Page 23 of Blood Claims
“Then why don’t you look very sure now?” she asked, making me admit,
“They don’t know me.”
Her eyes grew tender before she told me,
“But I think they do, or at least enough that they want to discover more of you.”
“Stacey, I…”
“No, Nessa, you never did see what everyone else sees,” she interrupted, knowing the argument that was coming from me and getting in there first.
“But I…” Again, she was quick to put a stop to my insecurities by telling me,
“You have been put down and trodden on most of your life by those that were only ever supposed to care about you. You have had a lifetime of being let down, time and time again, until you lost faith in people.”
I swallowed hard, forcing the tears back as I squeezed her hand.
“I never lost faith in you.”
“Yes, you did,” she argued, and when I said nothing she carried on. “When I demanded you move in with me after what that shit bag piece of shit did to you.”
“You said shit twice,” I joked.
“Yeah, and he deserves to drown in shits for all I care, my point is that for the longest time you were waiting for the catch. You were on eggshells in this apartment for months, as if waiting for me to turn batshit crazy or something. Like at any minute I was going to steal from you and kick you out. You were waiting for the bad to emerge.”
I flinched, knowing that she was right. But despite this I still felt the need to argue against it for her sake.
“I… I wasn’t… I…”
“It’s okay, I always understood why. Just like I knew that it would take time and I was right… but, Nessa, it isn’t just the physical that leaves scars.”
I nodded, my voice thick with emotion as I agreed.
“I know.”
“So, you have to ask yourself, are you going to let those old scars rise to the surface and dictate your choices as they continue to cover you in doubt, or are you going to finally break free of those chains?”
I sucked back a quick breath because if she knew the truth, then she would know I was already wrapped up tight in those chains. Chains that had nothing to do with my past but everything to do with what those two Vampires had in store for my future.
“I see those online physiology courses are really taking hold,” I said, nudging her arm with my own, making her grin.
“What can I say, therapy is expensive,” she teased, making me chuckle.
“So, what are you going to do?” This question came after she nodded to the door.
I released a deep sigh because it was nice that she believed I still had a choice. When in reality, I had no choice at all. But in order to give my friend some much needed piece of mind and so not to involve her further, I told her,
“Do you think I would be able to get cover for my shifts at the store?” I asked, making her smirk.
“Lucky for you I know the owner,” she joked, considering it was her uncle.
“Besides, you have never once taken any vacation time, so I would say you’re due at least a week or two.”
I tried not to wince, knowing that after what Tal and Victor had told me, it was unlikely I would ever be setting foot in Fulton Market again. But at least I would have a few weeks to tryand convince them to let me keep my job, so it was better than nothing.
“Then I will go with them.”
Stacey grinned big before pushing up her glasses, telling me,
