Chapter 6: Change in Scenery

The house seems oddly quiet without my Dad's presence. It feels strange. Normally when I walk in he's somewhere around me. Even if he's not in his right mind it still makes me happy to see him. Now I'm empty.

After Wyatt dragged him from my house, I forced myself off the floor and cleaned like mad. I cleared the fridge of beer and whiskey bottles. There was so much that I'd filled two bags with trash around the house.

The last room I'd cleaned was my Dad's. It felt awkward seeing it so spotless. It felt more like an extra room than one that held a person. It's best not to dwell. It'll only make me feel worse. Since I can't eat regular food the spaghetti's in the garbage, and I can't even bring myself to drink from another person, (Really I don't know how), I retire to my room and sit on the bed.

I have no energy for TV, my phone, or anything of the sort. I feel like crying but tears won't come, so I go to sleep.

Sometime between the time I fell asleep at 8 and about 9am the morning after, I wake with a start. My heart is beating rapidly and I'm in pain. I know instantly that I'm craving blood, but with it being so late there's bound to be nothing around. If it's just a craving, why does it hurt so bad?

I clutch my chest as this feeling of suffocating overtakes me, and the beating of my heart only gets faster. I want to scream, or cry, but I can only take in short painful gasps.

The bed dips beside me and my reddened pupils snap open. Kalen pulls me into his lap and holds my mouth to his wrist.

"It's okay, just bite." He whispers. I follow his directions and bite into his wrist. He doesn't even flinch, he just strokes my hair as I drink from him. When I finally pull away, he places a wet towel over the wound.

"Did you break in again?" I ask after a minute. I hadn't left the doors unlocked, so there's no way he could get in the front or back.

"I knocked but you didn't answer." He says simply. "I forgot to send you with blood and you don't know how eating works so I came by to make sure you eat."

"Oh. Thank you." I smile at him. "How does eating work? Why did that hurt so bad?"

"It works the same as if you hadn't eaten food in a few days, only for us it's 24 hours. You have to eat at least once every 24 for hours or you'll starve." He explains.

"Do I have to...eat people?"

My question makes him laugh a little, "No. there are three ways to eat: getting blood from rare meat, drinking blood from bags, people, or animals, and sex."

"Sex?"

"Mhm. The reason vampires and humans can coexist peacefully is because most of us don't drink blood. Some take the raw meat route while others choose sex. I don't know why but we've felt just as full absorbing sexual essence from people as we do drinking blood." Kalen continues, "Naturally, you won't be having sex anytime soon so you can choose to eat meat or drink."

"What makes you so sure I won't have sex with other people?" I ask. Of course I'm joking. I never took what he said about marrying me lightly. It won't be easy since I can't marry a stranger, but having someone so gentle in my life is enough to make me see where it goes.

He smirks, "Because I'll kill them." He stands and goes into my bathroom, returning later with another towel. He cups my cheek and wipes at my face, probably cleaning the sweat.

"Thank you for caring." I mutter.

"I noticed when I came in that the booze smell disappeared. Where's your dad?" My heart drops. I'd almost forgotten he's gone.

"My brother found out about me and took him. He said I was unfit to care for him since I'm like this..." I fiddle with my pajamas. "It feels empty."

Kalen doesn't say anything. He studies my face quietly then looks around my small room. "You can come with me."

"What if Dad comes home?"

"Don't hold onto that. If your brother took him somewhere and he probably threw him in a rehab center. It'll be months before he comes back."

"If I pay rent here I'll have to live here."

"Are you that against living with me?" Kalen looks at me amused. "You're giving me a lot of excuses but you just said yourself that it feels empty. At least when you're with me you'll eat properly, have people to talk to, and you won't be so alone."

I think for a moment. Being home by myself would only depress me so it wouldn't hurt to accept his offer. "Okay. I'll only pack clothes though."

"That's fair. I'll be waiting downstairs. Grab whatever you need."

I pack quickly. I only bring underwear, jeans, hoodies and tees, and my work uniform. I put my shoes in a separate suitcase then grab my backpack.

When I finally get downstairs I'm greeted by a sight I'd never want to see, Wyatt and Kalen staring at each other.