Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry it took so long to update, but as promised, I'm not gonna leave this story unfinished. Sorry, this isn't much to make up for my extended absence, but I implore you to keep an eye on the older chapters. Nothing is being changed storywise, just tightening up the script and plot a bit. In the meantime, enjoy the next chapter of Sanguine...And don't forget to leave some feedback.
Chapter 21
The Proposal
Kaily's head popped out from under the sheets, looking at the door. "Oh no," she whispered, "It must be Dominic."
"Already?" Edan said, puzzled," Has it really been that long?"
"I wouldn't doubt it,"she smiled. She wrapped herself up in the sheets, grabbed his pants off the floor, and tossed it to him. "Hurry!" she silently urged him, "Go in my room and get dressed before he sees you!"
"Wait, let me get a sip of coffee first," he joked. She giggled quietly and rested a finger to his lips, "Shhh.."
There was a knock at the door again. "Hello?" came Dominic's muffled voice from the other side.
"Be right there," Kaily called back. Edan snuck into her bedroom and slipped on his jeans. As he did, he examined the room. Now that there wasn't somebody currently out to kill him, he could take his time. By the looks of it, one could have never told that only a few nights ago somebody had almost been shot to death in that very same room. The carpet was spotless, the walls were unmarred, and the furniture didn't have a scratch on it. The cloudy sky outside cast a dim, blue light on the off-white carpet and walls, mixing with the dull orange glow coming from the lamp on her dresser. The chest at the foot of her bed and the drawers against the far wall were made of white oak veneer. A matching wardrobe cabinet lied along the same wall as the head of the bed. For the most part her bed was made, with the exception of the corner of her dark gray quilt folded down from where she got out of bed that morning. Sprawled across it were some orange, gray, and white pillows.
Edan heard the front door open as he was buttoning up his shirt. He took a quick look in the mirror and tried to unruffle his hair a little bit before he walked back out into the living room. He let out a rather believable yawn and said, "Good morning."
"Well you look rather relaxed for somebody who just recovered from a severe seizure," Dominic said, oblivious.
"Was I really?" he said, looking confused and scratching his head." Man, what happened?"
"Kaily and I were coming back from doing laundry and found you hallucinating on the stairs. How are you still alive?"
"Good question. I don't know. I've learned just to take it for what it is and leave it at that. I'm not one to question good fortune."
"Fair enough," Dominic shrugged. He tossed Edan a small paper bag with a prescription label sticker.
"What's this for?" Edan asked.
"You'll see."
Edan opened it up and found a box of eye contacts. "I'm still wondering…"
"Those are specialized eye contacts with built in UV protection; it helps preven—"
"Oh yeah, I've heard of these! Kaily was telling me about them a few days ago. They work by reflecting most of the sun's rays, right?"
"Yeah, but what she probably forgot to tell you was that it only works so well under certain conditions. It doesn't make you invincible. You're still going to want to wear sunglasses for good measure, and at all costs avoid looking into the sun directly."
"That IS a good bit of information," he replied sarcastically," Thanks."
"It's what I'm here for." He walked over to Edan and handed him a business card, sticking his thumb under the name, "Speaking of contacts, you'll be seeing a new optometrist."
"How about doctors and dentists?" Edan joked.
"Those too," Dominic said, not catching on. "We'll find you some later. In the meantime, there needs to be a few changes to your diet. You need to cut down drastically in polyunsaturated fats and start taking C,D, and E supplements. Foods and drinks high in antioxidants wouldn't hurt either…."
As Dominic started listing off nutrition fact after nutrition fact Edan started to stare off into space, thoroughly confused. Kaily snuck up behind him and whispered into his ear, "Poor thing. How about you leave the worrying to me and let me cook you some food?"
Edan muttered back over his shoulder, "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
"Well," Dominic said as he made his way back to the front door, "I need to get back to work. Get some R&R, Edan. When you're all rested, give me a visit. I need to talk to you." He closed the door behind him.
Edan swung back around to Kaily, whispering so that Dominic couldn't hear as he made his way back to his room, "How did you get dressed so quickly?! I had barely slipped on my pants by the time you answered the door."
"I'm a girl."
"No secret vampire power or anything?"
"Uh…no?"
"Hmph," Edan said as he crossed his arms, trying to think how it was at all humanly possible.
Kaily smiled and kissed him, sitting him back down on the couch, "Dominic was right. You need to get some sleep. You can stay here for the night."
"Thanks. I won't try to be too much trouble."
"Don't worry, dear. You're not."
--
Later that night Kaily cooked dinner for two as promised. Steam rose from the stove as Kaily stirred a thick tomato sauce, wafting into the dining area where Edan was setting the table.
"Mmm, that smells good. Are you sure there isn't anything I can help with?" Edan asked. He had offered to help cooking earlier, but Kaily wouldn't let him in the kitchen.
"Well," she said, walking out with a steaming bowl of noodles, "If you'll grab the sauce, we'll have this spaghetti ready in just a few moments."
He grabbed two pot holders and cradled the bowl of sauce to the center of the dining table. It was looking especially delicious since she had made it from scratch. Something Dominic had taught her, being from Italy and all.
"And…" she added, pulling something out of the oven, "…garlic bread."
"Ha ha, funny."
"Oh c'mon. It's not like it'll hurt you. It's a myth."
"I'll believe you when I see you eat the first slice." He seated Kaily then made his way to the other end of the table.
As Edan was pouring meat sauce onto his spaghetti, he asked Kaily," So now that we're vampires, why do we still eat normal food?"
"For the nutrition, silly. If your diet consisted strictly of blood, then you'd end up looking like those gray, spindly-looking things you see in horror movies."
"Oh? And who says that's a bad thing, huh?"
"Well go ahead, then, but don't expect me to kiss you."
"Ouch," Edan said playfully as he held his hand to his heart, "That hurt. I never expected you to be so shallow."
"Are you going to eat your food, or what?" she replied, pointing her fork at him admonishingly.
--
Edan knocked on Dominic's door after dinner.
"Open," a deep bass voice called from the other side. Edan walked in and saw Dominic standing in front of the book case. Dominic ran his finger across the top shelf and stopped at The Brothers Grimm.He pulled it out and opened it up to reveal a flask of bourbon.
"Have a seat," he said. Edan walked over to the couch and took a seat in front of the coffee table. Dominic poured a shot of whiskey for each of them and set one in front of Edan.
"What was it that you needed to talk with me about? Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? No…" Dominic chuckled, "Well, not right now at least. What I called you over here for is this: I need your help."
Edan sat up a bit, "Help with what?"
"Well, before I tell you I need you to know that this favor I'm asking from you is very dangerous, even for a vampire. I'd understand completely if you want to back out now?"
Edan laughed, "Back out? Dom, you haven't even told me what it is yet. Besides, how many times have I died now? I've seen my fair share of danger."
"That's not all, Edan," Dominic added, "I also need your word that Kaily never gets word of this. I don't want her to get involved. I'm asking you this favor for her safety."
"Well then there's nothing more to say. I'm in." He downed his shot of bourbon and leaned forward, his attention directed at Dominic. "So what do I need to do?"