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She didn’t want to worry him, but she didn’t want to tell him she was bleeding either.
“I’m fine. Just… I’m fine.”
Blaire opened the cabinet under the sink and grabbed one of the small trash bags they kept stored there to put her wet panties in for the proper laundry. She had just finished tying off the bag when a knock sounded on the door again.
“Lukas! I told you I’m f—”
“It’s me,” Riley said before jiggling the door handle.
“Oh, thank God.”
Blaire dropped the bag and shuffled to the door, unlocking it. She cracked the door enough to reach out and pull Riley inside. Her eyes met Lukas’s and she could see the concern there. She frowned. “I’m fine,” she said quickly before closing the door and locking it again.
“So, what in the world is going on? Lukas is freaking out. Says you’ve been in here for ages and keep screaming at him anytime he comes to the door.”
Blaire ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes.
“Can you smell it?”
“Smell what?”
“Blood.”
Riley’s eyes widened. “Blood? What? Are you okay?”
Several hard knocks on the door echoed in the bathroom. Lukas heard Riley.
“Shh. Keep it down. I’m fine… but I started my period.”
Riley’s mouth opened in an O shape, and she gaped at Blaire before bursting into a fit of laughter.
“What? I’m serious. I’m bleeding. I don’t know what to do.”
Riley wiped her watering eyes. “You’ve never had your period before?” She looked confused. “You’re eighteen…”
Blaire blinked and frowned, frustrated. “Yes, of course I have. I mean… what am I going to do about bleeding around…” She motioned at Riley and then the door.
“Oh, Gods. Blaire. It’s not a big deal.”
“How can you say that? I basically now have a dinner bell ringing between my legs!”
Riley held her stomach and doubled over in another fit of laughter.
“I’m glad you find this funny.”
“I’m sorry.” She held a hand up as she struggled to get her giggles under control. “It’s just… Vasirian menstruate too.”
“You do?”
“Yes. We have the same biological functions you do. How do you think we can reproduce? We don’t just sprout up from the ground.”
“But how do you not want to… eat… drink… whenever you smell it?”
“First, we’re not so bloodthirsty that we’d stoop to attacking each other like that.” Her nose wrinkled. “Second, because it’s not as detectable, I guess. I mean, unless it’s fresh and in the air like on your arm, we don’t smell such a minor amount. Unless it was all over you.”
Blaire shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “Like starting without supplies and getting it on your clothes…and a towel?”
“Yeah, that could be a problem. But we can wash them.”
