Emily woke with a start. Her eyes snapped open and her hand instinctively went to her neck. She had dreamt of the night she had been attacked again, though this time her attacker had remained a shadowy figure. She stared at the hand that had gone to her neck. It had been redressed, covering the cut and the two puncture marks that Naomi's fangs had left behind. "Ems?" Naomi's voice sounded in her ear beside her and her head snapped around to face her. The action had been too quick for her still drained body and the room around her began to spin. "Here." Naomi reached for the glass of orange juice and tipped it up for Emily to drink it.
She took a few small sips before lying back down, letting her head sink back in to the pillows. She was well aware she was lying in the bed of a vampire who had fed on her, but her body was too weak to do anything about it. Naomi hovered on the edge of the bed, ensuring she didn't invade the other girl's space. She offered her the chocolate bar and lay in silence as Emily nibbled at it. The blonde bit her lip nervously, unsure of what kind of mood the other girl was in. "I can make you some breakfast?" Emily shook her head as she finished off the chocolate. "You need to eat something."
"I'm fine." Emily finally replied, her voice husky and gravelly.
"I'm sorry...I took too much-"
"I made you feed." Emily cut her off as she rolled over to face her and pulled the covers back up to her chin. "I knew the risks...you really weren't going to feed on me were you? I mean, you could have died Naomi." Emily looked up at her with a probing gaze, as though she was trying to figure something out. She had not wanted to listen to the blonde the night before, it had taken Naomi's flat out refusal to feed on her to show her how committed she was to abstaining.
"I haven't fed on human blood in almost twenty years Emily. I couldn't trust myself to stop...I almost didn't." Her guilt played out across her delicate features as she dropped her gaze, unable to look Emily in the eye.
"But you did-"
"Emily, I didn't choose to stop drinking human blood out of some moral obligation. I had no other choice. I was out of a control! I was a monster! That's what feeding on human blood does to me. For a minute last night I was the old me again, and I could have killed you! Ems, I'd rather die than be that person again. I'd rather die than hurt you." The other girl surprised her by leaning forward and placing a soft kiss against her lips.
"Naomi, I can't just turn off how I feel about you because you're a vampire, but I can't just forget that you're one either."
"So where does that leave us then?" Naomi was desperate to reach out and kiss the other girl again, but she hung back, allowing Emily to set the rules.
"I don't know." She admitted honestly with a heavy sigh. She shuffled forward so that she could bury her face in the crook of the blonde's neck. Naomi wrapped her arms around her loosely, once again fighting the temptation to take things further.
She had expected Emily to wake up and starting screaming and shouting, she wasn't about to push her luck too far so she let Emily make all the moves. "My parents will freak if they find out I'm still seeing you...fuck!" Emily shot up and scrambled out of the bed in search of her phone. Her parents would kill her for sneaking out. "Whoa! Easy!" Naomi was by her side in the blink of an eye as Emily lurched forward. Her speed surprised them both. It had been a long time since Naomi had felt so quick and so strong. Emily's blood was to thank for that. "I sent Katie a text from your phone saying you'd slipped out early and gone to JJ's for some space." From the relief that flooded Emily's expression Naomi guessed she had done the right thing. She helped her back in to bed and wrapped the duvet around them.
"If it helps I think my mum's going to kill me first." Naomi made a joke about it, but she was fairly certain Gina was going to read her the riot act when they eventually got out of bed.
"If you're a vamp then Gina's-"
"My maker. She turned me when I was seventeen."
"How old are you?" It suddenly dawned on Emily that the blonde wasn't the same age as her.
"I was born in Bristol in eighteen sixty-three. My family were pretty well off. My father was a doctor and my mother was part of the suffragette movement. The summer before I was turned I got engaged to a man called Daniel Reece. He was my dad's apprentice." Naomi had never shared any of that with a human before, but she needed to make up some serious ground with the other girl. Honesty was the only way she could do that. "Gina raised me to live the way she did, no feeding on humans, no hunting, no killing...I stayed with her until the mid-twenties. That was when I first fed on a human. I left Gina and turned my back on everything she had taught me...And I turned Cook." Emily listened quietly to her admission. She didn't seem surprised to find out she was Cook's maker. "But that's all in the past. Gina took me back, and I'm living by her rules again. Or I was until last night-"
"Naomi! Down stairs please!" Gina called up to her, her voice leaving no room for an argument. It was time to face the music. She slipped out of bed and found Emily following her.
"You should stay here Ems-"
No. I made you drink last night. I'll tell Gina that." Emily caught hold of Naomi's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Like it or not we're in this together."
"Naomi!" The younger blonde rolled her eyes as Gina impatiently called for her again. She took a cautious step forward and pressed her lips to Emily's. The smaller girl didn't pull away, though she didn't try to deepen it either. It seemed they were stuck in limbo, unable to move forward but too entangled to separate. Naomi couldn't imagine giving up the girl in her arms, even without her blood coursing through her system she was addicted to her.
Downstairs Gina was waiting in the kitchen. Kieran had already left for work, leaving the three of them sitting around the kitchen table. Gina took one look at Emily and clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Emily, you look terrible! I'll make you some toast." Gina pottered about, putting bread in the toaster and making three cups of tea. "You'll need to eat too." The older blonde nodded towards her brooding daughter. Naomi pulled a face at the thought of drinking the pig swill in the fridge.
"I'm fine."
"Hmm, you will be. Human blood's all the more satisfying isn't it?" Gina narrowed her eyes at her.
"Mrs Campbell it was my fault. I made Naomi feed on me. I cut my hand and-"
"Eat up dear." The older woman cut her off as she placed a tower of toast down in front of her. "I'm aware of the circumstances. We just need to handle this properly, that's all. After all we can't change the past can we?" She was talking about more than just the previous evening. "Naomi you're going to need to feed in another day or so. Cook can take you to a blood farm-"
"What?" Naomi though she was hearing things. Her mother had just told her to feed from a human. "No. I'm not going back to drinking from humans! I promised you I'd make this work and I will!"
"Naomi, the last time you went cold turkey..." Gina trailed off as she remembered Emily was in the room. "Well, let's just say it will be safer if we wean you off."
"No." The younger blonde shook her head. "I'm not feeding on anyone else. It was one time. I can handle this."
"And if you can't?" Gina snapped, her patience wearing thin. "If you snap? Who's neck do you think it's going to be on the line?" She looked pointedly at their house guest.
"I'm not going to a blood farm." Naomi huffed, though she knew her maker was right. She couldn't risk going cold turkey and attacking Emily, but she refused to go to a blood farm, nightclub's designed for vampires to meet willing donors. They were a new phenomenon that had popped up after the treaty between the vampires and the hunters in the early nineties. Most of them were seedy clubs filled with wannabes and Twilight fans.
"I'll do it." Emily spoke up, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over them. "You can feed on me. You saved my life yesterday, it's the least I could do." Naomi easily could have left her lying unconscious for Rosenberg to find, but she had got her to safety and kept watch over her all night.
"Emily, this is a big commitment. Naomi will need to be weaned back off human blood slowly, little and often. You could be feeding her three and four times a week-"
"I'll do it." Emily held her head up high and forced her voice to sound firm.
"No. Emily, I couldn't ask you to do that-"
"You're not. I'm offering. Feeding from me will be safer. You can feed as soon as you're hungry, so you won't need to take much and if you do try to take too much I can stop you."
"Emily-"
"Please. This is my fault. I want to help Naomi." Under the table she took the other girl's hand again, melting the last of Naomi's resolve.
Naomi gave up with a sigh. With Emily Fitch begging her to take her blood there was only so long she could fight. Emily was right of course. It would be safer to feed from a hunter who could handle herself, and the thought of anyone else's blood was curdling her stomach to start with. "Right, that's settled then." Gina beamed as she heaped yet more toast on Emily's plate. "Ground rules, you tell me when you're hungry and you only feed in front of me. Agreed?" Naomi reluctantly nodded. The thought of feeding on Emily in front of her mother seemed almost as cringe worthy as having Gina watching them in bed. It would be safer for all of them of course though, so Naomi would just have to get on with it.
"Naomi and Cook are vampires? You're sure?" Effy frowned as Katie picked up the magazine Effy had been reading and lay out on her bed. The oldest twin had turned up uninvited and declared they were skipping college. Effy lay down beside her, her arms instantly wrapping around the smaller girl. Katie didn't even bat an eye lid as she flipped through the magazine. She had clearly gone to Effy for some much needed comfort, which the other girl was more than happy to provide.
"Yes I'm sure." Katie huffed as she tossed the magazine aside and leant back in to Effy's touch, craning her neck as the other girl's lips travelled along her jaw line. "Ems is gutted. She slept with Naomi before we found out."
"At least someone's getting some." Effy mumbled under her breath.
"Fuck off Eff!" Katie snapped, she tried to pull away but Effy pulled her back and apologised as she trailed teasing kisses down her neck. She stopped struggling to get away as Effy straddled her hips and pinned her wrists to the bed. "No fair bitch." Katie grumbled, though she eagerly kissed the other girl back.
"As much as I'd love to take this further..." Effy momentarily trailed off as she caught Katie's bottom lip between her teeth and gave it a playful nip. "JJ and Panda are coming over soon."
"JJ?" Katie abruptly sat up, almost knocking Effy off the bed. "Is Ems coming? She went round his this morning."
"No. JJ and Panda went down to Castle Park, they're doing something for Biology. They've been there since dawn. JJ didn't mention Emily-"
"Fucking stupid twat!" Katie growled as she realised what her twin had done. "I'll kill her! If a fucking vamp doesn't get her first!"
She pulled out her phone as she searched the mess that was Effy's bedroom floor for her shoes. "Pick up you stupid twat." She grumbled in to her phone as it just rang and rang. "What if Rosenberg's found her? What if she's hurt? What if...what are you doing?" Katie snapped as Effy snatched her phone out of her hand.
"Calling someone who can help...Cook? It's Ef. Get your arse to mine, you owe me a favour."
"What the fuck? He's a vampire!"
"Exactly." Effy shot her the kind of look she usually reserved for Panda. "If anyone can track Emily it's Cook." Katie didn't like it, but she had to admit Effy was right. Cook would be able to find Emily a lot quicker than Katie would.
"Fine." She huffed as she collapsed back on to Effy's bed, resigned to wait for Cook to show up. "Just as long as he doesn't bring that bitch with him."
By the time Cook finally turned up Katie's mood had gone from bad to worse. "Take your fucking time why don't you." She sneered as he followed Effy in to the living room.
"Last time I checked I ain't at some hunter's beck and call." He growled back, earning a slap around the ear from Effy.
"Play nice you two." She scorned the pair of them. Cook's lip curled up, but he obediently fell silent and listened to what Effy had called him for. "Emily's missing. So let's forget all this vampire and hunter bullshit shall we?"
"Red's missing? But she was with-" Cook cut himself off as Katie's eyes narrowed on him. He instantly knew he'd said the wrong thing and regretted opening his mouth as Katie put two and two together.
"With Naomi?" She hissed. "If that fucking bitch has hurt her-"
"She saved her life!" Cook's natural instinct was to protect his maker. "Ems went after some vamp, she was lucky Naoms was there to save her arse!"
"Oh, how very convenient! She probably set that fanger on Emily in the first place!"
"Please." Cook scoffed at her. "She's over a century old, she wouldn't need any help taking out some little girl who thinks she's a hunter!"
"It'd be the last fucking thing she does!" Katie sneered back as she got right up in his face. Cook's fangs slipped out along with the growl that had been building in his throat.
"Cook!" Effy snapped, stepping in to separate them. She turned her attention to Katie, trying to win her over. "Maybe we should give them a chance? Cook doesn't kill and Naomi doesn't even feed on humans-"
"Wait, what?" Katie took a step backwards, putting some distance between them. "How would you know that? I only just told you they were vamps...you knew? You fucking knew?"
"Katie please, I can explain..." Effy took a step forward but Katie held up her hand, stopping her in her tracks.
"No. I don't want to fucking hear it Ef! You knew what they are and you didn't think to mention it? They're fucking fangers! They're dangerous!"
"You don't understand-"
"No, and I don't want to! It's us and them, you've made it clear who's side your on...Stay the fuck away from me and my family Effy!" Katie snatched up her purse as she stormed out of the living room and almost slammed the front door off it's hinges as she left.
"Well that went well." Cook tried to make light of the situation but Effy shot him down with an icy glare. "You know where she's going, right?"
"Naomi's." Effy sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "She won't forgive me. Not for this."
"You did the right thing protecting us Ef. You know that-"
"Tell that to Katie." She snapped, though she knew he was right. "We better go stop her before she does something stupid."
"Don't worry, our Naomi can handle herself babe-"
"It's Emily I'm worried about."
Katie was far from the forgiving type. Emily was definitely the more reasonable of the twins; she may have been the better hunter but she believed in the treaty. She believed some vampires were capable of living without hunting and killing. Katie took after her mother and was more inclined to believe that all vamps were the same; ruthless killers who wouldn't think twice about taking human life.
Effy tried to phone ahead as she and Cook got in to her car, but neither Emily nor Naomi answered their phones. Katie wouldn't answer either. By the time they arrived at Naomi's house she was already pounding on the front door. Gina opened the door and looked puzzled as the pint sized girl pushed her way past her and in to the house. "Where is she? Where's my sister?"
"Emily's not here." Naomi stood at the foot of the stairs, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes narrowed at the intruding Fitch.
"Oh really? Then you wouldn't mind if I checked for myself." Katie glared back at her with just as much venom and tried to get past her to go up the stairs. Naomi didn't just move aside as Gina had though; she held her ground and pushed the smaller girl back, knocking her in to Effy and Cook as they barged through the front door.
"Naomi." Gina's voice held an unspoken warning. She was well aware that her daughter was pumped up on human blood and had never been particularly patient.
"Get off me!" Katie pulled away from Effy as she caught hold of her arm. "If I find out Emily was here, you'll be sorry! All of you! The Vampire council-"
"The council has no reason to get involved." Gina cut her off, her voice stern as she stepped in between the two girls. "My daughter and I do not feed on humans…and Katie, before you start trying to make trouble for my family I suggest you speak to Marcus, the leader of the Vampire High Council. He's a very close friend of mine." For the briefest of moments Gina Campbell actually looked like a vampire. Her words did the trick and Katie took a hasty step back.
"This isn't over." She sneered at the rest of them as she made a hasty retreat to the door. "And stay the fuck away from my sister! All of you!" Her glare settled on Effy before she stormed out.
"She'll come around babes, just give her time-"
"No." Effy shrugged Cook's hand off her shoulder. "She won't."
"Wait, why's she mad at you?" Naomi looked from Effy to Cook for an answer.
"Because I knew about you and Cook and I didn't tell her. She sees it as a betrayal, like I chose you two over her."
"So why did you?" Emily stood at the top of the stairs, her angry expression almost mirroring her twin's. She made her way down and stood behind Naomi, waiting for an answer. "You could have talked to me Effy. You know I would have listened if you trusted them-"
"Unlike the rest of your family." Effy finally spoke up to defend her actions. "I'm sorry Emily, but I didn't have a choice."
