Page 30 of Vampires of Eden

The flooring outside the bathroom creaks from the steps approaching the door. Suddenly, the sound stops. I realize I’mholding my breath as I sit with my back to the door, so I exhale silently, then shift my head to the side.

Daniel stands in the doorframe with his hands in the pockets of his tapered sweatpants. The knot of his hair atop his head is shiny and clean today—no sanding dust. He stares at me with vacant and pale eyes.

Before, I came into this situation naïve and with my guard down. When I offered to help out, I didn’t expect to be raked across the face by Daniel’s sharp talons.

This time, though, I’m prepared.

“What?” I ask, tersely.

He inhales, glancing around the space and over my head. “The bathroom is coming along nicely.”

“Are you the site supervisor?” I ask. Was that a compliment? Am I supposed to thank him? Give me a break.

“No,” he says, shifting his weight. “But I did the sealing around the tub for you after your last visit. Did you notice?”

“Yes,” I say, still watching him from over my shoulder. “Your point?”

He grins, roguish. “You could say, ‘thank you.’”

“Why would I?”

“Because I did somethingnicefor you. Is it so difficult to show gratitude? Does your purebred pride keep you from expressing such sentiments to a lowly first-gen?”

I scoff, looking away from him. “‘Purebred pride’ sounds like a euphemism for arrogance.”

“If it walks like a duck.”

“Right. You’re standing over me with your nose in the air and your prickly fucking energy making condescending remarks—goading me for a ‘thank you’ like you did me a personal favor and not something for the betterment of this project. ButI’mthe arrogant one. Sure.”

Fuck this vampire. What a silly twat. I’m angry at myself for letting him upset me before. Why should I care what he thinks? He’s just as twisted in the head as Ashwin and the rest of them.

There’s a pause in our bickering and he stands there, unmoving. Curious, I look over my shoulder again. He blinks, staring at me with a confused look on his angular face. “Problem?” I ask.

“You can sense my energy?”

“How could I not?” I ask, annoyed as I look away again. “It’s like standing beside a high-voltage fence.” He’s probably forcing it outward on purpose, which is an arrogant dick move. Pompous jerk.

Another pause swells between us but I don’t say anything. Instead, I try hard to focus on my tiles, even though it’s impossible. Just when his standing there and staring at my back is getting extremely awkward, Roland’s voice cuts into the silence.

“The delivery truck is here,” he says. His excitement is palpable. “Are you both ready to do some lifting?”

“Sure.” I push myself up from the ground. When I turn, Daniel is still there, scrutinizing me like I’m a cat with two tails. He’s blocking the doorway, so I gesture with my hand. “Can I pass, please?”

Without speaking, he straightens and walks away. Reluctantly, I follow.

What a weirdo. I can’t believe I ever felt something for this vampire. My madre was right. Iwasbeing a pervert.

The weirdness continues as we unload the delivery truck. Along with the larger furniture pieces, there are smaller boxes. Kathryn explained that she also ordered some lamps, pillows and decorative items since no major renovation needs to be done in the bedrooms. Daniel makes it a point to grab every last one of these lighter boxes and items, while the rest of us wrangle the heavier and more difficult pieces.

Once all the smaller things are inside, Daniel just stands beside the truck bed, watching as Kathryn and Roland take both ends of a double mattress and wrestle it into the house.

“Do you want me to grab the middle?” I ask, walking alongside them toward the porch.

“Nope, we got this one,” Kathryn says confidently. “Could you get the other one ready though?”

“Sure.” I bound back down the steps, sweeping past Daniel and then up the ramp and into the truck bed. Samuel—the vamp who delivered these items—is inside and putting the bed frames together. All this stuff came from his shop in Bruck.

After I position the plastic-wrapped mattress on its side and push it to the top of the ramp, I see Daniel standing at the bottom, staring up at me with his opaque gaze. I’ve avoided talking to him since we left the bathroom, but it feels uncomfortable to ignore him now. “Can you help me carry this, please?” If it wasn’t for the awkward shape, I could do it myself. And he’s not doing a damn thing, so...