Til' Death Do Us Part

Chapter Eighteen

     Each day at work, time nagged at my brain. My daily encounter with Rome-it was hell. I had no idea what to do-even though I was already doing it. I was completely normal. Sweet and pleasant, there was nothing off or even wrong about it and yet he could tell. Rome could tell that for some reason there was something up.

    I smiled cheerfully, handing Rome the same five water bottles except now I finally had my answer to that unanswered question.

    "Why buy five water bottles?"

    "I just like water, miss."

    "Then why don't you buy a pack of them?"

    "I just prefer it this way. Have a nice night, Elizabeth."

    The five water bottles Rome bought were for blood tablets. They were small little white tablets that dissolved in water similar to flavored water packets. The tablets contained vitamins and antibodies that could be found in human blood and depending on the type you bought-they could sate a vampire's thirst from four to twelve hours.

    The only con about the tablets were that they were purely artificial if the website was correct. It was like a midnight snack. There wasn't much effort aside from finding a shop and they didn't thoroughly sate thirst, they only did the job for a small while. After months, the vampire would be in dire need of warm, human blood and would become sick for lack thereof.

    "Thank you, Elizabeth. By the way, did you enjoy dancing with the other women? Ms.Percy said that Charlie really enjoyed it and if you'd like, we can go there again on a less busy day." Rome smiled, craning his neck slightly to see me before moving his hat so it didn't block his view since he was only a few inches taller than me.

    "I did enjoy it actually and yeah, I'd like to do it again one day." Shit, what was I saying? That was the opposite of what I wanted to do right now, I still had to figure out what to do with this information. Before yesterday, I would have agreed, I liked Rome and he'd grown on me but this?

    To Rome, time was trivial but to me it was everything. In a little over half of this year, I would be on my death bed and then what? I had nothing to offer so why the hell had he even been talking to me this entire time? He should be able to sense it. That I was sick.

    "That's wonderful. Oh, also, Charley told me to give this to you. It's her number so if you'd like it." Rome handed me the small slip of paper. It was a yellow sticky note and had a number on it, presumably Charley's.

   I nodded and took the sticky note with a slight smile," Thanks. I'll be sure to call her later on tonight." I gate a thumbs up before he nodded graciously and that was when I noticed it.

    Rome really was intoxicating-it was a hunting tactic, to look so alluring that the prey would follow. To look like one of their own because once he was human. The one tactic that protected few humans was merely instinct-sensing something wasn't human because it was too perfect. The the china doll you're grandmother got for you because it was so cute but it creeped you out for no reason. So when you went to sleep you turned it to face the other way. It was just like that.

     It was just a doll. Rome was just a vampire. There was nothing to be afraid of, right? Except for the fact I could see the sincerity and trust in his smile. I could see the fondness in Rome's smile and in his eyes-I could see that I was just the same as him.

    I was just a person and so was he. We were doing what humans did-what any creature would do. Taking comfort in each other's company and having fun. But there was something to be afraid of. There always would be and for me-I was afraid of falling in love.

    That was also the day I realized something else. They were all around me in the crevices, places I wouldn't even think to expect of, people I hadn't realized were any different. Actors, dancers, musicians, presidents, and politicians. People I looked up to, people I looked down to. Just like me and just like Charley. They think and laugh and love, they're no different from anyone, they had their strengths and weaknesses. They're all strange, sure, but so is everything else and everyone else.

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