She looked down at the bottle in her limp hand, too confused to be disgusted. “Why would I need to be on a synth diet? Only vampires drink synth.”
“Well… yes,” the doctor replied, finally lowering his tablet to really look at her. He cleared his throat. Rolling his shoulders back a bit, he said, “Miss McKnight, I saw on your chart that you were recently admitted to the ER for a puncture to your shoulder, concussion, and other mild injuries. Were you at any time during the incident that caused those wounds exposed to a vampire’s blood?”
The image of the jagged piece of metal pinning her and Mr. Bowan together flashed in her mind. And afterward, when hismen pulled it loose, blood had rained down on her in an awful splash. She’d been covered from her from chin to belly button.
Dahlia nodded slowly. “A bit, yes.”
Appearing to need a second to collect himself, the doctor turned his back to find one of those odd little rolling stools medical professionals liked so much. He dragged it across the floor and perched on the cushion before continuing.
“It’s rare —reallyrare — but the vampirism virus can be transferred accidentally if enough blood is exchanged.”
She gave the doctor a blank stare. “That’s not possible.”
“I’m afraid it is,” he replied, not sounding particularly regretful or sympathetic. “Our tests confirmed you’ve been infected and are in the last stage of transition. All that’s left is for your incisors to fall out.”
His words were starting to come through clearer. That was bad. She didn’t want that. Clarity meant reality, and she was starting to suspect that reality wasn’t something she could face.
Dahlia’s sweaty fingers clutched the bottle hard enough to dent the cheap aluminum. Her vision swam. “My— my teeth are going to fall out?”
“It’s totally normal! Your fangs should come in within a couple hours or so. They’re already in there, pushing against the old nerves. That’s what’s causing you so much pain.” He patted his knees in the way people did when they were about to leave. “Of course, there’s no need to wait for nature to take its course there. The process can be quite painful. We’ll do it for you here with a local anesthetic. You should be good to go.”
Standing up, he ignored the way she’d begun to hyperventilate and walked to the door. “There are a few more tests I need to run, and you should come in for a check-up next week, but otherwise you should be back to normal very soon.”
“Normal?” Her voice came out choked, like the word was a bunch of broken glass in her throat. “How can I be normal when I’m— when?—”
“You’re a vampire?” The doctor cracked the door open, but he didn’t leave right away. Keeping his hand on the knob, he turned to give her a close-lipped smile. “This isn’t the end of your life, Miss McKnight. It’s the start of a new one. Try not to worry too much. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Unknown Number
—Missed call Friday 11:15 PM
Did you not like my gift
I know it’s the one you wanted. Send me a picture with the necklace on. Clothing optional but strongly discouraged
Keep ignoring me and I’ll just send more diamonds. You know I love getting your attention
—Call began Saturday 1:05 AM
—Call ended Saturday 1:43 AM
Is it weird that I kind of like it when you yell at me
absolutely yes
So maybe I shouldn’t say it made me hard when you told me to fuck off
I WILL throw my phone in the ocean
I’ll just buy you a new one again. I love getting you gifts
You could find a woman who actually likes getting gifts, you know
Ah, but she wouldn’t be you
Call me when you’re done with work
no
