Darker Blood

Chapter thirty

Namjoon pov~

The paper tore up so easily in my fingers. Jin sat across from me, watching me carefully. I ignored him, pretending I couldn't see him at all. I pulled up another piece of the envelope, tearing it even further.

"What are you gaining from that?"

I sighed, glancing at him. He doesn't understand. No one does. They couldn't possibly even try to. "Relief, believe it or not.."

I paused, looking at her handwriting for a moment. It was a simple note she'd left for me one day, stating she was going to the store to get something for dinner. I choked at the words 'I love you', scribbled towards the end of the faded paper in big loopy writing. I smiled to myself. I never wanted to throw away these reminders of her, these objects that were blessed by the very touch of her fingers. Yet I could hardly stand the pain anymore. I had to move on somehow, and erasing the small things left of her seemed to be the easiest way.

I tore up that little pink note, straight down the centre. A sob hung between my lips as I did so, and I tried my hardest to ignore it. I didn't care to hide it. I just wanted to forget.

"Inori is staying with us from now."

My attention shifted to Jin and I glared at him. "Why?"

"She has nowhere else to go. Plus, Jungkook is her partner."

I scoffed, turning back to the paper shredded in my hands. "She does not belong here."

Jin frowned, folding his legs, glancing at the thousands of shredded paper dregs on the floor. "You're not in charge here."

"You don't seem to be doing the best job."

Jin stood, snarling, a dark red tainting the edges of his eyes. I sighed hurriedly, like a child being forced to apologise for something by their mother.

"I'm just saying that I don't think it's wise to let a human live around seven vampires."

He sat back down, his hands relaxing once again, his eyes almost back to normal. "You can feed off her, with her consent."

I scoffed again, tearing up another small note. "Why would I want that?"

He shrugged. "Experimental reasons."

I turned, glaring at him, dropping the shredded note onto the floor between my feet. "You're an ass sometimes."

"You're a hothead all the time."

I stayed silent, looking at the half-empty box of the notes from Aichhlinn that I'd kept. They were all stained in some way, eaten away in other parts. Some of the handwriting had even faded to the point of unrecognition. "I just want Inori to leave.."

"Why is that?"

"Why do you think?"

He crossed his legs again, pursing his lips in a parental way which pissed me off even more. I am not a child. "I think she should leave, but with all of us going with her."

"Why?" I laughed bitterly, picking up another note, folding the edges ever so softly. "What could that possibly achieve?"

"Safety, for all of us."

"Since when was safety number one on your priority list..," I mumbled, looking down at the floor. I wasn't lying; he didn't care much at all for safety. Everyone here was out on their own, despite how close we were and the fact that we lived together. Jin didn't even lift a finger when Yoongi was murdered. How could he say that he cared about mine, or anyone else's safety?