CRIMSON

weakness

- chapter seventeen -

Victor opened the door to the front room and brought Rafe in with him, the two of them silent. They were divided. Of course, they weren't very sad to learn of the death of the three bullies, it was just the fact that they were no longer in this world. The human's heart sank when he remembered that it had been Brielle and Kyomi who had discovered the bodies in the first place. They must have been traumatised by it. He hadn't looked at the bodies. He didn't dare.

— Are you all right? Rafe asked worriedly.

— I-I think so. He replied with a confused expression, It's just... weird.

Food usually had a way of clearing his mind, so he went into the kitchen to make himself a snack. He took the jar of spread and struggled to open it. The vampire giggled. Oh, you find that funny? Rafe nodded, clenching his fist to hide the smile he wore. Well then, open it, the human declared, completely unaware that he was standing in front of a vampire with superhuman strength. Rafe took the jar and opened it as if nothing had happened, causing Victor to sulk.

— It's not fair, how did you do it so easily?

The black-haired boy shrugged his shoulders. He moved closer to Victor and stood in front of him, his hands on the counter. And now Victor was sandwiched between Rafe like in the forest when they kissed. The kiss... God, he was in love with it. It had stirred up something in him: a desire. And as if reading his thoughts, Rafe moved his face closer to Victor's for another kiss.

This time it was slower. As if the impatience had disappeared. The kiss was sweeter, more tender, more affectionate. Deepening the kiss, Rafe placed his hands on Victor's cheek. They were so focused on kissing that they didn't notice Victor's family entering the kitchen. It was Michael who interrupted them by getting down on his knees.

— My brother has become a man, he repeated, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

They all rolled their eyes at the drama queen behaviour of the 12 year old. Andrya ordered him to stand up as she pulled at the arm of her son. No one spoke, there was just an awkward exchange of glances.

— I think I'm going to go, Rafe declared as he hurried away from the awkwardness, leaving Victor alone with his parents.

Cody watched the vampire leave. Then he crossed his arms and looked at his son with a furrowed brow. It was time for an interrogation.

— Can you explain why you were sucking on that young man's lips in our kitchen?

***

Brielle needed to clear her head after such an exhausting day. Her first thought was training, but she felt that she was far too shocked and therefore too weak to fight. So she changed and decided to go swimming, it was the only thing that was going to make her feel better. Fortunately, the heat was on its way back, so it was not too cold for a swim. Once in the water, Brielle sighed with relief, closed her eyes and let herself float. Then she did the breaststroke, taking her time to enjoy the silence. Her parents were in the living room, but she had asked them to leave her alone, so they did as she asked.

Unfortunately, the water, which had soothed her before, now confronted her with her thoughts, when all she wanted to do was forget the events of the day. She pictured the bodies again, which made her stop. She shook her head to clear her mind and started swimming again, backstroke this time. But that was not enough. As she closed her eyes and put her head underwater, she pictured the bodies of the three friends again, but this time as if she was underneath them. The images came back to her like flashbacks, and she began to have difficulty breathing.