As The Blood Is Drained, It's Bad For Business

I’m at the bookstore again. Mr. Boo’s in the back ordering more things for the store and I’m stuck shelving books. It’s not very interesting, but at least I get paid. As I’m putting up a book on the top shelf [which I can’t quite reach] the door bell jingles. I turn around quickly to see who it is and loose my footing, falling on a pile of books, along with the one I was trying to shelve. William walks into the isle.

“Wow, you’re making a lot of ruckus. This is supposed to be a bookstore,” he whispers, smiling widely. I smile back. He holds out his hand and I put the book in my hand down; it can wait.

“Hey kid, what’s up?” I say, shaking off his words. He’s only teasing me.

“Not much, I actually wanted to tell you something,” he says. I cock my head to the side.

“And you came all the way to the bookstore to tell me something?” I ask. He nods.

“Yep.” He pulls me in by my waist and kisses me, putting his other hand along the back of my neck. I break away after a couple seconds and look at him. “Do you want to be my girl friend?” He asks. I grin.

“Yea, what took you so long?”

“Shut up, stop it,” I whispered to myself, in between gasps and sobs. I had to remind myself that Scarlett Tiernel does not cry, under any circumstances. I hadn’t cried since the night that-well...in a long, long time.

I had locked myself in the bathroom, as that was really the most secluded place. I was sick of taking over the weapons room. I knew I was being kind of childish and immature. I rationalized that I could just tell Cayden everything and not worry about the consequences...but I wasn’t one to open up to people. And I couldn’t escape, because apparently I intended the vampires harm. An image flashed through my mind: I was slicing through the head of Cayden and throwing it away from the body.

Something weird happened-I shuddered. I shuddered at the thought of my captor dying, leaving this world forever. Was I suffering from Stockholm Syndrome? I shook my head violently, answering my own internal question. No. I was just losing the will to murder these supposedly innocent immortals.

The door to the bathroom swung open, breaking me from my thoughts.

“You kissed him?!” Daniel boomed, towering over me. I sniffed and glared at him.

“That door was locked, you know,” I stated, venom in my voice.

“You fucking kissed him?!” Daniel screamed again, ignoring my comment. I ignored his as well.

“I could have been peeing, you know. You could have walked in on me with my pants around my ankles. Of course, then I would have to slit your throat.” His expression was amusing. I imagined veins popping out of his face and steam coming out of his ears.

“I told you to humor him, not turn him on. I think there’s a difference,” he said more calmly. I just stared at him. He came and sat down next to me, leaning on the side of the bath tub. He looked at me and held out his arms. “Come here, I need to show you something,” he gestured. I leaned in and he pulled me into a hug. I didn’t even try to struggle.

“What-are-you-doing,” I said, speaking sternly.

“This is called a hug,” he said into my shoulder, “and I don’t think you’ve had one of these since you were like, five.” He let me go. “You’re fucked up, Scarlett, I’m not gonna lie. But you need to get your shit together, because in my brother’s eyes, you’re leading him on. And honestly, I think you want to. I think you like knowing that someone wants you. I think you like that we’re all interested in you, in one way or another. And here’s the thing: you’d have to be interested in us, too, to still be here. Cayden? He’s a dirty rotten liar. I saw you outside; I could hear you from a mile away. You weren’t standing in a salt ring. You were standing in our Unakite circle. It shows your true desire. And if you had really wanted to leave, you could have. Our actual salt perimeter wouldn’t have even stopped you, because I truly believe that you won’t harm us, even if you actually wanted to.” I clenched my fists and took in a deep breath, because everything he was saying...it was true.

“On a lighter note, I have to point out that you’ve gone completely soft. I know technically speaking, I’m a lot older than you, but I’m pretty sure the term I’m looking for is ‘ha-ha, in your face’.” I laughed, something that was becoming increasingly difficult. Unfortunately, Jackie ran into the bathroom, cutting me short.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said breathlessly, “but we’ve got a huge problem.”

“What is it?” Daniel said, instantly concerned.

“Cayden’s gone. And I don’t think he’s planning on coming back.”