bite.

Chapter 5b

I tried to sleep, but even though my body was exhausted, my mind was wired.

I amused myself by rifling through the shelves and drawers of my new room. Francesca had hooked me up with everything, including a CD player and a collection of CD albums. I flicked through the albums and recognised Christiana Aguilara's new album. It had come out a few days before I died and her song 'Genie in a Bottle' was number one.

I remembered  asking Micah if he would get it for me, as a going away present for college. 

Throwing the CD on, I crashed out on the bed and listened to the music. It was comforting to hear a song that I recognised. I was starting to feel like a living anachronism after trying to switch on the TV.

Sure, there were things that I recognised, but there was a whole bunch of stuff that was completely unfamiliar. I didn't understand what an iPhone was or an iPad... even though Francesca had brought me the gold versions each. I didn't care about any of this expensive stuff - I just wanted to leave this hotel room and find Michael.

Flipping onto my back, I thought about what he was doing right now. Maybe he was having dinner, watching TV... or taking a shower.

I shook my head and sat upright. What was wrong with me? I was a good girl - I wasn't supposed to have those kind of thoughts.

With a long exhale, I sighed, "I need a glass water to cool down."

I got up and headed out the room. The lights were off in the corridor and so I started fumbling for a light switch. As I did so, I heard a low soft feminine moan echoed from the lounge.

"Lift your shirt up, so I can taste you," the unfamiliar woman's voice rasped.

"I don't think we should do this. I'm staying here with my wife," a male voice replied uncertainly. "It's our anniversary."

"And yet, you are here with me."

"Oh God," the man gasped, "If you touch me like that again, I'm going to explode."

At that moment, my hand found the light switch and I flipped it on.

The lounge lit us and I saw a young woman in black lingerie, straddling an older middle aged man. Both of them looked at me, the older man gasped in embarrassment and quickly started to button up his shirt, while the woman continued to stare at me, completely unashamed of her partial nudity.

"Who the hell are you people?" I asked.

"I'm sorry," the man started to apologise, "I didn't know-"

The woman silenced him, pressing her long finger against his lips and breathing, "Shhhh, now. Do up your zipper and wait for me outside."

The man nodded and slid out from underneath her, rushing to the door. The woman picked up her blouse from the floor and casually buttoned up her top.

"Please forgive, Lorna. I thought the apartment was empty," she said.

"How do you know who I am?" I demanded.

"I've spent a lot of time on that coffee table - long enough to recognise you from the picture on it."

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Keira, I'm your cousin."

"Great, now please leave. I need to disinfect every item of furniture in this room."

"Lorna, you're understandably angry. I was the same when I was turned into vampire - but I need you to understand that you cannot breath a word about what you just saw to Francesca or Magda."

"I couldn't care less about whatever skanky shit you were doing with that old man. I just want you out of here," I replied.

Keira stilled and her lips tightened as her sharp eyes narrowed on me.

"Did you call me skank?" she asked.

"Well, if the boot fits," I clapped back.

Her mouth opened slightly, as if she had never been called a harsh name in her life.

She raised a neatly manicured finger and pointed it at me. "Now you listen here, you dumb yankee bitch,  there is a natural order around here and I am at the top of that order. You on the other hand are at the bottom of that order. The sooner you learn this fact, the easier your life will become."

"I applaud your efforts to scare me, but it's not working," I said.

"Then let me rephrase it for you. Should you repeat what you saw here tonight, then I will ensure that no one in this coven acknowledges you, or your parents, for the next fifty years. Do you understand, baby cousin?"

I bit back my answer and watched her pick up her skirt and swagger out the door. As she opened the door, she paused and turned back to me.

"I promise you, Lorna, If you keep my secrets then I swear to keep yours."

 "I don't have anything to hide," I snapped.

"Oh baby, everyone does."

She shut the door and left me alone in the apartment. I glanced down at the couch and noticed that all the cushions had been knocked onto the floor. Cursing Keira under my breath, I leaned down to start cleaning up the mess.

What the hell was her problem? Why was she so cagey about her fling with that married man? Maybe the coven didn't like adulterers?

As I pondered these many thoughts, I noticed a small drop of red on the floor. I paused and touched it with my finger. Instantly, I knew what it was. I could tell by it's texture and smell that it was blood.

I leaned back on my heels suddenly realising why Keira had been so cagey - she was sneaking guests into the apartment to have a little midnight snack.

Drinking blood from humans was a big no-no on the vampire/slayer treaty. If Keira was caught, god only knows what this could mean for the coven and for the slayers.

My heart panicked - if anything happened to the truce between the slayers and the coven, Michael and I would be separated - forever,

No, I couldn't let that happened. I had to cover this up. 

Running to the kitchen and I grabbed fistfuls of paper towels and a bottle of disinfectant. I then spent the next hour on my hands and knees, carefully mopping up any specks of blood or bodily fluid that Keira had left behind.

When I finished, I flushed the paper towels down the toilet and took another shower. Inside the bathroom, I scrubbed every inch of my body clean. I was paranoid that there could be some small trace of blood on me that could link Keira back to that man.

After I left the shower, my fingertips still stank of bleach. I crawled into bed and stuck my hands under the duvet so I couldn't smell them.

I glanced at the clock - it was 5am.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.