Henry slowly opened his eyes and panted out a groan. The pain slowly subsided, so did the dizziness. He grabbed onto the bed above him and managed to pull himself up to his shaking legs. Once he was sure he could stand on his own, he walked out of his room.
He went to Rose's room. The door was open, and he peeked in. He saw the curtains wildly swaying in the wind, but she wasn't in there. He looked at his watch, it was late in the afternoon. He had overslept. He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands, and walked downstairs toward the kitchen.
He didn't see any sign of Rose in the kitchen nor the living room. As another wave of lightheadedness washed over him, he was forced to sit down. Once his head finally cleared enough, he was able to think straight; Rose was most definitely in the garden.
He opened the door and saw her on the same rock she had been on yesterday.
She looked at him when the door opened and gave a slight smile as did Henry. She looked carefully at him – something was different. Then, she noticed that he was paler and seemed almost sick and drained.
"I-I knocked on your door, but you didn't answer. So I waited f-for a while and tried again, but you still didn't respond, that's why I-I came here. Is that ok?"
"Yes, that's alright. You can come here anytime you want. Besides, it's my fault for over resting." She nodded. "Come on, you must be hungry." It was only then that Rose noticed she was hungry. But not the type of hungry that made her ache and weak, but one that was just kinda there.
They walked to the kitchen and since Henry could barely think straight, and he didn't want to burn his house to the ground, he just reheated the food. For him, it wasn't ideal, but for Rose, it was perfect.
"So," Henry began, "you like to read?" he said, picking up the conversation from yesterday.
Rose nodded her head, mouth full of a small bite of pancake.
She laid down her fork and Henry began to clear and clean the dishes as well as the ones from last night, which Rose had placed in the sink, not knowing how to approach a dishwasher.
"If you want, we can go to the library afterward. Or you can go back to the garden." It sounded like a choice, and Rose was terrible at choosing.
"T-the . . . library."
Henry warmly smiled. "Follow me." They walked to a door that Rose remembered Henry telling her was the library. However, he had given her permission to go in there, she was too scared too without him or his direct permission.
Bookshelves lined the entire room, a small couch was in one corner, a plush chair in another, and in the middle of the room was Henry's desk. The desk was dark oak, as well as the bookshelves.
"Sorry that this isn't the most exciting thing to do, but it's something," Henry said as he shrugged. He wanted to take her outside, but he knew the light would cause his headache to go into overdrive.
"Thank you." Rose's eyes sparkled as she looked around the room in amazement. She didn't know this many books existed. She walked around and gazed at every single novel.
Henry sat down at his desk. He picked up a book that he had already started and continued to read it. He propped his feet on top of the desk.
After exploring the entire room, Rose had found a book that she liked. It didn't seem to have too many words that she didn't know and she hoped she could grasp the concept. Opening the book, she sat down in a plush chair and began to read.
After Rose and Henry got bored of reading in his office, they decided to go into the living room and read.
Henry raised an eyebrow when he felt a soft tap on his arm. Looking to the side, he saw as Rose quickly retracted her hand. When she didn't speak he hummed, urging her to continue.
"What does clandestine mean?" She didn't want to annoy him due to this being at least the twentieth time she had asked a similar question, but she couldn't continue with the sentence until she knew.
He leaned over and read the sentence. "It means secret or hidden . . . I think." Henry smiled and watched as the corners of her mouth lifted. He had never seen her fully smile and actually found himself wanting to. It was only then that he realized he was still leaning in close to her and staring at her face.
Clearing his throat, he sat back and continued to read.
Ever so slowly, Rose allowed her shoulder to touch his and before long she was almost leaning against him. It felt nice to actually be able to touch a vampire and not be punished for it. With Henry, she felt a sense of comfort and security and she surprisingly found that being closer to him on the couch made it come easier.
Henry felt a little sick and lightheaded, but he tried to concentrate on the book, hoping that it would go away and that he wouldn't pass out again.
All I have to do is make it to the end of this month and then I'll be able to get more blood.
He blinked multiple times, trying to clear his head.
Just when his symptoms began to clear and he was able to focus fully on the book, Rose tapped his shoulder again.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Can I get some water?" This time, she dared so much as to make more than a second of eye contact.
"Of course. Do you know where to get it or would you like me to?"
"I think I can get it."
"Ok," he said. With his unsaid permission, Rose stood up and walked to the kitchen.
Standing on the tips of her toes, she barely managed to reach a cup. After staring at the fridge and its complicated watering system, she finally decided that sink water would also suffice.
Turning carefully around, she jumped back. Henry was standing a few inches in front of her. She almost spoke but stopped when she saw that his eyes were a dark crimson. She knew those cruel eyes by heart, her old Master and Shopkeeper had them, and now, Henry.
"Actually, there is something that you can get me." He stepped toward her and she instinctively stepped back. Reaching out a hand, Rose flinched but didn't try to move away from him anymore. His finger tapped against the side of her neck, some of the area still bruised from her time in the Shop. He leaned down until his face was in front of her pale one. "I think your rare blood will do nicely, Pet."
Thank you as always as reading. Hope you liked it.
Don't forget to comment, follow, and vote. ;)
THIS BOOK IS NOW PUBLISHED SO IF YOU WANT TO FINISH IT YOU HAVE TO BUY IT.
GO BUY AND REVIEW IT ON AMAZON AND GOODREADS!!!! THIS BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON IBOOKS, NOOK, KOBO, SCRIBED, 24 SYMBOLS, !NDIGO, AND ANDERSON AND ROBERTSON. GO BUY AND REVIEW IT THERE TOO!