Court of Ambrose

Worse Things Than Death

{Dayus’ POV}

She stood up, crossing the floor and grabbing my hand, holding it with both of her hands. They were small, dainty, and so soft. “No! It isn’t you, I just.. I’m naturally jumpy, I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear you coming. Really, I’m okay, and everything that happened last night, it’s okay. I know that you didn’t mean to hurt me. You were trying to take care of me, and I carelessly cut my finger. It’s okay, I’m okay, so don’t beat yourself up, okay?” She said, smiling softly up at me.

She forgave me so easily, even though I hurt her, even though I drank her blood the way I did. I knew better, I promised Marnie that I’d never drink anyone’s blood that way in this house. Marnie started a foundation, where people could donate blood, doing multiple blood drives a year just to get us enough blood to survive. We still have so much in storage, but smelling Celeste’s blood, fresh blood, it did something to me. Honestly, the fact that she forgave me so easily made me a little angry. I should be punished, she should be angry with me, but that soft smile is back on her face once again, plastered over it like a mask. Even though she forgave me, I could hear her heart beating in her chest. It was still fast, as though she was still anxious.

“It’s not okay Celeste, I shouldn’t have done that. I crossed a line. Not only that, but I broke Marnie’s rule. I drank the blood of someone in this house, in her family. I could have ki**** you, do you not understand that?” I said, urging her to listen to me, and think about it.

“There are worse things than death Dayus..” she said softly, turning away from me and walking back to her desk.

I watched her as she sat cruise cross in her chair and wrapped a blanket around her. “What do you mean by that?” I asked, stalking over to the desk and leaning down over her. I placed each of my hands on either side of her on the desk.

She shook her head softly, and went back to working on her papers. “Nothing Dayus, sorry, I’m just tired is all. I’m alright though.” She said, jotting something down. “I’ve got to finish this tonight though, I start work tomorrow, you guys want to order a pizza?” She asked, peering over her shoulder at me.

“S-Sure.. what kind do you want?” I asked, looking down at her.

“Supreme, and get whatever you guys want. My wallets on the counter downstairs, just make sure to lock the front door back when we get the pizza. I’m going to try to finish these papers.” She said, returning her full attention back to the papers on the desk in front of her.

I walked downstairs and used the landline to call for some pizzas. One cheese, and one supreme, then waited until the pizzas got there. When the doorbell ran, Veryn peaked his head out from the basement. “What’s going on?” He asked, looking around.

I grabbed her wallet from the counter and got out the cash she told me to. “We ordered pizza.” I said, answering the door. “Hey there. How much do I owe you?” I asked looking to the man who was holding the pizzas.

“$18.72.” He said, handing me the pizza and taking the $20 that I handed him.

“Keep the change!” I said, turning to walk back into the house.

“Hey, what ever happened to the old woman who lived here?” The guy asked, I turned back to look at him. He had light brown hair, it was shaggy and greasy. His eyes were a light blue color, and his skin was tanned, he was about 6’0, shorter than my brother and I.

“Marnie passed away, her granddaughter lives here now, we’re just visiting.” I said giving him a short nod.

“Oh, I’m sorry for the loss, I heard good things about Marnie. Anyway, how long are you in town for?” He asked, his voice becoming more insistent.

“Not sure yet, we’re staying here for the week, Celeste was nice enough to let us stay here.” I turned back, once again trying to close the door.

“Cool, I know Celeste, we used to be really close. Would you mind giving this to her?” He handed me a book, it was a children’s book, one about monsters.

“Um, sure..” I said. “Have a good night.” I finished, closing and locking the door. I placed the book on top of the pizza boxes and headed up to her room. Veryn followed in behind me. “Pizzas here!” I said, setting the pizza boxes onto the bed. The book slid off onto the blankets as I opened the pizza boxes. I ran back downstairs and grabbed some paper plates and pop before running back up. I got out a couple of pieces for Celeste, and sat it down on her desk, along with a pop. Then I walked back, sitting on the bed and grabbing myself a slice. Veryn sat beside me, as we ate the pizza and began chatting. “So where are you starting work at?” I asked, remembering that she had said something about working tomorrow.

“I got a job at the elementary school in town, that’s why I hadn’t come back yet. I was finishing school, and wanted to have a job lined up. After disappointing nana so much, I wanted to be able to make her proud. Of course.. now that I know what I know, I wish I had come back sooner. I just.. I couldn’t face her.. not after everything.” She said, finishing her pizza and going right back to work.

Once we were done, Veryn went downstairs, placing the leftover pizza in the fridge. When he came back up, I remembered the book on the bed. “Oh, by the way, the pizza delivery guy said that you both used to be close, he gave me this to give to you.” I said, walking over to her and placing the book on her desk.

As she looked over, I could feel the fear rising in her chest. Her breath became ragged, as her eyes widened when she looked at the book. “T-The pizza delivery guy.. he gave this to you?” She asked, I watched as tears began to spill from her eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked cupping her cheeks in my hands and making her look at me.

She shook her head and pushed my hands away. “N-Nothing, just get out!” She yelled stalking to her bedroom door, and pointing out into the hall.

“What’s going on, who is he?” Veryn asked.

Tears were streaming down her face as she pointed to the hall again and screamed louder. “I said, get out!” She yelled.

We walked out into the hallway, and she slammed the door behind us. “That was weird, right?” I asked, looking over to Veryn.

“Very..” he replied. “Something isn’t right..” he muttered, and for once, I completely agreed with him. Whoever that was, he upset Celeste more than I had ever seen before.