BULGARIA, 1923.His eyes travelled around the scanty bar, and just when he was about to pick up his tumbler, his eyes settled on the blonde-haired woman, who had her hair in a high up-do. Her beauty and the poise at which she strutted from her seat and headed out the door wasn't what caught his attention.It wasn't the muffler on her neck either.It was the part of her neck where the shawl wasn't covering. The strong smell of fresh blood hit him and he froze in his seat, taking in the double holes that were punctured on her neck.She had just been bitten.He could tell.And that only told him the one thing he was scared of confirming because he knew he didn't feed on that woman. They are here.He downed the rest of his whiskey at a go, shooting up from the bar stool. The bartender happened to walk in at that moment. He latched onto the collar of his shirt, raising him to eye level like he weighed nothing. He peered at him intently. The bartender struggled valiantly in his arms, trying
|•| DESIRÉE DOYLE |•|"Awww, don't worry, sweetheart. It's all going to be over soon."Those two sentences—the last line of the chapter of the book I was currently reading, which had me hooked—echoed in my head. It thinned out the incessant chatters of the Café customers and the soft music in the background.The noise, which got under my skin, dissipated into nothingness, replaced by the words, which seemed to amplify my curiosity the more I dwelled on it. It rendered me restless and absentminded. A slimy substance splashed all over my face abruptly, filtering into my eyes and it had me blinking rapidly at the stinging sensation it left inside of them.I dropped the sponge in my hands, bringing them to my eyes to wipe the liquid off, but the stinging sensation only worsened.The mocking giggles that filled the air gave me an inkling of what was going on. Goddammit.I pried my eyes open. They watered effortlessly because of how badly they stung, but I didn't snap them shut. My eyes lan
|•| DESIRÉE DOYLE |•|The shrill sound of my alarm clock jolted me upright and I flinched, whipping my head up from the reading table. The unceasing sound had me groaning and I slammed my palm on the button to shut it down. I whimpered, propping my elbows on the desk but the rattling sound of my keyboard had me retracting them. I brought my hand to my face to brush my hair off but the glasses perched on the bridge of my nose obstructed me."God, I didn't." I groaned in distaste. I had fallen asleep by my reading table again. The dark screen of my laptop stared back at me. I glided my finger on the touchpad and it came on. The blank page on Microsoft Word had its mocking eyes pinned on me, causing me to release a frustrating sigh. I knew I should have just gone to bed when I came back from work yesternight but silly me wanted to see if I could come up with anything so that I could meet up with deadlines. And just like always, I slept off.Hissing thro
|•| DESIRÉE DOYLE |•|I sprinted into the Café, nearly knocking a customer over her feet. The redhead woman cast me a disgruntled look, and walked past me, but not without muttering some incoherent words. I didn't get a chance to apologise because I was struggling to catch my breath while adjusting the strap of my bag around my shoulder. I squeezed my eyes shut, brushing my unpacked hair off my sweaty face. Then, I drew in a long breath and dragged it out slowly.My breathing was a little stable but it was still coming out in pants. I used that opportunity to allow my eyes to wander around the bustling Café in search of Tania. When I didn't see her, relief washed over me because I wouldn't want her deducting my pay. And with that, I skipped over to the counter. Charlotte moved away from the espresso machine, rushing over to me with furrowed brows."Des, you are late." Her tone was a little chiding and I sighed."I am sorry. I had an impromptu test." I answe
|•| ANDRÉ BAUDELAIRE |•|"Get your hands off me! Asshole!" The redhead's enraged voice was heavy with malice, enveloping the nearly empty street in its shrill resonance and I found myself wincing in irritation where I leaned on the black SUV, watching her every move like a hawk."Leave," The biggest of the bouncers ordered her."Lux club is not for a cheap whore like you." He added, and the two other bouncers snickered between themselves."Oh, fuck you!" She yelled. The quaver in her voice indicated that tears were beginning to well up in her eyes and it was so obvious that she was hurt by the abusive words they were hauling at her."I never wanted to come anyway!" She added in a weak attempt to defend herself. She let out a scream of frustration, stomping off and pulling down her red dress at intervals while their sardonic laughter echoed behind her.They spun on their heels after confirming that she wasn't coming back, heading back to the entrance of the clu
|•| DESIRÉE' DOYLE |•|Half the class had engaged themselves in something else that wasn't listening to the professor by the projector. It was as though he was ranting non-stop. A few minutes ago, before I got immersed in what I was doing, I had overheard two students flirting behind me and it was so cringe.It made my skin crawl with disgust.The murmurings that lingered in the air, coupled with the aggressive taps of fingers against the keyboard were very distracting and I found the sound upsetting because it kept invading my thoughts, diverting my attention elsewhere.I propped my jaw on my elbow, navigating my cursor on the news site I was currently in. As I scrolled past each paragraph, I could feel my heart being ripped to shreds, clenching in pain at the sight of the dead girl, whose picture had gone viral.Her cause of death was said to be an animal attack and it had me peering at the picture since because I was torn between believing the fact that it was truly an animal atta
|•| ANDRÉ BAUDELAIRE |•|The smell of books was one of my favourite things in the world—old ones, specifically—they oozed off the most unrefined and effortlessly appealing smell. A mix of ancient leather, woods and a hint of ink and dust, alongside a speck of vanilla.In one word. Heaven.The only thing akin to noise in the library I was, was the constant flipping of the classical novel in my hands. I wasn't reading. I was too absent-minded to do that. I just sat in the chair, drowning in the scent that nulled my senses and was slowly luring me to sleep.It was my safe haven, but right now, it didn't feel like that. It felt like a distraction and I hated it. I hated the fact that I had to shove the very thing I didn't want to think about at the back of my mind. And despite that thought being so far away, I could still feel it flickering, threatening to resurface.I have always loved being alone with my thoughts. That solitude, that momentary peace, was something I looked forward to.B
|•| DESIRÉE DOYLE |•|The clicking of my pen got louder as I chewed on my lips, staring at the papers that were strewn on my legs, given as I was seated in a monk style in the front seat of Iris'car.There were tons of them on my lap but my attention was slashed. Heck, I was barely paying attention to what I was struggling to piece together and it had me wondering if I didn't make a colossal mistake wearing a Grey sweater.My mind was torn between the colour of my sweater, alongside the thoughts that came with it and the papers before me. The incessant clicking of my pen was to keep me in the loop but even the sound was beginning to sound so distant.All I could make out on the papers were a pair of intense Grey eyes that flashed in my mind, now and then. It was so vivid. It felt like he was staring back at him and every single thought of him kept resurfacing.I was so baffled about his sudden disappearance at the Café and if I didn't know any better, I would say I was losing my mind.