Teenage Bones

Sacrifice

A text from Starr told me to open an ancient laptop and the Skype application. Tyler was currently in the kitchen making tea, trying to fill the awkward silence that settled between us after he took care of himself in the bathroom and held a look of shame. Jace fell asleep after eating lunch I made from him and I currently held his head in my lap. Once the app opened after begging it to, Starr's name came up as the only contact. I place the computer on the coffee table just as Tyler came in with the teas, placing them down and then sitting next to me. He made sure to leave about four inches between us.

"Thanks for the tea," I say and he nods, not meeting my eyes. "Ready?" Tyler nods and I clicked the video call. It rings once, twice, three times before Starr picks up, sitting in an office chair. 

"So, do you feel better?" Starr has a smugly amused expression painting her face.

"Yes and no," I answer, "do you know of any side effects you decided to miss out on?"

"Now you mention it," Starr coughs, covering a laugh. "There are sexual side effects that simulate an orgasm- in both parties."

"Anything else?" I ask quietly and even Tyler seemed to perk up and listen too, pulling slightly on his lip ring.

"If you don't have blood enough, everything the Faetus healed will slowly come apart- like your arms. The scars will split and won't clot, your powers will become out of control and eventually kill you."

For a second it becomes hard to breathe and I have to take a minute. 

"What's the solution?" Tyler was quiet while I was asking- probably thinking about how much he didn't want to be a personal blood bag. 

"Well, Tyler is I think."

"I can't keep doing that!" Whisper yelling to get my point across, careful not to wake Jace. "If I need that much, it will kill him!"

"Actually, it won't. It's fascinating, but Tyler won't even have a scar. Your saliva heals it and makes his body produce more blood the more you take. The cut will heal within a week like it was never even there." Starr looks behind the camera as if she were staring at a computer screen, light reflecting in her eyes.

"Isn't there another way?"

"Yes," Starr says, "but it's impossible to get to- more Faetus. And then again, the symptoms will be worse the more you take and you'll need more blood than you do now."

"How much do I even need?"

"About half a liter?"

"That's a lot don't you think!" Tyler half yells, also minding Jace.

"I did say it was fascinating that you don't pass out!" Starr generally coughs this time, "most your blood flows other places anyway! If you don't want her to do it on you, I can find a volunteer-"

"No, I'm okay with it," Tyler sighs. Great.

"I suggest you feed up after the little one goes to bed- I don't know when you last had Faetus."

"Okay..."

-*-

After a while, Tyler talks about supplies we need and we end the call with a goodnight. Tyler makes Jace dinner and I feed it to him, which he eats before passing out again so I put him in the cot. Tyler is passed out on the bed and I don't have the heart to wake him. So, setting on the sofa, I flick through the channels before finding Hell's Kitchen, paying attention to each insult Gorden Ramsay throws out at each contestant. The giggles breakthrough easily.

"...and that looks like a burnt turd and I..."

A laugh erupts my chest and I'm ready to submit to Gordon completely at this point. Tears are streaming down my face and the poor man looks like he's ready to cry or punch Gordon- I fell onto the rest of the sofa, heaving in air. 

"...if all food looked like that, life on earth would go extinct!"

And with that comment, I fell off of the sofa, rolling on my back and laughing so hard that my lungs had started to ache just like my cheeks. Although I felt weak, somehow I was back on the sofa, knees tucked up to my chest and wiping moister away from my face. This show was the best.

Just them, Tyler walks in, rubbing his eyes and stretching, his fists touching the ceiling easily. He serves me a confused look as the TV says:

"No, you complete idiot!"

And I'm off again, ready to roll under the sofa. Tyler takes in my rolling form, holding onto my stomach like it could burst. Amidst the bury vision I had, I could see a smile etch on to his features, folding his arms. Reaching for the control to turn off of the TV, it flies off of the sofa instead and Tyler catches it, turning the TV off for me just as Gorgon says:

"You are a disappointment-"

After that, it took me ten minutes to move and let Tyler sit down, an additional five to stop laughing and three more to stop hyperventilating. He waited patiently, staring at me with a wide smile and an amused look.

"I got an idea," he says, getting the straight blade out of his pocket and stopping my laughter completely. 

"No. Not tonight." There was a flash of hurt on his face before it became understanding.

"Can we not try putting it in a cup? Or glass?" He asks innocently.

"Did you hear what Starr said? You need my saliva to heal- and you've literally just slept three hours. I was the one to probably wake you." It wasn't the best, but I was freaking out. A few hours ago, it was awkward enough.

"So just put your saliva on it afterward?"

"No!" I exclaim, moving away from him a little. "It was nice, really nice, but when would've we stopped? No, we wait until I get sick again."

"What? Do we wait until something attacks Jace? Look, I don't like being hit, okay? I promised Starr that I'd look after both of you- and a couple of scars is the least I can do."

"Okay," Breathe. "We try and get some in a cup- see if we can get enough, if not, we see how long I can go without it?"

"Fine."

-*-

Tyler had cut his left arm four times. Four. It's been thirty minutes and only small drops had fallen into the cup. 

"Why can't I just do the wrist?" Tyler whines, "I bet it doesn't even hurt bad."

"It does," I sigh, munching on a chocolate croissant Tyler had given me and watching him flex his hand back and forth over a cup that I sat by.

"Yeah, right, sorry." He wipes the blade over the same cut again and is rewarded by an additional four drops. A bright smile resonates through his face and it lights up. "It's working!" 

I take a bite of the pastry so I don't crush his smile. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"It stings, but it's manageable- you know?" He continues to flex his arm. "Come on!"

Staying quiet while a guy is trying to literally open a vein for me might be the hardest thing I've done. His black eyes are so focused on the drops, it's almost scary. Tyler waits four extremely long seconds before raising the blade again, which I snatch and throw into the sink before he can bead any more blood. The cut on his neck just looks like a scratch now. Disgustingly, I stick my finger in my mouth and draw a line of spit over the wound. Tyler goes to protest, but I drink the blood bearly covering the bottom of the glass before he can stop me. Heat burst through me, begging for just a little more. 

"What are you doing! It was working!" His feature goes from upset to disbelief. "You need this, Esmé!"

"I know," I breathe, dragging my eyes away from his bloody arm, "but not tonight. I just want to go to bed, Ty."

He sighs,  looking at my lips before running his thumb along my bottom lip, pulling my lip down so I can taste the blood I missed somehow. And at that moment, I was sure there was more sexual tension than I've ever felt since I've been in this apartment with him. I thought he felt it, but I was clearly wrong.

"Fine. Let's go to bed. Still wanna sleep with me?"

I nod, scurrying to the bedroom.