Evil Allure (3 page)

Chapter 3

“Police have found the remains of an unidentified woman in an abandoned building at the corner of K and 5th street, falling in line with the string of recent ritualistic murders taking place in the city. Earlier this morning, police responded to complaints about several dogs barking around the building. One officer investigated and discovered the woman dead on the scene. He described the visual as ‘completely ghastly’ and one of the worst things he’s seen in his police career.

“It’s now the eighth killing in a string of murders that have plagued the city. The discovery of this murder comes just a day after police found two bodies slain in an abandoned warehouse just two blocks away. The commissioner has vowed that this on-going investigation is his top priority and personnel is working around the clock to ensure that the killers are apprehended.”

I leaned up against the bar as I listened to the news report. I felt a shudder rush through my spine just thinking about what could have happened. The fact that it was a woman made it even more unnerving for some reason. I tried not to let the negative thoughts get the best of me but I couldn’t shake the bad feeling I had. After the incident with the thugs May saved me from last night, I was beginning to want nothing more than for the police to finally do their job and catch the people responsible.

“Are you okay?”

May took a seat next to me and patted me on the shoulder.

“Yeah,” I sighed a deep breath and nodded my head. “I’m fine. I’m… I’m fine.”

“You really shouldn’t watch the news that much. You know they sensationalize these things to get more people to view it. There’s really nothing for you to worry about.”

“What about last night?”

“That was just a freak accident,” she explained. “Those guys were just being dicks. Besides, it’s not like anything happened. That guy was an asshole who got what he deserved.”

“Not enough if you ask me.”

I didn’t care what May said to me. I didn’t feel safe. Especially not when I was still relatively new to the city. With everything going on in the news and being barely able to walk a few city blocks without being harassed, I was having trouble focusing.

“What the hell are you two ladies doing?” Frank said to us. “Would you please get to work?”

It was exactly what I needed to hear. I was thankful that the bar was crowded tonight and it gave me an opportunity to free my mind from the stress I was placing upon it. It was a Friday night and everybody was heading out to The Arrested Bar to get drunk. The liquor was flowing and the tips were getting larger and larger. All of the waitresses tonight were frantically making their way to the customers, to the bar and then back again. Frank was getting more than his money’s worth from all of us.

As I escorted a tray of beers to a table of drunk businessmen, I looked over to the entrance of the bar and watched the door open. It was him again. The same tall blonde man that I had seen just a day earlier.

I found myself staring at him as he walked into the bar, looking around as if he was trying to find someone. Our eyes met from across the bar and the deep blue tint I had never forgotten was there once again, piercing into my like sharp sapphires. He broke his stare with me and started to walk past me. When he brushed past me, I swallowed nervously. Over the smell of the alcohol in the air and the musky rotting wood underneath us, I swore that I could smell him. It was like he bathed in a strong and pungent cologne that penetrated my nostrils.

“Hey, lady, are you going to give us our drinks or what?”

I looked down at the table full of businessmen and suddenly realized what I was doing. I was standing there, still holding their tray of drinks and oblivious to everything that was going on around me. As I placed each of their beers down on the table, I watched as the mysterious man took a seat at the same table he did last night.

He was by himself again. It was strange for a someone to come into this place by themselves on a Friday night. Most people were here to have a good time with a group of friends. Maybe he was just waiting for someone.

“If you want this, you’re going to have to give me a little more attention, baby.”

I turned back to the businessman sitting in front of me as he waved a small wad of bills at me. I smiled at him then puckered my lips, pretending to blow him a kiss. It caused him to nearly fall back in his seat to the amusement of the rest of the table. He handed me the money and I sighed as I made my way back to the bar, no longer able to focus on attending to all of the tables.

I glanced over at him and already Zoe had taken a seat next to him. I felt a twinge of jealousy in my stomach even though I tried to deny it. Even from across the room I could see Zoe’s bubbly personality exuding from her. The way she twirled her short blonde hair and held her mouth open when she talked. Winks every now and told him more than words could ever say. I wondered if Zoe was actually interested in him and not just trying to be a waitress.

Suddenly, the two of them looked in my direction. I turned back to the bar and the bartender was staring at me with a confused look on his face.

“Do you need something, Ariel? What’s your order?”

“Um… No… No, I don’t need anything. No order...”

“Vodka. Make it a double, baby.”

I looked to the side and Zoe had zoomed right next to me. I didn’t even notice her but then remembered how quickly she made her way around the bar. As the bartender made Zoe’s drink order, she looked at me with a smile.

“You know, I think he likes you,” she said.

“What?”

“That guy over there,” she motioned to him with her head. “He’s been asking me about you. Yeah, I think he likes you.”

“M-me? What did he say?”

I thought it was just me. I didn’t actually think he would realize that I was staring at him both times he stepped into the bar. I glanced over at him for just a second to see if Zoe and I were talking about the same person and sure enough, he was sitting there by himself.

“He wants to talk to you.”

“He wants to talk to me? I mean… me?”

“Is there an echo in here? Yes, you, Ariel! Go over there and talk to him.”

“B-but I don’t have anything to say to him. What am I going to talk to him about? What does he want from me?”

“Here.”

She took the drink and shoved it into my hand so hard that some of the vodka spilled out.

“Bring this over to him,” she said. “That’s his order.”

“But you’re his waitress. You can do that.”

“What are you talking about?” Zoe said to me, chuckling at my excuse. “We’re all waitresses here. Bring his drink over to him.”

“But what does he want from me?”

“Beats me. Why don’t you just ask him? The guy won’t even tell me his name.”

“Wait a second—”

Before I could search for another reason to not have to go up to him, Zoe zipped back into the bar to take care of another table of thirsty patrons. I stood there looking at the man who had me so captivated while his drink sat in my hand.

“Just do your job,” the voice in my head told me. “Hand him the drink and hey, maybe you’ll get a big tip. Why is this such a big deal?”

I couldn’t even answer myself. I had no idea why I was so anxious but when I started walking toward him, I could feel it building in the pit of my stomach. He didn’t notice that I was approaching him, his head turned to the crowded dance floor. When I got to his table, I had to stop my hand from shaking.

“V-vodka double…” I stuttered.

He turned and looked up at me and there was a slight smile on his face. His mesmerizing blue eyes were something I was beginning to get lost in. Up close he looked just as handsome as I had pictured him.

“Thank you, Miss…”

“Ariel. Ariel Everhart.”

I shook my head and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. Why did I give him my full name? I placed the drink down on the table and when I looked back at him, there was a bigger smile on his face.

“Ms. Everhart. Okay, I guess I should pay for this now.”

“Y-you don’t have to call me that. I mean, Ariel is fine. I mean, if you want to call me… I mean, that’s my name… Well, you know what I mean…”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ariel. My name’s Vaughn.”

Vaughn. I repeated it several times in my head so I wouldn’t forget it. He handed me a stack of dollar bills and I nodded my head in thanks. The way he looked at me made me feel some giddy form of uneasiness. I gave him a crooked smile and then turned around to walk away despite wanting to sit down right there and get to know him better.

“Ariel.”

I turned around on the spot to see what else he needed.

“I know you’re busy,” he said. “But I was wondering… If you get the chance, I’d like to talk to you.”

“...Y-yeah, I can talk. We can talk. I’d like that.”

He smiled at me and picked his drink up to take a sip. I walked away from him unsure of what to think. I was already too distracted to work just from him being in the building. Knowing that he wanted me to sit down and talk to him made my focus even worse. With more patrons beginning to pile into the bar this Friday night, I knew that it was unlikely that I was ever going to get the chance to speak to him.

As the night wore on, I would make my way over to Vaughn to check in on him. But he didn’t need anything. It was too busy for me to sit down and talk to him and it looked like he hadn’t taken more than just a sip from his drink. I figured the crowded bar would save me from making a fool of myself anyway. I didn’t have anything to say to him. Nothing popped into my head.

But after last call was announced, the bar started to empty as the patrons all drunkenly stumbled out. We all started clearing the table of all of the glasses and mopped the floor from all of the spilled alcohol. The band was still playing as if to try and motivate everybody to leave even faster. And there was Vaughn, still sitting at the table by himself, as patient as ever. It didn’t matter if I wanted to talk to him or not. It looked like I didn’t have much of a choice.

As I wiped down the bar, Zoe walked up next to me and she had a devilish smile on her face.

“So… did you talk to him?” she asked me.

“Talk to who?” I said, pretending to be oblivious as to what she meant.

“You know who, Ariel. The blonde hunk in the corner. What did he say to you?”

“He just said that… he wants to talk to me when it’s not busy.”

“It’s not busy. So go talk to him.”

“I have to finish cleaning the counter.”

“Here,” she said as she grabbed the rag from me. “I’ll clean it. Go talk to him.”

I sighed as I no longer had an excuse to avoid him. I looked over at him and he was staring at me. The way he did made me feel like he was calling out to me. He was beckoning for me to come over to him even though my anxiety was doing its best to keep me away from him. Half-reluctant, I walked over to his table and looked down at the seemingly still full glass of vodka.

“Did-did you want another drink? It’s last call.”

He shook his head at me then stuck his hand out, offering me a seat. I sat just across from him, unsure of what to do next. I nervously brushed my hair back behind my ears and looked across at him, unable to return his stare.

“You didn’t finish your drink,” I said to him. “You know it’s cheaper if you just get a single if you’re not going to drink that much.”

“Yeah, I thought I’d be able to finish it tonight. But I guess I was wrong. Lesson learned. That’s what happens when you don’t drink alcohol.”

“You don’t drink alcohol?”

“I’m trying to. This is the first time I’ve ever tasted it.”

“Last night… Didn’t you come here last night to drink?”

“I did. But I didn’t drink. I guess I was a little too worried.”

“Worried? What are you worried about?”

“I don’t want to get drunk.”

“It’ll take more than that to get someone like you drunk.”

He wasn’t like anything I thought he would be. Hearing his story about how he didn’t drink seemed unbelievable but he looked at me like he was being sincere.

“Why does a man come to a bar by himself if he doesn’t drink? You are here by yourself, right? I mean, you’re not waiting for someone.”

“I am waiting for someone.”

“Oh…”

“You.”

“What?”

“I’m waiting for you, Ariel.”

“W-what?” I said as I shook in my head in confusion. “You were waiting for me? What do you mean?”

“I just wanted to talk to you. That’s all. And that’s why I’m here.”

“You came here for me? How did you know I was here? Did someone in my family put you up to this? Who are you working for?”

“I’m not here for anybody else, Ariel. I’m here for myself. I guess you could say I found you by… random chance.”

He was getting stranger by the minute. I was even more confused than before. For some guy to just randomly come into the bar just to speak to me seemed unbelievable. Now I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give him any more of my time.