Thea

Chapter 4

4

I never thought I’d ever say this, but it’s great to be finally back at work. Mum thinks it’s too soon, but I need the distraction. I suppose I could have switched to mornings instead, but then I’d have no Kate to gossip with. Four years we’ve worked the night-shift together, and after everything I’ve been through, she’s the only one who can still put a smile on my face. It’s a gift. Mum just doesn’t get it. She’s so busy stuck in that house looking after Dad; she can’t see the bigger picture. b****y hell, the only time she gets to leave that prick is to babysit Thea when I’m working.

I’m sitting down on the aisle floor, stacking the lower shelf with tins of tuna. I’m done with crouching; my back can’t take it anymore. I see Kate walk up to me, a mischievous grin on her irritatingly beautiful face. We don’t have a lot in common. She’s slim, immaculate teeth, and glowing brunette hair down to the base of her back; tattoos down her right arm, two at the back of her neck, a w**d smoker, absolutely no kids, and of course she’s only twenty-five. And there’s me: three stone overweight, crooked teeth, unmanageable brown hair to my shoulders, and too uncool and skint to have a single tattoo. The only thing we have in common is this scruffy little supermarket.

“Check out this guy on the bread aisle,” Kate says, prodding me on my shoulder. “He’s pissed out of his mind. He’s been staring at a package of crumpets for about ten minutes.”

Using the shelving for support, I pull myself up, groaning like an elderly woman. I follow her over to the next aisle. I see a balding man, in his early forties, slumped against the shelf staring at the package. “What the hell’s he looking for on the label?” I whisper. “They’re b****y crumpets, not antibiotics. Should I say something to him?”

“Nah,” Kate says with a grin. “Let’s just enjoy these little moments when we can. What else is there to amuse us this time of night?”

Tapping her on the arm, I motion with my head for us to leave him. “We’d better get back to work, otherwise Lenny’ll be on our backs again.”

“Jesus Christ, Sarah,” Kate says, excitement in her tone. “You haven’t heard the latest.”

We walk back over to the tuna section. “Latest about what?” I ask.

“Lenny won’t be barking orders anytime soon. He’s been sacked.”

“My God,” I say, returning to the floor to finish the stacking. “When did this happen?”

“Last Monday night. Police came for him.”

“Police? Why?”

“Poisoning.”

My eyes widen in shock, unable to comprehend Lenny doing something so vile. “Poisoning? Really?”

Kate leans against the shelf, her face alive with gossip. “Well, apparently his brother was dying of leukaemia.”

“Yeah. I remember him mentioning it.”

“Well, according to Rebecca, he infected him with vampire blood.”

“Oh my b****y God,” I say, holding off blurting it out loudly. You don’t know who might be listening in this place. “So they’ve arrested him?”

“Damn right. He’s looking at twenty years for that.”

I lean against the shelf, shaking my head in astonishment. “That’s bonkers. What happened to his brother? I mean—did he turn?”

Kate shrugs her shoulders. “I assume so. They took him away somewhere, so it must have worked.”

“Well, that’s unbelievable. He must have been desperate to risk all that.”

“Must have been. Poor bastard.”

I glance behind me to make sure a customer isn’t eavesdropping. “So what would his brother be like after he turned?”

Kate chuckles. “What am I, a vampire expert?”

“Well, you know more than I do.”

Kate shrugs her shoulders. “Well, I suppose he’d get stronger, maybe faster; he wouldn’t age as quick; he’d be immune to disease.”

I stroke the loose skin under my chin. “A life of slowed-aging? A healthy body? s**t, that doesn’t sound all that bad.”

Kate chuckles.

“How long would he live?” I ask.

“I don’t know. No one knows that for sure. Two, three hundred years maybe?” Kate shakes her head, smiling. “Didn’t you pay any attention in school?”

“Of course I didn’t—otherwise I wouldn’t be stuck in this dump with you.”

Kate playfully punches me in the arm. “Cheeky bitch.”

The balding man suddenly appears out of nowhere and grabs a tin of beans from the shelf. I tighten up and grin at him nonchalantly. He returns a grin through rotten teeth, and then wobbles away. “So what did the police do with Lenny’s brother?” I ask; this time my voice is much lower.

Kate drags her finger across her throat. “Executed.”

“No way would they do that,” I say with wide eyes. “It’s murder.”

A woman pushing a trolley rolls past us. We fall silent for a moment until she’s out of sight.

“I’m telling you they do,” Kate replies. “They have to. What if Lenny’s brother couldn’t control his bloodlust? He could have been sucking on your neck this weekend.”

“I should be so lucky.”

Kate laughs as she carries on pushing tins of tuna onto the shelves. “You’re mental, Sarah. You know that?”

“Well, Kate, that is some b****y great gossip. Your best yet.”

“I aim to please.”

“So where did he get the vampire blood from?” I ask, getting up off the floor. Kate grabs my hands to help. “From the Internet?”

Kate snorts—as if I’ve just said something ludicrous. “No chance. That stuff online is fake. God knows what they put in it. He must have got it from a real source.”

“What, an actual vampire? Lenny?”

“No, of course not. He must have got it from a d**g dealer.”

My cage of stock is empty, so I push it towards the storeroom to refill it. Kate follows me. “Well,” I say, still dazed by the news, “you think you know someone, and then they end up doing something like that.”

“I know,” Kate replies. “It’s madness. Do you think Ivy or Thea would do that for you when you’re old and—” Kate’s face suddenly drops. “I’m so sorry, Sarah,” she says, grabbing my hands, eyes broad with embarrassment. “It just slipped out. I wasn’t thinking.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” I reply with a smile. But it’s forced because an image of Ivy suddenly pops into my mind. “You can still say her name. She’s not Voldemort.”

“I know. But it’s not just that. You’re going through absolute hell, and all I’ve been doing is talking bullshit all night.”

“Don’t be silly. Bullshit is exactly what I need right now. All I get at home are reminders of everything that’s happened. Mum doesn’t help, and Thea? Well, she’s dealing with it in her own way. You’re the only escape I have left.”

“Are you sure?”

I smile. This time it’s genuine. “Of course I am, you dick.”

“Thanks.”

I grab a box and slide it into the cage. “So, got any other gossip for me?”

Kate loads up another box. “What? Better than my vampire story?”

“Yeah.”

Kate purses her lips, nods, and that mischievous grin returns. “Maybe.”