“I knew something was different about you for a while. But last night really sealed the deal” He looks back to Alek. The dinner group murmurs.

“I'm going to get another damn drink…” Shane grunts. Thoughts raced through Aleks's mind. What was the first sign? He was more careful than usual around him because he was intimidating, but how could he have let it slip?

“So you’re a cunt and a vampire” Christine walks slowly forward. The residual anger left inside Alek flamed up.

“Well if you-!” He starts.

“Hey, hey!” Chris puts a hand on both of their arms to stop their advances. “I want you to leave” Chris looks at Christine with a defensive stare. Christine looks dumbfoundedly at Chris.

“Uh, maybe I can help this situation” Jordan steps forward awkwardly.

“No. I need to talk to Alek privately” He lets go of his grip on Christine and points to the door. “You. Out.”

“Forgot the coumadin,” Christine whispered, pursing her lips. She turns, grabs her bag, then walks out. Not before slamming the door and creating an atomic explosion of noise that made Alek wince. Yet her remark went unheard. He definitely did not want to run into her again tomorrow. Chris looks at Benjamin, Carrie, and Jordan. The pain of his ankles and dizziness causes Alek to collapse to the ground. Regaining his vision, he saw that others thought nothing of it. Just him being dramatic again. He felt a pit in the deepest pit of his stomach. It was getting worse.

“Could you give us a minute?” He asks in a normal tone. Without speaking, they go to join Shane by the drink table.

“I'm sorry for ruining your party,” Alek says.

“It’s okay. It wasn't your fault” Chris apologizes. Alek takes a deep breath, bracing himself on the counter to counteract his wobbling legs to stand. continues to stare at the dark red rat tail on the floor in regret. He takes a napkin and goes down to clean it up. “You could have just told me earlier” Chris kneels down beside him, focusing on his face. He was disgusted by the sight of the clotted blood.

“I didn't want to” Alek didn't want to tell Chris he was afraid of him.

“How long have you been a vampire?” Chris asks. Alek stops scrubbing.

“Like, sixty-something years?” Chris’ mouth drops slowly open.

“Dude, I thought it was recent!”

“You’re more surprised about that?”

“If you were gonna kill me you wouldn’t have left me to marinate,” he squints “but you - I’ve been living with an old man?! It makes sense actually” He goes quiet. He thought deeply until Alek finished cleaning and bleaching the floor.

“I'm not an old man!” Alek pouts. He tosses the paper towels into the trash and washes his hands. It was rare that he wished for time to catch up to him. What would he do in his final years? He hadn’t put much thought into it because dying of natural causes was out of the question. He was preserved like some messed-up porcelain doll.

“Dude. What sixteen-year-old willingly gets up at six every day?” Chris asks. Alek snorts. “Is about the fit you had last night. Mrs. Carrie said you were hungry?” He asks.

“I’m on a diet,” he pauses to turn off the water “I'm not myself when I'm hungry”

“Why be on a diet that almost kills you?” Chris asks incredulously. He picks up the cleaning supplies to place back in the closet.

“Self-control. I practice self-control. And the quote-on-quote fit was because I had a bite of the granola bar. Chris shakes his head,

“Self-control” he mumbles.

“So are you going to ask any more questions?” Alek spins and walks closely to Chris, crossing his arms. At this proximity, he had to look up at a sharp angle to meet his height. He waited a few moments.

“Are you going to move out?” Chris whispered in a way that he was barely concealing the hurt in his voice. Alek blinked in slow comprehension.

Alek searches his eyes before raising his voice “Kick me out! Do it! Put me out on the street! It’s not like I haven't done it before!” He shoved Chris. Chris furrowed his brow in concern and confusion.

“Where is this coming from? And no, I am not” he spoke softly as to diffuse the counters frustration. Alek panted heavily, beginning to chuckle. He stumbled back.

“Just leave me to rot. I know you want to” Alek whimpered before collapsing into a heap on the checkered tile. Before Chris could reach him, Alek began to twitch and shake spastically. His eyes fluttering and rolling in their sockets. Chris remembered first aid for seizures. The first step was to see if they were safe, right? Aleks’ head banged against the floor without rhythm, and that wasn't exactly safe per-se. So he lifted his head onto his thighs just as thick blood began to seep from his lips.

The next step was help. Oh right! He was just at a party the moment before. He’d been so taken up with their conversation that he had forgotten about the gathering he was supposed to be hosting. Hadn’t Carrie told him to contact her if anything like this were to happen again?

“Carrie..!” he shouted towards the living room. Carrie sprung around the corner and to Aleks’ side without a moment's thought. As though she knew what was happening from the other room. She swatted at his back as she rolled him onto his side. He was drowning in his own blood and Chris didn't have the sense of mind to help him. He kicked himself internally for forgetting such an important step. “What’s happening?! Why is he seizing?” He whispered rapidly as to not alert the other three in the next room. Carrie stared at Alek, seemingly contemplating behind a mask. Her eyes wandered his body. His exposed skin was blotchy, seemingly getting worse in his hands and feet. “Make him stop!” he commanded Carrie.

“Take him to his bed and lay him on his side. We can’t let the others see” She looked behind herself to the open doorway. Chris nodded and obeyed swiftly. He may be tall, but he certainly wasn't the strongest. He struggled before dropping the still seizing Alek onto his bed. Carrie created a diversion for the doorway as Chris had passed through. Jordan strode over to her worriedly.

“Alek isn’t feeling too well. Sorry, but it would be best if we ended the night here” She said somberly to the few.

“Laaame!” Shane groaned, taking up the half-drained bottle of wine, “I’m taking this” he declared as he stumbled out of the apartment with Benjamin in tow. Sure enough that he would take his friend home, Carrie looked back to Jordan, who was staring at Aleks’ door frame.

“You too. Leave. Do you know who I am?” Carrie cocked her head dangerously at him with the same grin she had most of the night. Jordan shivered. She had the same look in her eye as Wendle used to give.

“Y...you’re Carrie. Aleks’ boss?” He shuddered. Carries’ eyes narrowed a moment before pointing back at the door.

“Out. Now” She ordered. This time he conceded, ambling out of the apartment to sleep on a bench once more.

Carrie and Chris watched in silence as Alek had three more seizures, each lasting upwards of ten minutes. Clotted blood leaked from his mouth and nose at times, leaving it up to the two to wipe it away with paper towels before it caused a bedsheet disaster. There was nothing they could do but wait for him to wake up. But he never did. He luckily was still breathing, but couldn't possibly be roused by a jet plane.

In the early morning hours, Carrie left silently to gather two quarts of blood from the freezer of her cafe to drop off at Aleks’ apartment before going to work herself. No explanation was given. They thawed slowly in front of his bed as Chris waited for hours more. He must have drifted off, because the next thing he heard was an empty quart jug bouncing onto the floor. Startling awake, he watched through blurry eyes as Alek took up the second jug and drank it down with frightening speed. Chris wondered where it all went in his small body. Were vampire stomachs just that massive? Or did it have somewhere else to go? Alek dropped the second jug, gasping and coughing slightly while propped up on a wobbly elbow. Chris started, unmoving from his seat he moved into the room. What would happen if he moved? If Alek could down two quarts of blood like an olympic beer chugger who knew how fast he could finish him off? Once Alek stopped sputtering, he looked up with weary eyes to meet Chris’. Chris stopped breathing as though that would make him disappear.

“What day is it?” Alek rasped. Chris cleared his throat.

“September fourth. You had seizures last night. How do you feel?” He asked, gesturing his eyes to the empty jugs on the floor. Alek looked at them like he didn't know how they got there. In reality, his whole body was sore. It was very strange that the massive amount of blood he just drank didn't seem to ease him. He flopped back down on the bed and stared at Chris.

“Are you afraid of me?” he whispered hoarsely. There was a long pause accompanied by the monotone ticking of his alarm clock. Chris nodded. Alek sighed and looked back at the ceiling. “Why are you still here then?” He asked.

“Because you’re sick. You don't seem to have the strength to get out of bed right now” He chuckled awkwardly. “And I still need rent from you” he admitted. This got them both to chuckle, Alek coughing weakly. He began to get out of bed when he realized his legs wouldn't so much as untangle from the sheets. He cursed under his breath, freeing them with his hands.

“Oh shit-” remarked Chris. He stood and carefully went to Aleks’ side, where he touched Aleks’ peaking ankles. Alek hissed from pain.

“I don’t know what's happening. It keeps getting worse. I haven’t been sick once since I turned. And any injuries I had were easily cured by blood” His eyes wandered again to the jugs on the floor. This was bad.

There was a ring and a knock at the front door, making them both jump. Chris slipped away to see who it could be. Peeking through the eyehole was Jordan who rocked from foot to foot and looked around anxiously. He opened the door.

“Jordan, right?” Chris asked curiously.

“Is Alek in? I need to speak to him” He rushed. Chris stumbled over his words. He sported a few visual bruises and a crooked nose. “It’s urgent. Like, really urgent” He walked forward, almost touching Chris. He seemed desperate. Sweat poured from his brow. Chris blinked, stepping aside as he slipped past and into Alek’s room.

“Jord-”

“Somethings’ wrong with your boss” he panted in the doorway. Alek sat up slowly. “The hell happened to you?” he gaped.

“I could say the same for you. What’s wrong with Carrie?” Alek asked. Jordan swiftly entered the room and sat on his bed, looking around.

“She said some cryptic shit to me last night at the party. Then when I was asleep outside a group of people I didn't know jumped me. Broke my nose” He pointed to his indeed, broken nose. “I think it’s connected” he nodded to him. Alek was skeptical. She knew that Jordan wasn’t a threat to him, so why would she try and discourage them from meeting?

“You promise you’re not trying to kill me still?” Alek sideyed. Jordan's head slumped dramatically with a groan.

“No!” He whined. Chris stared between the two. Alek caught his confused gaze.

“He was a vampire hunters’ assistant but got kicked out” Alek informed. Chris sighed. He was tired of information overload. Jordan peeked at the empty jugs on the ground, drops of blood lining the inside.

“Please tell me that’s animal blood” he pleaded, color draining from his face.

“It’s donor blood from a hospital. Carrie delivers it to me. I had a bad night so-” Jordan's worried eyes snap to Aleks’.

“Is that bad?” Chris pipes up. It seemed ethical to him. Jordan pursed his lips.

“It could be. Or it could be me just worrying again” He stood off of the bed. Neither of the roommates wanted to disclose the seizure-filled night. It would only fuel their fears and suspicions. Alek dragged his legs off of the bed and went to stand, quickly becoming dizzy and weak. Chris caught him, Alek digging his fingers into his sweater.

“Shit.” Alek grit his teeth through the shock of pain.

“Okay back to the bed” Chris heaved his tiny body onto the bed, legs dangling. Jordan hummed gravely as Chris pulled up Aleks’ pant legs. “Are they broken?” he asked ambiguously. Jordan reached forward to gently touch his swollen and bruised ankle. Alek sucked in air through his fangs, reaching up to hold the side of his neck.

“It’s cold…” Jordan remarked. Alek shook his head.

“My body doesn't keep heat well” he reassured. Jordan shook his head.

“No, if this were injured it would have heated up no matter what. It’s a reaction of some kind” He looked up, “I learned some first aid in my training”.

“It’s been happening for a while I think. What else do you feel?” Chris added.

“Uh, headache? My stomach hurts but it might be because of all the blood I drank-”

“Do vomiting blood, increased anxiety, and aggression count?” Chris interjected. Alek blinked. He hadn't thought anything of it. But if he noticed it, then it was something to look out for. Jordan looked deep in thought.

“We’re going to the cafe” Jordan stood, “Can you float, Alek?” Alek attempted, floating slowly from the bed. It was unsteady, but it would have to do. He had them put on his shoes before steadying him to float out, arms laced together on either side of Alek. He felt ill but on a mission.

They entered the cafe at the height of lunch hour. Carrie conveniently waited on tables at the breakfast bar. She took a double-take at the trio, finishing taking the order to walk over to them. She seemed worried, glancing Alek up and down.

“Alek doesn't feel we-” Chris started, finished by Alek,

“Do you know anything about this?” he winced. Carrie looked astoundedly between the three, shaking her head.

“I know you felt very sick last night,” she said, her eyes lingering on Jordans for a tad too long, searing into the back of his skull.

“See? Of course, she didn't cause this” Alek smirked up at Jordan, trying to keep afloat. A wash of cold sweat enveloped Jordan. Anger flashed across Carrie's face for a split second, noticeable to only Jordan.

“How could I have? I even helped you last night. You just caught a nasty bug is all-” she snickered.

“Show me the blood” Jordan blurted, passing through his mind-mouth barrier. He was totally dead, but he said it. The other two rolled their eyes in exasperation. Carries’ eyebrow lifted.

“Oh? This boy knows?” She spoke normally with a smile.

“Yeah. He’s a good person” Alek smiled weakly at him. Carrie sighed.

“I showed Alek before, but it’s back here” she turned and went into the kitchen, followed by the three. The dining room was all served. She could spare a few moments if it was for Alek. She whisked open both doors of the freezer, blood bowls lining the shelves. There certainly was a lot. Plucking one from eye level, she opened the lid to show the three. A frozen block of blood staring back up at them. Jordan bent to sniff it, smelling a reassuring and overpowering copper.