Free Cut by Danielle Llanes Page A

pulled her close. I inhaled the smell of jasmine from her skin as I fell into a deep sleep.
    I left her to hunt once again. I knew the time was coming when I couldn’t feed her. Already she was taking more than I would like to give. I ran into Matthieu in the Quarter as he put his hands up,
    “Rent!” I pulled him into an embrace,
    “It’s been too long.” He laughed as he patted my back,
    “I’m so sorry for being hard on you. I didn’t think you had it in you. You actually are pulling through with this one. But man you look tired.”
    “I am…I also have Chloe trying to get back into my uh life.” His smile was wide as he said,
    “My wife was right, you are having women problems.” I stared at him as I let out a laugh.
    “Oh Matthieu, she is right! Tell me how is Octavius lately? I really miss him.”
    “Keeping an eye out for you,” he said in a low voice as he leaned in, “He actually has been watching the girl too. I think he’s worried for you both. Things are not what they seem these days. Too many crazy people looking to do us in.” I nodded, it was always present even when Samara was around. They would hunt us in the daylight. Whole households would vanish and no one had any idea where they went. Samara had once said it was like her uncle to take out a whole house.
    “Never leave anyone alive,” she would say. I had witnessed her people break into homes and pull the weaker ones into the sun.
    “Are you keeping safe?” He nodded as he looked to the dogs on his balcony,
    “The dogs came with the man we hired to look out for us. These are strange times we live in. There are people that love us and want to be like us…”
    “And others who would take us out in an instant,” I finished. He nodded as he looked into my eyes,
    “You have to keep her safe.” I nodded as I thought to Aerin sitting in my house alone.
    “Be safe, my friend.” We embraced once more then parted as I headed back Uptown.
    “I went to the hotel that we were staying in when I was attacked,” she said in a low voice as she sat across from me at the table. I looked up into her face, she had been crying. I looked to the bags sitting by the door.
    “They only had my luggage. They said that someone had collected his things. Rent, I have a family. I have a father and a sister…why have they not come looking for me? Do they not love me? I don’t know what kind of people forget a loved one.” I shook my head as I noticed she had a small frame sitting before her. I picked it up to see it was the Polaroid from the chapel where they had married. I cursed as I threw it across the room. She let out a cry as she lashed out at me,
    “Why do you do that? He was my husband! I loved him! You don’t know what he meant to me! And he’s gone…” Her voice gave out as a sob caught in her throat. I held onto her as she collapsed into my arms.
    “He didn’t love you Aerin. That night in the cemetery; we all saw it.”
    “You all were watching us?”
    “Yeah, we couldn’t figure out what the hell you were doing there. I mean what kind of people go into the cemetery after dark?”
    “I don’t even remember. He thought it was stupid to go there. We were on our way to Miami to be with his friends. I didn’t know them well.” I felt bad that we knew what was in his heart. He was going to dump her when they got there. He had already planned to force her into a divorce and a hefty payment. I stopped myself as I looked at her,
    “Aerin, what sort of work does your father do?” She shrugged,
    “He travels a lot. I see him at Christmas.”
    “Huh, well maybe he figured you were busy with your husband and couldn’t meet him. That is strange that your father didn’t attempt to find you.” I recalled that in her memories he was like a distant shadow in her mind. It was strange that her father was no more than something very vague in her mind.
    “My mother died when I was very young, it’s even a wonder that I recall her