Chapter 7

"Well, bite me and slight me! You did it!"

A small container of orange juice, thrown with deadly accuracy, smacked in Ivy's hand, making me jump from my half slumbering state. It was a relief to hear Erica's light-hearted, slightly incredulous voice break the barely comfortable silence that dominated the room; Ivy bottling up her emotions and me recovering from that powerful aura she'd pulled was not fertile ground for conversation. It felt like I'd deepened the chasm between us again; how much more could she take, I had no idea, and hopefully I would never have to find out. Scout's honour, from now on, I would be the greatest roommate/best friend she could hope for… until the next time we slipped up. And then I'd worry over her leaving again, or she would, we'd promise not to do whatever again, ad nauseam…

Damn was I ever getting tired of this. Surely we tried hard enough to earn ourselves a break…?

"What am I, two?" Ivy asked, obviously offended by the cartoon-esque picture adorning the little box she held in hand. In other circumstances, I might have gotten a laugh out of this, but my mood was about as far away from playful as it could get.

"Mentally, sure. Physically, you look about... 40?" Erica teased, which made Ivy snarl in answer. She wasn't in the mood for teasing either, it seemed, but she still drained the box in about two seconds flat, silly drawing be damned. Her love for orange juice was eerie sometimes.

"And you... look tired." Erica said matter-of-factly, turning her attention to me. "She bite you? Yeah, of course she did. All's fair in love and all that, uh? Not even on the neck or wrists either, uh? In a hospital bed? Damn, that's kinky." She smiled and shrugged as my eyebrows rose and I blushed furiously, surprise and embarrassment mixing with my lingering heartache to create one crappy emotional stew. "It's okay, don't look so surprised, I practice too, you know." She had the reason why I looked surprised wrong, though. She was back to her old self, minus the shorter, spiky hair. Her gothic getup was complete with heavy makeup, an overflow of necklaces and full black clothing.

"Uh, no. I mean, we didn't…" Okay, so I was more than a little embarrassed, but hell, how would you feel if your best friend's sister basically thought you had sex in a hospital room?

"One, I don't want the details of your sex life, Erica," Ivy cut me off, the annoyance in her voice telling me she was still ticked about something, maybe the orange juice, "and two, I didn't bite her, she just thought you really had grown a fashion sense. That outfit looked good, why did you have to change?"

"'Cuz I looked like a freaking clone of you, maybe? That look suits you V, but it soo wasn't me. Thank god I brought real clothes to change after work." She declared with a flourish, flipping her smooth black hair over her shoulder with a grace that would make a model from a shampoo ad green with envy. Maybe she was a vaguely scary model wearing excessive mascara, black lipstick, too many chains, and about seven piercings in her left ear alone, but the vamp was just that beautiful; just like her sister, she'd probably look good wearing an orange garbage bag.

"You mean you looked like a sophisticated young woman..." Ivy said sarcastically, her features almost scrunched up in disdain over her sister's attire. "...not like an over-the-top, out of control teenage vamp wannabe…"

"Which I'm not, and which I am… minus the wannabe, of course." She replied, her tone a snide mockery of Ivy's annoyance, her smile showing off her sharpened canines. It was definitely a vampire's smile, sexy and dangerous as hell.

"Remind me why I'm trying to rid you of those manic habits of yours again..." Ivy's eyes narrowed as she took in her sister's teeth. "Please tell me you didn't dump your caps?"

"I didn't dump my caps." Erica answered innocently, the strain to keep a smile off her face so obvious I wasn't sure whether or not she had. It was funny how I hadn't even noticed them until they were gone. Me and my stupid attraction to danger... What can't hurt or thrill me simply isn't worth noticing sometimes. Vamp teeth were both, so they were extra alluring. Yeah, I'm that frigging dumb. Couldn't you tell?

"Rica…"

"I swear, I didn't!" Erica replied, all but laughing now.

Ivy sighed, a look of incredulous weariness on her face. "Suit yourself, I don't care. You know Dad will ground 'til you're thirty if you have."

Erica scoffed, the threat to her social life bouncing off her carefree shell. "You shouldn't worry about ME, V. Worry about yourself. Mom's really gonna let you have it this time. You know how she gets when you get hurt. She really wants to be a grandma someday. I heard her threaten to drag you home once, kicking and screaming if she had to, and lock you up until you're ready to settle down."

The image of their creepy dead vampire mom sitting in a rocking chair, cooing a black haired, ridiculously cute baby Ivy flitted through my mind and was gone, and I smiled a little at the thought. A whacky idea, for sure…

"Right, she can't wait to spoil her grandchildren rotten, I'm sure." Ivy muttered sullenly and I instantly sobered. Children were a touchy subject for the both of us, although were she was concerned, I could really only guess; she was open with me, yes, but mostly with her positive feelings. Joy and happiness, she shared without hesitation. Pain and anguish she kept to herself. "Are they around? Mom and Dad, I mean."

Erica shook her head. "They're not here. The sun's still up, so Mom's probably still trashing everything in sight back home, and Dad's probably trying to keep the final bill under six figures. Be nice, would you, she was really worried!"

"Humph, of course she was…" I didn't catch what Ivy was saying; her words were all starting to slur and blend together. My head felt heavy, unsteady, and my gaze was steadily falling, until I realised I was looking at the base of the hospital bed. I must have dozed off for a moment, because when I caught what the sisters were saying again, Erica was babbling excitedly about her new job as a waitress, and Ivy listened with a small, amused smile. She looked a lot better now that Erica was around.

"Emily is so crazy, V! I mean, Marc soo totally deserved it, treating her like that, but the way she threw that plate! It blew up in a zillion pieces! And the s.o.b. just about had kittens, what with the way she glared at him. I swear, I didn't think a human could scare a vamp like that. If I was him, I'd be careful what I say around the workplace. It's like, he works with his girlfriend but he still acts like a dog with ever other female thing in there. He takes her for granted, he just..." Erica turned around, just in time to see me yawn so deeply I nearly unhinged my jaw. "Whoa, Rache! Any wider and you'll swallow me whole!"

"Shorry…" I yawned again, blinking rapidly to clear the tears that blurred my vision. I wasn't tired, I was dead on my feet, and sore all over; my back hurt from having slept hunched over the bed, my arm hurt where the bullet had grazed me, my heart hurt from having hurt Ivy, my head from the spent adrenaline her aura had made my body produce… I felt like crashing in bed for the rest of the week, or maybe the rest of the decade…

"Hmm, you're more tired than I thought, Rachel... Rica, would you give her a ride back to the church, please? And see if you can't find her car and get it towed? I'll pay you back later."

"Sure." Erica answered without a second's hesitation, already on her feet and hugging her sister warmly, as if no heated words had been said between them in the last hour. I felt a tiny stab of jealousy at seeing such an easy, casual contact between them; it was always a logistic problem for me and Ivy to just be in the same room, let alone touch each other. Ah, in a friendly way, I mean.

"Thanks. You're the best."

"You better know it, if I can put up with you! C'mon, Rache. You're up way past your bedtime."

"Whoa, hey, I'm fine, Ivy. I'll shtay." My voice slurred as I stifled yet another yawn. I was tired, beyond belief, but I didn't want to leave Ivy alone in this mausoleum. "I'll get some coffee and grab a cab later, Erica, it's fine. You can go ahead if you're tired." I rose to my feet, groaning as my stiff body protested against the sudden movement. "Be back in a minute. Do you want some, Ivy? Erica? Anything?"

Neither answered, and the silence made me turn around warily. The sisters were glancing at each other, a silent agreement passing between them before they both turned their attention to me, which was a little scary; getting stared at by two vampires who have something in mind would put anyone on edge. Erica moved a little closer just as Ivy fixed her eyes on mine. They were their usual chocolate brown and looked completely human, but held a glint of mischief I didn't often see in them.

"Would you catch her, please?"

"What?" I didn't understand what Ivy meant until I practically tasted the surge of her pheromones in the air. Their effect was instantaneous; my eyelids turned leaden, much too heavy for me to keep them open and my knees went watery. The room spun as vertigo took me; I'd have landed on my ass if it hadn't been for Erica's arms steadying me. Just like that, Ivy had damn near blood-sugared me.

"Whadd'you do that for?" I cried out the instant the walls, bloody nuisances that they were, stood still and straight again. I was outraged that Ivy could just do that to me, but at least she'd had the decency to make sure I wouldn't fall and break my ass first.

"I hate to say it, but that was a baby's kiss, about as wimpy as pheromones get." The young vampire laughed before Ivy could reply. "Come on, don't be as stubborn as V is. You're dead on your feet, you won't be any kind of company anyw..."

She groaned lightly, her eyes fluttering shut for a second as a tiny shudder rippled over her. It was a familiar phenomena I'd witnessed often in the last two years; the transition every living vampires went through every day when the sun set. It didn't matter that we were underground, the sun still held its sway over them as long as it was up. Now was the time I usually had to be more careful around Ivy; until the sun rose again, her instincts would hold her in a tighter grip and affect her more intensely, her bloodlust especially.

"Besides, Mom's probably on her way over right now. As funny as it could be, it's not a good time for you two to meet." Erica's voice was different in an almost unperceivable way, a new, subtle heat creeping up into it. Her movements were even more fluid now, more feline, more predatory; combined with the gothic outfit, she was really starting to look creepy. She put on edge, and the possibility to finally meet Mrs Tamwood didn't help in any way. That, more than anything else, convinced me to get out of here. I was in no hurry to meet Ivy's mom, especially under such dire circumstances.

No, scratch that. I didn't actually want to meet her. At all.

"Well, if you put it that way..." I glanced at Ivy, finding no resentment in her expression. She looked okay with being alone. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" I asked, wanting to make sure before I left; I felt like enough of a coward already.

"Go." She said with a nod. "You're tired, go get some real sleep. Our dearest mother will be here to keep me in the most charming company for a very long while, don't you worry." She added in a sarcastically sweet tone, earning herself a brief glare from her sister.

"Try not to inflict any permanent damage on each other, okay?" Erica replied, and Ivy snorted in response. "Let's go already, unless you want to meet Mom on the way."

Even with time against me, I hesitated, staying close to the bed. My gaze met Ivy's, silently questioning her; we were still pretending to be involved with each other, for Erica's sake. Shouldn't I be kissing her goodbye?

"Trust me" Ivy mouthed silently has she understood my hesitation. She bit her lip nervously, like a teenager about to get her first kiss, her pleading eyes beckoning me closer. I nodded before leaning over her, my hands resting on her slim shoulders for support. My face was inches from hers when she reached for my shoulder, pulling me closer, the distance between us all but disappearing. She pressed her lips to the corner of my mouth in one of the most chaste kiss I'd ever been given. The contact didn't even come close to making me breathless, yet in a strange way this was more enjoyable because of it. She'd never kissed me before without me being freaked out or moaning from a pheromone-induced rush of sensation, and for once, I could truly appreciate her almost ethereal softness, and just how different it felt from being kissed by a man. Different. Not better, not worse, just... different.

Okay, maybe, just maybe, I was starting to understand why Ivy might like this. But that didn't mean anything; it took more than noticing how soft her lips were to make me gay, or even bi, right?

I was startled when Ivy's arm snaked around my waist, my train of thought almost derailed by my surprise. No way, I thought, not twice in a day...

I feared for a second that she might overstep her bounds and get carried away again, but I relaxed when she angled her mouth for the sensitive skin beneath my ear. Her warm breath became a slow, lingering contact, her caressing lips making me shiver a little, and I closed my eyes, letting myself enjoy the feeling as well as the emotions behind the act. A kiss there was a common display of affection amongst vampires, one that could be steamy as well as simply friendly, and obviously not one that Ivy used often, what with her problems with physical contact. I felt that this one carried every ounce of her devotion, every promise she ever made me. It was heady, really, that so much meaning could be expressed in such a tiny gesture.

"Please don't overthink this, Rachel. I'm not ready to give up, and I won't let you give up either. Not over this." Ivy breathed in my ear, her nose nudging the shell gently, her grey silk voice so soft I was sure even Jenks wouldn't have caught what she was saying. "Don't make me lock you up." I could hear the smile in her voice, and it made me chuckle softly. "Don't laugh, witch, I'm dead serious. I'll lock you up and throw away the key if I have to."

I wrapped my arms around her one last time, bringing her head into the crook of my neck. I didn't know if it had any sort of meaning for a vampire, but to me, it was a gesture of trust, something Ivy craved almost as much as the blood that pulsed slowly beneath my skin, the blood I trusted her not to take. It was too tight, an almost desperate embrace, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted, maybe even needed, Ivy in my life, but our arrangement felt more unfair to her now than it ever did. The feeling that she would snap, sooner rather than later, and leave me was unshakable, no matter how reassuring she tried to sound.

"Take care of yourself, alright?" I whispered around the lump in my throat, earning some points for the steadiness of my voice. I felt more than saw her answering nod.

"You, too. Relax, okay? Don't drive yourself insane."

I stepped away from her towards the tissue box in which I could still hear Jenks' light snoring, and gave it a pair of light taps. A long string of curse that would have made a sailor blush followed by a tearing sound rose almost instantly from within, and a few seconds later, the pixy blew out of the box like a bat out of hell, his sword in hand, the shower of golden dust sifting from him creating a golden sunbeam in the underground.

"Awake! I'm awake! I'm... oh. Hi Rache." With a flourish so fast it was little more than a blur, he returned the sword to its sheath. "Wasup? What did I... miss?" His jaw dropped at the same time his tiny body did, the surprise at seeing the red mark on my neck making him forget to beat his wings. I scrambled to grab him, only succeeding in looking like an idiot as I almost tripped all over myself and he caught himself long before he hit the ground.

"What happen...?" He started saying.

"I'll explain later." I whispered, cutting him off before he could say something that would blow our whole subterfuge out of the water.

"Slept well, Sunshine?" Ivy inquired, more than a hint of sarcasm in her smooth voice.

"Not really. Damn, how can you girls stand this?" He griped, flitting madly across the room to wake his body up. "Nothing smells like anything, it's colder than a fairy Popsicle..." He was startled into silence by Erica's changed appearance. "Tink's little red shoe, how long did I sleep? What time is it?" His eyes darted everywhere, to me, rumpled up and sleepy, with a hickey the size of a small state in a very conspicuous place, to a fairly well rested, alert Ivy.

"'Bout six-thirty p.m." Erica answered, glancing down to the only watch in the room, the one on her wrist. "The sun's gone down."

"Whaaat?!" He shrilled, alarm making his dust shift colours again. "I slept that long? Tink's bordello, Matie's gonna have my balls for dinner..."

"We were just leaving if you want to tag along." I offered, gesturing at Erica, who in turn gestured for me to hurry up. Mama bear would be here soon, and she would be crazy pissed. And hungry...

"But Ivy... crap! I didn't even say hi!"

"Don't worry about it, pixy. No offence. Get out of here. My mother will be annoyance enough; I don't need you around as well."

"Uh. Remind me again why I stayed up all morning worrying sick about you, Tamwood? I'll know better next time you get shot."

I couldn't help but smile, no matter how weary I was. Hearing my two best friends bickering was always enough to make me feel a little better; sure, it could be nasty when they started meaning what they said, but most of the time it was just the way they acted with one another.

"Go already." Ivy said with an exasperated finality no one in their right mind would dare to contest, her hands gesturing towards the door. "All of you, out the door, now."

With a final promise to visit tomorrow and bring her a change of clothes, I finally made my way outside, my mind buzzing with what had happened in the last few hours; the breath stealing, oh-so confusing kiss, the almost-bite and the difficulty saying "no" to her, the blunder that made my small victory with the pain amulet feel hollow... My thoughts flitted in my head like a pixy clan around a jar of honey, so much so that the only reason I realised I'd caught up with Erica was the huge hug she caught me in.

"Erica... can't breathe..." I gasped breathlessly, my arms flailing wildly in the iron grip of the young vampire.

"Oops," she laughed, letting go as casually as she would had she not bruised my ribs. "Sorry, I guess I'm not used to being that strong."

"Yeah... Ow." I winced under my breath, rubbing my sore back. The girl looked frail, but with a little effort, she could probably snap a linebacker across her knees. "You vamps are all crazy, you know that? What the Turn was that about?"

"She didn't tell me you two were together. It's nice to know. V's been spending too much time with Rynn for my tastes recently. I mean, the guy's nice enough, and his book taught me things, but I don't think he makes her really happy." She looked at me pointedly. "I can't believe she didn't tell me. She's been hunting you forever! I thought she'd be happier, you know, gossip a little."

"Well, it's... it's been pretty crazy recently, what with Kisten and Skimmer and her getting... hurt." I scrambled for an excuse, uncomfortable lying to Erica's face. I could only pray to God she didn't have her sister's skill at reading people. "And I think Rynn's been kinda good for Ivy. He helped her a lot after Piscary died." Not that I really liked the guy; I knew he'd help Ivy and make her happy only as long as it was convenient for him. If there was more to gain by hurting and twisting her, there was no doubt in my mind that Ivy would go through hell at his hand. It was just what dead vamps did. I really hated dead vampires.

"Maybe. Like I said, he's nice enough" I didn't think that smile could get any bigger, but it did. "But I'm still loads happier you two found each other. You resisted her longer than anyone else, you know that?" I hung my head, a hint of a blush creeping up on my cheeks. I hadn't given in, but if today was any indication, Ivy wasn't done hunting me either, which was both comforting and discomforting at once; it would be backward to leave if I was still in her crosshairs, right? "Aw, don't be embarrassed; Ivy's liked girls as well as guys as long as I can remember, I'm A-okay with it."

"You really love her, uh?" I asked, hoping to steer the conversation to some more comfortable subject.

"Well, yeah. She's my sister. We're family. It's the same with Mom and Dad. We don't always get along, but we all love each other. Don't you have family?"

I nodded, more at ease talking about them than my supposed love life with Ivy.

"I do, but... I don't talk to my dad, and my brother and I are, well, let's put it gently, estranged. I'm tight with my mom though."

"Your dad? I thought Ivy said your dad was dead?" Erica's eyes widened in horror, her hands clamping down over her mouth as if she'd said something offensive. "Sorry! That came out so wrong, I..."

"No, it's okay. It was over twelve years ago, it's an old hurt really. I'm over it."

"Sorry... isn't he dead?" She asked tentatively, curiosity winning out over tactfulness.

"The man who raised me, the one I called dad, yeah, he's gone. Only, it turns out that he wasn't my biological father."

"So, you know who that is, right?"

"Yeah, I could tell you who it is, but you'd never believe me."

"You could try. You know what my family's like." She said with a roll of her eyes. "I doubt there's anything you could throw at me that I haven't already seen. I'd like to know about yours. Exchange notes about our freaks get-togethers, that kind of things..."

"Can you keep a secret? Not that anyone would believe you if you don't."

"Sure."

"Takata."

"Takata what? You mean... you're bullshitting me." I shook my head, and Erica's jaw dropped, making me snicker. "HE'S YOUR DAD?" She all but screamed. My hand shot to her mouth, clamping it down before she could deafen me some more.

"Think you could be any louder?" I hissed. "I think some people in china haven't quite heard."

"Sorry!" She whispered. "Are you for real? THE Takata's your dad? And you're NOT talking to him? For the love of blood, what is WRONG with you, Rache?"

"It's a long story. We don't really have time, and this isn't the place. I might tell you some other time." I added with a smile before Erica could bury me under her begging.

"You bet your ass you're gonna tell me." Her eyes darkened for a moment, but I could see that her sullen mood was jokingly forced. "I can't believe this. My sister's dating Takata's daughter, and she didn't even bother telling me... I mean, damn, girl, that's cold!"

"Hey, blame her, not me."

"Oh, I will. Don't worry, I will. I hope you're in no hurry to get her back 'cause she's gonna spend a whole lot longer in here once I'm through with her." Her mood did another 180 degree flip, turning her into an overexcited fangirl in the blink of an eye. "So what's Takata like as a dad? Why don't you talk? How'd he meet your..."

Erica and I chattered merrily through most of the elevator ride and the trip to the parking lot, and I was relieved to see that her lighter side wasn't only a façade; she really was just a (vampire) kid, one who liked having fun and could find humour in almost any situation. Her presence reminded me somewhat of Ivy by its intensity, but it was very different as well; Ivy was the calm eye of the storm, a steadying, unalterable force, while Erica felt more like the sun after a particularly long night, a cheerful and lightening presence. They were both very comforting and pleasant though, if you could overlook their predatory nature, but right now, Erica was just what the doctor ordered.

"You mean your brother really thought he could stop you from joining the I.S.? Geez, no wonder you too don't talk to each other. Moron."

"That's a little harsh, you know. You don't even know him." I said defensively, unable to help myself from defending my idiot, overprotective brother, even though my applying to the I.S. was exactly the reason why we weren't on good terms. Long story... "I was really sick as a kid, and Robbie never really got over that."

"So he thought he'd try to talk you out of your dreams instead?"

"Ivy tries to talk me out of things all the time." I pointed out. "Why can't Robbie do it?"

"Sure, she tries, but only when she's absolutely convinced you can't do it, right? And did it ever turn out she was wrong afterwards?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but then thought about it for a second. Ivy had protested against my break-in into Trent's office, and it had ended with my mink ass landing in a rat fight. If not for Nick, who was back then still a rat, a form much more suiting to him than his actual face, I'd have been rodent chow. Ivy didn't want me to talk to Trent during the spree of the Witch Hunter, and Trent had in turn tricked me into taking down Piscary by myself. Again, if not for the help of another, namely Quen, I would have ended up dead, or worse. Whenever I fished a course of action Ivy had been vehemently opposed to out of my memory, I always ended up realising I'd owed my salvation to another or some element neither of us could have been aware of.

"Okay, I guess you're right." I admitted grudgingly, which in turn made Erica grin.

"You wouldn't believe how often that happens."

"Don't get cocky, kid."

"You're only cocky if you can't back it up, old woman."

We stared at each other for a moment before bursting with laughter, which continued on for a while before we reached Erica's car. I didn't know the make and model, but it was a two-seater, and looked sleek and built for speed. It kind of reminded me of Ivy's Nightwing; it inspired just as much confidence... The car was solid black, of course, as opposed to Ivy's purple-striped motorcycle, with tinted windows to protect its owner's sensitive eyes from the sun's glare.

"Uh, you don't drive like Ivy, do you?" I asked, my laughter dying out the instant I slipped pass the passenger side door into the incense smelling interior. A short lance of heartache stabbed through my heart at the reminder of Kisten's scent filling his corvette, but concern for my immediate safety quickly overwhelmed it.

"Nah, don't worry about it." She answered dismissively, but the temporary relief was crushed when she snorted derisively.

"Ivy drives like a little old lady, doesn't she?"

My terrified gulp was drowned out by the revving of the engine. This would be a bumpy ride...