Free Bag of Blood - Vampire Mystery Romance by J.O. Osbourne Page A

describe the fiery pain blooming in her chest. She grasped at her ribcage, trying to rub the pain from it. Robert's gaze turned to the window, looking for what it is that caused him to hit the brakes, and he froze.
    "Oh, no…" he groaned, opening the car door and hurrying in to the street. "No, no, no…" crying openly now, Lena unrolled the window, staring out desperately. What she saw caused little waves of shock to course through her system.
    Robert knelt on the icy street, lifting his mother into his arms. She appeared to be awake, smiling benignly and tugging on his sleeve.
    "Hey, darling…" She drawled smoothly. "Missed you." Robert's jaw was clenched firmly as he stood, carrying her to the car and setting her into the back seat. His eyes crackled and flashed with a wild, burning fury, and it slowly dawned on Lena what was happening. Mrs. Dwane was stone-cold drunk, to the point of blacking out, the point of completely forgetting herself. He slammed the door behind her and, in seconds, she was asleep.
    "Robert…" Lena whispered, horrified, as he slid in the car. He turned to her, thrusting his face into hers.
    "Don't ever tell anybody. Do you understand, Lena?"
    Confused tears still bubbling in her eyes, Lena gaped at him, feeling like a fish in the headlights. "Robert?" He shook her.
    " Do you understand?"
    "Yes…" she whispered, watching as he started up the car once again to drive her the rest of the way home.
    "Robert," she began. "Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?
    "No." He said it so firmly, so darkly, Lena was struck silent for a moment.
    "Has this ever happened before?"
    He pulled into her driveway. "Get out," he told her in clipped tones. "Be ready tomorrow. Never tell anyone."
    Stumbling as she hastened to her door, she heard him drive away before she even managed to dig her keys out of her bag.

Chapter Ten
    Lena sat on the sofa, knees held to her chest, fingernails in her mouth. The television was on, its lighted images flicking colors across her blank face. She didn't move a muscle but to chew each fingernail separately. Sharks swam across the screen, and a narrator spoke in a deep voice.
    " The Hammerhead can weigh anywhere between five hundred to one thousand pounds, depending on health, gender, and age. Reproduction occurs only once a year, when…"
    "Lena, honey," a soft voice caused the girl to jump with a loud intake of breath. The blonde girl whirled around, eyes wide.
    "Oh, Ness!" she breathed loudly. "It's just you."
    Her older sister padded to the sofa next to her little sister. "I just got home. Didn't you hear my motorcycle pull up in the driveway?"
    Lena shook her head, returning her nails to her mouth and curling her legs tighter to her body. Vanessa took her hand.
    "Stop that. You're going to ruin your teeth." She examined the bitten stubs of nails. "Look; you've bitten down too much. You're bleeding; doesn't that hurt?" Lena shrugged.
    "I guess so." She tugged her hand free and began picking at the couch blanket, unable to keep still.
    "Why are you still awake?"
    "Couldn't sleep."
    They both sat quietly as an unwise fish flittered too closely to the shark and became its next meal.
    "And so you decided to watch a documentary? You really are a dork, sis," Vanessa teased gently. Lena still didn't look at her.
    "You can change the channel if you want to," Lena said in the same flat, dull voice. "I don't care much." Vanessa took the remote from the arm of the sofa and began flipping channels; midnight cartoons, a cooking channel, and several infomercials flashed by before the television settled back on the sharks.
    "Hmm. Guess there's nothing worth watching on. Want to watch a movie instead?" Without waiting for an answer, Vanessa went to the movie cabinet, poking through the DVD's and even older VHS's. "It's really dusty in here," she complained. "When was the last time anybody cleaned?"
    "Dunno."
    This seemed to stop Vanessa short. Turning on her heel, she plugged her hands firmly on