Bleeding Shadows

Chapter 20

Gabe seemed to relax a bit on the trip back to my place. It's not like we were travelling in an uncomfortable silence, in fact it felt like the opposite for me. I felt comfortable, like she was someone I'd known for ages. Time seemed to flow much faster once she relaxed though.

We arrived at the privacy wall and I opened the gates with a push of a button on the remote that lived in the glove box.

I parked my baby, sad about the fact that it may be awhile before I could take her out again.

Gabe got out of the car and tried to look at the house, but her facial expression told me she was struggling to see through the dark. It's not like she has vampiric sight after all and no rings in her eyes to help with the darkness.

I grabbed Gabe's arm, giving her a gentle smile and led her to the path to the house. She didn't have a bag as I'd rushed her out the door without giving her a chance to pack, not that I'm sure she'd even have enough to pack.

The path was illuminated by little blue lights on both sides of the path, giving the illusion that you're walking on air. It's quite beautiful. Gabe said it out loud almost as soon as I thought it.

Thankfully the entrance door was lit up and I marched through it. Gabe did as well, apprehensively and closely in tow.

Rose was sitting at the dining table, steaming hot coffee sitting on the table in front of her.

"Welcome to our house." Rose greeted Gabe with a warm smile before getting up and giving us both a hug. "What brings you here so soon after we last saw each other?" Rose asked Gabe.

It was an innocent question but I felt Gabe tense next to me, so I answered for her.

"Her house mates were having a domestic so Gabe called me and asked if she could stay the night to get away from them."

I'm not sure if it was a convincing lie. After all, I'd never been able to lie to my sister well. Thankfully she took it at face value, but not before giving me a 'you'll be explaining later' look. I groaned internally.

"The room across from Violet's is set up and ready for guests. You can use it for as long as you like Gabe." Rose said to her, looking Gabe over in the better light of the dining area.

I knew for a fact that Rose was now suppressing her urge to feed Gabe, much the same as I was.

"Thank you." Was all Gabe could manage to say, albeit softly. She wouldn't even make eye contact with us anymore. Just what has this girl suffered in the past to make her act this way towards friends helping her? It's almost as if there had been no one to show her kindness.

"Off to bed with you two now. I'm going to wait up for Rhys to get home in a couple of hours." Rose informed us. I looked at the clock, it was 3 am now. Once again I felt sorry for Rhys and his new stupid shifts.

I led Gabe upstairs and into my room as I rummaged around in my walk in closet, looking for a loose shirt and pajama shorts for Gabe to sleep in.

Having found what I was looking for, I exited my room and went across the landing to the room Rose had mentioned. It now had an 'occupied' sign on it.

Opening the door revealed a room much the same as mine, except the bed was a queen instead of a king, the windows were nowhere near as big, nor was the TV on the wall as large. The shower only had one shower head. However the bathroom had body soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and a new tooth brush in it, ready to use. It was a well stocked vampire hotel room.

I sat on the bed and noticed that it was just as comfortable as my bed. It was just a bit smaller.

Gabe was looking at the room like it was some sort of luxurious illusion that may break the moment she touches it.