Just a drop, p.1
Just a Drop, page 1
part #2 of Vampires of Worj Series
Just a Drop
VAMPIRES OF WORJ: BOOK II
Charlie Tran
Copyright © 2019 by Charlie Tran
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictiously.
Contents
1. Geoffrey
2. Eric
3. Geoffrey
4. Eric
5. Geoffrey
6. Eric
7. Geoffrey
8. Eric
9. Geoffrey
10. Eric
11. Geoffrey
Epilogue
Mailing List
Chapter 1
Geoffrey
"So, what do you think, doctor? Boy or girl?" The patient watched me as I pulled up the charts, flipping over the information that my nurse had passed over. It was still far too early to tell, but this woman had been so desperate to find out the gender.
"I can't say with certainty just yet. But the way it's sitting, it's looking like a boy." I smiled at her.
She placed her hands to her belly with a sigh. "A boy. I'm so happy."
"Like I said, I'm not totally positive if it’s a boy or not just yet. Once it's closer to the due date, I'll be able to get a better look." I cleared my throat, making sure I’d gone over everything in my head. I did blood tests, I checked the heartbeat, I answered any questions that the nurse couldn't. "Oh, be sure to schedule your follow up appointment with the administrator out front if you haven't already. Anything else?"
"No, that's it for today, Dr. Geoffrey. I'll see you later!" the patient exclaimed. She hopped off the examination table with ease, grabbing all of her personal items before waddling out of the room and down the hall.
I ran a hand down my face, already tired. While Worj was a small city, it was still tiresome being the only educated doctor. There were a few nurses, even several herbalists. But I was the only person who had gone to school to get the formal education needed to become a licensed doctor.
There were so many charts to go through, so many babies and pregnancies to check on. It was like half of Worj had gone into heat and started spurting out babies like dogs. Even Sebastian had managed to get someone pregnant.
There was a hint of a smile on my lips as I thought about my friend. He deserved to have a family again. I could remember how the people here centuries ago ran him off and tried to ruin his family name. But he was strong. And now a new family was his.
Which had me feeling a type of way. Especially with Clay.
My phone began to vibrate in my pocket, warning of me a notification incoming. I quickly checked it before I had to deal with the next patients that were no doubt waiting for me. That smile on my face fell as I read the message.
"Busy tonight. Have a good day. See you tomorrow."
Tch. Of course. I couldn't have a moment with Clay, my mate, in private. We barely talked anymore, and even though I was holding down a job, he was always so busy when he had nothing. The only time we'd spent together was when I delivered Drake and Sebastian's baby with him there.
But this was nothing new.
"Dr. Geoffrey, are you alright?" a voice called from the other side of the exam door, making me snap out of my negative head space.
"Y-yeah. Sorry," I said, grabbing the personal folder and charts of the previous patient as I tried to quickly scuttle out of the room. The door swung open just as I went to reach for it, effectively knocking the documents out of my hand and sending the patient files all across the linoleum floor.
"Sorry!" Eric was quick to apologize, dropping to his knees and scooping up the papers scattered around us as quickly as he could. I joined him, trying to tuck everything neatly where it belonged.
"It's no big deal. I was daydreaming, I shouldn't have been back here anyway." I tried to make him relax since he was still apologizing. He was always beating himself up over the smallest little thing.
"It's your office, you can do as you like, Doctor. I-I was just coming to make sure you're alright. There's only a few more patients, then you can go home for the rest of the evening."
I placed a hand to his shoulder, nodding. "Take a break, Eric. I'm fine," I said with a chuckle, smiling brightly at him. I noticed his glance towards my teeth, causing me to shut my lips tight so he wouldn't stare at my fangs. "The nurses can handle a few of the other patients without your aid, just routine check-ups. I'll let you know when you're needed."
He appeared so meek as he scrambled up to his feet again, walking fast down the hallway without looking back at me, his face and neck totally flushed.
Had I done something wrong?
Or was he afraid of me?
I subconsciously sucked on my fangs, running my tongue over them as I closed the exam room behind me and headed down the hall myself.
Everyone knew about the history around Worj. Some people believed it was totally haunted with ghosts. There were rumors that there were witches, ghouls, and all manner of paranormal beings in town. Half the town believed, the other half thought it false.
The truth was, there was everything like that and more here.
Even so, I didn't need anyone speculating about my own nature as a vampire. Not when I was such a respectable member of the town, as the only doctor. But the way he stared so hard made me feel on edge. He wasn't a new employee, but… no. He couldn't know.
I was thinking way too hard on this.
Somehow I managed to push all the thoughts racing in my mind to the back, and remained focused on the rest of the day. Just as Eric had said, there wasn't much more to be done, and the day came and went with ease. Just a few cases needing my actual attention, and the remainder spent filling out case files and paperwork.
Before I knew it, the sky had faded to darkness and it was safe for me to actually walk outside. It was time to go home and see what my mate had been up to.
"I'm home!" I called out, adjusting my cross-body bag to face the front. It was easy enough to unlatch the front compartment, but the smaller ones built in the sides were another story. But I had to make sure that what I placed inside wouldn't easily fall out. I nudged the refrigerator open with my foot, finally removing the bags of blood I'd taken from my job and placing them inside. It wasn't often I was able to acquire human blood from the workplace, but whenever I could I'd take it. Clay really enjoyed the taste. As did I.
Matter of fact, I think any vampire would prefer the authentic creaminess and subtle flavor of human blood compared to an animal’s. But we did what we must. The city wouldn't take too kindly if half the town started waking up with bite marks on their necks.
"Clay? I brought home something for you!" I smiled when Clay finally emerged from the bathroom, his hair damp and lower body hidden by a towel. "Ooh, sorry. I didn't realize you were bathing."
"I'm not anymore." He shrugged, walking past me and straight towards the fridge, pulling out one of the blood packs.
"Do anything special today? Work was pretty standard." I took a seat at the small table centered right in the middle of the kitchen. There wasn't much space in our cabin, but it was decently far out of the way of Worj that we didn't have to worry about many humans coming by.
And I enjoyed the technology. Some vampires, like Sebastian, preferred to live in the old castles from centuries ago, and live in the same manner as they always had. But the world was so interesting now! So many changes, so many inventions. Especially after the industrial revolution. Those were great times.
"Are you listening?" Clay asked, leaning back against the countertop as he watched me with a brow raised.
"Oh, sorry. I was daydreaming. What did you say?"
"I said nothing. I did nothing. I have plans later, though." He lifted the large sack of blood above his head, piercing through the plastic with his teeth, wasting no time to gulp down as much of it as he could.
"Plans? To see him, I assume." The joyful tone to my voice turned sour at the thought. Why else would he be bathing and trying to look so nice and clean? Not for me. Not for his mate.
Clay said nothing as he drained the remnant drops of the cold blood, wiping his mouth clean with the back of his arm as he tossed the empty bag into the trash bin.
"Clay. You could stay home. I wouldn't mind the company…" I tapped my fingertips against the top of the table, watching him as he walked past me and into the laundry room.
"I have plans," he repeated coldly, ignoring me again, of course.
Plans. Always fucking plans. With that vampire I caught him with before. He didn't even make an effort to hide it from me after the first time I discovered them. I mean, yes. We had been together for nearly three hundred years at this point. But he’d marked me as his mate.
I watched as he struggled to pull his jeans up, walking past me to go into the bathroom yet again. I could hear the blow dryer turn on as I touched the tiny faded scars on the side of my neck.
He’d marked me as his so long ago, but over the centuries he fell out of love with me. No matter what I did, or how hard I tried to reel him back in, he didn't want to bother. While most people would say life is too short to waste, his motto was the opposite. Life was too long, and to stay with one person for eternity, that was too boring for him.
"I'm headin
I sighed, still delicately fingering the mate marks on my throat. Remembering the promises he had made to me in that time.
How he promised to always be there for me. How he promised we'd always be in love.
And the promise of starting a family.
"He's a liar." I rolled my head in a circle, finally standing from the table and heading into the bedroom. I didn't take my clothes off, simply falling onto the bed with my phone raised above my head. The light shining from it was a little blinding, but I saw the small icon of a letter at the top of the screen.
"A message?" I clicked my tongue, opening the text to see who it was.
'This is a reminder for the office party! Jesse is retiring. I know ur busy. If u didn't buy a gift, I'll put ur name on mine.'
I couldn't help but laugh. Eric was so innocent. And sweet.
'Put my name there. I did forget. You're so thoughtful,' I texted back, waiting for his reply which came not too long after my own.
* * *
'No prob. See u at the office ;)'
I closed the messages, rolling onto my stomach to quickly check my emails. I had a computer, but I didn't want to get up and move or do anything until I had to get ready for work again. I just wanted to be alone in the darkness, and not think about Clay or what he was doing. Which was hard, but going back to read old messages exchanged between us, compared to the exchanges I had with my workmates, it was clear that there was no love there anymore.
It was sad to say that I enjoyed being at work more than at home sometimes—no matter how hard I tried to make myself believe the opposite.
Chapter 2
Eric
"Surprise!" I shouted to Jesse. Her eyes were wide in surprise, though they already appeared rather large through the thick bifocals she wore. The shock on her face quickly turned into a giddiness that made me happy.
"What is this here?" she asked, her accent thick yet warming on this chilly autumn day. I, and several other nurses and office staff, stood in front of her. She was typing away at the computer, still focused on getting her work in even though this was her last week on the job.
"We're throwing you a party!" I told her, showing off the gifts I had in my arms, as well as the people who were filing past us and down the hall to the break room.
"Oh, say it ain't so. Y'all really care about Granny Jesse, don't ya?" she said, coming up and squishing me in a tight bear hug. Even the present wasn't spared as it was crushed between the two of us. She let me go after I started to choke.
"Yeah… yeah. Come on. We got an hour or two before people start to arrive for appointments," I managed to get out through coughs. She barreled down the hall with more stamina than I'd ever seen in an older woman.
The rest of us followed in her wake, setting all the small gifts and trinkets we had for her down in the corner. A few of the nurses and I had tacked streamers up to the ceiling of orange and yellow, really trying to play up the fall themes for the celebration. We’d brought in a few bottles of off-brand soda and a cake from the local grocer. My duty was to bring the chips and cups.
"This is just beautiful!" she said as I maneuvered through the crowd towards the door that led to the hallway. Seeing my boss through the window, I carefully pushed a few people aside to open it.
"Sorry I'm late," Geoffrey said. He piled into the room with the rest of us, a few of the girls and guys waving to him as he entered.
"No problem. Got your name down and everything, so you can just relax for once," I told him, promptly pouring a cup with orange-flavored soda and passing it to him before parting ways. I didn't want to cramp him or be too forthcoming. Everyone liked Dr. G, girls as well as guys. Although he never wore a ring, there was a rumor that he was indeed in a relationship—so what was the point in trying?
It wasn't long until Granny Jesse was sick of eating and talking with everyone. She was more than ready to start opening the presents she'd been given. It felt more like we were celebrating her birthday than wishing her a happy retirement.
"Oh, thank you, Eric! Thank you, Doctor!" she announced, waving the box of the gift in the air. "I've never owned one before!"
She promptly set the gift to the side and went about opening the rest of the presents. Dr. G approached me, his cup still completely full of soda.
"A tablet? That's quite a bit of money you spent there," he said with a grin.
"She deserved it. She's gonna be leaving soon and she's always been nice to everyone." I shrugged, eating a handful of chips from the paper bowl I was holding.
"She did, but that's still a lot of money. How much was it? Let me split it." He sat his drink down on the counter, pulling out his wallet in the middle of the crowd.
"No! Don't even think about it. It's something I wanted to give her, anyway." I refused his money, pushing his wallet away. He turned to face me, his smile making me melt as he tucked the money into his back pocket.
"You're too nice, you known that? Let me at least do something for you."
"Like what? Add on a few paid leave days?" I joked. I never took days off. My life was utterly lonely and boring without my coworkers. And I loved working here, anyway.
"What about dinner?"
My eye twitched. "What? Dinner? Like, together?" I asked, scratching the top of my head in confusion.
"I mean, you don't have to say yes. I just thought it'd be nice. But if you'd prefer paid time off, then…"
"No! Oh, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful." I waved my arms around awkwardly to interrupt him. " I'd love to go to dinner, actually! I haven't gone out for a good meal in a long time."
"Good," Dr. Geoffrey said, squinting as his smile widened even more. "You just send me a date and time, and wherever you want to go, I'll be there."
"T-thanks, Doc."
He weaved away through the small crowd, focusing his attention on the star of today's party and the other brown-nosers who were quickly all over him, trying to get his attention too.
And I just stood there like an idiot with a dumb look on my face.
Did he just ask me on a date?
No, no. It was just dinner. A friendly employee dinner, that was all. People did that with their bosses all the time. Didn't they?
I was trying to justify it in my head, but my heart was still doing cartwheels just thinking about it. Getting to spend time alone with him outside of the workplace!
The party was drawing to a close after only ninety minutes or so. I volunteered to help with the clean-up as did another member of the administrative team, whose name I thought was Josh. We didn't interact that much, but he was a friendly enough fellow.
"Wow, she really didn't hold back tearing into the wrappers, did she?" I joked, trying to make conversation as we picked up the tiny pieces by hand. Jesse was so ecstatic about having a party, I swear if there was alcohol she would’ve been dancing on top of the tables with a lampshade on her head. She was so full of life!
"Yeah, and no one else held back making a mess. Thanks for helping me out." He pushed everything that was stacked across the counters into a large trash bag. Whether things were filled with liquids or not, everything was going in.
"No problem, I like to make sure the office stays clean."
"Has anyone told you that you're a little too nice?" He laughed, but I wasn't sure if it was actually a joke.
"Yes. I have. Doctor Geoffrey always tells me…"
That seemed to pique his interest. He stood from his squat position, no longer picking up the shredded gift wrap as he came closer to me with a sly look on his face. I was still on the ground, trying to pile up the stuff that couldn't be recycled as he suddenly pulled a chair out from one of the tables. Josh turned it around, taking a seat on it backwards as he stared me up and down.
