Chapter 16

Elen remembered the words Charlie had said when they met again for the first time in the city park. At that moment he could see the sadness in Charlie's eyes and it made him want to go in and hope to fill the empty space in his heart.

Knock...knock...tock...

"Elen, are you awake?" Mother called from behind the door.

"Yes, Mother! I'm awake!" he said.

"Hurry up and have breakfast! After that help me shop at the supermarket!"

"Okay!"

Elen was forced to get out of bed, take a shower and change clothes immediately. Then he walked out of his room into the dining room where all the family members had gathered.

Elen saw Keith sitting in a chair casually as if nothing had happened last night, while his cheeks and chin were covered with small bandages. Keith stared at him for a moment as he ate the food on his plate.

"Good morning, honey? You look more energetic today!" Aunt Margaret said.

"Good morning, Aunt? Good morning, Uncle? Good morning, Grandma? Good morning, Dad? Good morning everyone?" he said. It was the first time he'd said good morning this casually since he'd been here.

"Good morning, honey? I'm glad you look better!" Grandma said.

"I'm fine, Grandma! You don't have to worry!"

"Elen, can you go to the supermarket after this? Your mother and aunt will be cooking dinner, your Uncle Stuart and his family are coming this afternoon!"

"Okay mom!"

"Sam, please accompany Elen shopping!"

"How about Keith accompanying her? It seems Elen would be much happier if Keith went with her!" said Samuel. It was obvious that he was trying to seduce Elen and Keith..

"I do not mind!" Keith said.

"But Keith is hurting! Oh my God, what happened to you, Keith?"

"I'm fine, Auntie! Only hurt when I fell off the bike!" Keith said.

"Oh my God!"

"I told him not to go through the forest on his bike ride. But he's so stubborn! I got the news on TV that a brown bear belonging to the zoo came out of its cage and into the woods!" Aunt Margaret said.

Elen was stunned, she thought that the bear that almost attacked the meteka last night was a bear belonging to the beast. However, something that shocked his memory was what happened after that.

She didn't remember it very well, but the image of Keith's face right in front of her eyes made Elen realize one thing. He licked Keith's blood and drank his blood.

"Oh my God!"


***

"Why is your face so red?" Leo asked. Even though he knew what Elen was thinking, there was a certain pleasure in teasing Elen like this.

She tried to ignore Leo and pushed the shopping cart towards the vegetable rack. Keith stifled a laugh as he walked behind Elen who looked restless.

"You shouldn't have come! I can do my own shopping!"

"I know, but I'm sorry. I don't want to take the risk of letting you wander around the city alone!"

"What would happen if I wandered around alone?"

"Licking other people's faces!" Keith said with a big smile. Elen felt very embarrassed if she had to remember that incident again. He was completely unaware that he had forced Keith to give his blood and worst of all, he did so passionately while embracing Keith's body very tightly.

It was a very embarrassing thing that he really didn't want to remember. He used to make out with one or even two men at once. But he never imagined he would hug and do something disgusting like that with Keith who he already considered as his own older brother.

"Never mind, stop it! I don't want to remember that anymore!" He said annoyed. But it seems Keith really enjoys this game.

"Damn it, you sucked my blood! My blood has decreased a lot, you know? It's all because of you!"

"How would I know! If I knew, I wouldn't want to do it either. How disgusting!"

"Disgusting? But you seem to really enjoy it!"

"I don't know what I actually did and why I did it!"

"I told you, didn't I? It was all because you were in a relationship with that jerk!"

"Who do you call that jerk?"

"Who else if not your troublesome boyfriend? Huh, you bastard! If possible I don't want to deal with him anymore!"

"Can't you just ignore him and not have to kill him?"

"That's not possible!"

"Why not? What will happen if you resist the curse?"

"I don't know what will happen either, it's just that I can't do it!"

"Why not? Why can't you stop killing him?"

"Elen, a curse will still happen no matter how hard you try to avoid it. It's just like you being unable to resist the fate that has been set on you. Being born into this family, losing grandpa or meeting someone you never expected. Just like the curse I'm living with is something I can't escape even if I want to!" Keith said. Elen looked down languidly. He couldn't believe that he would be faced with such a difficult situation.

Seeing Elen pensive like that made Keith feel uncomfortable. He sighed as he rubbed Elen's head with his hand.

"Never mind, don't think too much about it! I'll try to find a way out!"

"What will happen to me? Will I also act like that if I see someone bleeding? What should I do? What will happen to me?"

"I don't know, I still can't be sure. For now, I just want you to be patient until I manage to find a way out!"

"Are you sure there will be a way out?" Sofia asked who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. His speed caught Keith off guard so he didn't notice the smell.

Sofia stood behind Keith with a smile that was hard to pin down. Keith sighed, he didn't know since when Keith turned into a very annoying bully girl.

"You're like usual, aren't you? You're moving really fast!" Keith complained.

"You're also as usual, the best at seducing women!"

"Who's seducing?"

"Who else but you?"

"Tch, you can not just one day don't bother me?"

"Of course not!"

"You bastard!"

"Y-you two are dating huh?" asked Elen innocently.

"Who's dating? Don't joke!" Keith said. He looks annoyed.

"You don't have to be so angry, do you?"

"Never mind, forget it! What are you doing here?"

***