Page 72 of The Vanishing
[Can you send me the address to where you are? Please?]
If he focuses hard enough, Nino can sense and find his brother organically. But this is the easiest and fastest method, and it saves him from stalking around half the night like some creepy fictional vampire character.
Nino stands from the bed and moves toward the door, his temples pounding from anxiety. By the time he’s back down on the street and stepping into his taxi, the address to the hotel where Giovanni is staying has popped up on his phone screen.
* * *
Standingoutside Giovanni’s hotel room, Nino’s heart thumps in his chest.
He knocks on the door and waits. At least two minutes later, the door swings open and Giovanni is standing there. He’s still dressed in casual clothes, his wavy hair shining underneath recess lighting. He’s also wearing eyeglasses with a modern brown frame that suits his chiseled face.
Nino blinks, caught off guard. “Since when do you wear glasses?”
“The light from the computer screen bothers my eyes and this helps.”
“Huh, Haruka says the same thing about his smartphone… maybe I should get him a pair? I bet he’d look good in glasses…”
“Nino, what do you want?”
“Can I come in… please?”
Giovanni glares in a moment of pause, then sighs. He steps back and Nino walks inside.
There are papers organized into piles everywhere. His work laptop is open on a desk near the darkened window, and there are takeout containers on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Aside from the organized clutter, the suite is nice.
Nino steps over his brother’s bag and a stack of papers. “It looks like your office threw up in here…”
“It’s difficult to be organized in an unfamiliar space.” Giovanni walks toward the desk in the corner, then sits in front of his laptop.
Plopping down on the couch, Nino turns, folding one leg against the cushions and adjusting his body so that he can see his brother. “So… when are you going to tell Father?”
Giovanni concentrates on the glowing computer screen. “I don’t know.”
“I saw Cellina.”
“Right.” His brother stares at the monitor. Typing. Not paying Nino any attention.
“G, I apologize for the way I reacted in the car. I’msorry—and I don’t mean to be selfish… I don’t.” Nino swallows hard, waiting. He knows that he’s played the role of innocent bystander for most of his life, never offering to help Giovanni with difficult aristocracy situations, or to assist in feeding their father. No one asked for his help, so he always shrugged and kept to himself. Did his own thing.
“Fine,” is all Giovanni offers, still focused on his computer.
“Tell Father tomorrow,” Nino urges. “Haru says he’s willing to help, too. I can try to take over the feeding. We know a good doctor who can do the blood draws in Japan—we’d just need to figure out reliable shipping if Father responds well.”
Giovanni stops typing and rubs his temple. “Just calm down, alright? I told you I’ll figure everything out—”
“We have to do things quickly,” says Nino. “You need to go and see Lina. She hasn’t fed from her source, so she’s at home lying in her bed, mummifying.”
“What?” Giovanni scrunches his face.
“She doesn’t want to feed from her source. She wants to feed fromyou, but like you, she’s being all nonchalant about the circumstance. Meanwhile she’s starving herself. So you need to go over there right now. Then let’s talk to Father tomorrow morning.”
“Dammit.” Giovanni frowns, standing from his desk. “Why wouldn’t she tell me this?”
Nino shakes his head, blinking. “You’re both too stubborn and self-sufficient. It’s okay to tell people that you need help… or be honest about what you want.”
Giovanni snatches the glasses from his face and rubs his eyes. Nino smiles, timid. “You’re both amazing. Like a vampire power couple… a vampower couple.” His smile drops and he mumbles, “That’s so cheesy.”
“Are you trying to butter me up now?”
