The Donor Handbook

How to Please Long Term Guests.

How to Please Long Term Guests.

 There are things in our life that we are ashamed of. Leaving Meg and Dan’s house the way I did is one of the things I’m ashamed of. Roger had dropped me off around midnight. I waltzed in with a bite on my wrist, and into a shit storm. Meg and Dan had both waited up. I knew it was coming, since they both knew that I was going to Belle Free. Of course they would wait up.

Meg’s tears would weigh on my conscience for the remainder of my days. She had taken me being bitten very personally. She blamed herself for letting me hang out with Dawn, and for not talking to me about sex enough. For a moment I was shocked that she thought that being bitten meant that I was having sex, and a little insulted. But it was a normal assumption she could make. Hell I had made the same assumption as well. I tried to console her, but she was so angry I just quit. She did her fair share of blaming me as well.  She said that I picked a fine time to act out. I finally started yelling at her back. I had fought with her before, but it had never been such a screaming match.

Dan had remained silent for the most part. He told me to watch my mouth when I lost my temper and started cursing. He stuck up for me when Meg went too far and called me a whore. Then half way through the tears I revealed that I was moving to Dead Town and going to work for a vampire. Dan ended our argument at that. He asked when I was intending to leave, and when I said the next day he just nodded. He looked hurt, but tried desperately to not show it.  It was the disappointment in his face that killed me.

“When you get over this foolishness, our door is open. You’re a good kid, you have such promise. Be a shame if you throw that away for a few cheap thrills. You’re better than that.” Dan told me in a gentle voice. “Just leave your forwarding address.”  He said leading his crying wife away to their bedroom.

I couldn’t take the guilt. After he said that I turned around and right out the door. I made it half way down the sidewalk before finally allowing myself to sob. I didn’t know where I was going, but I couldn’t face Meg, Dan, and the guilt. I sat on the curb and cried my heart out. I was a good kid. I tried my hardest to be that good kid. And now two people who I cared about thought I was a whore out for cheap thrills.

At some point I felt a hand come down and stroke my hair. I didn’t need to look to know that it was Roger. Roger must have felt my “teen angst” as he called it earlier. So for some reason he showed up to comfort me. Probably some weird donor thing I wasn’t aware of. I let him, because I needed it. He did comforting well, and just let me cry it out. After I had dried up he asked if I wanted to go to Dawn’s house. I nodded and just like that we went.

And just like that I said goodbye to Meg and Dan.

Roger had kept all of his promises. Within a week of my eighteenth birthday, I got the American dream. I was gainfully employed with benefits, I owned a home, and I could start living my adult life. It was so surreal at first. I was waiting for Roger to finally tell me that he changed his mind. I hadn’t really worked for anything that I got. I just got lucky in a sick way, and that added to my reservations on my new life.

Dawn and I had fun furnishing my new condo. Roger went with us to cut the checks to make sure I didn’t go spend-crazy. Roger told me that he had no problem with paying for certain nice things, but he wasn’t completely made of money. For most of the stuff to furnish the apartment we went to Ikea, since it was a better version of Wal-Mart. I brought the handbook with me and made sure I didn’t get anything that could hurt vampires and other creatures that they worked closely with.  While Dawn and I looked around Roger spent his time on the phone setting up my insurance, cable, internet, and whatever else he thought I needed. I had spent the night before writing down all of my important information as per Rogers’ request when he dropped me off at Dawn’s.