put.
“Ava, what are
you doing?” he asked, his tone gentler than usual.
I realised I was
multiplying out loud. I shook myself out of traumatised little girl
mode and tried to act normal.
“Where’s Carl?” I
asked, hoping he would ignore the tremble in my voice.
“Knocked out on
the floor. Don’t worry, he’s okay. I’m going to clean him up. Maybe
you should... take a minute.” He almost sounded friendly. That was
a first, but I was too numb to care. If he had arrived a minute
later, he would have caught me feasting on Carl—I was sure of
it.
I dragged myself
into the bathroom and locked the door. Gazing into the mirror, I
saw a tired-looking girl with messy, unnaturally red hair and a
complexion that was too pale to be real. My blood-shot eyes were
rimmed with pink, and my cheeks were tear-stained. I scowled at my
reflection. I was so weak that I couldn’t even protect myself
against a human with no control of his brain. It was ridiculous. I
took long, deep breaths, but my hands wouldn’t stop
shaking.
After a few
minutes, I reluctantly joined the others in the living room. Carl
smiled innocently at me, but all I wanted to do was hit him hard.
Peter stared at me, his expression unreadable.
“Carl, go take a
shower,” he ordered. I nodded my agreement and moved across the
room to get out of Carl’s path to the bathroom.
“You feeling
alright yet?” Peter asked when Carl left the room.
“Of
course.”
“That was pretty
intense back there,” he continued. “I heard you screaming; I didn’t
know what to make of it. Then I saw... well, it wasn’t what I
expected.”
“Yeah, so are you
ready to go?”
He walked over to
me, didn’t back off even though I did. He touched my chin lightly
and studied my face. “What are you, Ava?”
My skin felt like
it was burning. I didn’t want to drink from him, but I wanted
something. That’s why I had to push him away, before I made a
mistake.
“What happened
you, Peter?” I said as coolly as I could manage.
His face
hardened. “Yeah, I’m ready to go. I’ll wait by the car until you
get Carl sorted,” he said. Leaving me with Carl was his petty
punishment for my words.
As soon as he
left, my pulse raced with fear. I didn’t want to be alone with Carl
again. But Carl acted like nothing had happened. I tried not to
look at the bandage on his neck as I ordered him downstairs to
Peter’s car. I headed for the passenger seat of the dark green
Cordoba, surprised by how much my hands were still
shaking.
“You’re in the
back,” Peter said. “Carl, up front.”
I was just happy
he was letting me forget what had happened in my apartment with
Carl, so I got into the backseat without any fuss.
Maybe it was
nerves, but I couldn’t help giggling to myself, especially when the
radio came on playing show tunes. Peter growled something
incoherent and switched the station. Within minutes, Carl had
fallen asleep again, so I was left alone with my
thoughts.
The streets
became familiar as we drove. More memories. I kept flashing back to
my grandmother crying about the devil inside me. Of me standing
awkwardly beside her, not knowing what to do and accused of being a
heartless demon. I was nine.
That time, the man she turned to for help
had been true evil—the source of many nightmares. I had bitten him
and told him my vampire father would kill him. That was after he
made me eat salt for an hour one day. He laughed out loud and told
me there were no such things as vampires. Granny refused to believe
he wasn’t helping, but he was just another in a long line of conmen
who inevitably disappointed her. That was when I went through a
stage of wanting to be a real vampire. Stupid kid.
Big contrast to
how I felt as we drove to the vampire bar. My whole body twitched
with nerves. There was too much going on—my thirst for Carl, my
attraction to Peter, and the fact I was going to willingly show
myself to true vampires. Even counting Peter’s steady
“Ava, what are
you doing?” he asked, his tone gentler than usual.
I realised I was
multiplying out loud. I shook myself out of traumatised little girl
mode and tried to act normal.
“Where’s Carl?” I
asked, hoping he would ignore the tremble in my voice.
“Knocked out on
the floor. Don’t worry, he’s okay. I’m going to clean him up. Maybe
you should... take a minute.” He almost sounded friendly. That was
a first, but I was too numb to care. If he had arrived a minute
later, he would have caught me feasting on Carl—I was sure of
it.
I dragged myself
into the bathroom and locked the door. Gazing into the mirror, I
saw a tired-looking girl with messy, unnaturally red hair and a
complexion that was too pale to be real. My blood-shot eyes were
rimmed with pink, and my cheeks were tear-stained. I scowled at my
reflection. I was so weak that I couldn’t even protect myself
against a human with no control of his brain. It was ridiculous. I
took long, deep breaths, but my hands wouldn’t stop
shaking.
After a few
minutes, I reluctantly joined the others in the living room. Carl
smiled innocently at me, but all I wanted to do was hit him hard.
Peter stared at me, his expression unreadable.
“Carl, go take a
shower,” he ordered. I nodded my agreement and moved across the
room to get out of Carl’s path to the bathroom.
“You feeling
alright yet?” Peter asked when Carl left the room.
“Of
course.”
“That was pretty
intense back there,” he continued. “I heard you screaming; I didn’t
know what to make of it. Then I saw... well, it wasn’t what I
expected.”
“Yeah, so are you
ready to go?”
He walked over to
me, didn’t back off even though I did. He touched my chin lightly
and studied my face. “What are you, Ava?”
My skin felt like
it was burning. I didn’t want to drink from him, but I wanted
something. That’s why I had to push him away, before I made a
mistake.
“What happened
you, Peter?” I said as coolly as I could manage.
His face
hardened. “Yeah, I’m ready to go. I’ll wait by the car until you
get Carl sorted,” he said. Leaving me with Carl was his petty
punishment for my words.
As soon as he
left, my pulse raced with fear. I didn’t want to be alone with Carl
again. But Carl acted like nothing had happened. I tried not to
look at the bandage on his neck as I ordered him downstairs to
Peter’s car. I headed for the passenger seat of the dark green
Cordoba, surprised by how much my hands were still
shaking.
“You’re in the
back,” Peter said. “Carl, up front.”
I was just happy
he was letting me forget what had happened in my apartment with
Carl, so I got into the backseat without any fuss.
Maybe it was
nerves, but I couldn’t help giggling to myself, especially when the
radio came on playing show tunes. Peter growled something
incoherent and switched the station. Within minutes, Carl had
fallen asleep again, so I was left alone with my
thoughts.
The streets
became familiar as we drove. More memories. I kept flashing back to
my grandmother crying about the devil inside me. Of me standing
awkwardly beside her, not knowing what to do and accused of being a
heartless demon. I was nine.
That time, the man she turned to for help
had been true evil—the source of many nightmares. I had bitten him
and told him my vampire father would kill him. That was after he
made me eat salt for an hour one day. He laughed out loud and told
me there were no such things as vampires. Granny refused to believe
he wasn’t helping, but he was just another in a long line of conmen
who inevitably disappointed her. That was when I went through a
stage of wanting to be a real vampire. Stupid kid.
Big contrast to
how I felt as we drove to the vampire bar. My whole body twitched
with nerves. There was too much going on—my thirst for Carl, my
attraction to Peter, and the fact I was going to willingly show
myself to true vampires. Even counting Peter’s steady
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