SLEEPSONG (BoyxBoy)✔️

Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty Four

I was numb. 

I didn't know how to deal with what had just happened because I knew I was the cause.

"Aerin," Tiffany said after a long moment of silence; I didn't look at her but I knew she'd probably figured out what I was thinking. "Aerin, will you dry the dishes if I wash them?"

I didn't respond for a second since I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself, but I could feel her stare on me so I eventually managed to nod. Tiffany got up without a word and walked over to the sink, grabbing a towel from a peg while she waited for me to join her. 

I stood next to her in silence when she submerged her hands in sudsy water, cleaning a small plate first and handing it to me, catching my eye with a soft smile that I tried and failed to return. I couldn't find it in me to smile, even a forced one... not after all that.

"Hey, don't look like that," she told me, skimming a wad of foam off the surface of the water. She puffed it onto the tip of her nose and crossed her eyes, but not even that could coax a grin out of me, which made me feel guiltier since I knew she was worried. 

She frowned, got some more foam, and tapped it off onto my nose instead. I forced a small, pathetic grin to humor her and scrubbed it off.

"I'm not a kid," I tiredly rasped, drying another plate. "I know it was my fault, and I also know there's nothing that I can do about it."

"No, it wasn't your fault," Cassidy flatly said, catching both of us off guard since she was the last person I'd have expected to defend me. "Richard was in a bad mood and would have found something to get mad at no matter who was around." 

"He was lashing out because of me," I quietly reminded her. "The fact that I'm here upsets all of you and no matter what anyone says I still feel responsible for the chaos happening because of it."

"Sebastian brought you here and gave you a room the same way he did for each of us," she reluctantly growled, "and he emphatically asked us to trust him on this matter, which means that he sees something in you worth seeing." 

"She's right," Tiffany eagerly agreed, and I watched as she pulled the sponge along a particularly stubborn grease stain on a large serving platter. "It wasn't your fault."

I silently wiped the water off of another plate that she handed me.

"Why do vampires turn into monsters?" I asked; Tiffany fell still, and behind me, I heard a rustle of cloth. "I've lived quietly for a long time and I've always tried to avoid hurting people, so what makes other vampires go from being people who just need a bit of blood to keep living to... well, you know, that?"

"Nobody knows," Leo said, drawing my eye, "and that's one of the reasons you're here. Ten to twenty years is how long it takes for a vampire to become an elder-blood. During that transition time, most of them go mad, turn into mindless monsters, or begin to enjoy hurting people."

I mentally did the math, furrowing my brows. 

"I see," I muttered. "So, I take it the reason why you guys have so many questions about me is because I'm almost forty years past becoming an... elder blood? Is that it?"

"One of the many reasons," Leo allowed, "but there is much more to it than that. For example, your powers are--"

"Stop it!" Jun suddenly snarled, slamming his hands down on the table; Leo fell silent and observed him for a few seconds, but the Korean man didn't return his stare. "Just... stop, Leo."