by Elle A. Rose
***
“Lunch time, ladies.”
I am happy to see the time is moving so swiftly. Daydreaming about those first few days, when I did not know if I would ever make it being a vampire has helped me work right up to lunch time. Karen Scott comes by every day to announce that it is time to pull ourselves away from our desk and take a break. It is a good thing she does, because today I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I would have missed my chance to run to the blood bank.
Lisa and I stand at the same time.
While stretching her arms, Lisa glances over at me and says. “You smell nice. Is that a new perfume?”
This is bad. My body is producing a stronger aroma to draw my prey in. “No, it’s not me. Maybe someone sprayed something in one of the other rooms. Hey, I’m stepping out for lunch. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Thanks, I think I’m fine. I have a salad. I need to watch my weight. I don’t want to put on too many pounds before my date.”
I smile, and turn to leave. Humans are so finicky about their weight. When I was a human, women did not worry about such things as weight. All we worried about was not becoming an old maid. “Okay, well I will be back soon. Have a good lunch.”
Outside again, I love feeling the sun on my face. I am glad to be different than other vampires. Being in the direct sun as I am now, would cause them to move as slow as an elderly person. Their strength unlike mine in the sun would almost be useless. If I do not eat enough, my strength and abilities are comparable to theirs during the day. My family eats less than me, but they eat more often. I tend to have bigger meals so I can go up to three months without eating. Although, I try to eat at least once a month, sometimes twice, depending on how big of a meal I had or how much I have used my abilities. Since my abilities are so unique and much more powerful than others, I do not use them often. This helps me from drawing too much attention and draining my strength too quickly.
I acknowledge a few coworkers heading out for lunch too. They all smile and wave. Because of my hunger, I am unable to block all of their thoughts from entering my mind as I normally do. The two females wonder why I never join them for lunch. They seem to think I am a nice person, only very shy and quiet. The one male is checking me out. He likes the way my blouse fits. He has often thought about asking me out, but he knows I will turn him down, like the other men that have been bold enough to approach me. Rumor has it I am involved with a married man. This makes me chuckle. I guess when people around you do not know you very well, they have no choice but to make up things to fill in the blanks.
As I head to the blood bank, I wonder why I have not heard from my family. I pull my cellular phone out of my purse and check for missed calls, and ponder out loud if I should wait on their call. “Should I call them? I can’t believe they have forgotten about me.” Glancing at the green blank screen, I change my mind, and place the mobile device back in my purse. Maybe they are waiting for me to get out of work. They are extremely understanding about my life. They try to treat me like a human as much as they can. I guess I should not be too worried about my family calling. It is only my two hundred and twelfth birthday, it is not a big number, and I will have plenty more to come.
Pulling into the parking lot of the blood bank, I can smell the blood oozing out of the building. If I had fangs, they would be extending and aching from the thick scent of blood drifting past my nose. I only hear one heartbeat, which is probably a human worker. There is also a vampire on staff, but I will be unable to pick up their heartbeat until I am standing with in a few feet of them. I know there have been a few vampires in the area because of the scent trail they have left behind. I get out of my car and remind myself to walk at a human pace. I cannot look too out of place. How weird would it be, seeing someone sprinting into a blood donation center?
I open the big glass door and notice that they have done some redecorating. The waiting room is now a deep purple with a burgundy trim. There is a new thirty-two inch television hanging from the wall. The sofa and chairs are a deep burgundy with blue dots. Cute. Also, it looks like new pictures are hanging on the walls. I will have to look at them on the way out. I need to eat. I am greeted by the human, Michelle. She has worked her for a few years, and standing next to her is Sarah. Sarah runs the bank. She is an older vampire. She told me once that she became a vampire during the era of King Louis the XI.
She lived in the castle as a servant with most of her family, until one day there was a strange guest who came to visit. She fell in love with this man, and he promised to show her the world if she ran away with him. ‘Who was I to tell him no? I was just a servant girl who went from being ignored to admired, by this rich, handsome and worldly man. Of course I said ‘yes’! Only if I would have known what he really was. But I loved him, so I guess I would not trade any of it.’ She did not tell me, but I pulled it from her mind that her lover was an Elder. He was killed when she was around three hundred years old. She has not had another lover since then. I can fully understand her feelings on that subject.
She was tall for a woman in the era she grew up in. Standing five foot six, her long auburn hair hangs down past her hips. Her brown eyes remind me of a freshly baked gingerbread cookie.
“Hi Amber, it’s been a while. How are you?”
I give her a warm smile. “I’m well, Sarah. How are you? It has been a while. I like what you did with the place.”
“Thanks, I have a few more changes, but overall it is turning out well. Are you ready to head on back?”
I turn and nod to Michelle. She is a little disappointed. Michelle wanted to practice poking me with a needle. She feels she needs all the practice she can get to be a good nurse. Poor kid, maybe a human will be by soon for her to play with. As Sarah and I make our way towards the back, I make a comment loud enough for Michelle to hear. “Oh, yes, I’m ready to save a life or two.” Sarah chuckles as we head into one of the designated vampire rooms or as it says on the door 5.
“Have a seat, Amber. Will you be having the usual?”
I walk over and sit at the table. The room is plain white and furnished with a bed, table, and a chair. The bed is a prop. Sarah makes sure only vampires use this room. I shuffle my feet across the floor as I respond. “Can I have three bags?” She looks at me with a raised eyebrow for just a second, but leaves to go get the bags. Room number five has a smaller room off to the side. It used to be a closet, but Sarah now uses it to warm up the blood. A hotplate sits on a table with a pot filled with water. Once the water is warm enough, it will take only a few minutes to bring the blood to the right temperature. This is not the first time I have requested three pints of blood, she knows I have gone without eating for too long. I can smell the blood warming in the boiling water. I hear Sarah pull the bags from the water and reenter the room. “Here you go, one O+, A-, and AB-, all ninety-eight point six degrees, just the way you like them.”
My body shakes seeing the blood in front of me. I waited too long to eat with too many temptations today.
I have three different blood types because I like to think of them as the appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Type O+ blood is one of the more common blood types in humans and has a bland taste, which I would compare it to the taste of water. However, if I had to live off of it I would not complain. Type A- is a little less common than O+ and is a little richer in taste. I would compare it to a fruit juice. And Type AB- is the rarest of the blood types, and by far the best tasting. As a human, I was not old enough to have drunk wine, but from tasting AB- blood and pulling thoughts from humans who have enjoyed a fine wine, AB- would have to be compared to that of a fine wine.
Sarah smiles and walks into the hallway. “Enjoy.”
She knows I am able to communicate telepathically. Picking up the bag containing the type O+ blood, I bring the corner of the bag to my mouth. Swiftly tearing the corner off, I feel the blood start to flow into my mouth. Every one of my taste buds on my tongue comes to life.
A soft moan slips from my lips, and my eyes start to lull back in my head. If the O+ taste like this, I am going to be in my own personal heaven by the time I get to the AB-. Ha, me in heaven…
Now that I am finished, I join Sarah out in the hallway. She gives me a sad look and places her hand on my shoulder. “I hope you feel better?”
I am positive the smile on my face tells the whole story. “Yes, Sarah, I do. That was the best meal I have ever had.”
I watch has Sarah’s smile brightens and she shakes her head. “I don’t know why you torture yourself the way you do. I respect your strong will. You have a reason for what you do; hopefully it is all worth it.”
I bite down on my lip. Sarah is very kind. She will never ask the true reason for my madness. She believes that if you want her to know, you will tell her, why pry. On my way out the door, I wave to Michelle. She is leaning on the counter watching the television and twirling her hair.
“Bye.” She mumbles as I make my leave.
Just before the door closes, I call over my shoulder to Sarah. “See you in eight weeks, Sarah.” Humans can only donate blood every eight weeks or so. I must not come back before then to maintain my human cover. I hope I will be fine for the next few weeks. I can always take a walk in the woods if I feel the need.
I return to work feeling much better. I will now make it through the day without fixating on Lisa’s pulse. Stepping out of the car, I pick up a smell. Perhaps, I am losing my mind; it could not be what I think it is. As I move closer to the entrance, the scent intensifies. It is impossible, though. Maybe I did wait too long to eat and now the blood is doing something weird to my senses. Yet, the closer I get to my office I realize that I cannot be losing my mind. Not only do I smell him, but I hear him too. Christopher. Walking into my office, I see the back side of a redheaded male sitting on the corner of my desk. He is leaning very close to Lisa, a little too close. Lisa looks up surprised. Christopher knows I am standing behind him.
“There you are! Why in the world didn’t you tell me it was your birthday? I have worked beside you for all this time, and not once have you mentioned anything about this being your birthday.”
Getting up she walks past Christopher and stretched her arms out to hug me. She puts her mouth right next to my ear as we embrace.
“You didn’t tell me your brother was so cute. Oh…my…goodness.”
I look past her at my big brother, who of course, can hear everything Lisa says. He has a stupid grin on his face. Shoot, he wants her.
I instantly open a line of communication with Christopher. “Wow, what a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“Well, hello to you too. Can’t a girl’s brother surprise her on her birthday?”
Before I have a chance to respond, Lisa lets go and heads back to her desk.
As she sits, I watch her try to adjust her blouse before she turns a penetrating gaze towards me. “Okay, that’s it!” I try not to cringe with the high pitch in Lisa’s voice. “There is no getting out of this, Amber, you will be coming out tonight,” she turns and looks at Christopher. “You’re welcome to come too.”
Christopher laughs before responding. “Thank you, I would love to go.”
Standing, Christopher slides over to give me a big hug. We embrace and he places a sloppy wet kiss on my forehead. He knows I hate when he does that, but as he pulls away, his lips hover near my ear. “You never told me how good your coworker smells, hmm.”
I roll my eyes, and I step out of his hold. People get suspicious if they see brother and sister hugging too long. I feel his arms release me, and I realize how much I have missed feeling his hold. Sometimes I think the strength in those arms are what helped get me through those hard first few months.