Blood Ties (NaNoWriMo 2015)

Thirteen

"Sorry!" I groaned and looked up, rubbing my forehead where the door had hit me.

I was probably going to have a goose egg there in a few hours. "Yeah so am I," I grumbled, ignoring the hand the culprit offered down to help me up.

"Sorry," they said again this time I looked up at them to get a look. The man was huge, skin the color of the same honey brown as the stain on the door. His hair was shaved closely to his head, but even then I could see remnants of wiry black curly. His thin eyebrows were raised up and his mouth was half open in a grin. "You alright?"

"I'm alive," I grumbled and I heard a laugh come from behind the man who'd knocked me down. Peering over his shoulder was Damon and he seemed incredibly amused by the situation. He stepped around his friend and smiled at me.

"Need some ice for your head? I'm sure Keith wouldn't mind making a run to Doc's office, it's the least he can do." He elbowed his friend-Keith, I assumed, playfully.

"Yeah," he agreed shrugging, his plain white shirt shifting up a bit to give a peek at what seemed to be a set of six pack abs. "Just say the word and I'll go." His tone was light, teasing but I sensed some seriousness behind it.

I gritted my teeth. I was not in the mood to play around. "I'll be fine thank you, Keith right?"

"That's me," he affirmed. "And no need to say your name, Ember Hawthorn right?"

I nodded.

"Nice to meet you," he out his hand and though I was still disgruntled I didn't want to be rude. It had been an accident and I'd probably get over it once my forehead quit throbbing. He accepted my hand firmly and shook. I withdrew quickly and tried to be discreet as I rubbed it against my jeans trying to get warmth back into it. All the vampires that had touched me had been cold, but this guy was even colder. He was frigid, absolutely sub-zero.

I heard Damon laugh again. "Chilly Ember?"

"Shut up Damon," Keith said and he took a swing at Damon who ducked backwards like he was in a James Bond movie. "Don't tease her."

"So what were you doing five minutes ago?" he asked, straightening his shirt, another button down, but this was one a maroon color. I noticed then Damon was wearing dress pants as well, what was he off to? Midnight mass? Did vampires even have church? Could they even get into a church? Stories said crosses and holy water repelled them and something about them not being able to set foot on holy ground.

"Being helpful," Keith replied. "Unlike some people."

"You're the one who opened the door and hit her," Damon countered as he checked his watch. It looked like a Rolex.

"You could have gone to run for some ice or for Doc," was the retort. The two men where chest to chest now, their posture looked aggressive but the grins on their faces as well as the barely held back laughter in their voices said this was the farthest thing from a fight possible.

Damon shrugged. "What's she need an ice pack for? One of us could have just pressed a hand to her forehead and gotten the same effect."

I glanced sidelong at Ife who was watching them with a sort of expression that was torn between amusement and exasperation. "He's not wrong," I mumbled. It actually might have been the reason I didn't have much swelling on my head after I was thrown into my car the night I was attacked. I wondered if Damon had done something like that since I was fairly sure the car I'd come in didn't come with an ice pack and freezer.

Damon smiled at me and then jabbed his finger into Keith's chest. "Ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "I win!"

"Don't let it go to your head little brother," Keith remarked, eyes rolling skywards.

"Brother?" I repeated. I belatedly remembered Ife telling me that Johnathan had one more son.

"Yeah," Damon threw his arm around Keith's shoulder. "Can't you see the family resemblance?" He titled his head towards Keith and looked at me expectantly as though I was doing a side by side comparison of their features. Which of course, held no resemblance at all.

Damon chuckled again. "Don't look so serious," he said. "I pull that joke on anyone that doesn't known we have the same last name." His smiled shrunk a little and his relaxed stance faded as well. "I'm glad to see you're getting out and around." Damon looked at his watch again and I saw a crease appear between his eyes. "Sorry to cut this short, but I'm late and need to get going. You guys have a nice time with...well whatever it is you were doing before my brother," he shot a pointed glance at Keith. "So rudely knocked you over." The serious effect of the words and ton was destroyed by his smile. "See you all later."

And Damon was off down the stairs leaving Keith with Ife and myself. "You two were going to check out the gallery?" he asked, tiling his head towards the door.

"Yeah," I said, linking my thumbs through the belt loops in my jeans. The throbbing in my head had gone down and I felt bad about how I'd treated Keith earlier. I hoped a more relaxed stance would help him see I was over it. "Mind opening the door for us?"

He smiled. "Certainly and I'll do my best not to hit you with it." he grabbed the handle and with a grand sweeping gesture held open the door. "How'd I do?"

I laughed a little. "You did perfectly, thanks." I stepped inside the room well if it that was a grand enough word for it. It was huge, big enough to fit a gourmet kitchen, dining and living room side. Dotting the walls were painting, photographs and drawings. Some sculptures, large and small were scattered around as well. Flattering lighting hung overhead, casting rays onto certain images that seemed to be the focus of parts of the display. Some were even guarded off with red velvet ropes like the sort you'd find in a real museum.

I didn't have much prior interest in art, but seeing the lovely lighting and set up of this place as well as the handful of other people admiring them made me excited to take a look for myself. "Well Ife?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as she stood in the doorway, a strange expression on her face. "Aren't you going to give me the tour?"

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We saw Damon again! What are you guys thinking of him? I personally think he's not half bad! At least he's not all broody like some vampires =P. And we met his older brother, Keith, what are the thoughts on him? I'd love to hear them so please do COMMENT and VOTE if you enjoyed it!

Also neat tidbit, my current NaNo count with this chapter is 17,919 words! I'm getting closer and closer to 50K!

Write on! =D