Chapter 5
Five
Blake
For a while I delayed getting ready for work and considered calling in sick and making sure the vampire—Marlon—didn’t figure out a way to ditch us.
Not that he’d get far during the day. It was nice to know I had a minor advantage over him, because I suspected he was stronger than he’d shown us.
Eventually, I couldn’t put it off any longer and went to work at the only auto garage in town.
Work dragged on, but it kept my mind off worrying about what would happen once the sun went down.
My phone buzzed with a text, and I wasn’t surprised to see it was from Aaron. “Wonder what took him so long?” I grumbled to myself.
Aaron: What’s going on with the bloodsucker?
I rolled my eyes after reading his message.
Blake: He’s in the basement. He doesn’t want to burst into flames.
Aaron: Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Is he taking you to the treasure later?
Blake: I don’t think he knows anything about the treasure. He’ll probably take off and we’ll never hear from him again.
Aaron: That sucks. ?? He creeps me out.
Blake: Yeah.
I wasn’t sure what to say after that. It was weird that he was still alive after being in the ground for so long, but I really wanted to know more about him, and his mate.
He’d told us a little, but I felt there was more to his story, and he hadn’t done much to make me trust him.
Another notification pulled me from my thoughts.
Aaron: I’ll stop by after work.
After reading his message, I tucked my phone back in my pocket and went back to the oil change I’d just started.
As soon as I stepped inside the house, he appeared at the door to the basement looking exactly as I’d left him. “Hey,” I said, not really sure how to greet a vampire that was basically my captive until sundown. I closed the curtains so the house was as dark and safe as I could get it for him.
“As soon as the sun sets, I will go to the farm with you. There is no treasure there, but I’ll show you what is,” he said, as cryptic as every conversation had been.
His skin was still caked with dirt, and I was once again amazed he was alive.
Well, as alive as a vampire could be. I tried to remember what he’d looked like in the vision as he’d fed from me.
But the memory wasn’t as clear now as it had been then, and he still looked too much like a corpse to imagine him alive.
“Did you want to shower?” Was that something a vampire did? I had no clue.
His expression softened, and he nodded. “I would very much like to feel clean again.”
“I have some clothes you can wear.” I hurried into my room and jumped when I turned around to find him right behind me. “You need to wear a bell. You’re way too quiet.”
“It’s what makes me even more deadly,” he said, and tipped his chin enough to make his eyes look more menacing before grinning at me.
“You got a little—” I waved my hand around my mouth. His teeth were caked with dirt and who knew what else. Which, thankfully, I hadn’t noticed while he was drinking my blood. Mostly because I was fixated on him not drinking too much.
He gave me a deadeye stare that I could translate without him saying a word.
“How would you look if you’d been in the dirt as long as I have?
” He tilted his head as he waited for me to answer, but after gulping down a breath of sweet air I turned and grabbed the first shirt and pair of jeans that my fingers touched.
“Here,” I said and pointed. “The bathroom’s through there.” He stared at me long enough to make me want to look away before taking the clothes and walking into the bathroom.
“Does he even know how to use a shower?” I mumbled and hoped I could find something to eat in the kitchen.
“I know how to use the shower, human,” Marlon said as the shower turned on.
Obviously, his hearing was better than that of a human.
I needed to keep my thoughts to myself and refrain from blurting out everything that came to mind.
I found a can of chili and a few other ingredients while the chili heated and layered it all in a bowl.
Then I wondered if Marlon might be hungry. “Do vampires eat human food?”
“Yes, and whatever that is, it smells delicious,” Marlon said as he appeared next to me.
I threw my arms up, startled again by his sudden appearance and launched the food in the air.
Before I had time to react, he caught the bowl of chili and everything I’d added and set it neatly back on the counter.
“You really gotta stop sneaking up on me.” My pulse pounded in my skull as I drew in a deep breath.
“I’ll try to move slower and make more noise.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to move freely, so I must relearn everything.
” He stared at the bowl of food he’d saved while he spoke, and I hurried to make him his own.
After adding corn chips, cheese, some lettuce, and sour cream, I handed it to him.
He took it from me and closed his eyes as he inhaled the scent.
It was only Frito Pie, but he smiled like it was the most delicious thing he’d ever smelled.
His eyes widened in excitement, and I handed him a fork.
“Go ahead,” I said and watched as he took his first bite.
He looked a little better, less dirty, but his skin still sunk into his face and had a strange color.
His eyes rolled back, and he groaned as he chewed.
That groan did something to my insides and I couldn’t look away.
He opened his eyes, and they immediately locked with mine.
“This is—good,” he said and scooped up another forkful.
“Just good?” I grinned, unable to hold it back. He was weird and dangerous, but there was just something about him. What the fuck?
“It might be the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth,” he said, and I fought the urge to laugh. “What is it?”
“Frito Pie or some people call it a walking taco if you make it in the bag of chips.” And I was officially talking to a vampire about food. Weird.
“Can I have more?” He held his empty bowl out, and I made him another before finally starting my own.
The sun was still up, and he was still stuck here, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. “Can I ask you something?” His eyes narrowed at me as he took another bite and nodded. “Can you heal? The way you look now isn’t the way you’ve always looked.” I resisted bringing up the flashes of his past.
“No, and eventually I will return to a more human appearance. During the time I was trapped, my body had to sustain me, and I survived on any creatures that wriggled into my casket. Why do you ask?” I cringed at the thought making him laugh.
“You’d be surprised what you’d eat if you had no other choice. ”
“I just thought a vampire would look more human rather than dead.” I slapped my hand over my mouth, embarrassed by my words. Not that it wasn’t true.
“I will. Once I feed a little more.” He grinned then, and I noticed his teeth weren’t coated with dirt anymore, but the way he looked at me had changed. Now it was clear who was predator and who was prey.