I awoke on Tuesday morning to a text from Ben, asking me what I was doing today. Heaving a sigh, I responded to him before climbing out of my bed to get ready.
He was making me sigh a lot these days. The vibrancy and light he had once introduced to my life was dulling by the day, that impending dread and doom slowly seeping back in.
Me: Coming to yours to test my blood
When I got out of the shower, there was a text waiting for me.
Ben: Shall I come pick you up?
Rolling my eyes, I shot him a response and got dressed.
Me: Why would you walk all the way from your place to pick me up, only to walk back to your place? I know the way.
As I was leaving the house, his response came through.
Ben: To spend more alone time with you.
Me: Too late. I'm on my way. See you soon.
I bagged my phone and got on my way.
· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·
After knocking on the door to the large house, I didn't expect Lukas to open it.
Upon seeing me, a grin slipped onto his face and he leaned against the frame. "What cookies are you selling?" he asked.
"You can't even eat cookies," I deadpanned.
"Doesn't mean I don't want to buy them."
"How wasteful," I mumbled, not feeling his jokes.
"Hey. Might give them to a pretty lady or something." His comment stirred a memory of Ben the day he brought me a cookie in the library... and my heart twinged in response.
"Can I come in? It's cold out here."
He stepped aside. "How are you holding up?" he whispered to me.
"What do you mean?" I cocked an eyebrow.
Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, he replied, "My dare to Ben upset you the other night."
Looking down, I mumbled, "You noticed that?'
"Yeah. Look, about what he said—"
But in that instant, Ben came down the stairs, a grin spreading across his face as he saw me. I gave him a small smile in return.
"Let's do this," I said.
· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·
Sure enough, in the basement was a small medical office. Linoleum floors, white walls, a surgical bed, and metal caddies. Ben and Lukas worked on prepping the caddy with their blood-drawing equipment as I took my seat on the surgical table, rolling my sleeve up to expose my inner elbow.
Finally, Ben pushed the caddy over towards me. "Lukas is way better at painless blood withdrawals," he started, "But I don't think it is advisable that he touches you considering you'll just zap him."
I gave a small nod. "That's fine. Let's just get this over with."
Lukas took a seat on the other side of me while Ben gently lifted my arm and tied a strap around it, above my elbow.
"So... I'm a little wary about what happens when a vampire draws blood," I squeaked, the thought incessantly intruding in my mind as I watched Ben begin to disinfect my arm.
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Vulnerable: Book 1 of the Magic Mutations Series | ✓
अलौकिक|| WATTYS 2021 SHORTLIST || The day Olivia Byrne met Benjamin Cross, her day was going almost to plan... until he showed up. But it also could have gone so many different ways. In her summer holidays between university terms, Olivia finds herself l...
