twenty two

We stood in Walmart looking at the breast pumping equipment; I grabbed a box of freezer bags and a baby bottle. "Want this to drink it from?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"I could always drink it from the source." She smirked, and I frowned, making her laugh. "Come here." She grabbed my wrist, pulling me to her tightly. I looked up at her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

"You spend too much time looking at me." I rolled my eyes.

"You're hot," I mumbled, making her smile.

"You're hot." She leaned down, putting her lips to mine. I kissed her back, and my stomach flipped. She took my hand in hers as we made our way to the self-checkout. Once we got back to her apartment, I realized how nervous I was. She laid the box on the counter and took my hand in hers. I knew what she was going to say.

"I want to do it," I mumbled.

"You're scared."

"Of needles." I rolled my eyes.

"I might be able to help you relax." She said.

"Oh?"

"Mind out of the gutter." I smiled as my cheeks got warm.

"Have you ever given someone a needle before?" I asked.

"I tired heroine once."

"What?"

"Couple times, actually." I raised an eyebrow.

"When?"

"About- a hundred years ago. Give or take."

"Give or take." She nodded.

"Our first life together was in a different universe." She said, grabbed my hips and helped me up onto the island. "It was similar to this one, but just slightly off. No animals. You were a librarian." She said, holding my hand in her hand lightly, and my stomach turned. "I was a doctor; you were... new to town. You had just moved from another part of the world, and I instantly fell head over heels for you. But I thought there was no way someone like you could like me, so I avoided you like the plague until one night at a bar, you confronted me after a few drinks." She slowly put the needle in, and I closed my eyes tightly. "You said that you wanted to speak with me outside, once we were in a little ally, you said 'who the hell do you think you are, you don't even know me, and you treat me like a ghost' you kept ranting, and I kissed you. You kissed back, and we went back to my apartment. You feel to sleep once we hit the couch. I covered you up, and you didn't really leave after that." I smiled at her, and she looked from the needle to me.

"I wish I could remember those things."

"No, you don't." She shook her head.

"Why?" I asked. she shook her head again and looked at the blood coming from my arm, slowly filling the milk bag. "Why?" No answer. "E."

"In our last life, you cheated on me." I took a breath in and felt my eyes sting. "You... said I wasn't enough for you, and you were sleeping with a girl for our whole marriage."

"I... E." I mumbled. "I can't even say sorry, but I am."

"It's fine." She shook her head, and I felt overwhelming guilt. "Hey, it's ok."

"I just don't understand why I'd do that."

"It's ok, Vivan." She passed me the baggie, and I held it between my thighs as I zipped it up. I stared at the blood in the bag, and my mind wondered. How tempting is it that she had a tapped source for her favourite meal right in front of her? "It's very tempting, yours is the sweetest blood I've ever smelt, and I can't wait for the time I get to taste it." My stomach flipped. A knock on the door startled me, I looked up at E, and she passed me the fifth bag to zip up as there was another knock. "One second." She called, taking out the needle and replacing it with a bandaid she had grabbed from the bathroom in about two seconds flat. I finished sticking it on as she put the bags in the freezer, and I threw a newspaper over the extra needles. She pulled open the door, and I looked over her shoulder.

"Viv." She breathed.