Vanessa took a seat next to Nina, who was sullen and silent, refusing to look at her. Crossing her legs, she gently pulled Nina onto her lap. She stiffened a little at first, but seemed to give in and relax against her, her head resting on her chest. A wave of concern assailed Vanessa when she noticed how thin she had become. Severely stressed and starved of her usual food supply, Nina's ribcage could be easily felt when Vanessa put her arms around her.


"You have any food?" Nina asked, chapping her lips in a way that gave away what she meant before she felt Vanessa's nodding chin on top of her head.


"Beef. Left pocket." Vanessa whispered, and she felt Nina's slender hand slip down to her rump and her fingers slide into her pocket. Finding the small package, Nina lifted it to her mouth and seemed to purr and release her pent-up tension as she drained the blood. Under her hands, Vanessa felt that Nina seemed to regain some of her lost mass. Stuffing the bag back into Vanessa's pocket, she put her arms back around her. Vanessa broke the silence first. "Do you want to talk about it? What happened, I mean."


Nina tensed up a little, before calming again and looking up into Vanessa's eyes. "You better not fuckin' tell anyone."


"I won't tell a soul."


"As you already know, I'm the daughter of your old neighbor." She stated. "I was born in Florida. That's where I met Diego. Step-mother was a bitch, so I spent most of my time with Diego and his wicca buddies."


The memories made Nina shudder a little, and Vanessa saw her eyes watering a little. "You okay?" Asked the towering tomboy.


Nina nodded, clearing her throat and wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Anyway, members of the wicca group started getting sick and dying suspiciously. Of course, the dumbass cops just think it's us doing sacrificial shit so they don't help or anything. Dumbshits..." Her eyes were a little brighter now, and no longer sunken. "Soon, it was just me and Diego, but he started getting sick too. I...I did stuff I'm not proud of to try get medicine for him."


"What was the illness?" Asked Vanessa. "What were the symptoms?"


"No fuckin' clue." She shrugged. "Some wasting disease, but it came from the vampire. The fucker who was "Helping" us turned out to be the one killing off the group. He...made Diego watch when he...when he...


Nina's voice broke and she shuddered in disgust. Vanessa gently stroked the back of Nina's head. "It's okay. I understand." Soothed Vanessa. "You don't need to say anymore."


"I don't know why he didn't kill me and...or turn me into a true vampire..." She sniffled, her shoulders shaking. "But... I woke up...When I woke up, I had..."


Vanessa felt the dread of Nina's next sentence. "You...fed on him?"


"I dunno..." By now, Nina had broken down crying and Vanessa felt her chest dampen from the vampire's tears. Nina shook as she wept "I woke up on his bloodless body...I was full and had fed...what if I killed my Diego..."

from my latest story, fangs of law pt 2