Take Courage, My Heart

Chapter Fifteen

Annerose was the first one to wake up. I had taken myself to the sectional in the room behind the sliding door and had gotten a good one hundred pages into The Odyssey. I was aware that Leander had probably given it as a joke, not expecting me to read it, but part of me was curious about the quote on his body. And it wasn't like I had something better to do with my time.

"We can go start working out," Annerose said, popping her head in the room with a glass of water in her hand.

"Ah... sure," I agreed. I set the book down on the coffee table, leaving it open and with the pages facing down so I wouldn't lose what page I was on. I wasn't about to dog-ear another person's book; my book-loving sister would sense it and come kill my ass. "By the way, this is the second time I have seen you drinking water and I was wondering why. I mean... I don't feel the urge to drink water. Do you?"

"Not really. Just like with food we don't need it, blood is enough. But since we work out so much, drinking water and staying hydrated isn't a bad idea," she explained.

"But don't you need to pee?"

"Yeah, if I drink too much water. But I haven't had that happen yet. I just sweat the excess water out."

Bodily functions and vampirism weren't things I was well versed in. Well, vampirism in general had been quite foreign to me before I became one. Evidently, our digestive system hadn't shut down and I knew for a fact that our reproductive organs worked. Or worked in part.

"Can vampires have children?" I thought out loud as we got to the training room.

"Why? Are you planning on impregnating someone?" Annerose asked with a scoff.

"No," I laughed, "Just curious about my body and how it works now."

"For the most part, everything works like it used to. We get some perks with the venom. Our temperature regulates itself more easily; we don't feel extreme weather. We can't get sick or transmit illnesses. We have enhanced stamina, strength, and senses. There are some downfalls due to that, like hypersensitivity and a thirst for blood. As far as functions go, we can digest food; we just don't need to. Our hearts beat unless we get drained of blood. We can try to procreate, but after dying we are no longer fertile. So, no children for you," Annerose said and started wrapping my hands just like she had done the previous day.

"I have four younger siblings. Trust me, children have never been in the picture," I replied, making her laugh.

"Big family."

"Yeah, my parents were aiming to fill a football team but only got to six," I said.

"So, if you have four younger siblings you are..."

"I was the second oldest."

"Was?" she echoed, moving on to my other hand, eyes down to what she was doing.

"They might not know that I am a vampire, but I am pretty sure I am dead to them," I told her.

A beat of silence followed, and she paused with the bandages, having gone through all my fingers but not being done yet. She didn't look up to me and I appreciated that. While I didn't have an issue with telling them about my family, I didn't want to be asked about them. One question and I would probably word-vomit my entire life story.

"I'm an only child," she said at last, continuing with the wrappings. "I was born in London. My Mom is British and my Dad's Korean."

"Really?! You do not have an accent."

She giggled, a sweet, little sound, and moved to my other hand. "We moved to the States when I was pretty young, so I don't think I ever had a British accent. My Mom's is pretty strong though."