Little light enters through the wooden box, the only crack in the confessional being in the door in front of me. The window beside me stays shut meaning Father Odin isn't on the other side of it yet.

    I sit on the wooden bench, tapping my hands on my black jeans where they cover my thighs, waiting impatiently for him to enter. It's that time of the week when I have to confess my killing to him. For some reason, he likes to do this one-on-one and in the confessional booth. I guess it's for keeping track of the killings as much as it is for confessing our sins and saving our souls in the eyes of his Lord. 

    I huff, blowing a tuft of hair out of my eyes as my phone vibrates in my jacket pocket. Having nothing else to do, I pull it out and check what the notification is. Only making the situation worse, the name 'Thomas' takes up space on my lock screen with a small message listed underneath.

    Can you speed it up, please?

    I roll my eyes, already regretting giving him and Levi my number. I only did so considering the fact I had to leave them alone with Alex while I went home to cover for myself. They didn't have to worry about their alibis so they stayed with him.

    Truthfully, I'm not sure why they don't just ditch him and leave. But, they seem like they need my help. 

    My fingertips tap on the screen as I type out my reply to the bloodsucker.

    Well, since you said please... no. I won't be long.

    The wooden plank covering the small window slides open, light beams sneaking in from Father Odin's side of the booth. I can see parts of his face through the crossed view, his eyes straight ahead at the door.

    "Michaela, how are you tonight?" His voice enters through the small space in between us.

    "Fine," I clear my throat, tucking my phone back into the back pocket of my low jeans. 

    "Do you have any names for me? A low tally is fine, given the short time between our last meeting and now," He gets to the point.

    "I've stopped two of them. I only have the name for one of them," I begin, licking my dry lips. My fingernails lightly scratch at my jeans, turning my eyes down to my boots on the floor. "Alex Kilton,"

    "Mhmm," He hums, the sound of him scribbling down the name in his little notepad enters my ears. Silence fills the air making me more and more uncomfortable. I hate the stillness of this confessional booth, the symbolism of baring my soul to an unforgiving God to judge me for accommodating to sins of his own. "Thank you for your confession, Michaela Reid,"

    I say nothing as I push to my feet, opening the door of the confession and bee-lining straight for the church doors. My motorbike helmet hits against my leg as I walk down the steps, closing the short distance to my bike. 

    Mounting the bike, I place my helmet over my head and flip the visor up to check my phone. Another text from Thomas sits on my screen, awaiting my reply.

    Wow, you're a funny one. He's knocked out at the moment but he keeps calling your name.

    My chest clenches at the thought, a feeling I brush off my shoulder as if it's a spec of dirt. I quickly text back, letting him know I'm on my way before I start my motorcycle and race off into the street.

         I arrived at Alex's apartment complex a while ago but, for some reason, I made no effort to get off my bike and go inside. I remembered how I confiscated weed from Leila a week or two ago and stuffed it in the console of my bike. So, about twenty minutes ago, I pulled it out and rolled myself a joint. 

     So, here I sit in the car park of my un-dead best friend, my helmet between my handlebars and a joint between my lips. 

    I take a long drag, holding it in my lungs as I reach down and lift one leg onto the bike seat in front of me. I know Thomas and Levi are waiting for me inside, even Alex has been apparently calling out for me. I just can't bring myself to go up that elevator.

    At least last time, Alex was turning and not himself. The adrenaline surge was enough to keep me from feeling the gravity of the situation. Now? The joint slowly disappearing between my fingers is delaying the all-too-realness. 

    The building's front doors open, catching my attention. I look up as I take another long drag, holding it in my lugs before blowing it out as I watch Thomas step out into the car park. 

    His hands are tucked into the pockets of his hoodie, one he took from Alex's closet considering his other one has a rather large red stain on the side. I'm not sure why he needs it, I don't think Vampires are really affected by the cold. Those sorts of specifics escape my knowledge, I don't bother asking Vampires questions like that before killing them. 

    He casually strolls over, an amused smile covering his face as he spies the smoke leaving my lips.

    "Damn, Reid. Didn't think you had a fun bone in your body," He comments, stopping in front of my bike. He cranes his neck to look down at me, his brown eyes meeting my hazel ones as he waits for me to reply.

    "You barely even know me, Thomas," I comment, letting smoke escape from my mouth. I pause, looking up at him before holding the joint out for him to take. "Want a hit?"

    He shrugs, taking his hands out of his pockets and plucking the joint from my fingers. He studies me as he lifts it to his lips and takes a hit, the edge of the joint tinted a soft dark pink from my lip balm. It doesn't seem to bother him even slightly.

    "Is there a reason you're sitting out here getting high instead of going in there?" Thomas asks, nodding his head to the building behind him. I swallow the lump in my throat, refusing to show any sort of emotion on my face.

    I blow out a puff of air, shrugging before dropping my shoulders down. "I don't know when you became a bloodsucker, Thomas. But, I'm not exactly excited to be in a room full of Vampires. Especially a fledgling,"

    "Fledgling, huh?" He repeats, handing the joint back over to me. He lets the smoke flow from his mouth and into the air around us, "Is that what you see him as now?"

    "That's what he is," I dead-pan, taking one last long drag from the joint, flicking it out as I hold the smoke in my lungs. 

    "And you think my kind is heartless," He comments.

    My jaw clenches, my eyes darting to his in a glare, "Let's not forget who made him a fledgling in the first place,"

    "You're right," He admits, looking up at the sky behind me, "But not about everything,"

    "Yeah, yeah, spare me the ominous clues. Is this the part where you try to tell me it wasn't you or Yasmin who turned Alex?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest as I drop my leg back down beside the bike.

    He doesn't reply, instead, flicking his eyes back down to me as if he could tell me everything just from a simple look. 

     I look down at the hoodie that covers Thomas's body. A spray-painted design made up of all sorts of neon colours covers a square section of the front of the hoodie.

    "I bought that for him for his birthday a few years ago," I comment, not looking up from the swirling lines. He doesn't reply to me and it doesn't seem like he intends to.

    "C'mon," He breaks the silence, reaching forward to grab my helmet from its spot on my bike. I sigh, kicking my leg over the bike and standing up straight beside it. I stuff the keys into my front pocket, walking behind him.

    I fall into step beside him, keeping up with him despite his longer legs. He pushes the door open, letting me walk in first before following behind me. Abruptly, I stop in my tracks and turn around to face him. He stops in front of me, almost crashing into me.

    "What are you-"

    "How bad is his bloodlust?" I ask, watching as his face screws up in confusion, my motorbike helmet resting in between us.

    "He's a newbie so I'd say pretty bad," He reminds, his face making it seem like he's annoyed and shocked by my sudden lack of knowledge. "If you're worried about him attacking you again, don't be. One of us will be in the room with you at all times,"

    "No, I'm not worried about being attacked. I've killed tons of fledglings I just-" I cut myself off, looking away from him. "I told Father Odin I killed Alex to keep him safe but, I can't kill him. I can't help him turn into a Vampire either,"

    "So...?" He trails off. I look back towards him, watching as he pushes my helmet from one hand to the other, "You want me to kill him?"

    I furrow my eyebrows, looking at him as if he's grown a second head out of his shoulder. "God, you really hear what you want to hear don't you?"

    With that, I turn on my heels and walk off towards the elevator. He follows after me, entering the metal box with me as the doors close in front of us. 

    "For the record, I don't enjoy killing anyone," He comments, eyes turned towards the reflective doors in front of us. I keep my focus on the same doors, ignoring him, "You're the one who kills for fun, I kill for necessity,"

    "You think balancing the scales isn't a necessity?" I scoff, ignoring him as he turns his head to the side of my face. Finally, I turn my body to face him. He does the same, holding the helmet down by his side as we stand close together, "You have the privilege of being able to believe you're hunted for fun. I know my kind is hunted by yours for a reason. That's what makes it scary. Necessity never stops being needed, fun eventually stops being fun," 

    "You're so cute when you go on your little war tangents," He mocks, a sly grin on his face. "I find it amusing you think being this thing that I am is a privilege. Tell me, deep down, how badly do you want to be a Vampire?"

    "Only if you tell me how badly you wish you could be human again," I smile, watching the cocky grin on his face twitch slightly. "Yet, only one of us can be the other,"

    Just when I think he's about to get angry or shoot off another insult, he laughs. His eyes light up and his pearly whites flash as he shakes his head. 

    I furrow my eyebrows, watching as he composes himself and looks back down at me with the same happy glint, "I'll take care of him, Reid. Next time, you don't have to hide behind anger. Just ask,"

    He doesn't even seem angry as he talks, as if what he's saying is a casual conversation. So, I choose not to say anything back. Thankfully, the doors to the elevator ding open, revealing the dimly lit hallway behind them.

    I turn to the doors, the sight before me almost making my blood boil inside my skin.

    "Hey, Michaela," Yasmin grins.

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a/n

I forgot to post this but since it's mentioned in this chapter a lot, here's a visual of Mic's helmet and the stickers on it ( I post most of these visuals on my ig) x