So, I can look forward to not babysitting a human any longer only when my mother drops dead. Wonderful.
* * *
The next evening when I woke from my trance, I exited the room to run into Caleb in the hall. His disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes made it obvious he had just woken up as well.
“Oh, hi Adriel!” he said, his eyes lighting up. He might as well have been a puppy wagging its tail.
“Hello,” I said. Wanting to be polite, I asked, “I take it you slept well?”
His smile faded briefly. “Uh… Yeah! I slept fine. What about you? I mean, wait, do vampires even sleep? Because in your books, the vampires enter a trance that’s kind of like sleeping but not really sleeping the way humans do, is that like real life?”
I forced myself not to sigh at the mile-a-minute interrogation. “Yes, that’s correct.”
“Wow!” His face brightened up again. “That’s so cool. I can’t believe it, I mean… I always just thought A. T. Ainsworth was just a really creative author, but it turns out a lot of the stuff you wrote was fact. I wonder what else was true?”
“Indeed.” My hand raised, wanting to pinch the bridge of my nose, but then I placed it back in my pocket. It was too early in the evening to let Caleb know I was already exhausted with his questions. “Shall we have something to eat?”
“Oh, yeah! Fully stocked kitchen, here I come!”
Caleb raced to the edge of the stairs, then paused like he was waiting for me.
“Go on,” I urged.
He hesitated. “You’re the host. I don’t want to cut in front of you.”
“This again…” I sighed. “Listen, Caleb. Didn’t Pierce tell you this was your home for the time being?”
“Yeah,” Caleb admitted.
“Then treat it as such. You don’t need to act so shy.”
“All right,” he said uneasily. “I’ll try.”
In the kitchen, Caleb remembered my words and didn’t seek permission before going through the pantry and fridge. He made himself some toast with peanut butter and jam. Not wanting to sit around uselessly, I busied myself with preparing coffee. Even if I couldn’t drink it, Caleb might appreciate it.
“Oh,” Caleb said when he noticed me. “You can drink coffee?”
“No.”
“Huh? Then why are you making it?”
I raised a brow. “It’s for you. You drink coffee, do you not?”
He looked shocked. “I do! But… you don’t have to do that for me. I mean, I can do it myself. I mean, not that I don’t appreciate you doing it, and not that I could do it better than you or anything but - “
In that moment, I needed to silence him before he worked himself up even further. In one swift motion I closed the space between us and pressed the tip of my finger to his lips. Instantly he went quiet. A deep pink blush spread across his cheeks.
“Caleb,” I said. “You’re overthinking it. Just let me prepare you coffee. All right?”
I removed my finger. Caleb nodded, his eyes wide like an owl.
“Good.”
After that I returned to my duty. From the corner of my eye I noticed it took Caleb a moment to come back down to earth. He spent about five minutes wiping off a butter knife and staring into space before he finally shook himself off and came to sit at the table.
Except in his daze he’d forgotten his plate on the counter. I sighed and retrieved it for him.
“Oh my god,” Caleb mumbled, sounding mortified. “Thanks.”
“Not a problem. Black?” I asked.
“What?”
“Your coffee. Do you take it black?”
Now he looked embarrassed. “Oh, no. I like, um… cream and sugar.”
That didn’t surprise me. I would have been more surprised if he did take it black. Humans were easy to read once you’d met enough of them. I didn’t know why I bothered asking.
After spooning a dollop of sugar and cream into his mug, I placed it on the table. “Here you are.”
“Thanks, Adriel,” he mumbled. “It’s really nice of you to do all of this for me.”
His cheeks were still pink from earlier. Did my small gesture really affect him that much?
“Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you don’t waste it.”
“I won’t!” Caleb exclaimed. “I’ll drink every drop.”
He paused and his eyes widened, realizing the possible innuendo of what he just said, and his blush deepened again. As if trying to escape the situation, Caleb began hurriedly eating his meal.
Humans, I thought with mental weariness.
As Caleb ate, my mind wandered. I realized that since he was a fan of my books, he would have read the sex scenes in them as well. How strange it must have been for him, then, to sit across from me while thinking such thoughts. Was he thinking about them right now? Did he think that every intimate scene in my books was something I was into?
I crossed my arms and continued watching him. He must have been aware of it, because he never once lifted his gaze to meet mine.
Shy little human, I thought. I wonder what you’re thinking right now.
Once he was finished, he put away his plate and mug into the dishwasher.
“So, um… You’re not going to drink anything?” Caleb asked.
“No,” I told him. “I don’t feel the need for it right now.”
It’s cute of him to worry about me, in a way.
“Okay.” He leaned back against the counter. “So, what are we supposed to do all day? Or, night, I guess. Since we can’t really do much with…”
He trailed off into silence. He must have not wanted to bring up the fact that Margaret was still out there, and despite Benji’s attempts to calm her down, she was still capable of turning on Caleb at any time.
“You can do whatever you like,” I said. “Pretend nothing has changed, except your living arrangement.”
“It’s kinda hard to do that,” Caleb mumbled.
“How so?”
“Well, I’m living with a vampire in a fancy cottage,” he said with a nervous laugh. “That’s a big change, for one thing.”
I waved a hand. “Disregard that. Tell me your usual schedule.”
He sat back down. “Okay. I get up in the afternoon usually, since I work a night shift. I didn’t used to, but my manager changed it since I got sick and couldn’t show up during the day sometimes. Said it was something to do with less people there, so less of a blow to the profits. Plus he cut my hours too…” He trailed off again in a mumble.
That’s right, I thought. I’d forgotten about his illness. That was the whole reason Benji and Pierce met, after all. Caleb was the catalyst of everything.
“Then what?” I prompted.
“Then… I take the bus home and pass out. Then I wake up and have some time to myself, so I play video games or eat or j - “ He cut himself off. “Uh, anyway, then I get ready for work again, basically.”
I raised a brow. I assumed the j stood for something like jack off. He was a young man, after all - not a surprise by any means.
“Do you have work tonight, then?”
“No,” Caleb said. “I took two nights off to come see Benji. I didn’t know what would happen, so I took an extra in case we could have a sleepover or something.” He smiled grimly. “It sounds childish and stupid, now that I’m saying it out loud.”
“You were excited to see your brother after months of not seeing him,” I said. “Nothing to feel stupid about.”
He seemed surprised to hear me say that. “But yeah. No work tonight, so I can do whatever I want. Except not get killed by Margaret, hopefully.”
I stood from my seat, setting my hands squarely on the table. “I’ve told you before. She will not touch you. Not while I still live.”
Caleb blinked up at me with his brown doe eyes. His blush returned. “Th-thanks.”
“Do you believe me?” I demanded.
Caleb swallowed. “I…” His head fell. “Y-yeah, I do.”
/>
His answer didn’t sound too convincing. For someone who claimed to be my number one fan, he seemed to have a strange lack of faith in me. Did he really think I was going to let him be killed?
Put off by his hesitation, I turned around. “Since you don’t seem to need me, I will be in my room. Please call immediately if you need anything. And if you’re going to leave the cottage, let me know right away.”
“Oh,” Caleb said, sounding disappointed. “You’re leaving?”
“Just going upstairs,” I said. “To work.”
He perked up immediately. “On your novel?”
“Yes.”
A barely restrained grin lit up his expression. “Okay! I’ll be down here, playing games.” He bit his lip, then said, “If you, uh, need someone to go over it with you, or anything, I can help!”
While I appreciated his enthusiasm, I doubted he would be able to help me in any way. “That’s kind of you to offer,” I said, hoping to let him down gently but firmly. “Once more, I will be in my room if you need me.”
I tried not to notice the disheartened look on his face as I ascended the stairs. What did he expect? One day together and he would suddenly become a - no pun intended - beta reader? The draft was still in its bare stages and wouldn’t be polished enough for anybody to look at for a long time.
I reminded myself he was only trying to be helpful. With a sigh, I barricaded myself in my room-turned-new-office and began to work.
3
Caleb
As soon as Adriel left, I was bored out of my mind.
What was I supposed to do all day - er, night? I wasn’t allowed to leave the place without him babysitting me, and he’d made it very clear he’d rather be working on his book than interacting with me.
I slumped into the couch.
Look on the bright side, I told myself, at least he’s working on the novel.
That brightened my spirits a little. Everyone else in the word - all the millions of fans of Abyss Blood Saga thought the third book was the last in the series. But I knew better. I knew the author was working on a long-awaited fourth book that would explain every cliffhanger and mystery. It would redeem the horrible ending that the TV series made up. It would cause a ripple of joy for vampire novel readers everywhere.
And Adriel was upstairs writing it this very moment.
I made up my mind. I wouldn’t bother him. No, this was too important for Adriel to be distracted. I could mind my own business downstairs and leave him alone.
Yup. I can do that. Easy. I’ll just sit here and… Stare at the living room.
After about one solid minute of staring at the wall, I gave up. That was no way to spend a whole evening. With a small groan I collapsed deeper across the couch, spreading my lanky limbs all over like a spider.
“Ow!”
A small, quick pain rang out deep within my abdomen.
“Ugh… That again.”
Ever since my surgery was completed, I sometimes felt jolts of pain near the incision site. The doctor told me it was uncomfortable but normal. Just another souvenir from that whole debacle.
Well, it was fine. Minor random bouts of pain were nothing compared to the suffering I endured at the hospital and at the hands of my sickness.
But with nothing else to do, my mind wandered into the past, like I fell through the couch and into my memories. I thought of being back at my apartment - which used to be Benji and I’s apartment, before he moved out and into the Tenebrae mansion with Pierce - and of how tired I would be all the time. I’d come home exhausted from my job, with barely enough energy to make even a crappy bowl of mac and cheese. Nevermind house chores, laundry, or any type of healthy stuff like exercise.
No, all I could manage was to shovel some pre-made food in my mouth and play video games.
And jerk off, which I almost embarrassingly admitted to Adriel.
Admittedly, it did help with the random pains, and distracted me from my boredom.
I warily glanced over my shoulder to make sure Adriel wasn’t standing there, as if he could somehow read my naughty thoughts. But he wasn’t, obviously. He was still upstairs, probably pretending I didn’t exist. So I could think about all the nasty things I wanted.
Like… how smoking hot Adriel is.
It was definitely too early after waking up to jerk off, and I didn’t really want to do it on the couch anyway, but that didn’t stop me from letting my mind roam into a fantasy.
A fantasy where Adriel didn’t hate me. One where he actually liked me, the way I liked him. One where he thought I was hot, and would do anything for a piece of my ass.
Okay, maybe that was a little too fantastical.
I shut my eyes and my imagination ran wild.
In my mind, Adriel towered over me, just like in real life. His dark eyes held my gaze, powerful and smart. He wrapped his arms around me, his skin not quite as warm as a human but not exactly cold either, and pressed me flush against his chest. I’d whimper and bite my lip, saying, no, we shouldn’t, and Adriel would growl and say, yes, we should…
My body temperature began to rise and my breath quickened. Without realizing it, my hand drifted lower and lower, inching towards my belt -
“Hey!”
In that moment I was glad my hand wasn’t wrapped around my dick, because there was a good chance I would have ripped it off in my surprise and terror. Instead, I just screamed and fell off the couch.
“Oops,” Theo’s familiar voice said.
“Geez!” I exclaimed, clambering upright. Theo leaned his arms in the window. I marched over to open it so we could talk without the glass in between us. “Theo, what the hell? You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry,” he said. “Were you, uh, in the middle of something?”
My cheeks heated up. “No,” I lied. “Anyway, what’re you doing here?”
Theo’s eyes flitted to the game console in the living room behind me. Then he shot me a grin. “I was wondering if you wanted to play more Super Fighting Guys.”
My irritation at my fantasy being interrupted was quickly replaced by overwhelming relief. “Holy shit, yes!”
“Awesome.”
Theo hopped in easily through the window. It was a substantial height off the ground, and the speed and grace he exhibited was supernatural. I knew if I tried to do it, I’d probably end up on my ass.
But Theo, like the other vampires, wasn’t human. Since coming to live here, it was sometimes easy to forget. I had to remember that fact.
Especially with Margaret, the vampire matriarch, out for my blood.
“Come on, hurry up!” Theo called. “I set everything up already.”
I couldn’t help grinning as I sat next to Theo and grabbed a controller. Instantly all my worries about Margaret and Adriel and my job and everything else melted away.
“Get ready to have your ass kicked,” I told Theo.
“As if, human!”
The deep voice from the game counted down. “Ready… FIGHT!”
At once Theo and I entered a button-mashing frenzy. Our characters jumped and ran and punched everywhere on the screen. Theo’s character quickly got mine in a chokehold.
“Hey, no fair!” I cried.
Theo laughed maniacally. “It’s part of the game!”
I growled and smashed the buttons on my controller. Then, my character ducked out of the hold and launched a counterattack that sent Theo’s guy flying off the map.
“No!” Theo exclaimed. “I’ll get you back for that, just you wait.”
After he respawned, Theo’s character chased mine around for revenge. We both tensed up and jostled around in our seats as we mashed buttons for dear life. The sound of intense plastic clacking filled the air. I began to sweat, and I suspected if Theo were still human, he would have been sweating too. I bit my lip, concentrating hard.
Theo’s character finally caught up to mine and knocked out my health in a single hit.
“Gotcha!”
&nbs
p; “Shit!” I muttered.
The round continued for what felt like an eternity, with neither of us giving up or getting the upper hand. It seemed like the game would end in a draw.
Then I saw my chance. As Theo’s guy tried to grab mine and missed, my character grabbed him beneath the belt and tossed him off the map again.
“NO!” Theo yelled.
I pumped my arms in the air and said triumphantly, “Take that, vampire!”
Theo snapped to me and hissed, baring his huge white fangs.
Immediately I was frozen in fear, except for letting out a terrified cry. Memories of Margaret’s attack rushed back to me. White fangs, spit, blood, overwhelming horror. My body wouldn’t move, but my brain was screaming at me you’re going to die!
Faster than lightning, a figure appeared out of thin air in front of us. Adriel’s eyes narrowed into furious slits and his whole body exuded powerful anger.
His appearance was so sudden it even startled Theo. “Whoa!”
“What is going on here?” Adriel demanded, his voice louder than usual. I’d never heard him raise it like that before.
I still couldn’t move or speak. I was frozen like a deer in headlights.
“Answer me!” Adriel snapped. I would have been even more afraid at his tone, but all his focus was on Theo.
“We were just playing a game!” Theo said. Even he looked startled at his brother’s furious aura.
Adriel examined me before interrogating Theo again. “Then why is Caleb so frightened?”
Theo glanced back and forth between me and Adriel. He seemed genuinely apologetic. “Oh… probably because I bared my teeth at him. I didn’t mean to scare you, Caleb, honest. I was just teasing.”
Some of the fear holding my limbs hostage melted away. Knowing that Theo didn’t mean to freak me out, I tried to relax.
“I-it’s okay,” I said weakly.
“It most certainly is not okay,” Adriel proclaimed. “Theodore, you, for one, should know better. What is wrong with you?”
Theo hung his head, disappointed in himself. My initial panic faded and so, too, did most of the fear. Now I just felt bad that Adriel was chewing his brother out.
Omega’s Vampire Bodyguard: Tenebrae Brothers Book 2 Page 2
