The Turning (32 page)

I let her know the code Brian had told me last night to get in my hidden closet fridge Brian had installed while I was at orientation. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to see it yet. She returned a few moments later with two pints. Thankfully she was a doctor and didn’t get squeamish at the sight of blood.

“Are you okay to watch me drink this?” She nodded. I think the scientist in her was curious to see it. She watched, but didn’t stare rudely, just like you might at a restaurant to see if your companion liked what they ordered.

“Sorry, is it weird me watching you?”

“No, I’m too drunk to care, and it’s not like you’re making faces like you’re grossed out.”

“I’m surprised I’m not, no offense. It’s more cool than gross. I just find it so ironic. You’ve always been fascinated with vampires, reading books about them in college. Vamp movies have always been one of your favorites, and now you are one! Are werewolves true too?”

“I don’t know, never asked. I was always too busy asking questions about what I would need to know to survive. Thanks, that blood helped. I feel really drunk, but not sick drunk anymore,” I told her.

“I’m glad, that’s weird though, you getting even drunker off my blood. Am I going to feel any side effects?” she asked.

“No, I didn’t take much from you at all, maybe a pint. So just like if you donated blood, drink some juice or eat some cookies.” I snorted, laughing at my own joke. “What time is it? How long have we been sitting here drinking?”

“It’s after eight, we’ve been at this for a while,” she answered. “But I’m getting pretty tired, you?”

“No, I’ve got everything swirling in my head still. I think I’m going to go for a walk,” I said, getting up.

“Kelly, you can’t just go walking around here at night—oh.” She paused, realizing why I really could. “This is going to take me some time to get used to.”

“Believe me, I understand. It still keeps hitting me every so often, and I’m still having nightmares from the kidnapping. Sometimes it’s like I’m there again, all of them biting me. It makes it really hard to want to sleep. I’ll be back in a little bit. I just need to get some air. At least I can smoke every so often and not worry about getting lung cancer.”

I was trying to look on some bright side, even if it was pathetic. I walked outside and Brian was standing there. I turned to walk back inside, but he was too quick and grabbed my arm.

“Get your hands off me!”

He released me. “We need to talk, Kelly,
please
.”

“No, we don’t. How long have you been down here?”

“About an hour or so.”

“How much did you hear of what Nicole and I were talking about?” I narrowed my eyes, accusing him of what I knew he was going to answer.

“Enough. I thought you were not going to tell anyone? I thought
I told you
not to tell anyone?”

“You suggested not to tell anyone so I didn’t think it was a rule I was breaking or anything. Besides you told me a lot of things, like you would treat me like an equal and not interfere with my life. I told her because I needed someone to be there for me right now, because my boyfriend acted like such an asshole! She won’t tell anyone, and it will actually make my life easier that she knows since we live and work together.”

“But you fed from her!” he accused, his brows drawn together.

“She wanted to see what it was like. We were getting drunk. She’s a doctor, Brian, and the scientist wanted to know more. It’s no big deal,” I snapped, starting to get even more pissed.

“The reason we don’t tell humans is that one day they will want us to turn them!”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Plus you don’t even follow your own rules, Trent knows.”

“Trent knows since it is hard to keep that kind of thing from an assistant. He facilitates certain things for me that I might need a human to do,” he explained.

“Yeah, same with Nicole. I could be working thirty-six hour shifts. I might need to have her help me, cover for me if I need to drink or something. I can’t predict every situation I’m going to be in either,” I told him firmly.

“I guess that makes sense then, I just wish you had talked to me first.”

“I’m not your property, Brian. I don’t have to answer or clear
anything
with you.” Now I was yelling.

“No, you are not my property, but I am your maker. I am the elder in Chicago,” he seethed, letting power seep into his voice. I didn’t care. He could be fucking Santa Claus right then and I’d still want him out of my sight.

“Look, you pulled me into all of this, but this is America. I pay my taxes, I listen to the police, and my bosses at work. That’s it. I don’t have to listen to you or answer to you. I am my own free person. This conversation’s over, don’t stalk my place again, and stay away from me, or I will call the police next time.”

“You would call the police on me? You know that would not do much,” his tone surprised.

“It’s what you do when an ex-boyfriend starts showing up at your house when you told them to go away. It would at least give me a police report if I ever need to get a restraining order. And yes, before you even have to ask, I would really do that. If you become a problem, I would call my dad and file a restraining order,” I threatened.

“I think that is taking it a little far,” Brian bitched, pouting like a child.

“
I don’t
. After what you did today, showing you don’t have limits or respect for me. I think you are possessive, jealous, and dominant. I don’t think you have the first clue as to what a real partnership is supposed to be. I think you are so old that you are in the mind-set of a woman being your servant and needing you to do everything for them because they are helpless. And I know I want no part of that.

“Now I want you to leave, and not come back. I have a lot to think about. I also have to try extra hard now to show my bosses I belong there and don’t expect preferential treatment,” I started yelling again.

“Fine, I will leave for now, but this is not over, Kelly. We will talk again when you have calmed down,” he warned, turned on his heels, and walked away. I started walking the other way while I lit a smoke. That almost sounded more like a threat than a statement. I was still pretty drunk, and not even sure if I had slurred what I’d said to him.

I knew in my heart I would never get a restraining order against him, but it sure wasn’t fair spying on me like that. If he was just a human, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but he could probably hear blocks away. I mean it wasn’t fair, I could do it too, but I wouldn’t. It would be an invasion of his privacy. He really didn’t have any boundaries. It was like the moment he turned me, every aspect of my life got engulfed by his.

I just couldn’t believe he’d done this to me. Not just because he humiliated me at my new job. He’d promised he’d try not to do shit like that and he seemed to see nothing wrong with what he’d done.

How could he not see that? I walked around for a while longer, waiting for some of the alcohol to wear off. I had to been out for at least an hour. I thought I should get back because I didn’t want Nicole to worry. Not that I couldn’t take care of myself and she now knew that I could, but because I was so upset. She would probably worry about me doing something stupid.

I really wish Brian had a nice big shiner from me punching him, but if he did it had already healed.

I think it would have made me feel better if he still had a mark. He left such a huge, permanent mark on me even if it was invisible. I got back to the apartment, opened the door, and after closing the door I walked right over to where Nicole was sitting on the couch, lay down, and put my head in her lap.

“I didn’t mean to snoop, Kelly, but I heard yelling so I looked out the window and saw you and Brian outside. You okay?” Nicole asked me with a soft voice.

“No, I’m not, but thanks. Did you hear much?”

“I didn’t. Some of us can’t hear very well five floors up,” she snickered.

“True, I didn’t think about that, just wanted to know how much I had to tell you. He was just waiting outside for an hour, listening to us. I didn’t ask if he ever planned to come up. He heard me tell you all about what he did to me, and he wasn’t too happy about that since he suggested I not to tell anyone. He told Trent though to make his life easier. It makes my life easier if you know,” I whined with a pout.

“Trent knows!” She gasped.

“Yeah, oh I forgot I didn’t tell you he was with the rescue group when I was kidnapped. He was actually the one who got the chains off me and carried me outside, sorry. There’s been a lot happening, I didn’t mean to leave that detail out.”

“No, it’s okay, just surprising I guess.”

“Well I guess Brian’s biggest concern about telling humans is that eventually they ask us to turn them. Needless to say that’s a very awkward position to be in,” I hinted slowly.

“I could see that being a problem for you, but it actually didn’t even cross my mind, not to say it wouldn’t one day. This was already a lot of information to take in, huge amounts to be precise. I’m still getting this all processed. I guess it might be appealing, but something I wouldn’t think about anytime soon, especially since watching you in so much pain dealing with all this,” she said gently.

“Well that’s good, I’m pretty sure it would be a long time before I could even turn you, even if you wanted. It would seem that is something you would have to build up to do.”

“Makes sense. I mean you don’t even know all the rules yet, and you need to build up whatever vampires build up to make you big and strong,” she giggled. Guess I wasn’t the only one who drank too much.

We sat there for a while, not saying anything, she kept stroking my hair, but it was like I was just numb. I couldn’t move, or really speak, so I just laid there listening to Nicole’s heartbeat, finding it strangely soothing. I awoke a few hours later alone on the couch with the TV shut off. Nicole must have gone to bed already. I walked to my bedroom, grabbed some blood from the closet, and drank it. Then crawled into my own bed and slept without nightmares for the first time in weeks.

I heard some movement in the living room, and started to shake off my sleep, realizing it was morning already. I checked my phone that I had had on vibrate. I had seven missed calls, all from Brian. Not even wanting to deal with the messages yet, I stuck my head out of my room to see Nicole doing some rearranging. Good thing we were so yin and yang, otherwise we might have serious problems living together. I was pretty laid back with that kind of stuff and she was a little OCD about it.

“Morning,” I called out. “Are we alone?”

“Morning, I didn’t wake you, did I?” she asked me.

“No, it’s all good. I was going to bring my breakfast out here, coast clear?”

“Oh yeah, it’s all good. Who would I ever have over?”

“I hear ya, but that is a good point. We might have to figure out a system so at least I know if I need to hide stuff or whatnot. I mean you are really cool with not telling a soul what I am, right? I don’t want to get staked in the middle of the night or something?” I joked, trying not to sound as ridiculous as I felt saying that.

“Tell anyone what, Kelly?” she purred with a
wink
wink
that made me burst out laughing. “Bring out your breakfast. I would think it’s better warm than cold anyways.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Never thought about it but it’s worth a try,” I pondered and ducked into my closet to grab three pints of blood. I would need to make sure I drank extra when I could, because I never knew how anything was going to turn out during my day. I met Nicole back in the kitchen, and put the blood in a microwavable coffee mug before nuking it for twenty seconds.

“I had warmed blood at Brian’s, I think. Everything’s a little fuzzy after they rescued me. I mean, I know what it tastes like to drink straight from someone though. That’s better than the bag.”

Nicole watched me curiously as I chugged it down. “And?”

“You were right, it is better warmed up. Hey, can I ask you a favor?” I heated up another mug full, for just a little longer this time.

“Shoot. If I can, I will.”

“Remember how I told you we can mesmerize humans, basically hypnotize them into thinking stuff, like they never got bit, or vampires don’t exist?”

“Yeah, you want to practice on me? That’s cool, just don’t leave me clucking like a chicken or anything embarrassing.” We laughed at that one, thinking about her walking around clucking.

“Thanks, Nic, I’m not really a big fan of doing this, but Brian made it sound important, like I would need it in an emergency. I mean what if I get stuck on too many thirty-six hour shifts or something. I’m supposed to have five pints of blood a day. I’m not saying I want to bite people, but I can’t let this affect my job. Maybe get someone down in the blood bank to forget they gave me some, or something,” I said seriously this time, waiting for her reaction to see if she was going to start hating me for what I was now.

“Fair enough. Just promise you won’t put the whammy on me without my consent.” We both sat down at our tiny kitchen table. She looked as nervous as I felt. I didn’t think this was something I could screw up. It either worked or didn’t, right?

“You got it. I don’t want people doing things against their will, only maybe forget things in an emergency. You ready?” I asked and waited for her to nod.

I reached out and grabbed her hands. Brian said I didn’t have to touch them, but I thought it might help me with the visualization. I went through the steps in my mind that Brian told me about and then started.

“You will forget that I took your hands and started talking to you, do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“You will take a ten minute nap, then awake refreshed, and wanting to wear that red dress from Miami, and ask me to borrow shoes, understand?”

“Yes.”

“You will forget this conversation but do what I said, understand?” She nodded and lowered her head and went to sleep. “Nicole,” I whispered. “Are you playing with me?” She kept sleeping, and I wanted to do a dance. I guess I could do it. I just needed to relax and not have Brian over my shoulder to be able to do it.