Dracula: New blood

Chapter nine. Cats and more cats...

While I struggle to swallow a few more spoons of soup, Kim calls, and I'm surprised to notice how easy it is to overhear their conversation.

"It's thanks to me, kiddo," Dracula quips. "You can keep denying my existence and explain my voice as a byproduct of your 'craziness.' One day, though, you'll realize I'm here, and I bring a lot to the table. You can see better, hear better, move better...well, maybe not quite at this moment," he adds, just as I attempt to rise from my chair too quickly, causing a wave of dizziness to wash over me.

Two steady hands suddenly encircle my waist and shoulders, keeping me from toppling over. His phone falls to the floor with a resounding thud during the commotion, but he doesn't react to it, choosing instead to support me.

"I'll help you," Kieran says, a flicker of concern in his eyes. He feels strong and reliable.

"What's that noise?" Kim's voice echoes from the floor, and as he bends down to retrieve the phone while still holding me, my entire body seems to lean on his for a moment. The variation in his heart rate is minimal and his breathing is equal.

"Are you trying to make a move on the guy?" Dracula's question startles me. "Yikes! This could get awkward. Just so you know, I'm one hundred percent into women!"

I find my balance quickly and raise my hand silently to signal that I no longer need his help.

"You blushed!" the voice accuses me without room for debate, my cheeks aflame. As soon as Kieran's hands release my waist, I move slowly to the window, seeking a gulp of fresh air.

"There's no fresh air," he grumbles unhappily, and standing by the window, I'm hit by a blast of hot air. I hadn't noticed it earlier when I opened the window for the cat.

"Oh, the cat..." I remember, feeling uneasy.

"Oh, the cat..." Dracula exclaims with the hunger of a ravenous man.

I ignore the voices engaged in the phone conversation and let my eyes drift over the city. It's been a while since I simply stood by the window to observe the city. Millions of lights, millions of lives behind them.

"And millions of potential meals!" Dracula interjects, and I simply smile. "What?! No objections? Am I winning you over? Can you feel the power of blood?"

"Are you smiling?"

Kieran joins me by the window, looking outside.

"It's rather calming, isn't it?" He comments, and I remain silent, uncertain whether I want him to continue. Yet, deep down, I long for a different conversation. My mind, and Dracula, have been constant companions for so long. I yearn to hear something else, to have a normal conversation...

"What's a normal conversation?"

Dracula's words fade into the background as Kieran continues to speak. "My mother used to hold me up in her arms when I was a child, and we'd both gaze out at the city. She worked in the city, but we lived in a poorer suburb. Her sole goal was to provide the best for us, the kids, so we could escape the life she had..."

There's no sadness in his voice, only a sense of nostalgia. I follow his gaze, and all I see is a distant, faraway look in the city's lights. He said "us, the kids" meaning he has siblings. I envy him a bit to have other people to care for him.

"The lights here are as beautiful as the ones in Los Angeles... that's where I grew up..."

I nod. "My mother loved it here," I say after a minute of silence. "She loved the heat, the dry air, the history of this place..."

"So you love it here..." his voice seems to echo from afar.

"No, I'm here because it's the only place that still holds the memories of her."