Hearing a thump against the front door, I woke with a very lady-like snort. I groaned and rolled over, wishing the sun wasn't so harsh. Then I remembered. I remembered it all. The death, the government, the vampire.
Gasping, I sat up and wondered when I'd gone to bed. I'd vowed to fill myself full of coffee so that I would not sleep until my house was vampire free. It was a ridiculous thing to think considering that I could not stay awake for too long, but fear filled me. I didn't want to be vulnerable around Constantino; I didn't want to fall asleep.
But I had and, I was still in one piece. Alive and hopefully all my blood was in my body. Feeling over my body, I searched for sore spots, puncture wounds, anything that might indicate he'd bitten me. I found nothing, and I was honestly surprised by it.
Hearing the door open and shut, I jumped out of bed and raced down the corridor. Did Constantino go outside? Was he burned by the sun? Did he let someone into the house? A lot of thoughts and worries filled my mind as I rushed out to see what was going on.
Constantino was walking back through the loungeroom with a newspaper in his hand. He looked up at me and offered a vague smile. Still dressed in that ridiculous looking outfit that I'd found for him last night, he acted like he didn't care.
"Dohr," He sounded out slowly.
I smiled just a little.
"Yeah, the paperboy got it wrong again. It belongs to the neighbour. I should take it back."
Reaching out for it, Constantino frowned and moved it out of my grasp.
"Reeeed."
"It's a little complex for a beginner, don't you think?"
"Luuu-ceee."
"Fine, whatever. I always like it when Harold yells at me for stealing his newspapers."
He turned the paper over so that I could see the underside. Nelson's picture was one of a few. I took it from Constantino and unfolded it, looking at the ten images of the dead.
"Sor-eee."
I looked up at Constantino and saw genuine remorse. Was it because I was sad or did he genuinely regret taking their lives?
"It's fine; I understand that you consume human blood and that death happens."
I just wish it wasn't so close to home. Gesturing to my teeth, I hoped that he understood.
"Are you hungry?"
It looked like he was mulling over the options in his mind. Tell her and freak her out or lie and go without. Was it dangerous?
Warily, he nodded.
"How long?" I asked, pointing to the clock.
"Ni-hht."
"Night?"
He frowned for a moment and then nodded.
"Can you go out into the sun?"
Constantino looked at me and said nothing.
"I'll assume no seeing as a ghost would have more colour in his skin tone," I muttered.
As I walked into the kitchen to make breakfast, I knew that I'd have to take Constantino out to feed tonight. I'd also have to find him something better than the clothes that were too small for him and looked incredibly wrong. But none of it mattered when I was not supposed to go out into public places. I was in quarantine that was home-based because I exhibited no signs of any possible infections. Given the opportunity, I believed that the government would have put all of us into isolation. Thankfully the budget didn't cover the unnecessary.
Waiting for the coffee machine, I stared out the back window, trying to figure out how I'd dress Constantino. Then the thoughts plagued me that it was wrong to go out of the house when I'd been ordered to stay inside. Curious to a new thought in my mind, I quickly walked to the front of my unit and looked out the window. I thought that I knew all the vehicles that parked in this street but that white van a few doors up, it was new.
"Well, that's rather intriguing," I muttered.
Returning to my coffee, I picked up the cup and wandered to the dining table.
"How did I get into my bed last night?"
The dark eyes lifted to me; a vague smile crossed his face.
"Right, so you carried me to bed."
Taking a deep breath, I smiled. It was forced and uneasy, but I was grateful.
"Thank you for that and for not biting me."
Reading through the article in the newspaper, I learned that Nelson and the two helpers had died as well as seven students that were in the tomb. The report also indicated that another two were in quarantine but not expected to make it through the next twenty-four hours; they had to be Hannah and Roger. The entire site of the tomb has been closed off out of fear of a new disease because it reported that the doctors have no idea what was wrong with them. It stated that there was no need for alarm because the source had been blocked and that there was no risk of an outbreak.
Except, there was.
Putting the paper down, I leaned forward and caught Constantino's attention by tapping on the newspaper.
"Why didn't they die straight away?"
"Hi-ide." He offered.
"You were hiding the truth about yourself?"
Constantino didn't offer anything, but I figured it's what he meant. It still left me with a lot of questions that I needed to be answered before tonight.
"How many will you need if you kill instantly?"
His gaze lifted from the computer, a single index finger was lifted.
"And how often do you need to feed if you kill?"
He moved between two and three fingers, then returned to one.
"Okay, so one to three nights."
With a sigh, I leaned back in the seat.
"I gotta say, Constantino, I have a lot of huge issues about this."
"Luuu-ceee."
Lifting my head, I saw the frown.
"Oh, I know. I'm no different because I eat meat, but honestly, this is just hard to comprehend."
I was going to be an accessory to murder. It was something that I never aspired to be, never in a million years but then, I never thought that I'd be sitting at my dining table with a vampire.
Finishing my coffee, I stood from the table and wandered back into the kitchen.
"Did you sleep at all last night?"
Constantino shook his head. I suppose that after spending so long being dead or almost dead, sleep was a little unnecessary at the moment.
"Okay, well, I'm going to have a shower. Try not to wreck the place, eh?"
As he turned to the back door, Constantino frowned heavily. The sounds of birds were tweeting and the neighbours yelling at each other were distracting as well.
"Why don't you use the headphones?"
Plugging it in, I showed Constantino how to use them.
"Just don't turn it up too loud, okay?"
He flicked his hand at me, wordlessly telling me to go away. With a huff, I rolled my eyes and closed the back door. It was curious that he had it open. Still, I would have thought that the sun was an issue regardless of where it was. Maybe it was only direct light that caused problems.
Before I turned down the corridor, I looked at Constantino's studious face. He was concentrating so hard, and it was odd, but the fact that he was trying to learn how to talk to me seemed to make me happier.