A Slave to Broken Hearts (A Slave to Love Sequel)

Chapter 44: Always a Vampire, Never a Psychic

Waking the next morning, my head felt less foggy. My throat still ached and my nose was still running, and there was still the gross phlegmy taste in my mouth, but I didn't feel quite as shitty as I had before. Bits of last night slid through my tired brain like sludge, of Blade coming to see me, and I had to wonder if it really happened or if I'd taken too much medicine after all. Or if it was another hallucination. Or maybe I simply dreamed it up like a normal person, though that was ironically the least likely scenario. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Prying myself out of bed, body heavy and tired, I padded out of my room, tripping over the mess on my floor, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Gmorning," Katie's voice said, and I cracked one eye open to return the greeting with a yawn and a whisper of my normal voice.

"Whoa, you weren't kidding. She really is sick," someone else said.

I froze, one hand still against my eye where I'd been rubbing it, the other dangling uselessly by my side.

"You okay?" Ace asked, not a figment of my imagination because he was really here, sitting at our kitchen table with Katie, dressed for work and frowning at me like he was trying to gauge why I had yet to respond.

Two surprise visits in a less than ideal state in the last 24 hours?

Nope.

I turned on my heel and walked straight to the bathroom without a word, needing at least a few minutes to make myself feel human before I could face any sort of interaction right now. After blowing my nose, washing my face, moisturizing my excessively dry and painful skin, peeing, blowing my nose again, and brushing my hair, I finally left the bathroom feeling more prepared to cope and less like a hideous creature coming out of its dark hole. Not by much though.

"What's up?" I asked, dumping a slice of bread in the toaster while Katie handed me a mug of lemon and ginger tea.

"You weren't answering any messages so I thought I'd swing by and check for any signs of life," Ace said, appraising me over his fingers that pressed together.

"I'm fine. Just a cold," I said, sipping the warm tea. I shuddered a little at the taste, still not fond of it, but it did lessen the ache of my throat so I'd deal.

"I can see that." But he still kept studying me, no doubt wondering if I was deteriorating again. Not like he could tell, my tattoo was covered by my hoodie after all.

"Are you feeling better?" Katie asked, "You look more alert than yesterday."

I waved my hand in a so-so gesture, and buttered my toast once it popped. Ace immediately vacated his chair, waving for me to sit and Katie took the other at his insistence, while he leaned against the kitchen counter to watch me.

"You have the day off right?" Ace asked.

I nodded, chewing slowly. Maybe toast was a bad idea, even with the butter, it made my already dry throat feel even rougher and it slid down my throat like sandpaper.

"Good, you should get some rest," he said, arms folded over his chest, eyes narrowed. Protective mom vibes.

"I'll get some laundry done before my shift this afternoon, and I made some soup last night that you can have later for lunch or dinner," Katie added.

"You made soup?" How did I miss that? I didn't even remember hearing her come home. Or what time I fell asleep. Or when Blade left. "Wasn't it late?"

"Not that late, plus I figured I wouldn't have time to do it this morning before work," she said, unperturbed.

"Thanks," I said, genuinely touched she had gone out of her way after a long shift at work just to make me soup so I'd have something to eat. She had even made me tea this morning too and I hadn't asked her for anything. She was so thoughtful it made me wanna cry and hug her for three hours straight. Though that was probably not the best idea, I didn't want to get her sick too.