Blood Luster

Chapter Twelve

"This is what I couldn't tell you. It happened while I was living in California, this is not the life I wanted for myself." He placed his hands in his back pockets.

Her legs felt shaky beneath her. He was right, I should've sat. She walked and sat down on the steps, turning her back to him.

"So, Angela –"

"Yes, she turned me," he responded.

Magnolia fell silent.

"I can't handle this. I'm going back to New York; I need to forget about you and this godforsaken town." She stood, walked down the steps and towards her car.

The crunches of his feet against the gravel let her know he was following closely behind. "I won't hurt you Magnolia, you know that."

"I need some space," she said, turning to face him.

"Just talk to me, we can work through this."

She leaned against the car to hold herself up as she erupted with guttural laughter. "You're fucking kidding, right?" The laughter continued as she laid her head in her palms. "You're a vampire. Do you even realize how absurd that sounds to say out loud?"

"I do."

As she raised her head from her hands, she was met with his piercing glare. It surprised her how everything about him still drew her in and left her breathless. The way his biceps bulged as his arms wrapped tightly around one another, his towering stance, the muscle that flexed along his jaw when he was worried, the vein that bulged on his forehead when he was angry, the way his beard grazed her skin just before his lips swooped in and kissed her worries away. Don't go down the rabbit hole.

"Just give me the chance to explain."

She sighed, fighting the overwhelming signals her brain was sending out. Run. "Okay, but on a few conditions." She paused. "You have to answer every question I have, every single question."

"That's fair."

"And for now, I have an out. If this all becomes too much and I can't handle it, I can leave."

"I would never force you stay Magnolia," he said.

"I know, but you'd try to convince me and for some reason –" She brought her hand to her mouth. "It's nearly impossible for me to tell you no." Her eyes flickered up at his.

His shoulders visibly relaxed and he half-smiled. "What do you want to know?"

"Is Nat like you? Is that why he seems so secretive about everything?"

"Yes, I'm responsible for Nat. He was my first feed after turning, I was barely able to resist the urge to kill him. Unfortunately for him, I had to turn him to save his life." His eyes wandered to the garage. "He's not secretive, he just wants to escape the truth as badly as I do."

"How do you –Eat?"

"I feed on people, but I can control my urges now. When it's over, I compel them to forget." His response was casual, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Do –Have—"

He interjected. "No, I've never fed on you. I wouldn't do that and if I'm being honest, you don't incite those desires for me."

"You mean, you don't want to feed on me?" The words tasted bitter on her tongue.

"Precisely." He slowly moved closer to her. "Can you come inside? I'll cook dinner later and we can spend the day talking."