Belle Morte Bites (Belle Morte 4.3)

Bed and Breakfast: Part Three

Morning seemed to take forever to arrive.

A television set stood on a wooden stand opposite the sofa, but Gideon never had understood how the silly things worked, and he wasn't about to try finding out.

So he simply sat and waited.

He listened to the sounds of people in the building around him, the sigh of someone mid-dream, the creak of bedsprings as someone else rolled over. At one point he heard a whimper that he recognised as Liam's, and he'd sat up straighter, alert, before hearing Gilly's voice, soothing her son back to sleep.

Finally the occasional snatch of birdsong turned into a full chorus, and when Gideon got up to nudge the curtain aside, the darkness of night was giving way to a misty grey.

Not long now.

He imagined that, despite the kindness that Paul and Simon had showed her, Gilly would want to be on her way as quickly as possible.

Another couple of hours passed before he heard the sounds of people stirring. A door further down from the living room opened and closed – he was pretty sure that was the room where Paul and Simon slept. Then the sound of a boiling kettle reached his ears.

Finally, it felt like he could relax. If Gilly's ex had carried on looking for her last night, he wouldn't still be out there now. Even if he was, the day had come, and he wouldn't risk trying to do anything to Gilly where people could see them.

Gideon made his way to the kitchen, where Paul was making coffee.

"Good morning," he said, as Gideon came in. He looked Gideon up and down. "You really didn't sleep at all, did you?"

Gideon shook his head.

"Here." Paul offered him one of the mugs of coffee. "You need this more than I do."

"Thank you, but I don't drink coffee."

Paul looked vaguely appalled at such a concept.

"Do you know when the trains start running again?" Gideon asked.

"In about forty minutes. Plenty of time for you all to have some breakfast when Gilly's up." He sneaked one more teaspoon of sugar into his coffee and winked at Gideon. "Don't tell Simon."

Carrying a mug in each head, he walked across the kitchen, then paused in the doorway. "We have clean towels and spare toothbrushes if you need them."

"I don't, but I appreciate the offer," Gideon said.

Paul's gaze sharpened. "You do have somewhere to go home to, don't you? You're not going to be on the streets tonight?"

Gideon shook his head. "I'm not homeless, but I don't want to impose on you on anymore."

"Nonsense," Paul declared. "If you want to freshen up, come knock on my door, and we'll get you everything you need. In the meantime feel free to help yourself to anything in here."

Gideon watched the older man disappear back into his bedroom. He had long since given up believing that he could ever have a relationship like that, but seeing those two together made him realise that he did want it. He wanted to come home to someone, rather than an empty flat and a cold bed. He wanted someone who would share the long weight of eternity with him, someone who would stand by him and understand him and love him.

But maybe vampires didn't get to have that.

Or maybe Gideon was just very unlucky.

Gilly came downstairs about twenty minutes later. Her face was pale, the bruise like a thundercloud around her eye, but there was a renewed spark in her gaze, something that hadn't been there last night.