Page 13 of This Blood That Binds Us

“You’re a . . . vampire?” she said.

“Getting right into the hard questions first...Um. Yes. Technically. But I don’t like that word.”

“And you drink human blood to survive?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes hardened. “So, you kill people.”

“What? No. No, I swear the drinking-blood thing is something we have to do, and I’m just not very good at it yet.. .I just lost control for a minute. It doesn’t usually involve anyone dying.”

She eyed a couple as they walked past us holding hands, then whispered, “What do you mean by that? Be more specific.”

“Well, I-I, uh, I’m new to this. I haven’t been what I am for more than two months. It’s hard to have control...over...it.”

She wanted clear-cut answers for all of this to make perfect sense. Only problem was, I was completely in the dark about the whole vampire thing. On a scale of one to dumb, I was the dumbest when it came to knowing what was going on because my brothers had only told me what I “needed to know.”

“I’m sorry. You have no reason to believe me when I say this to you, but the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt anybody. I didn’t choose to be like this...I can’t just drink the blood of squirrels or birds. I can’t choose not to do it. I have to. We usually drink once a month tops and, usually, no one is seriouslyhurt. Most are drunks coming home from the bar, and they won’t even remember. You...were just a special circumstance because of me. I went up to the nature reserve because I wanted to try to do things alone, and it turned out to be a horrible idea. It’s all because of me.”

The word vomit poured from me like a gushing fountain. Something about this mystery girl made me want to reveal all my secrets.

Her expression softened. “Aaron, right?”

“That’s me.”

I prepared for a tongue lashing. For her to scream and throw the book at me. She’d never believe me. To her, I was just a monster who had attacked her, and I deserved that. I’d have to deal with whatever she chose to do.

“I’m not turning into a vampire. Am I?” She looked at me like cogs turned in her head.

“What? Why would you think that?”

“Because of the scar on my shoulder! It’s not getting better, and it hurts...I just assumed something was wrong. And there are all these little veins.”

I fought a smile. “I’m pretty sure you’d have to drink—”

A blonde chick dropped her book bag on the cobblestone with a thud and sat on the fountain two feet away from us. Though I understood the reason for the public place, I knew it wasn’t ideal.

The fountain was large and well-kept. Celtic crosses were carved into the sides, with three cherubs holding jars that poured the water into the basin.

“Drink a milkshake. Drink a milkshake for that to happen. It’s kind of a joint thing.” I finished my sentence before turning my attention to the blonde. “Do you mind? She’s kinda in the middle of breaking up with me.. .It’s some sad stuff. Give me a few more minutes, and I might be crying all over the place.”

I nodded toward the mystery girl, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

She muttered, “Uh . . . yeah. Very hard . . . and sad.”

I stifled a laugh. Mystery girl was a bad liar.

The blonde stared at me for a minute before picking up her bag. “You probably deserve it.”

“You have no idea,” I said under my breath. I squinted, watching her leave in the midday sun.

The mystery girl sat in the blonde chick’s spot. Her legs dangled as she took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders. Every second, I could sense her fear settling.

I took a seat next to her next to the deafening fountain. The gurgling water, the rippling waves, and the sputtering water pump all had distinct sounds. Tuning out all the stimulus was still practice for me. Lucky for me, the mystery girl spoke again.

“An infection...that’s what the ER doctor said. If I had an infection, I needed to go see my primary.” She sighed. “Did they know?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe. Maybe they knew it wouldn’t heal and that you’d need to come back in. You don’t need to worry, though. You’re not gonna turn.”