Hotbloods, Coldbloods, and the Creatures In Between

#14: Sonny

Despite her name, Tick had steady hands. The needle still hurt as she jabbed it through my rough edges of skin. "What the hell happened to you?" She looked at my shoulder and sounded like she was about to hurl.

"A dog." I lied. Gryle passed me a glance. One of those fatherly glances where you know he knows you might be lying, but he says nothing anyway. Someone clears his throat on the other side of the curtain and I can tell is Dominic. My heart races and I remember his teeth, his nose brushing against my shoulder. His hand around my neck.

"Can I come in?" Dominic asks and I shake away the fear nipping at my neck with every jab of the needle.

"Sure." Tick says, absent mindedly.

"No!" I try to stop him, but it's too late. He's staring at the thread and needle, the open wound, and finally to me. The guilt and heartbreak returns. "Wait outside. Just a few minutes." I didn't want him to see me. Vito said it was an accident. That their parents were killed and when a vampire loses a maker, they go insane for a few minutes until the feeling of losing air to breathe fades. I was worried he'd never let me sit on his lap again.

"There," Tick says as she begins to coat the wound in ointment and then wrap it in gauze and tape. She gives me a pat on the shoulder, the good shoulder, and leaves.

"Can I come in, now?" Dominic asks again, his voice pitched in a nonthreatening tone.

"Yes." I say, and Dominic slowly pulls the curtain back with caution. He gives me a nervous smile and waves awkwardly at Gryle. Gryle doesn't wave back or smile. Dominic doesn't know what to say.

"Do you want to apologize?" Gryle asked Dominic in his deep baritone.

"He didn't do anything. I wasn't watching, the dog came at me. If it weren't for Dom, I'd be d-" I began to argue until Gryle held up a hand.

"Don't lie to me, Sonny." I hate that line. Gryle has always known when I was lying. I told Emie I thought he was psychic and she laughed at me, but I never thought I was that terrible of a liar.

"I'm not l-"

"It was me, sir. It wasn't a dog." Dominic admitted.

"People don't bite other people, Dominic, dogs bite people." I scowled at him.

"And people still love dogs, right?" Dominic added. "Because they're lovable." He smiles.

I look at Gryle, but he doesn't seem to be surprised. "I know what you and Vito are. You don't live in the tunnels, live under the stars and the city lights without seeing a few things you weren't meant to see." Gryle didn't seem afraid. "I was told it was an accident, so please, continue to apologize to my Sonny."

"I'm sorry." Dominic said quickly, like he was holding it in with his breath for hours.

"I'm sorry, too." I said. "About your mom and dad." Dominic nodded his head. Gryle excused himself and disappeared behind the curtains. Dominic inches towards me and my hand twitched when he tried to hold it. "I don't even remember my parents. I was too young when they died."

"Vito said we have to go home for mourning. There will be a ceremony, and..." he trailed off. "I don't want to leave you." The throbbing in my shoulder was an inconvenient burden while I was losing a future with Dominic in it. "Vito said it wasn't a good time. That it's a bad idea, but I want to."

"Want to what?"

"Take you with us." Dominic scratched the back of his head nervously. "If you want to come. To Florence."

Before I can answer I hear Vito outside the curtain. "You better say yes. I had to practically beg my uncle for another ticket and I don't like begging."

"You're not going without me." Ry's voice chimed in as well. "A warmblood with two vampires on a trip to meet the rest of the vampire family sounds like a shit idea. You'll need protection." Ry pulls back the curtain. Vito is standing beside him.

"Too late. I only got three tickets."

"Then buy another." Ry growled.

Vito's lip curled. "You can ride coach."t