Turned

Chapter Seventy Four

I kept Leo laid down while I waited for Matt. He'd unfortunately woken up and tried to insist on going home but I cruelly forced him to stay, he wasn't going anywhere while I was there, not on my watch. My plan was working, I just plied him with coffee, water, tea and even food until he went to the toilet. I'd hear him climbing out the window, if he was stupid enough to do that.

I didn't say a word about what was going on, shuddering at the awkward conversation if I was right, that he wasn't a vampire but internally shrivelling in fear if he was a vampire, if he'd really been turned, made.

What would he be like as a vampire? Would his personality affect his transition? I hoped not but if I'd learnt anything about vampirism, it was to expect the impossible, that some vampires lived for it.

I checked my watch as he opened the door and ran inside to check on Leo. "I got him, Jack... where is he?"

"I can't come in, you idiot" Caleb snapped aggressively as he stood at the entrance, his long, pale hands in the air in a non-threatening manner. "If you want me to help, you best invite me in"

"Can't we just take Leo outside?" Matt complained.

"I don't bite" Caleb joked.

"You're a vampire, I'm pretty sure you do bite" Matt snapped.

"Oh, and your friend isn't? One of them, potentially two?"

"Come in" I snapped.

"Thanks, but it has to be him, if he's in the house" Caleb replied with a devilish smile, staring straight at Matt.

"Oh, for god sake, come in!" Matt snapped.

Caleb didn't waste a moment, he ran inside and pushed me out of the way, grabbing me before I fell onto the ground like a sack of potatoes. He examined Leo's wound, his red eyes glowing as he stared into it.

"Don't even think about it" Matt ordered aggressively.

"Your friend isn't good enough for consideration" Caleb replied honestly. He looked back into Matt's eyes, staring deeply. "You, however, I could... consider"

"Fuck you!" Matt snapped as he looked away from Caleb's horrific eyes.

I stepped in front of them both. "Stop it, both of you" I ordered, looking at Caleb and down at Leo. "Just tell us whether he's turning"

Caleb rolled his eyes and looked into his eyes. He didn't say much about him at first, just went back to examining his neck. I sighed, seriously believing he was taking the absolute piss.

"Come on, Caleb" I hurried.

He rolled his eyes. With a sigh he turned to me and said, "I need to be sure, unless you fancy shoving human blood down his throat" 

"Let's not do that" Matt snapped rudely.

"I'll give him yours" Caleb replied rudely.

I rolled my eyes at the pair, horrified at the pair. I stepped back in between them and glared at the pair of them. "Just stop it, both of you. Look at Leo and then go out and kill each other" I snapped.

Caleb turned back to Leo and kept examining the bite wound. "Definitely a vampire" he commented.

"He is?" Matt asked.

"No, the bite is" Caleb replied awkwardly.

The silence was terrifying, the tense in the room was horrific and I wanted to get out of it, every second was agony. I hated the tension, the anger in the room at boiling point. Caleb didn't say another word as he stepped back. I'd never seen a vampire look so pale, so cold... frighteningly cold. He didn't say anything to either of us, he just tried to head for the door. 

"Leo?" I asked.

"If I were you, I'd prepare a stake, before he tries to kill you" Caleb warned. 

I didn't know what to say to him, the look of fear in my eyes said it all to Caleb. He put his hand on my shoulder, mouthing 'good luck' as he headed for the door.

"Wait" I forced out.

"What?" Caleb asked emotionlessly.

"How long has he got?" I asked as I stepped towards him.

"What?" Caleb asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Until he turns" I explained.

Caleb laughed, covering his eyes as he sighed. "He has already, as soon as he awakens, he'll become a vampire, if he even awakens"

"And you can help him" I suggested quickly.

"Me? What?"

"You helped me... sort of"

He sighed with a twisted annoyance. "First of all, I don't help people like that, I don't do the whole hand-holding process, it's why I don't turn other people into vampires, it's why I didn't turn you into a vampire and before your friend accuses me as he did, in my own club, I didn't bite your friend, I was at my club all night, feeding off a willing partner in a stunning blue dress, something your drunk friend wouldn't suit in" 

"I wasn't going to... wait, what?"

"He came into my club and accused me of killing your friend, if I had, I'd have killed him, not turned him, I'm not interested in a pet"

Caleb was so cold, I was surprised the room wasn't lit up in ice. I needed help, not criticism or judgment, I needed to protect my little sister, Lena, who wouldn't be safe around Leo, but I also needed to know, without a shred of doubt, who turned Leo into a vampire, the man who used to be classed as a friend, a good one at that.

"Jack" Matt called out as Leo opened his eyes quickly. I moved Matt out the way, pushed him out of the way and behind me, shielding him. "What are you doing? It's Leo"

"Get away from him" I warned.

"Jack, it's Leo, you know who Leo is, our friend, someone who needs our help" Matt argued.

I pulled Matt aside and whispered, "yes, it is Leo, our great friend, a loyal companion..."

"You're making him sound like a dog" Matt snapped.

"He's a vampire, when a vampire wakes up... who knows what they're like"

"He's our friend... he's like you now" Matt argued.

That thought didn't thrill me, in fact, it terrified me. Every bad thought I ever had, everything I ever felt came to the surface, I became a nightmare, a monster, evil... names I couldn't shake. Whatever I'd been as a human, found itself magnified as a vampire, magnified beyond my control, everything I thought and felt, every evil thought suddenly wanted to become an action... that was me, what were Leo's thoughts going to be like? I shuddered at the idea of an immortal Leo. If he was an alcoholic, did it mean he'd be the same, for blood?