Wasn't sure what woke me up at the ass crack of dawn at first, whether it was the sound of chattering from the kitchen or the noise of the coffee machine... until I realised I didn't have a coffee machine. I climbed out of Victoria's bear-hug and sat right up in bed, but the sudden movement made me cough a few times. The air of my room felt too thick for some reason, despite the fan having stayed on overnight. Tori stirred beside me at the loss of my contact. I whispered an apology to her and patted her hair, soothing her back to sleep. As I woke up further, I groaned at the recollection that Carly and London had abruptly moved in overnight. I narrowed my eyes through the dim lamp-given light of my room and I focused my senses beyond the door in hopes of figuring out what all the noise was about.

  "Oh, no, totally," London chuckled, "When he came on screen, so did I."

  "London!" Carly laughed. "Gross!"

  The coffee machine beeped as it finished. London took the fresh coffee over to the dining table where Carly sat. They continued rambling about some show I didn't care for, giving out far too much information in the process, so I turned my focus from one sense to another. Aside from the sharp stench of that of a cafe, I could make out bacon, eggs, toast-

  "Ew. They're eating breakfast," I murmured to Tori, who was knocked out again, "Kinda forgot that was a thing."

  I was going to ignore it and go back to sleep, especially since waking up before midday was straight up unhealthy for me, but a thought hit me.

  ... I don't have frying pans or anything, either...

  "Oh you little-" I growled as I shot out of bed.

  As I stumbled through the house - only half dressed - I noticed that all the curtains were still down and there wasn't any daylight coming through, which made me relax slightly. I appreciated that the girls respected that rule, even if they were breaking another.

  "Morning, Zach," Carly smiled with a wave as I slumped against the kitchen doorframe, only for her expression to quickly falter into confusion, "Woah, wait, why are you so tired? You look horrible."

  I glared, my chest heaving and my knees wanting to buckle.

  "It's 8am," I spoke through gritted fangs, "I'm barely strong enough to stand until midday."

  "Oh. Forgot about that," she hummed and went back to eating her bacon and eggs.

  I shot an incredulous look to London, who just raised a brow back at me.

  "You mad about something? Your fangs are showing-"

  "I know that!" I barked.

  London deadpanned, not threatened in the slightest. She'd grown up with me and knew me more than well enough to call my bluff by now. Her arms crossed across her chest and she lifted a leg onto her other knee, silently challenging me to explain myself.

  "There is food... in my house... and I.. don't like it." I managed, fighting sleep. "It reeks. A-And how did you even make it? The kitchen has like... two knives and that's it."

  "We brought our own stuff." Carly shrugged. "Also - that reminds me - are you sure you should be eating as much raw meat as you are? I know your immune system's on steroids, but your fridge was full of it, and I didn't see much blood in there."

  London took another sip of her coffee, then glanced over to me. "Hey, speaking of, how have you been feeding? Does Tori drink blood?"

  I shook my head. I was utterly lost at the jumble of words the girls had hit me with. My brain was struggling to dissect it all so early in the day. I raised a hand to give myself a second to think.

  "No." I murmured.

  "No?" Carly frowned, putting her fork down. "Zach, have you even fed since she-"

  "Just-! Hang on, did you..?"

  I forced my strangely weakened legs to carry me to the fridge. My jaw went slack as I opened it and found all my shit had been moved to one side, and the other side was stocked with food and bottled drinks. My vision blurred and tinted scarlet as the blood vessels in my irises burst from how strong the snarl I gave the girls was. Carly raised her hands in a plea of innocence, whereas London tried to hide a snort and smirk.

  "Your eyes are red-"

  "I KNOW!" I cut London off. "YOU MOVED MY SHIT!"

  She couldn't help but snicker now. I slammed the fridge shut, the sound of metal against metal reverberating in my ears. My hands trembled as I tore through the drawers, each one full of food, cutlery, and god knows what else. The scent of unfamiliar spices, sizzling bacon, and copious amounts of sugar clogged up my lungs. I felt like I was being suffocated by it. I ripped open cupboard after cupboard. I didn't even know what some of it was, but I knew it wasn't my decision to put it all there, and that was driving me a little insane.

  London watched my freakout like a sporting match, "I also vacuumed and mopped, because you really haven't taken care of this place."

  "I did your laundry," Carly added, "And the movers came and set up our rooms."

  "WHAT?" I tried not to claw my eyes out, feeling weirdly nauseous. "While I was sleeping? How the fuck did you not wake me up?"

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  "Silverleaf?" Carly forced a smile, failing to hide her impending anxiety.

  I froze.

  Silverleaf nightshade. The sickening dread from just thinking about it rippled through my chest. The plant was dangerous enough to humans and animals, but to vampires it was our wolfsbane of sorts. Burns to the touch, causes severe vomiting and organ damage if ingested, and can cause complete loss of consciousness and even seizures if inhaled in large enough doses. The worst part? It was completely odourless, much like carbon monoxide gas, even to vampires.

  Ever since I'd woken up, I'd found the air too heavy. My body too weak. The realisation that they'd used Silverleaf on me in my sleep made my dwindling sanity deteriorate further.

  It wasn't just a stupid prank, it was a damn crime.

  "How?" I growled, barely able to get the words out past the rush of blood pounding in my ears.

  "Actually, there's a bush growing in your yard, so we burned some in your room," London raised a brow, "As I said, you clearly haven't been taking care of this place."

  I went to retort but nothing came out as another wave of nausea crashed through me, my stomach twisting violently. My knees buckled, and I collapsed down to the kitchen floor, gasping for breath like I was drowning. My vision flickered, the colours swirling as if the world was spinning.

  "You drugged me so I could sleep in?" I grunted. "V-Victoria would've inhaled it too!"

  "We made sure she wasn't in the room. She was busy helping us clean." Carly approached me and gave my head a condescending pat.

  I tried to glare up at her but in all honestly I could barely make out which of the twins she even was.

  "You really haven't been feeding, huh?" she murmured solemnly. "Meat's not enough. When's the last time you fed on someone?"

  I bared my fangs stubbornly at the blob of colours and lights before me, waiting for my consciousness to hurry up and fade so I wouldn't have to answer.

  "Not since Tori died, right?"

  I didn't know which of them said that, and my eyes had shut, so I couldn't check, but god I wanted to rip their throat out for that.

  "Is it guilt? Or are you just holding onto her death, making it last a little longer?"

  Shut up.

  "I can't tell with you anymore."

  "It's like one second you're yourself, and the next you're a wild animal."

  Stop it.

  "Don't take this personally, Zach. We just need you out of the way for the day so that we can monitor Victoria without you going all control-freak on her."

  "I was surprised to see you wake up this early, the effects shouldn't wear off for another few hours. You're a hell of a fighter, huh?"

  Please...

  "You'll forgive us."

  "You always do."

  .

  .

  Tori studied her freshly painted nails curiously. She leaned closer to sniff the blue polish, only to immediately cringe in disgust at the heavy scent of alcohol.

  "Don't move too much, bubs," London murmured, adjusting her grip on her pair of scissors before cautiously snipping the uneven chunks of the girl's faded pastel hair.

  "She used to put so much care into growing her hair out," Carly sighed, screwing the nail polish shut, "Now it's a wreck."

  London chuckled, "Zach's not exactly a hairstylist, I'll give you that. I reckon he gave her the Flynn Ryder treatment."

  "Meaning?"

  "Y'know, how Flynn gave Rapunzel that shitty haircut to save her at the end of the movie. Maybe Tori was getting her hair caught on things, or it was just too hard to maintain. I kinda wonder if she takes care of herself or if Zach does it all for her. No idea if she's even lucid enough to bathe herself."

  "If it was anyone else taking care of her, I'd assume they're a pervert and call the cops," Carly snorted as she hopped to the fridge in search of food, "I'm kinda glad Zach has like... negative libido."

  "Ugh, I don't wanna imagine what he'd be like if he continued puberty after turning." London groaned.

  Tori's eyes tracked Carly as she prepared a plate of roast chicken. Her nose twitched at the scent no better than a rabbit's. She instinctively shuffled forward in her chair to get a little closer, only to be gently pulled back by London. As London continued to carefully refine Tori's haircut, Tori's neck twitched. London immediately pulled back, her heart rate spiking and her grip on the scissors tightening. She studied the girl for a long moment, assessing if it was a general flinch or a hint of danger, before sighing and continuing her work.

  "Still as twitchy as ever," London grumbled.

  "Really? I haven't noticed her do it once." Carly raised a brow, taking the plate out from the microwave.

  "What, you think she's cured or something?"

  "No idea. But she used to have at least ten a day, and that's probably the first time I've seen her do it since she... y'know."

  London was quiet as she considered her sister's words, focusing her attention on Victoria again. Your average high-school's biology class didn't exactly teach about tic disorders, so her knowledge on the science of Tori's condition was limited. Though she assumed it would be different after undergoing a supernatural reanimation, anyway, as most of Victoria's biology was.

  "Here you go, Tori."

  Carly smiled as she sat across from her and placed the plate of roast chicken on the table, along with a bag of chips beside it, specifically chosen as they had always been Victoria's favourite. Tori looked between the two options several times, undecided. While the scent of the roast chicken was calling her name and making her salivate, she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity with the chip packet. Her brow furrowed, the conflict only deepening. London put the scissors down and took a seat next to her.

  "I'm honestly not convinced you're supposed to share Zach's carnivore diet," Carly offered somewhat sarcastically, "I mean, you don't exactly have the teeth for it, and I guarantee he hasn't even tried getting you to eat normal food, so I'll let you choose for yourself."

  Tori frowned.

  She reached out an uncertain hand to the chicken first. As she began chewing on a piece, she shook her head at the surprising difference in taste than she'd been expecting, having only been eating meat that's still raw as of late. The warmth was also confusing for her, since the only times she'd had warm food were when her meals were still alive. Victoria gulped it down, half uncomfortable, half finding it nice. She shook her head again.

  "Right, okay," London grimaced at the scene, "Uh, maybe try the chips?"

  Carly opened the packet and passed it to Tori, who leaned away from the potent scent of salt and vinegar. Reluctantly bringing a chip to her mouth, she shut her eyes tightly, preparing to hate it.

  But instead, her demeanour softened and she ate it rather happily. The twins looked to each other in relief while Tori started wolfing down more and more chips like her life depended on it. There was a shared flash of concern when Victoria hissed at the sting of the vinegar against her cut up tongue and lips, but she didn't stop eating, so the concern dissipated.

  "See? What did I tell you? Zach’s an idiot. He’s been feeding her raw meat like she’s some kind of cannibal." Carly crossed her arms with a pout.

  "Don't worry, Tori," London gave the girl a warm smile, "We're taking care of you now, and we're gonna make sure you eat whatever you want. M'kay?"

  Upon finishing the packet, Victoria abruptly stood and wandered to the kitchen in search of more. The girls followed, quietly in awe of her ability to think for herself again. But the second Tori reached for the pantry door, her body stilled, and her fists clenched.

  "What's up?" London murmured, concerned.

  The pale girl took one slow blink before racing off in a blur of movement. The twins sputtered in unison, struggling to process the uncharacteristic display of speed. Only a moment passed before the sound of violent retching came from the bathroom.