Loving the Vampire

Chapter 2 Sam

Sam stood, black hair blowing in the breeze, stronger up where she was, looking down at the small town she'd called home for a year now. Things were quiet, as always, and just as she liked it. Where she was she could see almost all of the town, her eyes scanned for trouble, or food. Whichever came first. Usually, or mostly lately, she found only food and no trouble. For the first time in hundreds of years, she felt a semblance of peace, and her soul, or what was left of it, was quiet. She saw Anthea coming out of the store and let her eyes follow the woman for a while. Usually, Anthea would go around the corner, and then poof, as Sam thought of it, she would be gone. She noticed that this time she kept walking, heading home, but that would mean she'd have to pass through the alley. Sam frowned, not her problem. And couldn't the woman take care of herself? Whatever she was. Because one thing Sam knew. Anthea was not human.

Sam turned her attention back to the rest of the town, searching. She spotted two guys walking in the park, their steps jumbled and obviously drunk. She scrunched her nose in disgust. She had no intention of taking any of their intoxicated blood. She ignored them and started looking around again. She saw him. Tall, built like a truck, and dressed in all black. He seemed so out of place in the small town that Sam took notice of him and watched as he followed the path Anthea had taken. "Not your problem." She muttered and turned away again. She made it five seconds before she swore, spun on her heel, and quietly made her way along the rooftops, watching him, watching Anthea. Sam saw the moment Anthea knew someone else was there. She felt a bit of pride as Anthea didn't falter or slow or speed up, she kept her pace and kept walking. Sam quietly dropped into the alley and followed the truck man. She'd named him that, as he followed Anthea. Sam wondered what to do. Maybe Anthea knew him, maybe she didn't need Sam's help. Maybe this was a lover and Sam was going to interrupt a lovers' meeting. Maybe... She paused. The truck man stuck his hand inside his coat and, after a second, pulled out a silver handgun. She had a split second to think, f**k, before she was flying past him, she shoved Anthea aside and felt the bullet hit her right shoulder.

"Son-of-a-f*****g-b***h!" She swore, rolling to her feet and herding Anthea quickly to her apartment door. "Hurry, he's coming." She peered over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes, she committed his face to memory, then flicked her hand out. A knife flew out, hitting his thigh. He glared at her in fury and she showed him her fangs. For a second she thought he'd decide to attack anyway, but he seemed to deflate a bit, then, with a huff, spun and ran.

"What the hell was that?" Anthea dropped her bags and spun around. "And who are you? Sam?" Anthea frowned at her, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Hi." Sam waved and grinned. She felt like an i***t and had no idea how she'd explain what just happened, or how she managed to stop a speeding bullet.

"Who was that?"

"Well, he was following you, so I hoped you'd be the one telling me."

"I have no idea. He shot at me!" Anthea shook her head. "Wait." She stepped closer to Sam. She met the woman at the antique bookstore she loved. It always had everything she wanted or needed to read. And if not, Sam, the owner, would get it. "He shot at me!"

"He missed," Sam said, still grinning.

"Exactly. So he hit you."

"No."

"Yes." Anthea nodded. "I can smell the blood. It's not mine, so it must be yours."

"I'm fine. If you're fine, then I'm going to go."

"Sam, look, I know he hit you. I also know what you are. So, I do know you will heal, but also that you need blood in order to."

"Ah. You have me at a disadvantage then," Sam said. Her voice was low. "I have no idea what you are."

"Fae," Anthea said. "You're dripping blood on my rug."

"s**t, sorry." Sam started to backtrack to the door but Anthea stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Come to the kitchen. I'll patch you up until you can get blood. That person could still be out there. We don't need to give him an easy target."

"Don't you want to know who it was? Or why was he shooting at you?"

"No." Anthea picked up her bags and gestured for Sam to follow. Sam grimaced but followed Anthea. "Sit, take your jacket and shirt off, I'll be right back."

Sam shrugged her jacket off and poked at the hole. She would love to make the truck man pay for that alone. She hung it on the back of the chair, then found herself undecided about what to do next. She could take her shirt off, sure, but she was naked. She had small, firm breasts and never wore a bra. Or she could just grab her jacket and disappear before Anthea came back. Two problems there; one, she was no coward, and two, Anthea could easily find her at the bookstore. Sam shrugged and pulled her shirt over her head and folded it over the front of her body and tucked it under her arms. Problem? No problem. She thought.

Anthea walked back into the kitchen and stopped at the half-naked woman sitting at her kitchen table. "Okay, yes." She stopped behind Sam, set her medical aid kit on the table, and slowly reached out, she gathered the thick raven hair and placed it over Sam's uninjured shoulder. "Stay still."

Sam didn't have to be told. The truth was she'd found herself frozen and her body in hyper-sensitivity mode the second Anthea touched her.