Her caustic reply made me smile again, not because I liked seeing her bitter, but because it reminded me of me.
"I've been asking myself that almost every day for the last five years," I said, getting to my feet, hoping I was just imagining my bones creaking as I went. Hard to believe sometimes I wasn't even forty yet; I didn't want to think about what I'd feel like when I was eighty. Betty had speculated I'd age at less than half the rate a normal human would. I hoped to God she was wrong.
"I am responsible for it," I said, trying not to sound harsh. "What you do-- whether you bite people or not-- it's preservation for you. At least if I'm well informed, I mean I'm not sure how much of pop culture's take on vampires is real. But you have to eat to live. I don't need the-- the other guy for anything. He's just there." I tried to smile again, but only sort of made it halfway.
"Your ring," I said, trying for a change of topic. "Was it a family thing? I can't think they got rid of all our stuff, I'm sure it's safe." If or when she'd ever see it again was another thing entirely. Whether or not the 24-hour quarantine was real, I doubted we'd be met by a welcoming committee ready to pass us back our belongings.
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"I've been asking myself that almost every day for the last five years," I said, getting to my feet, hoping I was just imagining my bones creaking as I went. Hard to believe sometimes I wasn't even forty yet; I didn't want to think about what I'd feel like when I was eighty. Betty had speculated I'd age at less than half the rate a normal human would. I hoped to God she was wrong.
"I am responsible for it," I said, trying not to sound harsh. "What you do-- whether you bite people or not-- it's preservation for you. At least if I'm well informed, I mean I'm not sure how much of pop culture's take on vampires is real. But you have to eat to live. I don't need the-- the other guy for anything. He's just there." I tried to smile again, but only sort of made it halfway.
"Your ring," I said, trying for a change of topic. "Was it a family thing? I can't think they got rid of all our stuff, I'm sure it's safe." If or when she'd ever see it again was another thing entirely. Whether or not the 24-hour quarantine was real, I doubted we'd be met by a welcoming committee ready to pass us back our belongings.