Love Bite | Yandere!Vampires x F!Reader

05: Rejected

They say money makes the world go round, but for someone like you, it does the exact opposite.

Money makes your world come crashing down.

"Feel better soon," the receptionist smiles. It's a practiced smile, devoid of any real sympathy. Although you suppose she must see hundreds of patients every day. There's really nothing that distinguishes you from them. Other than the fact that you're broke.

You let out a sigh and turn away, but as you walk past the waiting area, someone shoots up from their seat.

"[Name]!" Caleb exclaims. "Are you... are you alright? Is your head going to be fine?"

Ah. Right. He was there when you passed out. For a moment, you'd almost forgotten. He must have been the one to dial emergency services, and you suppose he also came along with you to the hospital.

It's a nice gesture. He was worried, so of course he wanted to make sure you got properly examined.

Caleb only ever has good intentions, and by now, you know this all too well. Still.

Part of you can't help but secretly feel annoyed.

If he hadn't brought you here, you wouldn't have lost so much money.

"I'm fine," you reply bitterly. You know it isn't fair to be upset with him just for trying to look out for you, but you can't help but feel frustrated. You go to such lengths to manage your debt and live, just like everyone else. Nothing would have changed if he'd just waited for you to regain consciousness. It's not like you were dying.

Caleb smiles, and unlike the receptionist, you can tell that his is genuine.

"Thank god," he exhales. "You scared the crap out of me back there. What happened? You were looking really faint for a while. Have you not been eating properly?"

"I'm fine," you say again.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't have ended up in the hospital," he counters.

"I didn't need to go to the hospital. You made that decision for me."

He reels back, surprised by the harshness of your tone. Shit. You didn't actually mean to snap at him. It's just been a really shitty couple of days, and on top of how weak you feel, you're stressed out about losing so much money.

"I-I'm sorry," Caleb mumbles, face flushed from shame. "I know money's tight for you, [Name]. But... I was just so scared. I didn't know what else to do, and I was worried you wouldn't wake up. I couldn't take the risk and wait it out."

Your shoulders slump. It obviously wasn't your intention to try and make him feel bad, especially since his reaction was completely justified. You honestly hate that you're like this. Money brings out the worst in you. It makes you lash out at the few good people you have in your life.

"Don't apologize," you say, shaking your head. "I'm just not feeling well, and I took it out on you. I appreciate how much you care. I should be the one to say sorry. Thanks for cutting your shift short and coming along with me instead."

Caleb's face flushes again, but this time, you get the feeling that it's for a different reason.

"Of course," he replies shyly. "It's the least I can do. And I know it probably isn't much, but how about I lend you a bit of money? Because I understand all this medical stuff can be really expensive, and you probably need some time to make up for your losses."

He's offering to lend you money. Borrowing money... that's exactly what your parents did. And then they ended up in a shitload of debt to a group of loan sharks.