Kal woke to this warm feeling in her fingertips. Instinctively, she pulled them in, thinking she'd fallen asleep near the windows again. There was no pain, only warmth. It was pleasant. She rolled over in bed and looked at her hands. The room was too dark; she couldn't see much.
Her head started to spin when she sat up a bit too fast. She was dizzy. Kal couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so disoriented. Slower now, she stood and shuffled to the stairs. She felt along the wall as she made her way down. The light coming in through the window was faint. Finally, she found the bathroom and flipped on the light.
Kal couldn't believe what she was seeing. She reached out to the mirror, touching the reflection. Her cheeks were rosy pink, hair a familiar red-brown. She opened her mouth. No fangs. She'd accept the past few months had been a dream, had she not woken up in that bed, in this apartment. It didn't make sense.
She took a shower, hoping the hot water would help wake her up. But when she got out, she was still as human as when she'd gotten in. She dressed before crossing the hallway to the kitchen. Nothing was in the fridge except for a few cans of blood, but the thought of drinking that turned her stomach. She found herself wishing for a cup of coffee. With cream and sugar and no, this is all wrong.
"Kal? Do you have company?" Devin called from the living room.
"No, I'm alone."
"Are you sure? It—" He came around the corner into the kitchen and froze when he saw her.
She understood immediately why he'd asked. The human scent he'd smelled was hers. Blood he'd tasted. She saw his eyes change and then change back. He had such perfect control.
Unlike me. She pouted.
"What did you do?" His voice was low, nearly threatening.
"I didn't do anything," she turned away. "I woke up like this. Why do you always assume it's me?"
He'd materialized next to her. She hadn't seen him move. He ran his fingers up and down her arms, turning them over. He brushed the hair back from her neck, checking both sides. She felt her pulse quicken, the correct reaction to danger. She took a deep breath. In this case, it would only make things worse.
"What are you doing?" Kal wasn't sure what he was looking for.
"Turn around." He ordered.
There was no point in arguing. If Devin wanted to hurt her, there's nothing she could have done anyway. Sliding his fingers under her hair, he lifted it gently from the back of her neck. The noise he made was something like a cross between annoyance and disappointment.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Nothing. You're completely human. Normal pulse, normal temperature." He said.
"That's good, right?" She took a few steps away, disguised as celebrating.
"Sure, if you were human last night. But you weren't." He tilted his head slightly. "And you haven't been for a long time. I don't know what this is or if it will wear off."
Something was unsettling about the way he watched her. "And if it doesn't?"
He smiled and took her wrist in his hands, spinning her to face him. Then, very gently, he pressed it against his lips. Goosebumps covered her arm. Pulling away, she turned and sank to the floor, suddenly very self-conscious.
Kal didn't like the insinuation. Don't I have a choice? Not that she wanted to be human again, but she'd rather choose for herself. "What if I can't be turned back? What if that kills me?"
He frowned. He didn't say it out loud, but that was an outcome they'd both rather avoid.
"And then…and then he picked me up like a…like luggage or something, and brought me here," Kal complained. Her thoughts were all mixed together. Everything was fuzzy and warm and confusing.
Kal was currently sitting on Cherry's couch, drinking beer and playing racing games with her brother. Being human again kinda sucked, but at least she got to spend some time with her family. Devin was upstairs with Cherry, looking through her dad's books.
She leaned closer to Seth and whispered at full volume. "They wouldn't even let me help them look. It's not like I forgot how to read."
"They're only trying to help. What if you changed back in the middle of the day, outside." He placed his hand on her arm, trying to be supportive.
"Or at the beach!?" she giggled, making an explosion gesture with her hands.
"I umm...I don't think that's a good thing," Seth bowed his head.
"No, I guess not." It still seemed funny to Kal, imagining the tourists looking at where she'd been. Then going back to their previously scheduled vacation like nothing had happened. She took another sip of her beer.
"Maybe you should slow down a little?" He hesitated, not wanting to be overbearing, but humans had limits.
"I guess. But what if I wake up tomorrow like I was and you and me, and we can't do this." She leaned her head into his shoulder. It was nice being so close, not having to worry about his scent or his warmth or her hunger. The only downside was that she kept losing.
"Yeah, I guess this is kinda fun." He said.
It was quiet for a while. The siblings focused on the current match, tiny cars zipping through the bright colors of Sparkle Street's unforgiving twists and turns. Kal was in first place, just about to cross the finish line, when out of nowhere, Seth asked, "Do you miss it?"
She didn't notice her racer had stopped moving. How was she supposed to answer that? Do I miss it? The never-ending hunger. Unable to be around the humans I cared about. But I wasn't afraid of being alone at night. I could protect myself. "I dunno."
They finished their drinks in silence. Seth obviously had a lot on his mind that he didn't want to share. Kal felt the same, but for entirely different reasons.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." He jumped up and excused himself.
As Seth walked into the hall, Devin appeared beside her. Kal jumped. That's annoying when you aren't the one doing it.
"Um, hey," she said.
"You are very loud. And a bit too relaxed." He said.
Kal realized he'd been able to hear all her complaints and felt a little bit embarrassed. And a bit more sober. She leaned back into the couch and stared up at the ceiling.
"I mean, it's…" she sighed. "There's nothing I can do about it either way, right? I'm back to how I started. And you can just go back to living your life, minus the part where you babysit me."
"Is that what you think I'm doing? Babysitting?" There was this strange tone to his voice that she wasn't sure she understood. Possibly irritation, but somehow that seemed wrong. He'd become so hard to read.
"I dunno. I've been getting into a lot of trouble lately. Causing trouble for you. Sorry about that," she said.
"It's fine." He said.
When he looked at her, she felt very, very hot. Kal was sure it wasn't from the beer. She'd leaned back far enough into the couch that she was exposed. It felt like he was staring. At her face, her neck, she wasn't sure. She remembered the feeling of his fangs breaking through her skin.
"You're staring." She couldn't believe she'd said that out loud.
He turned away, hiding his face behind his messy bangs. It's not like she knew him that well. What had it been, a couple of months? He never stopped keeping her at a distance. I know what it must be like for him to sit so close, surrounded by my scent, remembering the taste of my blood. I wish I could be like that.
"You'd stop talking to me then?" His voice was so soft she had to strain to hear him.
"Huh?" she was confused.
"You said I'd go back to my life if you're stuck like that." He spoke a bit louder, a bit slower. He was trying to make his words easy for her to understand.
"I mean, I can't imagine it's easy for you to be near me now."
"It's bearable." He said.
"And if I'm human, you won't have to worry about me killing anyone. Exposing your secret. So there's no reason to talk to me." Kal said.
"Maybe that's not the only reason I talk to you." He turned to face her.
She froze, making the mistake of looking into his eyes. She couldn't remember them being such a bright shade of green before. He brushed his fingers against her neck, picking up a stray strand of hair and tucking it behind her ear.
"Seth has been gone a really long time." She leaned away.
"He went upstairs," Devin said. "They're talking about you."
"Stop that," she frowned.
He grinned mischievously before leaning his head against the couch. The only sound was that of the pause music on TV. She wanted to know what he was thinking but knew he wouldn't tell. He never gave a straight answer anyway.
"I was curious how you were going to answer his question. But you didn't." Devin broke the silence.
"Dunno," she paused. "I miss it, I guess. Wasn't all bad."
Honestly, thinking about it more, I liked it. I enjoyed the freedom. When I think about going back to normal, it's frustrating. She picked up Seth's controller and shoved it into Devin's hands.
"You're the green car. This button makes it go, okay?" Kal sat forward and unpaused the game. She lapped his car twice before he figured out the controls. After that, she wasn't so lucky.