When I finally entered my apartment about an hour later, it was as if I hadn't been there in years. The King had given me a ride home and then I'd ended up having to get the building supervisor to open up for me since my keys, wallet and phone had all gone missing at some point. Keeping to the shadows at around eight in the morning can be pretty tricky, especially with the sun trying to assassinate you at every turn, but I managed it and made sure to give Oscar some serious stink-eye for being Claude's paid informant. Still, I was glad he was around, and I didn't have to find a way to break into my own apartment.

I hadn't minded losing the keys that much, but losing the phone stung the most since I was still under contract and wouldn't be able to get a replacement without having to pay an arm and a leg, plus the fact that I didn't actually remember anyone's numbers anymore. I'd probably have to end up getting an Android instead of an iPhone, and after having what felt like having what amounted to a small computer in my hand, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to give up that last reminder of my former life. You know the life: the one where I actually had money left over after paying bills. The wallet was going to be a pain in the ass because I'd now have to get a new ID card and new debit and credit cards, never mind the other rewards cards I'd bothered to keep on me because at least they filled out my wallet a little better even though I hadn't used many of them more than once, if ever. I wasn't even thinking of the hassle of getting new government type ID cards. Most of the offices that issued those were only open during daylight hours and required some serious running around. It was almost as if the government knew all about vampires and had decided they were going to fuck us over as much as possible, never mind the bureaucracy.

I let the door slam shut behind me and took off the sunglasses and the oversized hoodie the King had so thoughtfully provided, glad to actually see my crappy apartment. It was almost like stepping out of a dream. The past week had felt like such a heightened state of reality, and now reality was anything but real. It was darker and dirtier and just so... ordinary.

The clock over the sink ticked too loudly and arrogantly in the booming silence of my perfectly ordinary apartment and all at once I wanted to smash it into pieces for being so obnoxious.

Coming all the way back to reality always leaves you with a slight desperation and a slow-building but ultimately smothering sensation that you may have fucked up too bad this time. It was the inevitable feeling of being completely and thoroughly fucked.

So there I was, back to reality. My life hadn't changed, and it was going to keep on being normal for the rest of my life, one minute at a time.

The weight of the past few days came crashing down on me all at once, and I think for the first time I realized the full meaning of what had happened and just how badly I had fucked things up for myself.

"FUCK!"

***

I woke up a couple of hours later, and Claude was already there waiting for me. I opened my eyes, and he was just there like Harry had been. I vowed to myself that I really needed to stop letting people sneak up on me.

"Call your mom," Claude said and threw an iPhone at me. I caught it and fumbled it, embarrassed to look at him. He continued: "That's an older model, but it's mostly secure. I already transferred your contacts from your old phone, so you don't have any more excuses about why you can't call people. So with that in mind: call your mom."

"Aren't you going to ask me where I've been?"

"Nope. That's a conversation for after you've called your mom."

"So... never?"

For a long moment, all I could hear was the loud ticking of the damned clock. Was there a volume control on that thing or something?

I broke first.

"Fine, I'll call her," I mumbled, looking away at the shiny white iPhone 4 of which I was apparently now the owner. "How did you even know I was here?"

"Oscar called me. He doesn't earn money if he's got nothing to report. He said you looked like shit."

"I got thrown off a roof, so that's fair."

Claude got to his feet, shaking his head. I realized for the first time that his hair was getting longer than he was used to keeping it and he was a little unshaven, but still managed to make his suit look good. Not for the first time I had the thought that Harry would have probably welcomed Claude as a vampire more than me. Was I jealous? Yes, of course, I was, but only because I knew that Claude would not have been getting lessons in how not to fly from the Ugly Twins. I knew that he would have been killing it as a vampire and I would have been cheering him on in my role as perpetual sidekick. Instead, there I was in the role reserved for the hero of the story, and I was fucking it up massively. Probably royally as well.

Claude paused in the door and pinched the bridge of his nose. I could tell he wanted to yell at me and I think I wanted him to break down and just get to over with.

Come on Claude, tell me what a fuck-up I am.

"I'm not asking," he finally said, and I glared at him.

"I got thrown off a roof, and you're not even curious?"

"Oh I'm curious, and I know you're going to tell me at some point, but right now I have one job, and it's to get you to call your mom. So please pick up the goddamn phone and call her already? Okay?"

"She's been callin--"

Claude walked out of the room, clearly done with me.

"Call your mother dude. I'm out."

I stared at the phone for a long time. When the front door slammed behind Claude as he exited, I was still staring at the phone.

******** AUTHOR'S NOTE **********

The book is now AVAILABLE in Hardcover, Paperback and Ebooks. It's going to live here free on Wattpad, but if you love the story and want to support your awesome author (me), grab a copy from one of the lovely retailers below. Who knows: maybe it can become a bestseller with the help of you lovely WattPadders

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Check out the website: http://www.bobthevampire.com