Ch. 171..175: Fatal Kiss Of The Vampire Chapter 171-175
Chapter 171: I Don’t Care At All
By the time Khloe’s make up was complete, Kylie and her team had successfully completed several challenges and come out victorious in each and every one of them. As it turned out, Khloe’s team was at a great disadvantage. All of the challenges that they’d been forced to face, they were all designed to be tackled by teams of three.
As Kylie and her team proceeded from the third challenge to the forth, Kylie had a feeling that someone was following them. When she looked back, though, she saw no one who shouldn’t be there. Having no other recourse, she tried to set her anxiety aside so that she could focus on the game show. She wants to win the game challenges to prove to Khloe that she was still better than her.
In the next challenge, they would take turns putting their heads into fish tanks to see who could hold their breath the longest. Each contestant would get three tries, and an average would be taken.
The first time Kylie buried her head in the tank, her time was really bad because she was nervous. She did better on the second try because this time, she knew what it was like and that it wasn’t as scary as she’d thought it would be. Finally, on the last dip, she blew the other two times out of the water. As she emerged, though, the feeling that she was being watched came back to her again in spades. She had another weird thought that bothered her mind.
Stepping away from the tank, she noticed a man in the shadows. She squinted her eyes and saw that – for fuck’s sake! – it was Thomas; the last person in the word that she ever wanted to see; the stranger who had accosted her the day before, in the center of town. Suddenly she feels nervous because the man stares at her intently. He looks so exhausted from something or activities he had done for the past few days. His sudden appearance made Kylie’s spine shivered.
“What the fuck is wrong with this man?” Kylie silently cursed him.
She could see that he was wearing the same outfit that he’d been wearing the day before. There was a phone in his hand and a cheeky smile on his face as he began to take her picture. Who the hell are you? She thought to herself. And why are you stalking me? Why did you keep bothering for I don’t know you personally?
Kylie wanted to call the man out but, because it would interfere with the show, she knew that she couldn’t. She needs to ignore this lunatic man to pursue the game challenge.
Kylie had been the second contestant to go into the water. Cindy had been first. There were three more contestants, and then she could take a break. If it weren’t for Khloe’s absence, there would still be four more contestants to go. “Thank god for minor miracles,” she muttered to herself. She honestly felt relieved without Khloe’s presence because she can’t be distracted by her annoying act and evil tricks.
Kylie had initially believed that she had a good chance of winning. Now, due to Khloe’s unprofessionalism, it was almost a foregone conclusion that she would win.
Khloe was just arriving on the set as it was being announced that Kylie and her team had won the fourth competition. When she entered the room that they were calling The Tank Room, she walked over to her teammates and asked them how things were going so far.
Kem met her eyes for a moment, and then he spat at her chest. “Why don’t you just fuck off?” he snarled. “After everything that you’ve put us through, I have no interest in talking to you. In fact, it is hard enough to keep me from punching you in your stupid cunt face. Go! Get out!”
Khloe looked around the room, confused. She had never been spat on before. She could tell that Kem was mad at her, but, for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why.
With a frown on her face, she walked over to the director and said, “Kem just spat on me, and almost everyone is giving me the evil eye. Even you seem displeased. Can you tell me why? Why are they treating me this way?” A sound of annoyance has heard from her words.
The director laughed maniacally and said, “After ruining the show, our prodigal daughter has returned, and now she wants to know why everyone is mad at her. That is sooooo quaint, don’t you think? Your team lost every single challenge because you abandoned them. With their team reduced to two, there was no real competition or tension. I was just now watching the footage, and I am not sure that there is a show anymore. Not only did you stab each and every member of the cast and crew in the back, but you also stabbed your own father in the back! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You are asking the most stupid question one could ever imagine after you abandon them. Khloe, put some brain into your head because you are ruining the entire show. You made everyone felt mad at your primadonna attitude. You are not even so popular to act like one,”
She growled and harshly said, “Then, who cares at all? If my existence makes this reality show look like a game of losing, then stop the filming!”
“Hahaha! Did you hear yourself? Are you crazy, or should I say brainless human who only think about herself? You are selfish, and you let your competitors win every challenge,”
Khloe sneered at the director, “Whatever! I don’t care at all!”
The director answered her angrily, “Your father is the one who financed this show,” he continued, “and you knew it. If he goes into bankruptcy, it will be all your fault, and all because you couldn’t set your vanity aside for one day! And adding your arrogant attitude!”
Chapter 172: What Was Going On?
Walking away from the director, Khloe stomped over to Kylie and slapped her across the face. “Everyone hates me now,” she growled, “and it is your entire fault. You’ve made me look like a fool!”
Since Kylie was not one to take being slapped lightly, she threw her fist into Khloe’s solar plexus. As Khloe doubled over and fell on the ground, trying to catch her breath, Kylie spat on her and said, “You can’t put this on me. It was you who abandoned your team. I had nothing to do with your decision. It is funny, though; you went to all that trouble to conceal your messed up face, but now it is all that anyone is talking about!”
“What are you talking about?” Khloe gasped.
Kylie looked down at her and laughed. “The staff at Mac took a before and after picture of your face and they described how you came in bragging about how famous you are but, in the end, after they did their best to make you look your best, you didn’t even tip them, let alone buy something. #KhloeCheapBitch is trending like nothing I have ever seen in my life. Isn’t it Ironic?”
“I was just sampling their products,” Khloe cried. “What is the big deal? Why is everybody turning on me all of a sudden?”
Kylie shrugged indifferently. “Why should I care?” she laughed. “You have never been kind to me, or to anyone else for that matter. Have you ever heard of Karma?”
“The product that you use now,” Kylie continued, “the company that makes it is probably going to sue. You have a contract that says you will only use their products. It seems to me that you have breached the terms of the contract, and they will find out. As I said, #KhloeCheapBitch is trending in a major way!”
Kylie offered her sister a hand up and said, “Don’t be so glum. This is not the end of the world and, if you choose to do so, you can begin to make it up to people tomorrow.”
Khloe smiled, and for a moment, she forgot how much she hated Kylie, and she hugged her.
Khloe found her father in the hall on the first floor. He was talking with David Ham. Neither of them looked particularly happy. Seeing her, they walked towards her. “You look like shit,” David said, “but I suppose it is only appropriate. I can’t believe you left the set to get a makeover. What were you thinking? We’ve put our necks on the line for you, and this is how you repay us?”
“I couldn’t help myself,” Khloe cried. “I just could handle the idea of anyone seeing me the way that I looked. I looked like some monster from a horror movie whose face is melting…”
David furrowed his brows and looked at Laurence. If she was at fault, so was Laurence. He was the one who had raised her in the way that she should go. Apparently, he hadn’t done a very good job…
Laurence was also disappointed in his daughter, but he saw no point in beating her up over it. From her appearance, he could see that she’d already been punished enough. “You need to take this job more seriously,” he told her. “Why don’t you go up to your room and have a rest. You look tired. Even after this mess you’ve created for yourself, I might still be able to pull some strings and get you nominated for an Oscar.”
Khloe met Laurence’s eyes and asked him if he thought the cosmetic company would sue her for her breach of contract. Laurence assured her that David had taken care of it already, and she sighed in relief. Khloe asked her father why she hadn’t seen Aiden recently, and he explained that he had been busy. “He will be at the hotel, though,” he said in a tone of voice that reassured her.
Once Kylie had Lucas and Faith in the car, she sent Ethan a text message: “What’s going on? I thought you would be here at some point today…”
“I have been busy,” Ethan replied. “I will see you this evening.” Kylie was just about to text him again when a black limousine drove past the Hamorna TV station. It had its windows down, and she recognized the driver. It was Tom Thomas, and he winked at her as he passed.
Without giving it a second thought, she turned to Faith and Lucas and said, “Go on without me. I have something to attend to.”
Kylie didn’t give them a chance to talk. Before they could even open their mouths, she dashed off in the nearest taxi direction.
Kylie jumped into the cab, pointed to the black car, and said something that she’d always wanted to say: “Follow that car!”
The driver turned to her with an excited gleam in his eyes and said, “I am the best cab driver in the city. Rest assured that I will not lose your’ friend.”
Kylie’s cab came to a stop behind Tom Thomas’s limousine, in the driveway of an expensive-looking mansion. When Tom honked his horn, the gates that surrounded the place opened. He drove in, but Kylie did not follow him. She felt that he had wanted her to follow him in, but she didn’t trust him.
“Just pull over to the side of the road,” she told the driver, “and keep the meter running.”
Kylie sat silently in the back seat of the car until, finally, the gates opened, and the black car emerged from whence it came. Tom was driving and, in the passenger seat, there was a woman with long wavy hair. Kylie couldn’t see who the person was, but she felt a sense of familiarity.
In the back seat, she was startled to see Ethan. “What the fuck. Why is he here? What’s going on?” she muttered to herself. For the life of her, she had no idea what he was doing with her stalker. And seeing her husband with another woman made her feel upset.
Chapter 173: Something Is Wrong
It was obvious to her now that something was going on with Ethan that he was keeping from her. When Tom had initially approached her, she hadn’t taken him seriously. Now though, she was beginning to have a lot of doubts.
Kylie took out her phone and dialed his number from memory. After three rings, he answered and, after exchanging pleasantries, she asked him where he was.
“Just running some errands,” he replied.
As Ethan said this, it occurred to her that Tom had led her here so that she could see for herself what Ethan was up to. Then again, perhaps Ethan had legitimate business with Tom, and this was all just a stupid game for Tom. “Why don’t you go back to the Hotel,” Ethan suggested. “I am almost done here, and I can meet you there as soon as this business is completed.”
Kylie heard his words and immediately thought he was lying and that he had some kind of sexual relationship with the girl in the car.
The car was long gone, but Kylie remained where she was. After another hour, an old man came out of the gates and came over to her. “Do you need some help?” he asked her. “Sitting out here, you look awfully suspicious. If you don’t move on, someone will eventually call the police. People around here are awfully protective of their things.”
“Sir,” Kylie said, “this property looks new. Was it built recently?
The old man shook his head with a smile and said: “It is an old house, but it has been renovated recently.”
Kylie thanked the old man and asked the taxi driver to take her to the dock. She had always liked the water, and the sound of the crash of the waves against the shore helped her to think. She paid the driver and, when he offered to wait for her, she said that it wasn’t necessary.
Without looking back, she walked out on the dock. In the distance, she could see the ferry approaching. When it arrived, she paid the ferryman and climbed aboard. She was cold, but she didn’t care. It was something to focus her mind on. It allowed her to forget about Tom and Ethan for a moment.
As the ferry left the dock, her phone rang, and it was a real challenge to decide whether to answer it or not. If it was Ethan, she didn’t know what she would say. Would she call him out, or would she pretend that everything was business as usual? She didn’t realize…
She checked the caller ID and sighed a breath of hot relief when she saw that it was Faith. When Faith spoke, though, she sounded worried. “Kylie,” she said, “it’s getting dark. When will you be back? Do you need Lucas to pick you up?”
Kylie looked out the window and felt sad. Faith was her best friend in the world, but she wasn’t prepared to tell her the whole truth. “Faith,” she said, “you may go back to Seattle with Lucas now.”
There was a brief silence, and then, in a voice that sounded very nervous, Faith asked why, and if this had something to do with Ethan or the black car that she’d raced after earlier that day. Hearing how easily her friend had seen through her, Kylie began to weep.
Faith quickly said, “Lucas and I will stay out of your way if that is what you want, but I think that we should stay here in case you need us…”
Faith’s voice was filled with concern. She wanted to comfort Kylie, but she doesn’t know what’s going on.
Faith could hear the phone in the background, and she asked Kylie if she was on a ship. Kylie wiped the tears from her eyes and told her friend that she was on a ferry to Seattle. “I know you, Kylie,” Faith said. “Something is wrong. Why don’t you tell me what is going on, and we can work it out together?”
Kylie frowned and lied, “Sorry, Faith, I’m with someone. I can’t talk anymore right now. We are playing cards, and it is my turn. See you later, alligator…”
“Fine,” Faith sighed. “Whatever is going on, you don’t trust me enough to tell me. It hurts, but I can deal with it. You are my friend. Call me when you’re ready to talk.”
Frustrated, Faith hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.
When Herald saw the anxious expression on Faith’s face, he asked her what was going on, and she told him everything.
Lucas: “I wonder what happened.”
Faith shrugged and said, “I have no idea. She said that she also told Ethan, but I don’t believe it. Why don’t we eat out and try to think about Something else? I heard there is a pizzeria in town that is pretty good.
Lucas looked at her and asked her if the only thing that she thought about was food. “Look,” he continued, “you just had a hamburger, and now you think you need a pizza. What the fuck is that about. You are turning into a fat piece of lard. Pretty soon, people will be embarrassed to be seen with you!”
Faith looked down in shame and didn’t say anything.
“Instead of silencing our fear with food,” Lucas suggested, “why don’t we do Something productive? Go pack your stuff, and I’ll pack mine. We can be at the dock in ten minutes, just in time to take the next ferry and go after Kylie.”
***
Tom Thomas got out of the car, opened the door politely, and put his hand on the roof. Lord Ethan emerged from the seat behind him. He was tired, but he was anxious to be back in Kylie’s arms. From the passenger side, Dora Hilton emerged, and Ethan asked him when he’d be returning to Seattle and if they would be returning together.”
“I have other things to do here,” he explained as he turned in the direction of the hotel where he and Kylie were staying. “You can make your own arrangements.”
Chapter 174: Things Aren’t Always As They Appear
Once he was at the entrance to the hotel, Tom passed his mobile phone to Dora and said, “I took all of the pictures you asked me to take.”
Dora turned on the phone and flipped through the pictures one by one. There were dozens of pictures on the phone, and they were all of Kylie. “I overestimated her, though,” Tom continued. “She saw me multiple times. She has an uncanny sense for details. If someone is following her, she can feel it. I can’t explain it…”
Ethan went to Kylie’s suite and knocked lightly on the door three times, but no one answered. Concerned, he checked the time. She should be in by now, he thought to himself. Perhaps she is in the shower.
Ethan pulled out the spare key she’d given him and let himself in. The place was dark, and he knew immediately that no one was home. Worried, he pulled out his phone and called her number, but no one answered. He shook his head. When he’d talked to her earlier, he’d sensed that something was wrong, but he’d put it out of his mind.
Sitting alone in the dark living room, he felt more nervous than he ever had in his life. He went to the study, turned on the computer, and tried to track her through the tracker application he’d put on her phone. It was not only able to find Kylie’s current location, but it was able to track her movements over the past 24 hours.
Looking at the screen, the first thing he saw was that she’d been parked outside of Dora Hilton’s villa for over two hours, and his blood ran cold as his brain considered the implications of this.
The first thing that he actively looked for was her current location, and was very confused when the computer told her that Kylie was in the middle of the sea…
At first, he pictured her out there, swimming like mad, but then he realized that she was on the ferry. After seeing what she’d seen, she probably just decided to go back to Seattle. He thought about it for a second, and then he called Nate and asked him to start looking for Kylie. There were a lot of things that he needed to explain to her.
Kylie made her way to the dining area on the ferry. A hostess seated her, and she ordered a tomato basil linguine and a Coors Light. A waitress brought her the beer first, and, as she took the first couple sips, she couldn’t help but feel bad about the way that she’d treated Faith. There really hadn’t been any good reason for not being open with her friend.
Everything seemed very bleak suddenly, and she almost broke out into tears when she saw Faith. Faith came over to her and gave her a big hug. As Faith hugged her, she looked up and saw that Lucas was there too. His face was red, and he had his hands in his pocket like a bashful schoolboy.
“How is it that you’re here?” Kylie asked as she wiped tears of joy from her eyes.
“Well,” Faith replied, “We knew that we needed to go after you. At first, we were going just to take the next ferry, but Lucas saw how worried I was, and he offered to rent a helicopter. And that is that.”
“Thank you so much,” Kylie laughed as she pulled out two chairs for them. “Please, order from the menu on the table. Dinner is on me.”
Faith and Lucas took the chairs that Kylie had offered, and when neither of them could decide, they both decided to follow Kylie’s lead and order the basil linguine. While they waited for their food, Kylie told them everything that had happened since they’d last seen her and why she was running away.
“That is unfortunate,” Lucas said between bites. “He did seem like a stand-up guy…”
“Things aren’t always as they appear,” Faith said, “and love is a cruel mistress. I once gave up my job for a man, and we moved to Seattle together. He had told me that he would be supportive of me if I wanted to return to work, but it turned out that all he really wanted was a docile stay at home wife and mother, and someone who would also be willing to take care of his mother, who was paralyzed. Ultimately, I became what he wanted, but then he cheated on me, and that was the end of that.
“I left him as soon as I discovered what he’d been up to…”
Kylie nodded and said, “That was when I first met you, wasn’t it? I can’t believe that, after all these years, you’ve never told me that story!”
“I used to be really skinny back then,” Faith continued. “My ex controlled everything I ate. He counted my calories throughout the day, wouldn’t let me have any carbohydrates or snacks, and he weighed me every day.
Faith scowled at Lucas, who always nagged her about her weight, and said, “After I left him, I promised myself that I would never again be a slave to my figure. If I want to eat something, I do. If that means that I gain a bit of weight, I really don’t give a fuck.”
Kylie nodded and said, “That sounds like a really good way to live. As for myself, I will love you no matter your weight, and, now that Lucas has heard your story, hopefully, he can be a little more respectful in the future…”
Lucas looked down at the table, ashamed of how he’d treated Faith in the past. After a moment, he looked up and apologized to Faith.
The table was quiet for a bit then as everyone finished eating. Once their plates were empty and the wait staff had cleared their dishes, Faith looked at Kylie and asked her if she’d considered the possibility that Ethan might not be cheating on her. “After all,” she said, “you didn’t give him an opportunity to explain himself.”
Chapter 175: Aren’t You Feisty?
“I never did,” Kylie admitted.
“Do you think that that was fair?” Lucas asked her. “By now, he is probably home. Even if he is cheating on you, he must still be very worried about you… Has he given you a call? I think he will probably be looking for you right now!”
“I don’t know,” Kylie replied. “My phone died hours ago… I didn’t charge it yet,”
Faith pulled out her phone, handed it to Kylie and said, “You should give him a call if only to let him know that you’re safe. He might be worried,”
Kylie pushed the phone away and said, “I don’t have his number memorized…” She pouted her lips.
***
Lucas, Faith, and Kylie checked in to the Four Seasons in Seattle. Once they’d received their key cards and brought their things up to their rooms, Faith and Kylie dumped Lucas and went to the tea shop across the street, just the two of them. Once they were seated, a waitress came, and they ordered two cups of milk tea.
Their drinks arrived quickly and, just as they were about to take their first sips, they found themselves distracted by two women fighting over a man near the entrance to the shop. “Ken White, you have been playing this game for too long,” one of the women said. “You need to choose the one that you want to be with.”
“Fine,” the man sneered, “If you want to be that way, go fuck yourself. We are done. I have made my decision. I definitely don’t choose you!”
The woman stumbled backward, tripped, and fell near to where Kylie and Faith were sitting. The woman began to cry, and Kylie got up to help her. Once she was up, though, and much to Kylie and Faith’s surprise, the woman returned to Ken. “Please don’t be mad at me,” she begged. “Take me to your bed, and I will prove my worth to you…”
Ken pushed the girl away from him and said, “You bloody cunt, I already made my decision, so fuck off already!”
Hearing and seeing this, Kylie felt a righteous rage build up inside her. She stood up, looked at the man, and, as she hissed, “That is no way to treat a woman,” she threw her hot tea into his face.
Ken met Kylie’s eyes with his own eyes, and, as Cheshire’s grin appeared on his face, he laughed. “Aren’t you feisty?” he howled. “What a temper! I love it! So sexy! How would you like to ride my cock tonight?”
Just as Kylie was about to respond to his misogyny, she stepped back in surprise. She knew this pervert. His name was Ken White. He was Khloe’s brother. It wasn’t surprising that they didn’t recognize each other right away, though. They hadn’t seen each other since the night when he’d tried to rape her. Now though, as she recognized him, she could tell that he recognized her.
Ken stumbled towards Kylie and said, “It’s such a long time since we’ve seen each other. Are you still being a good girl, or do you need to be punished?”
Ken tried to grab Kylie’s arm, but she stepped back and swung her purse at him, hitting him in the face. Ken was so surprised by this that he stumbled backward and fell on his ass in a way that was very comical. Everyone laughed, even his two girlfriends.
Feeling embarrassed, Ken stumbled to his feet and snarled in a way that reminded her of Stephen King’s dog, Cujo, and a particularly relevant quote: “The world was full of monsters, and they were all allowed to bite the innocent and unwary…”
Ken looked at Kylie and called her a bitch, a cunt, and a stupid whore. He was looking her up and down, looking for a way to attack her that would prevent her from retaliating. When he realized that there was no such opening, he signaled to two large men that were sitting in the back of the café. Ken pointed to Kylie and Faith, and the men began to walk towards them.
As soon as the men reached them, they grabbed the girl’s arms and restrained them easily. Up close, Kylie suddenly recognized the goons as the men who’d kidnapped Aiden, and her jaw nearly hit the floor in surprise. “Ken White,” she shouted, “I can’t believe that you were the one who kidnapped Aiden!”
Ken touched his nose and smiled. “You are worried about him?” he laughed. “Khloe doesn’t even care about him. You shouldn’t either. You should be more worried about your own kidnapping.”
Kylie: “…”
“Tonight,” he continued, “with you four girls in my bed, I think that – even if you don’t – I am going to have a very good time!”
“I think you are overestimating your stamina,” laughed Nate Bass, who, along with Fannie, had come into the tea shop while they were preoccupied. “Kylie is way out of your league, bro.”
Ken scowled and said, “I don’t know you. Who the fuck are you?”
“It doesn’t matter who the fuck I am,” Nate replied comically. “What matters is what you plan to do next. So far, all that you’ve done is harass these girls. Anything more and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Ken gulped, and his body began to tremble. None of this was going how he’d planned it, and he felt like the little dead boy from Pet Sematary. “No fair, no fair,” he’d complained.
A news van appeared then, and more than a dozen people rushed out. Each one of them had some kind of tool that Kylie could imagine doubling as a weapon. Nate smiled, looked at his watch, and said, “Right on time. It’s clobberin time!”
As the people streamed in, he pointed in the direction of Ken and said, “Kick their ass.”
Ken and his men tried to fight back, but they were clearly outnumbered and, while everyone was distracted, Kylie took Faith’s hand so that they could sneak out the back door.