Blood Thirsty

Ch. 5: So, you are Insane

The passage of time for a vampire was a strange concept. They lived so long, it'd be easy for memories to slip away and yet, with their keen minds, nothing important was forgotten. It made vampires excellent at holding grudges.

When the Ventura clan was young, their family went vacationing one summer in the alps and their mother took them on a large shopping trip. The kids always got to pick out a souvenir for themselves and together, they picked one for their dad. As soon as shopping was done, their mother told all the kids to get into the car. Anthony did as he was told and climbed into the backseat first.

Slowly, one by one, the rest arrived and eventually his mother put Mathew in the car, left and came back with Nino next. Everyone then gathered, She finally dropped into the car with a huge sigh when she turned around and counted up to four.

"Four, that's everyone," she said.

"Five," Anthony had spoken up.

His mother jumped. "Oh! Anthony! I didn't see you there. Yes, five, thank you."

She had completely forgotten about him. She didn't have to say it. Anthony just knew it from the look on her face. She gave him the sweetest, most guilty smile. "Where have you been?"

"I've been here the whole time."

She melted a little in her seat. "Of course, you were. Thank you, sweetie. You're really the best."

To other parents, adults, and strangers, his mother always said Anthony was her easiest child. Anthony wore it like a badge of honor. If he was easier that meant he wasn't a problem and if he wasn't a problem, his mother must be happy with him. He always wanted to make his mother happy.

Anthony thought before he woke up that these feelings had spread everywhere to the rest of his family. It was probably what led him to the bottom of this forest, looking up at the dimming sky through the shadow of tree limbs.

Knox cursed. "This is just great. I just got this suit back from the cleaners." He made a little grumbling huff and Anthony groaned, pushing himself up.

"Anthony Ventura," Knox said, twisting his head around to glare at him again. "Were you sent from hell to kill me? If your antics didn't send me to the grave, I guess pushing me off the cliff was a good try."

"You're hilarious." Anthony sighed. He ran his eyes up and down Knox, noticing a blotch at his knee. He noticed the smell second. The smell of blood varies from person to person to creature to creature. Vampires had a certain sulfuric smell to them. Anthony noticed it lingering in the air and shot up, zipping right to Knox's side.

"And you're bleeding," Anthony whispered.

Knox rolled his eyes. "I was bleeding. My diet is well maintained." His brow lowered again at the top of Anthony's head. He picked a leaf out. "It didn't take long to heal."

"I'm sorry," Anthony said, looking up at the cliff, barely able to see the lights. He shook his head and stood in front of Knox, bending down so he could hoist him up on his back. "Maybe we shouldn't risk it. I'll carry you up."

Knox blanched. "Did you hit your head too hard?" Anthony jumped back up as Knox continued to shout at him. "If not, you might be insane! I don't think this is going to work out, if the last five minutes of our meeting has proven anything."

Anthony shook his head, his hands, and tried to appeal to him. "Listen to me, we don't have to start over, but we need to do something. You're making this bigger than it needs to be. I dated Paul for like two seconds over the summer. It's over and I'm nice to him, so he stays nice to Dante. If you must know, he did make an offer that I refused. I didn't tell him I was engaged because the first thing he mentioned was you and Nino and I didn't feel like an overly complicated story that's honestly, not his business."