl. She actually worked here for a while but had to take time off after everything…”. The bartender replied, shaking his head. 

“Everything?”

The bartender hesitated a bit before proceeding. 

“Yeah. Her parents. Fatal crash. A few years back. Rough stuff.” 

Lucien felt something twist in his chest.

“I didn't know that,” he said to the bartender who was already walking off.

Lucien looked around the room again. This time more alert.

He heard her laugh at something her friend said. Her laugh wasn't fake, it was genuine.

“Rebecca!!” She called out. 

Lucien watched without moving.

“You see that guy at the bar? The one at the end?” Rebecca leaned closer to her, as if whispering. He could hear them through his vampire senses.

“He's been staring. Turn around and look but don't make it too obvious.”

Katerina turned slowly in his direction. He wanted to look away but he couldn't. 

Their eyes met.

Lucien felt it instantly. He held her gaze longer than he should have.

There was no fear in her eyes. There was no recognition either. She looked a bit confused instead. He could see that she looked at him with familiar eyes like he felt familiar.

Then she looked away.

Lucien didn't move. He stayed where he was. His mind slowly raced. He slowly exhaled. He felt relieved once more.

She didn't recognise him or know who he was. That, he could tell. If she remembered anything, it was probably fragments, pieces, memories but not him. 

It was better and safer that way. 

She was alive, breathing and well. 

That mattered to him more than it should have.

Lucien took a sip from his glass. This was dangerous territory. He hadn't come to let something start. He told himself he just wanted to be sure she was fine and didn't know who he was. And that he had confirmed. 

That was it. Whatever this was, it needed control.

And yet control felt harder with her in the same room with him.

He found himself listening without wanting to. He listened to her laugh- soft and feminine. He wondered how close she had come to losing it forever that evening at the old Wickery Bridge if he hadn't saved her.

That thought made him upset.

She turned around the room again. Their eyes met once more. She looked away. Like whatever she felt earlier had faded. Humans move on too quickly. 

Lucien wished he could do the same.

He stood up. Adjusting his jacket. Careful not to draw any attention to himself.

Leaving was the only choice that made sense to him at that moment. Staying would only invite questions he couldn’t answer, attachments he couldn't afford to nurture. 

His father’s voice echoed in his mind- “Duty. Control. Distance. Affection is a weakness.”

Still, before he turned away, he looked at her.

She was smiling again. She looked so relaxed. Unaware that the man who had pulled her from a sinking car was standing only a few steps away.

He would leave.

He wouldn’t interfere. Not yet.

He wouldn’t reveal himself.

He wouldn’t cross the line.

But he would stay close enough to know she was safe.

And when the time came, when the truth could no longer be better avoided then he would decide what to do with this attraction and bond he never intended to create.

He had gotten closer to the exit door when he heard her again.

“I keep dreaming and thinking about that evening,” Katerina said, keeping her focus on Rebecca.

Lucien paused.

 Katerina frowned.

“It is as though I heard his voice.”

Lucien closed his eyes for a brief moment.

“It felt familiar.” Katerina said. “Like I might recognise it if I heard it again.”

 Lucien's chest tightened.

He had said one word to her.

Easy.

 He said it without thinking and now she was remembering.

What else would she remember?