So I'm a Vampire... Now What? - Book 2 (Original Version)

Chapter 7.1 - Accept My Sacrifice

There's something decidedly creepy about an empty church, especially one that had been emptied as much as this one had, especially a church with a glaring statue behind the altar who offered nothing but judgement.

Benjamin had texted me to let me know they were twenty minutes away and did I need anything from McDonald's? I had asked for him to grab me some of their seasoned fries. It was one of those limited-time offers that popped up once a year, and I still remembered how awesome the fries had been last year. When I had seen them advertising on the side of a bus, I had sworn that those fries needed to be part of my life as quickly as possible. Damn, I was getting hungry the more I thought about the first time I had tasted them. It was kind of like crack cocaine in the form of fried potatoes.

Beatrice had dropped me off thirty minutes ago after announcing that she was offering the church as a meeting place for the group, oh and by the way she had already texted Benjamin, and the guys and they were on their way over.

I had just rolled with it, not sure how I felt about the whole thing. By the time I had entered the church, I had talked myself into liking the idea.

I wandered around the church, making sure to not stand in front of the statue of the angel. Every time I passed in front of him, it always felt like it would be that one moment where he would suddenly come to life and hurl the blasted spear right through me, probably aiming for the heart. It was pure paranoia, I know, but that was just the general feeling of judgement coming from that one statue. I wondered how the congregation had felt about that one statue judging the fuck out of everyone. Had they wandered away one by one, to escape stony judgement?

Bing! Text message.

Claude: We need to talk.

Well, that was a surprise. I hadn't heard from Claude since our fight. I had no doubt Bettina was working him over, trying to get him to reach out to me, but had she actually been successful? I typed an answer, deleted it, then tried again, thought I had it and then deleted it again.

Me: That's way too dramatic. Can't we just talk now and save me the suspense.

That was good right?

Claude: I'm still pissed at you Bob. I'd prefer to say this to your face.

Me: Bettina, you really need to not send messages from Claude to me. Does he know you have his phone?

I waited, convinced that I was right, just watched the dots of doom on the screen as "Claude" typed a response.

Claude: It's not Bettina. This is really me. Claude.

Me: Really? You haven't even called me dude not once.

Claude: Seriously???

Me. Seriously "dude." We have a code that you can't fake. It's the dude code. You better erase this conversation before Claude sees it.

Bing! A text message from Bettina. Aha! I knew it! Claude has a particular way of talking and texting that Bettina could never fake.

Bettina: Can you blame me for trying? He goes to the bathroom and leaves his phone lying around and I'm not supposed to try?

Me: It was probably a trap to see what you would do. Sucker.

Bettina: Argh! Why can't you two just talk to each other?

Me: We will. It's just something that you can't force. We've been friends for twenty years. That's not something that ends overnight over one stupid fight.