But it makes me ridiculously happy knowing that he made a special trip here, even if he’s doing it because of these stupid prostheses. So I just beam at him, which makes his eyebrows knit and his eyes narrow. He hates visual affection from me, but he’s gonna get it. He’s gonna get it so hard. It’s going to be like affection juice all over him.
“Come inside and have a seat,” I say.
Aria waves her hand. “Ooh, you have to try this drink concoction I bought!” And then she rushes off to get her blood mixed with blood that’s probably mixed with more blood.
And I was worried about the potatoes. Since my sister is only half vampire, she has to both consume human food and blood to live, which is probably both a blessing and a curse.
“Aria came over to help me with supper by forcing me to make the whole thing myself,” I explain, hoping for at least a little pity.
“He’s the better cook! I miss him living with me because now I have to eat frozen dinners,” Aria says as she pulls out a container from the fridge.
“You don’t have to eat frozen dinners. I give you the recipes, you just throw them in a cupboard never to be seen again.”
“My cupboard eats them!” She carries a glass of blood over to Marcus. “Try it!”
He looks nervous as he smells it. “Why’s it look weird?”
“I have no idea,” she admits.
He takes a sip of it. “It’s… interesting.”
I snicker. “Like… isn’t normal human blood the best?”
“It gets boring after a while,” Aria says.
“You’re what… mid-twenties? And you’re already bored?” Marcus asks skeptically.
While dhampirs don’t live as long as vampires, they still have an extended life span. So yes, she has many more years of blood.
“I… will confess that I’ve had a lot of issues with blood,” she says. “My childhood kind of made me very picky.”
I turn from the microwave where the potatoes are cooking. “She grew up drinking fresh blood, so she’s had trouble switching.”
Marcus nods. “That makes sense. It was rough for a lot of people when the law went into effect. I remember craving fresh blood so badly.”
“Yeah… I might have attacked Finn a time or two after I switched over.”
“She’d get that crazed look in her eye, and I’d have to take off running and screaming for Orin to save me. We had an eventful childhood,” I assure him.
“It sounds it,” Marcus says as the timer goes off, and I pull the pork out.
Aria comes over and helps me carry things to the table. I sit down beside Marcus as Artie perches his ass right between us, head high enough that it hovers over the table.
“He gets very excited when I eat with humans,” Marcus explains as he pushes the dog back. The dog turns into a boulder and refuses to move.
“He’s fine,” I say.
“His drool is dripping onto your table.”
“Yeah, but the table is lopsided, so it’s running for you,” I point out.
He pulls his hand back, but his sleeve is already in it. “Artemus! Get back!”
The dog grudgingly responds as I look down at my plate and realize I should have made something I didn’t have to cut. I wasn’t planning on having Marcus here and I feel strange about having my sister cut it while he watches. Which is stupid. He doesn’t care and hasn’t shown that he cares. But it still bothers me.
“Want me to cut it?” Marcus asks.
I promptly shake my head. “That’s okay, Aria will,” I say as I look over at Aria who pauses with her fork in front of her open mouth.
She gives me an apologetic look. “Oh… yeah, I forgot.”
“It’s fine,” Marcus says as he grabs the plate and slides it over as I try not to feel embarrassed about the whole thing. And that’s when Marcus starts cutting the pork into pea-sized pieces.
“I feel like this should be sufficient,” he says with an evil look.
“Why are you so mean to me?” I ask. “I’ve done nothing but treat you with respect and good intentions.”
He looks me in the eyes as he cuts the already pea-sized piece in half. “Do you lie this much to other people?”
“Oh, he’s a huge liar,” Aria decides to input. “Like today, for example, he told me I looked homeless and frazzled.”
Marcus turns to assess her. “You look very nice.”
“Aw, thank you!” Aria says, even blushing a little.
“And who’s the liar now?” I ask.
She glares at me.
I ignore her and turn to Marcus. “Are you done massacring my food?”
“Does it look like it? Honestly, it might take me all night to cut it into small enough pieces for your tiny body.”
“OH. That’s why you’re cutting it small. Give me my plate back.”
“Have patience, human,” he says as he continues cutting.
“He doesn’t have that. I’m not sure he knows the definition or how to spell it,” Aria pipes in.
“I do know how to spell it. E-V-I-L. And who invited you?” I ask.
“I invited myself and I’m sure glad I did. This pork is exquisite!”
I glance at mine. “Funny enough, I haven’t been able to see for myself.”
Marcus stabs a piece with my fork, a normal-sized piece, and pops it into his mouth. “Huh. Surprisingly, it is good!”
“Won’t meat make you sick?” I ask.
“It was just a bite,” he says as he finishes cutting. “Do you need help eating? Where’s your booster seat?”
Aria giggles. Literally giggles, making me feel ganged up on. She pats his arm. “I like you, Marcus. You’re hilarious! Normally, I have to sit here and ridicule my brother alone, but with you along for the ride it’s so much more fun!”
I grab my plate and drag it over. “I’m not even sure if this deserves a thanks.”
He grins at me. “I’m not either, but I enjoyed it and really, that’s all I care about.”
“Do you see what I have to work with?” I ask Aria.
“A handsome and polite gentleman. I’m honestly a little jealous. Do you know who I work next to? Betsy, and Betsy is a Bitch with a capital B.”
As I look down at my horribly cut food, I realize that during the process, I forgot about the embarrassment I’d felt. I look over at Marcus and realize that for as much as he tries to get rid of me, he knows how to pull me away from any negative thoughts I have. He’s done it time and time again just in the past few days. Does he actually care about me?
He even told me he likes my food. Nothing like the Marcus I first met. But I don’t feel like he’s pitying me. Quite the opposite.
Wait… I know vampires can eat some food. But if he’s as old as Orin, who is a true vampire, and he willingly ate food and thought it tasted decent… unless he’s lying since vampires don’t think anything but blood tastes decent…
Is he a true vampire?
True vampires weren’t turned, which means their bodies were never human. Instead, they were born as a vampire. No one knows how because it hasn’t happened for hundreds of years. The only true vampires left are the ones who have lived this long. But the history on them is still very vague. I’ve asked Orin before, but all he could tell me is that he remembers being rejected from birth because he wasn’t “natural.” So he never knew his parents to ask them how he was born. But if Marcus is also a true vampire, he’d be stronger and his senses would be superior. He would also be able to eat human food. If he’s a true vampire, he’d definitely be older than Brooks.