"You." With a balled fist aimed at the centre of his chest, I push Adam back.
"What? What did I do?"
"Don't make me spell it out."
"Didn't you hear the way that little---" He must see the anger on my face; an immediate adjustment of his tone is called for. "Didn't you hear the way she spoke to me? Alyssa Whatever-her-name-is is no angel, no matter what you might like to tell yourself. No one involved in this is."
"She was just trying to defend me."
"Defend you?" Adam looks away for a few seconds, shaking his head in obvious amazement.
"Defend you? She's a fucking human being. How the hell could a mere human defend a vampire?"
"With words. By sticking up for me."
"She couldn't do anything to stop me if a fight between you and I really kicked off."
"But it's not going to. Is it?"
"And she couldn't do anything to defend herself, either."
"But that won't be necessary because you're not going to touch her, are you? Are you?"
"Jesus, why this rabid desire to protect a bloody human being?"
"She's my friend, Adam. Something you might not be able to understand, but that's the way it is."
"I wonder if you'd defend me so vehemently?"
"Oh, there's no need." A smile plays at the corners of my mouth, but it's one laden with sarcasm, not sincerity. "You can take care of yourself. Always have done, always will."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." He almost pouts, folding his arms and turning away. "I had no one else to look after me," he mutters, almost inaudibly, and that's saying something when the only other person in the room is a vampire with sharp hearing.
Along the hall, the toilet flushes, and seconds later, taps run. Whether this is an old building and pipes working echo throughout the block, I don't know. Maybe it is just a case of supernatural hearing.
"I should find somewhere else to camp out for this coming day," Adam announces, turning sharply on his heels and looking straight at me.
Something in the back of my mind recognises this as a challenge. Alyssa's movements at the other end of my apartment send a shiver of suspicion up my spine. I don't want to be thinking this way but can't help it.
He's got form, after all, doesn't he, Nathan?
"No; there's no need." I try to inject as much hospitable bonhomie into my voice as possible, even laying a brotherly hand on his shoulder. No, fraternal isn't the mood I should go for. I give his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Adam says nothing, but he does look down at my hand with ill-disguised contempt. "I know what you're thinking," he eventually says before lifting his head to look into my eyes. My hand jumps away from him as if shocked. "And while some part of me wants to say I can't blame you, it was seventy fucking years ago. Don't you think I've punished myself enough? I don't need to see such an insult in your every move, and quite frankly, if you're only trying to keep me here because you think I'm going to do some damage to your contemptible friend out there, I'd rather fuck off back home, if you don't mind."
At least he didn't have to shrug my hand off.
That would really have stung.
He gets halfway to the door before I blurt out the word, "Stay."
Adam stops, and his shoulders twitch with pathetic laughter. "A few years ago, I would have killed to hear you say that." He glances back at me.
"Metaphorically, I hasten to add. Your problem is you take it literally. You think I mean it, which isn't something I'll ever be able to shake off, so ---"
We both jump when the front door clicks behind Alyssa. She's left, and now it's just the two of us.
"I'd rather go. Don't worry, Nathan. You can look out of the window if you like; check that we walk in separate directions." And before he leaves my flat, ever cheeky to the end, he tells me to, "Have a nice life."
Chapter 14
I DO AS HE SUGGESTS. Reluctantly, because it means I admit he was right. I am still suspicious of him.
I keep the windows screened twice over through the day; normal Venetian blinds over the glass, and blackout blinds over the top of those.
Shutters, practically, they keep out even the merest chink of daylight. I'm old enough to get away with a sliver of light here and there; more than that, actually, but to be on the safe side, I keep the windows covered as much as I can.
I earlier mentioned to Adam that in some areas, bricking over windows or keeping them otherwise covered over advertises one's undead state, and that can sometimes lead to trouble, but the street I live in is respectable enough. People see me coming and going and leave me pretty much to my own devices. It hasn't always been like that, but---these days---people are more accepting if you're in the right place.
As to Adam's suggestion? I pull the blackout blinds back and peek through the slats of the Venetians. He looks back at me; I see his hateful glare and wonder where he's going to spend the daylight hours. He's resourceful; he'll find somewhere. He hasn't lived this long without knowing how to look after himself.
Alyssa, though. She would have walked off in the opposite direction; she lives nearby. I should have escorted her, or at the very least instructed her to call me once she was home safely. Even a text message.
I let the slats go and close the blackout blinds over the top of them again. I could kick myself; I should have gone with Alyssa, but it would have meant
