WUTHERING BITES

Chapter Nine: Sixteen

Chapter Nine

Sixteen

Kate had gone to buy the dress on one of their rare Saturday mornings in Edinburgh. They were sixteen and Kate was determined to drag Heath into town with her to pick up the dress. He pretended not to care because he hated shopping but secretly enjoyed having Kate as his exclusive companion during their journey. He'd grown older and stronger in their years at boarding school. He was managing his condition, and no one except Kate had ever guessed.

The boy enjoyed any excuse for freedom outside the school grounds. He didn't see Kate at all during school hours. Although he'd hated being sent away at first, he found the regimented atmosphere of sports and lessons suited him more than he ever imagined it would. Being able to climb higher, jump faster, bat harder and kick longer in games gave him an edge and made him popular with other boys, but it wasn't them he wanted to impress most.

Heath pretended it was an imposition as the note was delivered to his class. He and Kate arranged to meet, catch the bus and have lunch in an old-fashioned tea room (Heath would have preferred lunch at the pub, obviously, but this compromise meant he'd just have to pick the meat off the sandwiches). Besides, to impress Kate, he wanted to go along with her wishes.

Edinburgh on Saturday morning in April was a jostling, architecturally spectacular city. The light was low, like London but the open wind made it pleasantly colder. Heath wished he could have driven the car he'd been saving to buy from the "business" he ran after lights out. All of the boys from his boarding house were involved in a betting game related to the school fixtures. Heath would have been suspended, or worse, if it was discovered they were using real money to bet. The game had been running for more than a year and Heath, as bookmaker, was making a handsome profit. With his winnings, Heath and Kate could have taken a car if he'd been allowed to drive but the school (stupid school that it was in relation to rules) forbade it.

Heath would have ignored the rule, like most of the other rules at the school, if it hadn't been so difficult to break without being noticed. He was careful not to draw too much attention to himself. Being taller, faster, smarter and better looking (according to Kate) than other boys, made this difficult. Because boys placed less value on looks and more on accomplishment, they didn't dislike him as much as they would have if they'd all been girls and one outshone the others. Really, his mates looked up to him in a way he was sure they wouldn't, if they knew the truth. He kept his medication hidden. He kept his drinking supplies (type O in secluded plastic packages from the blood bank) in a locked, private fridge that (as house captain) he had exclusive access to. The school nurse was told as little as possible. She thought Heath had a rare condition and relayed instructions from his doctor without telling anyone or asking too many questions.

Edinburgh wasn't home to him but he had grown fond of the city. He thought one day he and Kate might live there or maybe New York or London if she had a preference. Anywhere dark and cold but populated would be good. They both liked entertainment and crowds they could blend in to. He glanced at Kate sitting beside him on the bus. Neither of them had their head phones on, preferring each other's silences to music. He looked at her profile, her perfect features and warm smile, her fragile collarbones...leading to her neck.

He tried to stop the thought. Yes, her smile was beautiful, though he'd never told Kate this but it was her body and soul he wanted to possess, just as she possessed his, in theory. The warmth of her skin, her blood - intangible and unknown - was a perfect mystery to him. He tried to avoid staring longingly at the tiny rippled vein above her shirt collar. Heath inched his hand across without looking at her. When she laced her warm fingers around his gloved ones, as they approached the main cobbled street, the venom in his veins pulsed.