Still, my stomach cramped painfully at the thought of someone watching me, and I couldn’t help but press a hand against it.
Take a deep breath,Finn, I told myself as I shut the door behind me.Take a deep breath and move on. Don’t let some random asshole intimidate you.
Chapter 4
Eric
Asnarl tore out of the depths of my chest as I watched Finn tear up the note I’d left for him. It’d been the second note of mine that he’d completely ignored.
I was trying tohelphim, for fuck’s sake.
I was trying to do the right thing.
And he was beingdifficult!
If he wanted to behave like an irresponsible, petulant child, I could treat him that way. Oh yeah, I wasthisclose to marching over, throwing him over my shoulder, and carting him off to the nearest urgent care right at this moment.
I saw him. I could see the bags under his eyes that’d gotten even more prominent. I saw the way his skin looked paler and paler. Saw the way he was constantly clinging to a cup of coffee.
Hell, I could see the way he kept clutching his stomach whenever he ate or drank. It was a miracle he wasn’t popping Tums like candy.
Someone should take the coffee away from him because he certainly wasn’t doing himself any favors trying to use caffeine to battle the exhaustion that came with his iron deficiency, especially if the reason for the deficiency was gastritis. Which I was like eighty percent sure it was.
He shut the door behind himself, which left me staring at an empty hallway from my spot on the roof of the building next to his.
I sighed, getting up to switch spots again.
By now, I had this routine down to a T. Carefully slide down the drainpipe on the side of the building, land in the alley, walk out, cross the street, climb the fire escape, get on the roof, and voila! The third and fourth windows to the right belonged to Finn’s small studio apartment. And since he almost never closed the curtains before he actually got into bed, I’d be able to see everything, from his small kitchenette to the living slash sleeping area.
But alas, as I turned around, I found Bennie sitting next to the drainpipe, right where I wanted to climb down.
“You need to stop,” he said.
Balling my fists, I took a deep breath, suffocating the rage that lit up inside me.
“Stop what?”
“You need to stop stalking him,” Bennie said again, nodding to the now-empty hallway.
“I’m not stalking him,” I argued.
Bennie crossed his arms over his chest. “What would you call it, then?”
“I’m watching over him,” I exploded with a shout. “I’m trying to make sure he stays safe and healthy.”
Bennie sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. He looked like a disappointed father, and I guess, in a way, he was. Maybe more of a big brother than a father. At fifty… whatever, he really wasn’t old for a vampire at all. Hell, vampires weren’t considered fully developed and mature until they had their first century under their belt.
“Eric,” he began, his voice calm, almost placating, but the only thing it did was rile me the fuck up. “Yes, you are a vampire, but this isn’tTwilight. No matter how you put it, stalking someone or watching over them or watching them sleep without their consent is creepy as fuck.”
Against my will, I barked out a laugh. “You knowTwilight?”
Bennie sniffed. “I’m not ancient. Of course I do. But that’s not important now. You’re stalking that human.” He patted the stone railing next to him, urging me to sit down.
I didn’t want to.
I really, really wanted to get on top of the other roof so I could see him again.
If I thought my need to watch over him had been bad before, it was a thousand times worse ever since that night a week ago.
