▪︎ Chapter 19 ▪︎ “Your chest was so comfortable.”
───
Cordelia rested her cheek against her hand, one crimson eye half-lidded as she stared through the glass doors of the hotel lobby.
"...Am I cursed?"
The words escaped her lips in a dramatic sigh.
Two whole nights.
Two.
And not a single vampire.
Her fingers tapped lazily against the polished armrest.
"I simply wished to meet my fellow vampires..."
She looked toward the ceiling as though appealing to some unseen force.
"...Yet fate insists upon mocking me."
The receptionist glanced over briefly before quickly returning to her computer.
Cordelia didn't mind.
Humans had been reacting like that since the Divergence.
She'd grown used to it.
She crossed one elegant leg over the other, the movement making her black dress rustle softly.
Her brilliant blue hair spilled over one shoulder in shining waves, framing her pale face. Beneath thick white lashes, her empty crimson eyes drifted toward the windows again.
Nothing.
Not even the faintest sweet scent.
She had spent the past two days wandering a small town that apparently possessed every scent imaginable except the one she wanted.
Humans.
Pine trees.
Rain.
Coffee.
Even...
Dogs.
Her nose wrinkled immediately.
"...Wolves."
She had crossed paths with several.
None had attacked.
Neither had she.
Still...
Every meeting left her vaguely irritated.
Their scent clung stubbornly to the air, earthy and wild in a way that almost made her want to rinse her mouth afterward.
She had also learned something interesting.
Apparently, in some less stable countries, wolves and vampires had already begun treating one another as rivals.
Not outright war...
Not yet.
But territorial disputes.
Fights.
Displays.
She sighed again.
"...How uncivilized."
Cordelia lightly tapped her chin.
"I should avoid such places for the time being."
She wasn't afraid.
Hardly.
But fighting wolves all night sounded dreadfully inefficient when her actual goal was meeting vampires.
She wanted conversation.
Company.
Someone whose scent didn't make her nose wrinkle.
Someone who understood.
Someone she wouldn't instinctively size up the moment they walked within arm's reach.
She leaned farther back into the chair.
"...Perhaps this town simply lacks refinement."
That had to be it.
Small towns had fewer people.
Fewer people meant fewer transformed individuals.
Simple.
Larger cities...
Now there was promise.
If the government's estimates were even remotely accurate, there should be vampires gathering there naturally.
A tiny smile slowly spread across her lips.
"There we are."
She pushed herself gracefully to her feet.
Her knee-high black boots landed crisply against the marble floor.
Click.
Click.
Click.
She smoothed the front of her dress.
Then...
Almost absentmindedly...
Twirled once.
The skirt flared elegantly around her before settling again.
"There is no sense lamenting poor fortune."
She clasped her hands behind her back.
"I shall simply go where fortune is better."
The automatic doors slid open.
Cool night air greeted her immediately.
The city lights glittered beyond the entrance.
Cordelia inhaled deeply.
Humans.
Cars.
Concrete.
Rain lingering somewhere far away.
Still no vampire.
"...Soon."
She smiled to herself.
"Surely there will be many in a proper city."
With that optimistic declaration, she stepped through the doorway.
The automatic doors began sliding shut behind her.
By the time they fully closed...
The figure in the black dress had already vanished from the sidewalk.
Only a faint stirring of air remained where the beautiful vampire had been standing moments before.
───
Lavinia had learned one undeniable truth over the past few nights.
No matter where she fell asleep...
She somehow always ended up at the bottom.
She slowly opened her eyes.
For a brief moment, all she could see was hair.
Silver-white.
Orange.
Teal.
Blonde.
"..."
She blinked once.
Then attempted to inhale.
"...Mm."
That proved somewhat difficult.
Several vampires were pressing down on her.
Lavinia let out a quiet groan before a strand of teal hair slipped into her mouth.
"Pft..."
She spat it away with a mildly offended expression.
"Seriously..."
She carefully worked one arm free.
Then the other.
It took another minute before she managed to wriggle herself out from beneath the sleeping pile. As she climbed to her feet, the others shifted instinctively into the space she'd left behind without waking.
Lavinia looked down.
"...Why is it always me?"
It really was a pile.
Gwendolyn had somehow become the foundation of it all, her snowy white hair spread beneath everyone like silk.
Valerie lay half across Gwendolyn's side, her vibrant orange hair draped over half of Celestine's face.
Celestine remained asleep despite that, one arm loosely around Evelyn, who rested peacefully with her head upon Gwendolyn's thighs, a tiny content smile lingering on her lips.
Five vampires.
One tangled knot of dresses, hair and limbs.
Lavinia pinched the bridge of her nose.
"...You're all ridiculous."
Not that she minded very much.
She looked down at herself.
Immediately, relief spread across her face.
Her dress.
Perfect.
She ran both hands over the smooth black fabric, checking where yesterday's tears had been.
Nothing.
Not a loose thread.
Not a tiny seam.
Every rip from being thrown into the wall had vanished completely.
"Thank goodness..."
She genuinely loved this dress.
The thought of ruining it had bothered her far more than she'd admitted aloud.
Her ears twitched.
The bedroom door eased open with barely a whisper.
Eleanor carefully poked her head inside.
Her eyes immediately landed on the sleeping vampires piled across the floor.
She blinked once.
Then looked toward Lavinia.
The golden-haired vampire still looked slightly disheveled from sleep, several stubborn strands refusing to lie flat.
Eleanor smiled warmly.
She raised one hand in a tiny wave.
Her lips silently formed the words.
"Good morning."
Lavinia smiled just as warmly.
"Good morning."
She answered quietly enough not to wake anyone.
Eleanor's gaze drifted back across the sleeping girls.
A soft, amused smile appeared before she gently pulled the door closed once more.
Click.
Silence returned.
Lavinia found herself smiling.
She thought Gwendolyn's cheerful personality hadn't appeared from nowhere.
Living with Eleanor...
Growing up in a genuinely loving home...
It probably explained why Gwendolyn laughed so easily.
Why she smiled so often.
Why she somehow found excitement in almost everything.
Lavinia stretched slowly, both arms rising above her head as she let out a content sigh.
"...I like this life."
The realization came naturally.
She didn't miss sunlight.
She didn't miss sweating.
She certainly didn't miss waking up exhausted every morning.
If humans insisted she was a monster now...
Well...
What exactly was she supposed to do about that?
She certainly didn't feel like one.
She glanced toward the curtains.
"...I don't even miss the sun."
She thought about it for another moment.
"It was hot."
"It made me sweat."
"It got in my eyes."
She wrinkled her nose.
"...Not exactly something to feel nostalgic over."
Now she neither sweated nor truly felt temperature the way she once had.
Night simply felt...
Comfortable.
She twirled once.
Her black dress flared gracefully around her before settling once more.
Looking carefully, she found a tiny dried patch of blood near the hem and scratched it away with one fingernail.
Immediately...
Her scent briefly thickened.
Berries.
Pine.
It mingled with the fragrances already filling the bedroom.
Citrus.
Lavender.
Vanilla.
Cream.
The room smelled unmistakably like vampires.
"There."
Satisfied, Lavinia wandered into the living room.
She promptly sprawled across the couch.
One leg dangled lazily over the armrest while the other swung gently through the air every so often.
Her phone appeared in one hand almost immediately.
Videos.
News.
Forums.
The internet remained thoroughly fascinated with the Divergence.
An hour slipped by peacefully.
Behind her...
Very soft shifting.
Lavinia's nearest ear twitched.
She looked over one shoulder.
Valerie had awakened.
The orange-haired vampire blinked sleepily before sitting upright, brushing her long hair over both shoulders.
Their crimson eyes met.
"Morning."
Lavinia smiled.
"Good morning."
Valerie stood.
Walked into the living room.
Looked at the couch.
Looked at Lavinia.
"...Don't."
Too late.
Valerie simply plopped directly onto her.
"Oof!"
Lavinia's legs shot upward.
"I got up because I was being squashed!"
"I know."
"Then why are you doing it?"
Valerie shrugged.
"Because there was room."
"There absolutely wasn't!"
"There is now."
"You made room by sitting on me!"
Valerie rolled her eyes before shifting slightly until they rested back-to-back through the fabric of their dresses.
Lavinia sighed dramatically.
"I was a boy."
She looked sideways.
"Don't tempt me."
Valerie gave perhaps the most exaggerated eye roll Lavinia had ever seen.
"Oh please."
Then Valerie rolled fully onto the couch, squeezing into the surprisingly small space beside Lavinia despite most of the couch remaining empty.
She propped her head up with one hand.
Then simply watched Lavinia.
"...What?"
Lavinia finally asked.
"You chose the smallest space possible."
Valerie smiled.
"I did."
"...Why?"
Valerie merely shook her head.
"No reason."
"Liar."
Valerie's smile only widened.
Another hour drifted by.
Neither moved much.
Occasionally one of them would show the other something amusing on their phone.
Otherwise...
The room remained pleasantly quiet.
Eventually...
A sleepy voice drifted from the bedroom.
"Mmm..."
Gwendolyn's ears twitched first.
Then her eyes slowly opened.
She blinked several times before realizing Evelyn's head rested comfortably upon her lap.
"Oh."
"Evelyn."
Very carefully, Gwendolyn slipped an arm beneath Evelyn's shoulders.
With remarkable gentleness, she repositioned the sleeping vampire until Evelyn's head rested comfortably against Celestine's shoulder instead.
Neither of them woke.
Mission accomplished.
Gwendolyn stood.
Brushed her silver-white hair away from her face.
Stretched.
Then smiled brilliantly.
"That was the best sleep I've had in forever!"
A snort came from the couch.
"I wonder..."
Lavinia didn't even look away from her phone.
"...If that's just your addiction to cute things talking."
Gwendolyn gasped dramatically.
"My what?"
"Your addiction."
"I don't have one."
"You absolutely do."
"I appreciate cute things."
"You collect them."
"I befriend them."
"You cuddle them."
Lavinia finally looked up.
"...You're not helping your case."
Gwendolyn puffed out her cheeks.
Then marched into the living room.
She crouched directly in front of Lavinia until their faces were only inches apart.
"Poke."
A finger gently pressed into Lavinia's cheek.
"Poke."
Again.
"Petulant Lavi..."
"Don't be like that."
She smiled innocently.
"Your chest was so comfortable."
Lavinia's head snapped toward her.
"...Excuse me?"
Gwendolyn nodded earnestly.
"It made a wonderful pillow."
Lavinia stared at her.
Then slowly buried her face in both hands.
"I..."
"I was taken advantage of in my sleep..."
Valerie burst into laughter beside her.
The sound stirred Celestine first.
She blinked slowly, looking between Gwendolyn and Lavinia with sleepy confusion.
A few moments later, Evelyn woke as well, rubbing one eye before smiling quietly at the scene unfolding in the living room.
Lavinia looked around at the four smiling vampires surrounding her before letting out one long, exaggerated sigh.
"...I'm surrounded by weirdos."
"Absolutely," Valerie agreed immediately.
Gwendolyn beamed.
"And you're our favorite one."
Lavinia closed her eyes.
"...I'm never winning against any of you."