Blood Lily

5

Serafina

When I decided to move out, one of the factors that got me to my decision was sleep, or the lack of sleep that I was getting.

My mom made sure to wake us up at the crack ass of dawn and my dad always gave us the time plus one hour to make us feel like we were behind our schedule for the day. I didn't have the right to sleep in. Heck, I didn't know what sleeping in WAS.

So when I moved out, I forced myself to sleep in on weekends. Never deviated from that since.

But Meiko, oh ever so elegant and graceful, has been murdering my eardrums all morning. And against my will, I know have to get my ass out of bed.

"MEIKO AALAMI!" I yell out. There's a moment of silence, clearly understanding she's screwed. I get up and slam my door open to find her tippy tooing around the kitchen to get back to her room.

When she see's me, I see the color draining off her face.

"Serafina" She smiles at me, taking steps back to add to the distance already between us. "My favourite sister. How are you? I made some breakfast"

"Meiko," I say, my voice low and warning, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

She glances at the clock on the wall behind me, then back at me with wide eyes. "Uh, morning?"

"8 am," I snap. "As in, 8 fucking am on a Saturday."

Her smile falters, and she looks down at the plate in her hands, then back up at me, her eyes pleading. "I just... I thought you'd like breakfast. You know, to thank you and say sorry for yesterday?"

"And did you have to throw a concert on the side? My ears are still ringing from all the banging and clanging." I narrow my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest.

She bites her lip, looking genuinely apologetic now. "I... I'm sorry, Sera. I didn't think. I just wanted to surprise you."

And with that, I can feel my resolve weakening. Meiko had the luck of looking like our mom, hazel eyes and soft brown hair that she kept at her shoulder. That made it impossible for me to stay mad at her when I felt I was mad at my mother.

I sigh, running a hand through my messy hair. "Well, congrats mate. I'm surprised. And awake."

She takes a cautious step forward, holding out the plate like a peace offering. "Truce?"

I looked at the food and uncross my arms and take the plate from her.

"Fine, make me coffee while you're at it" I mutter, sitting down and placing my plate the counter. "But next time, if you want to do something nice, maybe try doing it quietly."

She nods quickly and runs to get me a cup of coffee

"How is your head by the way?" I ask her before taking a bite. Looking at her running around, you would believe I was the one that trashed my face with alcohol.

She grins and places the cup in front of me "Not that bad actually. I took you special pain killers and now I'm as good as new."

I swallow hard, coughing a bit at the declaration. I take a sip of coffee and glare at her "Don't take those, they can be dangerous you idiot"

She's about to answer when the doorbell rings. We both freeze, my fork hovering mid-air, as we exchange a quick, puzzled glance.

"What the fuck.." I turn to Meiko "Is that you?" She shakes her head, "No way. I would never. I don't have a death wish thank you"

"Then who the fuck could that be?" I mutter, pushing myself up from the stool.

Meiko shrugs, but there's a flicker of worry in her eyes. "I don't know... maybe it's a delivery?"

"I didn't order anything," I say, setting my coffee down with a clink. I stride toward the door, the morning's irritation bubbling back to the surface. The last thing I need is more noise, more disturbances.

I stop myself and turn to Meiko. I was a little worried of having her here but I couldn't exactly make her hide right now. "Stay back" I tell her as I grab a small throwing blade.

As I approach the door, I catch a glimpse of Meiko retreating toward the hallway.

I open the door just a crack, peering out cautiously. Standing there, looking as out of place as a polar bear in a desert, is Ezekiel. My cousin that acted like my brother. His blond hair is disheveled, with red spots clearly peeking out. I look down at his side to see him holding bloody fabric to his side. His blue eyes meet mine, and there's a flicker of relief that I don't return.

"Ezekiel?" I gasp, my heart skipping a beat as I take in the sight of him. He's a mess—pale, disheveled, and bleeding. A lot.

"Hey, Princess," he says weakly, grinning through the pain. "Long time no see."

"What the fuck happened to you?" I ask, throwing the door open and reaching out to support him. He collapses against me, and I feel the warm, sticky blood seep through his shirt and onto my hands.

Meiko's voice, small and shaky, comes from behind me. "Oh my God, Zeke! What happened?"

"Inside," I snap, helping Ezekiel over the threshold and kicking the door shut behind us. "Meiko, grab the first aid kit, now!"

She runs, her footsteps pounding down the hallway.

I lead Ezekiel to the bathroom, looking at the trail of blood he left behind. It was going to be a fucking drag to clean. I sit him on the toilet and get on to ripping his top to see the extend of the damage made. 

"For fucks sake Zeke. I told you to stop getting yourself into shit." I glare at him "I'm not a doctor"

Meiko reappears, the first aid kit clutched in her hands. "Here!"

"Thanks. Now go to your room and lock that door." I grab everything and get to work

"But-" she starts

"Meiko! Your room! NOW!" I snap at her. She walks back and runs off. I sigh and start getting to work.

" Care to explain what the hell is going on?"

He winces, sucking in a sharp breath as I work to clean his wound "Damn princess, can't you go a little softer on me?" I scoff and he continues "Ran into some trouble at work."

"No shit," I mutter, my mind racing as I tried to stop the bleeding. "You need a hospital. This is bad, Zeke. You're loosing too much blood"

He shakes his head vehemently, grabbing my wrist with surprising strength. "No hospitals. No cops. They'll find me."

I rip my wrist out of his grip as I continue working. Ezekiel swallows hard, his breathing ragged. "It's... it's a long story, Sera. I... I don't have time."

"Make time," I snap, desperation creeping into my voice. "Who's after you?"

He was about to answer when his phone rings. I grab it, pick up and put on speaker.

"Ghost, I finished the job man. You should be good."

I look at Ezekiel and he nods, showing that I could talk and that the person was to be trusted.

"Hello to whoever you are. I have Ghost with me and I need blood. Get me O positive blood as soon as you can thanks"

I hang up and continue working.

"You better have a good explanation for me by the time I clean you all up"