Page 78 of The Vampire and the Barista

“We can look into that for you,” Olly replied. “I can also see if I can find what Derrick did with your father.”

“I don’t understand why he came to help me, though,” Jamie said, looking confused.

“When we catch up with him, we can ask him,” Seth said.

“Are you okay to come down to lunch, or do you want me to bring it up to you?” Dave asked.

Jamie shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but if I don’t come down, Karl and Kitty might worry.”

“You might want to change your clothes then, as you have blood on them and wash your face,” Seth suggested.

“I will,” he said, then looked at them. “I was bleeding, how come none of you jumped me?”

“There wasn’t much blood, and we’re not young vampires; we can control ourselves around blood,” Ivan explained.

“Good to know,” Jamie said, grinning.

“We’ll meet you in the kitchen,” Dave said, ushering everyone out and closing the door.

Ivan looked at Jamie and pulled him into his arms. “You’re trying to give me grey hairs, aren’t you?”

Jamie chuckled. “Well, I wasn’t planning to, but let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings,” Jamie pulled back. “How about you kiss me, then I’ll wash my face and change, and we go and have lunch, because for some reason I’m starving?”

“We can do that,” Ivan said, dipping his head and kissing Jamie.

They walked into the kitchen not long after and food was still on the table.

“Have a seat and I’ll make us some drinks,” Ivan said.

“Both of you sit down and I’ll make the drinks,” Thomaz said, standing up.

“Thanks, Thomaz. Max also thanks you for lunch,” Jamie said to him, sitting down.

Jamie saw Kitty staring at him. “What?”

“Why did you change your clothes? You weren’t wearing them this morning,” she asked, looking confused.

Karl looked up and stared at his brother, looked at Adrian’s hair, then back to his brother. “What happened?”

“Before I tell you, just know that Adrian fixed me right up, and I'm fine.”

“Just tell us, Jay,” Karl practically demanded.

“I ran into Dad earlier,” Jamie admitted.

Kitty leant into Karl’s side. “We’re not going back,” she said.

“Like I would let either of you go back to that house. I didn’t tell him where either of you were, so he used his fists on me, but as you can see, I'm completely fine now.”

“How did you get away? Did Ivan beat him up for you?” Karl asked, looking at Ivan.

Ivan shook his head. “Your dad was gone by the time Olly and I got there.”

“So he’s still out there?” Kitty asked, fear in her eyes.

“We don’t know where he is, but we’re going to look for and find him, princess,” Ivan said. “Remember, you’re both safe here.”

Kitty nodded and smiled at him.

“But we need to shop for school stuff this week. I’m not sure I want to go, knowing he’s somewhere close by,” Karl said.

“You don’t need to, dear. If you give me your clothes sizes, I can order your uniforms when I order Spencer’s and Jack’s,” Louise offered.

“We can do that, can’t we, Kit? Thank you, Louise,” Karl said.

“Yes, thanks, Louise. If you keep a total of what you spend on them, I can transfer the money over for you,” Jamie added.

“I never look at totals, dear, just let me spend money on their uniforms. I’ve never bought school uniforms before; this will be fun.”

“Okay, thank you, Louise,” Jamie said, smiling at her. He could order their other school supplies online later.

“I have some deliveries arriving this afternoon that I’ll need help taking down to the library,” Dave said to the table generally.

“Just let us know when you need us, and we can all help,” Seth replied.