Vampire Kisses (gxg)

Chapter 11

Penelope's eyes widened as her crush lunged at her. She was on the ground, so there wasn't much for her to do, but she wound up her left arm.

As Victoria neared her, Penelope sent her fist straight into her friend's face. She sprawled backwards, clutching her nose. Penelope grabbed the machete, which gleamed in the light coming from the ceiling fan.

Victoria eventually sat up. Her nose looked fine, though she sniffled. "Was that enough for you?"

Penelope nodded.

"I'm sorry for doing that. Making one's eyes red helps open the senses, but it also can make someone think they're hunting and get a rush," Victoria looked away. "Sorry. I thought I could control it."

"It's okay," Penelope said. "You're really a vampire." She had researched it, half believing it, but now it was clear that yes, she was. Her former best friend was a vampire, and vampires were real. She'd have to come to terms with something that felt imaginary.

"Yes, I am."

"You drink blood."

"Yes, I do."

"Where do you get your blood from?" Penelope asked.

"Corpses, and sometimes animals. The corpse blood tastes stale, but it's better than hunting someone," Victoria said.

"Did you ever do that?"

"Two times. Those two times were some oen the reasons for moving."

"You were homeschooled because you were a vampire," Penelope slowly said, trying to wrap her mind around everything. "And you get your blood from corpses."

"Yes. My mom supplies me with blood," Victoria said. That made a lot of sense, considering her mother worked at a funeral home.

"She knows?"

"Yes. It's not like I can hide it from her. She was there when it happened."

"That's why you had to move. You became a vampire," Penelope said, slightly bewildered. "But how?"

"You know how after school I go and stay with my mom at the funeral home?"

Penelope felt a sickening feeling in her stomach. "Yes."

"I was there one night. It was late, and we got a body in, fresh. She was busy with paperwork, and it.. attacked me. What we thought was a body was a vampire," Victoria said.

"It bit me. Almost killed me. The only way to become a vampire is to almost die by its bite - a vampire usually can take blood without killing, but once a vampire bites in deep enough, the venom in its fangs starts to go through a human's system."

Victoria looked away. "My mom heard what was happening, and was able to drive it off. But I feel like she blamed herself for what happened. IF she was the one transporting it, she would have been bitten, not me."

Penelope nodded. "So you had to leave so no one would discover you?"

"Yes. And also because I really wasn't myself for those first couple of days. I almost attacked my mom as well - she actually had to stab me at one point so I didn't. It hurt a lot, too. I felt like every cell of my body was electrocuted, like everything in me was sick," Victoria confirmed.

"So you could have killed someone else?"

Victoria nodded. "Yes, and I still can."

Penelope shifted her weight awkwardly, remembering what happened just a few minutes prior. Then, a thought plopped into her head, and she blurted it out before she could think.