Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 5

 Anna stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself up in a towel. Rhys had given her some of his clothes to change into. She had to pull the strings on the waistband of the shorts as tight as she could so that they did not fall down. The T-shirt bagged around her thin frame. She searched through the drawers on the vanity until she found a comb. She brushed her wet hair and twisted her fingers around it as she braided it.

She exited the bathroom to see Rhys sitting at the foot of the bed. He had a journal in his hands, and he looked up when he heard the door open. He smiled, but she scowled.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

The shower had relieved the pain from her muscles and joints, but she was still upset. The reality of the situation had yet to sink in. She was still in shock. There was no way this was real. There was no way that any of this was real.

Anna stormed past Rhys and hurried into the hallway. She could not remember Rhys carrying her up to his room, so she did not know the layout of the house. She rushed down the hall with Rhys close behind her. Anna ran down the stairs and took a quick look around the house. She stopped before taking a turn.

Anna gasped as she crashed into another body. She would have tumbled to the floor, but two arms grabbed her. Normally, her reflexes would be strong, but her shock made her stumble. She put her hands against his chest and pushed the body away. She looked up to see that it was Drew.

"You're awake," he said.

"How do I get out of here?" I asked.

"You should probably have a seat."

"I'm not sitting down."

The stairs creaked as Rhys stepped down and walked toward them. Anna ripped Drew's arms off of her and took a step back. Drew looked between Anna and Rhys.

"I need to talk to you," Rhys told Anna. "Don't run away this time."

"I don't want to talk to any of you," she said.

"You need us," Rhys said. "Without us, you're going to be killed."

"Does that even matter? Thanks to you I'm already dead."

Drew put his hand on Anna's tense shoulder. Rhys narrowed his eyes at Drew.

"Anna, just listen to us," Drew said. "We don't want you getting hurt. You're one of us now."

Anna closed her eyes and shook her head. She wanted to run out of this house, but she knew that Drew was right. She was one of them. As much as she did not want to be a vampire, she was now one. There was no cure.

"Fine," she said. "But I want to go home."

"We'll let you go home," Drew said.

"Just to get your clothes," Rhys added. "You're coming back here after."

"Back here?" she asked. "I have a life. I am not staying here."

"Just have a seat," Drew said. "We are going to talk about that."

Drew held out his hand and gestured over to the couch. The room was large and had two couches facing each other. A fireplace sat against the wall and on either side were two bookshelves overfilled with books. She could see on the spines that some of them were the classics that she loved. A mirror hung over the fireplace, and she could not see any of their reflections. It appeared to be an empty room.

Anna saw Calvin and Huxley sitting on one of the couches. Calvin was leaning back with his feet on the coffee table and was focused on cleaning his fingernails with a pocket knife. Huxley was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and was listening to their conversation. Anna walked over to the opposite couch. Drew sat down next to her, and Rhys stood between the two sofas with his arms crossed over his chest.