Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
He opens his eyes. Leland is staring at him, frozen in place. The old man wipes sleep out of his eyes, grumbles, “Ain’t that my drink?” then slumps off the stool, nearly falling over.
That’s when Kyle knows he needs to end it.
He needs to tell Elias.
Tonight.
14.
Bad Blood.
—∙—
“Another long shift at the bar?” asks Elias, leaping out of the kitchen upon hearing Kyle come through the door. A faint aroma of Mexican food hangs in the air. “Just finished eating an hour ago, a bit later than usual. Your cat stopped by earlier, but only stayed outside, didn’t come in. I don’t think she likes me.”
“Elias …”
“I think I’m finally on the same schedule as you. Not tired at all. Bet I can stay up with you until sunrise, if you wanna—”
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Elias moves past Kyle, shuts the front door behind him. “And skip your dinner? No, sir.”
Kyle, mustering his strength, opens the door right back up. “No dinner. You and I are gonna go for a walk.”
“But Kyle …”
“It’s Henry for the next hour.” He gestures at the door. “It’s been a while since we’ve done a night walk.”
“It has,” agrees Elias, squinting at him suspiciously. Then he gives in and heads out the door. Kyle follows.
They’ve gone on many middle-of-the-night walks over the past few weeks, but this is the first one that isn’t preceded by a frenzied offering of blood and sex. One night not too long ago, the two of them ended up at the playground in a pair of swings, side by side. One Wednesday at 3:30 AM, they hopped the gate of the neighborhood pool and swam under the stars. Another night, they ended up on the stoop of the closed corner store for some reason and talked about favorite movies, arguing for an hour about which remakes are better than the originals.
Tonight, everything feels different. Elias appears on edge. Kyle still hasn’t found the words, brooding and unsure. They end up circling the empty roads of downtown, all the businesses closed, not a soul in sight. Above them, a dark canvas of stars stretches from one end of the horizon to the other.
“You don’t have a bed,” says Elias suddenly. “You need a bed, I’ve been saying for weeks. That couch sucks.”
Beds and couches are the last thing on Kyle’s mind tonight. But he still hasn’t found the words, so he mumbles, “I know.”
“You need a decent bed, a beanbag chair, a gaming console, and a goddamned picture hanging on the goddamned wall.”
“Beanbag chair?”
“I’d get some of those things from my house, but y’know, the whole looking-for-me thing.” Elias lets out a sigh. “Your house looks like it’s haunted. Ready to serve kids on Halloween, closed year-round otherwise. Are you punishing it? Did it do something wrong to you? Even your cat’s started avoiding it.”
“She’s an independent lady.”
“Alright, look. As long as I’m crashing with you, I’ll get it spruced up and livable. It’s got good bones. Decent-sized yard, front and back. You could even extend the patio. Telescope to look at the pretty stars. Catch Venus as it flies by or some shit, whatever you want, I don’t know much about all that.”
Kyle glances to the side, catching his reflection in the glass front of the corner store. His shoulders are slouched. His face looks gaunt and sickly.
The worry is obvious on his face.
And Elias is rambling on about renovations.
“Do you even have an HOA out here?” asks Elias, strolling down the middle of the empty road. “You can cover your entire yard if you wanted. Extend that patio to cover the whole thing, all the way to the fence, no one will care. Then you’d be able to sit out there during the day if you wanted. Indirect sunlight doesn’t harm you, right?”
“No, but—”
“But then a covered patio would block the stars at night. Hmm, maybe not such a good idea. I’ll brainstorm some more, alright? I’ll think of something better, just wait.”
“Elias …”
“Nah, don’t worry about it, really, I’ll—”
“We have to stop the blood thing.”
Elias stops moving. Kyle, too.
After a moment, Elias turns to him. “Why?”
“We just have to stop,” Kyle repeats, saying the words to the ground. He slides his hands into his pockets. “No more.”
“I asked why.”
“Because I said so,” Kyle answers simply.
Elias comes up to his side. “There has to be a reason. Did I do it wrong? Am I not tasting as good as I used to? Or did I—”
“No, none of that. It’s just …” Kyle looks away. “It … It isn’t … good for me.”
“What do you mean it isn’t good for you? Isn’t it what you want? Isn’t it the only thing you want?”
“The only …?” Kyle scoffs. “That’s all I am to you, then? A junkie for your blood? There are more important things, you know. Far, far more important things than just—”