“Okay!” She started to get up, then paused. “You know, I was going to save this for later, but I think this would be a good time to set this up so you’re not just staring at me while I eat.”
I didn’t tell her that I would be happy to stare at her doing anything in the world, and that watching her enjoy herself would be a treat. I had a slight itch growing in my throat, and I couldn’t help but think that it was my worrying penchant to say something stupid at the wrong moment. Somehow, I managed to be quite smooth and natural with Naomi, and I didn’t want to ruin that now.
“I think you’re going to like this,” she continued, hurrying away. As if I hadn’t thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from her every effort she’d made since before I’d even walked in the door. “I’m not exactly an expert on the subject, and there wasn’t time to ship it, so I had to get what was in stock at the retro store, but I figured, this way, whenever you visit, you wouldn’t have to go without.”
She returned with a gramophone and a vinyl in her other hand.
She… She had really gone out and gotten that for me just so I could listen to records while I was at her place? The burning in my eyes increased, and I now knew for certain that my waterline was growing wet and irritated.
“Naomi…” I wheezed, my voice barely there. She really was the perfect woman. I wished I could articulate that, but I waschoking up in the same manner as I had when Ibrahim walked into the sun to conclude his journey.
Actually… wait.
Maybe I was actually choking?
All of a sudden, I wheezed, and the warmth that had been radiating down my throat became more itchy than anything else. What was going on?
“Wait, are you wearing makeup again? I’m sorry, I didn’t notice. Did you do that for me?” Naomi asked, but it was like she kept going above and below water, her tones and syllables warping all around each other.
“No,” I rasped. “No makeup.”
“Oh, are you sure? Because you look like you’re wearing blush. And maybe even a little lipstick. I don’t mind. I wear makeup too. As long as it’s something you want to do and not something you feel forced to do.”
She was sweet, but I actually didn’tliketo wear makeup at all, and also,I haven’t put any on.
Concern rushed through my mind as the heated feeling went from comforting to extremely uncomfortable. I whipped out my phone to check my reflection in the camera. Sure enough, my cheeks were red and growing redder by the second. And now that I thought about it, my tongue was indeed feeling too big for my mouth.
“Need… need to check something.”
I stood, going to the kitchen where Naomi had taken the empty bottle of wine. Checking the label again, I saw it was indeed a trusted brand, so it was unlikely to be poisoned or cursed. Okay, So what could possibly be happening?
I heard soft footsteps behind me and turned, planning to inform Naomi that the wine was safe, but I didn’t get a word out before she let out a sharp, startled scream.
“Rowan!”
“Wha?” It wasn’t enunciated or coherent, but she understood what I meant. She took a photo of me with her and showed it to me. I blinked at her screen, eyes itchier and more watery than ever.
Oh.
Yeah, that really wasn’t good.
My face was puffy, swollen, and exaggerated in a way that didn’t seem physically possible. My eyes were nearly swollen shut, tears streaming from them, which explained why the world was suddenly so blurry. As if that wasn’t enough, there was a rash spreading from my face down my neck—and the rest of my body, if the itchiness was any indication.
“Do you know what’s happening?” Naomi asked, her voice carrying a hint of panic. “Is there anyone I can take you to? Is there vampire medicine for... whatever this is?”
I shook my head, thoughts vacillating between rapid and sluggish, and I tried to remember what this element could possibly be. I hadn’t been human in a long time, but it tugged at the recesses of my memory. Something similar to when I’d used a soap that had been a gift from my father that had left me...
“Allergy!”I said with a surprising amount of volume considering that my throat felt like it had narrowed down to the size of a pencil.
I was having an allergic reaction.
And that was when my eyes landed on our empty dishes in the sink and the pot with the delicious meal that had filled me with such beautiful nostalgia and introspection. A dish I hadn’t had in so long, I had forgotten that along with the onion, there was another significant aromatic in it. After all, I’d only ever cooked it once in my entire life and that had been more than eighty years ago.
“Garlic!”
“Wait,” Naomi yelped, all the color draining from her face. “The garlic thing is true? Every source I read said that it didn’t actually work as a vampire repellent!”
“Doesn’t.” Oops, and there went the vision in my left eye completely. I was now down to monovision. “Repel, that is. Hanging garlic is useless. But we are allergic.Severely.”
