To Bleed for Him

"Your face is burned inside my brain.
I've lost my way.
Your taste, a stamp, flows through my veins.
The cost of hate.
'Cause you'll never understand me.
You want me to stay.

You're c-c-calling, but I can't hear you.
I'm not listening anymore.
You're subject to falling, but I can't save you.
I don't see you anymore."
- Taproot

Skylar swept into the house, knocking the door against the wall with a crash and a rattle. Torryn cringed, trailing along behind him, wondering just what he intended to do here. If Antony really was trying to have her killed, wouldn't it be better to hide from him? Of course, her pride and Skylar's would have rebelled against the idea something fierce, so maybe it was better this way.

Besides, she didn't believe that Antony had actually tried to have her killed. At first, the idea had seemed possible – why wouldn't he want her out of the way, after all? She was part of his old life, of his life as a living vampire, and now that he was stronger, she would only hold him back. But during the car ride here, she'd realized just how silly that sounded. Antony still had the capacity to love. He was still working hard to be good to her. He'd never given her any reason to be suspicious of him. And really, if he wanted her dead, wouldn't it have been easier – and tastier – to just drain her dry all on his own? In the world of vampires, he would be hailed as a hard-ass hero, and the world of humans would never know. There would be no consequences – and hey, free snack.

She was still tense, though, as she and Skylar made their way through the foyer and into the living room. Dozens of eyes were on them, eyes of all colors, all glaring at the interruption, and she fought the desire to squirm beneath their hard gazes. Antony sat on the couch in the center of the far wall, his expression shifting from annoyed to arrogant the moment his blue eyes found Skylar.

"I never expected to see you in my house again, human," he taunted, all smiles. "Have you come to offer yourself as a snack?"

Skylar ignored the bad line and went straight for the kill. "Why did you put a hit out on her?"

Antony's gaze flicked to Torryn, lingering nervously in the doorway, and a frown creased his brow. "What happened?"

Skylar stepped into his line of sight, attempting to block her from view. "A group of vampires decided to follow us and try to kill her."

Antony was before her in a heartbeat, hovering close as he observed her injuries, mostly just scrapes and bruises. He reached for her once, something in his expression telling her that he desperately wanted to touch her, but the distrust in her eyes likely made him refrain. "What happened, Torryn?" he asked softly, as if Skylar hadn't even spoken.

"Vampires, like he said," she answered, searching his eyes for any signs of a farce. "I think I remember seeing them here before. That's why Skylar suspected you."

Antony spun, suddenly seething. "Was this your doing, Caleb?" he snapped, his eyes on a vampire standing near the couch Antony himself had been sitting upon.

The man's features never shifted, not a fleck of emotion in his eyes. "No, sir."

Torryn frowned in confusion. "Why would you think it was him?" she asked quietly, as if trying to keep it a secret from the surrounding crowd, but she knew that she could've just breathed the words and they would have heard her clear as day. She wasn't a fan of the undead these days.

Antony looked at her over his shoulder. "The whole point of his little meeting was to discuss removing you from the house."

Her eyebrows rose as she turned to Caleb. "Oh, really, now?"

"You don't belong here," he said without hesitation, a shrug shifting his shoulders though his face still showed no signs of changing. "You're a distraction to all of us and a danger to him."

"I'm sorry," she hissed, taking a step forward, her eyes narrowed in a glare. "Who am I a danger to in this equation?" Her nervousness was long forgotten, her suspicions of Antony all but gone. It seemed that every vampire in this house just had to antagonize her, had been antagonizing her since they'd swept in to aid Antony, and she hadn't even fully moved in yet. What right did they have to decide where she belonged? And what made him think that he could just say this shit and get away with it?

His expression finally moved, the barest hint of a smug smile curving his thin lips. "With all due respect, in a fight between a tiny, half-Progeny girl and a full-grown undead male, we all know who would win."

She grinned something nasty and spread her arms wide. "Would you like to test that theory?"

Caleb's dark eyes drifted to Antony, silently asking permission, but before the vampire could either allow or deny the request, Skylar spoke up, his tone filled with exasperation. "Have you already forgotten that Antony might have just tried to have you killed?"

"He didn't," Torryn told the boy, but she didn't look away from Caleb. "But he might have."

"If I wanted you dead, I would kill you myself," the vampire said, still smiling, though his expression suddenly blanked at a low growl from Antony. "Of course, I would never dream of killing you. Fighting you, maybe, but I would never permanently damage Antony's property."

Antony sighed, annoyed. "What is it with you people and this property bullshit? First my mom, then Becca, now you." He ran a hand over his face tiredly. "Look, let's just adjourn this meeting. The blood is starting to make people antsy, and your request has been wholeheartedly denied, Caleb." The vampire looked like he wanted to protest, but Antony turned and started out of the room before anyone could say a word. Torryn and Skylar followed him silently up the stairs.

"Are you all right?" Torryn asked as Antony collapsed on his bed, pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes tightly closed.

"I don't like trying to be my father," he answered, sitting up and looking at her. His eyes flicked between her and Skylar, both hovering awkwardly over him. "But it doesn't matter. Describe the vampires to me."

"There were –"

Skylar interrupted her. "Two women, three men. All tall and brawny like any vampire should be," he said dryly. "Otherwise, it was dark, and there wasn't much to see."

"Actually," she began, giving him a sharp look, "with the full moon, I could see just fine." She turned her attention to Antony and continued in a kinder tone. "One of the women was blonde, and now that I think about it, I know I've heard her voice here before. The other woman was brunette. One of the men had darker skin, but the others were taken down too quickly for me to catch much. They were pretty unremarkable."

"Oh, yeah," Skylar muttered caustically. "You could see just so much, couldn't you?"

She pursed her lips but otherwise ignored him. "I know I've seen them before, and where would I have known them all from other than here? And the blonde – I'm sure I've seen her speaking to you before. Her name's...uh..." She dropped her eyes, wracking her brain. Something with an H... "Heidi, I think," she finished, meeting Antony's eyes hopefully. "Do you know who I'm talking about?"

He nodded darkly. "Yes. She's supposed to be watching things at the Arena tonight, along with Bell, Austin, Corbin, and Streak. A tight-knit group from what I've observed, and obviously not too good at doing their damn jobs."

"Or maybe they are," Skylar said, "just not the jobs you assign them. And really?" His tone was just oozing sarcastic malice. "Who could blame them?"

Antony rolled his eyes and pegged the boy with a stony glare. "Real cute, kid. Real fuckin' cute. Now, if you don't have anything nice to say, please shut the fuck up." Torryn shot him a stern scowl, but he paid her no mind.

"Whoa," Skylar said, his hands up in mocking placation. "Why all the hostility, man?"

"Just stop talking," the vampire replied flatly, his face blanking of emotion until he looked like a porcelain statue. She shivered at the sheer lifelessness of it. "I'm not in the mood for this. Someone just tried to kill my girlfriend, you know."

Skylar's lips tightened, his jaw clenched. "Because I wouldn't care about that at all, would I? It's not like she and I have a relationship or anything."

"You're right," Antony said, a wicked smile blossoming on his pale lips. "You don't. Does that mean you'll be leaving now? Preferably forever?"

"You know, maybe I should just take her," Skylar retorted, suddenly deathly serious. "She could come live with me. She'd be much safer there, since, you know, there wouldn't be vampires gunning to kill her or anything."

"Whoa. Hey," she said loudly, and they turned to her. "Are we pretending that I'm a helpless girl who can't make her own decisions now or what?"

"No," Skylar said quickly, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment, "of course not. I was just...I was making a suggestion, just in case you were interested."

Antony laughed lightly. "Backpedal faster," he joked. "I think she caught on." Skylar scowled at him, but the look had lost most of its intensity in his red-cheeked shame, and the vampire only smiled in response. A real smile, Torryn noticed, unable to believe her eyes. A kind smile. What the hell had just happened? "Look, kid, it's late, and I get that you're worried and probably tired, and it's getting you worked up. I think we should continue this conversation in the morning, once you've gotten some sleep." He reached out and gently took Torryn's hand, hanging limply before him, but his eyes never left Skylar. "You're more than welcome to crash here if you don't want to make the drive home."

Skylar was visibly stunned, his lips slightly parted and his eyes much wider than usual. "Are you sure that would be all right?"

"Of course," Antony replied with a gracious smile. "But it would be best if you stayed in here with Torryn. If the scent of your blood won't drive some of my less in-control companions to eat you in the middle of the night, the attitude you took with me earlier likely will." His look became ponderous, and he focused on some point just over Skylar's shoulder. "And, well, they've been wanting to take a bite out of Torryn for a while, so I'd feel better if the two of you were around to protect each other while I'm gone."

"You're leaving?" Torryn said, frowning down at him.

His eyes focused on hers, and he smiled softly. "Yeah. You knew I would be. I already needed to go see how things are going at the Arena, and now, I need to try to get to the bottom of this whole 'vampires trying to kill my girlfriend' thing."

"I'll come with you," she told him, but he shook his head the second the words left her lips.

"I don't want to subject you to that environment more than I have to, and I know that you're not used to my sleeping pattern yet." He smiled just as sweetly as before, but there was something off about it now – a harder edge, the heavy weight of remorse. "You're tired, and after your fight today, you need the extra rest."

She wanted to protest, wanted to insist that she tag along to help him in any way she could, but she knew that she would just be a nuisance. He had enough stress as it was. He didn't need her trailing along behind him like a lost puppy. "All right," she said after a moment, her voice barely a whisper. A smile curved her lips just a bit. "Thank you."

"Just looking out for you," he said as he rose to his feet, grinning broadly. Skylar stepped back as the vampire filled the small space between their bodies and the bed, but Antony drew Torryn closer, one arm around her waist while the other hand remained entwined in hers. "Be careful with him," he murmured, his words close enough to tickle her ear. "And be prepared for when I get back. I may need to feed." He leaned from her ear as she nodded her answer, then placed a gentle kiss on her lips. His lips were cold, but pleasantly so, and she missed the slight chill when he finally pulled away. "I'll see you soon."

She nodded, reluctantly releasing his hands as he moved his body away from hers. "Don't get yourself hurt or anything, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a playful salute, then strode quickly out the door and closed it quietly behind him.

"You let him feed from you?" Skylar remarked before the door had even finished clicking shut. "Regularly?" He sounded incredulous but not quite judgmental, and she wasn't sure whether to be defensive or not.

She shrugged, starting toward the attached bathroom without looking at him. "Yeah. So?"

He followed her, their footsteps soon falling loudly on the tile floor. "It's just...It's...It seems so weird to me, letting someone drink from you all the time, letting someone that close to potentially killing you all the time." She opened the closet door and pulled out a couple of thick comforters, one white and one black, and he just kept chattering away. "I mean, doesn't that seem a bit...unhealthy to you? Unnatural?"

"Actually, I think it's the most natural thing in the world," she answered wryly, nudging the door shut with her hip. "What's so weird about it?" She met his eyes, filled with honest worry, and she sighed, blowing a strand of brown hair out of her face. "You wouldn't get it unless you were in lo– in a relationship with a vampire," she tried to save herself, but the damage had already been done. He didn't comment on it, but his expression darkened.

"Explain it to me," he said simply. "Try to make me understand."

She sighed again, walking past him and out of the bathroom. "I thought it was obvious, honestly. The drinking of blood is just a carnal need that he has, like a human desire for sex. Why wouldn't I offer myself up to fulfill that need?" She dropped the blankets beside the bed and plopped on the edge of the mattress, regarding him with a wry smile. "Or would you have me withhold sex, too?"

He returned her smile, sitting on the edge of the bed a careful foot away from her. "Honestly, I would have you withhold everything from him, but my views are obviously a bit sideways."

She laughed lightly. "I'm sure. Now, do you want to shower first, or can I?"

"Once I shower, I'm not putting my clothes back on until I have to go home," he warned her with a grin.

"You could always just borrow something of Antony's."

His smile grew. "Like I said, I'm not putting my clothes on until I have to go home."

She shrugged, lying back on the bed. "Suit yourself. But I'll warn you now that I sleep in my underwear."

"You used to sleep naked. What changed?" he teased.

"A house full of vampires," she answered, grinning. "Now go take a shower before one of them tries to eat you."

His weight left the bed. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am." The bathroom door clicked shut behind him, and she smiled to herself.

What an odd boy he was. No wonder she'd fallen in love with him.

-?-

"I'm surprised you didn't take over the bed," Torryn said as she exited the bathroom, running her fingers through her damp, loosely tangled hair. It was cool against her bare back, and she welcomed the feeling.

Skylar grinned at her, spread out on the comforters he'd lain across the floor in only his forest-green boxers. "Why would I?" he asked as he propped himself up on a pillow – her pillow, conveniently enough. "I wouldn't want to risk your wrath. You've gotten even scarier since you discovered that you weren't human, ya know."

She chuckled, flopping onto the bed with a loud creak of springs. "I thought you said you could still take me?"

"Oh, I could," he said reassuringly. "I just know how badly you could hurt me before I could finally take you down."

"Nice of you to admit it," she laughed as she pulled Antony's pillow into the center of the bed. She buried her face in it, and the scent of vampire filled her nose, something like death and champagne. "I wonder what he's doing," she murmured into the fabric. "I wonder if he's gotten himself into trouble yet."

"Does he get himself in trouble often?" Skylar asked, a wryness to his tone that hadn't been there before. She wondered if he actually cared; she knew he probably didn't.

"Yeah," she sighed. "One of the perks of being a master vampire, I guess." She lifted her face from the pillow and regarded the boy for a moment, his eyes closed and his expression bland. "You're taking all of this oddly well."

"All of what?" he asked, opening his eyes to look at her, now leaning over the edge of the bed to hover over him. His eyes flicked briefly downward before returning to her face, and she vaguely wondered just how close her boobs were to popping out of her bra.

"Me being with Antony, Antony being an undead, you being in the friend zone," she explained. "All of that."

He shrugged, closing his eyes again, his expression serene. "I'm not okay with it, if that's what you're implying. I've just realized that there's nothing I can do about it. No reason to fight it, ya know?"

"I guess that's a good attitude to have," she sighed, returning to her place in the center of the bed.

"What?" he asked, and she turned to look at him at the sound of quiet shuffling. He was sitting up now, peering over the edge of the bed at her with a crooked smile. "Do you miss me chasing after you, antagonizing your new man at every turn, trying to get in your pants when nobody's looking?"

She rolled her eyes. "Something like that." But it wasn't his attentions she missed – it was him.

"I can't say I blame you," he said, the words leaving him in a dreamy sigh. "I am pretty amazing, after all."

She smiled in spite of herself. "Sure you are," she teased. "That's why you don't have a new girlfriend yet."

"Have you ever considered that I don't want another girlfriend?" he asked, his tone growing serious.

She forced her eyes wide in mock surprise. "You're gay?"

He rolled his eyes and dropped back onto his makeshift bed. "Yeah, sure," he drawled. "I'm totally into Antony now. Will you switch me spots? I want to share the bed with him when he gets back."

A grin curved her lips. "Come on up. We can get a threesome going when he gets home."

He opened his mouth to respond, sarcasm already shining in his eyes, but the door suddenly burst open, the words dying in his throat. Together, they turned toward the source of the noise, expecting to find Caleb or another murderous beast eyeing them. But it wasn't murder that shone in this beast's eyes; it was a lustful taunting. And really, it wasn't much of a beast.

Dressed in a black lace nightgown, traces of white skin showing through the nearly see-through fabric, was Becca, leaning provocatively against the door frame. "Why, hello, little boy," she purred, half-lidded eyes locked on Skylar. "How are you this fine, fine evening?"

Torryn wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. What the hell is the crazy bitch doing now? Her eyes flicked to Skylar – or, more specifically, to what now waved hello at her from the slit in the front of his boxers. "Oh, hey. You're really not gay!"