Blacken by Alandra Rankin (i love reading books txt) 📕

the test results as soon as she arrived back home, a cup of coffee clutched in her grasp, her mind spun over the rare blood and how it fit in with everything. This must be it… The reason so much had been happening to her…

She looked over the results again, finding that there were other blood types that fell into the category of being rare and having Rh antigens missing, a handy chart thrown into the printed documents showing the list. It helped explain how other groups classified the missing factors and what the rhesus element was; drawing conclusions that the ones who had most of the missing Rh antigens were the ones following the call to Blacken.

But how did it line up with the truxen who fed on the liquid?

She tried not to think into the schematics of something beyond her knowledge, but her blood lacked other components that more prevalent blood possessed. Maybe that was what made it taste so wrong to him; the antigens filled out the liquid more so he couldn’t absorb what he needed in small doses. It was just filler for Rhulle, and he needed more blood in order to get the proper nutrients that were required. He only needed a small quantity of her, in his terms, purer blood to feed properly.

She was ecstatic at a revelation of sorts, but then a wave of sadness came over her. Avie should tell Owen about what happened… about what she found out and discovered earlier with Rhulle.

Showing up at his doorstep, nervous and hesitant, knuckles knocked with heavy raps on the wood. She stood there, waiting for some time before he answered, opening the door to reveal him looking more disheveled and worse for wear. Meeting her in the doorway, Owen’s eyes were puffy and red, supporting an old house robe.

“I thought for sure I had lost you forever,” he sighed in a small relief.

“I only wanted to tell you what I’ve found out,” Avie flashed the envelope full of her bloodwork, “about my results, and what Rhulle discovered.”

He visibly stiffened upon hearing that name, the small smile that graced him, slipping into nothing.

She continued; “I figured you deserved to know, I mean, after everything.”

He nodded, before moving, “Come inside?”

They sat in an awkward tension in the living room, she fiddled with her ring on her pinky, staring at the manila envelope while he stared at her. She didn’t really want to meet his eyes. It felt so weird now.

Why did it have to get so weird?

Avie stood to spill open the contents onto the coffee table, the papers forming a messy stack in front of them both, Owen taking initiative to pick up a few papers to thumb through.

“I have a rare blood type. I’m missing all of my antigens in the Rh system. When I was in my car accident, I think the medication they gave me affected my blood enough that I couldn’t register this whole thing. When it started to leave my system, that’s when I felt the vibration more and more intensely each time. Rhulle needed a filtered form of blood in order to feed. Only people who have an absence of those factors may be the ones who are lured. But mine is unlike anything he has ever seen, it’s in its strongest form for what he needs, it only took a little bit—no more than a spoonful! It’s incredible. No more people have to die, Owen.”

She paced as she spoke while he just stared at her, in disbelief.

“... You let that thing feed on you?”

“Did you not listen to anything else I said?” She felt anger pulse through her. Avie never imagined she would still be so angry with Owen, but even yesterday, his behavior… Her fists curled, thinking over his reluctant need for people to stop dying, but was only ever outraged when she was in the center of the topic of feeding. Her mind constructed the building blocks together.

“You were never worried about the people in this town…” Avie laughed sombrely. “Of course, you weren’t… You never cared for them because they never cared about you. You just wanted to control me. To stop me from interacting with someone else I consider close.”

“Avie, that’s not true, and you know it. I’ve only ever tried to protect you.”

“I didn’t need you to protect me, I needed a friend. I needed support. I was in pain every few weeks, but you just wanted to solve a mystery at my expense.”

“Don’t you dare say that!” He stood to match her height, “I am in love with you; I want everything for us. It was supposed to be me, you were supposed to be mine!”

Avie shook her head, tears filling her eyes before she laughed coldly, “I don’t know how you don’t hear yourself, Owen. This isn’t you. I don’t know who this is, right here, right in front of me. I used to like a version of you, but now I see he’s gone. I thought maybe if I shared these results with you, or even saw you again, then the old Owen would show himself. He might apologize. He may want to still be friends. But I don’t think that could ever happen.”

He said nothing, a stunned silence occupied him while the redhead gathered her things—stopping in the doorway one last time, she turned to take in his figure.

“Goodbye, Owen.”

She left him standing in his living room with a distressed look. Avie would no longer contact him, unless he could prove he changed, but she still would not want to see him for a fair amount of time.

Her first friend in this town. Her comfort. A home was made with him, but he was not that anymore. The cold wind freezing at her eyes, she wiped at them with the dry side of her scarf. She just had to get home, then she could let her emotions out…

CHAPTER 16

Avie felt as though she lost him forever.

She really