Love or Die

Secret

One Week Later

            “Have you heard from Liz lately?” Jade asked Travis, worried about her friend.

            “No,” Travis answered. “You're the one who goes to class with her.”

            “Yeah, but she hasn't been to any of her classes this week and I'm worried,” Jade answered. “I haven't seen her since last Monday after I helped her get ready for her date.”

            “With the waiter from the diner?” he asked.

            “Yeah.”

            “Well have you seen him since then?” Travis asked, starting to worry about Liz.

            “Yeah, he said that he talked to her once after the date and she said she wasn't feeling well. But when I went to her house, her mom said she wasn't there,” Jade said. “You don't think she's avoiding us because we won't change her, do you?”

            “No,” Travis answered. “You know Liz isn't like that. Maybe she's just having a bad week and needs some time to herself.”

            “Maybe,” Jade said more to herself than Travis. She had known Liz for years and couldn't help but feel like she had let her down somehow that she wouldn't talk to her. Travis noticed the downward turn to her mood and nudged her shoulder so she would look at him.

            “Do you want to drive over and check on her again?” he offered. She nodded at him and he smiled before looking at her cup still sitting on his living room table in front of them. “Finish that and then we'll go.”

            Jade looked at the cup and she felt both nausea and hunger at the sight of the blood. Since she lived at home with her mom, she couldn't risk having blood bags around her room. As a result, she had to go to Travis' house when the hunger became too much. In the beginning, it felt like she was drinking blood almost everyday. Now, she was down to one bag once a week, same as Travis. But even though the vampire part of her enjoyed it whenever she drank, her still human mind hated it and was the only thing that kept her from drinking more. “I think I'm good,” Jade said, trying to squelch the hunger inside her.

            “You aren't,” Travis replied, understanding the inner war she was having. “You have to finish or you're going to get hungry again, very fast.”

            “I know,” she groaned as she dropped her head back on the couch. “Fine.” She sat up and began to reach for the cup when Travis' doorbell rang. They exchanged a look as it rang again impatiently and Travis got up to answer the door.

            Pulling the door open, Travis found Liz standing in front of him before she barreled past him. “For a vampire you move like a snail when it comes to opening your door,” she said as he closed it behind her.

            “Liz?” Jade called before appearing in front of the door with them. “Where have you been?”

            “Bed,” she answered. “Or I should say my bathroom floor. I must have eaten something bad because I haven't been able to keep anything down lately.”

            “But I went to your house during the week and your mom said you weren't there,” Jade said.

            “Maybe she didn't want you to get sick,” Liz replied.

            “Can you drink anything?” Travis asked.

            “Yeah,” she answered. “I would love something to drink.”