Paying a Debt

Micah tried to be a good person, he really did. And, honestly, he felt as though he had been pretty lenient lately with the Michaels family. Considering he had loaned them money a couple years ago with the assurance that they would pay it back immediately, he'd been holding back on his frustrations for a while. Now, though, he was just plain irritated. How humans thought they could just have his money without paying him back when he had worked far longer than they could even dream of working for such a large sum of wealth was beyond him. Didn't humans know they were weak? That they meant nothing? That they were below vampires on the food chain? Regardless of whether they were aware of it or not, he felt the need to remind them of their place.

That was why he was on his way to the Michaels house the moment the sun had set. He was hungry and grumpy, but he decided he would deal with that hunger after he dealt with the pesky family. Or during, if they agitated him enough. He tried not to think about it too much, though, so that he could concentrate on the task at hand. His eyes narrowed with the annoyance that had been brewing and growing in his mind the past few years, he caught sight of the house up ahead. And, as he drew closer, he stepped up to the door and decided with a polite approach to the situation, causing him to knock on the door.

Stella had only been back home for a few days but she could tell something had set her parents on edge, though she was sure they thought they were doing a good job of hiding it. She had gotten a break from school and wanted to spend the time with her parents. She got so little time these days now that she lived a few hours away. It was good to be home, despite her parents secrecy. She was almost positive that she would die from the stress of midterms and the weekly papers her English professor required. She was lucky that he did not assign one over the break which gave her some time to catch up on other assignments in the comfort of her own home. She sat on the couch, workbooks laid out in front of her, a pen in her hand and a pencil behind her ear, holding back some of the orangey locks of her hair.

The knock at the door startled her but her parents looks of worry confused her more. "I've got it," she said, marking her place in the book on her lap and setting it on the coffee table. She opened the door, a smile on her face. "Hi, can I help you?" She asked, confused as to why the man in front of her was visiting so late. They had already eaten dinner and her parents had not mentioned a dinner guest not arriving. He was not in any sort of uniform either so she knew he was not at their house in the early evening for anything too serious.

(Sorry this took so long! And sorry it's short; I'm on my phone and don't really feel like typing much on it tonight but I wanted to get replies out while I could. I'll probably be busy tomorrow, though, because I have to go to my uni to decide on my classes for next semester.)

Micah didn't recognize this girl and that left him wondering whether the Michaels had moved away or not. It wouldn't surprise him; humans were certainly cowardly enough to think that running would prevent them from having to pay the debt that they rightfully owed him. Still, he arched a brow as he took in the girl's features for a moment. She looked similar to the Michaels and, for a moment, he entertained the idea that perhaps she was related to them. He couldn't recall them mentioning a daughter to him, though; not that it would surprise him. "Are you the only person who lives here?" he asked casually, "I'm looking for a Mr. and Mrs. Michaels." Best to cut to the chase, he decided.

(You're good! Thanks for letting me know. (: )

Stella was getting a little creeped out by the man, staring at her. "Um, yeah, just a second," She said turning away from him. "Mom? Dad? There a guy here asking for you?" She called and turned back to him, offering a smile. "Uh, come in, please." She said, opening the door wider and stepping out of the way, letting him walk inside. She shut the door behind him and returned to the couch, picking up the book she had set down to answer the door. She tried to focus on her homework but was having a hard time not listening in on the hushed conversation her parents were trying to have with the man. Giving up on the book, she marked her place again and got back up, walking over to them. The worried looks on her parents face caused her to knit her eyebrows together. "Is everything alright?" She asked, her green eyes flicking between the three of them.

(No problem! I'll probably be on later in the day because my academic advising appointment is at 11:30, as long as nobody stole my appointment. x.x)

It didn't seem like Mr. and Mrs. Michaels were willing to repay Micah's kindness and generosity, despite that they had owed him for quite some time now. It irritated him, especially when they gave promises of repaying him as soon as possible. They'd had years to repay or at least offer up small payments until it was handled, but they hadn't, so, of course, he didn't trust them at all. It was only when their daughter came over that he allowed his frustrations to come in full effect. "Your parents owe me quite a large sum of money," he said bluntly, his eyes narrowing over at the two for a moment, "And they seem more than a little reluctant to repay it, despite that I have given them a few years to manage to do so." Though his voice was calm, there was anger lying in his tone and his jaw clenched for a moment - but it only lasted for a moment before he came up with an idea. "If you still refuse to repay the money you owe me, then we can settle on a different deal. Instead of repaying me with money, you can merely trade your daughter as payment."

(Does that happen often? I never had that issue with my advising appointments, haha.)

They owed what? Stella looked to her parents for confirmation. They didn't have to say a word. Their faces said it all. How could she not have been told about this? She was worried they had borrowed the money to pay for her school. "Why didn't you guys tell me?" She said. "I could have taken a semester off or something!" She really didn't approve of them borrowing money from an obvious loan shark like the guy standing next to her. His next comment was the one that shocked her the most. Who was this guy and what was she to him? Her parents immediately fired up comment after comment, rejecting the new offer. She shook her head, ignoring them and faced the man full on. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "If it gets my parents off the hook," she started, opening her eyes. "I'll go with you." Her mouth was pressed into a hard line, already having resigned her self to the decision. She knew nothing about who he was, where he came, but she didn't want her parents in trouble with him. She was sure nothing good would come of it and she rather liked them as they were. Alive.

(Well, she wanted us to make the appointments online, but I made it directly with her because the servers are behind time on the site we use and I don't like risking my time getting mixed up. Unless she went in and changed it, the time online would have still been "Available" and somebody could have taken the slot.)

Micah had been more than prepared to throw back every single declaration of denial that her parents threw at him when it came to his new suggestion. It didn't come to that, though, as the girl seemed to be all in for giving herself up as payment, which surprised him. Then again, this girl likely didn't know what he was. After all, she hadn't even been aware of her parents owing him such a large debt. Either she was brave or ignorant and it caused him to smirk either way. "Is that so? At least somebody within the Michaels family is reasonable and willing to pay the debt," he said casually. Really, he just wanted to have somebody around to feed from in case he was too lazy or too busy to venture out in search of a meal. But, this girl likely wasn't aware of what he was and she could have been giving herself to somebody after more than that, yet she was so willing. "Alright. You might as well pack a bag full of clothes, essentials, whatever you need. I'll give you time."

(That sucks!)

Stella nodded, ignoring her parents pleas for her not to go, for him to accept one of them in her place. She gathered her books from the living room and went down the hall to her room. Swallowing hard and resisting the urge to cry, she pulled a duffel bag out of her closet, starting with her clothes, rolling them up tightly to give her more room. She was lucky the only pair of shoes she owned her on her feet already which gave her more room for her shampoo, toothbrush and other such necessities. What was she doing? Why had she agreed to this? Stella was pretty sure she had lost her mind but there wasn't much she could do about it now. With a final look around the room, she sighed and slung the bag over her shoulder, her gaze lingering on the books sitting on her desk. She didn't figure she would be needing them anymore and made a mental note to withdraw from her classes. Looking at her parents, for what may be her last time, the tears she was trying to hold back fell free. Dropping the bad, she threw her arms around both of them, saying that she was sorry and she loved them. She pulled away, picking her back back up and turning to him with a nod.

(Yeah. She's my only option for academic advising, too, which makes things even more difficult.)

Micah waited patiently, though he wasn't entirely sure how long it would take for a human to get their things ready. For him, for vampires in general actually, it was a pretty fast paced thing. Moreover, he didn't have many belongings in the first place, due to the fact that there wasn't much of a point in keeping too many things when he could spend his life roaming around and exploring. He hadn't done so in a while, but that didn't cause him to garner any more items than he deemed necessary. Glancing over, he saw the girl come down and hug her parents and he would have almost felt bad for her had it not been her parents' fault that she was in this mess. Regardless, he returned her nod. "Follow me, in that case," he told her before he led the way out and began the walk to his home.

Stella followed after him, throwing one last look at her parents before closing the door on them, on that part of her life. She stopped on the stood, confused when she didn't se a vehicle anywhere. He didn't seem to notice though and kept walking, expecting her to follow, she hurried to catch up, the duffel slapping against her leg, slowing her down some. When she caught up she was slightly winded, looking up at him. "Um, so I never caught your name?" She said quietly, almost wanting him to ignore her. She figured she should at least now the name of the person that essentially just bought her. A shiver ran down her spine at that thought. Bought. She had been bought, like cattle and it didn't even faze him. What kind of a person did that!?

Micah peered over at the girl, watching her for a moment. It seemed to have taken a bit more to catch up to him than he had expected for it to. Without a word, he reached over, retrieving her duffel bag from her and slipping it onto his own shoulder before he shrugged. "Micah Ollin," he informed her before he began walking again. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I was ever informed of your name. In fact, your parents never mentioned having a daughter to me at all." But, then, he supposed it was likely to keep her safe, considering that they were aware of what he was. And, he supposed he couldn't blame them in that aspect, but he didn't quite like secrets being kept from him, either, especially by those who borrowed money from him. "I'm also curious over why you would throw yourself under the bus for parents who got themselves in a mess that they should have been able to handle on their own."

Stella was silent as she listened to Micah. She did think it was odd that her parents had never mentioned her to him. They were usually boasting about how successful they thought she was, with her going to college, hoping for a medical degree. "My name is Stella," she started, "I don't know why they wouldn't tell, it's not really like them but maybe they know something I don't." She gave him a pointed look before focusing on the road in front of her. With a shrug she thought about it. Why had she given herself up. "Why not? They're my parents. They've given me everything I have. I figured, maybe they needed some help," She said, going silent as she thought bout that. She hadn't minded it but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Would she ever be able to see them again?

Micah listened to her idly, though he wondered if the girl understood just how serious the entire situation could have been. (Not that it wasn't serious already, but it could have been a lot worse.) "You gave yourself up despite not knowing what situation you had put yourself into?" he asked, though he knew it wasn't necessarily her fault she'd been put in the situation. He'd been the one to decide that having her was a better deal than getting his money, since her parents seemed adamant on refusing to repay him. But he certainly hadn't expected her to just go along with the idea. He'd expected an argument, some reluctance, and yet she'd put herself in harm's way to help her parents. "You could have been giving yourself up to somebody who intended to put you into sex trafficking. Or who intended to sell your organs."

Stella listened to him, understanding what he was saying. She understood where he was coming from but she could step into that type of situation any day, and she told him just that. This certainly wasn't how she had seen her day going but as he said it could have been worse. "So if you don't intend to sell me or harvest my organs, then what did you want with me?" She questioned, not really sure if she even wanted to know the answer. If she wasn't going to be killed or sold as a slave, she figured he had some other nefarious plot in mind. For the first time since leaving her parents, she actually felt scared. Not that she wasn't afraid before, but the adrenaline had been pumping through her veins. It wasn't now and she could feel her heart thudding in her chest.

Micah glanced over her but fell silent during the rest of the walk to his home. It was only when they approached and he opened the door that he decided he could answer her. "You see, as your parents are well aware, I'm a vampire, which means I need blood to drink," he replied as if it was the simplest topic in the world to talk about. "And, since I'm not always eager to wander out to get a meal or I'm too busy to, I figured it would be a lot easier to have somebody at my disposal for days like that. So, in short, you're meant to be a meal at times when I don't feel like going out to find one." He shrugged, turning to look at her. "But, if you plan to try to run because of this knowledge, I hope you're aware that it will only mean that your parents will receive the full brunt of my retaliation and anger for their debt."

Stella couldn't help it, she doubled over in laughter, having to grab the door frame to keep herself upright. Was this guy for real? A vampire? That was probably the best thing she had hear in a long time and the best part was that he was completely serious. It would explain why he decided to come knocking at the door after sunset. "You're kidding right? You actually believe that you are a vampire? Like the fanged, allergic to garlic and sunlight vampire?" She rolled her eyes strolling into the house. No wonder her parents had borrowed money from him. He was nuts! The probably thought that he would forget about it in his delusions. She was sooooo scared This was rich. "Brava to you for really committing, though."

Micah watched her for a moment, tilting his head idly as he considered her. "If you must insist on assuming that this is a joke, I'll prove it to you," he said simply, though, within just a moment, he was standing right in front of her, his hand cupping her face to angle it where he had a good view of her neck. "I am rather hungry, after all. In my haste to get your parents to repay what they owe, I hadn't had time to feed. I suppose now would be as good a time as any," he mentioned, though he drew closer, his fangs revealing themselves now. Before long, his fangs sank into her neck and he held her closer to himself as he began to drink.

Stella froze when she saw the glint of a fang. This was not a joke, not in the least. Her fight or flight instinct kicked in, but before she could move, his arm was around her and his teeth sank deep into her neck. A cry of pain escaped her mouth but quickly silenced as her endorphins kicked in. She leaned into him, one of her hands gripping his shirt, her head lolling to the side as he drained her. Her heart was pounding again. Of all the scenarios that could have played out, she wished he had just wanted to harvest her organs. She would have been far more comfortable with that than being used as a mobile food bank. It was humiliating and painful. When Micah finally released her, she she dropped to the floor, scrambling backward, one hand covering her neck.

Micah drank until he was full, finding no need to drink more than was necessary. When he released her and wiped the blood from his lips, he watched as she scrambled back away from him. It was surprising, in a way, but he had expected her to be fearful nonetheless. "I did warn you," he pointed out as he regarded her for a moment. "Had you not taken it as a joke, I might not have bothered to feed tonight." Then again, that would have only served to leave him twice as hungry the next night, which wouldn't have really been a good thing. Sighing quietly, he moved closer to her and knelt down with a small frown. "Had you known this, would you still have thrown yourself in the path to protect your parents?" he asked with curiosity.