Bad Taste (Part I) // Colby Brock

142 - Colby

"So, what's so urgent that Becky called me first?" Angela asked after a moment of silence. She was staring particularly at me, expecting me to take the lead here. I wasn't really in the mood, though, with my hand on Rebecca's thigh, so I squeezed her to tell her to say it instead. She was more than happy to take charge.

"We have to talk about him," she said, staring at her sister.

Angela paled. "As in..." Rebecca didn't answer, she just nodded. "Why? What about?"

"I saw him. He's turned his attention to the last of us now and unlike you, I'm not gonna go fucking running to him—or away from him. We need to know his name and everything you know about him so we can get rid of him."

"And by that you mean... kill him?" Angela replied faintly. Again, Rebecca only nodded.

"That going to be a problem for you?"

Angela hesitated. "No."

Though all of us could see her reluctance, we didn't mention it. Even if she had her One, the first vampire to ever bite her would still have a small place in her anatomy, and the thought of killing them would most likely disgust her. The disease was a brutal one that everyone suffered from. Every human, at least.

"Good. What do you know about him?" Rebecca asked, completely ignorant to how upset Angela looked. I could feel impatience radiating off of my girlfriend and I wondered how long it would take for her to break her sister. Not long: Angela was fairly weak.

"He never told us his actual name," she started, speaking softly, "but we all referred to him as River, because he made all the girls—"

"—please don't finish that sentence," Rebecca snapped, cringing.

Angela smiled shyly. "I know, that was my first reaction. But I mean, it's not completely wrong." She shook her head. "Anyway, um, he only ever took us to the feeding house."

"You mean where you tried to take me?"

"Yes." Angela looked guilty as she shifted uncomfortably on Aryia's lap—because that had happened at some point. I hadn't even noticed. Maybe I was too distracted by Rebecca.

Angela continued, "He had a room there. If you can sneak in, maybe you could find something."

"Could you sneak in there?" Rebecca's asked me, putting our faces much too close to concentrate. I tried my best to keep my eyes on hers so I didn't get tempted to kiss her. She was just irresistible.

"Possibly. Depends on what kind of feeding house it is," I replied and turned to look at Angela. Rebecca didn't for a second.

"I've only ever been to two and they were both exactly the same," Angela told us. When she realised we were waiting for more, she continued, "All the vampires have a room, there's usually no one stopping you go in, and sometimes there are regulars there—like me and our mom."

"Sounds like a clan feeding house," Sam said, speaking for the first time. He looked at me, past Katrina. "We won't be able to sneak into there."

I bit my lip in thought. Clan feeding houses were tight-knit. There was never anyone on the door because everyone knew everyone, so if you were new, you were noticed. That made it difficult for any vampires to get in. However, when it came to humans, they let just anyone walk in and get bitten without hassle. They were a free feed as soon as they walked over the threshold. Anyone could have them and it was the vampire's choice if they wanted to leave them dead or alive.

After a few moments, Rebecca met my eyes, and I knew exactly what she was thinking without even saying it.

Hell. No.

"You know it'll work, Colby," she said and I just shook my head. Her voice was lower, a warning, when she spoke again. "Colby."

"Are you talking about going in yourself?" Sam asked as he realised what was going on. I gave him a secret look to help me out, but he bit his lip and glanced at Katrina. "I mean, it would probably work."

"You gonna send Katrina in there, Sam?" I challenged and he paled. "Exactly."

"Um..." Angela spoke quietly, "actually, that might be the only choice. They don't know her at all. If I went in, I... I don't know if I'd be able to help myself." That was bullshit. She had Aryia now. The thought of getting bitten by anyone else would disgust her.

Bitch.

"It doesn't matter anyway, Angela. He doesn't own me and he knows that. If I wanna go in, I'm going in." Rebecca didn't talk to me because she had made up her mind. When Rebecca made up her mind, there was almost no convincing her otherwise. She decided she wanted to be with me, she decided she would go out with Tara, she decided to help Angela. On none of those things, I could convince her otherwise.

I loved her too much to fight with her right now, so I removed myself instead. The thought of arguing with her today didn't sit well with me: I just wanted to get away from them all.

Making sure not to hurt Rebecca, I moved in a blur to put her down on my seat then zipped out of the room. No one—not even the vampires—would have been able to see me until I was gone. That felt good. Freedom.

I didn't go far, though, as I sat down outside next to the pool. My knees were both bent, my arms resting over the top of them as I watched the water ripple. My mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts no matter how still my body was. Rebecca hadn't asked where I'd gone or what I was doing, she just continued to plan with the others. And they went along with it.

I wasn't as hurt by that as I should have been. She was her own person. I knew that. Was I being too overprotective, though, by asking her not to go into a house full of vampires who would see her as a free, very tasteful-smelling meal the moment she walked through the door? I didn't think so, but maybe I was wrong.

Or maybe I was completely, utterly right.