Page 73 of Blood as Sweet as Roses

Sucking the warmth and colour from the stark room.

CHAPTER 25: A CERTAIN TYPE OF STRENGTH

Paige

I wake suddenly, late in the day, the afternoon sun already low in the sky. There’s an ache in my chest, and my head is fuzzy. But I can’t dwell on those feelings because my phone is vibrating urgently on my nightstand.

Disoriented, I reach over. It’s an unknown number. Could it be someone calling about Miles? I don’t want to risk missing an important call, so I pick it up.

“Paige,finally,” says an unwelcome voice. “You’ve been screening my calls.”

Blake’s voice is as rough as sandpaper. I immediately regret answering the phone.

“I’m not interested in talking to you anymore, Blake,” I reply, pressing my fingers into my eyes, trying to wake myself up.

“Well,I’minterested in talking toyou, Paige,” he retorts. “How could you just end things like that? We’ve been together for six years…”

“I don’t owe you anything,” I sigh, although my voice isn’t as firm as I wish it was. I’m exhausted, and I have no energy for this.

“After everything I’ve done for you?” he replies. “I’ve put my time in, Paige! Nobody else wanted to be friends with you in high school. I put up with all of your drama with your family, all of the gossip…”

“Well, now you don’t need to do that anymore,” I snap. It hurts, to hear how resentful he felt of me all those years. I’m already feeling vulnerable, and I don’t need this.

“You’re going to regret this,” he says, his voice taking on a darker tone. “Paige, I’m not going to let those vampires take you away from me…”

There’s a threatening note in his voice that I don’t like. “That’s not what this is about. And I meant what I said, Blake.It’s over.”

Before he can reply, I hang up the call, and I block the number he called me from. I had to block his original number last week, after he kept calling me over and over again. I don’t like that he somehow got a new number. I really hope this doesn’t escalate. But Blake is a reasonable guy. I’m sure he’s just hurt.

And a part of me wonders if he’s not right. It must have been hard, being with me in high school. My life wasn’t easy, and because of it, I wasn’t very popular at school. Everyone knew I was the one who’s mom was an “addict.”

You don’t owe him anything, Paige,a little voice inside my head says. But there’s another part of me, a hurt, small part of me, that’s made even smaller by the words that he said.

It takes all of my willpower to pull myself out of bed. I go through the motions of my day, getting something to eat at the restaurant, taking a bath, sitting by my picture window to watch the sun go down. But I can’t stop this melancholy feeling. And it’s not entirely about Blake.

I’m upset about what Crimson said to me last night. That she didn’t want my help figuring out who was behind the attack on Eloise. Is that all I am to her, a blood donor? Someone to drink from?

Of course I am. I feel silly for even thinking that she would want my opinion. She’s a super-powerful vampire, and I’m just a normal human who can’t even afford nursing school.

I just thought…for a second, that maybe I was…specialto her. She seems to know all of my fantasies, all of the things I like. Things I didn’t evenknowI would like! When she speaks to me, I feel like I’m important. When she looks at me, I feel like I’m precious. But maybe she makes everyone feel like that. I must be just one in a long line of humans she’s drank from. There must have been hundreds before me, and…and I’m sure there will be hundreds after.

How long will I be able to hold her interest before she casts me aside for someone else? Someone prettier, more knowledgeable?

The sun slips casually below the horizon, plunging the mansion and its grounds into pitch darkness.

I could take tonight off. Maybe I should. But I don’t know if it’s healthy for me to continue stewing in my own anxieties.

Slowly, I get myself ready for the night. A pair of simple, studded earrings, a dress of dark blue velvet, a little blush. It makes me feel a bit better, a little bit more like myself.

I go downstairs without checking to see if Sean and Chelsie are ready. I’m in a bit of a somber mood, and I don’t want to bring them down.

There’s a living human speaking to a vampire in hushed tones just outside the lounge. He whispers to her softly, stroking her marble-smooth cheek. I wonder what sort of relationship they have. The vampire meets his gaze firmly, but there’s an expression of love and care in her eyes that seems deeper than just blood or sex.

Could it be possible, that some vampires form more lasting relationships with living humans? Or are we just their prey?

“Paige,” says a soft voice, right over my shoulder.

I jump, surprised at his sudden closeness. It’s Murad, his hands folded behind his back, a gentle expression in his dark brown eyes.