Shane's POV

After staying up late on the job search, I gave up and went to bed for 5 uncomfortable hours of tossing and turning before giving up at 5.30 am and getting up. I felt pleased to have managed to apply for some and the day hadn't been a waste. Yet, i felt horrible for leaving Claire, the guilt was intensified by Eve.

I'd mainly avoided Claire's parents through their stay but was glad to see her mum in the kitchen when I went down. She was staring out the window, watching the early morning sun raise whilst drinking a coffee.

I cleared my throat so I didnt scare her as I walked in. "hey" she said softly with a smile, the sun lighting one side of her face as she turned to face him. She was a lot like Claire, except almost 30 years older. Awkwardly, I smiled back, unsure what to say. "so, are you, have you decided, what your err, if you are staying" Shane stuttered, carefully speaking each word, nervous to cause more tension. On the whole, it was Claire father he argued with and her mother seemed to like him but he didn't want to push his luck.

To Shanes relief, she smiled back and explained "well Claire was pretty clear and I don't want to leave her, but she has the right to decide. Her father and I will go see her later, and if she is still sure, we can make plans. Not like we are that far away, we can come back." then asked hesitantly "Would it be okay if we were alone with her? From about 12?"

"yeah, of course" answered Shane, it did seem more than reasonable, "Eve's picking me up at 8.45 so we can be there from the start of visiting hours. Eve's working at 1pm so I'll go for some lunch while you're with her, would you mind letting me know when I can go back to her?".

Claire's mum answered "Thankyou darling and thanks for letting us stay. I'm going to read for a bit in my room. See you later, yeah?" she left the room with a big coffee and a friendly smile. I stared at the sunrise for a few more minutes, thinking how much Claire would enjoy this moment. i still had over three hours before Eve would arrive to collect me, so I sat at the table and drank a coffee, staring at the phone in my hand.

A full three hours later, Shane was on the doorstep, waiting for his friend to pick him up. He looked good, the time to wash and dressed had really done Shane the world of good, after living in the moment to moment madness of Claire's illness. Self-care may not feel like an essential, but it is and the impact on Shane that morning was massive.

To his surprised, Eve had made him a breakfast sandwich, even more, surprising it was not burnt and seemed edible. His stomach rumbled as the delicious smell hit his nose. "you cooked this?" Shane asked surprised as he climbed in. "well good morning to you too, grumpy pants" Eve replied in a fake cheery voice with the purpose of annoying "you actually look good, finally figured out the shower then?" she ask with a slight mockery to her tone, but her face had genuine relief on it. I flashed her the fingure as I climbed into the car.

Both the drive to the hospital and the visit were unremarkable, managing a continuous flow of small talk and chatter between the three of us. I updated Claire on my new work plans and ideas. Claire doctor came to update Claire on the treatment, informing us Claire was to be discharged tomorrow, completing her anti-biotic treatment at home then, hopefully, the chemotherapy would start next week.

Once Claire's parent's arrived, we politely left. Eve went home to get ready for her shift as I realised he needed to talk to the site manager and form a plan. The vampire who owned the company might despise me and everything I stood for but the site manager seemed to be fond of me.

In all fairness, the site manager had been compassionate towards Claire and me the through Claires illness and had chosen not to tell the vampire manager of his absence. He at least owed him a face to face meeting before he left, maybe he would be able to support his effects of self-improvement.

As begining to walk, I pulled out my phone to ring Ross, the site manager. Ross was happy to hear from him and told him to meet at the common grounds, claiming he was ready for a lunch break anyway. I was thankful not to need to go into the offices where the vampire boss worked and lived.

It was the worse part of the job, the offices were silt into two, the ground level was for humans and included a breakroom. The basement was for office staff, chiefly the ower. He had a flat down there too. Occasionally, if you were in serious terrible you would be called down for a meeting, many didn't come back from the "meetings".

The town was more equal than it once was, but it was still hierarchical with vampires clearly in charge and hotspots of the old ways continue through the town.

I arrived at the common grounds a few minutes later and joined the short queue to order black coffee for me and Ross. since I was about to quit, it did seem fair to get the guy a coffee first. Ross's family hand worked for the same vampire for generations so even if he wasn't keen on some practices, Ross could not leave. He did his best to protect the staff but the vampire was still the real boss, Ross only in charge in the title.

Ross arrived a few minutes after Shane paid. Ross greeted Shane politely, asked about Claire with genuine care and thanked Shane for the coffee. The two men sat at a corner table. Shane updated Ross on Claire and his plans of self improvememt.

Ross smiled, "I always thought you were made for more than this job. But Shane, why now? why not keep on working, its a crappy job sure, but its a job. Its money! is it not to much to make changes now? Why not wait til Claires well again. Why pile on the pressure?" he asked.

With a sighed i answered "yeah maybe I'm crazy but its the only time I can do it. if I delay, even a few days, I'll never change. Claires going to get worse, it will be a long time before it's anything close to normal. If I ever make it back. Staying still is no-longer an option. I have to adapt and fast. I have to look after Claire, I have to improve myself to earn more and make her proud. I need to". My voice pleading agaisnt the desperation of the situlation.

Ross nodded, unable to add anything. His mind failed to find any words to comfort or argue. Instead he took a large drink of coffee.

"well, your good with the internet, aren't you?" Ross finally asked, showing his age.

"yeah" I answered hesitantly.

"well" continued Ross "my daughter in law, Wendy, I assume you know her?"

I nodded, she had been a couple of years above in school, with Ross's son, Gavin, a few years above again.

"well, she trying to do some sort of start up. Her and Gavin are trying to get anyway from the family bussiness, I cant blame them for that, but they need a third. It's dangours work. The vampires aren't keen but they have Amelie promision. Its legal but still." Ross explained "but your no stranger to trouble. Its not ideal by any means. But its fexible job. you'll gain experience, skills and so much. And without being rude, there isn't going to be many jobs for you in this town, even less that are safe." Said Ross before asking

"are you in?"

Thankyou for reading!

hope you enjoyed it

I hope every one is staying safe and well in these odd times. All reviews and constructive feedback is welcome. Please be nice