Chapter 8 – Paranoid

Elizabeth walked into the dining room with a pot of coffee. Carolyn, Roger, David and Barnabas were already there, half way through breakfast of toast eggs and slightly burnt bacon.

Her eyes met Barnabas's and they shared a quick smile. Since the evening when he had bitten her he had taken her blood several more times. As long as she didn't fight it… it didn't hurt. Surely it was worth it to stop him attacking innocent people.
And if she was completely honest… she liked the feeling of being so close to him. Of knowing she was sustaining him with her own blood. He was always careful not to take too much.

After the bite there were always kisses. Long, slow, delicious kisses that made her want more, even though she knew she shouldn't. There too he was always careful… pulling away before things went too far.
His eyes never left her for very long as they ate. She pretended that she didn't notice, but was impossible to keep her eyes off him entirely. They seemed to have an unspoken agreement that whatever this was between them… it would be kept a secret.
Once she had finished her breakfast she got to her feet, giving Barnabas a look that said meet me in my office when Carolyn has gone to school. He smiled and nodded very slightly.

As she left the room she almost ran straight into Julia. The psychologist looked distinctly hungover but her eyes narrowed suspiciously when she saw Liz.
"You look pale Liz…" she pointed out. "Very pale actually…" she added, peering at her. She looked even more suspicious at the slightly sheepish look on Elizabeth's face. Her eyes slid down to Liz's neck.

Before Liz could move away she had pushed the hair away from her neck, revealing the two fresh tiny wounds in the skin. "I knew it" she snapped, glaring at her. Liz quickly covered the bite marks again with her hair.

"It's none of your business…" Liz said defensively. "I can't believe your letting a vampire bite you" she said disgustedly. "Oh as opposed to going down on one?" Liz shot back irritatedly. It was Julia's turn to look sheepish.
"I know it's you job to pry into other peoples business… but stay the hell out of mine" Liz said firmly before brushing past Julia and quickly walking away.

Carolyn was about half way to school when she realized she had forgotten her lunch. She swore under her breath and started to walk back to the house. By the time she got home she was out of breath and she knew she would be late. And she would get in serious trouble if she got another mark on her record.
She looked around the kitchen but it was nowhere to be seen. "Mom… Mom have you seen my lunch?" she called out but there was no answer.
Carolyn was just about to look to see if there was any spare change in the jar when she heard a soft thump from upstairs, in the direction of her mother's office.
She walked up the stairs, sure she had hears something from her mothers office. "Mom… are you home?" she called out. "I'm here…" Liz called out, sounding rather guilty.
Carolyn frowned as she walked down the hall, wondering what was going on.
When she opened the door her mother was standing there with Barnabas, Liz looking a bit flushed and both looking rather sheepish.
"I couldn't find my lunch so I wanted to borrow some money to buy lunch" she said. "Oh, right…" Liz said, going over to her bag and rummaging for her purse. Carolyn looked at Barnabas but he wouldn't meet her eye.
Elizabeth found her purse and quickly handed some money over. "Thanks Mom" she said, glancing at Barnabas suspiciously.
Both of them breathed a sigh of relief when the teenager had left the room. Liz turned and looked at Barnabas. "Do you think she had any idea what was going on?"
Barnabas looked decidedly uncomfortable and cleared his throat, his eyes flicking down to Elizabeth's chest. She glanced down and saw her blouse was incorrectly buttoned.

A colorful phrase that she had caught Carolyn using once and forbidden her from using escaped her lips. Barnabas raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know what that means?" he asked. "No…"