“And you haven’t left the house in a week.”

She frowned. “It hasn’t... it’s only been a couple of days.” Hadn’t it?

He turned her around so she was facing him. “The last night you left the house was the night Carwyn had to leave, and that was over a week ago.”

Beatrice took a drink of the blood. It wasn’t as fresh as she liked it, but they had to order blood from Puerto Montt or drink pig’s blood, so she was willing to put up with the stale taste if it meant no pigs. “Fine. I’ll go swimming.”

Giovanni cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t sound so excited.”

She mustered up a giant, fake grin and plastered it on her face. “There,” she said through gritted teeth, “see how excited I am?”

He narrowed his eyes, then pinched her waist and stuck his tongue out in her direction. Her jaw dropped. “Did you just stick your tongue out at me?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to do that for years.”

She only looked at him, confused, before she burst into laughter. Beatrice laughed and laughed, bending over as bloody tears came to her eyes. She heard Giovanni chuckle a little, but knew he was only laughing at her own amusement.

It was the loudest she had laughed in months.

June

“Have you bitten anyone yet?”

She cleared her throat. Well, Ben, just your uncle, but you really don’t need to know about that, do you? Beatrice took a pencil, pressing on the button on the front of the radio phone to reply. “Nope. I’m clean so far.”

“Good.” She heard Ben reply. “Just remember, if you do need to drain someone, make sure it’s someone really evil or really annoying. Or my geometry teacher, though that would be a pretty long way to travel for a meal.”

“Got it. And, of course, there’s the whole ‘killing an innocent human being’ thing, too.”

“Oh, he’s not innocent; he gives pop quizzes.”

Beatrice laughed. “Ben, I’m not going to kill your math teacher.”

“I’m just saying, when we get home, keep it in mind. I’m pretty sure no one would miss him.”

“Right.” She played with the edge of her book, trying not to notice Giovanni hovering in the corner. He wore a small, satisfied smirk that she was interacting with the outside world again. “So, how’s school? How’s everything going?”

“Can Gio hear us?”

She muffled a laugh and pressed the respond button again. “Yes.”

“Oh, well then, it’s going magnificently. I’m so fortunate to have a knowledgeable and patient teacher like my uncle, who is imparting his centuries of wisdom into my eager young mind.”

Beatrice was rolling on the couch, laughing, when Giovanni walked over and pressed the respond button. “Tell me more, oh eager young nephew, who will be translating an extra passage of Virgil tomorrow afternoon.”

“Dude!” Ben protested. “Gio, that’s not cool. Hear her laughing? When was the last time you made her laugh like that?”

Giovanni cocked his head at Beatrice and let an evil grin cross his face.

Beatrice stopped laughing and leaped on him. “You better not!” she hissed as they tumbled to the floor, breaking one of the dining room chairs as they rolled.

“Whatever could you be talking about?” He laughed as he trapped her legs between his own and rolled on top of her. “I was simply going to tell him how much you like it when I—”

Beatrice cut him off with a kiss, rolling them over so that she was lying on his chest. She pinned him at the shoulders as the speakerphone squawked in the background.

“Guys? Gio? Did you short out the phone again?” Giovanni and Beatrice continued to roll across the dining room and into the living room, taking out another chair as each tried to best the other in their playful wrestling match.

“B? Can you hear me?”

Giovanni gripped her hips and rocked against her, ignoring the voice in the background.

“You guys are fooling around, aren’t you?” Ben sighed over the line. “That’s so gross.”

They didn’t notice when the phone clicked.

July

“What were you thinking?” He patted her face with cool cloths, more for his own peace of mind than anything else. She was already healing.

“I just wanted to see a glimpse of it,” she said sullenly. “Just a... sliver. I didn’t think I would burn that fast.”

He fought back the scream he wanted to level at her. “You’re too young, Tesoro. You just—” He broke off and clutched her to his chest, frightened beyond words. “Do you realize what would have happened if I hadn’t been quick enough?”

“Crispy critter,” she said as she pulled away from him. “I’m fine.”

“Do not make light of this.”

“Don’t order me around.”

He clutched her shoulders again and spoke in a hard voice, holding fast when she tried to squirm away. “Do you realize what it would do to me? To Benjamin?”

“Not fair.”

“To Isadora? To Caspar? How about Carwyn?”

“Shut up!” She shoved him away and tried to stand, but her eyes were still blinded from the seconds of sun she had felt on her face.

“How about Dez? Matt? Isabel? Gustavo? Tenzin?”

“Tenzin does not give two shits about me, Gio!” She rose to her feet and grabbed the back of the couch.