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Morgan sat on the sofa that was in the corner of the reception, playing with the white ribbon that was tied around her wrist. Every day she spent at least a few minutes watching the comings and goings of the people at the donor house. Normally nothing much happened. Vampires would enter the house, scribble their name into the book, and then go on to do whatever it was they were going to do. Some were there to feed while others just wanted to enjoy being a part of the community. Donors would scribble their name into the book, leave the house, and go to spend time with old friends or shop. It was easy to tell the donors who had been in the house the longest, like Dominic, because they didn’t leave the house very often. Over time it became a comfort blanket and Morgan had found that she didn’t want to leave as much as she had at the beginning.

Newbies were always interesting. Vampires always looked around the reception in something akin to shock, unable to believe that something like the donor house had been set up. Then Alice or Nick, or occasionally Blake or Nadia, would walk out and talk to them about what the donor house was about, before showing them around. Donors were less interested in what was going on around them. They would listen to the receptionist, fill in the forms, and then head upstairs to their room. It was also shock, but it was a different kind to that of the vampire’s. The house was a huge culture shock because humans weren’t taught that vampires might actually be nice people.

Morgan was just about to head to the cafeteria for something to eat when a vampire entered the donor house. After spending some time in the donor house it was easy to tell the difference between human and vampire. Some donors also got to the point where it was possible to know when a vampire had last eaten. There were those who knew whether it was animal blood or human blood, but Morgan never wanted to be able to tell which type it was. Without stopping to think, because she knew that there were a couple of newbies who had arrived in the last couple of days and they always forgot about the white rule, she pulled the ribbon off her wrist. She knew that the receptionist would have no idea when she had last fed someone, so she crossed the room.

“Morgan,” the receptionist greeted, looking relieved. “I was hoping someone like you would be around. This young man hasn’t fed for some time.”

Nodding, Morgan looked at the vampire. Pain filled his eyes and she knew that there wasn’t a lot of time. Gently she touched his arm, which he obviously wasn’t expecting because he jumped.

“It’s okay,” she said, keeping her voice calm. “I’m here to help you.” She looked at the receptionist again. “Have you called Alice?”

“She’s on her way.”

“Good.” Morgan turned her attention back to the vampire. “Now what I need to to do is take hold of my arm.”

She waited for a moment, letting his take his time because she knew he wouldn’t be used to humans offering themselves to him. Eventually he did take hold of her arm. The grip was weak. It was impossible to tell if the weakness was caused by hunger or confusion or fear, even.

“Lift my arm to your mouth.”

The vampire looked at her. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I don’t want to lose control.”

“I won’t let you.”

Morgan had no idea how she would stop him if she did lose control, but at that moment it really didn’t matter. She knew that Alice would arrive soon and probably bring either Nick or Blake with her, so she would be safe. What mattered was making sure that the vampire fed quickly. Tentatively he rested his teeth on the blue vein that he would easily be able to see.

“It’s going to be fine,” Morgan said, half wanting to pet his hair in an attempt to calm him down but she knew she wouldn’t be able to reach.

The wince was something she couldn’t stop. It didn’t matter how often a vampire bit you. Having sharp teeth bite into flesh was going to hurt. He stopped.

She looked into his eyes. “Yes, it hurt, but it’s not that bad, okay? Don’t let my blood drip on the floor.”

After a moment he started drinking and Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. Then she realised exactly how far she’d come during her time at the donor house. Feeding a vampire, willingly, on her day off, wasn’t something she would ever have believe she’d do. She couldn’t help smiling, even though she knew that she shouldn’t have done it and she had no way of stopping the vampire.

“I think you’ve had enough now,” Morgan said quietly, attempting to gently tug her arm free. He tightened his grip. “Let go.”

“Come on, kiddo,” Nick said, as he came into view behind the vampire. “I know she tastes nice, but if you keep feeding then you’ll end up killing her.”

The clock ticking was the only noise in the room for a short time. The vampire wasn’t drinking any more, but he also wasn’t letting go of Morgan’s arm. A couple of drops of blood dripped onto the floor and then the vampire slowly let go of her am.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at him.

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t do any damage.”

Nick raised an eyebrow before guiding the vampire over to the other side of the reception. Morgan waited until the vampire couldn’t see her before leaning on the reception desk. The cuts were already healing because his saliva was no longer against them, so she wasn’t worried about losing any more blood.

“Come on, Morgan,” Alice said, sighing. “We need to get some food in you and then you’re having a week off.”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t argue with me. You know you shouldn’t have done that. Where’s your ribbon?”

“Over by the sofa.”

“Stay right there.” Morgan nodded and watched as Alice crossed the reception, picked up the ribbon and walked back. “Put it on.”

Morgan tied the ribbon around her wrist. “I had to do something.”

“Sometimes I wonder whether we did a good thing in opening the donor house.” Alice shook her head. “Now, instead of hating vampires, you commit acts of stupidity in order to help them.”

“It was my choice, Alice. I knew exactly what I was doing.”

“Maybe you did, but we have rules in place for a reason. By making that choice you put yourself in danger and I should punish you for it.” Alice glanced over at Nick and the vampire, before looking back at Morgan. “If you ever do that again… I don’t know what I’ll do. You scared me, Morgan.”

“I promise I’ll never scare you again.”

“Food, now. We’ll talk more when you’ve eaten something.”

Alice wrapped an arm around Morgan’s shoulders and led her towards the cafeteria.

Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.

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