Picky Eater

Ch 26: I want you to bite me.

Gathering himself up, Ben took a deep breath and pushed forward. Running up and down the boardwalk, Ben's feet were starting to pound and ache. "Evie?" He called, but no matter how many times he called her name, she never answered. Every scenario flying through his head just got worse and worse to the point Ben was making himself sick. He ran back to the atrium, trying the bathrooms. "Evie?"

"Ben?" came a shaky small voice and panic ripped through him, raking down his neck and back like a set of claws. His senses sharpening to a point of a needle, Ben grabbed the bathroom door handle, twisting and finding no give. Ben dropped his head against the door. "Evie? Can you open the door?"

She didn't respond and Ben just twisted the door again, not sure what to do. It was impossible to think when his heart was pounding inside of head. He didn't have his phone. He lost Nino too. Closing his eyes, Ben took a deep breath and threw his shoulder against the door. It felt as stupid as it hurt, but Ben still tried it again to no avail.

"Watch out," Nino whispered and Ben jumped, feeling Nino's body loom over him. He wrapped an arm around Ben's chest, holding him so close and tight, his arm resembled a seatbelt. Nino grabbed that handle, jerking it and crushing the lock inside. He forced the door open, sweeping Ben along inside.

Evie was huddled in the corner, laying her head against her arms as she sniffled. "Evie!" Ben tried walking out of Nino's hold, but Nino refused to let him go. Nino dragged Ben along, dropping in front of Evie.

"What happened? Are you burned?" Nino asked, breathing hard. He was out of breath. The back of his neck was slick with sweat. Something was wrong about him too, but he was turned away. It was hard to tell. Nino let out the tiniest sigh. He whispered in the softest voice, "I made it in time. I made it this time."

Evie showed her arms and from here, Ben could smell the burnt skin, the charred patches, and Ben swallowed what he might've thrown up.

"Somebody bumped me," Evie explained, her voice wobbly and scratched from crying. "And I- I stepped on my glasses. I thought I could use my magic to hide my eyes, but it was too much and it got too hot."

Nino cursed.

His throat tight, Ben tried not to cry and said, "I'm sorry. This is my fault." If she thought for a second she did something wrong here, Ben wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"It's not," Nino argued, his voice as firm as a fist slamming against a table, but to Ben he wasn't angry enough. Ben deserved worse than Nino just snapping at him. "And if it is, it's mine too. I keep forgetting that... all of this, it isn't about us."

Ben nodded. They had to put themselves aside. They had to stop being selfish. Evie needed them. "At least I can make it up to her." Ben held out his arm. "Evie, you can take a bite."

"No," both vampires echoed and Ben jumped.

"I don't wanna," Evie whined and covered her mouth, but Ben caught her fangs. She did want to. She needed to.

"You are not a band-aid to fix our problems," Nino insisted, but Ben shook his head.

"It's not a band-aid, it's a solution. We can't hide out in this bathroom all day. People are going to come and we're gonna get kicked out." Ben grabbed Nino's arm to pull him off when Nino flinched. Nino never flinched. Ben grazed his forearm, its roughness and heat prickled Ben's skin.

He gasped. "You're burned too?" He shifted, pulling away just enough to get a good look at Nino too. His beautiful golden brown skin was cracked and splintered like dry snake scales. Pieces had blackened and were red and raw in other places. Even the white of his eyes had pinked around those horrible blood red irises. "You look like shit," Ben said, his voice darkening. "You want to get Evie out of here? Bite me. She doesn't know how to make it not hurt me, so you should bite me first."