The Immortal Blood

Chapter 19

Todd had walked to the point of leaving a trail on the ground floor of Adam's studio. He couldn't give forgive himself: he should have known Vernon's intentions, especially after their last quarrel, but instead he had only thought of himself without caring about the boy's safety, and now they were both paying for it.
"Damn it!" He'd grumbled, shaking with anger: Vernon had crossed the line, Elder or not somehow that dick was going to get what he deserved.
Adam had appeared on the stairs with a clean shirt and his neck wrapped in a towel, less shaken than a few minutes before, but always upset.
"I'm ready." He told him. "Let's go."
Todd had nodded, going out first, studying the road for a long time before allowing the lawyer to walk along with him. They got on the blonde's Subaru, which was less eye-catching, heading out of town.
"Where are we going?" Adam sat in the passenger seat, exhausted, leaving the burden of driving to the vampire.
"First of all, far from here. Then we'll see."
"Ok." They remained silent for a few kilometers, until they reached a dilapidated motel where they could spend the night.
The vampire had paid in cash, hiding the car from view by parking it behind bins, had taken the keys and locked himself inside with the lawyer, pulling the dirty and worn curtains on the fogged up windows.
They had taken a pizza from a nearby diner, and Adam had munched on it with little enthusiasm, his gaze lost in the void, only partly focused on the TV turned on in the background.
"Hey. It's been a bad day. Why don't you lie down and try to get some sleep? You've lost a lot of blood. . ."
"Sleep. . ." the other one had looked at him with an unexpectedly vulnerable expression.
"Relax. Go to bed." Todd had repeated in the most reassuring way possible, while opening pages on pages with the poor internet connection of the motel.
"What are you doing?" Adam took off his shoes and slipped under the sheets with a slight grimace of disgust.
"I'm looking for a place to crash in for a few days. We can't stay here. . . and we should probably change our phones too, even if Vernon sucks at technology."
"I agree."
Todd had watched him as he tried to find a comfortable position in the broken bed, feeling the need to lie down next to him.
"Tell me something. . . " the blond, asked him, evidently nervous.
"Like what?" The vampire had resisted the temptation to tease him with some vague obscenity.
"I don't know. . . how can you walk in the sun? Shouldn't you, I don't know, catch fire or something?"
"Catch fire?!" Todd had burst out laughing. "You watch too many movies. . . why should I?"
"I. . . have no idea."
"Do you also want to know if we're vulnerable to crucifixes? Sorry, unless it's silver, no. In fact, some of us, like Dimitri, are very devoted."
"Really?";
"It's not all black and white, Adam. We're still very close to being human. We pray, we drink, we fuck, we suffer too. . ."
"With the difference that you're dead?"
"Yes with that little difference." Todd had studied him, uncomfortable, but Adam didn't seem to have said it with an aggressive intent.
"Tell me about the others. . . tell me about Dimitri and. . ."
"Axel. They're good guys. Axel arrived a few years after me. A promising golfer." The vampire had smiled, noticing the surprise on the other one face. "Dimitri was the last one, he should have joined the NBA. Then I forced Vernon to cut that shit."
"You mean AFTER Alexandra?"
Todd had launched a meaningful look at Adam, who had lowered his gaze.
"No. She's. . . she was turned before, in fact."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. . ."
"It's okay, don't worry about it." The vampire had returned to study street maps and homes on the internet. He had let a few minutes pass, then he had begun to tell Adam some anecdotes about his evenings with Axel and Dimitri, to ease the tension.
"Todd. . . do you think that Vernon is. . . you know. . .?" The boy asked him, in balance between sleep and wake.
"He's not dead. But I'm pretty sure that you've kicked his ass: a knife in the middle of your throat is not a walk in the park, even for an Elder like him. You've been amazing." He had told him honestly, watching him blush like when they had clashed in his office. In the end, he had felt his breathing become regular, a sign that he had finally managed to fall asleep.
Todd had studied the relaxed features of his face with a strange feeling in his chest: it had been a long time since he had met someone like him. . . he had sighed slightly, noting with bitterness the golden faith that shone on his finger in the twilight of the room, returning to turn his attention to the escape plan. A link had opened, leaving him astonished: how did he not think about it before?
Now he knew where they would go.