Blood Ties

14. Just Fine

It was difficult trying to explain to her parents just how she came to Los Angeles by way of New York without alarming them. Telling them that she was thinking of switching schools and then admitting she was stressed out at NYU made them both concerned and angry.

“Why didn’t you tell us you felt this way? Are you taking too many courses? How are you feeling now? What’s L.A. like? Have you seen a celebrity yet?” Her mother was full-tilt maniacal in her questioning.

“Mom, I didn’t want to worry you, and I’m taking the exact number of courses I should be taking. I’m fine, and L.A. is very different from New York. I don’t know if I like it yet, but I can tell you it’s much, much warmer. I don’t miss the snow at all. I’ve just been relaxing so I haven’t gone out much yet, so no celebrity sightings to report. We might hit the university tomorrow and see if I’d like it there. UCLA has a good drama department. Nothing like NYU, but the atmosphere here is pretty chill. I can see myself enjoying it there.”

After a few more minutes, her father got on and read her the riot act for not calling them sooner and telling them where she was. When he asked how she could afford a plane ticket, she had to be honest.

“I didn’t fly commercial, daddy. My friend is wealthy, and his family sent their private plane.” That ended with a lot of questions, and her father started to ask about who these people were and how they had so much money as to spend on a plane of their choosing.

When her father was satisfied and she was done explaining and had hung up, Adam came around to the other side of the bed, climbed on, and put an arm around her shoulders. “Interrogation over for now?” He kneaded one tense shoulder and squeezed her tight.

“Oh, I’m sure they’re off the phone right now and figuring out 18 million more questions to ask for next time. They are nothing if not thorough. I’m just surprised they didn’t ask for middle names and addresses. I have your first and last names, but I could be in Beverly Hills or East L.A. for all I know.”

“You’re in the Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills, love,” he informed her. “We’re a bit west of Los Angeles and northeast of Santa Monica. It’s a lovely area to live in, and pretty quiet, for the most part.”

There was a pause in the conversation, and Adam eventually pushed her gently to his front so she was settled between his legs. He started to give her a massage, kneading the knots that had settled in her shoulders and neck while she tried to dodge and duck her parents’ questions. “Can we go out tomorrow and actually check out the university? I mean, if I’m going to really give this a shot, I should go over there first and see if I like it. Plus, I have to find out how to transfer credits and see if I can somehow get a scholarship—at least starting next year.”

Adam chuckled. “You don’t need a scholarship or grants anymore, sweetheart. I have more than enough money to pay for both past and present tuition. Have you forgotten already?”

In fact, she had. Even after talking to her parents about private jets and Beverly Hills, she’d let it slip from her mind that money was just another thing about her mate that she looked past. None of them acted like the wealthy elite you saw in the rags or on TV, and it always made her think twice about who these people really were.

“Actually, I had. Still, I’d like to see if I can make my own way. I already have the grants, so that’s not a problem. The scholarship was something to be proud of. Not many get into to places like NYU. The only other girl I know that did was pretty poor. She might’ve still had to live on-campus if she hadn’t been able to get another grant.”

Adam patted her shoulders gently before his hands lowered, manipulating and rubbing lower and lower on her back. “You just let me worry about all that, won’t you? You and I can hit the registrar’s office tomorrow and see how we can get your credits rolled over. If I have to buy them a new wing for their library, I’ll f*****g do it.” Adam felt that whatever Quinn needed—whatever it took to make her feel wanted and cared for…if it was within his power, he was going to accomplish it. And money held a lot of power, especially in Southern California.

They sat on the bed listening to the TV for a while as Adam continued to rub and massage away her worries and sore muscles. Her head rolled forward, and he got her neck as she groaned with appreciation. When her stomach started to rumble, he patted her on the arm and started to move away. She looked back at him as he slid his legs from around her.

“Where you going?”

“I can hear your stomach, hon. You’re hungry, and until you’re made vampire, I need to keep you fed.”

He held out his hand, ever the gentleman and helped her from the center of the bed. Not that she needed it; he just loved to touch her as much as he could while he still could. He had this irrational fear she wouldn’t always be there. As much as he hoped this would work out, he was biding his time until he inevitably f****d up.

They wandered into the living room where Cassie was typing something out on her MacBook. Eli was scrolling through the channels looking for something to watch, and Charlie was on her phone, muttering into the speaker and nodding her head as if she was taking in what was being said. They passed by them all silently, heading into the kitchen until Adam was escorting her to a seat at the bar.

“Take a seat,” He ordered her gently. “I got this.”

She watched as he started to take out fixings for a salad, and then brought out some grilled chicken in one of those plastic freezer bags that keep leftovers fresh. “Grilled chicken salad good? I’m not up to par on people food, but I know from watching you a little that you do like vegetables.”

She nodded her head and let her lips curve into a smile. “I do. I eat a lot of them. It was what kept me from getting the infamous freshman 15.”

He shook his head like the idea was foreign to him. “Freshman 15?”

“Yeah. It’s basically almost a law that every freshman who goes away to college ends up gaining anywhere between 15 and 25 pounds their first year. Since I dance a lot, that didn’t happen, but I was still a little nervous, so I ate tons of salad and healthy s**t. I don’t know if the freshman 15 has to do with the amount of drinking one does, but I was never one to imbibe much. My guess it’s a bit of both, but worse when you’re sitting in classes and lectures and not as active. I never gained a pound, but then again, my metabolism has always been pretty healthy and I exercised often for dance class. Used to run in the park as well when I started to live alone, but I just got bored so I stayed after class in one of the dance studios and did some barre work there instead. If I can have music to dance to, I can go for hours.”

He started to cut up some tomato in slices, getting his hands a little slimy but not seeming to care. She wondered how he ate—or drank—his blood. Did he warm it up first so it seemed fresh from the vein, or was it like putting ice in your water and drinking it to cool you down or refresh you? She didn’t think it was the latter, but she hadn’t really seen any of them drinking blood either. Quinn wondered about that and decided to ask.

“Uhm, how often do you need to feed in order to be sustained? I haven’t seen any of you drink in front of me, not that I’ve been studying you all as a species or anything.” She flushed easily, her cheeks almost becoming the color of her hair.

“Well, to tell you the truth, we haven’t really wanted to feed in front of you yet.”

She was surprised. “What? Why?”

He winced a little and looked up at her. “Well, it’s not like it’s super gross or like watching Animal Kingdom where there’s tons of gore or anything, but we kinda made the decision to work you up to seeing us feed again so you didn’t get spooked. It’s one thing to know what we live on, and an entirely different thing to witness it. You feel me?”

She understood, but she also knew she was stronger than that. Quinn Swain was never a wilting flower. She grew up on a farm, lived a life full of hard work and chores, getting up at dawn so she could help around the house and barn, going to school, getting good grades…

Certainly, she could handle a little blood.

“Try it. Right now,” she demanded quietly. “I swear to you I can handle it. I mean, I was just surprised with you drinking from the source. I’m sure that if you broke out a bottle of blood, or whatever, I’d be able to deal with it without passing out. The first time you just shocked me because I didn’t fully believe you were what you said you were. Do it.”

He looked from the onion he’d started slicing to Quinn’s face before blinking. “You sure, love? I have to warm it up, and sometimes it will smell a bit like copper after it gets warmed up. I don’t want to put you off your lunch when I get done with it.”

She nodded to him. “I promise. I might as well get used to you eating in front of me. It’s kind of odd being the only one at the dinner table that isn’t just sitting there staring as the human chews her food.”

“Right, well…” He looked around a moment before heading over to the sink to wash his hands. After a little bit of a scrub, he dried his hands on a paper towel and tossed it into the garbage.

Quinn watched as he grabbed a packet of blood from the fridge, emptied it out into a microwavable sealed cup and put it in the microwave. She didn’t pay attention to how long he set the timer for, and waited patiently for it to get to 1 second before stopping it. The annoying beep at the end of the cycle was still irritating as hell.

“What are you doing?” Quinn watched him shake up the drink like it was a protein shake or smoothie.

“Even with the advances in microwave ovens, the temperature of the blood is never really even. Some parts are still too hot while others too cold. Shake up your drink before you take a sip every time. It’s, like, rule number one.” He lifted the cup to his lips and muttered, “bottoms up,” before taking a swig and swallowing.

If Quinn expected his expression to change, she was disappointed. He swallowed a few times as if nothing more potent than water was sliding down his throat, and she waited for a moment before shrugging her shoulders offhandedly. “See? No big deal.”

He smiled back at her and sauntered over before giving her a dry kiss on her cheek. “You handled that well. Even let me kiss you afterward.” He took a step back and nodded gently. “I think you’re gonna be just fine.”

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