Page 35 of This Blood That Binds Us
“Relax a little. I’m going to get you another beer.”
I stumbled away from the wall, and thanks to there being no humans in the kitchen, I was able to run back up the stairs to my room. I couldn’t risk my brothers catching me listening to them. My mind raced with the new information, but I didn’t have anywhere for it to go. It didn’t make any sense. But it did strengthen my resolve. My brothers had their own secret life, and I had mine. I could pull it off, just like they did. Kimberly needed my help and, in a way, so did my brothers. Kimberly needed to stay as far away from my brothers and their problems as possible, and Zach and Luke needed me to figure out this vampire problem. Knowing would only add to their stress. If there was another vampire in town, I’d need to be the one to track them down and figure out their motive for everyone’s safety. I was doing the right thing.
After waking up, my hands instinctively searched for my phone under my pillow. Nothing was there. I had forgotten all about the night before and was reminded when I sat up and surveyed the room. Aaron’s TV was dimly lit with a video game save screen on pause. A cool breeze hit my face, and birds chirped close to the window.
The door clicked, and Aaron appeared, looking cheerful as ever, holding a purple drink. “Wow, you look like hell.”
“Thank you.” I scoffed before turning my attention to the drink in his hand.
“Is that for me?”
“Yeah, I got you a smoothie. Thought you might need nutrition, considering you need food to not die.”
“Thank you for that thorough explanation.” I grumbled, my whole body sore.
He strolled over to sit on the edge of the bed. “How’s the shoulder?”
I brought my lips to the glass to drink a bit of the cool liquid. “A lot better. I slept all night. It usually wakes me up a couple times.”
“Good. Are you happy?” He was watching my reaction closely.
“Uh. . . yeah, I’m happy. Why do you ask?”
“I was hoping your happiness might soften the blow of the mistake I made just now.” Aaron flashed a sad puppy dog expression.
My smile dropped. “Uh oh.”
“I might have let it slip that you were up here in my room.” He held up his hands in defense. “But I told them what happened, and it’s cool!”
“What?! Aaron, I knew you couldn’t keep a secret. Is that all you said? Do they know how we met?”
“No, of course not. I said I met you at school and that we are just friends.”
He tilted his head toward the door, his expression hard to read.
“Would they be...mad? I mean, if they knew who I was?”
My imagination went wild, wondering how they’d react. I still had no idea what kind of family I was dealing with. They all seemed nice, but I had a hard time believing a family on the run from other vampires could be normal.
Aaron must have heard my heartbeat pick up its pace.
“It’s nothing bad. I think they would be really lecture-y about it. They’re just protective.”
I put my smoothie down on the nightstand and scooted closer to Aaron. “You keep saying that. I don’t get it. Are your brothers some kind of mobsters or something? Who are they running from?”
“I have theories. They fit the profile for gang members, I guess. They got matching tattoos before they turned eighteen. People started treating them differently—”
“Different how?”
“People in town were...scared of them. But I know my brothers are good people. They just made shitty decisions growing up.”
I couldn’t fathom trusting someone as much as he trusted them. But something in his voice made me believe him every time he’d mention them. He cared about them in a way I’d never cared for anyone. If I trusted Aaron, I’d have to—at least for the moment—trust the people he cared the most about in the world.
“You said you had theories . . . what theories? What do you know?”
He hesitated, kicking one of his college textbooks on the floor.
“Aaron, do you trust me? I know I’m just some girl that you met and attacked, so you probably don’t yet, but.. .our paths are directly linked now. You’re literally my only hope in figuring out what is going on and who this vampire that attacked me is. We have to work together if we’re going to get down to the bottom of this. I need to know everything you know.”
