“Theo, please just go wait.” I pointed to the closest room. “I promise I’ll be there in a moment.”
His brows knitted together but he backed off. “All right. Don’t take too long, this place is kind of spooky when no one else is here.”
“You’re avampire!”
He rolled his eyes. “So what? I can’t think an abandoned doctor’s office is creepy?” Before I could reply, he mumbled, “Fine, I’m going…”
When he was gone, I returned to my task. I gathered the necessary items from the storage, then popped into one of the spare rooms with the equipment I needed. I grimaced at the thought of doing this, but it was the only thing I could think of that might work.
I washed up in the sink, then placed the items on the counter beside the chair. I breathed deeply and took a seat. I’d performed this task with others countless times, but never on myself--but it wasn’t like I could ask Theo to do it for me.
After placing the tourniquet, cleaning my forearm with alcohol, and finding the vein, I drew a vial of my own blood. I forced myself to watch as the vial filled up with my own life essence. When it was finished, I placed a cotton ball and bandage over the tiny wound.
To be honest, I was a bit surprised I didn’t pass out, but I didn’t go through eight years of medical school to get squeamish at the sight of blood--even if it was my own.
With a shudder and shaky sigh, I got up and picked up all the items. This had to work, because otherwise I didn’t know what else to do.
“Theo?” I said, poking my head into the room he was in.
He sat there looking a bit bored, but smiled at me. “Hey. Done doing whatever you’re doing?”
“Yes.”
Theo’s eyes drifted down to my forearm and his smile fell. His nose twitched a bit. “What happened?”
I put my arm behind my back. “Er, nothing.”
“Maxwell,” he said. “I know when you’re hiding things from me. You’re a bad liar.”
I sighed. “Well, I guess there’s no point in doing that anymore.”
“Why do I smell… blood and alcohol?” he muttered.
I paused in the doorway, still holding the items behind my back. “How are you feeling?”
“I told you, I feel fine,” he insisted.
“Great.” I smiled, even though my heart was still racing from nerves. “Then I suppose we can get started.”
Theo watched me warily.
“Can you, er, do me a favor and close your eyes? It’s necessary for the experiment,” I said.
“What experiment are you talking about?” Theo asked in exasperation. “Look, Max, I want to help you with… whatever it is you’re doing, but I don’t know how if you won’t tell me.”
I shrugged. “I’m sorry, Theo, but for the sake of the experiment and the most accurate results, you need to be kept in the dark, so to speak.”
He made a face but didn’t object. He slowly shut his eyes and said, “Okay.”
I crossed the room and placed the items on the counter, ignoring the discomfort in the arm I’d drawn the blood from earlier. With uncertainty knotting my stomach, I glanced over to Theo, who sat patiently with his eyes shut and his brows slightly furrowed. I realized just how much trust he was putting in me, and I hesitated.
Was I wrong to try this without telling him? What if something went wrong? Theo would blame himself, even though it would be entirely my own fault.
But the point was to prove Theo’s stability and control. If my experiment worked, Adriel would have no choice but to change his mind.
I exhaled and tried to clear my mind.
Here goes nothing…
