When suspicions about my identity arose in the town where I had been living and I needed to move in a hurry, Cam was the first person I called. He offered me a position here as soon as one became available, and it’s actually kind of perfect. Part blood donation centre, part outpatient blood test service– plenty of opportunities for a pair of vampires to feed without harming any humans.
Beyond a sharp scratch, that is. But we can’t do much about that.
‘So,’ Cam says, taking the empty vial from my hands, ‘we could really use your skills in bay six.’
‘Say no more.’ I nod and I follow him out of the door.
For the record, my skills are numerous, but I’d hazard a guess that what’s waiting for me in bay six is a patient with particularly tricky veins. Probably a patient who’s telling us we need to find a doctor because their veins are so hard to find, which makes all of us laugh because most phlebotomists, or nurses, are far better at taking blood than most doctors, but even better than them? A 177-year-old vampire with a vast array of medical training and over a century of experience. I’ve got something of a reputation for being the vein whisperer now.
I’ll find that vein, don’t you worry. I’m relatively sure that at this stage I could fling the needle in from the far side of the bay, like a dart, but I can’t imagine patients being comfortable with that. The last thing I need is to draw attention to myself.
‘Mr Rowley,’ I say, pulling the curtain back and smiling at the pale, shrivelled husk of a man in the blue pleather chair. He actually looks like he hasn’t got a great deal of blood circulating, if I’m being honest, but if there’s some in there, I’ll find it.
Mr Rowley considers me for a moment before he huffs a disgruntled breath. ‘Are you a doctor?’
‘Florence is one of our most experienced phlebotomists,’ Cam says, in the calm, authoritative voice he uses when patients are being awkward.
The old man eyes me with suspicion. ‘Experienced? She doesn’t look old enough to have finished school!’
I try my best to keep my smile pleasant. My forever age– the age at which I was turned– is twenty-six, so Mr Rowley is not the first person to make a comment like that. If only he knew that I actually pre-date blood testing.
‘Well, Mr Rowley, appearances can be deceptive,’ I say, scooting my chair over to him and snapping on a pair of gloves. ‘But I’ll tell you what. If I can’t get this placed on the first try, I will personally fetch a doctor to do it for you. Does that sound fair?’
He nods once, and by the time he’s finished mumbling his reluctant reply, the needle is in.
‘Mic drop,’ Cam mutters over the old man’s head, so quietly that only my bat-like hearing picks it up. I stifle a smile and try not to make eye contact with either of them.
‘I’ve missed you,’ I whisper back to Cam once we’re done with Mr Rowley’s test, and it’s true. It’s the first time we’ve worked together in decades.
One of the inevitable challenges of being immortal is the suspicions you raise when you stay in the same place too long and don’t visibly age. You get used to it: uprooting your life, changing the way you look, your home, even your name sometimes. But things move on in your absence. It’s a strange feeling– like being homesick for a place that doesn’t exist anymore.
It helps to have a friend who knows how it feels. And Cam, he’s more than a friend. He’s family. He might look like he could be my dad, but I’ve always thought of him as a brother.
‘You ok?’ he asks, as we both whip off our gloves and bin them.
I try to smile, but the action falls a little short. ‘Just getting used to being back here.’ I straighten my uniform, unable to meet his eyes as I add, quietly, ‘You know how it is.’
He hums his understanding. ‘You’ll get there,’ he says, nudging my shoulder with his. It helps, a little. As much as anything can.
‘You know,’ he says, ‘I’m going out tonight. You should come with me.’
‘Can’t tonight,’ I reply. ‘I’ve got a date.’
He raises a single eyebrow in a question.
‘That bottle of red is not going to drink itself.’
I see the second he realises that I’m talking about the full bag of O positive in my backpack. His eyebrow hitches even higher. ‘That’ll take about ten minutes,’ he chides. ‘I’m not going until eight.’
I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off before I can. ‘You’ll love it. It’s a vampire-themed bar Elias introduced me to.’
That makes sense. I’m half convinced Elias knows every person and place in the world. But…
‘Vampire-themed?’ I say, unable to keep the scepticism out of my voice, but Cam just chuckles.
‘Trust me,’ he says. ‘It’ll be good for you to meet new people, you know? Get out a bit more. After?—’
He doesn’t say it. He doesn’t have to. He’s the only person in the world who knows what the last few weeks have been like for me.
