Page 67 of Afflicted

I wrinkle my nose. “Seriously? What does it taste like?”

“Depends on the blood. Everyone tastes a little different but it all tastes great.”

“Have you ever had my blood?”

His chin dips a little, his chest expanding as he seems to hold in a heavy breath. “I have, as a matter of fact.”

“And what do I taste like?”

His gaze sweeps up my arms, landing on my face, his eyes turning just a hint more red than they were before. “You taste like vanilla, with a hint of spice. Like some expensive coffee you buy in a wanker cafe. Comes in a cup that’s far too small, just leaves you wanting more.”

I huff out an embarrassed laugh. “That’s one hell of a way to compliment a girl.”

“Well, it’s true.”

I shrug lightly before lifting the peach to my lips and biting into it. I moan exaggeratedly and roll my eyes back in my head.

“Mmmm, you can keep my blood, this tastes so damn good.”

“Might just have to lick that juice right off you and have a taste then.”

We both freeze, staring at each other for a minute. I’m aware of peach juice running down my chin, my neck, into the collar of my shirt. Silas’s eyes follow the trail of one of these droplets, and he does that thing with his lip again, drawing it through his teeth like he’s imagining just what I taste like. Then he rolls his shoulders, running a hand over his mouth as he looks away, laughing lightly.

“Come on, let’s keep walking.” He gestures to the forest, then pauses. “Unless you don’t want to go down here.”

“There’s another path.” I pitch the peach seed into the garden. “It doesn’t lead down to… There.” I don’t know if I can face the stream. Not yet.

We walk on in silence for a few minutes, birdsong ringing through the trees around us. The leaves are starting to turn yellow as Fall sets in.

“What was your brother’s name?” Silas asks.

“Kaden,” I reply. “My mom was an English teacher, our names were inspired by her favorite works. Kaden was named after a Polish philosopher she wrote a thesis on. I’ll let you guess which one I was named after.”

Silas chuckles. “What light through yonder window breaks?”

“Tis me.” I spread my hands and bob my knees into a little curtsey. “Good job.”

“Were you and your brother close?”

I nod. “Sure were. He was my best friend. Everyone called us Raggedy Ann and Andy. We did everything together, until I went to college.” I swallow hard. “He wanted to travel for a year before he started. I tried to talk him out of it, but…” I trail off. I wish I’d insisted. I wish I’d been able to convince him to come to UGA. He’d be trapped here with me, but at least he’d still be alive. I clear my throat, the sweetness of the peach sticking to my lips. “Did you have siblings?”

“I did, yeah.” He looks up into the sun-dappled leaves. “A brother and a sister. I was the eldest. My mum had some trouble getting pregnant after she had me, so there was an age gap. I was 9 when my brother was born, and then 12 when she had my sister.”

“So you weren’t close?”

He frowns, his eyes grazing over the leafy ground. “They were adorable, and my little sister especially, she loved me. Had to carry her around everywhere. But then… things changed and I wasn’t who my parents wanted around them.”

“Sorry.” I reach over to take his hand, then remember my hands are sticky and gross with peach juice, and pull back.

His head jerks in my direction, and his hand shoots out, his fingers entwining with mine.

So now I’m walking through the forest, holding hands with a vamp. Like that’s a totally normal thing to do on a sunny Fall morning. His hand is huge, dwarfing mine, thick veins snaking across his knuckles.

We reach the end of the forest, the perimeter fence standing between us and an expanse of green fields. We stand there for a while, staring out at the world out there. I wonder what he’s thinking. I wonder if he feels as trapped here as I do.

There’s a faint mechanical whirring sound, and I look up to see a surveillance camera turning towards us. I instinctively step back, trying to pull my hand away from Silas’s. They’re watching us, and I don’t want him getting in trouble.

But he doesn’t let me go, and the resistance makes me stumble. My back hits a tree trunk, and Silas is crowded in front of me. I gasp as he gazes down at me. We’re out of view of the camera, but if they turn it, if they go looking for us, they’ll see us face to face like this, alone, out in the forest.

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