Brother Blood

Chapter 13: coffee shop

Grant woke me when we arrived at the coffee shop in town. I sat up, yawning as Aidan parked the car.

"Please don't come in," I said as they unbuckled their seatbelts.

"Not a chance," Aidan scoffed. "I'll give you a couple minutes and then we'll come in. She's not going to recognize me. Mel wants you to be safe, Conor."

"I'll be fine," I grumbled.

Aidan handed me cash and I hopped out of the truck. My heart started pounding in my ears as I entered the shop, but I focused on the counter before looking for Stefa. The line was short at this hour and I ordered my muffin and tea quickly, handing over the bills. I glanced around the building, but seeing no one with purple hair, I sat down at a small table, glad for a chance to be alone and away from my pack. Maybe Stefa wouldn't come and we had come all this way for nothing.

"Hey there, pretty boy."

Stefa sat down across from me with a coffee in her hand and a smile on her face. Her hair wasn't purple anymore; she had dyed it a dark red that faded into orange and then yellow. She was wearing a blue patterned sundress and white cardigan, particularly weird since she couldn't go out in the sun. Stefa sipped her coffee as I took all this in. I couldn't see her eyes through her big sunglasses, even though we were indoors.

"You drink coffee?" I questioned.

"Once I've added creamer, of course. I'm basic like that."

She smiled again. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, Stefa. What do you want?"

"That's no way to start this conversation. You should ask me how I've been."

She crossed her legs and took another sip. Instead of talking, I bit into my banana muffin. She waited for me to finish chewing as if she had all the time in the world.

"How have you been?" I asked reluctantly, once I swallowed.

"Pretty darn good. I found my clan and we've...busy for most of the month. Nearly have all my territory sorted out, just a couple of...outliers who have been reluctant to relinquish control. Kids these days just don't know when they've been beaten. Have you watched the news?"

"Somewhat," I shrugged, taking a long sip of my tea.

"Then you'll see that I kept my word, Conor. There have been no more massacres, a couple of...eliminations, but those couldn't be helped. Some creatures can't be rehabilitated. But I did what I could."

"Good for you?"

Aidan and Grant entered the shop. I didn't glance up at them but hoped they'd have the good sense to stay out of Stefa's line of sight. She pulled her glasses off her face, her blue-gray eyes watching me with concern. I couldn't tell if she was sincere or not.

"Are you still mad at me?" she asked. "Couldn't we put the hunters behind us? I don't want to lose you over something silly. This month has been unbearably lonely. I've been surrounded by family, friends, but I haven't felt this;" she gestured between us, "in decades. Being around you is like a drug."

"I don't think that's a good thing," I remarked. "Stefa, I have a life here. My pack is here. Running about the country fighting a national vampire uprising isn't appealing."

She laughed. I was unused to seeing this side of Stefa; a confident, carefree woman with her perfectly manicured nails. I was dressed in rumpled flannel with drying bloodstains on my sleeve. My ribs still ached from my earlier fight with Grant. She sipped her coffee and I returned to my muffin, dismantling it rather than eating it.

"I do want you to come with me," she admitted. "But not for the reasons you've said. We can see the world, go anywhere. My clan will be situated soon and then I'll give it up. You deserve more than living in the dredges of the American wilderness."

"I like it here," I shot back.

"You've never known anywhere else," she argued. "We could go to Norway, to Honduras..."

"Stefa, I have family here," I insisted. "They're important to me."

"And I'm not?" she countered.

I wasn't able to quickly shoot back a reply, so I took a drink instead, mulling over my answer.

"You are important to me," I told her cautiously. "But I worry that you don't find other people important. I can't live like that. I don't want to live like that. Thank you for the offer; but no, I'd rather stay here."

Stefa sighed, pushing one red curl out of her face.

"If you insist. I can't say I understand, but if that is what you want."

She rose from her seat abruptly and left the coffee shop. I watched her go, the familiar ache in my chest returning as the door shut. Aidan and Grant rushed over to me a second later.

"Damn Conor," Aidan laughed. "That woman is beautiful. And you said no?"

"Aidan," Grant chided. "Conor can make his own decision without being vapid."

"I'm not vapid," Aidan retorted. "I'm objective. Stefa is, objectively speaking, beautiful. It's just a fact. I'm not interested, that would be weird."

"Can we go home?" I asked, feeling the full brunt of my exhaustion bear down on my shoulders.

"Turns out, I don't mind coffee," Grant remarked as we headed back out in the snow. "It doesn't taste like it did before, but it's not terrible."

"He drank all of mine," Aidan complained. "We could call Mel, let her know that we're headed back."

He started the car and tossed the phone to Grant who dialed. I sat between them, focusing on my breathing. I didn't want to go with Stefa. I knew that. I had missed her. I was dehydrated and overwhelmed and this day had felt like an eternity all unto itself.

Once Mel had been notified, Aidan and Grant pondered about what other liquids Grant could drink and taste, wondering if had to do with temperature.

"Have you tried tea?" Aidan inquired. "Susie Lynn has been drinking tea. I'll brew a dozen cups and we'll try them out."

"You're crazy," Grant laughed. "Like, you'll be stuck drinking all that tea when I can't stand it."

"Well, it'll make up for the fact, the fact, that you downed my coffee like a man dying of thirst."

"I can't be dying, I'm already dead," Grant shot back. "And you had the credit card, you could just buy another coffee."

"Don't you have your own card?" Aidan pointed out. "We're not hiding from your parents anymore."

"I don't keep a credit card in my back pocket while throwing hale bales for nostalgia's sake," Grant scoffed. "You could have bought a tiny coffee for yourself to replace the sip that I took and saved yourself this whole argument."

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back to fall asleep.

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What do we think of Stefa now?

I think Aidan and Grant are adorable. Others are allowed to have opinions, I guess. Thanks for reading!