Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,28

he felt bad for what he did.”

He shook his head and half smiled. “Bloodsuckers don’t feel anything, Eva. They’re dead.”

I nodded, not wanting to argue semantics with him. Sure we called them dead, but they weren’t. Not really. How could they walk and talk if they weren’t even semi-alive? Maybe there was some part of their humanity still alive in there somewhere and we just hadn’t figured out how to bring it out in them.

“You want to go to my place?”

“No, you know if they want us, they will find us. I’m not leading them to your door.”

“Well, we can‘t just sit here and wait for them to decide to kill you,” he shot back angrily and I knew he was just mad that there was no real way to keep me safe.

I walked over to him, swallowing hard as I tried to figure out what the hell I was going to do.

“We don’t have to, Grayson. You can go. I wouldn’t be mad. I wouldn’t-”

“I’m not leaving you, Eva.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I don’t know how many times I told you that we were over and now here you are putting your life on the line for me. It isn’t fair.”

The left side of his mouth turned up in a sad smile. “Maybe you don’t feel that way about me anymore but you don’t get to decide when I stop caring about you. And until I do, I am right here by your side. I promise.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. I wanted to tell him that I’d never stopped caring about him either, but Grayson deserved so much better than what I could give him.

“Now that we got that settled. What do you want to do?”

“We can’t fight the undead on empty stomachs,” I half joked as my belly panged with hunger.

“Alright. It’s my treat. Any requests for your last meal?”

***

We decided to order some food and watch movies until the sun came up. I curled up on the couch in a blanket as Grayson called the local restaurant. I flipped through the film channels, not wanting to hear any more news about the vampires. I settled on a romantic comedy just as Grayson came to sit next to me. He slid himself under the blanket and I laid my head on his shoulder. I tried my best to concentrate on the movie and not focus on the events of the day. Grayson trailed off into sleep and I decided to let him get some rest. I would be tired before long and he would have to keep watch.

***

The movie ended uneventfully. I began clicking through the channels as someone knocked on the door. Grayson stirred at the sound.

“It’s okay, just the food. Go back to sleep,” I said with a smile and kissed him lightly on the forehead. He rolled over, stretching out the full-length of the couch. I made my way to the door, stopping at my purse to pull out some cash.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Food delivery,” A voice called back from the other side. I sighed and pulled it open. I handed the boy the money and he gave me a stack of containers. He fumbled for the change in his pocket, letting a box slip to the ground and spilling bourbon chicken everywhere.

“Shit,” He said under his breath. “I’m so sorry, ma’am.”

“No big deal. At least, it wasn’t the shrimp sauce. Just let me get a rag or something, you can set the boxes on the table,” I said pointing behind me and went off to grab a towel. I rummaged through my closet in the bathroom and found an old beach towel from several summers ago that had worn threadbare. I turned to head back to the front door and the delivery man was standing in front of me. “You startled me,” I said, letting out a gasp. His expression turned cold. His mouth slowly parted and I could see his gleaming white fangs inside.

“I heard you had another mess to clean up here the other day, one of my friends.” His lips curled back over his teeth.

“I hope not… too close.” I froze in complete shock mentally chastising myself for being so stupid. Suddenly, the delivery boys body flew against the wall in the hallway, making an unnatural cracking sound as it collided with the drywall.

Elijah stepped into view with his fangs bared looking absolutely animalistic. He locked eyes with me for a