##
“You’re in our room tonight,” Julien said as dawn approached. They were heading up the stairs, Karim following as he turned off the last of the downstairs lights.
“I am?” Luis almost stumbled over a step.
“You need to sleep, so let’s try something different,” Julien said. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed, then come to our room.” Julien paused at Luis’s door and turned to look at him.
“Um, okay,” Luis said.
Julien nodded and turned to continue toward his room.
“Don’t take too long,” Karim said as he passed, a smirk edging his lips.
Luis flushed and hurried into his own room.
He quickly changed into pajamas and brushed his teeth and washed his face. In the bathroom mirror he looked tired. Hetilted his head and could see the already healing marks from the bites. He touched them, but they were barely sensitive.
“Okay,” he said to himself, taking a deep breath in and out. He was just going to sleep. Nothing else was going on.
Still, he dawdled a few more seconds fussing with the unruly curls. He needed a haircut soon.
Finally, Luis forced himself to his bedroom door and then took slow, uncertain steps down to the other bedroom.
The overhead light of Julien and Karim’s bedroom was off, the room lit just by the far bathroom. Julien was standing in front of the bathroom mirror in a silky matching pajama set, applying some cream to his face. Karim was seated on the edge of the bed in the dark, idly watching him.
Karim turned, sensing his presence. They gazed at each other. Luis expected a smirk or some joke, but Karim didn’t speak.
In the leftover space, a question rose in Luis’s mind.
“Did you ever see your family again after you left?” Luis asked.
Karim’s expression flattened, and Luis almost took the question back. “I saw my father once,” he said, “woke up to him above me, stake in hand.”
Luis winced. Right, Karim had mentioned. “Oh.”
Karim held out his hand, crooking his fingers in a beckoning motion. Luis unstuck from the doorway and shuffled closer. Karim took his hand, tugging him gently down to sit beside him.
“I don’t miss them,” Karim said, “if that’s what you’re wondering. I miss the idea of who I wish they were,” Karim let out a slow breath. “But they never were those people. That was a fantasy. The reality is that they were hateful, cruel people with no love in their hearts.”
“How long…?” Luis wasn’t sure exactly what he was asking.How long ago did they die? How long did you mourn them? How long until this gnawing ache of hurt becomes manageable?
Karim squeezed his hand.
“Eventually, what you’re feeling will fade,” Karim said. “And in its place will be the love you make for yourself, the family you choose. People who care for youbecauseof who you are, not in spite of it.”
Luis’s heart was pounding. He nodded. He didn’t know if he believed that, but he wanted to.
“You’re strong,” Karim said. “It will get better, I promise.”
Luis leaned in, bumping their shoulders together. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Karim squeezed his hand again.
“For now, we get to watch Julien’s beauty show,” Karim said, lightening his tone. “He has a bedtime routine that he won’t sacrifice for anyone.”
Julien made a sound of offense from the bathroom. “Skincare is very important.” He had something foamy that he was working into his skin with practiced hands.
“We’re vampires,” Karim deadpanned.
“We stillage,” Julien said with a huff. “Just slower. All the more reason to maintain one’s body, we have it for much, much longer.”
