Picky Eater

Ch 21: Good luck

Ben grumbled, peeling his eyes open to find Anthony kneeling beside him. All smiles and sparkly brown eyes, Anthony itched the middle of Ben's brow. Ben groaned, turning his head into his pillow. If these vampires insisted on watching him sleep, Ben was going to start charging them. If Ben could just close his eyes again, he'd be asleep again in half a second. Sleeping the rest of the summer off was tempting.

Obviously, Anthony had other plans for Ben. "Good morning."

Sighing, Ben shifted his position and faced Anthony, still curled up in his blankets. "Morning."

"Don't get up. I just came to say goodbye."

That woke Ben up. He straightened his arm, pushing himself up. "You're leaving?"

Anthony's smile widened, and he made himself a comfortable spot on the bed's edge. "I'm leaving. Dante needs me back home and I think I need to get out of Nino's hair before he actually starts hating me."

A small, tired puff escaped Ben's nose, and he smiled at Anthony, surprised by how much he already missed this guy. Not a lot of new people walked into Ben's life, and it was a relief this Ventura liked him enough to not snap his neck and to even make him laugh a few times.

"It was nice meeting you, Anthony." He touched Anthony's neck, rubbing his cool cheek with his thumb. "And you made things easier for a little while. We'll miss you."

Despite his smile, Anthony's brow pinched, and his eyes didn't look convinced. "I don't know about that, but... I hope we meet again one day."

Ben dropped onto his back again and took a deep breath. It was too early for this. He hadn't prepared for Anthony's departure. He may never get another chance to learn about Nino from someone who's known him all his life.

"What should I do?" Ben asked.

"If I knew," Anthony joked, "Nino would've already been back home to visit. Not me, Bianca, Matty, or Dante have been able to pull him out of this dark hole."

Ben sat back up. "You think he's in a dark hole?"

Anthony smiled again. "The fact you even have to ask tells me it has to be you. I think it could be you. I haven't seen Nino smile this much in forever." Before Ben could respond, Anthony laughed again.

"Obviously, I approve of you. Bianca must approve too if she dumped Evie here, but Matty is going to want an opinion. However, all final decisions come from Dante. He'll be one of your final hurdles."

"One of them?"

"Nino will be the hardest to convince..." Anthony stood up and Ben forced himself to sit up, watching Anthony go. Anthony stopped by the door, giving Ben one final concerned look, his voice so soft. Sadness glazed over his eyes, and it was the most serious Anthony had ever spoken. "Nino handled our parent's death the worst. Parents are supposed to be immortal, especially vampire parents, and for them to just..." Anthony couldn't catch the words. He just shrugged. "...be gone. I think Nino had the most unfinished business with them."

Ben didn't know what to say. Sitting on the bed, he held the weight of Anthony's words in his hands. Anthony walked out, saying, "We always think we'll have more time." Maybe Ben wasn't even supposed to hear this. But he couldn't unhear it. "But we don't."

Gathering up his blanket and jumping out of bed, Ben ran to Anthony and wrapped his arms around him. He hugged him tight, burying his face in this vampire's back. He took a deep breath, feeling the tension slowly leaving Anthony's body. Anthony laughed and flipped around, reaching underneath Ben's arms, and sweeping him off the floor into a big, wiggling hug.

"Oh," Anthony sighed. "You would've been in so much trouble if we met first."

"I bet." Ben laughed.

Dropping him back on the floor, Anthony grabbed Ben's face and pressed a kiss to Ben's forehead. He detached, tossing Ben like he was a bug, and rushed down the stairs. "Goodbye Ben Robinson! And good luck!"