Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 13

 Anna woke when the lights flicked on in the room. She dug the heel of her hand into her eyes as she sat on the bed.

A girl had her arms wrapped around Rhys's neck. Anna could smell the alcohol coming off of her. She was wearing a short skirt, high boots, and had on large hoop earrings. She was giggling, but stopped when she saw Anna. The girl stopped walking, and Rhys put his hands on her hips to push her forward.

"Woah, wait," the girl said. "I'm not doing some freaky shit with you and your girlfriend. I'm not into that stuff."

Anna furrowed her brows at them. Rhys chuckled as he put his hand on the girl's shoulder. He forced her to sit down on the opposite bed. The girl's eyes looked at Anna and then back to Rhys. She grabbed the front of her jacket and held it closed. Rhys crouched down in front of her so that they were at eye-level.

"Listen here, Olivia," Rhys said. "I'm going to need you to be a good girl and listen to us."

"What's going on?" Anna asked as she stood.

"Anna, go get a towel out of the bathroom," he said.

"I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's going on," Anna said.

Rhys glared at her. Olivia let out a whimper before covering her mouth. Rhys reached out and petted the side of her head.

"Just do as I say, Anna," he said.

Anna's feet were moving before she could speak. She went into the bathroom and grabbed one of the thin scratchy towels. She could see that Olivia was trembling as she passed it to Rhys. He rolled the towel up in his hands.

"I need you to not make a noise," Rhys said. "We don't want you waking our neighbours."

"Please." Olivia's voice cracked and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Please, just let me go home."

"That's not going to happen," Rhys said. He looked at Anna. "Hold her hands behind her back."

Olivia held her hands up to her chest as she shook her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"What are you going to do?" Anna asked, but she already knew his plans.

"I told you that I'm bringing home dinner," he said.

Olivia's eyes flew open. She went to stand, but Rhys pushed her back down onto the bed. He kept his hand on her shoulder, and Olivia tried to contort her body to get his hand off of her.

"Anna, you need to help me," he said.

Anna's gums ached and a sharp pain shot across her mouth as her fangs protruded. She stepped forward and grabbed Olivia's wrists. Olivia fought against her, but Anna twisted Olivia's arm at an awkward angle. Olivia let out a cry and bent over in pain.

Rhys stood and wrapped the towel around Olivia's mouth to gag her. She let out a cry, but it was muffled by the towel. Rhys searched through his bag and pulled out a zip tie. Anna's jaw dropped. Anna tightened her grip on Olivia as she tried to pull herself free. She let out another muffled scream.

"Pull her arms back," Rhys said.

Anna followed what he said and pulled her arms straight back. Rhys slipped the zip tie around her wrists and pulled it tight. Anna let go and wiped her sweaty palms on her pajama bottoms. Rhys grabbed the girl's throat and threw her back onto the bed. He kept a tight grip as he choked her. The girl's face was turning red as she struggled to breathe. Her tears were falling harder.

"We have to make this look like a murder," Rhys said. "The last thing we need is those hunters following us up North."

Olivia's eyes grew wide and she shook her head. She cried harder, and Anna could see her fighting against the restraints. The plastic was tearing into her skin and blood was rolling down her hands.

The sweet smell of blood filled Anna's nose. Her eyes went black and her gums ached. Rhys pulled his knife out of his pocket. Anna covered her ears with her hands to try and block out the sound of the girl's muffled screams.

Rhys lowered his hand on her throat. He put his hand on her forehead and held her head in place. He placed the knife against her neck. She let out one last scream before Rhys pushed the blade into her throat. Her screams became garbled as she choked on her own blood. The blood sprayed out of her neck and coated Rhys's face and hands. Once he was done, he cleaned the blade on his jeans.

He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, leaving behind a streak.

"Go eat," he said.

The tantalizing smell of Olivia's blood was all Anna could smell. Her gums throbbed and her stomach started to ache. Saliva was building up in her mouth as she thought about sinking her teeth into the girl's bloody neck.

"Don't put your fangs in her," Rhys said. "We don't want it to look like some kind of animal attack. Just a simple murder."

Anna nodded. She stepped toward Olivia's body and kneeled on the bed. She pushed the girl's head to the side and lowered her head next to her neck. She ran her tongue along her neck. The delicious taste of blood filled Anna's mouth. She brought her lips to the slit across her throat. She sucked back the blood and struggled to not sink her fangs into her neck. She had to suck back the blood at an agonizingly slow pace.

She drank her blood until the ache had disappeared from her stomach. She curled her fingers into the bed sheets as she ripped herself away from the lifeless body. She wiped her mouth and looked up at Rhys. He had his arms crossed over his chest, smiling, and watching Anna as she ate.

"I'm done," she said.

"Impressive," he said. "Most newbies can't control themselves like that."

Anna's hand ached because she was still clutching at the sheets. She let go and stretched out her knuckles.

Rhys went over to Olivia's body. He leaned down and drank from the other side of her neck. Anna walked into the bathroom.

It was still a shock to not see her reflection in the mirror. She washed her face with warm water because she was unsure if she got any blood on her chin and lips. She then washed her hands in the sink. The water swirled pink as she scrubbed the blood off of her fingers.

She was drying her hands on a towel when she heard Rhys walk over to the bathroom.

"Take a shower," she said as she looked at his blood splattered skin. "You look disgusting."

"Ouch," he said. "That hurt, Anna."

She rolled her eyes and walked back into the room. She crawled into her bed. She rolled onto her side so that she did not have to look at Olivia's blood-drained body. She listened to the running water as Rhys took a shower.

She was almost asleep when the water shut off. Rhys walked into the room, ran a towel over his head, and then shut off the lights. Anna jumped when she felt the bed dip down. She sat and pushed Rhys away.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"There's a dead girl in my bed," he said. "You seriously don't expect me to sleep there."

"Then you can sleep on the floor," she said.

"We slept in the same bed last night."

"This one is half the size!"

Anna put her hand against Rhys's hard bare chest and tried to push him back. He was too strong for her to be able to move him.

"Listen," he said. "I'll keep my hands to myself."

"You better," Anna said.

She adjusted her pillow before lying back down. Rhys lifted the sheets and slid in next to her. Anna shimmied her body to the edge of the bed.

"Sweetheart, you don't need to worry about me," he said.

Anna was worried, and she was worried for many different reasons.