“I—I hope it isn’t so tiring every time. If I need to do this to survive a vampire attack, I’m worried I won’t be much good.”
I wasn’t sure, but I figured it was best to be reassuring. “You told me to trust in the sun. I think that prophet-you thought you were safe, and I’m inclined to believe her. Besides, I can only speak for my own uncontrollable mystical powers here, but I did find they came easier as I got more used to them.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was very small again. “That’s good to know. I still feel quite…”
“Vulnerable?”
She nodded.
“I’m not going to lie. You are. I’ll stick around tonight if that’s okay, in case we get a sudden attack when you’re at your weakest, and in the morning I’ll—I don’t know—I’ll make some calls. There’s bound to be somebody who can cover you while we get you vampire ready.”
“I don’t want to put you to trouble.” She really didn’t. Too nice for her own good, that was her problem. “I’m sure we’ll be fine if you want to go home.”
“No, it’s okay. You’d be doing me a favour. I’d have to rush to catch the last Tube and…” I wasn’t sure I wanted to finish that sentence.
“And going home to an empty flat reminds you too much of Elise?” Sometimes, Sofia walked that funny boundary between empathetic and tactless. I think it was because she was one of those weird people who isn’t terrified to talk about feelings.
“Pretty much.”
“I miss her too. I’ll get you some blankets and make up the sofa. You’re welcome here for—well, actually, I think there’s a policy that you can’t have a guest for more than two nights but I think we can probably make an exception.”
Flick gave her a look of mingled shock and admiration. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you suggest breaking a rule of any kind.”
“That’s not true.” Sometimes, Sofia gave very good pout. “I missed two entire lectures last April.”
“You had food poisoning.”
“I could still have made it in.”
“If you’re going to claim that you were well enough to go to lectures the same morning you vomited in my lap I’m going to be cross.”
“I was really, really sorry about that.”
They carried on not-exactly bickering while Sofia went to what I suspected was a legit grown-up linen cupboard because, yet again, still-technically-a-teenager girl had a more organised life than I did, and came back with armfuls of blankets and pillows.
“The sofa’s not the best,” explained Sofia apologetically. “Sometimes it’s better if you put the cushions on the floor instead? Nobody should bother you—we do technically have another housemate but he’s always with his girlfriend in a different flat.”
“I’ll manage. I’d have said my sleeping on floors days were long behind me, but the truth is that it’s this or pass out on the desk at my office.”
Sofia hugged me. “Please promise you’ll start taking care of yourself one day.”
“I’ll try.” To my surprise, I meant it. There was something about Sofia that brought out the mawkish side in me. “Now go to bed, you’re clearly shattered.”
She went to bed, leaving Flick to help me set up some kind of sleeping arrangement. The sofa was a two-seater which would have been non-ideal even if I hadn’t been shading amazonian, height-wise. We tried pulling the seats off the armchairs and shuffling the furniture around, but it didn’t help and I was beginning to feel bad about the mess I was making of their otherwise quite pleasant student lodgings.
“You know,” Flick looked oddly hesitant. “We don’t have to set this up if you don’t want to.”
I sighed in relief. “If you’ve got an air mattress kicking around somewhere that would be helpful right about now.” I normally hated air mattresses, but loose chair seats were about the worst thing you could possibly try to sleep on.
“Actually, I was going to suggest you could stay in my room.”
“That’s kind of you. Are you going out for the evening?”
“No…” She gave me a look that I couldn’t decide if I should be reading as amused or condescending. “I mean, if you wanted you could stay in my room. In my bed. With me.”
Ah.
Fuck.
Possibly wrong choice of expletive.
“Okay.” She frowned. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting a god yes take me now but I was hoping for you to maybe say something?”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. Was it me, or was it suddenly hot in there. “No, it’s not—it’s—that