Blood-Red Tear Read Free Page A

after my arrival, had been an added bonus, one he had also embraced wholeheartedly, but he had raised me for most of my life so our bond was a little different.
    “Good morning,” h e said as I leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. “Did you sleep well?”
    “Uh, yeah,” I murmured , sitting down to eat hurriedly before my brother appeared and began berating me about being late.  (Something he had done every morning before school for as long as I could remember.)
    I was hurriedly shoveling my breakfast down when Paul walked in seconds later, giving me the dark, impatient look that he used when I was holding him up. “Are you going to take all day eating that?” he asked leaning against the wall, frowning as I lifted the fork to my mouth for another bite. “You are going to make us late.”
    He sounded gruff , but I knew he wasn’t really mad, so I didn’t take it to heart. “Good, maybe that will give you time to brush your hair,” I teased.
    “There’s nothing wrong with my hair,” he growled, but looked into the decorative mirror positioned over the antique buffet server across the room to run a hand through its untamed mass.
    I had to bit e my lip to keep from laughing. Paul was seriously good looking: his light brown hair with its blond tips always had that just-got-out-of-bed look, which although messy, suited him. He had muscles that went on forever and a face that made females drool. Dressed in faded jeans and a tight T-shirt from a trendy store all of the kids shopped at, he looked more like a model for one of their ads than a vampire. Every girl in town wanted to date him, and I wondered if they knew what he was whether that would detract from his allure or add to it. With the current popularity of vampires in my generation, I figured that if they found out, he just might find himself a celebrity instead of a monster to be feared. Not that it mattered. Paul never dated. It seemed his sole mission in life was to watch over me and he took that job seriously, whether I wanted him to or not.
    “Come on, you know I hate to be late,” he growled.
    “I just started eating , nerd boy. It’s not my fault that you eat from a bottle. Some of us actually have to chew our food.”
    The corner of his lip lifted in a sneer. “It’s not a bottle, it’s a bag, and I could eat from your friends instead if you’d like.” He flashed me a bit of fang and made a low, sucking noise to emphasize his meaning.
    “Paul,” m y father warned with a frown.
    “Yuck , that’s gross.” I stuck my tongue out at him just as my mother walked into the room. She spared me a disapproving look then turned to Paul with her hands on her hips.
    “We do not drink from humans , Paul, so stop teasing your sister,” she scolded. I chuckled, but then she turned her motherly glare upon me.  “It is not ladylike to stick your tongue out.”
    “I’m sorry,” I said , ashamed.
    She directed her stare back to Paul, who mumbled a similar apology. “Now knock it off, before I punish you both.”
    I fought back the laugh that formed in my throat and saw my brother doing the same. My mother had never lifted a finger against either of us and she never would. She loved us too much , and we both knew it.
    “I was just kidding , runt. I don’t drink straight from the source, it makes you humans squeamish,” Paul teased.
    My mother glared harder at him, but I knew she loved him as if he was her own and that she would forgive him, for his statement. Besides, she was used to our teasing; Paul and I harassed each other all the time. He was not my brother by blood, but in my heart he was the greatest brother I could have asked for, and I loved him dearly.
      “No problem, Dracula, ” I teased, knowing he hated to be compared to the infamous vampire who gave their kind such a bad reputation. It had become somewhat of a joke between us now, but when he had bought the movie and made me watch it when I was younger, I had been terrified for