Bite Shift

43

I had done the walk from Tom's house to mine a thousand times. Tonight, was no different; same trees, same mailboxes, same sounds. The familiarity of it was calming and comforting. I was the only thing that had changed. Everything else was exactly as it had been on Sunday, when I dropped of the girls, walked to my car and headed to the last shift I would do as a human. I had a sudden rush of hope.

If I figure out how to get back to the way it was.. just alter a few things to accommodate my new condition, I could really do this. I could really raise my girls and pay my bills and be normal. I mean, what does "normal" mean anyways?

I was approaching the driveway, when I heard the dog three doors down from mine start the barking fit that assaulted anyone who dared to walk down our street. Before, it had been slightly annoying. Now, with my new hearing, it was like having a screwdriver stabbed into my eardrum over and over. I imagined myself putting my key in my lock, to get away from that sound, and almost walked into my front door. My sudden use of powers set the dog off on an even bigger barking tantrum.

"Shit." I have to be careful! I can't be going from 0 to 60 in 6 seconds in front of people. They're going to notice. I have to get Rhys to teach me how to control these powers!!

I slid the key in and swung the door inwards. I looked around to make sure no one had seen my quick trip from driveway to front door. The street was quiet. All of my neighbors were retirement age or had day jobs. No one was awake, looking through their curtains or walking a dog. Thank God.

As soon as I stepped into the large, living room, I saw the changes. My thin grey curtains were usually pulled back to each side of the picture window. I liked to look down at the street and see babies in strollers and kids on bikes. Tonight, however, heavy black curtains were pulled together, covering the glass. I walked over to investigate. I realized, instantly, that they were light blocking curtains. Just as quickly, I knew that the four people I had just said 'Goodbye' to, had added the new curtains, to protect me.

I walked through the kitchen, into the hallway and all three bedroom doors were closed. I opened mine and saw exactly what I expected; new curtains. These were also black. It fit nicely with the color scheme of purple and grey. Even if it hadn't, I was warmed by the thought of them going through all this just for me. Upon investigation, I found that they had gone a step further in my room. Pulling aside the black curtains, revealed a thick sheet of plywood, measure to fit inside my window frame, and nailed in. I knew that was all Tom. He was very practical. He had wanted to be sure that no sunlight would slip into my bedroom during the day.

Glued to the plywood was a large white piece of drawing paper. It was filled with a drawing made of marker and crayon. Bright yellows, blues and greens worked together to create a picture of a bright, sunny day, complete with green hills and little flowers. Thanks to my thoughtful little girls, I could always look at the window and see a perfect summer day. On the parts of the plywood, uncovered by the drawing, were handwritten messages.

We love you! Be happy! I'm glad you're home! Night picnics!

I smiled. The night picnic idea had to be Olivia's. Only she would think of something so creative. I ran my hand over all those messages and felt so lucky. I had a great group of people in my corner. It made everything seem so possible. With this awesome family, and Rhys to teach me, I knew I was going to be just fine.

I looked over at my bed and wanted to curl up in the familiar comfort of my blankets. I was suddenly so tired. The past few days' events hit me like a wave and the mental exhaustion from it all was starting to feel overwhelming.

My stomach twisted. I realized I had only had one glass of blood and then donated to the doc. I didn't think to bring any from Rhys' house and was pretty sure I couldn't go to the market for a case of B positive. Dammit. I am going to have to wait until work tonight.

I can make it.

Can I? Can vampires starve to death? That doesn't seem right. Worst case, I call Rhys.

But I wanted to show him, and myself, that I was okay on my own. Tomorrow, I would pick up a small fridge for the garage with a lock on it. For now, I was done with this particular night.

Shower. Jammies. Bed.

I stripped off my clothes and headed for the bathroom. It felt so small after Rhys' bathroom but it would work. The shower came on at full blast and I stepped in to let it beat up on my back. I was always a fan of hard water pressure. The shower head could be turned to lighten it up for the girls but I wanted the full weight. I wanted to wash away my attack, Sorin, the murders, Alex's sad story.....everything. For ten minutes, I wanted just me and that wonderful water massaging my back.

When it was turned off, the hot shower had filled the room with steam. It always made me think of one of those steam rooms in a gym or spa. I never understood the idea behind it. Being in a room full of steam, and hot as Hell, sounded like torture to me. I loved my hot shower but hated the steamy room after. I opened the bathroom door to air out the fog and heard the knocking at the front door.

Its midnight. Who the fuck is at my door?!

I had a sudden, horrible thought. What if someone saw me move from the driveway to the front door??? What if the dog's owner had come out for the barking and seen?? Would they call the cops?

Even I knew that calling the cops and reporting that your neighbor could teleport was more likely to get you a drug test than result in the cops checking it out but, I was still freaked out. I thought about calling Rhys but what would that do? He couldn't see who it was and he would just worry. Whoever it was, I was pretty sure I could handle it.

I looked down at my old, faded robe, and figure it was better than nothing. The front door had a small window, so you could see your visitor before answering. Unfortunately, with good intentions, someone had taped duct tape over it to protect the lady of the house from sunlight. I heard the rustling on the other side, so the person wasn't giving up and walking away. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever was out there. I knew, if I had to, I could just shut the door, lock it and call for help.

I swung open the door and was face to face with Will. He held up a brown, paper lunch sack.

"I brought blood."