The Food of Love (Only Lovers Left Alive)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Lilith checked her watch and realised it was almost midnight. There was at least another hour of music at Riley's but she wasn't sure if she was in the mood for it now. She had agreed to play backup for another two people, but she was sure could beg off claiming to be ill, with no hard feelings. No one knew she was coming tonight and if she had decided not to come, they would have made do.

Still, she had given her word.

One good thing about being a survivor, was that you had to develop the ability to look fine, even when you weren't, otherwise everyone would keep asking if you were okay. She had quickly learned that telling the truth, that she had hardly slept in nearly two days because she was having flashbacks, or nightmares, or panic attacks, drove people away. They didn't actually want to help, they just wanted everything to go back to the way it had been before.

'Are you all right?' wasn't so much a question, as a wish. 'I want you to be all right and stop brooding.' 'I wish you'd stop having panic attacks in public, it's embarrassing.' 'Why can't you just be normal?' Those were what most people were really saying when they asked if you were all right.

She pushed her hair out of her face and fluffed up the roots but as she turned to head back inside, she stopped dead.

A shiver had run the length of her spine and she could swear she was being watched. At one time she might have brushed such sensations off as her imagination but no longer, she listened to her instincts these days and as a result, she froze as she tried to determine where the threat was.

Moving her head as little as possible, Lilith looked around. When she saw no one who posed a danger, she dared to turn her head and look behind her.

Nothing.

Then movement caught her eye on a rooftop but when she looked, it was gone. She kept her gaze focused on that same spot, wondering if it would come back

"Lilith?"

That was Adam's voice. Her fear was too high to worry about what had happened with him earlier right now.

"I feel like I'm being watched," she said, not turning to look at him.

He stepped up beside her and followed her gaze.

"Did you see something?"

"A glimpse, movement, nothing more."

He took her hand and gently tugged. "Then come back inside, you'll be safer in there."

She felt safe already, now she was simply curious about what had caught her eye. It could have been an animal, she supposed, perhaps an owl or a bird of prey.

"Come on," he urged again, and this time she allowed him to lead her away, although she threw a few glances over her shoulder.

"Look, about what happened earlier," Adam began to say, and suddenly it all came flooding back to her and she ripped her hand from his grip.

Adam looked hurt.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

She wondered why he didn't talk of soulmates and yuanfen and after everything Eve had led her to believe, she felt disappointed. Which was ridiculous, she didn't want this, at least not yet and having Adam mooning over her (metaphorically speaking, of course) would just be annoying and distracting.

So why she feel the sting of rejection?

"Okay," she answered, because what else could she say? 'I want it to happen again?' No, she couldn't tell him that, because she wasn't sure she did.