Before I could respond, he was up and carrying me bridal style toward the street. I twisted to look behind us.“What about the dead guy? And my boot?”
“I don’t clean other people’s kills. Your foot is swollen, you’re not gonna be able to wear that boot anytime soon. And it’s full of blood. Do you really want it?”
“…yes. I loved thatboot.”
“And I’m sure the boot loved you.” Dennis snickered. We reached his car, where Ari was slumped in the passenger seat.
“Are you sure she’s okay?” I gestured toward her as he placed me in back.
“She’ll be fine. If she doesn’t wake up soon, it’ll be time to worry.” He scooted me against the opposite door, then sat and pulled my broken foot up for inspection.“Are you wearing anything under that?” he asked offhandedly, glancing between my legs.
“Yes. Don’t be a pervert.” I pressed a hand over my skirt to cover the view I hadn’t realized was there.
“I was just wondering.” He smirked and tapped a zipper on my skirt. “Since you’re being modest today, you might wanna zip that up.”
I zipped both sides of the mostly undone skirt before shoving it down in the middle. “Can you focus now?” I winced when he ran a hand along the bloody skin, pressing here and there before moving my ankle in different directions. He was being gentle but even the tiniest touch was excruciating.“Are you done?” I asked breathlessly.
“Yeah,” he said. I grimaced as he licked the smeared blood from his fingers. “You taste sweet. I thought you would.” His eyes were a murky hazel, caught somewhere between their natural shade and black.
“That’s disgusting.” I shuddered. “Were you even checking anything, or did you just wanna taste my blood?”
“Yeah, I checked. You have a compound fracture.” He pointed to the source of blood and its protruding white. “You need to go to the hospital.” My stomach dropped at his words. I shook my head, fighting back a sudden urge to cry. “I’ll drive.”
“No! I don’t care if my entire foot falls off, I’m not going.” My body was hot, head pounding and chest tightening at the mention of a hospital. I could picture it: the spotless floors, the smell of death and sanitation, the steady beeps echoing down the hall until they became one flat line… “I can’t go again, I can’t—” I was panicking, my chest heaving with each shallow breath.
I flinched when Dennis moved closer, then closed my eyes and leaned into the unexpected hug. It was oddly comforting.
“Youreallydon’t want to?” he asked. I shook my head. “Fine. We’ll figure it out, I guess.”
“Okay,” my voice was barely a whisper. I took a deep breath, then another. The headache was already receding. “Sorry for freaking out.”
“What’s happening?” Ari’s groggy voice came from up front.
“You passed out.” I said. “Long enough for that vampire to break my ankle and almost bite me. Dennis came to save us and apparently they know each other? He almost strangled the guy ‘til I distracted them by almost dying of pain. Then the guy ran off and here we are. My bone’s sticking out.” I gestured to the gruesome thing when Ari twisted to see.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help! I feel horrible.”
“It’s okay. But I have to say, I’m sick and tired of being adamsel in distress. I’ve never needed saving in my life, but after moving here it happens two days in a row. From vampires, of all things! What is happening?”
“Our system is going through a change,” Dennis said, pulling away. “We told you.”
“Well I hate it. I’m not used to being weak and it can fuck right off. I wanna be a vampire.”
Dennis seemed lost in thought.“If you turn, we’ll still be blood bound. I’m not undoing it. And you can never go back to being human.”
“I think you should.”
“Really?” I stared at Ari. I never thought she would agree.
“At this point, yeah. One of us should and it’s not gonna be me.”
“Can I?” I turned back to Dennis.
“As long as you’re sure.”
“I’m positive.” I beamed when he officially agreed. “Thanks for saving us. I’m starting to think you might actually care about me and not just annoying me.”
“That’s what binds are for.” He brushed my hair aside before getting out and walking off.
