Blood: The Third Course

Chapter Eight

Priya rolled up the beige towel and lay it across the bottom of the door, wedging it into the crack between the door and the linoleum floor. If the vampires really wanted to listen in on her, she knew this wouldn't do much to deter them, but it made her feel better. She had waited until noon, when she assumed most of the vampires in the house would be sleeping (except those currently working in the rooms downstairs.) She had to admit, she'd been surprised by how organised it all was. The pack were organised when it came to the full moon, but the vampires within the house lived their entire existences together. It was like an odd boarding school. A really dead boarding school.

She'd done the same thing at the farm a few times as a teenager, sneaking a cigarette out of the window. It tasted horrible, but there was a thrill in it. Only, on the third time, she'd not considered the heightened senses of the nearing full moon, and Kaleb had come out of the kitchen, stood right beneath her window, and asked her what she thought she was doing. She'd been so surprised by his silent approach, and the cigarette had fallen straight from between her fingertips and landed at his feet, embers still glowing.

Then, of course, there were the times with Matthew when, like in the bathroom, it was sound they hoped wouldn't escape underneath the door.

Knocking down the lid on the toilet, Priya perched on it, drawing her phone from her pocket. She rested her elbows on her thighs, scrolling to the bottom of her contacts list where the contact she had marked with three question marks came in the list.

Her gaze set on the door, listening, waiting. The vampires had been respectful enough to her while she stayed with them, always knocking on the bedroom door before entering. However, she had no idea what they were like when she left the house. Maybe they were searching the room, thinking they would find some important werewolf secrets.

The room was nice enough, though not her taste. While William had told her that she could stay as long as she liked, she had seen the distance in his eyes when he came to the room. Thomas had told her that the room had belonged to Cleo before she was killed. Cleo was William's sire, Thomas' and August's too, and she didn't want to risk upsetting any of them by changing things.

Even while she stayed there, someone put fresh flowers in the vase on the dresser every few days. She liked to think it was William. He was so big and brutish in public, but there had been a tenderness to him when he'd carried her away from the fight. She liked the idea of him being a romantic at heart, keen to keep the memory of his sire alive, even if only in her old bedroom.

Turning her gaze back on the telephone, having lingered long enough, she hit dial. With trembling fingers, Priya lifted the phone to her ear.

The tone rang five or six times before connecting, and on the other end of the line, she heard a click like a door being closed.

"Hello?"

Priya sat up straight.

"Vince?"

A low shuffle came through the line and Priya was almost on her feet as she lurched forwards.

"Vince, please, it's Priya. Please don't hang up! Vince?"

He groaned.

"How'd you get this number from Matt?" he asked. He snorted. "Exactly how many blow jobs did you promise him?"

Despite herself, Priya could feel a blush rising in her cheeks. She should have known that Matthew would have told Vince about them, despite his annoyance that Jemima knew they were seeing each other.

"He doesn't know I have it," she said. "I knew he was keeping something from me and I looked at his phone. One of those paranoid girlfriends, I guess."

On the other end of the line, Vince remained silent but for his breathing. She heard a shuffle of feet.

"Look, Vince, you have to come home. Please, everyone misses you, they just want you to come back."

"Home? You're kidding, right?"

Priya frowned and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"Of course I'm not."

Vince was quick to cut her off.

"I have a plan. I know you don't—"

"Yeah? How's that plan going? You have a wolf pack and a group of vampires looking for you. A family of gifted humans are hunting you down with threats to kill you on sight."

Vince huffed, but didn't reply.

"And Spencer still hasn't turned you like he promised."

"How do you know he hasn't?" he asked, spite in every syllable.

"You're my little brother, Vince. You think I wouldn't know if you'd died?"

"You are not my sister, Priya," he snapped. She could hear his heavy footsteps, the squeak as his sole twisted on wet wood. He was outside, perhaps avoiding Spencer overhearing, the same way she'd protected their conversation from the other vampires. "My father took you in because you're a wolf. We're not anything. You're a wolf, and I'm human. Don't—"

"What if we can change that?" she said. "We might have a way to turn you, Vince. You'd just have to come back and—"

"Stop lying to me!" Vince said. "Carson lied to me for his own ends, and look where it got him."

Priya padded barefoot across the bathroom, shoving the towel harder under the door with her toes.

"I'm not lying, Vince, I promise you."

"Yeah? Why should I believe you?"

"I'll tell you everything, every detail of how we think it can be done, no vague 'maybes' or relying on some gifted girl helping you. I'll come meet you and we can talk about it."

Vince snorted. It was bitter and cold.

"And my dad waiting to shove a bag over my head and drag me home? I don't think so."

"No," Priya said quickly. "Just you and me. Whenever and wherever you want, I'll come alone."

She was met with silence.

"Look, this was a vampire's idea. Thomas, he used to be a medical student. Ask Spencer if you don't believe me."

"So?"

"So, which do you want to be, Vince? Do you really want to be a vampire? Or is that second best to a wolf?"

He didn't respond, and Priya could hear her own breath cracking down the line. She knew she'd said all she could.

"I don't believe you," he said finally.

"Please, Vince, just think about it. I won't give anyone this number, I swear, just think about it and if you want to meet, we..."

But the line disconnected, and Priya was left in the silent bathroom, staring at her own reflection in the mirror.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I hope you enjoyed this week's instalment. Until next week, remember tovote and comment. Let me know what you think.

Chele