Breathin》Stranger Things

Fifteen

I couldn't help my blood lust. When I got home, I just went ballistic. I took so many deer, rabbits, even managed to get a bear. I didn't care if I was messy. I didn't care if there was dry animal blood down my chin and it stained my clothes. Billy really got on my nerves for telling Steve that. And I hate myself for imagining Billy's body while I was on my hunt. Damn, he's a jerk but he's got one hot body. Which drove me even more insane because I didn't want to think about him like that.

I slammed my door shut before I went towards the kitchen and grabbed a towel. I soaked it before I started washing the blood off my chin. I didn't care how bad I look at the moment as I heard Steve's footprints behind me.

"You look like shit," Steve commented.

I put the towel down. "I didn't know you were here," I said. "Would have made my hunt go by a lot quicker."

"And have you drink from me? Not a chance. I'd rather wait for you than have you rip my throat."

"My bad for scaring you. I never knew someone could piss me off so much until I met Billy."

"Yeah, the guy's a tool." I let out a small chuckle before I rushed upstairs to change my shirt before running back down. I stopped behind Steve and tapped on his shoulder. He jumped a bit but recomposed himself before I motioned him to the parlor. "Have you ever thought about using compulsion on him? You know, make sure he's nice."

I sat down on the couch. "I would love, too. But that defeats the purpose of someone being themselves. And if I do compel Billy to be nice then someone will notice that something's off. Then that person will tell someone else. Then somehow a hunter will find out and come to Hawkins to talk to Billy. And once hunters are in town, they won't leave until they find the vampire - aka me. Which would mean I would either have to kill those hunters or flee town. Now, none of us want that now, do we?"

"Yeah, that's true," Steve said.

I sighed as I looked at Steve. "And hey, I don't mind putting Hargrove in his place. It's a lot of fun seeing that guy pissed off." I smirked. "Maybe he'll get so pissed off at me that we'll have hot angry sex in the locker rooms."

Steve gave me a look. "Bels -"

I raised my hands in defense and grinned. "I'm kidding." Ugh, now I can't get the image of Billy without his shirt out of my head. "Guy's a bitch. Ever since he came to Hawkins, he's been a real pain in my ass."

"Tell me about it," Steve mumbled.

I let out another sigh and I put my feet up on the table. "So...what are you gonna do about Nancy?" Steve groaned. "You still love her, right?"

"I do," he admitted. "But I think the guys are right about her and Jonathan. They haven't been at school for the past two days. It can't...It can't be a coincidence."

"Maybe. Maybe not. You have to do something special for her. It doesn't have to be something big. Just something that still shows that you love her." Then I snapped my fingers. "Maybe if you shaved your head and say she's more important."

He glared at me. "I'm not shaving my head." Steve ran his hand through it. "Took me years to get it this way. What about flowers? Girls like flowers."

"Sure, if you want to go with something basic," I mumbled. "Fine, what kind of flowers were you thinking?"

"Lilacs," he answered. I grabbed my pillow and chucked it at him. "Hey."

"How does Nany put up with you?" I picked my feet up and went over to grab some bourbon. "You can't apologize with lilacs. You need roses. Red roses to symbolize your guys' love for each other. Or in this case, how much you love her. You don't want to go overboard though. So just a bouquet should do."

"What if I wanted to give her more?"

"Don't. It just shows how desperate you are to get her back. Just a regular bouquet or even a single one would do fine."

"Something tells me you've had experience with this," Steve joked.

"Well, I am a vampire. So I had over a century to learn shit like this."

"And did they work. With you at least?"

"Most of the time."

Steve's next question caught me off guard. "Do you remember the first guy you fell in love with?" I furrowed my brows. "You're immortal. I'm sure you'd hooked up with other guys before. But...do you remember the first guy you ever fell in love with?" I sighed as I poured myself another glass of bourbon. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I was just wondering."

"It's fine." I walked over and sat next to him. "I was still human when I met him. He actually lived in the same town as me. We knew each other since we were kids. It was the small things he did for me that made me fall for him more. Opening the doors for me, waving at me from across the Town Square, even giving me a flower he picked from the garden. But my dad was a stupid piece of shit and wanted me to marry someone else."

"What?" Steve asked.

"It's the 1800's," I explained. "Parents sell their daughter for land."

"Wait, but your last name is still Salvatore. Does that mean your old man stopped the wedding?"

I wanted to laugh. That was the best joke I heard in my years of being a vampire. "No, he didn't stop the wedding." I showed Steve my ring. "I was killed before it could happen."

"What about the guy? Did he at least talk some sense into your dad?"

Oh, that time I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, yeah. He talked all right. That bastard of a father killed him." Steve's mouth flew open. "Right in front of me, too. Well...he locked me in my room when it happened but I was able to watch it through the window."

"He killed him!" Steve shouted. "That's really messed up. I'm sorry, but your dad's a real piece of shit."

"Yup, he's a real killer." Literally.

Steve pointed at my necklace. "Is he the one who gave you that?"

I looked down at the heart-shaped pendant before I grasped it. "Um, no. He didn't. To tell you the truth, I don't know how I got this."

"Really? You've always had that thing on. How do you not remember?"

"Because the early 1900s were a bit blurry," I said.

Steve let out a breath. "Man and I thought my love life's complicated."

"Well, that's the bright side of being a vampire." I had a dazed look on my face as I took another swing of my glass. "You can always do over what you've lost."

"What was his name?" Steve wondered.

A small smile crept up on my face. "His name was Leonard Lockwood."