Sleep comes easily. Driving has really taken a toll on me; I am exhausted. When I wake up the next morning, I dash to the bathroom because I need to pee. Only when I do, I freeze. No, no, no. Why are women cursed with periods, and how awkward is it, being in a house full of men and vampires?
Washing my hands, I duck out, looking for my handbag only to find one measly pad. I grab it and duck back into the bathroom. Now, I need to get more. What a topic to bring up in this house. The idea of bringing this up horrifies me.
“Evelyn, are you okay in there?” Orion asks when he notices I don’t leave the bathroom. Shit, I’m too embarrassed. I wonder if they can already tell what’s up with me?
“Ah, yeah,” I call out.
“That doesn’t sound like a good ‘yeah’,” Orion retorts.
My face is flaming red. “Could you, um…” God, I have never had to ask someone to go to the store for me. This is humiliating, and I usually keep a good track of these sorts of things, but being here with them, I forgot about the monthlies.
As I open the door, I see Orion standing there with a concerned look.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, and I know he can feel my embarrassment through the bond.
“I… ah, need feminine products,” I tell him looking anywhere but at him.
“Ah, yeah, we don’t have those here.”
“Well, duh, I need to go to the store,” I tell him. Orion scratches the back of his neck, and I can tell he is a little uncomfortable with this topic.
“I might be best off going. It’s over three hours by car, just tell me what you need, and I will go get them,” he offers.
“Pads and tampons?” I tell him, wondering how he doesn’t know. Like, he is as old as dirt, so surely, he has been around women. But now, he is making this more awkward than it needs to be.
“Okay, I will go get those. Need anything else?” I shake my head at his question, more than ready to be done and over with the exchange.
My eyes follow him as Orion grabs his jacket and walks downstairs. I follow him and at the right moment, Thaddeus walks out of the kitchen with a glass of juice.
“Where are you going?” he asks, looking toward Orion, who is putting his shoes on.
“To the store for Evelyn,” he says.
“What’s wrong?” Thaddeus instantly questions him.
I can feel the concern, hear it in his voice, but come on. Kill me now; how fucking awkward.
“She’s on her period,” Orion says, and Thaddeus makes a face.
“Don’t make faces; I am already embarrassed enough. Besides, you have a sister and a mother,” I snap at him.
“I’m not,” he says with a shrug, just when Ryland walks in naked. I assume he just got home from his run, but this whole thing about my period and all of them being around me at the same time isn’t cool.
“Where are you going?” he asks Orion.
For fuck’s sake! That’s exactly why it isn’t cool to have all of them around me now.
“We got a bleeder,” Thaddeus chuckles.
“A what?” Ryland asks as I shake my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. Men! Fucking men! Enough said.
“Evelyn,” Thaddeus states.
Ryland looks over at me, raising an eyebrow before it suddenly clicks, and he makes the same face Thaddeus did a moment ago. “How long does that last for?”
“A couple of days, now stop being a creep. It’s a natural bodily function,” I tell him, growing a little more annoyed with every word that leaves any of them.
“To you maybe, not to us,” Ryland states, and turns his back on me to walk upstairs. He glances at my red face and starts laughing at me.
“I will be back in about thirty minutes,” Orion says, and I nod.
While waiting, I make some toast and coffee. Then, I sit down on the couch to watch some morning shows. Ryland has a shower, and Thaddeus is busy hanging out the laundry. Then, when he is done, he vacuums. It is so freakishly weird to watch him do simple things and everyday chores, that I can’t put it in words.
Once I finish my breakfast, I wash my plate and tidy the kitchen. Soon, the front door opens, and Orion walks in with a huge duffle bag. Thaddeus turns the vacuum off as Orion walks over to the dining table. He empties the bag on the table, making me gasp. “Did you buy the whole store?”
“There are so many, I didn’t know which ones to get,” he states.
“Least you won’t run out for a while,” Thaddeus laughs, picking up a packet and quickly dropping it.
“More like a lifetime. These aren’t even pads; they are Depends, for like, old people who need diapers,” I say.
“It is in the aisle. I thought they were period pants,” Orion states, and I feel my face heat up.
“Well, looks like I have enough here to last until I have incontinence issues when I am an old lady,” I state, shaking my head. Thaddeus and Orion look at each other, giving each other a strange look.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter right now,” Thaddeus says, just as Ryland walks out.
“You need that many for a couple of days? And what is that? Looks like a diaper,” he says, picking up the packet of depends.
“That’s because it is, and no, I don’t need all these, just this packet,” I state, holding up a small packet. While the morons watch me, I chuck everything else back inside the duffle bag.
Ryland opens one of the packets. “Looks like a surfboard,” he states, and I snatch it off him.
“Well, if you’re done embarrassing me, you can go away,” I tell them, taking the packet, marching upstairs. I can hear them laughing amongst themselves. Man, the next couple of days are going to be long. I will need to remember to get the depo shot so I don’t have this discomfort again. Damn man-babies.
The next week passed by slowly, but when Thaddeus leaves for the city to get supplies with Orion and Ryland, I use that opportunity to reply to Lana.
I expect more texts, but she ends up calling me.
“Hey,” I answer my phone, happy to hear her voice.
“Can you come see me today?” she asks.
“No, I am not in the city anymore. I can try to meet you in a couple of days. Can you get to Leven? It’s halfway to where I am,” I tell her.
I can hear her ask April if she can and then, Lana’s voice rings through the speaker again. “April said she can drive me to meet you.”
I really don’t like the idea of having to see April but know it will be the only way to see Lana, so I agree. “Okay, how about the park near the train station at around lunchtime on Monday?” I ask, and she asks April. I hear April tell her that my offer sounds fine.
We chat for a little while and hang up. Now, I just have to try to convince one of them to take me to either meet her or wait for a chance to sneak out and find a way to get there alone. Hopefully, they will agree, or I might have to take Thaddeus’ mustang from the garage that he never uses. I know how to drive, but the problem would be getting the keys.