Barely An Angel (Completed)

30~ Sweet Slumber

Dad stared at me. "Well? What is it?"

"It was the night that you rescued me from the Fantom Fangs' hideout. When Dario told Anton he wouldn't use his ability on me, Anton said something like, 'What about your family?' He's threatening Dario with their safety. That's all I know, but it's a start," I detailed.

"So, what I'm gathering is, we're going to save Dario's family, but for our own personal gain?" Anna scoffed, eyeing me. "What was that you told me earlier, my dear niece? Something about helping others out of the kindness of your heart?" She smirked.

I crossed my arms with a groan. "This is different. Of course, under any other circumstances, I would help Dario save his family and expect nothing in return. Besides, this isn't for our personal gain. We're doing this so that Anton can't have what he needs most to recruit new members for his stupid gang," I snapped.

Anna sneered. "Who's to say there aren't any blackeyes out there that are actually willing to join that gang? At least then, Anton wouldn't need Dario at all."

Demitri rubbed his chin, thinking. "I mean, you've got a point. But when it comes to Anton, there's always something going on that not even his right-hand men know about. If he's using Dario to recruit unsuspecting blackeyes, rather than willing ones, you can bet he has a solid reason."

I turned that thought over and over in my head, analyzing it from every angle. What would that reason be? What could he have to gain from that?

We didn't talk much after that; by that point, everyone was tired, and Demitri said he should really get back home. Which, I was almost convinced, was that alleyway he spends all his time in. I wasn't even sure if he ever did sleep. But, yes, contrary to popular belief, even vampires (and half vamps, and angels) need their beauty rest.

When I was finally laying in my bed that night, though, all wrapped in the softness and comfort of my blankets, I couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't that I wasn't tired; I was exhausted; there was something else that was preventing me from falling into sweet, sweet slumber. It was thirst.

My throat burned as if I had swallowed live coals from a thrashing fire. I tossed and turned in my bed, unintentionally unraveling myself from the cocoon of warmth my blankets provided. My hands flew to my neck, clawing at it in an effort to stop the pain. Of course, that only made it worse. I shot up, tearing away what little blanket I still had covering my legs, and jumped out of my bed.

I couldn't think about anything but my thirst. My only thought in that moment was blood. I listened carefully to the sounds in the seemingly calm atmosphere of the house, waiting to see if either my parents or Anna were still awake. My ears picked up the sound of slow, relaxed breathing in the direction of my parents' room; a snore here and there. So they're sleeping, what about Anna?

I tip-toed across my bedroom and grasped my doorknob, turning it carefully. I opened my door and stuck my head out, straining my ears to pick up any noises from the part of the house where Anna was staying. Nothing. Absolute silence. How strange...

I shrugged it off, thinking that it could just be because I was simply too far away from her room to hear anything. I took a tentative step out of my room, closing my door behind me. I made my way down the stairs and eventually found myself at the door to the basement steps. I decided I would just drink from one of my mom's blood bags. She won't notice, it'll be fine.

I all but threw myself down the basement steps, the thirst overwhelming me at that point. I didn't even care about making noise anymore. I grasped the handle on the freezer (it was more of a cooler really, as the blood was never frozen, just kept fresh) and threw it open. I reached my hand in, expecting to immediately wrap my fingers around one of the pouches, but I felt nothing. Scoffing in disbelief, I looked inside of the freezer and almost roared in frustration.

It was completely empty, not a blood bag in sight. I growled in irritation, slamming the freezer shut. My mom wouldn't have just ran out of blood bags, she always has some stocked up. I didn't know where she ever got so many; I assumed she must have a friend at the hospital in the city that sends them to her, but I still wasn't too sure.

I pivoted on my heel, deciding to go back upstairs and evaluate how else I would quench this flaming thirst of mine, when something in the corner of the basement caught my eye. I squinted through the darkness, only just realizing that I had forgotten to turn on any lights in my haste to snag a blood bag.

It was a figure; the silhouette of someone. As I stepped closer, I realized that it was...

"Anna?" I gasped. "What are you doing down here?"

She yelped, hurriedly hiding something behind her back. "I...uh...what are you doing down here?" She blew a strand of hair away from her face.

"Well, let's see, I've just been hit by an overwhelming thirst for blood, the only cure for which is hmm, let me think...oh, yes, blood. And there doesn't seem to be any where there usually is a lot," I spat. "Care to explain?"

"Oh, what, you think I have something to do with that?" She scoffed.

I crossed my arms. "What is that behind your back?"

She instinctively glanced over her shoulder, making an effort to keep both hands hidden. "I, uh...I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered.

I speed-walked right up to her face, reaching behind her back with lightning speed. My fingers grasped what felt like a plastic pouch, and I brought it into view to confirm my suspicion.

"A blood bag? What in the world are you doing with this?" I leaned to the side in order to see what else could be behind her, and to my surprise, there was a duffel bag filled to the brim with what I assumed to be my mother's stash of blood bags.

Anna gulped. "I, um," she cleared her throat. "I can explain that." 

~

Oh my gosh! 30 chapters! I have to be honest, when I first started this story, I never thought that I would ever write that much for it, haha. But I'm so glad I did! Shout out to all the readers that have been here since the first version of this story XD And to any new readers, I hope you've been enjoying following Ramona along on her many escapades lol. If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment to share your thoughts! I don't think you guys know just how much it really means to me ^-^ Till next chapter,

~R.J. <3