I Hate Myself but I Love You

Chapter 7

"Is she going to make it?" LaFontaine asks.

I wipe the tears off my face even though new ones are still leaking from my eyes.

"Ultimately, it's up to her, whether she rejects the change or not." They're thoughtful enough to ignore how rough my voice is. "It's different for everyone, but she basically has a choice to make. Laura will decide whether she's going to die and become a vampire, or just die. If her mind rejects the change, she'll... she'll die."

"And if Laura doesn't reject it?"

"She'll be a new vampire. I'll have to keep her somewhere away from humans because that's when the bloodlust is the strongest."

They nod, running a hand through their short hair. "So you should probably take her somewhere while she's still like this. How long does the change take, anyways?"

"Anywhere from half an hour to a week. Though any less than a day means they rejected the change."

It's odd, how calmly I'm talking about this. Laura is turning. If she survives, she'll be as bloodthirsty as I was when I first turned.

"Do whatever you have to. Is there any way you can get her out of the library? I'd prefer to not be drained by one of my best friends."

"Shit, sorry. I'll have to leave you here alone."

They shrug and give me a good-natured smile. "Don't worry; I have a laptop, internet, and a portable lab. I'll be okay."

"Will you?" Their best friend is possessed by Maman and I just killed one of their friends and there's a chance she'll stay dead. If I were in their situation, I wouldn't be okay.

The ginger's face falls slightly and I can see exhaustion in their eyes. "I will. Take care of your girl, Karnstein."

"She's not my-"

"She is and always will be, you undead useless lesbian." I scowl at them and they laugh before they become serious. "She does miss you, you know. Sometimes when I came in to check on her, she was sleeping on your couch bed or hugging your leather jacket that she stole." I wondered where that went. LaFontaine pauses and puts a hand on my shoulder. "I know you love her, and I trust that you'll do everything you can to keep her safe."

"Thanks, Ginger One." I clear my throat and lean back against the nearest wall. "I have a cottage that's not on campus, so the Corvet creeps don't know about it. It's in the woods." I get up and go over to the desk, grabbing a pencil and a sticky note. "Here's the coordinates, just in case you need to get out of here."

"How are you going to get out?"

"I can talk to the library-"

"Hang on; you can talk to the library?"

"Yes. It's sentient and prehistoric, so it has its own language that Mother taught me."

Their eyes are huge and their voice is full of awe as they murmur "that's fucking awesome."

I see a flashing light out of the corner of my eye and I turn my head. When I see what it is, I breathe out a laugh. "Is that recording?"

The ginger nerd blinks at their laptop before grinning. "Yes, yes it is."

"Of course." I shake my head and automatically go to look at Laura; I frown at the sight of her slumped, pale, and barely breathing. Right, I was doing something. For Laura. "I'm going to talk to the library." I say before walking in that direction, knowing that Laura would usually be teasingly calling me a "girl on a mission".

I take a deep breath, preparing myself and reminding myself who I'm doing this for. Laura.