White is for Virgins

Chapter 15

Saturday came pretty quickly, and I found myself a bit more confident. The rumors had died down a lot, and instead of receiving incredibly heinous glares I wasn't acknowledged at all. I was perfectly content with that. The daycare gave me the day off to help with the blood drive.

The RCC never looked so small – everyone was shuffling in the lobby, lines were forming in front of the counter. Everyone was anxious to give Fox their paperwork, I skimmed it over real quick to make sure everything was filled and legible before handing it back to them. They were told to take a seat, even though seats were scarce, and to wait patiently for the stations to open up.

Nina was sitting on a chair in the hallway, babying Holly like crazy. Every ten minutes or so she called up a dozen or so names to go to the backroom, where their blood would be drawn. This was going to be my first donation, and I was nervous. I had no problem with getting shots, if I closed my eyes. But having a needle draw my blood? That was beyond my comfort zone. I tried not to think about the pain, and focused on how many people we'd be helping.

A bitterly stern woman came up and handed Fox her form. He handed me the paper and I skimmed it, noticing the writing was incredibly... perfect. Mrs. Linda Eleanor Sawyer. I tried to keep my jaw from touching the ground as I handed her the paperback and forced a smile. "Please take a seat and we'll call you when they're ready," Fox said for me. Hah! He actually sounded nice and cheery. This job is growing on him. As she walked away, Fox and I turned to eye each other.

"Holy shit," he smirked, "I feel sorry for whoever gets that transfusion."

"You're not sorry, you jerk," I replied, "That's a horrible thing to say."

"You mean to tell me that you don't think she's filled with venom?" he whispered to me from the side as he passed me the next form.

I handed it back to the person in line, and replied with a smile, "I didn't say that at all." We got back to work, surprised at how many other familiar faces had showed up. Miss Tibble, Lily, Nick, Mr. Aurell. I chatted away with Lily, while Nick and Fox kept a safe distance from us and shared their own conversation.

The room slowly started to clear out, and people stopped showing up. It was nearing 6 o'clock when Lily left. She said the pain was tolerable, and I sighed, still nervous as hell. Fox himself was seated in the chair and hooked up, a bag slowly starting to fill with a crimson liquid. Oh geez...

"Have fun, Evans," Nick smirked as he flicked the needle taped inside the crook of Fox's arm before running off. Fox winced and swore at him before smiling and looking over at me.

"It isn't that bad, Em," he assured me. I believed him, for some odd reason.

"Ugh, that's what everyone says," I sighed, skeptically plopping down in a chair next to him. The nurse came over with the needle, and I turned my head towards Fox. He stared at me intently, and I winced as the needle poked through my skin. I bit my lip and squinted.

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me it hurts that bad," he smirked.

It didn't. But every now and then, when we had to squeeze the stress ball to get more blood out, I winced as I felt the sharp needle moving inside my vein. Ugh. I would forever hold a strong dislike for sharp objects. The nurses went to the kitchen to get their lunches leaving Fox and I in the room.

"So, what would you be doing today if you weren't here?" he asked me.

"I would be... sleeping," I sighed, closing my eyes.

"Sleeping?" he asked in a 'you're-so-boring-it's-almost-unbelievable' tone.

"Yeah, a whole day at the daycare takes a lot out of you," I explained.